< BURN MY SOUL | Story
Chapter 2: Strategy Meeting
作戦会議 (? (edit))
作戦会議 (? (edit))
Character appearances:
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Vivid Street
Kotaro
Akito...!
Young Musicians in Town
Is that...Shinonome, from Vivid BAD SQUAD? I didn't know he was still singing around here.
Young Musicians in Town
But, why is Shinonome by himself?
Young Musicians in Town
I guess they really did break up after Taiga-san beat them, huh?
Akito
(...I expected that reaction.)
Akito
(Ever since that day, anyone in this town who expected somethin' of us disappeared.)
Akito
(But——)
Akito
(The fact that things're this cold means there's all the more reason to heat it up.)
Akito
——Then, let's go!
Flashback
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[[File:A few months ago
WEEKEND GARAGE|700px]]
WEEKEND GARAGE|700px]]
Ken
In that case, let's talk about our activities moving forward.
Ken
Simply put——this is a strategy meeting on how you're gonna surpass RAD WEEKEND.
Kohane, An, Akito & Toya
Okay!
Yes!
Yes!
Ken
First order of business——
Ken
What do you lot think needs to happen for you to say you've "surpassed RAD WEEKEND"?
Kohane
What needs...to happen?
Ken
Right.
An
...I——
An
If we can surpass the passion from that night with everyone, I think I'd be able to say we "surpassed RAD WEEKEND".
An
But...I still have no idea what we need to do to make that happen.
Toya
...Yes. I'd always thought that as long as I gained enough strength, I would someday be able to surpass it... But now that I know the other side of RAD WEEKEND...
Ken
——Right.
Ken
There's just one way I know of for you to surpass the passion that was born at RAD WEEKEND.
Akito
Eh...!
An
Dad, do you mean...?
Ken
Nagi's wish, the path that we walked as RADder, was born from that...the feelings of everyone in town——
Ken
You'll have to——write over those feelings with something new, something that's your own.
Kohane
...Write over?
Toya
That's...what are you trying to say?
Ken
That day——when I told you the truth. You said it yourselves.
Ken
That you'd definitely surpass RAD WEEKEND——that you would prove you could go beyond RADder's dream.
Ken
You turn those feelings into music...turn them into your own event, and show everyone.
Ken
...You all gave your own dream——your own feelings.
Ken
Nagi——she hoped that you, "the next generation", would go beyond her dream, and I want to see that scenery for myself.
Ken
All of the old faces in town wished that Nagi's dream would come true.
Ken
Your audience and the younger folks around here might've cooled down, but they should be thinking somewhere, deep down, that they want to see the moment guys like you surpass that legend.
Ken
Everyone's got their own selfish feelings...after all.
Ken
But, when everything finally ties together——when everyone knows for certain that you lot will be able to go beyond that dream...
Ken
I bet that the passion that can surpass RAD WEEKEND will be born.
Ken
...So?
An
That's...I think so too, and I think it'd be nice if that could happen.
Kohane
Yeah...you're right.
Akito
(...But problem is, right now, we don't have that power.)
Akito
(It's not just raw skill. We don't have any teammates. The town's completely cooled off. We're facing 100 problems——)
Ken
...I know that it's a difficult road ahead for you.
Ken
But——I believe in you all.
Akito
...!
Ken
I hope you can all go beyond that dream. I'm first in line to think that.
Ken
...Nah, I'm actually the second. The first one who wanted it was her.
An
...Dad...
Ken
Deep down, this town hopes that it'll happen. So if you reawaken those feelings, and respond to them...the path should open for you.
An
...Yeah, you're right. Let's do it.
An
'Cause obviously, nothing'll happen until we go for it!
Akito
...Right.
Akito
If we can't do that, we won't be able to surpass RAD WEEKEND. So, we've got no other choice.
Kohane
Yeah...! I'll do my best too!
Toya
We'll be in your care then, Ken-san.
Ken
Alright. Then——let's talk more generally from here on out.
Ken
The way I see it, you can split up the things you need to do into two categories.
Ken
The first is pretty simple, it's to gain skill. If you can't do that, there's no point even talking about it.
Ken
And the other is, like I said earlier, to take your new feelings and bring them to the town——you'll have to put them on full display.
Ken
When it comes to improving your skills——there's no better way to gain strength than hands-on experience.
Ken
That's why I'll be taking you to live houses where only high level performers gather. You'll take part in competitive events there.
Toya
Where only high level performers gather...would that mean somewhere like Crawl Green?
