Paradox Live Stage Battle "DESIRE" - Part 1
Kanata: Man, I finally got my hands on it...! With this composing software's I'm gonna be able to do so much more! Ahahaha...! ... ah... dammit, what am I gonna do about the food budget this month, though... eh, I'll figure it out. Yeah. ... ah--!
Iori: Wanderin' around all around town with an empty stomach again, are ya? You're like a lil' stray cat!
Kanata: ... the hell are you doing here?
Iori: Just passin' by. How're you holding up? You take that "bigger opportunity" you were talkin' about?
Kanata: ... Suiseki-san, do you have the time to go meddling in other peoples' business?
Iori: Ooh, and now you feel bold enough to talk to me like this! Ah... ahah... well, that's fine, I suppose. I'll just keep my mouth shut.
Kanata: ... what.
Iori: No, no, it's nothing. I was just thinking about whether or not you have a backup plan for, say, if this big opportunity were to fall through on 'ya.
Kanata: We're not going to lose. It doesn't matter who we go up against.
Iori: So what you're sayin' is, you've got nothing planned.
Kanata: What are you getting at?
Iori: See, it's not you I'm worried about. But your little brother-- well, call me concerned. If you only bet on the best case scenario, you're not going to be able to protect the things you want to protect, y'know?
Kanata: I already told you, we're not going to lose! I'm going to protect Nayuta!
Iori: Ahahaha! Gettin' pissed at me isn't gonna solve anything!
Kanata: There's no fucking way we're going to lose against those cushy-ass rich brats!
Iori: Aw, calm down, listen to what I'm sayin'. I'm just talking in hypotheticals. But, if one of those hypotheticals came true... what would you do?
Kanata: ... what are you suggesting I do, then?
Iori: Well! If you want to lock in a victory, I'm sure you can find a way. For example, there's always the kind of work I've been giving you up to now. You feel me?
Kanata: The hell you mean by that?
Iori: Who knows! Just do your best and try to come up with a way to win! Give it your all. Bye, then~!
[sfx: Iori walking away]
Kanata: ... we're gonna win. No matter what it takes.
*
[sfx: writing]
Anne: Hey, Allen. I'm heading home.
Allen: Yeah.
Anne: What's this? You haven't even started getting your stuff back together!
Allen: Yeah.
Anne: We don't have the time to drag our feet!
Allen: Yeah.
Anne: Don't 'yeah' me! Are you listening to me at all?
Allen: Yeah.
Anne: Hey!
Hajun: There's no point. He's probably been struck by inspriation.
Anne: Yeah, but we have to get home soon...
Hajun: We should still have a bit of time before the trap reactions start. He should be able to make it back before it does. ... but, of course, that would be contingent on him not being a moron.
Anne: And if he is a moron? Then what?
Hajun: He's the one who's going to have to suffer the indignity, not me, so. Not my problem.
Anne: Ice cold.
Hajun: Well, then, oh magnanimous Anne, are you going to stay with him?
Anne: No way! I don't want to see his trap reaction.
Hajun: In that case, let's go home straightaway.
Anne: I guess.
[sfx: walking, door opening]
Anne: Allen, don't push yourself too much, okay?
Allen: Yeah.
Anne: [sigh] Whatever, it's not my problem!
*
Allen: ... ah, crap, it's already this late... why didn't they come get me?
[sfx: heartbeat]
Allen: ... ah... gck--! My trap reaction--!
[sfx: approaching footsteps]
Kanata: Oi. Red-hair.
Allen: Aren't you-- from cozmez...? If you have business with me, could you come back later?
Kanata: 'Business'? I don't have business with you. I just have something I have to get off my chest to you before we have our upcoming performance.
Allen: ... the stage battle... we should keep that on the stage, right?
Kanata: 'Battle'? You think you can put up a fight against us? Ha! Cut it with the bad jokes. Listen to what I'm saying, red-hair. What you guys are doing isn't hip hop. You're just playing pretend. Back off before you get seriously hurt.
Allen: ... we're... serious!
Kanata: What definition of 'serious' are you using, here? Open up your ears. We put our lives on the line with our hip hop. We're totally out of the league of rich little brats with make-believe phantom lives.
