< Light Up the Fire | Story
CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains a depiction of terminal illness and death. Please read at your own discretion!
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The Next Day
Vivid Street
Vivid Street
Nagi
...
Nagi
(Only five months left...huh.)
Nagi
(I kinda...can't think of anything. Even though I have so little time left.)
Nagi
(Only five months left. I...)
Nagi
(What should I——)
Middle School An
——Alright, I'm gonna start! Nagi-san! You have to listen to me, okay?!
Nagi
(...It's no good. I promise I would teach her to sing...I have to keep it together in front of An.)
Nagi
...Then let me hear it.
Middle School An
Yeah! I went and practiced all the high notes, you know! I'm gonna start!
Middle School An
♪——————!
Nagi
(...An really has improved. She's like a different person from who she was a month ago.)
Nagi
(She's already absorbed what I taught her just recently...)
Middle School An
——How was that!?
Nagi
Yeah, look at you go! Your high notes are coming out so beautifully now!
Middle School An
Eh, really!?
Nagi
Really, really! I'd never lie to you, An.
Townsperson
Yeah! You were so cool! Your voice totally lifted off! Like, suuu——paaan! It felt amazing~
Middle School An
Ehehe, thanks!
Townsperson
But you're still a little uneven, like usual, and it might be better if you were able to control the finer details.
Middle School An
Hm——. I think I get it!
Middle School An
Then, maybe something like this?
Middle School An
♪————! ————!
Nagi
(Ah, she fixed it. She's got a really good sense for this.)
Nagi
(...Back when I was a kid, the people in town looked after me like this, too. They taught me to project my voice, and how to face my singing correctly.)
Flashback
Townsperson
That being said, Nagi, the fact that you're able to sing this well at this age, you've got a real bright future ahead of you!
Townsperson
Ah, you're saying you're gonna take the world, right? If you wanna do that, you've gotta have more tricks up your sleeve!
End flashback
Nagi
(...It's because I had this town that the me of today exists.)
Nagi
(I fell in love with music in this town. I practiced singing, and I met Ken. I dreamed so many dreams with them, and then——)
Middle School An
————♪
Nagi
(I——)
Nagi
(I...it's so simple...I want to celebrate my last days in this town. In this place I love so much——)
Nagi
(...Yeah, I've decided.)
Nagi
(What I'll do before the end.)
Middle School An
——Phew. Hey, how was that!?
Nagi
Yeah, you were so good, I almost took you for someone else. If it's you we're talking about, An, I bet you can go even further.
Middle School An
Yay! Alright, I'm gonna keep up the pace, and get even better than you, Nagi-san!
Middle School An
And when that happens, we have to do an event together, Nagi-san!
Nagi
Eh...
Nagi
(...Together...)
Nagi
(I'm sure if I was able to sing with a future An, who's improved even more...it'd be so much fun.)
Nagi
(But, when that time comes, I'll be...)
Nagi
(...I know...maybe——)
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That night
Ken
What'd you call us out for at a time like this, Nagi?
Taiga
...Are you feeling alright today?
Nagi
Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for worrying about me.
Nagi
——You know, I've decided. What I wanna do before the end.
Ken
...You've already found your answer?
Nagi
Yeah. The decision was easier than I thought it'd be.
Nagi
——For my end, I wanna do an event in this town.
Ken
An event...?
Taiga
In this...town?
Nagi
Yeah.
Nagi
In this town that I love so much, I wanna make a super-heated event——enough that it'll go down in history! That's what I think!
Nagi
...I really do think it's selfish of me to ask this of you, but...
Nagi
Hey——Taiga, Ken.
Nagi
I want you to be there with me. For this event.
Ken
I understand how you feel, but...can you really do it, considering your health...?
Nagi
I already talked to the doctor about it. I said there's something I have to do before the end, so I needed his help for it.
Nagi
Well, he did say that he wouldn't recommend it because it was reckless...but he understood after I kept asking for it.
Ken
...But...
Nagi
...Today, when I was teaching An to sing, she said this to me.