Chapter 38: Siren’s Call

A/N: Drawing K/DA in like a siren's call~

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"Hang on a second, the studio is soundproofed. They won't be able to hear us."

It's the next morning and they're all just stepping over the threshold into Huntrix Tower's main studio space when Mira raises what Amadeus has to admit is quite the good point. All of them pause and look at each other, with him and Rumi tilting their heads to the side as they acknowledge Mira's words.

… Zoey, on the other hand, looks at Mira like the other woman just killed her favorite pet. Her cheeks puff out, her eyes water, and she clutches her hands into small fists as a low whine fills the air. In that moment, cuteness overload has Amadeus immediately wanting to try to find a way to fix things… and Zoey isn't even directing this unfathomable power towards him!

It's a testament to Mira's 'Devil May Care' attitude that she stands strong in the face of Zoey's response, crossing her arms over her chest and arching a brow. However… she only lasts a handful of seconds in the end before she too breaks. With a huff, Mira rolls her eyes and averts her gaze.

"Whatever. We can just leave the door open. Won't be soundproof then, will it?"

Oh, that did work nicely, didn't it? Zoey immediately switches from looking like she's about to cry to cheering and embracing Mira, hugging her arm while the taller girl's lips quirk up in a smile she's trying to restrain. Rumi just grins while Amadeus chuckles. From there, they move over to the equipment.

"What were we even thinking about playing, exactly?"

Rumi bites her lower lip for a moment before finally shrugging.

"I had… something I thought we could try. Something that's been lurking inside of me since Namsan Tower. Didn't get a chance to let it out there. Was too busy… eating Gwi-Ma."

Rumi blushes, prompting them all to move to comfort her. Last night's cuddle pile had been quite enjoyable; Amadeus had to admit. This quick group hug was just as enjoyable, and it brings a smile to Rumi's face, as well as a certain confidence to her frame.

"Let's… let's do it. Let's see if there's something here we can work with."

Amadeus gets out of the way and watches as the girls get ready. The door to the studio remains wide open too, and given Ahri and Evelynn aren't human, they should have the enhanced senses to overhear what's going on here.

Honestly, he just hopes that K/DA doesn't give up on creating music altogether. While it was clear that they weren't too happy performing at the concert where he'd met them, there was also no denying that the four young women were extremely talented individuals. They deserved to have the chance to exercise those talents of their own volition, in his opinion.

But as Rumi begins to sing… Amadeus honestly forgets all about K/DA, her voice and her words drawing his full attention.

"Nothing but the truth now,

Nothing but the proof of what I am

The worst of what I came from, patterns I'm ashamed of,

Things that even I don't understand "

Rumi's voice takes Amadeus' breath away. But that's nothing compared to the impact it seems to have on Mira and Zoey. They look equal parts yearning and stricken by what she's saying… what she's singing.

"I tried to fix it, I tried to fight it

My head was twisted, my heart divided

My lies all collided

I don't know why I didn't trust you to be on my side"

It's a confession and a cry for help wrapped up in one, Amadeus realizes. Rumi is bearing everything she has in these words… it goes beyond mere music.

"I broke into a million pieces, and I can't go back

But now I'm seeing all the beauty in the broken glass

The scars are part of me, darkness and harmony

My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like…"

Zoey has her hands over her mouth by the time Rumi trails off, her eyes once again glistening with unshed tears. Mira looks hunted, like she doesn't know if she can handle being here. Amadeus watches on as Rumi looks between them, fidgeting and squirming under their gazes.

"S-So… yeah, that was pretty much what I had so far. I don't know. I just… maybe it's silly. Maybe it can be reworked or something."

Mira is the first to break the silence with a shake of her head.

"No."

Zoey is quick to follow it up, even as Rumi blinks stupidly.

"Don't you dare, Rumi. Don't change a single word! That was… beautiful! Let's run through it again, I have some ideas!"

Rumi looks surprised, even as Zoey grabs one of her hands and also one of Mira's, pulling them altogether. After a moment, Rumi hesitantly begins to sing again, going through the lines one more. And then, right at the end, Zoey hops in instead of letting things go quiet.

