Date A Live Fragment: Date A Bullet - Volume 2 - Chapter 6

Sing A Song! 

“??Hey? Huh?” 

Rinemu thought to herself that it’s been a long time since she saw Mizuha’s stunned expression. 

“Sorry, but please let us sing first.” 

“Eh, but, umm……” 

Mizuha’s manager and staff came rushing in a hurry. 

“You guys……how on earth did you break in!!” 

At the same time that sharp voice resounded, the commotion from the audience was growing louder and louder. The feeling of the audience turning into the enemy??that was what that girl had felt during that moment. Rinemu shivered as she considered that feeling for a little. 

“Are you trembling?” 

An indifferent voice came from the side. Blue??her cool demeanor as a stylish idol was comparable to that of Mizuha, which she presumably gained through her fighting ability. When Rinemu heard Tsuan’s true identity as the Biscuit Smasher notorious even in the Ninth Region Yesod, she screamed. 

“Hmm, be careful with that. If you keep doing that several times, your dance steps will be slightly misaligned.” 

“That’s because you are sloppy. Tokisaki Kurumi and I have synced perfectly.” 

“That’s because the two of us feel it would be inadequate to just jumping around.” 

“It’s a real headache, but democracy should be adopted at times like this.” 

The incarnation of black and red smiled. Tokisaki Kurumi was on her other side. 

When she confessed that she was not a Quasi-Spirit, but rather a Spirit, Rinemu screamed even louder than when she discovered Tsuan’s identity. She couldn’t believe it, but she could understand that she wasn’t telling a lie. 

On the side of the staged, the panicked manager hesitated if she should rush up onto the stage. 

Unless she was given instructions by Banouin Mizuha, she could not stand on top of the stage. 

But still, she needed to make her decision within ten seconds. The group of guards would flock towards them and the manager would announce that the concert was suspended. A broadcast would occur a few minutes later as they grabbed those three off the stage. 

……But that was only on the premise that they were ordinary idols. 

Okay, just let out your voice 

Just sing, just start singing. 

The heaviest pressures from the past came rushing forward??the memory of being swallowed up by the Compile relentlessly tormented Kirari Rinemu. 

Ridiculous, boring, meaningless. 

Spiteful, envious, scornful. 

Such nauseous hate crushed her spirits, proving to be too much of provoking existence to ignore. 

……Until now, her voice couldn’t escape out. 

But that was only until now. 

She looked to her side??her everyday expression had a warlike tint just like a battle machine. 

Her dance steps were impeccable without the slightest hint of derailment that would affect a usual stylish idol. 

She looked to her other side??an evil grin like a cat, a chaos idol with beauty like a clockwork doll spreading disorder and disaster. 

And herself??an idol that combined perfect looks, vocals, and dance steps. She was getting a bit nervous, but she was now trying to recover from that. It was so scary that it was tempting to cry. 

She was scared, but the sight she saw while holding that microphone wasn’t a dream. 

That girl, the girl that should have fallen into despair had recovered. 

In that case, it was possible to once more pull herself together, open her mouth, and sing. 

She can do it; she has to do it, she is eager to do it. 

Rinemu took in a deep breath. 

As the audience’s noise and distrust reached its peak, Mizuha’s manager finally decided to step in?? 

Her voice resounded through the entire concert venue. 

“Listen to my soooooooooooong!” 

Her scream was filled with an overwhelming aura that suppressed the audience’s distrust. 

Everyone was shocked and held their breath. Even the manager was equally numb and couldn’t move. 

There was only one Quasi-Spirit that was active behind the scenes. 

“Music……start.” 

She smiled as she played the secretly changed track. The gorgeous guitar sounds were heard around the same time as the first lyrics appeared. 

You and me floating between the cracks of reality and dreams. 

Will you sink? Or fly into the sky? 

Flying too high with cuts and bruises. 

You can quietly sleep at the bottom of the sea. 

“Kirari Rinemu……is singing……” 

Momozono Mayuka froze, unable to budge at all. Luku didn’t intend to take any action unless instructed. 

However, even so Luku thought. 

If it was only Kirari Rinemu singing, the audience would have only been surprised and Mizuha’s manager would have been able to respond in time. 

The reason why everyone froze was because a new idol had been born. 

A three person idol group??not of the same category but with each one different from the three genres. 

Lovely??Kirari Rinemu. Her glistening blonde hair and powerful vocals was reminiscent of her heyday. Having seen her staring at the world with such cloudy eyes, Luku was a bit shocked to see her like this. 

Stylish??Tsuan. An urban legendary class Quasi-Spirit called Biscuit Smasher. It was absolutely unimaginable that she would be wearing an Astral Dress with a blue keynote, dancing 

in line with the principles of Ninth Region Yesod. Rather than dancing though, her dynamic steps were more reminiscent of the swift movements used for combat. 

