12Bloody demise! Yeaaaaah!
The drums, bass, and guitar thrashed madly as one, pummeling the ears of the listener with crippling speeds. Himeko Kyono jumped up out of bed. Her alarm clock had gone of, and it was time to get ready for school. She pulled off her pajamas and changed into her school uniform, stopping partway through to spin her head around to the song playing, making her hair almost look like a pink helicopter propeller. This was one of her favorite intros of all time, after all. She lost herself for a moment, singing along with the song once the lyrics started.
Deep in my core is a bloodlust for war
Starting to consume me more
Can't stop my brand of forsaken in hand
From fucking with your lore
Himeko's bedroom door opened and her sister peered in. "You're going to be late for school, sis."
Scampering to shut off the music, Himeko yelled at her sister. "Get out, Yukari! You didn't knock!"
When her sister obliged, closing the door and running down the stairs, Himeko grumbled to herself as she finished getting dressed. She stopped and looked at herself in the mirror. She pulled the shirt up and stared at her chest, then pushed the shirt down again. She repeated the process a few more times, then again while holding the shirt closer to her body. They felt bigger when she did that. She shook her head, shaking those thoughts out of her mind, and put on her school uniform skirt.
Grabbing her school bag and rushing down the stairs, she snatched the toast that was sitting on the table and bolted out the door. Eating the toast as she ran down the street, she made a face and spat it out. For some reason, her sister kept making toast for her with apricot jam, which she hated. Her sister liked it, but she hated it. She threw the toast off the side of the path. There were other ways to get food. Ignoring her hunger, she put in her headphones and pressed play on her mp3 player.
Song: Corrupter - Artist: Sayaka Hino - Genre: Thrash Metal
Goblets of blood
Fire-eaters burn
A hellish flood
Of acid churns
Sin in the veins
Spreading like plague
All that remains
Is endless pain
Corrupter
Filling your brain
Corrupter
Drives you insane
Corrupter
Ever in flame
Corrupter
Fucking insane
Scorching your skin
Burning you in
Breaking the law
Raising your claws
Torturing turn
Goreblast return
Violence their drug
The poisoners fuck
Corrupter
Filling your brain
Corrupter
Drives you insane
Corrupter
Ever in flame
Corrupter
Fucking insane
Blood turning black
Infection intact
Bastard mutation
One life undone
Corrupter
Filling your brain
Corrupter
Drives you insane
Corrupter
Ever in flame
Corrupter
Fucking insane
Himeko walked through the doors to her school only one song later. The particular song was almost ten minutes long, but that was negligible. She walked up to a group of rough-looking individuals. A tall boy with short dirty brown hair poking out from under a grey tuque, wearing a black hoodie. A shorter, muscly boy with a fake leather jacket and sunglasses, his hair cropped to a buzz cut. A girl with spiky black hair, wearing fingerless gloves and tall black boots. A really short girl with straight shoulder-length blond hair with black streaks, tiny wire-frame glasses on her face and a black headband in her hair. And finally a very tall redhead girl who had managed to get spiked wristbands and torn stockings into the school. All of them had their school uniforms on, if obscured in some way.
Himeko stopped and waved to the group, running over to them. "Hey, you guys! What's up?"
The black-haired girl sighed. "Fuck you and your cheery attitude, Himeko. Today is a day for sorrow and grieving." This was Yukari Endo, in her third year of high school. The morbid and gloomy one of the group. Her favorite genre was, predictably, Doom Metal. A troubled individual, and everyone called her by her family name.
Himeko waved her off. "Endo-chan, every day is the same. You have to face it head on with all your fury!" She made an evil grin as she punched the air in front of her.
"Hm hm hm." The short blond chuckled. "Yes... let the hate flow through you." Kazuko Wada, a second-year student. Kazuko was actually trying to become a witch, getting into all sorts of black arts she can find. Her favorite genre was Black Metal. At just barely five feet tall, she had a hard time getting a boyfriend.