"Why did I cover up the colors stuck inside my head?"

And Mira…

"I should've let the jagged pieces meet the light instead!"

Rumi looks startled and then exuberant as all three of them come together from there to sing in a three-part harmony.

"Show me what's underneath, I'll find your harmony

The song we couldn't write, this is what it sounds like!"

Amadeus feels the resonation in the air. Even if he arrived late to the party, coming in after the three of them had nearly been torn apart by Gwi-Ma and his demons to save Rumi in the nick of time… he can feel the sheer emotion wafting off of all three young women. They continue to sing with one another, continuing to add lines and harmonizing as they throw ideas back and forth.

It's truly a sight to behold, watching them bring a song to life in real time. Amadeus is so engrossed by what he's seeing that he actually doesn't notice when the first member of K/DA slips into the room. Akali moves with a silence and a stealthiness that means Amadeus misses her completely, moving to close to his side but not too close and watching Huntrix go at it.

It's not until Ahri arrives that Amadeus notices… and subsequently nearly jumps out of his skin when he realizes how close Akali got in the meantime. K/DA's rapper gives him an amused glance before focusing back on Rumi, Zoey, and Mira, her arms crossed over her chest and her foot tapping to their singing.

Ahri, meanwhile, looks a lot less certain of herself. Her fox ears twitch towards the idol trio and she clearly doesn't want to go anywhere, but she also seems hesitant, like she's not sure she really belongs. Amadeus makes sure to give her a reassuring smile and when that doesn't work, he moves to her side to quietly speak to her.

"Hey… how are you doing, Ahri? I hope you slept alright."

Ahri grimaces.

"It was… fine."

Immediately Amadeus frowns.

"If there's anything we can do to make you more comfortable, just say the word…"

But Ahri is quick to shake her head.

"N-No, it's not that. The bed was fine… better than fine even, it was great. Just… nightmares. About Millennium and us not really getting out. Doubt they'll go away any time soon."

Now it's Amadeus' turn to grimace. He would be lying if he said he hadn't had a couple of nightmares himself since he woke up five hundred years in the future. Dreams where Lucrezah flew high in the air over him and made sure to finish the job. Where her expression was one of sadistic vindictiveness rather than the stricken expression he remembers on her face.

… But admittedly, it helped having Grayfia in the early days and now Huntrix as well to hold while he slept. Being able to cuddle with his loved ones made all the difference on those nights where the nightmares tried to creep up on him. Ahri didn't have that and Amadeus wasn't dumb enough to think they were at a point where he could just offer it to her.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Rest assured, we won't let Millennium take you girls back. No matter what, I'll make sure you all remain free."

Ahri doesn't seem to know how to respond to that. Akali winds up doing so instead, letting out a derisive snort.

"You really mean that, don't you? You're not just saying shit… you're actually going to put yourself between us and them, even if it gets you killed."

He can't help but smile crookedly at that.

"They aren't nearly as threatening as all of that. I'm not afraid of Millennium, Akali."

She gazes at him for a long moment before tilting her head to the side.

"And what about all the others? Evelynn practically threw our secrets in your face last night. What happens when everyone those contracts held at bay decides to come after us? Are you willing to go up against all of them as well?"

Amadeus narrows his eyes at that, thinking back to what Evelynn had said last night. She'd mentioned she was the last scion of a dead devil clan and that Ahri was half-kumiho, half-kitsune, and also alluded to Akali and Kai'Sa having 'human connections' he could 'leverage to his benefit'.

… But the truth was, Amadeus really didn't know what to make of any of that. Maybe he and Evelynn could find common ground based on their shared history from the sound of things, but other than that, he didn't know what Ahri's parentage meant, or what sort of human connections Akali and Kai'Sa had. Well… Akali apparently came from a ninja clan or something, he supposed.

That all said, he had no clue what he was agreeing to here right now… and yet, that doesn't stop Amadeus from shrugging all the same.

"If need be… yes."

Akali's eyes widen at that, but before she can respond, Kai'Sa and Evelynn slip through the open studio door as well, the two of them drawn in by the singing.

