Chapter Text
Marcille really, really wanted to kick Laios out.
It was six in the evening. Band practice started at 5:30, and Laios was supposed to be there with takeout food by 5:45, but he called Marcille saying that the usual takeout place was closed, so he was going to find somewhere else.
He showed up fifteen minutes later carrying two bags and a dopey smile. One of the band members who had already arrived, Senshi, opened the door and grabbed a bag before looking inside and smiling (though it was hard to see his face obstructed by his massive beard).
“Laios, my boy, you went to the place I recommended!” The short man said in a gruff voice that matched his appearance.
At his words, Marcille froze. Senshi was a chef known for having an interesting diet and making meals composed of equally interesting ingredients. Laios was a food critic of peculiar dishes and Senshi’s biggest fan. Whenever they collaborated on food, the outcome was dangerous. Last time they made a meal together, Marcille was fed fried pigeon legs. She became a vegetarian and was scared of birds for the next month.
“Laios, where did you get that from?” She spoke in a low tone, trying to hide her nervousness. Sitting on the couch next to her, the guitarist Izutsumi smelled the air and gagged.
“No mushrooms! Why did you get mushrooms?!” She stuck her tongue out and buried her face into her hands. As the youngest member of the group, she acted like it. Ever since she joined the band, though, they had gained more popularity thanks to her Twitch streaming fame, so she was a welcome addition.
Laios and Senshi put the bags on the living room table. “I thought it would be fun for us to try something new!” The blonde man said with a smile. “So, when I was walking here empty handed, I remembered a place Senshi told me about. American cuisine!”
Marcille and the man on the other side of the couch, Chilchuck, sighed. They both were wary whenever it was Laios’s turn to bring food. American cuisine was one of his tamer choices.
Laios pulled a sandwich out of the bag that looked like a normal burger. “I present to you… the Turducken burger!”
Marcille, Chilchuck, and Izutsumi stared at him blankly.
“The… what?”
“Should I die now or later?”
Laios lifted up the top bun to reveal an interesting looking meat with mushrooms, lettuce, mustard, and pickles as toppings. “I got mine with some toppings you guys might not like, but I think they enhance the flavor!”
“No mushrooms.” Izutsumi mumbled.
Marcille waved her hands in front of her face. “No, wait, go back. What is a turducken?”
Senshi took a bite out of his own burger. “It’s usually prepared as a chicken stuffed inside of a duck stuffed inside of a turkey, but since this is a meat patty, it’s all three of those meats ground into one.”
Marcille felt her soul leave her body.
Unlike Marcille, Chilchuck was used to their random food picks. He shrugged and reached for one of the burgers, before lifting up the bun and seeing that there were no mushrooms. He handed that burger to Izutsumi and got his own.
“Chicken is good… I like poultry,” Izutsumi mumbled with her mouth full, which prompted Senshi to elbow her and remind her of the importance of table manners. He was met with a catlike hiss in return.
The band was all happily eating, except for Marcille. She sat with a pout on her face and her arms crossed. “I am NOT eating a furducky.”
“Turducken,” Laios corrected, “and it isn’t something to fear! My sister spends a lot of time in America and this is one of her favorite meals.”
Chilchuck sighed. “Marcille, just eat it so we can start practice. It’s not bad.”
The blonde girl didn’t budge.
“Eat it or I’ll tell Senshi to make pigeon again.”
“Yes, that’s a great meal!”
With a gulp, Marcille took a bite.
-
“See you tomorrow, guys!” Marcille yelled out the door as Senshi, Izutsumi, and Chilchuck left. Band practice had gone well. Laios, Senshi, and Izutsumi were in good moods because of the food. Izutsumi argued much less than usual, though she did end up breaking a string on her guitar and had to take a break to let Chilchuck repair it.
Marcille closed the door and walked back over to the couch where Laios was waiting. Since he lived in the apartment building directly next to her, they tended to hang out together more than the other members. They weren’t similar in terms of personality or interests, but somehow they still got along.
“You sounded good tonight!” The blonde man said with a smile. “I wish I could sing. Are you sure I can’t try it again?”
Marcille had flashbacks to the last time he tried. Despite having impressive skill with the bass guitar, he was tone deaf when it came to singing. “Never again.”
“Aw. My sister has a good singing voice. I guess it doesn’t run in the family.”
Marcille flipped her hair over her shoulder with a smug look. “Is she as good as me?”
“No…”
“Yes!”
