He finishes his work and runs into someone who will rock his world! (Ibuki Mioda)

Shuichi texted Kae for a little while longer, but eventually she had to go and he was **** to return his focus to work. That few minutes of levity somehow made the rest of the day pass by faster, though, and he soon found himself saying goodbye to his coworkers before he even realized it. By that time his muscles and joints were no longer so, so he didn’t have any trouble getting back to his car. But instead of driving straight home, Shuichi took out the gift card that he had been keeping in his wallet and examined it closely.

“Okama Records and CDs,” Shuichi said to himself as he read the address written on the card. “Well, I suppose I might as well use this before it expires.”

Shuichi turned on his car and drove it out to the outskirts of the city, right on the boarder of where the urban ended and the country began. The faded paint on the sign above the entrance let Shuichi know the store had been around for a long time, but it was still clearly open. So, Shuichi found a parking space and headed inside. There, he found the store filled with row upon row of records, CDs, and band memorabilia, almost all of which the office boy didn’t recognize. He didn’t own a record player, though, so he made his way to the CD section and began searching for something to buy there.

“Wow, the album art here sure is colorful,” Shuichi thought to himself as he flipped through CDs, only a handful of other customers there to keep him company. “I wish they had something here to help you listen to songs before you buy them, though… hm?”

Shuichi noticed someone walking towards him out of the corner of his eye and turned to see a man with short green hair, a striped blue shirt, brown pants, and five silver earrings embedded in his right ear. He had a very relaxed smile on his face, and he approached Shuichi almost like he was walking up to an old friend.

“My, my, a new face! I’ll admit, we don’t get a lot of those around here, but it’s always nice to see one when they do pop up,” the green-haired man greeted. “People around here call me Rantaro, and I help run this store. And you are?”

“Oh, my name’s Shuichi Saihara,” the office boy replied, formally shaking the man’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise, Shuichi.” Rantaro smiled. “So, what brought you to our little store, if you don’t mind me asking? Did you suddenly feel the urge for music only a physical copy could fill?”

“Actually, I just have a gift-card that I wanted to spend,” Shuichi replied.

“Ah, that makes sense.” Rantaro nodded with a hand on his chin. “So, what kind of music are you looking for? Are there any artists in particular that you like?”

“Yes, well, uh, I’m still not quite sure yet, but I’ve been interested in hip-boxing in the past,” Shuichi replied.

“Hip-boxing? What?” Rantaro blinked in confusion. “Do you mean hip-hop, or beat boxing?”

“… yes?” Shuichi replied as a drop of sweat ran down his forehead.

“Heh, you don’t know that much about music, do you?” The embarrassed look on Shuichi’s face was all the response Rantaro needed. “Don’t worry, man! It’s fine, it’s fine. If you don’t know where to get started, I can help you out with that.”

Rantaro reached his ringed hands out over the racks of CDs and flipped through them until he came across a CD case with a picture of a flaming guitar flying over a sea of amplifiers on the cover.

“This album is by one of my favorite bands, Black Cherry,” Rantaro explained, handing the CD to Shuichi. “They’re a metal band, but their sound is still really approachable and tons of fun to listen to. Plus, I know the frontwoman, Pitch, personally, and she’s an amazing person; she was even nice enough to help set me up with my current job. I can’t recommend them highly enough. Plus, this album comes with a free T-shirt, so it’s a great deal too.”

“Black Cherry, huh? Well, I suppose that’s as good a place to start as any,” Shuichi replied. “I’ve still got more money on my card, though. Do you have any other recommendations? Perhaps for… classical music?”

Rantaro smiled again. “Just follow me, Shuichi, and I’ll get you everything you need.”

For the next half hour, Shuichi shopped in the store, chatting with Rantaro and surprising himself with how good of a time he was having. Even though he didn’t know anything about music, he liked listening to Rantaro talk about different bands and where they came from. By the time Shuichi finally went to the check-out counter, he had three CDs in his bag, along with a Black Cherry T-shirt with the band’s logo – a flaming black cherry – emblazoned on the front.

“Alright, man, it was great meeting you,” Rantaro said as he emptied the funds on Shuichi’s gift card and threw it away. “If you’re ever in the neighborhood, don’t be a stranger, okay? We’ve got loads more tunes for you to buy if you ever feel the need.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, thank you,” Shuichi said as he walked towards the exit. “I’ll see you later!”

Shuichi made his way back to his convertible and took out his new T-shirt. “Well, I suppose this would be as good of a time as any to try this on,” he thought to himself as he changed into it. “Hmm, it actually fits petty well. And it’s comfy too.” Next, he unwrapped his new Black Cherry CD and inserted it into the CD player of his car. “Alright then, now for the moment of truth.”

Shuichi hit the play button on his stereo and the sounds of heavy electric guitars poured out of his speakers and into the car. The music was very fast paced, and he could barely understand the singing, but he had to admit that the band did have its charm.