The dance steps were completely inconsistent. Usually, this sort of dance would feel uncomfortable. If the movements did not have a neat sense of integration, it was possible for the audience to feel annoyed. 

However??it was a different matter if one could exude beauty from this. 

Chaos??Tokisaki Kurumi. The Spirit girl. Perhaps the strongest known person in the Ninth region Yesod. Although Rinemu was at the center, the conductor that led this trio was undoubtedly her. 

Getting bruises is all well and good 

Being loved is all well and good. 

What’s important is in my heart. 

The song of us who have decided to fly! 

The audience had begun waving her florescent sticks. Usually, the fluorescents sticks waved during Mizuha’s concerts were standardized into cool colors like blue. 

However, the Quasi-Spirits gathered at this spot chose this time to wave their own favorite colors. 

Red, yellow, blue?? 

There was no fixed area with the same color as each fluorescent stick was arbitrarily waved. 

Chaotic, but the overall image was harmonious. 

“……” 

Mizuha’s manager intended to take action. This was bad, this was really bad. 

The impression they left was already too dangerous. The moment this song ends, the trust of the Quasi-Spirits would be presented to those three. In other words, Banouin Mizuha will no longer be the Dominion. 

That must be prevented by any means possible. 

However, she didn’t move. She couldn’t move. On the contrary, her heart was violently beating incessantly. 

Boiling emotions??it was different than the feelings brought by Mizuha. Instead, there was an impulse to scream enthusiastically as possible. 

“It’s fine.” 

There was a voice penetrating into her ears. She looked to the stage, looking at Mizuha, and then lowered her shoulders. She understood what Mizuha wanted to say. 

“Let them sing.” 

Mizuha softly told her. 

Three people, three colors, after 4 minutes and 23 seconds, the song finally came to an end. 

The song was done as silence took over??Rinemu fell to her knees, her entire body having reached its limit. Incidentally, although Kurumi was smiling, her knees were beginning to tremble. 

“I, I……I sang a complete song……” 

“Yes……” 

“Sorry, sorry, I’m completely fine, but both of you physically exhausted?” 

Tsuan straightened her thin chest as Kurumi casted a cold gaze onto Rinemu. 

“I don’t want to think how much effort I spent making up for your incomparable dance.” 

“I’ve said it several times, isn’t there a slight gap from your dance steps not being on tempo?” 

“It doesn’t matter. Compared to that??” 

Tsuan glanced to survey around her surroundings. 

“No response. Has it failed?” 

Rinemu felt her chest tighten upon hearing those words. Anxiety loomed as her heart felt it might break at that moment as a hand lightly patted her shoulder. 

“It’s a great success. ??Please take a look.” 

Hearing Kurumi’s words, Rinemu turned to look at the audience seats. 

“Ah……” 

The audience was left speechless. Dancing and singing, everything about that performance had gone perfectly. 

And as if finally returning conscious from a transient dream……they offered the greatest round of applause to those three. 

Shouting and sobbing while they clapped in applause. 

“Thank……Thank you everyone! Thank you! Thank……Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” 

Rinemu waved back, but now she couldn’t hold back the tears anymore as she crouched and cried on the stage. 

She had finally returning back here. 

She had come back to being on this stage. 

Moreover, she could sing. She was able to sing and dance, indulging a euphoric sensation that could blow away all those nasty things. 

She couldn’t stop. 

How could she forget this fun and exhilarating experience? 

As long as she remembered this feeling, she would no longer be misled by that illusion. 

“I can sing……I was able to sing. That was really my voice……!” 

And so, she cried. The Quasi-Spirits who were familiar with her voice couldn’t help but also cry. 

The Quasi-Spirits that had forgotten her voice were choking with sobs from having their memories reawakened. Even new Quasi-Spirits that had never heard her before were also crying after understanding what had happened. 

Incidentally, during this period, Kurumi also elegantly waved back and Tsuan straightened her chest and a V hand gesture to them. 

At this moment, the sound of high heels walking onto the stage was heard. 

Hearing those strangely vigorous footsteps, Rinemu finally lifted her crying face. 

“……” 

Mizuha, who was still silent, was standing in front of her eyes. 

“W-what do you want.” 

Rinemu didn’t stand up, pouting her lips while uneasily searching for the presence of her two companions??who have long since fled. Those two scoundrels. 

“Aah, umm, sorry for disturbing your live concert.” 

“It doesn’t matter.” 

“Y-yes. Well, that’s right, uhh……ah, um. I’m not going to become the Dominion. That position is too bothersome, so you continue being it.” 

“It doesn’t matter.” 

How could it not matter, at the side of the stage Kurumi was about ferociously protest. So, Rinemu reached out her hand to soothe her. 

“Instead, I have a condition……” 

“It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter!” 

And like that, Mizuha rushed forward to tightly hug Rinemu. 

