"Well, let's take a car and go somewhere else!" Neko was skipping as I walked along with her on the pavement. She was in a good mood. Wait, where is somewhere else? This timing?
I want to go home, but I don't have a house. Forget it, I should just follow Neko and see how it goes. Soon, it will be dawn. In Node 3, it is busy now and then. Because of this, the traffic is always jammed.
"For me, I experienced this a lot. There were accidents every day. This is why you are seeing a lot of traffic cameras around." Neko continued.
She is an extrovert. I could tell. She was all cheerful, kept talking to me, and always called my name 'Aroma-chan'. I find it irritating at first, but she looks like she did not mean it that way to annoy me.
I guess she does not have any real friends but just her family and her virtual friends. I kept listening to what Neko says and acknowledged her.
"Neko, what car are we talking about again?" I asked. Neko poked her jaw with her index finger.
"Hmm, my Papa owns a car, so he can help. Anyways, he is always the one sending me from one place to another."
"Papa?" I did not expect her to call her own father 'Papa', usually, it is 'dad'.
"Something wrong about it?" Neko asked.
"No- Nothing. Just wondering." I was trying to avoid getting the situation weird. I am just an introvert. I do not usually speak to people unless they start a conversation with me. I would answer them back if they asked me a question or tell me something important.
"Then, would you like to be my partner for the CCI work? You will have tons to work on but I promise it will be fun!" Neko requested. She pleaded, bowed, and I looked at her. Neko closed her eyes, really hoping that I would accept her request. Why me?
I am not good at music. Is there anything else that is better than music? I do not even know what the chords are.
"Sorry Neko, I-" I saw her eyes. Eyes that beg for me to be her partner fast like there is no tomorrow. "Only when I am...used to...being a girl." As I continued, I lowered my voice.
"What?! What did you just say Aroma-chan?" Neko was eager to know. But I snapped her off.
"Probably," I was not so sure about it.
"Hey, is that the car we are taking?" I saw a red car that has two doors and four seats. It has two black stripes and its engine is fierce. It is a racing car! Talk about a wealthy family and a fancy car.
"Yes, that is the useless car." She implied. Why useless? It looked expensive. Even I could not afford a car like that. I would rather die again than having to buy an expensive car.
The car stopped. Neko pulled my hand and entered the car.
"Hey, where are we going?" I asked. As the car drove off, a man spoke.
"Well, what do you think young lady? It is that place of rocking of course!" Asakura, Neko's father, is as if he is drunk.
Neko was looking outside the window of the car. There were traffic police everywhere on the street. I wonder what had happened. Drones we're flying everywhere too.
This Node 3 is indeed a well-developed state. In this Commonwealth, drones will be seen for the use of security and safety, to protect people from harm. That was what Neko told me along the way.
"Okay guys, let's go!" Asakura squealed. What is wrong with this guy? I made an innocent, confused look. He is not coming with us, is he? We reached our destination. It is a tall, massive, huge building. Some sort of headquarters. This is the first time I went here.
"Thanks, Papa. See you when I see you!" Neko waved goodbye to his father. So her father does not follow his daughter. What a good parent.
"Neko, what is this place?" I asked. I was clueless about this big building. Some kind of 30 shopping malls cramped together.
"This!" Neko paused. She took a deep breath. "This! This is where deejays work in, the CCI HQ. Wonderful right?" Her eyes sparkled again. As the sun has set, the lights of the HQ were switched on. All the lights lit up the whole building. It was heavenly.
"It's pretty..." Neko pointed out. I agreed. "...just like you, hehe!" My face was red. As red as a tomato.
"Wha-!" I could not finish my sentence. It was not even a full word. I was too embarrassed.
Neko had a wide smile on her face. Her white teeth and thin pink lips suit how cute she is. She gave me an optimistic look. In return, I grinned.
Neko grabbed my hand and we dashed inside the HQ. As I stepped into the world of music, there were all sorts of entertainment everywhere. I could hear wonderful music, orchestra, choir, pop-rock, remix, jazz and so much more categories of music.
There were also good-looking people and all of them were focusing on their playing. Not even one person will stop. This HQ runs for twenty-four hours daily. The music they played, made me get on my grooves. I was almost starting to hum when Neko dragged me to a registration counter. It is an enclosed room.