“Not bad…” Shuichi said to himself. “I’m not sure if this is my favorite genre yet, but I guess I’ll keep listening.”

With that, Shuichi finally ignited his engine and drove onto the highway back to his part of town, Black Cherry’s music still playing from his speakers. The drive home was mostly uneventful until Shuichi glanced to his right and noticed something he really wasn’t expecting; the logo that was printed on his shirt was staring back at him from the side of a small bus. Shuichi gasped in confusion and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. But the bus and its logo refused to go away, and when Shuichi looked to see who was driving the vehicle, he saw the same woman whose face was on the back of the case of his new CD; Pitch.

The two may had been a few feet away from each other, but even from that angle her look was so unique that mistaking her was completely impossible. The woman had long, messy black hair with white highlights scattered throughout, pink and blue highlights in her bangs, hair curled into twisting black and white horns on top of her head, pink eyes, three shining piercings in her lower left lip, so many piercings in her ears that Shuichi couldn’t even see them all, and a loose white dress shirt and a pink tie. Shuichi couldn’t help but stare in amazement at this sight, and it didn’t take the woman long to feel his gaze and glance in his direction. Her eyes swiftly glanced towards Shuichi’s shirt, and an almost manic grin appeared on her face. She lifted her right hand and motioned towards the oncoming off-ramp, clearly telling Shuichi to follow her off there. Shuichi, too stunned to refuse, nodded and did as she asked, following her off the highway to a nearby abandoned parking lot.

“Holy shit, my eyes weren’t kidding me after all!” Pitch said as she hopped out the window of her bus, her short black skirt flipping up for a moment as Shuichi got to see the ripped pink and blue stockings she was wearing. “It looks like I do have some hardcore fans here! I guess this town has better taste than I thought!” Pitch held her chin up high and placed her hands proudly on her hips. “What’s your name, dude?”

“Uh… Shuichi Saihara,” the office boy replied, his throat dry. “And you’re… you’re…”

“Pitch, the one and only singer and guitarist of the best band in the world, Black Cherry!” The rock star played air guitar with her fingers so convincingly that Shuichi could practically hear every note she pretended to play. “So, do you live in this town, or are you just here for my concert on Friday? Have you bought your tickets yet?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t actually know you were having a concert this week,” Shuichi replied. “In fact, I didn’t know your band existed before today. I actually bought this shirt a few minutes ago on a stranger’s recommendation if you can believe it.”

“Of course I can believe it! The gods of rock work in mysterious ways after all! I bet it was the will of Ozzy Oz, or Suzuka Nakamoto, or Harry Brearley working from beyond the grave to bring us together!” Pitch replied, curling her hands into rock-n-roll salutes and shooting them up into the sky. “So, how much of my jams have you listened to so far? Do you like them?”

“Yeah, I do, actually,” Shuichi replied. “It’s very… exciting. Just listening to it makes my heart beat faster.

“Woohoo! I knew it!” Pitch headbanged for a few moments, sending her messy hair flying in all directions. “I could tell just by looking at you that you’ve got the soul of a true rock star deep inside you!”

“Heh, thanks,” Shuichi replied, his eyes drifting back towards Pitch’s tour bus. “Thank you for stopping to talk with me, but we should probably both get going. I don’t want to keep your bandmates or staff waiting around instead of going where they need to go.”

“Bandmates? Staff?” Pitch broke out laughing. “Man, you really don’t know anything about me. I haven’t had any bandmates or staff for two years now.”

“W-what!?” Shuichi’s eyes widened in shock. “Why? Did something happen to them?”

“Yeah, something happened to them alright; they all became total sellouts!” Pitch replied, crossing her arms. “The music label we worked for wanted us to quit playing metal music and rebrand as a cute idol pop band. Everyone else in Black Cherry rolled over and did what they asked, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to let The Man suck the soul out of my music! Unfortunately, when they ended my contract, they took my instruments, my old tour bus, my lights, the rest of the band, all the advertising, my props, my pyrotechnics, my makeup, my clothes…”

“Uh… is there anything they didn’t take?” Shuichi asked.

“Yep!” Pitch replied, still chipper in spite of the depressing list she just gave. “I kept the rights to the band, which means that I get all the profit from any Black Cherry merchandise that’s sold, and I get to keep playing my songs! I mean, yeah, things are a bit harder now that I have to be my own manager, roadie, technician, and backup singer, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let that stop me from touring! This is what I was born to do!”

“Wow, that’s… inspiring. I don’t think I’d ever have the willpower to do something like that,” Shuichi replied. “I hope you start making enough money to start hiring a staff again, though.”

“Uuuunfortunately, I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon,” Pitch replied, her voice turning a little dour for the first time. “I mean, yeah, I’m making some money, but I’ve been making a heck of a lot less since lost access to corporate advertising. Plus, I have to buy and maintain everything for my shows myself, so I’ve had to take some odd jobs to help make ends meet.”

“Odd jobs?” Shuichi blinked in confusion. “What kind of odd jobs?”