Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

Kagura is an ancient sacrificial dance from the 11th District. It originated from the performances of worshiping and paying homage to gods in primitive clan society. It can be said to be the "first dance", that is, the prototype of modern dance.

To date, Kagura has been subdivided into more than 2 types depending on the deity being worshipped, local customs, clothing, props held, accompanying instruments, etc., and has even expanded to include singing, dancing, rap and other performance forms.

This set of [Izumo Sword Dance] is obviously a dance that involves holding swords to worship gods.

"I've told you so many times that you're weak to begin with. Don't be like those girls who only eat vegetables and no rice in order to lose weight."

Father Xia dragged his feet as he passed by, glanced at the empty soup bowl and the untouched rice, and muttered something.

……

After helping his parents close the store, Xia Fan stayed at home overnight.

The Xia family did not have a separate residence, but they "stole" a narrow attic only two meters high above the shop.

"From what mom said just now, because of my illness, my family owes more than 10 million yen?"

"The competition will start in a few days. I wonder if Miss Xingming's song recording went smoothly. How much can this song "Sakura" help me earn?"

Lying on the narrow bed that carried countless childhood memories, Xia Fan was filled with thoughts.

"hiss……"

Suddenly, Xia Fan felt dizzy and a severe headache came over him.

"Well."

He covered his mouth skillfully, trying not to make any sound so as not to disturb his parents.

"This time, it lasted longer."

It was unknown how long it was before he sat up from the bed with a pale face and wiped the blood from his nose.

The primary brain tumor that Xia Fan suffers from may cause complications such as auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, epilepsy, headaches, vomiting, blindness, neurological disorders, and paralysis as the disease progresses.

Although gene-targeted drugs can inhibit the growth of cancer cells, drug resistance will increase over time, and they can only be replaced with a new generation of drugs.

However, the speed of drug research and development and upgrading cannot keep up with the growth of drug resistance.

When there are no new drugs available, the disease will often enter the terminal stage in a short period of time.

"Is it true as 'Temukami' said, that I only have one year left?"

Xia Fan, who has changed his medication three times, has begun to suffer from complications such as headaches, nosebleeds, and dizziness more and more frequently. It is obvious that he does not have much time left.

Chapter 8 Fieldwork

2024-07-13

"No matter if he is an evil god or not, completing the 'oracle' and gaining enough faith to exchange for a 'prayer' opportunity to cure my illness is my only chance of survival right now."

“It’s going to take some serious planning.”

Thinking of this, Xia Fan's eyes became firm and serious.

"The growth of faith has slowed down. The effect of that advertising flyer has almost reached its limit."

The speed at which faith increases has dropped significantly compared to noon. The current accumulated faith value is slowly staying at [231], which is still quite a distance away from the 1000 mark.

The daily customer flow of KKC stores in several major business districts in Tokyo is conservatively estimated to be tens of thousands. Judging from this, every point of increased faith value represents more than ten customers who have seen the posters and have a favorable impression of their image.

The growth rate of belief has slowed down, probably because most of the customers with "similar aesthetics" have already seen the flyer he took. Even if the same person sees it several more times, they will not be able to generate belief due to "aesthetic fatigue".

"The Faith Points are not enough, and there are a lot of unfinished Oracles."

The oracles he has not yet completed include "Let ten thousand people listen to the sacrificial song", "The cumulative faith value exceeds 1000" and "Perform the 'Izumo Sword Dance' in front of a thousand people".

Except for the unlimited way to accumulate faith points, the other two oracles must be completed through specific actions.

"As for the festival song, I should be able to achieve my goal after the music awards. But for the sword dance, do we really have to go out and do it on the street? With more than a thousand people, we'll have to go to places like Akihabara or Shinjuku. It feels a bit embarrassing..."

While thinking about his next plan, Xia Fan finally couldn't resist the sleepiness, his eyelids drooped, and he fell into a deep sleep.

He had long been accustomed to sleeping in the dead of night with the fear of death, not knowing whether he would be able to wake up tomorrow.

……

A few hours later, the moon was rising above the branches and Xia Fan was sleeping soundly.

"I thought that after I exhausted my last bit of faith and performed miracles, I would fall into a deep sleep for a while. But I didn't expect that this kid would gain faith equivalent to conquering an entire village in just one day."

In the shadow at the foot of the bed, a little girl wearing a black kimono, with black hair and black eyes, squirmed and stood up.

She has delicate features, skin as white as snow, and a pair of big, flowing eyes that exude a natural charm.

"But how did he do that when he obviously never left his house most of the time and never fought or preached?"

"According to his plan, in a world thousands of years from now, people can gain faith just by selling their bodies, festival songs and Kagura. Has humanity become so superficial and degenerate to this extent?"

"Forget it. I have been asleep for thousands of years. I don't mind a little more time to observe..."

"Moreover, the knowledge about the parallel worlds in this person's awakened memories of the 'mystery in the womb' is quite interesting and worth reading."

The childish appearance forms a strong contrast with the archaic wording and vicissitudes of life tone.

"However, gaining faith in such a weak and peaceful way is not the right way after all. I absolutely do not agree with it!"

"Once I understand the reason and have accumulated enough strength, I will take over this body and conquer the world myself, so that the humans who betrayed me in the past will remember the power of the 'Ame-no-God'."

She just quietly watched Xia Fan falling asleep, muttering to herself.

……

Two days later, in the recording department of Company B building.

"how is it going?"

In the lounge, Hoshina Hanami clasped her hands in front of her chest, her face full of anticipation.

Sitting next to her was Xia Fan, who was wearing headphones and listening with his head lowered.

