Exodia 11: Caged Bird

"Let's see what score I got..."

Anastasia said, staring intently at the TV screen, holding the microphone like a trophy in her hand.

The screen changed and displayed her score.

"Ha, 92.32%! How will you beat that, Shoya Sasaki?!"

Give me a break... I don't want to be here.

Let's rewind here, shall we?

--

"Shoya Sasaki, I challenge you to a duel!"

"Eh?"

What is she on about? Does she want to fight me? If so, then I'm going to decline.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to decline."

"What?! Are you backing out?! Don't tell me you're scared?!"

Anastasia said, smiling nervously.

What type of provocation is that? It may work on simple-minded people but not on me.

"Yes. You're way stronger than me. I could never win against you. That's why I don't want any part of this."

Agreeing with her claims is the fastest way to get out of this.

"Who said that we'd be battling?"

--

Or so I thought.

Then she brought me to Altria and here we are, at karaoke. Anastasia has sung three songs so far and chose her best score, which is the one she just got. While I haven't sung a single song.

"Hurry up, Shoya Sasaki, it's your turn! Hurry and lose!"

Kuro was taken by the two siblings. Apparently, they're Anastasia's servants and they are loyal to her. I never even knew you could bring servants to school.

"Are you going to hurry or not? Did you soil yourself or something?"

"COULD YOU SHUT UP FOR A SECOND, I'M TRYING TO EXPLAIN THE STORY!"

Ah, I went a bit too far then.

Anyways, she's been shouting insults at every available moment. It annoys me so much. I just want to get this duelling thing over.

I stood up, with the remote, and snatched the microphone out of Anastasia's hand. After scrolling for 30 seconds, I chose a song.

"You chose Enigma by Queen's Voyage? Ah, I get it. You must be one of those crazy fans. I bet you can't sing this song perfectly. Just another commoner."

This girl... I swear, she doesn't shut up. Are all noble girls like this? Since she doesn't shut her mouth, I'll make her, by getting a perfect score on this song!

[4 minutes later.]

The screen changed and displayed 'Perfect! 100%!'

Anastasia bowed to me as I posed flamboyantly. After that, we sat down. I grabbed the coke on the table and downed the entire bottle. I felt refreshed after that.

"So... You're one of those hardcore fans... I guess crazy doesn't even begin to state your love for Queen's Voyage. Let me guess, Reina is your favourite singer."

She thinks I'm a crazy supporter, which is true, but she has me wrong when it comes to my favourite.

"Nope. Vienna's the way to go."

Anastasia's eyes gaped as she looked at me, dumbfounded.

I can understand why.

Queen's Voyage is a famous idol group which is based in England. Even so, they sing and make songs in multiple languages and are probably the most well-known idol group in the world.

They have 5 members.

Reina. The leader, who's half-Japanese. She's a fan favourite.

Trina. She's like the sub-leader and the talker of the group.

Crest. At first, people thought she was one of the misfits of the group, but when her first lead song, All Hail The Queendom, came out, they changed their opinions.

Nina. She usually does ad-libs. People like her for her bright personality and big breasts.

And finally, Vienna. She's the other misfit in the group. Though her singing is the best of the group, due to her mad demeanour, she's the most hated of the group. Though her lead songs are amazing, people think that she doesn't fit the image of Queen's Voyage.

"What is it you like about Vienna? Like how Crest was at first, isn't she a misfit?"

Anastasia asked, slightly serious.

"Well others may look at Vienna as a bad girl, but that's not how I see her. When I look at her-no, when I hear her sing, she sounds like she's crying for help. Kind of like a young daughter calling for their father."

Ah, crap, I kind of nerded out, didn't I?

"B-but that's only my opinion! I don't want you to get mad, so..."

"Shoya Sasaki..."

I heard her mutter under her breath.

"I challenge you to another duel!"

"What?!"

"You may have won this one! But the next battle is mine!"

What is up with this girl?

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to the dorms now."

I said, getting up and grabbing my bag.

"Leave if you want."

I'm kind of surprised she's saying that to me, but I'll take her up on that offer.

I walked and grabbed the door handle.

"But..."

Slowly, I turned to listen to her.

"I'll tell everyone that Kuroha is your familiar and isn't human."

My whole body came to a halt.

A wave of blatant anger could be heard in my next words.

"Oi, how do you know that?"

I uttered.

Anastasia kept on speaking with a solace smile.

"Don't underestimate a daughter of the Reishville family. Getting information on anyone is a piece of cake."

So, she looked me up before the meeting. I guess this was her plan from the beginning. Anastasia probably guessed that I'd want to leave her, so she got some information, that I don't want anyone to hear, and is now blackmailing me.

"So, tell me, will you play or not?"

She asked me.

"Do you always want to play a losing battle?"

I retorted.

I expected that to anger her, but, instead, her smile grew larger. She was pleased, somehow.

"You're right, I don't."

Anastasia started.

"I don't think I'll be able to win against you. After all, I'm a sheltered princess and you're a caged bird, captured by its own stride."

"What do you mean, 'captured by its own stride?'"

"I thought you wanted to leave. If you stay, I'll answer your questions. If you leave now, I won't hold anything against you, don't worry."

Both Anastasia and I glared at each other silently. I finished it by turning to the door and opening it to walk out.

"You're right,"

I said.

"Maybe I am just a caged bird."

I left the karaoke room and went to go get Kuro.