Volume 2 - CH 3

Two weeks have passed since then. Gabriel would regularly send me the tracks for his new project, asking me to consider how I would play the part of the guitar. This must be his type of question. If so, I had to answer according to how I saw fit. And with that being the case, I gave the track a listen. The drums and bass focused on a breakbeat rhythm, fitting the sound I was used to. Meanwhile, the piano, presumably played by Gabriel, sounded kind yet cold. And it seemed like the guitar was the only part missing. Well, he must have cooked up a track himself, but he probably wants to grant me the option to see for myself. The only difference from before is that the tempo of the whole song was a bit faster.

I think I’ve heard this before. It must be…rock. Despite the individual ingredients not matching that at all, the overall image oddly enough led me to come up with that assumption. I don’t know if this matches Gabriel’s intention, of course. I had my guitar on my lap, periodically playing a few strings to then take notes on my computer.

Oddly enough, Nelina had kept quiet for most of the past two weeks. Granted, she’d only give me a headache if she was around, but the way she made no sound whatsoever had me worried, too. When I texted her to find out what she was up to, she’d just send me a wink or kiss emoji, which crept me out by a lot, but I figured it was best to leave her alone.

I had to focus on the guitar parts, after all, and I still had my university classes, paired with my part-time job at the 8-Bit World. I didn’t really find any chance to talk with Boudicia either, so I haven’t told her that I was part of Gabriel’s band now. Because of the season, we’ve been simply so busy at work. Granted, I should just ask her to meet up somewhere to talk, but…I just couldn’t muster up my courage. I sighed at my own pathetic self and decided I should grab a bite to eat, so I entered a bakery on Park Street.

Bristol University has a long history here in town, and as the UK hasn’t suffered any major catastrophes, you could still see older buildings of the university scattered throughout the town. It’s almost as if the whole city is the university. And since this bakery is between two separate study rooms, I often come here. I figured I could go for something sweet so I looked at the round and filled donuts when a conversation reached my ears. Normally I wouldn’t bother much, but the name Gabriel caught my attention.

“Did you read that?”

“Gabriel’s, right? I didn’t really like graffiti too much, either.”

“I’ve been listening to his stuff, but I don’t necessarily hate the graffiti, though…”

“But it’s a crime! And it’s wrong.”

I could feel my body shaking. Something was happening. In a hurry, I took out my smartphone and looked up Gabriel’s name. Did you read it? I remembered the social network post that Lara showed me before. Maybe he wrote something else on there. I immediately got a search result. A music media site published an interview with Gabriel. This must be it. I had already forgotten about my hunger and turned my back toward the bakery, reading through the English lines like I was eating them up.

—We’ve heard you’re working on a new project. What concept can we expect this time?

Gabriel:

To me, music is an expression of love and beauty. So far, I’ve mainly created digital works playing in the space of reggae or hip-pop, following the great examples of black musicians, but I think it’s time for me to return to my origin.

My grandmother is actually quite fond of music, and she always liked the rock genre in particular. She was a wild but warm person, wearing the largest sunglasses. However, she passed away last year. That’s when I decided to have a closer look at the rock genre.

—We were told that a new member has joined your band. How did you choose him?

Gabriel:

I only play with people I can put my faith in. They surprise me, and I can assure you they will live up to their expectations.

—It’s come to the public eye that you are quite against the existence of graffiti. And you advocate its abolishment, too.

Gabriel:

A wonderful question. Do you like graffiti?

—Um, well…

Gabriel:

The fact that you can’t answer immediately tells me that you are quite fond of it. But don’t worry, I won’t just leave you hanging in the middle of the interview. Let me change the question. Graffiti is a monumental culture that symbolizes the historical struggle against the system done by the citizens of Bristol. Could you agree with that?

—Yes, surely.

Gabriel:

I agree. As a citizen of Bristol, we should raise our voices against what is not right. And so far, graffiti has been used, rightfully so, as a mechanism to achieve that. However, is it really something that only graffiti can accomplish? It destroys the walls, hurts other people, the list goes on. Where is the need to abide by such a limiting device? During a live concert, The Who destroyed a drum set, yes. However, that happened at that stage. Even the Sex Pistols, who split up after a fight, did not destroy the walls of other people’s homes. That’s what it means to think in terms of rock.

