Chu the Square
a BanG Dream! fanfiction by The Overlord Bear
Summary: In which RAISE A SUILEN is called to teach three bands of the Girls Band Party, and CHU2 is taught some attitude adjustment lessons in the process.
“Okay, who among you girls want to learn about the art and science of disc jockeying and music production?”
One hand went up.
“How likely are you to use it in your work at the moment, Maya Yamato?”
“I’d like to learn about the music production part, at least.”
“Wha…?” Chiyu Tamade gaze opened and turned from the side glance she gave to the seated fifteen beyond her table. “Oh yeah, I forgot about how much of a music and production nerd you are…And don’t give me that look, Chisato Shirasagi. Your band’s performance skills still need to live up better to the hype you’re all generating.”
CHU2 swiveled her computer chair to her bandmates. “My dear bandmates, why don’t you handle the idols?” And then to Maya again. “And you, we can nerd out later. Don’t upstage me, though.”
“I’m gonna teach Aya-chan and Pastel*Palettes!?” was what idol fangirl Reona Nyubara shrieked as her bandmate gave the assignment. “Thank you so much, Chiyu-sama! And I hope you have lots and lots of fun with Maya-chan later!”
CHU2 blushed at PAREO’s hugging praise. “Get off, PAREO. I need to work.”
Fortunately, the pastel-colored keyboardist complied easily, and so did the others. Though…
“Hey,” Masuki Satou called with sharp eyes and a warm smile, “Go easy on ’em, okay?”
“You can do it, Chiyu-chan!” Rokka Asahi cheered with the quiet but smiling Rei Wakana, who mouthed a “Thanks.”
Chiyu took all that with a blush, a smile, and a sigh as she went back to wear the pieces of her conductive iron cat persona. “So, in the name of my band and our superior allies Roselia and Poppin’Party, I’m gonna teach you…casual players how to be more like pros.”
Someone from the same-year and all-Haneoka group of Afterglow snorted.
“What’s so funny, Tomoe Udagawa?” CHU2 questioned.
“Well, you just reminded me of the time my sister complained and called me something like that when I played her favorite MMORPG with her,” Tomoe openly admitted, causing her bandmates to laugh as well.
“Very funny, you wannabe rocker prep schoolers…” CHU2 muttered as she held a twitchy smile with grit teeth. “I think I’ll start with you, then, wandering troupe,” she decided to turn to Hello, Happy World! next. “I’m also sure that your…stand-in DJ would love to learn for…your magical bear friend.”
“Go, Misaki!” the overly rich and friendly leader of that weird circus band shoved the aforementioned “stand-in” DJ off her chair, almost causing her to make an embarrassing crash upon the floor. Their two other idiots and their shy girl also gave their expected cheers.
“Now why don’t you show me a sample of your skills, Misaki Okusawa?” CHU2 slid back with her wheeled chair as her junior DJ approached. “Pun definitely intended, too. I even took a certain familiar track a certain sampling genius once flipped for a certain wired jaw rap.” And then she hit Play to show how it actually sounds.
Through the fire, to the limit, to the wall…
Chiyu closed her eyes and sighed in bliss as she marveled at such wonderful sounds once again.
But as she found herself lost in such beauty, she opened her eyes in confusion, finding the Michelle actress staring blankly at the decks.
“What’s the problem?” CHU2 asked. “You don’t need to rip off America’s Mr. West, you know?”
“This…This isn’t what I’m used to,” Misaki answered with a sweatdropped smile. “And aren’t you more into rock and electronica?”
CHU2 gave a flat look. “Just because I don’t use such tracks that much doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate the history of what I’m doing. There’s a lot to learn, and with going pro, whether with a major or indie label, also meaning international exposure, you should be able to at least show that you know your stuff to reduce the pain you’ll have to take out there. Wouldn’t want you to be some unfortunately lucky amateurs riding on fads, after all.”
“I…I see…”
“If you want something more local, then I got some YMO tracks,” CHU2 kept going. “Though I’d probably ramble all day about that. Still, want me to change what you’re scratching?”