Allen: ... don't just... say shit like that! We're carrying our own burdens as we do hip hop.
Kanata: What kind of burdens are you carrying on your shoulders, rich boy? A shiny new backpack?
Allen: Stop messing around! We...!
Kanata: Try not having a place to live. Or going days without food and being so hungry that you can't move. You've never faced anything like that, have you?
Allen: ... huh?
Kanata: When you do hip hop, what are you even going to sing about? Something like, 'oh, mama wouldn't give me my allowance! Whatever shall I do!'? Bullshit like that isn't gonna cut it here!
Allen: That's over the line...! ... agh!
[sfx: heartbeat speeding up, audio distortion, Allen's breathing becoming labored until he's making pained noises]
Memory of Allen's Mother: Hip hop. How could you say such a vulgar thing. Where did you even learn it from?
Memory of Allen's Father: Stop listening to such worthless music. You'll taint your ears like that.
Allen: Stop! Don't burn it!!! Please! You can do anything but that!!
Memory of Allen's Mother: Throw away this garbage!
Memory of Allen's Father: How long are you going to keep messing around? Learn some shame!
Memory of Allen's Mother: Are you keeping up with your violin lessons?
???: Isn't it fun, being together with everyone?
Memory of Allen's Father: Are you intending to disobey your parents?
Memory of Allen's Mother: I already told you to give it up!
Allen: --- agh!!!
Memory of Allen's Father: That trash isn't music.
Allen: No... no! Stop!
[sfx: Allen collapsing]
Kanata: Hey!
Allen: [struggling to catch his breath] I... I... even I... I have my own sound...! [yelling in distress]
Kanata: ... aha.... ahahahahah! Having a trap reaction here of all places...
Allen: It's... burning... all my... agh!
Kanata: We've always had everything taken away from us. It's only fair to take from them in return.
Allen: [gasping for air]
Kanata: A phony bastard like you has no right to own a phantometal.
[sfx: chain clinking as Kanata steals Allen's metal]
Kanata: Maybe this way, you'll start to understand. What people like you have done to us our entire lives. ... heh. Well. Bye. ... not like you can hear me, though.
Allen: [crying out in pain]
*
[sfx: door opening]
Allen: ... I'm home.
Anne: And late, too! What were you doing?
Allen: Nothing. ... sorry. I need to get some sleep.
Hajun: What are you talking about? You're going to be in trouble if you don't attend Saimon-sensei's first period, aren't you? If you go to sleep now, there's no way you'll wake up in time to make it.
Allen: I guess that's true...
Anne: Aren't you the one who told us that your attendance record's so bad you're in danger of flunking, right? ... hm? Hold on, Allen! Where'd you leave your metal?!
Allen: ... huh? What do you mean, where'd I...?
Hajun: It's not around your neck.
Allen: ... huh?! ... you're right...
Anne: The hell!? What's with that!? The hell is going on!? Did you lose it!? Did you drop its somewhere!? Or... don't tell me... did someone steal it off you!?
Allen: No. Uh... I... don't know what happened...
Hajun: [sigh] Let's start at the start. Before you came back, where were you and what were you doing?
Allen: After we got done... I wanted to write down some notes for a song I had thought up. And I just kept getting ideas for how to build on it...
Anne: Oh, for real!? I knew I should have brought you back myself, even if I had to drag you!
Hajun: A few hours after a phantom live, you'll have a trap reaction. Forgetting something obvious like that... did you happen to drop your brain along the way, too?
Anne: That's why I was telling you we had to get home in a hurry!
Allen: I couldn't help it! I had a really good idea for a track! Then, once I was done taking notes...
Anne: The hell is wrong with you!? No matter how good the track is, how are we supposed to win the stage battle without using our phantom illusions? I don't get you at all!
Allen: It's not like that! If we have a really good song, then even without phantoms, we can...!
Anne: Oh? For real? Then what did I put all this effort into our outfits and shit for!? What do you think is the point of aesthetics!?
Hajun: So, that said, Allen. What happened then?
Allen: I thought... "I need to go home". Then, when I got outside, there was that guy from cozmez, KANATA[1]... while we were talking, that was when my trap reaction started... and then the next thing I knew, it was morning.