"Excuse me? I have a new member here, Aroma-chan, who chose to work here. D-ya have any empty slots?" Neko was suddenly serious. The atmosphere around me is so intense that I could root to the ground as the sound of the clicking of the keyboard was produced. The worker, typing her last letter, and the room broke silent.
"Excuse me, who do you think you are shrimp? Can't you see I'm busy right now? Who is this girl anyway? Give me a sec," the worker, wearing a badge that has the name 'Lukia' printed on it, was rude to Neko. I wanted to voice out, but fear held me back.
"Don't you think that was rude? Look at me, I'm cute, cute, meow." Neko tried hard to catch her attention. However, work is all Lukia can focus on right now. The wind of an air conditioner blew my hair. The smell, the aroma, reached Lukia's sensitive nose.
"What is this smell? Why is it so nice I could die peacefully? Ah... I'm melting," Lukia sneezed. "Oh, who is that behind you? A...goddess? I'm going to be taken away to heaven by the goddess?" It seems that Lukia is having hallucinations. I was just behind Neko, hiding my face from Lukia.
"Are you ignoring me now?" Neko shocked Lukia. "Listen, I want her to be my partner. I'm going to practice music with her. I'm going to play a song with her someday. I don't care how much the boss will pay us, but the most important thing is that both of us are going to be partners. Is that all right lady?" Neko banged the table with her small cute hands.
With all her heart, with all her might, she means it. With full of integrity, she promised while having her hand touch her chest.
"Watch me closely, I'm going to make this work no matter what!" Neko frowned. Being serious about what she had said. I was still standing behind her, watching her as she spouted all she has to say. Neko gave a hard, cold look at Lukia. She is giving eye contact that has a hint on something. What are they talking about? This is suspicious.
Understanding the situation, she nodded her head. She did not even speak a word about it. I had the instinct that something bad will happen. It is like Neko is keeping a secret. This is foreboding.
Lukia took a pen and a printed paper, a registration form. She signed it. The moment I peeked beside Neko's body, Lukia's face turned blushing. She managed to steal a glance. I instantly stood aside so that Lukia can see me and I bowed to her in respect.
"Haha. There's no need to be so formal here okay?" Lukia laughed.
"Eh? What about all the respect that I gave you for the past 7 months?" Neko interrupted.
"What respect? All you have is a bad attitude with no discipline at all! Shut up!"
"Um, you don't have to be rude. Sorry, this is someone else's business I should not deal with, but I beg you to be polite." I did all I could to sound friendly.
"I'm sorry that I had to put you into this situation. It's just that this idiot doesn't know how to shut her mouth," Lukia has gone irritated.
"What?! You dare say that again!" Neko yelled. She could not take the stress that she has bottled up minutes ago. However, the one who has been rude since just now was Lukia herself. What is going on with the two of them?
Neko grabbed Lukia's uniform and pulled her with one hand. She was closer to her face right now. There were tears accumulated at the edge of her eyes.
"I will never, EVER forgive you for this!" Neko screamed. I stood there and did not know what to do. The door was opened. A girl entered the room.
"What's going on here? Anyways chief executive officer. I, Nora, hereby decided that I want you to extend my contract length. No matter the cost, no matter how expensive I have to pay for the instruments, I don't give a damn but I want to stay here for as long as I can," Nora, technically a deejay, came in the right timing. She was cold towards the chief.
With her short, light blue-colored hair and blue-eyed, she remained calm. She was dead calm. Like nothing bothered her. Lukia wanted to scold her for her rudeness but she knows it is Nora, her favorite deejay.
Neko released Lukia's shirt. It was crumpled.
"Ah...ahh I see! Understood Nora!" Lukia filled in the extension form for Nora.
"Then," Neko spoke calmly, preventing another argument. "What about the registration form?" Neko interrogated.
"Ok, it's fine I guess." Lukia, for once, answered Neko's question politely.
"Registration form? Who?" It was a calm voice. It was Nora's. Her voice, her breath. All of us in the room felt the chilling atmosphere.
"Me," I stepped forward, facing Nora. She gazed at me. I did not know why she looked at me like that, but again, the atmosphere is intense. Lukia clapped twice loudly. Not once, but twice.