“I think you’re taking this a little too seriously, so…”
“Go scratch it, Misaki!” Kokoro Tsurumaki shouted. “Scratch around the ‘fire’ part! It sounds like something we can use for another Michelle Cannonball!”
At that moment, Chiyu Tamade felt like she grew a closer bond with Misaki Okusawa.
“Okay, I think I get your skill level now, so please go back to your seat,” Chiyu sighed and waved Misaki away as she pushed down the urge to explode again. “Let’s go with Afterglow now. Do you have a copy of one of your tracks with you?”
“We have one!” their trend-tracking bassist raised her phone, which she then used to wirelessly transfer a file to CHU2’s laptop.
“Which one did you send, Himari?” Ran Mitake could be heard asking.
“Oh, I sent ‘Y.O.L.O.!'” Himari Uehara answered with a smile.
CHU2 wordlessly read the name of the mp3 file she just received.
“Afterglow_HeyDayCapriccio”
RAISE A SUILEN’s DJ opened the file.
A low guitar sound.
“Hey, I know that opening~” Moca Aoba declared with a grin. “You sent the wrong file, Hii-chan~”
“HIIIIIII!”
“SHUT UP!”
A nervous silence came upon Afterglow as CHU2 squinted at the playing track.
Game of tag~
CHU2’s eyes widened, and so did Afterglow’s.
“This is…”
CHU2 could hear Afterglow suck and hold hard breaths as she started describing.
“…actually pretty good.”
Afterglow’s sigh then got filtered by their “Huh?”
“And I thought you were just another set of wannabe edgies!” the daunting DJ continued with a wide grin. “Why are you even going for that image when you can just be a band of cool dorks?”
“But we – ” Tsugumi Hazawa tried to say, but Chiyu cut her off.
“Sent the wrong track? Oh, you just made a lucky move, ’cause if you sent me ‘Y.O.L.O.!,’ I would’ve ripped you a new one with my kitty-kitty voice in your faces. That’s the first track I heard from you, you know, and since first impressions mean a lot to me, I wrote you off as posers to never listen to again back then.”
All of Afterglow then glared at CHU2, but the lone RAISE A SUILEN member in the room raised her palms as she continued to smile and speak. “But don’t worry, I’m a more forgiving girl now, and I’m sure you have more where this came from, right?”
Creeping…Creeping…Ooooh…
CHU2 shivered with a grin. “I can feel your actual personalities a lot! Give me more!”
Afterglow’s frontwoman whispered something to the bassist, who nodded and tapped away on her phone again.
CHU2’s laptop rang at the reception of a new file, and the DJ went to check out the mp3 file named “Afterglow_ScarletSky.”
The DJ looked all serious listening to it at first, and then her eyes widened, followed by tears streaming out of them, but she wiped them away, though not quickly enough for Afterglow to not smile at her and her broken guard.
“I guess I was wrong, then!” Chiyu declared with a blushing look up and away. “You actually have more than what you seemed to have.”
“Aww, she’s like a cute little sister now!” Afterglow’s towering drummer went, causing a choir of “Aww” that made Chiyu blush even redder.
“She’s gonna smile!” Kokoro chanted.
“She’s gonna smile!” Hagumi followed.
“She’s gonna smile!” Tomoe caught up.
“She’s gonna smile~” Moca added, and then everyone else followed.
The result was Chiyu wearing a teary and blushing smile, which was followed by some embarrassed yelling that caused laughter from her audience.
That laughter also revealed Pastel*Palettes and the rest of RAISE A SUILEN, who all spilled past the slightly opened door they had been secretly watching from.
And then Chiyu, Afterglow, and Hello, Happy World! found themselves surprised at LAYER, LOCK, and MASKING wearing idol outfits that would’ve been more expected from PAREO and Pastel*Palettes. And speaking of PAREO…
“Time to get you dressed, Chiyu-sama!”
Chiyu yelled even more as Reona carried her away to the dressing room.
Author’s Note: I really need to watch the anime, among other research I need to do for better Bandori fanboying, hahaha…Anyway, I guess random thoughts about how IRL RAS works and how one can reference that in-universe got me writing this. And I think my interest in tsunderes is showing again, hahaha! XD
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