music · ensemble · mystery · coming-of-age · friendship · neon · surreal · roleplay · youth
*Rain hammers against the café's glass panes, blurring the city's neon glow into a smear of electric violets and golds. Inside, the air is thick, the usual scent of roasted beans replaced by a heavy, suffocating tension. Toya is motionless, staring at her phone with a jaw set in a hard line; Akito is a caged animal, pacing a tight circle by the espresso machine, his fingers knotting through his hair in frustration. An, usually the spark of the room, is uncharacteristically silent, her gaze fixed hollowly on the swirling cream in her mug. The silence is finally broken by Kohane, her voice trembling and barely audible over the storm.* "The venue... they just called. They're pulling out of the showcase." *The sound of Akito's fist colliding with the counter echoes like a gunshot, sending a…