—The other day, an incident of graffiti vandalism happened at the art museum. Many people welcomed a strong and determined message against the purge of the Bearpit, whereas others argued that it was the destruction of public property. How do you feel about the Ghost of Bristol?

Gabriel:

The Ghost, yes. I always prefer to distance myself from that name, but it keeps being brought up around me. But, I cannot call that individual a Ghost. It feels more like a rotten Beast that has gone out of control. They are wrong. The graffiti should be erased, and they should make amends for their actions. If I had them in front of me, I don’t know if I could control myself.

—However, the art museum still has Banksy’s work on display, no? Could we really deny the history we shared with such?

Gabriel:

Leaving aside my personal feelings, we should respect history. However, it is in the past. Graffiti has fulfilled its purpose. And all citizens should ask themselves…if graffiti is truly necessary for Bristol as it is right now. I aim to bring an answer to this question using our music. We will hold a live concert on Christmas eve on [The Ark]. And that will be the day when everyone learns that music is what will represent Bristol from now on. What’s important will remain on the ark, whereas the unnecessary luggage will fall. The name of our new project is [New Announcement]. From now on begins our generation. And it will act as the new announcement. I don’t like using such barbaric words, but let me make it clear for the rats that crawl along the streets—We will overwrite your graffiti.

How could this happen? New Announcement…I didn’t hear about any of that. But it’s the new project Gabriel has been working toward…It’s the name of our band. Announce…Notice…Information…Or even—Annunciation. It showed Gabriel’s personality, the fact that he believed in him being absolutely right, giving it a one-sided announcement. The righteous ones will remain on the boat, whereas the others will meet demise. What’s important isn’t the name of the band…Graffiti will…be eradicated?

I raised my head. What I saw in front of me on the wall was a pure coincidence. It was graffiti—ripped into pieces by lightning cutting through it.

“This is…!”

I started running. Familiar walls jumped into my view. The graffiti on there had lighting going through them. One, and then another. While chasing after [Z], I reached the Bearpit. Down the stairs, through the tunnel, I heard a familiar voice, but with a tone I never knew.

“Lara, calm down!”

“Calm down? Do you not understand what’s going on?”

It was Boudicia and Lara.

“How is this a calm sea? This is a storm! Haven’t you read it? It’s a declaration of war!”

“But that’s also why you can’t just give in to their provocation!”

“You’re wrong. We are under attack!”

The two didn’t realize that I had arrived, continuing their verbal fight.

“What happened?” I asked Peni, who had watched this for a while longer than me.

“…It was [Z] again.” He answered without looking away from the two.

“I saw them on the way here. Is there more?”

“Not just more. All the graffiti in the city got done in by [Z].”

“…I’m sorry.”

I didn’t even mean to, but I apologized.

“Why are you apologizing, Yoshi?”

“I wanted to figure out who [Z] is, but…”

“Just the fact you’re trying to help is more than enough.”

No. I don’t have any right to receive gratitude like this. It’s true that I didn’t manage to find out anything about [Z], and I do feel bad for that…But more than that, nobody knows I’m a member of [New Announcement]. I’m part of the same band as Gabriel.

“The disdain toward graffiti has gotten stronger, and the Captain must be tired.”

Naturally, Peni had no way of knowing about my guilt. He just smiled without vigor and energy, as he looked at Lara.

“And what about you, Boo? Who are you teaming up with?”

Rarely enough, Lara was filled with rage. It made Boudicia look like the rational one.

“This isn’t the time to talk about friend or foe. We got hit, so we fight back. That’s all there is to it. It’s what we’ve always been doing! And you were the one who said that simply overwriting it won’t be enough! Just fighting back mindlessly isn’t gonna work!”

“Must be great for you. Just doing whatever you please…I bet you don’t even care about Bristol!”

“That’s enough!”

“Enough? So if I say it’s enough, someone will save us…save Bristol’s graffiti? The genius graffiti writer, the Ghost of Bristol, will save us? Don’t make me laugh. We have done nothing yet!”

