Chapter Text
It had been three days since Kyouka had gotten her hands on Kirishima’s phone number and she had already copied it on her notebook, a post-it and the inside on her wrist for fear of losing it. Not like she didn’t know it by heart now, with how many times she had written it or just looked at it.
She hadn’t used it, though.
Technically, the number wasn’t even for her, it was for Bakugou, so she shouldn’t even have been thinking about calling it.
But she couldn’t forget about that song she had heard from outside the bar. Kyouka remembered the beat, the melody and two voices joining each other effortlessly in gut-wrenching lyrics. It was a good song, a great song even, and Kyouka had never been very good at letting good songs go.
That might be the reason why she studied music and not only played or listened to it. Because feeling the vibrations of her guitar and feeling the rough passage of song lyrics through her throat wasn’t enough for her. Because listening to the radio or going to a concert wasn’t enough for her.
Kyouka wanted, no, she needed, to open music wide open, leave all the pentagram ribs and the rush of quaver blood out in the open for her to prod at. She needed to take all the key organs and break them apart until she could see the individual sounds and notes. She needed to dig until the only thing left under her fingers were the silences between heartbeats.
Kyouka needed to understand music to be truly satisfied with it and this song, this apparently simple song, still had her wondering after three days.
What made the situation even more maddening was that she had the means to end her everlasting suffering.
She could just call Kirishima Eijirou and ask him about his song.
There was so much she wanted to know about it.
How had he come up with the melody? Had it been composed specifically for a guitar-piano duo? On the chorus, that repetition, the swift in tone, had it been intentional or had it been a mishap? Had the song been inspired by something or someone?
Was one Yaoyorozu Momo that someone?
Most likely.
It was easy to compose songs for Yaoyorozu Momo, you just had to look at her. It was only natural to compare her to a morning sun, to call her one’s Aurora. Kyouka had only known her, if you could even call it that, for three days and she already felt full to the brim with songs for her.
What an interesting pair they made, Kirishima Eijirou and Yaoyorozu Momo.
They both had managed to make her feel (one, curiosity, and the other, passion) until her heart ached without even trying to.
It was dangerous and exciting, like a couple of lovely sirens trying to lull her to a storming sea with the promise of good songs and charming grey eyes.
Kyouka could resist them. Her ship was still far enough from them to ignore their chants, she could sail away from them, to a more silent and calm patch of ocean, if she wanted to.
If.
She didn’t want to.
Kyouka looked at the wrinkled piece of paper and steadied herself on top of her ship, bearing it towards the lovely sirens and embracing the crash.
Kyouka picked the telephone receiver and squished in between her ear and shoulder as she dialled the wretched number. Kyouka crumpled the paper as she heard the first beep and made sure to keep her breathing in check.
The phone was picked on the third beep and the first thing Kyouka heard from the other side was music, and wasn’t that just so perfectly fitting? Kyouka recognised the song almost instantly. Shake It Now. by Nakimushi. Such a good song.
She also recognised instantly the voice humming along to the tune and felt her stomach fall to her toes.
‘Hello?’ Yaoyorozu sing-songed against the receiver, humming along the song with utter contentment.
Once more, in the presence of Yaoyorozu Momo, words eluded Kyouka and she felt like dying a little bit.
‘Hello?’ Yaoyorozu repeated, the happy humming stopping and taking a little bit more of Kyouka’s heart with it. ‘Is there anyone there?’
Kyouka gulped, she needed to answer, she needed to speak, she needed to pull herself back together before Yaoyorozu hung up.
She may have not expected to speak with her but she didn’t want to waste this opportunity for anything in the world.
Kyouka cleared her throat and squeaked a ridiculous little ‘hi.’
‘Ah.’ Yaoyorozu made a high-pitched squeal of her own. ‘Jirou-san!’
Kyouka pressed her lovesick smile against the plastic of the receiver. ‘Good to see you haven’t forgotten me yet.’
Yaoyorozu chuckled and Kyouka could swear it sounded like bells. ‘You make quite an impression.’