“…she’s better!”
Marcille smacked him across the face.
Laios, with his high pain tolerance (and Marcille’s lack of arm strength) just laughed. “It’s been a while since I’ve heard her, but when we were little, she and I would go play in the forest and she would sing. She was like a Disney princess with the way that the animals would flock to her!”
“Like what type of animals? Cute little bluebirds?” Marcille could picture herself in a flowing dress, sitting on a stump in the woods with colorful birds swirling around her as she sang like an angel.
“A hawk landed on her arm once! I was so jealous.”
Marcille’s dream popped like a balloon.
“There were lots of animals.” Laios’s eyes lit ablaze like how they did whenever he got to talking about animals or food. “There were lots of wild dogs, deer, rabbits…”
“Aw, I love bunnies! You should’ve kept one as a pet!”
“…bears, wolves, giant salamanders, which taste really good, by the way…”
Marcille clapped her hand over her friend’s mouth. “Yep, I’m stopping you there. You aren’t ruining my vision of the country for me. I’m imagining it to be tranquil and artistic. Wildlife and fauna are great for paintings. Why’d you even move? Didn’t you like it there better?”
“I’m happy to be in the city now.” Laios smiled, but it looked distant. “Me and my sister weren’t exactly liked in our village. We were too weird. No one had any ambitions, but we did. We weren’t satisfied with small lives when there was a whole world to explore. But here, in the city, I’ve met lots of people like me!”
Marcille giggled. “Yeah, like your chef soulmate. I guess we are a pretty odd bunch. An artist, a chef, a critic, a dad, and a… what does Izutsumi do again?”
“Streamer! She’s popular, too. She had a stream where she-“
“And one of those… isn’t exactly your average band. Yet somehow, we sold out our venue tomorrow.”
Laios stood up. “Speaking of tomorrow, I need to get to bed. I have to wake up early tomorrow to pick someone up, and then I’m going to this new restaurant that opened! Hey, wanna come? Their menu is based entirely on pufferfish!” His eyes lit up. “I’m gonna try the type that has enough poison to kill you if it isn’t prepared correctly. Come with me!”
“Bye, Laios.” Marcille pushed him out the door.
-
-
-
“La la la la…. mi mi mi mi…”
“Shut up! I’m trying to tune!” Izutsumi hissed at Marcille as she angrily turned the tuning knobs of her guitar.
“Here, Izutsumi. You can use my tuner!” Laios handed the small object to her, but she smacked it away.
“My ears are better than any stupid tuner.” She strummed out a chord. “See? Perfect. Now you can go, stupid blond girl.”
Marcille made a fist at her side. She was Izutsumi’s favorite to pick on, and she often scolded herself for being bossed around by a teenage brat four years younger than her. Still, Izutsumi was a hard worker, and though stubborn, worked well with the rest of the band. They weren’t as close with her as they were with the former guitarist, Shuro, but Marcille could tell the teen was trying in her own (odd) way.
“I’m done with vocal exercises anyway,” Marcille said as she took a seat next to Laios. “We have about fifteen minutes until we’re on.” She braided together a few strands of her hair, and once done, started tapping her foot. “Ugh, I hate waiting…”
Laios chuckled as he finished tuning his bass and played a lick absentmindedly. “I’ve gotten good at it. In the army, waiting was one of our biggest activities. I’ve spent countless hours, days, waiting.”
Chilchuck rolled his eyes, which seemed to be one of his ‘biggest activities’. “That’s depressing. I’m waiting for this performance to be over so I can get paid.”
Izutsumi perked up at the mention of money. “More money means more in-game purchases.”
Senshi stared at her blankly. Their age gap caused a lot of confusion between them.
Marcille cleared her throat. “W-well, I’m waiting for my oil to dry!”
Everyone else stared at her blankly.
“…Oil painting. It.. takes a while to dry. Varnish and all that.”
Izutsumi blinked at her.
“Ok shut up!”
“I didn’t say anything, dummy.”
“Why, you-“
“Ok, guys, let’s just wait it out a little bit longer!” Laios shouted as he held Marcille back from pouncing at Izutsumi. “Who wants to tell a story?”
The room was quiet. Senshi slowly raised his hand.
“I have a story about this restaurant I went to a few years back.”
Somehow their conversations always delved into the topic of food. Marcille didn’t understand why.
-
“We are Delicious in Dungeon! This next meal is called “Golden Country”! Senshi, count it!”