The shorter of the two boys grumbled. "Bitches be crazy." Daichi Takaoka, in his second year. Possibly one of the most abrasive types of people in the world, with all sorts of opinions hardly anyone shares. He went for the genre of Speed Metal. He liked to play on and off with Kazuko, toying with her emotions. "Right, Kuro?"
Kuro Hayama, a third-year. He didn't actually like anyone except Yukari Endo. He was an unabashed Metalcore kid. He stuck out his tongue at the shorter boy. "Piss off, Takaoka." In spite of his spite for everyone else, he still supplied them with most of the funds for the group's little escapades. And he really, really liked Endo.
Leaning against the wall, the redhead opened her eyes and grinned. "Himeko, whatcha listen to on the way over?" Yukari Mazaki, third year of high school. She was Himeko's best friend, and quite possibly more than that. She was a massive fan of Power Metal. She had a nasty reputation around the school, starting fights and generally not keeping a short leash on her tongue.
Himeko held up her mp3 player. "Corrupter. I think I found the best choice. It's the same exact length as the walk to school." She turned to the other Yukari. "So, incidentally, why is today a day for grieving and sorrow?"
Yukari Endo sighed. "Sayaka Hino?"
The others all looked at each other until every pair of eyes had met every other. Himeko spoke. "Yeah?"
Endo rolled her eyes at their ignorance. "She's in town, and two students from our school have been chosen to interview her for the school paper..."
The other Yukari, Mazaki, caught on first. "And... it's not us. It's..."
Endo whined. "Two fucking brainless bitches that could never hope to appreciate her music. Some shit otaku trash that, if we lived in a perfect world, would never have been born."
Kazuko smirked. "It's Wakui and Kazami, right?"
Endo just grumbled. Himeko looked to Kazuko. "That's a yes."
"Midori High School has over ten thousand students, boys and girls, attending each day. It is the second largest school in the city, and ninth largest in the nation.
Yoshimi Wakui; fine upstanding middle-class girl with light wavy brown hair and deep blue eyes. She's in her second year, and is one of the top reporters for the school newspaper. Last year, she ranked the 293rd hottest girl at Midori High, out of almost six thousand. She was the only one to rank in the top three hundred who still does not have a boyfriend.
Kazumi Kazami; first year at Midori High, she is the epitome of naive and innocent. Black, curly hair and big brown eyes give her the appearance of a middle-schooler, though she really was one up until six months ago. She quickly made a name for herself as an expert interviewer for the school paper, but her interviews have all been low profile. She's looking for her big break."
School had finished, and the small group of friends were stalking their quarry. Kazuko gritted her teeth. "I could just wring Wakui's neck right now!"
Mazaki whacked Kazuko on the head. "You're just mad because she did so well in that contest, and you fell off the back end."
Kazuko rubbed her head. "Hah! If that was my reason, I'd be strangling you right now instead! Remind me what spot you took again."
Mazaki drilled through Kazuko's head with a glare. "Fuck your mouth."
Endo interrupted them. "Well, they're heading for the interview. This is our chance to kill them and take their places."
Daichi spoke up. "But we didn't bring shovels."
Himeko, who had been browsing a few sheets of paper, called the others to stop. "They're not heading there yet. The interview doesn't start for an hour, and it's happening at the school. This is our chance, yes, but rather our chance to talk to those two and see if we can get in with them. At the least, we can help them to not make fools out of everyone at our school by teaching them a bit about what Sayaka Hino does. I mean, do you think they'd be going if they knew?"
Mazaki and Kazuko exchanged glances, then released their grips on each other's shirt. Daichi and Endo looked nonplussed. Kuro wheezed, paying very little attention to the whole ordeal.
Having dropped Kazuko, Mazaki brightened up. "They're heading to that cafe all the popular kids like. Let's ambush them."
Himeko grimaced. "Ambush? Why would we-"
Kazuko sighed. "The second we step foot in there, everyone will think there's trouble. The few people there that would recognize us think very little of us, and the rest will solidify their opinions after a second or two of looking."