Lara’s voice was hoarse, broken, and husky. She had given such a motivational speech when the purge of the Bearpit was on the line, so it’s clear that she’s out of steam right now. Or rather, she probably was aware of that herself. I remembered the rumors. Gabriel’s declaration of war, the denial of graffiti, and now, the center of the graffiti culture, the Bearpit, was attacked. How heavy must all of this weigh down on the leader of Queen Bear’s Revenge? I had no way of knowing.

“Captain.”

“Peni! Don’t get in my way!”

“Please…just get some rest.” He offered her a coffee.

JF watched over her with a worried gaze.

“You…”

Lara slowly lowered the hand she had wildly swung around. And then, she quietly spoke up.

“…Boo, I’m sorry. I can tell you’re worried about me.”

“Lara, you…”

“But right now, if we don’t fight this disrespect…and if graffiti disappears…then I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.

Boudicia didn’t answer. Instead, she walked toward Lara, gently placing her left hand on her shoulder. Lara put her hand on Boudicia’s.

“…That’s right. We have to move forward. We have to figure out who [Z] is…and what their goal is, too.”

“And what do we do?”

“First, we should check out the situation. I haven’t gotten around to checking all of them.”

I was surprised. If Lara hadn’t gotten around to checking everything, the number must be greater than I expected.

“I’ll go with you,” I said.

“There’s a lot of them, you know?”

“That’s fine,” I said and stood next to Boudicia, glancing at her profile.

Who is this [Z] person that destroyed her graffiti? This time, I want to stop them. And depending on how you think of it, we may have more hints now. But just standing around and waiting won’t get us anywhere.

“I’m going, too,” Boudicia said, still not looking at me.

“I’m happy you’re willing to tag along, but…” Lara lowered her face, muttering to herself.

She probably feels hesitant as she really blew a fuse not too long ago. She’s become like a sheep. Normally, Lara is strong like a bear, and yet she was nothing more than a docile animal.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s just go. I got hit by this, too, so I’m curious.”

From that point on, we started walking around Bristol. In a way, I couldn’t even be surprised that Lara was aware of all the graffiti locations in the town. And since she said she wasn’t done yet, she probably used her crew network to check. The graffiti of Bristol is practically dancing on her palm. Except now they were injured through this attack. It seemed endless, but there was a definitive number—which was 32 cases.

When I heard the number at first, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. However, going around like this, it really changes your perspective. 32 places is 32 pieces of graffiti. If these were paintings, you could practically open an art gallery. Not to mention that they were scattered around town. It took a lot out of me to simply run around and look for them. I opened my map app and wrote memos for all the graffiti we encountered. It mostly focused on the area of the Bearpit, and although some went north to Stokes Croft, the majority was in a circular area centering near the Bearpit. The radius was around 1,5km. It wasn’t anything outrageously large, but focusing on 32 graffiti in this area sure didn’t feel like a prank.

Just running around like we were was more than just exhausting, but even carrying a pressure washer or the like with you requires some serious determination and stamina. Surely, it became clear now that [Z] holds immense willpower toward something…The question was just what exactly they worked toward. Meanwhile, Boudicia remained silent for the majority of our search. She seemed like she was lost in thought, showing a complicated expression. At first, Lara was openly complaining about Gabriel and [Z], figuring out who the destroyed graffiti belonged to, but toward the end, she had become silent, too. Sure enough, I wasn’t as nonchalant as to assume she was just tired. She’s thinking about something…but what exactly?

After we finished checking all the graffiti in question, we headed back to the Bearpit. Peni offered us a table, and JF brought some of his coffee, which smelled as great as always. It seemed to have chocolate as a main ingredient, with a beautiful orange color. He said he didn’t consider him serious, but I personally think he’s a proper barista.

“How did it go?” Peni carefully asked.

Boudicia remained silent, sending Lara a gaze.

“Personally, I don’t think there’s any connection between them.”

Since both of them went quiet, I checked the pictures I took on my smartphone and answered Peni’s question. Although they gathered in a certain radius, the choice seemed random. In fact, they probably just went for whichever they could go for.

“No, there is a connection.”

“Huh?” I asked in confusion.

Lara crossed both her arms and legs, as she gazed into the emptiness.