Ah. That’s why. It’s ingrained in our brand.
Four clicks of his drumsticks triggered the beginning of the penultimate song of the set. Laios led the song with his bass cranked up much louder than before. Marcille could barely hear her voice over the deep sound, but she could hear the crowd cheering. “Golden Country” was popular due to the heavy bass feature and the contrast between the low notes and Marcille’s high pitched voice. Laios and Marcille usually collaborated on songwriting together, but Laios had taken the reins with this one, and his passion for it was clear.
During the instrumental break before the final chorus, Marcille turned to look at her bandmates. If turning her back to the audience was considered rude, she didn’t care. It was worth it to see everyone having fun. Not that she would ever admit it, though. Izutsumi was head banging so hard during her guitar solo that her cat ear headband was slipping down, and Senshi’s iconic horned helmet he wore during performances was crooked from similar movements. Chilchuck, as always, was looking towards the crowd. He thought of himself as the heartthrob of the group. The true heartthrob, Laios, was grinning dopely as the solo concluded.
The final chorus finished, and Marcille was left panting as the crowd cheered. Laios heaved a sigh of relief next to her. This venue was bigger than the ones they usually booked, and they were nervous about whether or not they could fill it, but the show was sold out and the crowd was energetic; they couldn’t have asked for anything better. Laios was especially happy because of the people in the crowd.
Marcille watched as he walked down to the center stage and took the microphone from Marcille’s stand. Laios often liked to talk to the audience, so it wasn’t completely uncalled for. As Marcille tried to grab it back from him, he spoke into it. “Thank you all for coming out tonight! This last song was inspired by me and Marcille, and it’s inspired by two important figures in our lives, coincidentally both named Falin! Well, Marcille wrote it about some childhood friend, but she let me write a bit of it about my sister, who just happened to have the same name!”
Laios stepped to the edge of the stage and bent down. “Hi, Falin!” He high-fived a figure that Marcille couldn’t see: Laios’s large frame was blocking her view. When he stood back up, she snatched the microphone away.
“Thank you, Laios, for not warning me about your introduction,” she said through gritted teeth as Laios shrunk back behind her. “This song is called “Chimera”.”
I knew you long ago
You always clung to me
An inseparable pair
Of misfit freaks
We grew up together
We’re never far apart
When you left I thought that I would
Never be complete
The intro bars to the song were sung with no instruments in the background. Marcille closed her eyes as she sang. She usually didn’t feel self conscious when singing, but this song, these lyrics, felt different. Her eyes snapped open when she heard the four counts of an open hi-hat and a strong chord from all of the instruments in unison.
Are you a chicken?
Are you a dragon?
Are you braver than I could ever be?
Are you my knight?
Are you a coward?
Standing alone on your own two feet?
Marcille’s eyes scanned the crowd as she belted out the chorus. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw all of the smiling faces looking back at her, many of them mouthing the lyrics along with her.
The face that was directly in front of her was the last one that she looked at. Wide opened pale yellow eyes, a round face, and pale blonde hair.
Falin.
Her Falin.
Their eyes met and Marcille could barely get out the next lyrics.
You’re my chimera
You’re all that I can see
-
The band exhaustedly trudged off of the stage to the sound of cheering. Marcille had gone on autopilot for the remainder of their final song, and it was noticeable.
“Marcille, you okay?” Chilchuck tapped her on the shoulder and she turned to him. “Oh. Definitely not.”
Marcille couldn’t see her own face, but if she could, she would’ve seen a mouth hanging wide open and eyes that stared so far into the distance that they looked like they were pointing in two different directions.
Laios clapped her on the back. Social cues were not his strong suit. “That was awesome! The crowd loved it! Are you guys ready to party now?”
Izutsumi, typing away on her phone, stuck her tongue out. “Your parties are all about food. Who’s even coming backstage, anyways? Your boyfriend? Please tell me Toshiro wasn’t invited. He’s a bitch.”
Laios nodded eagerly. “Well, they’re not coming backstage because I thought it would be fun if we met them at a bar, but it’ll be Kabru, some of his friends, Nemari, Mithrun, and my sister. I invited Shuro but he was busy. But, I’m so excited for you all to meet Falin!”
At the sound of the name, Marcille snapped out of her trance. She gripped Laios’s shoulders and shook him. “Laios. You didn’t think to mention to me before now that your sister’s name was Falin?”
“I did mention it while we were writing the song. You seemed pretty focused, though, so you might not have heard me.”