Kyouka snorted with pure disbelief but decided against commenting on the irony of the phrase coming from someone as unforgettable as Yaoyorozu. ‘Well, I’m glad. It would have made this conversation so much more awkward.’
‘And what is the point of this conversation, if I may ask?’ Kyouka heard as Yaoyoruzo moved around, the music in the background losing and gaining intensity depending on her position. ‘Not that you calling wasn’t a nice surprise, but I figure it must have had a purpose.’
‘Yeah, yeah.’ Kyouka found Yaoyorozu’s unapologetically direct approach kinda refreshing. ‘I was calling to ask some stuff about your song, the one you were singing at the bar when we arrived.’
‘Aurora.’ Kyouka could almost see Yaoyorozu nodding with understandment.
‘Exactly! I told you then, it sounded like a radio song to me, it was that good. And…’ Kyouka gulped, willing the insane excitement in her voice to dim a little so as to not sound like a total nutcase. ‘And I want to know more about it.’
‘Did you really like it that much?’ There was a tilt of amusement in Yaoyorozu’s voice.
‘I just think it’s interesting.’
‘You sound just like Kirishima.’ Yaoyorozu’s voice was tinted with fondness when it came to her bandmate. ‘He thinks music is everything and in everything.’
Kyouka felt her blood sing with elation at the mention of another of its kind. ‘Is not like that for you?’
‘I think…’ Yaoyorozu paused and Kyouka had the ridiculous feeling that she was biting her lips, trying to catch the right words. ‘I think that there’s a fundamental difference between people like you and people like me. I just sing, you breathe music.’
Breathe music. Kyouka loved the sound of that. ‘Can I steal that last bit?’
‘No need, I give it to you.’
‘So generous.’
‘But I want to be credited when you use it in a song.’
Kyouka huffed a laugh. ‘I really am that predictable, am I?’
‘You called someone you’ve met for five minutes because of a song you only half-listened to. You will use every good lyric you find.’ Yaoyorozu sounded delighted, for some reason. ‘I feel like you’re the kind of person who can’t let go of the things they like.’
Kyouka knocked her forehead against the telephone and closed her eyes, a bit overwhelmed at hearing her own thoughts through Yaoyorozu’s silver voice.
Was she really that transparent or was Yaoyorozu just that good at seeing right through her?
‘I really can’t hide anything from you, hah?’
Yaoyorozu laughed and Kyouka thought that maybe the excruciating ordeal of being known was worth it if she could keep hearing that silver bell laugh.
‘I…’ her response was cut short by the sound of a door opening and closing. ‘Seems like you’re in luck, Kirishima just arrived from work, I’ll pass him the phone so you can ask all your music questions.’
Kyouka felt her heart skip a beat. ‘Wait.’
‘Yes?’
Kyouka gulped, swallowing down all her nervousness. ‘Are you free tomorrow night?’
‘What for?’
Kyouka breathed out slowly, steading herself once more before taking the plunge in the freezing stormy water. ‘There’s a party tomorrow night in a friend of a friend’s flat. Nothing big but there’s gonna be good music, almost everyone there is gonna be a music mayor, and some of the food won’t be totally inedible and…’
‘Is this an invitation?’ Yaoyorozu mercifully interrupted her.
‘Yes.’ Kyouka exhaled, relieved to have been understood.
‘I see.’
‘Is that an acceptance?’ Kyouka asked, mimicking Yaoyorozu’s earlier tone.
Yaoyorozu paused for three interminable seconds before answering, almost sending Kyouka into cardiac arrest. ‘Yeah.’
Kyouka covered her mouth with her free hand, pressing the crumbled piece of paper against her ecstatic lips, to cover her surprised gasp.
‘Can I have the address of the place? And a time too, please?’ Yaoyorozu continued speaking, unaware of the effect she had on Kyouka.
‘Yeah, yeah, of course.’ Kyouka rattled the time and place to her, as she took notes of it. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, then.’
‘Yeah, you will.’ Yaoyorozu's voice sounded like a pleased smile. ‘Can’t wait.’
Before Kyouka would have to respond to that with something more coherent and less pathetic than a whimper, she heard the auricular moving and voices talking in the background.