Banouin Mizuha is an eight type Spirit with no ability to manipulate sound…..but she had the natural talent to be an idol. She used the power of wind to spread the distance her songs could travel, drawing in many Quasi-Spirits. 

However, when describing why she had become an idol?? 

It was because of the songs sung by a glamorous girl. 

The girl who ruled the Ninth Region Yesod, Kirari Rinemu. Adoring freedom, even that unruly personality was faltering, she was a girl who could cause others to be excited just by staying by her side. 

One day, she suddenly couldn’t sing. The reason was clear. The black pillar that appeared suddenly at the live venue??a phenomena others called Compile. 

She touched that black pillar and was deprived of her ability to sing. 

Mizuha watched her lose her voice and weeping. 

How many Quasi-Spirits remember her singing??Mizuha began to worry. Even such wonderful songs had become past tense in this region. 

The reason why she became Dominion was to support Kirari Rinemu’s comeback ant any critical moment. With that power, she should be able to make her re-debut instantly. 

In preparations for that, Mizuha always made the arrangements. 

But Kirari Rinemu never tried singing at all. She no longer did any activities as an idol and her fan power gradually disappeared. 

Meanwhile, she gained more and more fans. It felt due to Rinemu falling out, her songs had become the next substitute. 

Still, she gambled on that glimmer of hope. 

So, she sang from the bottom of her heart so that they would remember the girl called Kirari Rinemu. So practically all of the lyrics in her songs were done modeled after Kirari Rinemu. 

Therefore, although she had the position of a stylish idol, her lyrics were inexplicably filled with a sense of vitality. But there was an inherent weak point in this singing style. 

She believed that Kirari Rinemu would return. Even if it was lonely at the top, she would continue to endure. 

However, Kirari Rinemu had disappeared a little while ago. 

It was natural to disappear due to no longer being able to sing. Yet, for the first time, Mizuha had the feeling of wanting to defy that common logic. 

So, she exercised her power as Dominion to try and hold a concert call for Rinemu. Even if her condition wasn’t good, if her throat felt sore, she couldn’t help but want to sing about her. 

And if possible, she wanted the audience to help find Rinemu??firmly believing that if everyone would support an outstanding idol that had fallen into a difficult predicament, Rinemu would recover her voice back without fail. 

But earlier than that time, another rumor passed through the ears of the Quasi-Spirits. 

Kirari Rinemu had become an Empty and disappeared completely from this world. 

She had traveled around the Ninth Region Yesod seeking the legendary ‘The Voice of the Moon’. 

But such a thing couldn’t be discovered so conveniently??she had become an Empty and headed for the Cradle. 

And over there, she finally vanished. 

It could be described as the most basic disappearing process for a fallen idol; even Mizuha couldn’t disagree with that. 

After all, she could no longer sing. 

It was obvious she was unable to sing. 

“Because of myself, she lost the ability to sing. 

“……Mizuha?” 

“I’m glad……I’m glad, sempai. Really……I am glad……! I wanted……I wanted to apologize to you! I always wanted to apologize to you! But!” 

Everyone on the scene was shocked to see Mizuha slowly crying. 

“……So it turns out that person can actually cry.” 

Despite what Kurumi had muttered being rude, the once impeccable idol was crying like an ordinary girl. 

“Huh? What do you mean? Apologize? Why? You haven’t done anything??” 

“Good posture, singing, and amazing dancing while sparkling!” 

“That’s my motto? ………Ah!” 

Kirari Rinemu clapped the palm of her hand with her fist. 

She had finally remembered the previous incident. 

She had appeared on the audition hall on a whim. But despite being on a whim, since this was dedicated to discovery the star of tomorrow, she had to open her mouth to talk. 

Blushing and tense girls looked at themselves and became even more nervous. 

Rinemu told them all that they looked too nervous for their debut and called out to each one of them to relieve the tension. 

And finally, she spoke to the diamond in the rough. 

“Are you alright?” 

“Ah, yes. No, um, yes, no……” 

“Calm down first. Since you’re pursuing a stylish type idol, you need to seek perfection. The fans want to see your cool side.” 

“I……am not a ninth type.” 

“Oh, that’s rare.” 

The majority of the Quasi-Spirits aiming to be idols were of the ninth genus. For other Spirit types, there would be a gap in the abilities of their Unsigned Angel and Astral Dress, which meant they had to become idols relying on their own talents. 

Moreover, the ninth genus had a strong penetrating volume that made them suitable for being idols. It’s been declared that the existences of these Quasi-Spirits were born to be idols that were adored. 

So, she had a natural handicap. 

“Yes, but, um, uhhh……I want to be like you. But I am totally different. Hair color, style, everything is completely different……but I still want to be like you. Am I overestimating myself by wanting that……?” 