"Well, compared to the last demo, the technical proficiency, the fluency of the song, and the confidence in the singing have all improved a lot."

Taking off his headphones, Xia Fan nodded in admiration.

"In terms of emotional expression, I think it's basically up to standard."

After hesitating for a moment, he added.

The Hoshina Hanami in front of us looked much more haggard than before because she had been working all night in the recording studio for the past two days. She also looked even more pitiful, which made people reluctant to blame her.

"Basically qualified? Indeed, I also think there is still room for improvement in terms of relationships, but I always fail to grasp the key point."

"Tonight is the final deadline for submitting songs for the competition. Is this the only version I can submit first? But I still don't have confidence in my performance of the emotional part during live singing."

Hoshina Hanami held her little face in distress.

"As for feelings, why not refer to the scene where everyone takes graduation photos under the cherry blossom trees?"

Touching his chin, Xia Fan suggested.

The main themes of the song "Sakura" are separation, anticipation of reunion and blessings, which fits in well with District 11's custom of holding graduation ceremonies in the cherry blossom rain.

"I'm ashamed to say that because of my parents' work, I kept changing schools in elementary and junior high school. In my second year of high school, I was signed by an agency to be a trainee. I missed the graduation seasons of elementary, junior high, and high school, and I never experienced that kind of scene in person."

As if her sorrow was touched upon, tears began to well up in Hoshina Hanami's eyes.

"Oh, ha ha ha, the live performance is the day after tomorrow, and you still haven't grasped the emotions of the song yet?"

"As a singer-songwriter like me who writes and composes the lyrics, I don't have to worry about these things."

Sakamoto Hide, with his long flowing hair, came to the lounge at some point, with one hand on his waist and a disdainful smile.

"Well, since you are fully prepared, why did you come to the recording studio today?"

Xia Fan asked curiously.

"I... I just have other things to do at the company, and I just want to confirm the last recorded version of the song... I'm very busy and don't have time to chat with you two rookies..."

As if being asked about his pain point, Sakamoto Hide's expression froze slightly and he hurried into the recording studio.

"This guy must have been the type of student who pretended to be relaxed on the surface but stayed up all night to practice questions in secret."

Xia Fan curled his lips.

"Even the studio version is barely passable... What about the live performance... What about the debut... Will I disappoint President Tachibana's expectations..."

"Feelings, feelings of separation, flower viewing, quickly imagine it..."

Hoshina Hanami, who was standing beside him, had fallen into a "self-tense cycle" and had no time to listen to him.

"Oh, isn't it the 'cherry blossom graduation season'? Why not go out and collect materials on the spot? If you imprint similar scenes in your mind, you will have an emotional anchor when you sing."

Thinking of a solution, Xia Fan grabbed his backpack and stood up.

……

Three hours later, at the Changgong Bridge Park.

"What a mistake!"

"Although the cherry blossoms in Tokyo have bloomed early, there is still a week before graduation season begins, and no one has come to take graduation photos yet."

Xia Fan took out two bottles of juice from a roadside vending machine and handed one to Hoshina Hanami.

"Thanks……"

"It's because I don't have enough imagination and life experience, so I can't deeply understand the emotions in the song. However, I've been in the recording studio for the past two days. I came out to get some fresh air and I feel much better. I have to thank you, Xia Jun."

Looking up at the cherry blossom buds about to bloom on the branches on both sides of the road, Xing Minghua stretched lazily and began to comfort Xia Fan in return.

Chapter 9: Cherry Blossoms Not Yet Full

2024-07-13

In two hours, she and Xia Fan visited Tokyo Tower, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Ueno Park, and Sangubashi Park, several cherry blossom viewing spots in Tokyo...

However, only the cherry blossoms were just beginning to bloom, and the student groups were still struggling hard during the "exam week". No one wore school uniforms to take graduation photos.

"The cherry blossoms in Tokyo are not in full bloom yet, so it seems that we can't collect footage on site. I'll look for some similar videos on the Internet for your reference."

"Well, I will try to cultivate my emotions and find the feeling again."

Amid the gently falling cherry blossoms, the two walked side by side along the park trail until they came to a complex intersection where railroad tracks, roads, and zebra crossings intersected.

"Ok?"

Xia Fan suddenly felt a chill on his back, and subconsciously stopped and looked behind him.

"Are you dazzled?"

At the end of the ramp above, there was a vague white figure with long hair covering the face, but when you looked closely, there was no one there.

"Well, Xia Jun, not only did you give me such a great debut song, you also helped me with guidance over the past two days. It's really..."

Not noticing his abnormality, Xing Ming Hana's face turned slightly red. She still walked forward with her head down, muttering something in a low voice.

"Um, what did you just say?"

When Xia Fan withdrew his gaze from the empty ramp, a railway gate had already separated him and the girl.

"Ding dong, ding dong..."

The traffic lights flashed alternately, and the barrier closed before their eyes, separating the two of them. It was obvious that a train was about to pass.

"It's getting late, let's just part ways here. I'll take the subway home from over there."

Xia Fan smiled helplessly and waved to Xing Minghuajian on the other side of the gate.

Once this gate is closed, trains will continue to pass through and pedestrians will not be able to pass for at least ten minutes.

"Xia Jun... on the day of the live performance..."

Watching the sunny boy waving at me amidst the flaming sunset and the sparse cherry blossoms...

"Will you come and cheer me up?"

Hoshina Hana saw her chest rise and fall, so she mustered up the courage to ask.

"I……"

But just as Xia Fan opened his mouth to answer, trains roared past from both sides of the track, obliterating all sound and sight.

"..."