Anne: Then obviously, Kanata stole your metal, Allen!
Allen: I don't think he would! No way that a rapper set to perform in the Paradox Live would do something underhanded like that!
Anne: When are you going to grow up!? Hajun! Say something to get through his skull!
Hajun: No comment. Whether it was stolen from him or if he just lost it, he's laying in the bed he's made; it's up to him to figure out for himself what he's going to do about it.
Allen: Yeah. I will. Maybe I just dropped it somewhere by accident...
Anne: I really don't want to hear those 'maybe's! Get your ass out and find it!
Hajun: If we don't find it, then Allen will have to do our next performance without phantoms, won't he?
Anne: If we lose because of that, I am going to curse you until the day I die.
Hajun: I wouldn't worry, Anne. We barely need Allen. As long as I'm here, we'll win.
Anne: You are completely missing the point! Come on! How are we supposed to focus on going to classes now!?
Allen: I'll... I'll retrace my steps back to the club to look for it.
Anne: You're damn right you will! I'll try to talk to people who look like they might know what's up with cozmez.
Hajun: Is that so? [yawn] Well. Have fun, you two.
[sfx: Hajun walking away]
Anne: Huh? Hajun, where are you going?
Hajun: [distant] To sleep. Unlike somebody else whose name I won't mention, there's no problem if I miss out on one lecture. So. <Bye-bye~!>
Anne: Aagh, come on!
*
[sfx: door opening]
Nayuta: Welcome home, Kanata. You're late.
Kanata: Yeah. I had some minor business to take care of. Here. To make up for it, have this.
[sfx: plastic bag]
Nayuta: Whoa! This is great! Isn't this ramen from Raimentei? What's the occasion?
Kanata: Thought we should eat well before the Paradox Live.
Nayuta: You won't catch me complaining. Well, hurry up, I wanna eat it!
Kanata: Just wait a second. I gotta put my stuff down first.
Nayuta: Well, make it quick, alright?
[sfx: plastic bag]
Nayuta: Ooh! You got gyoza too! Sweet!
[sfx: Kanata putting stuff down, chain clinking]
Kanata: Hm?
Nayuta: Huh? ... is that a phantometal?
Kanata: Yeah.
Nayuta: Whose?
Kanata: Red haired guy from BAE.
Nayuta: Huh? What are you doing with his phantometal?
Kanata: When he and I were talking about their play-pretend performance, he got his trap reaction right in front of me. So, I took it.
Nayuta: ...
Kanata: Well, I taught that rich boy a lesson about the harshness of the real world.
Nayuta: Hey. Did you actually steal it from him?
Kanata: Yeah. They're just playing at being rappers, anyway. They're probably gonna be too pussy to go on stage without metals, and if they bail, then it's our win by default, yeah?
Nayuta: ... hm. ... bullshit.
Kanata: Huh? What was that just now, Nayuta?
Nayuta: I said that's bullshit! Why would you do something like that, Kanata? Didn't you say we were gonna hit them with our awesome song?
Kanata: W... we can do that in the other rounds, though. We have more opponents, not just BAE.
Nayuta: And I'm saying that's bullshit! How the hell are we going to say we're the real thing if we can't even take down one team of spoiled rich kids? What kind of a victory is that?
Kanata: W-what's with this all of a sudden, Nayuta? Don't you want to win!?
Nayuta: Of course I do! But not like this... this isn't like you, Kanata. Don't tell me. Did someone tell you to do this?
Kanata: ... it's nothing like that! I just...
Nayuta: ... is it... my fault?
Kanata: Huh?
Nayuta: You were thinking that my condition would get worse if we lose, weren't you?
Kanata: A-- no, it's not like that! I just want to take the stress off of you--
Nayuta: I'm not stressed about that! It's way worse to think about winning because we used some cheap bullshit!
Kanata: Listen to me! Paradox Live is on a totally different level than the other shows we've been doing. This is our chance to rise up out of this shit together--!
Nayuta: Don't get all hedgey about it now, Kanata! Why!? Why aren't you laughing and saying 'if we're together, we're unbeatable'? Like you always do!?
Kanata: ... Nayuta...
[1] In all caps because I assume he is using Kanata's MC name, which is... KANATA.