“All the graffiti that was hurt today…belonged to crew members of Queen Bear’s Revenge.”

It felt like lightning struck my own thoughts. Lara knew about all the graffiti of her crew members, so she must be confident about that. But that would bring up another question.

“…So it’s a targeted attack from the anti-graffiti faction?”

“Probably…” Boudicia answered as she stuffed her hands into her pockets.

“Yoshi…Did you realize that all the graffiti was done by Queen Bear’s Revenge folks?”

“No…I had no idea.” I answered honestly.

“Yeah, I figured. Someone who doesn’t write graffiti…or actually, someone who doesn’t know the situation around here wouldn’t be able to tell.”

“Ah…”

I see. This must have been done by someone who knows Queen Bear’s Revenge. Then…there’s another fact revealed by this…That [Z] is a graffiti writer…?

“Lara, what are you gonna do now?” Boudicia asked.

“This is our problem, so we will overwrite it.”

“Let’s do it, Captain! We’ll show everyone that we won’t just get beaten down!”

“No…I’ll handle all of it.”

Right as Peni was getting heated, Lara broke his enthusiasm with a cold face. He formed a fist and then looked over at JF, who stood inside the bus.

“As the Captain, I’ll crush them. It’s a duel between me and [Z]. I won’t allow you to intervene. Is that clear?”

“But I want to help!”

“I’m sorry, but you’re not strong enough for this.”

“But…!”

This wasn’t the Lara I knew. Before, she used the strength of everyone to protect the Bearpit. Yet, she now wants to fight by herself?

“Captain, is there really nothing we can do?” JF got off the bus and asked Lara with a heavy tone.

“Nothing.” Lara put one hand on her hip as she said so.

“…Peni, you heard her. Let’s go.” JF said and pointed at the exit of the plaza with his chin, walking away.

Peni followed after him but turned around several times until he completely went out of sight. And Lara watched his back that entire time.

“…Lara-san, are you sure you should be doing that on your own?” I asked.

We were looking at 32 graffiti. It will take tremendous amounts of time and effort to overwrite all of those. Plus, there’s no guarantee that [Z] will just stop at that. Can she really handle all this by herself while [Z] might be coming back for more? Yet, Lara looked at me and smiled.

“Of course. Who do you think I am?”

So she said, but it lacked her usual confidence.

“…Lara.” Boudicia slowly opened her mouth. “You just don’t want the others to get involved in this, right?”

“…I swear, why do you have to immediately see through everything, Boo?” Lara sighed and stopped faking the smile she had on her face all this time.

“Do you…really?”

Was that really the case? I couldn’t tell in the slightest. But Lara’s gaze told me enough.

“This isn’t any regular graffiti. Even if we overwrite their reverse graffiti, there’s no telling what they might be doing next. And I can’t fathom what the writer who fights back might suffer through.”

“But that doesn’t mean you have to…”

“…Yesterday, someone from my crew was attacked.”

“What?” I was bewildered.

“He was seen while writing graffiti. Got jumped by three people, beaten up, and was sent to the hospital with broken bones.”

“No way…”

I felt like the public perception of graffiti was slowly drifting downward. However, I had no idea that there were direct encounters with such malicious intent. Of course, graffiti could always be regarded as vandalism. But that didn’t mean citizens could now resort to violence to resolve that.

“I don’t know who did it, and there’s no point in looking for them, either. They could have been just some aggravated citizens. But…”

“You think it’s because of the interview?”

“Probably. I don’t know if it’s Gabriel pulling the strings behind the scenes, but the citizens have started to jump on his bandwagon, saying that graffiti is wrong. I can’t let someone from my crew write in such a situation.”

I understand where she’s coming from. However, that won’t resolve the situation. Nobody will be happy if Lara just stands at the frontlines and sacrifices herself.

“I’m fine. I decided my fate.”

She said as if she had seen through my thoughts. The red color of the setting sun illuminated her white shoulders. For a moment, she looked like she stood on the bow of a ship, as she pointed ahead without hesitation.

“If you decided on that, then I won’t say a thing. You’ve got your own way of doing things. But…”

“But?”

“Don’t lose, okay?”