“How stupid, how is that going to happen? Regardless of the genre, if you came here because of worshipping me, that means you have the talent to be an idol!” 

“Someone like me……can really be talented?” 

“I am here to judge whether or not you can be talented! Is there still any time to be nervous? I am waiting for glamorous posture, singing, amazing dancing while sparkling!” 

“Y……Yes!” 

The girl bowed her head and ran up to the stage. 

As expected, that girl had a natural idol aura and the absolutely necessary eye-catching talent. 

The challenge song began playing. The song went well. As Rinemu imagined, she had a clear and permeating voice. 

As Rinemu was convinced that she would be a future rival or someone she would long associate with, she saw that her legs were shaking. 

The earth was shaking so much that she had to stop singing. 

An ominous premonition??at the same moment Rinemu rushed towards her. 

The girl who was originally singing should have been a Quasi-Spirit that was born recently. She likely didn’t know that the black pillars produced during the Compile would pull in nearby Quasi-Spirits. 

And if you touch that black pillar, you’ll see the memories of the Spirits in the real world. 

In other areas, it is said that touching the memories would cause them to fall in love. But it was different in this region. The memories of the Spirit peeped in this region was?? 

“Here, hurry!” 

Rinemu pushed the stunned girl out of the way……chills spread through her entire body. 

That was the last thing Rinemu saw before being invade by the memories of that Spirit??even the girl that didn’t know anything was left speechless. 

“……I remember, I remember now. I met you before.” 

While still sobbing, Mizuha nodded. 

“At that time I didn’t know anything……I had no idea of how important it was what you did for me, I didn’t even thank you……!” 

“It’s fine. I didn’t even remember it anyway; even if you thank me it won’t be of any use.” 

“But, but……!! I couldn’t do anything for your suffering!” 

“Ah……honestly, you’re making really hard to say it out loud.” 

Both of them had their own respective standpoints and so much time had already passed. For Mizuha, the object of her worship had resigned and for some reason she was elected to the latter’s position. Being kicked upstairs, there was already no leeway to back out already. 

The longer time dragged on, the harder it became to say it. 

Still, if Rinemu was still recovering, this confession would have been impossible. 

She had always been decadent??until now. 

Rinemu wiped away Mizuha’s tears and smiled. 

“It doesn’t matter. I can already sing and I gained valuable experience, so valuable that I never want to go back to the days where I just sang casually. I even formed an interesting idol group. 

Life is always accompanied by all sort of suffering, but its fine so long as you get through the difficulties. Ah, also you’ll have to continue being the Dominion. I plan on going on a trip anyway.” 

“Huh……?” 

Mizuha gave an expression like it was the end of the world. 

“Un, did I say something strange? I want the people in the other regions to listen to the songs that I sing.” 

She didn’t have this idea in the past, but now that she was able to sing again, she hoped to promote her songs outside of the Ninth Region. 

But?? 

“B……But aren’t there regions that won’t recognize your songs?” 

Mizuha was correct. The world wasn’t that peaceful even if they would listen to her songs. If she sang to people with different values, there was no guarantee they would be moved. 

“Hmm, how to describe it, I’ve already seen it occurred. Like those two over there, Kurumi and Tsuan, unknown people who will become my fans after listening to my song. Hasn’t this already happened in this region? That is enough. The point is that I have recognized the value of this matter. Once, like in the past, as long as I have someone supporting and sympathizing with my songs, that is what is most important.” 

So no matter where she went she could sing. Rinemu passed on these important, cherished words to her. 

“One day, you might also want to leave the Ninth Region and embark on a journey. When that moment comes, you don’t have to be afraid because I’m going to have an early start. If we may meet in a certain region, let’s form a two-man group. Because you’re my most important……fan, idol, and kouhai.” 

Seeing Rinemu smile to her hearts content, Mizuha smiled while crying. 

She couldn’t stop it. 

Mizuha couldn’t stop her from leaving and even felt happy for her departure. She wasn’t hesitating because of losing her voice; rather, she regained that and still wanted this. 

Leaving the Ninth Region Yesod and wandering freely on her own. 

It seemed wonderful. 

Ah, but?? 

Mizuha glanced to her manager and then towards everyone who had gathered around her. 

She couldn’t leave them for now. She didn’t want to, as both an idol and as the Dominion. 

So, Mizuha answered back with tears. 

“Yes, one day.” 

Mizuha and Rinemu would continue singing while looking forward to that day. 

“??So, you won’t need ‘The Voice of the Moon’ then?” 

As a transparent voice echoed in the concert hall, the air in this place distorted and spiraled like a solid. 

“Capture.” 

The edge of a blade slashed. 

After a moment, everyone there understood that Kirari Rinemu had been cut down. 

“Noooooooooooooooooooo!” 

Mizuha screamed as Rinemu collapsed onto her knees. 

The Empty girl held ‘The Voice of the Moon’ in her hands.