Marcille wanted to bang her head into one of Senshi’s drums.
“She’s been studying and working in the United States for a few years now. That’s why some of the lyrics I recommended were about being separated. Weren’t yours about some friend you used to have? First love?” Laios was still clueless.
“This friend also happened to be named Falin. Blonde hair. Yellow eyes. Last name Touden, not an uncommon name. Get the picture yet?”
Realization dawned on his face. “So… our song about two different people we knew, both coincidentally named Falin, happened to be the same person?”
Marcille nodded.
Laios stood still for a moment before a huge grin popped up on his face. “When Falin went to boarding school, she always wrote letters to me about her friend Marcille! I didn’t realize it was the same one! Her letters made your personality seem much more tame.”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?! I’m perfectly tame!” she shouted.
Izutsumi snorted. “Sure. Tame.”
“Stop butting in! Laios, last night when you said you were picking someone up, did you mean your sister?”
“Yes, I went to the airport. Falin was exhausted, it’s a long flight from the States to Melini. And then I went to that pufferfish restaurant. It was delicious! And I’m still alive!”
Marcille never hated pufferfish as much as she did at that moment.
-
After packing up all of their equipment and loading it into Laios’s van, the band members walked down the street to their favorite bar and restaurant. Marcille had barely said anything since her talk with Laios. Her mind was racing but was blank at the same time.
Izutsumi was the first through the doors, and ran to the back left corner that the bar had begun to reserve for the band. After every performance, without fail, the band would come sit in the corner booth and either chat or sit, eat, and drink in exhausted silence. Even though Izutsumi was still too young to drink alcohol, she was always excited to order fish and chips and a ramune. Within seconds, a bartender brought her the glass bottle of soda and she excitedly opened and drank almost the whole thing before the rest of the members sat down.
“Young Izutsumi, watch your sugar intake! Ramune alone is not a sufficient meal!” Senshi gently scolded as he slid into the booth along with Chilchuck. Marcille and Laios were left standing as they both stared toward the entrance in anticipation.
Soon, a man with brown skin and piercing blue eyes walked through the door with a few people trailing behind him. “Kabru! Over here!” Laios jumped up and waved his arms, earning an eye roll from Chilchuck and Marcille; I Laios was the tallest out of them and was not easy to miss.
Kabru walked over with a few people that Marcille vaguely recognized, their old band mate and Izutsumi’s predecessor Nemari, and a very familiar blonde.
As Kabru and Laios began chatting and the rest of the people he brought with went over to the other band members, Marcille was left standing with the most, yet least, familiar person there.
“Falin..?” Marcille’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“Marcille.” Falin responded with a smile.
Marcille swore to herself that she wouldn’t show any emotions. This was her first time seeing her childhood best friend (and first love, though Falin wasn’t aware of that) in almost six years. Falin and Marcille chose different career paths that sent them down different roads that were unlikely to cross. Falin moved out of the country for her education while Marcille stayed in Japan to pursue her lofty dreams of fame. They grew up to be very different people.
Marcille would not be emotional at this reunion.
Marcille burst into tears.
The people around her froze and stared at the scene before them. Marcille had wrapped Falin in a tight hug, and the taller girl just patted her back while giggling.
“Faaalllliiiinnn! I missed youuu! Why didn’t you answer my calls?!” Marcille wailed as she hugger her friend even tighter.
“I’m so sorry, Marcille! When I moved to the states, my phone number didn’t work anymore and I had no way to contact you! Laios told me he had a band mate named Marcille, and I just thought it was a funny coincidence.”
Marcille lightly pounded her fists against Falin’s back. “Both of you are such dummies! How did you not connect the dots?! Dummies! Dumb Toudens!”
Falin could only laugh as she knew Marcille’s words had no bite behind them. She wasn’t sobbing like Marcille, but she could feel her eyes tearing up.
Laios walked over to the pair and wrapped them both into a hug. “I’m so happy you guys are getting along! You’ll make great neighbors!”
“Neighbors?” Marcille tilted her head. “Wait, you mean…”
Falin nodded. “I’m living with my brother for now. I got a job teaching English at the high school nearby, so I’ll be with him for at least another year.”
Marcille’s tears had finally stopped, but at Falin’s announcement, they began to flow again. She was separated thousands of miles away from her favorite person for so many years, and now she would be living only a few feet away?
“I’m happy you’re back, Falin.”
“Me too.” Falin smiled, and Marcille’s heart melted.