“Heh, I will win, of course. And I’ve got some ideas for my fight with Gabriel, too. If he’s using a ship to fight, then I will fight back in fashion. No way I’ll let him do as he pleases.”

Lara’s heavy boots stomped on the ground as she walked away while waving her hand. Meanwhile, Boudicia and I watched her off.

“…I couldn’t do a thing.”

“You mean with [Z]? Don’t sweat it.” Boudicia’s voice hit me where it hurt.

Even so, the what-if scenario still keeps popping into my mind. If I had found [Z], then…But, what Lara said is right. This is a problem involving the whole Bearpit, as well as all writers of Bristol. There’s probably nothing left for me to do. But, what about Boudicia? There’s no way she doesn’t feel anything during such a situation.

“Are you not going to help her?”

“Do you think it’d be better if I did?”

“No, that’s not…”

The question fired back at me left me silent.

“I think this is Lara’s problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…I’m not too confident about it yet…”

It was rare to see Boudicia so vaguely. She fixed her cap, hiding her blue eyes.

“Plus…I decided that I’d only write for my sake.”

“For your sake…”

“Bristol, graffiti, and all that…It’s too big for me. I don’t wanna lose grip on it and let it fall down like those figures on the shelves at the shop.”

I still couldn’t see her eyes, but it was clear she looked at her hands. She then tightly gripped her left hand, raising her head.

“It’s…because you told me. That I should write for my own sake.”

Her narrowed eyes, and her wet lips, it all softly grasped my heart.

“That’s why…Until I feel like writing, I’m not gonna do a thing.”

She’s been writing solely to win this entire time. So when she realized that her right hand, which held all her talent, wasn’t usable anymore, she put away the spray can. And the only reason she can write now is that she doesn’t have to carry anything. To carry the whole of Bristol’s graffiti, her left hand was too weak for that.

“Um…there is something I need to tell you.”

I decided to not hide things any longer. I have to tell her.

“It’s about Christmas day.”

“Huh? Wait, you too? Darn, out with it, then!”

I was surprised to hear that Boudicia wanted to talk about Christmas, just like me. However, stopping here would risk my chance of telling her, so I continued.

“The thing is…”

“Ah, finally found you! Geez, Nelina was looking for you everywhere!”

And yet, my determination was ruined when I heard a familiar, sweet voice.

“Seriously! You better be ready to come running whenever Nelina calls for you!”

“N-Nelina-san?! What were you up to all this time?!”

Just like a fox appearing out of nowhere to wrap its tail around your leg, Nelina approached me and pushed her face closer to me. Her breath hitting me was sweet and hot.

“Hey, Nelina managed to make it into your band, you know! Just as she said, right?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

She did declare that Gabriel would eventually let her join their band. I haven’t forgotten about that, but is that really possible…?

“You again, you fox.”

Boudicia glared at the fox—rather, the wild boar rampaging through her fields like a hunter. And for a second, I thought she held a gun aimed at Nelina’s head, even.

“Huh? Fox? You said that before, right? But some stray cat like you has no right to!”

“What did you come here for?”

“Nelina can’t stand you. You only have talent for some random doodles! Should you really pretend to be an artist? Graffiti is hella lame, seriously.”

“It’s weird…I can’t understand a word you’re saying, and yet it feels like I know exactly what you just said. You’re making fun of me, right?”

“Don’t try to steal away someone else’s belongings, you shitty thieving cat.”

“You wanna fight? I’ll make a scarf outta your fur.”

“Nelina’s high-quality fur would be wasted on your dirty and ragged stuff!”

“Tsk. Whatever, let’s just go! Can’t be bothered to give this woman any attention!”

Boudicia grabbed my hand with her left one and pulled me along. Not to mention quite fiercely. So much that it hurt, even. And yet, her hand was hot. It’s like she’s burning up.

“Boo-san, please wait. I ended up joining a band to make music, so that’s why…” I said in the heat of the moment.

Hearing that, Boudicia stopped.

“What did you just say?”

“I joined a band to play the guitar.”

At first, she looked at me in disbelief. Like she didn’t even understand what I had just said. Following that, I could see a red flame burn up in her eyes, which quickly quieted down into a cold blue.

“Right. I see. That’s what you wanted to talk about, huh? Good for you, being able to play again.”