"Well, that means she saw something in you young beauty." Lukia voiced out. Who is this Nora? A deejay? She looks too professional for a deejay. She looked like an expert.
"Listen here girly," Nora said. She turned back, facing the exit door, and turned her head to the left. Her eyes were still on me. Her eyes were looking serious. There was no joke to it. "Don't mess up with anything you encounter."
"Understood," I acknowledged Nora. She was all cool.
"Hm. Nora, you are dismissed." Lukia was all done and settled Nora's contract.
"Yes, understood chief." Nora acknowledged. She opened the door and went out of the room. Nora was a little worried the moment the door was barely closed.
"Well then, time for the two of you to go into Neko's room. Don't worry, I had signed them," Lukia grinned. Then her expression changed.
"However, before becoming a member of the CCI, you will need to pass an entry exam," Lukia explained. She continued.
"This will be held next week. It's either you pass or fail. By hook or by crook, it's either you get promoted or expelled from this HQ forever," She was very serious about this.
Neko did not accept the fact that I will be expelled forever if I failed the exam. She preferred retakes. However, that was the last choice we could make. And so I took up the risk. Neko was very apprehensive about my decision.
We went to Neko's room. The first thing we heard was music. The door was not locked. Neko opened the door. A screen showed 'Brain Power'. It is a remix song as soon as the beat drop occurred. Talk about nice timing.
"Woah! Onee-chan?! What are you doing here?" Neko was stunned. She had a sister. That is amazing. Her sister placed her headset down on the table and the music paused.
"Ah, Neko. I see. You had made a new friend, didn't you?" Her sister said as she was glad.
"Yeah, got a problem with that?" Neko crossed her arms with her eyes closed.
"Hm, I see." Her sister said.
"Anyways, why is the door unlocked? What if you get taken by some kidnappers?" Neko frowned. Neko is just too worried about anything that concerns her.
"Darling, you know that's impossible, right? By the way, Neko's beloved friend. My name is Shinji, Asakura Shinji. Shinji is fine by me. Nice to meet you!"
"D-d-darling?!". Neko blushed, feeling embarrassed as she was called 'darling' in front of me.
"I, uh... I'm Aroma. Nice to meet you." I introduced myself as I bowed to her.
"Oh, Aroma. Suits your name, smell and look. You're pretty. I'm sure many people have a liking for you." Shinji complimented. I was embarrassed.
"Jeez, Onee-chan." Neko was at the side, making a ticked-off face.
"Jealous?" Shinji teased her. She is a very good person I would say. She was all polite and caring.
"O-of course not!" Shinji knows what Neko thinks. I can see the bond between them. They are so close. The way I looked at them. I did not know what it feels like to have a sibling. In front of my eyes were siblings that have a great bond with each other. Wonderful.
I was just Aroma. I did not know who my family is. I did not even know if I had a family or not. I did not know what it feels like to have a family. Maybe an example of having a family is right in front of my eyes right now.
I kneeled and covered my eyes. It was abrupt. I did not know what else there is for me here in the afterlife. I was left with nothing. I just had nothing.
"Why can't I just die again right here? What is there for me here? Why the heck am I even here for? Why does this have to happen to me? All of this is just pointless! I just want to live a free life." I cried as I kneeled. My eyes were full of tears. I just could not take it, again.
When both Neko and Shinji heard me, they stopped fighting childishly. Shinji walked towards me. She kneeled too, in the same position as me. With both her cold hands, she patted my shoulders. Then with her one hand, she stroked my fine hair.
"Look Aroma. You were the chosen one. If it weren't for this Cytus world of music, you probably don't even know Neko and me now. Somehow, you were chosen. To change this world." Shinji's calm voice. She smiled gently as I looked into her eyes. She is so kind. However, I disagreed.
"Then, what about me? What do you mean by changing the world?" Was I exaggerating? I did not know what I was thinking.
"That is for you to find out yourself. You are the only person who knows the answer in secret." Shinji whispered. Neko gasped. She did not know what was going on. And wait, I am the only one who knows the answer? Do not give me that crap. I do not know why I was here. My tears stopped.