Then, a voice, so unlike the one Kyouka had been talking with, far deeper and rougher, but also, far more expressive and jollier, spoke directly in her ear. ‘Hi?’
Kyouka smiled at the evident confusion in his voice. ‘Disappointed I’m the one calling you?’
‘Nah, man, not at all.’ He chuckled. ‘Just wasn’t expecting it but I’m really happy you called. So, what’s up?’
‘Hope you haven’t made plans for the night, Kirishima. I have so many questions.’
‘Fire away, Jack.’
Kyouka beamed at the mention of her stage name.
Everything felt right at that moment.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over the course of the last two days of almost non-stop rehearsing, Kyouka had learnt several not-awful things about one Bakugou Katsuki.
Firstly, he was annoyingly punctual.
Despite what his awful personality might lead you to believe, he was never late. What’s more, he was always, at least, five minutes before their meeting time. He took the early bird gets the worm thing to an angry extreme.
Secondly, he always carried an extra pair of plugs for her.
It hadn’t been a one off, the first time he threw them at her and berated her for her disgraceful disregard for her own auditive health. He kept carrying them with him, apart from his own, and before they started playing, he always threw them at her. Now, on their third day of rehearsal, Kyouka just extended her hand to him, awaiting the fluorescent yellow plugs. Bakugou arched an eyebrow, self-satisfied, and gave them to her.
Thirdly, he never let her skip the warm up.
As illustrated by the last two things, Bakugou Katsuki was a man of habit and procedure and he would be damned if he didn’t warm up correctly, and consequently, made Kyouka warm up correctly before they started playing. Kyouka hated to say it but her joint pain was almost non-existent now after enduring the too long warming up sessions that Bakugou insisted on.
In conclusion, Kyouka was more of a disaster than she thought and Bakugou was more put together than his angry exterior suggested.
That didn’t mean she didn’t also get to know more of the insufferable side of Bakugou.
Firstly and, most importantly, he was the most self-centred guy she had ever met in her entire life and she had met a great deal of music nerd douchebags. Bakugou surpassed them all by far.
This was his band, this was his battle of the bands, this was his time to shine.
But Kyouka was always ready to knock him down a peg.
‘You know Shake It Now.?’ Kyouka tried to sound as casual as possible, despite spending the better part of the afternoon thinking on how to breach this subject with him.
‘Fuck yes I know it, I have fucking taste.’ Bakugou rolled his eyes.
‘How about we play it? As a warm up.’
Bakugou arched an eyebrow. ‘It’s a duet.’
They hadn’t done any duets yet. All Bakugou had been insistent on doing were songs with strong drums and guitar so they could adjust to each other’s rhythms and learn to play together and the occasional song where he would be the only one singing. That was all fine and dandy but Kyouka was a singer, she didn’t like staying quiet.
‘Yep, I thought it kinda suited us.’ Kyouka shrugged her shoulders, her fingers playing lightly with the strings of her trusty purple guitar.
Bakugou looked at her with furrowed eyebrows, as if trying to find her dark devious intentions for wanting to practise a duet with him. Predictably, he found nothing.
‘Whatever.’
Kyouka smiled wide and positioned her guitar correctly in between her arms, the music already whistling in her veins.
Bakugou made sure his plugs were snuggly nestled in his ears and started the countdown with his sticks, like he always did. With two days of rehearsing on their backs, they started together, with almost perfect timing.
最低”なんてもんじゃない
“Despicable” doesn’t even describe it
バラ撒いた 想いは理想じゃない？
All these scattered thoughts are what you envisioned right?
破茶滅茶なJoke 異常じゃない文句
Unreasonable jokes, Complaints that aren’t strange
Bakugou’s rough voice reminded Kyouka of the original singer of the song, as well as his aggressive way of playing the drums, which sounded just like it had sounded this morning, through the telephone.
“会いたい”なんて依存じゃない？
“I miss you” is infatuation, right?
だって最近なんて不幸じゃない？
Recently you haven’t been happy, right?