Kuro spoke up. "Send Himeko in alone. She looks the most normal out of all of us."
The other five slowly turned their heads to look at him, blank looks on all their faces. It was quiet for several moments before...
"Fuck you, Kuro." Himeko snapped as she crumpled the papers in her hands and threw them on the ground beside her.
Kazuko shrugged. "Well, he's not wrong. You don't have any of the... uh..."
Mazaki finished the thought. "Awesome accessories."
Himeko grimaced. It was true. Just looking at her, she didn't fit in with the rest of the group. Her school uniform was pristine. "I'm sure they'll notice somehow. What if someone recognizes me?"
Daichi cut in before anyone could give a good answer. "Explosive retreat. Leave no survivor."
"You're a fuckin' help." Mazaki shoved him down. "Just pretend you're supposed to be there. That's what everyone else there does."
Himeko sighed. There was clearly no way she was winning this. "Fine. I'll go... convince Wakui and Kazami to let me tag along on the interview."
Mazaki patted her back. "Good girl. Are we still on for tomorrow?"
"Fuck off."
Himeko found herself trying to navigate foreign territory. A social hub for the school's most popular. Every table was occupied by the tall and muscular and the thin and busty. Not a wiry or gangly boy, nor a short or chubby girl. She might as well have been wearing a speaker blaring obscenities. She was short, flat, and just a bit convex in shape. Everyone noticed. There was no doubt in her mind that when she wasn't looking they were whispering to each other, trying to figure out why someone like her was here.
Naturally, Kazami and Wakui were sitting way at the back. On a small stage nearby, an androgynous keyboard player spun an off-key tune for the ones who believed themselves hip. Their head was bald on one side and a spiked red and green mess on the other. Himeko's natural instincts told her to set the hairstyle on fire, but knowing that it probably had an inordinate amount of hairspray kept her from possibly blowing herself up.
There was nothing else to hold her back. She'd already made a fool of herself simply by being there. She walked over to the table and slammed her hands down between the two school reporters. "Do you have any idea what you're in for?!"
Kazami jumped, startled by the sudden and unexpected arrival. The question barely registered with her. "W-what?"
Wakui rolled her eyes at her partner. She patted Himeko's hand gently and smiled. "I think I do, but if you know something I don't..."
Himeko straightened out, offering her attention to Wakui, who was definitely the better of the two. "You're going to an interview later?"
Wakui nodded. "Yes?"
"Sayaka Hino?"
"I believe that was her name. What's your interest?"
"I'm a fan."
"Of... hers or ours?"
"Hers!"
"She has fans?"
Himeko sighed. They were heading into something they knew little about. "Sayaka Hino is a musician. You know that, right?"
Kazami looked up, surprise evident in her eyes. "Really? Oh, like as a hobby?"
"No, no she's a legitimate musician. Professional. She makes songs. They're available on the internet. You can buy them... I've got a bunch of her songs on my mp3 player." She pushed her way into the table, shoving Kazami over. "You guys don't even know she's famous, why are you interviewing her?"
Wakui quickly nodded to Kazami, who responded by taking out her phone, then took out her own notepad and pen. "We were interviewing her because her father works in the neutral zone and we wanted info on what that was like, and maybe something on what it's like to move across the country and go to a new school. They were going to be pieces for bigger articles, but if you're on the level and she really is a famous musician, then we could turn this into a main article."
Kazami held up her phone for Wakui to see. "Found it. Eight songs. Three of them have over twenty thousand downloads."
Wakui looked over the information, which Himeko was unable to see, and smiled. "And four others close behind. This is real. Get those three top ones. Put it on the paper's budget. This is your big break, Kazami."
The younger girl pumped her fist. "Yes!"
Himeko cut in, hoping they wouldn't forget about her. "Can I come with you?"
Wakui sighed, then gave it a bit of thought. "You know what? We owe you for that. If you stay out of the way and stay quiet, then alright. After all, it's not every day someone famous transfers to our school."
In the middle of cheering, Himeko stopped. "Transfer?"