Shinji hugged me. Her body is warm. She hugged me tightly. I was useless, clueless about what is going on around me.
"You know, I was like you when I was your age. I didn't want my life. I would rather throw it away than having to play music in this afterworld," Shinji let out her feelings. She heaved a sigh of relief. "Maybe you are the only person who can change this afterworld with your talent." She continued.
"But I don't have musical talent," I told her.
"Then practice. Practice until you can't. Until you become the executive member of CCI. Just like my beloved little sister there." There, I realized. In this music world, I will have to surpass Neko. Surpass everyone and find the truth behind this mysterious quest. To find the answer behind this, I will have to find the person who is behind all this. All that resulted in the death of myself.
"Understood!" I wiped my tears. We stood up.
"Neko, where can I stay? Where can I live?" I was eager to find that answer and wanted to stay with them.
"Eh?!" Neko was stunned. "Already? Come on!" That was just so cute of her. Just like a kid wanting more of what she wants.
"No, no. I mean, it's already two. It's already middle of the night." It was silly of Neko.
"Ah, okay then! Set on my soulmate! Live at my place then!" Neko felt silly, giving a thumbs up. However, she felt enthusiastic and looked forward to having me living with her.
Shinji looked content. All of us checked out from the CCI HQ. Just as we stepped out of the HQ, both of them looked nauseous.
"Oh shoot, we're really gonna die once we reach home. Mom is gonna kill us. This is bad." As I heard them being gloomy about reaching home late, I chuckled. My stomach hurts. Not in a bad way, but it was really funny of the siblings. They are just similar. They would not call their father to pick us up. They knew that they will be in big trouble.
We were at the boulevard when I saw a similar car. The same man. Wearing shades.
"It's him!" Both of them shouted. We ran towards the car and knocked on the door twice.
Asakura unlocked the door. We went inside the car. He was just fine. We focused on him more than ever. He was spouting some nonsense words from his mouth. And he laughed. He has gone drunk!
Shinji went close to him, cracking her knuckles, and punched him in the face forcefully. Neko's eyes were sparkling, expecting it to happen. Asakura woke up from his dream.
Asakura startled. He quickly started the engine and raced home.
"How was your day folks! Haha." He asked. He has great focus even though he was driving the car fast while asking us a question.
"All good. Wait, focus on your driving, Papa!" Shinji answered for us.
"Come on, don't be a mad hottie, you will look older the more you are stressed out, right?" Asakura went weird. Maybe because he is drunk that is.
Twenty minutes later, we reached Neko's home. It was big. Like a mansion. So her family is wealthy.
Asakura knocked on the entrance door and half of his awareness is gone. To where? He is still half-drunk probably. If not, even he would not be able to get the right password to unlock the glass door. The door opened. Just like a shopping mall.
The first thing we saw is a ghost. No such thing as ghosts right? It has long curly hair wrinkled along her face. We were consumed by fear. We rubbed our eyes. The second we looked at her, she was a lovely lady. Probably Neko's mother.
"Oh my, oh my," as her hair covers her eyes, they could still be seen. The eyes of a devil's. However, it is the opposite. "Let's have fun together guys!" The way she spoke. She raised her hair. There is no mistake that the mother had gone drunk too! There were eyebags. So we could tell.
"Okay Aroma, make yourself at home! You can sleep with Neko first. We will go with the introduction in the morning." Asakura said.
We were tired. Neko, Asakura, Shinji and her mother went to their respective bedrooms. I followed Neko.
Inside her bedroom, has a Queen-sized bed.
"Woah, what a big room," I wandered around in her room.
"Let's go to sleep. I'm already tired, nya!" Neko yawned. I grabbed a pillow and slept on the carpet. Well, it would not be nice to barge into someone's room the first time. Neko washed her face in the washroom and went back to her bed. It was all good.
"Hey Aroma-chan, you had fun?" Neko asked before she went to sleep.
"Yeah, thanks a lot Neko, you are the reason I'm here."
"I'm glad then," Neko said and passed out to her sleep.
With that, it was a very great day to end with. I learned a lot from Shinji. Has she gone through a lot? Has she been like this? I would just ask her the next day I wake up. I closed my eyes, expecting a good night's sleep and a good dream.