無茶苦茶なTalk 腐敗してくAnkle
Unreasonable talk, Decaying ankle
Now came the chorus where she would join him and Kyouka could swear she was almost vibrating out of her skin with excitement.
Kyouka had always loved singing and playing by herself. She had total control over the tempo, the inflexion of her voice and all the subtle technicalities that made a song hers despite not composing it herself. It was the thrill of a master thief.
However, doing a duet, stealing a song next to another person, made it more exciting and accelerating. Not everything came up to her, there were new variables and new possibilities for greatness that she had never seen or dared to contemplate before.
飢え×３ 増してや 頂上へ
Starve (Higher) x3 Increase to the top
間違っても待っちゃくんねえ
Even if I'm wrong, I don't wanna wait
愛されたいなんちゃって誤報で
Saying I wanna be loved is just a false alarm
Shake It Now 死へ逝く？×２ Shake It Now
Shake It Now Dying of death? x2 Shake It Now
No Way!! だって脳の飢え
No Way!! My brain is starving
争っても去っちゃくんねえ
Even if I fight I don’t want to be lost
As they sang the chorus, Bakugou looked at her, like really looked at her. Their voices were intertwining and mixing and he was looking at her as if he was seeing her for the first time, as if he had finally realised she really had music inside of her.
Kyouka smiled so broadly she thought her cheeks would split in half. It was always such a rush to be acknowledged by a talented musician. Because, despite all his many faults and his short list of tolerable qualities, Bakugou Katsuki was a very talented drummer.
His ego just needed to make a bit of space to notice that Kyouka was very talented in her own right and he had finally done it. Now, they could really start to work on winning this battle of the bands, as equals.
いつも無いで吐いた根拠も
Basis isn’t here but yet it always comes
合図無しでだしたホントも
With no warning the truth is let out
結局、どうしたいの？
In the end, what do you wanna do?
平然？保てないよ？
Calm? You can’t keep it
大胆不敵でした
It was undaunted
またいつかいつか何者にもなれないように
Maybe someday, someday I won't become a “who” again
Kyouka felt her lungs raw and her tongue like sandpaper, the taste of a good performance.
Bakugou must have been feeling the same thing, because he kept looking at her with an ever-growing rabid grin. He looked deranged, sweat dripping down his temple and laboured breathing, and totally ecstatic.
‘That wasn’t totally shit.’
Kyouka huffed a laugh. ‘That was fucking amazing.’
Bakugou’s reddish eyes glinted with something. ‘Don’t get ahead of yourself, Mimi. You went too quickly at the bridge and were fucking dragging your feet at the chorus. We’re still far from fucking amazing.’
‘Stop thinking about technicalities for a second, Bakugou.’ Kyouka couldn’t be bothered to care about her precious tempo when, even in their imperfections, they had been absolutely perfect. ‘We were brilliant, totally brilliant.’
‘We were fucking fine.’ Bakugou conceded, already coming down off his high.
‘I wouldn’t have thought someone as arrogant as you would be shy about accepting compliments.’
‘I will accept them when I have fucking earned them.’ Bakugou twirled one of his sticks in between two fingers. ‘Let’s go again.’
Kyouka smirked as she positioned her fingertips over the right strings of her guitar. ‘Okay, let’s go again.’
And so they did, for the whole evening. They played the song over and over again until it didn’t sound stolen anymore, until they owned it.
When they parted ways, as Yamada ushered them out of the conservatory, Kyouka felt her heart slowing down for the first time that day.
Kyouka realised that Bakugou made her heart race with the same intensity as Kirishima or Yaoyorozu.
Kirishima with curiosity, Yaoyorozu with passion and Bakugou with selfishness.
Bakugou made her want to push back, to stand her ground, to state her ideas clearly, to be seen and impossible to ignore. Bakugou’s star was so bright that it made Kyouka want to shine that much brighter.
It had always been said that to be a proper rock star, you needed to have talent and an ego to match it.
Kyouka had always had the talent and she had finally found her ego in one Bakugou Katsuki.
Kyouka grabbed the straps of her guitar case with more force. So, this is what it was like to surround oneself with true artists.
Kyouka never wanted her heart to stop racing.