Ken
Yeah. The type of place where just being "good" won't even get you through the door.
Kohane
Through the door...
Ken
——We'll do that alongside your regular practice, almost every day. After school, I'll come pick you up in my car and we'll head straight to the live house.
Akito
Your car...are we going out far?
Ken
Yeah. There are people of unbelievable skill just outside town.
Ken
Just like RADder, they were born in and rose to fame in those towns.
Ken
From now on, you'll be competing with people like that. Luckily, I've got connections.
Akito
(...I see. That means, from now on, we'll be battling against the cream of the crop, like Ken-san...)
Ken
And as for the other category——
A few weeks later
Kamiyama High School Front Gate
Kamiyama High School Front Gate
Akito
(...It's been a while since then.)
Akito
(Ken-san takes us around to different live houses in his car, and we do what we gotta do at every one...that's our daily lives.)
Akito
(We've only been going up against powerful opponents, so I can feel that we're improving. But...)
Flashback
Ken
Even if you're able to gain skill, it'll be tough for you guys if you carry on doing events the way you have been.
Ken
It's difficult to reignite a flame that's been put out once. You won't have many chances.
Akito
...
Ken
So...we'll be splitting up responsibilities.
Akito
Eh?
Ken
It's vital preparation that you'll need to do in order to surpass RAD WEEKEND.
Ken
First off——Akito, you need to light a fire in your audience.
Akito
...In our audience...?
Ken
Right.
Ken
I'm sure you've felt it for yourselves...because of what happened with Taiga, people have had their hopes extinguished.
Ken
It'll be tough to heat up a crowd that's already lost hope in you once.
Ken
But you have to light that fire in them.
Ken
Akito, no matter what situation you're in, you'll never break. You'll cling on desperately, covered in mud, and crawl your way back up.
Ken
And people should be watching you. ...Just like everyone in town watched RADder.
Ken
And if you stand back up again in a situation like this, no, not just that...if you've gained enough skill to blow them away, that sight will definitely reignite your audience.
An
But if that's true, wouldn't it be a better idea if all of us did it together, instead of just Akito? 'Cause——
Akito
——No.
Akito
Let me do this on my own.
An
Eh...why!?
Akito
Like Ken-san said, there aren't many chances left for us in this town.
Akito
That's why performing all together should only happen after we've finished our preparations...when it'll hit the hardest.
Akito
Right now, they probably think of us as "the guys who ran away with their tails between their legs".
Akito
Gaining just a little bit of skill and coming back won't be enough to blow them away.
Akito
But...if I can put on a solo performance that'll get a crowd as hyped as when we all performed together, I should be able to get things moving.
Akito
...That's what you mean, right, Ken-san?
Ken
——Yeah, that's right.
Toya
...I see.
Toya
If Akito is capable of that much alone, we'll be able to raise their expectations, and cause them to wonder what the four of us could do together.
Akito
That's about right.
An
...I get ya.
An
——Got it! Then, I'll leave it to you, Akito!
Akito
Right.
Ken
...Akito. To be able to do this, you'll need to gain an overwhelming amount of strength.
Akito
Yes. I understand.
Ken
Right. Then...let's do it, Akito.
Akito
...Understood!!
Ken
As for the three of you...let's talk. First off——
End flashback
Akito
(...I still don't have enough power to reignite them.)
Akito
(I'll have to gain even more strength.)
Car approaching, turning off; car doors slamming
An
Ah! You guys, the car's here! Over here, over here——!
Ken
Sorry I was late. We got stuck in traffic after I picked up the little lady.
Akito
Nah. We only just got here. There's no problem at all.
Toya
Ken-san, what sort of live house are we visiting today?
Ken
The one we're headed to is a place called Rodin. It's a live house we had some tough battle in, back in the day.
An
Eh, you guys did!?
Ken
Yeah. That place in particular is insanely high level. You'd be hard pressed to find anywhere in Japan that can beat them.
Ken
It's the type of place where people in the major leagues or people who wanna test their skill go to perform.
Toya
...Which means we'll be facing an audience with highly refined tastes.
Ken
That's right. Considering your current skill level, it's too soon.
Ken
But, for you guys right now, I think it's best to go against common sense and challenge an opponent that's beyond you.
Akito
(——The live houses we've been to so far were pretty impressive. But it looks like it's gonna be an even tougher battle than usual today.)
Akito
(But...that's just what I'm hoping for. The bigger the wall I run into, the stronger I'll be when I get over it.)
Akito
(I'll dig in like my life depends on it...!)