Evelynn's eyes sweep over him, Ahri, and Akali for a moment but she can't seem to meet his gaze and she quickly focuses on Rumi, Zoey, and Mira who are singing over on the other side of the studio. Kai'Sa, on the other hand, makes a beeline for him, until Amadeus is forced to turn and regard her as she stops in front of him.

"Did you mean what you said last night?"

He'd said a lot, but Amadeus doesn't bother asking her to clarify, nor does he hesitate in his response.

"Every last word of it."

Kai'Sa bites her lower lip, her eyes flickering over to Huntrix before moving back to him.

"What if… what if I wanted to join your peerage and be reincarnated as a Devil? Is that on the table at all?"

Amadeus blinks in surprise, even as an eavesdropping Evelynn squawks in outrage while Akali and Ahri both jolt in surprise. Stomping over, the only natural devil of K/DA growls at Kai'Sa.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, asking for something like that? Do you want to trade one form of slavery for another?!"

But Kai'Sa just looks back at Evelynn unflinching and implacable, her gaze steady.

"What I want… is power. Enough power to tell my family to fuck off. Enough power to make sure a group like Millennium can never hurt me ever again."

Evelynn's mouth opens and closes but no sound comes out, the devil seemingly rendered speechless. Kai'Sa maintains her gaze as she continues on.

"You and Ahri have your own power. Akali has her training. But me? I just dance good. That's all I've ever had, is my dancing. Good enough to be scouted by Millennium and get out from under my parents' thumb to live my own life… or so I thought. But in the end, when Millennium tricked me into signing that stupid contract with all of you, there was nothing I could do about it but continue to dance. Dance until my heels bled."

Evelynn flinches at that last bit before finally rallying.

"… Neither Ahri nor I could escape either, for all our so-called power. Becoming a devil isn't necessarily the right call, Kai'Sa. You could come to regret it."

Kai'Sa shrugs.

"Maybe. But at least I'll have made the choice with both eyes wide open. You've ensured that."

Amadeus can tell that scores a rather hefty hit against Evelynn. She's rocked back by the sincerity in Kai'Sa's words and clearly doesn't know how to respond to the unvarnished appreciation in her fellow idol's voice. She averts her gaze, mumbling unintelligibly as she stares at the floor.

Deciding it's probably his turn to interject, Amadeus clears his throat.

"It's on the table, yes."

All four members of K/DA snap their gazes to him at that. Amadeus meets them all with a level look of his own.

"However, I'm not going to reincarnate anyone today. Or tomorrow, more than likely. All of you deserve a chance to get your feet under you before you make any big decisions like that. Evelynn is right about that much at least… you should be absolutely sure about this before you take the leap."

They all relax, though Kai'Sa looks a little disappointed. Still, as Amadeus meets each of their eyes, he can tell… he's finally getting through to them all. Even Evelynn is looking at him as if she might actually believe he could be partially what he claims to be.

Meanwhile, Huntrix has finished up and made their way over to all of them. Amadeus looks to the three with a smile.

"You were amazing, girls."

Rumi has a broad grin on her face, Mira a smirk, and Zoey a cheery smile. All three are slightly sweaty and slightly breathless from their 'jam session' as Zoey referred to it. The song they'd spontaneously made together was truly a spectacular one, but it would probably need some more tweaks before they were truly satisfied.

That doesn't stop Rumi from looking to Ahri, leader to leader, and nodding.

"Good to see you girls all up and at 'em. I don't want to presume… but would you like to join us? We could play around with some things and make some tunes before lunch?"

Ahri looks to the other members of K/DA… and when none raise an objection, she nods.

"Sure. Sounds good to us."

Evelynn huffs, flicking her hair behind her.

"I suppose we'll have to show you how it's done."

Mira snorts derisively.

"That would certainly be a change."

But Amadeus can tell the cattiness is playfully intended. He grins as he watches the seven female musicians moving off together… and while they do so, he goes ahead and closes the door to the studio properly before moving to join them all.

Maybe he was being too optimistic… but he really did think everything was going to turn out just fine.

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The Vote:

[X] Switch to Lucrezah's POV - 39%

[X] Switch to Gabriel's POV - 43%

[ ] Switch to Yasaka's POV - 18%

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