She doesn’t seem happy to me at all. Or, she might be, but it wasn’t a blessing at all. Nor was it sarcasm. Looking at her narrow eyebrows and quivering lips, I could tell.

“And she’s part of that band?”

“That’s…”

I tried to shake off Nelina, who still held onto my arm with a bright smile, but she wouldn’t move an inch.

“…I don’t really understand what’s so great about some stalker woman who came all the way from Japan. But either way, you wanna keep doing your music, right? Nice. Fantastic. Brilliant.”

She knows me from when I couldn’t play the guitar. And she knows for what reason I tried to play again.

“Yoshi…You should play for your own sake, too. You told me the same thing, right? That’s why…” She started walking toward me, passed me by, but bumped into my shoulder at that exact moment. “…It’s got nothing to do with me!”

The impact made my body shake, as I staggered backward. If Nelina hadn’t held onto my arm, I probably would have fallen over.

“Boo-san!”

She didn’t turn around and just continued running. It was only for a moment, so I wasn’t confident in declaring this. However, when she glared at me, it felt like she was tearing up.

“Bye-bye, Stray Cat-san! Nobody asked for you to be here anyway!”

I never saw myself as a person who would move based on my emotions. I rarely laugh from the bottom of my heart or shed tears at something. I guess I might always be cold and rational. You could even call me heartless. But right now, at this very moment, it felt like all my blood vessels were boiling.

“Nelina-san, just what are you even trying to do here?!”

“Didn’t Nelina tell you? Gabriel let me join the band. Now we can be together again, Yoshi.”

I roared in a loud voice I didn’t know I even had. Yet, Nelina was still calm as she answered. Seeing her like that, it felt as if water had poured on my fire, and I regretted my actions.

“…How?”

“Hm…Body language, maybe?”

“Don’t fool around now,” I said, and then felt like something was off in Nelina’s voice.

It’s such a small difference, you probably wouldn’t even realize it if you hadn’t been in a band with her for a long time. The rumors never stopped with Nelina. One of her fans fell in love with her, only to encounter another stalking fan, to which they beat each other up, how she found out the executive of a record label was off cheating, that maybe she was even the person he was cheating with, that she ruined the relationships within a rivaling band…All these absurd stories went around, and before we met in person, I genuinely thought I would be having a meeting with the devil himself. That being said, playing the guitar by her side, I realized she was quite different from the rumors. However…It’s evident that she has the talent to control the people around her.

“Ah, hey! Where are you going, Yoshi?!”

I shook her off before she could stop me. Why did the angel allow the fox on the ark? I needed to know that, no matter the cost.

*

“Gabriel-san!”

“Hey there, Yoshi. Is there anything that needs answering?”

Gabriel sat at the bar of [The Ark], sitting at a sofa table. Yet again, he’s alone. JF said that his bands usually don’t continue on for long. At first, I didn’t give it much attention, but I guess that was actually true.

“Would you like to sit down?”

I sat on the seat Gabriel tapped on.

“What are you drinking?” I looked at the golden liquid poured into a small glass.

Since I rushed her, my heart was still racing. And while I was calming down, I chose to ask whatever came to my mind.

“Ah, this? It’s beer. Since you’re asking that question, I’m assuming you don’t regularly drink alcohol?”

“That’s right.”

“Here in Bristol, craft beer is the hit. We have a lot of microbreweries, so the taste varies greatly.”

Since he seemed the type of person to drink wine, I was surprised to hear he was into beer.

“You seem to like beer.”

“I like anything that is beautiful. The same goes for food and drinks. I consider myself a connoisseur.”

I took a deep breath and then cut into the main topic.

“Why did you let Nelina-san as the vocalist of your band?”

“Mm, good question. I knew you’d come to ask me that. I have two reasons. The first is…that she wished for it.”

That’s absolutely right, but that isn’t enough of an explanation.

“That hasn’t changed from before. But you said you wouldn’t let her join. How and why did you change your opinion this much?”

“That’s also a good question. But the answer to that is just as simple. It’s because I’ve grown interested in her.”

He’s grown interested in her…Could such a vague reason really exist? Not when it’s Gabriel, that’s for sure.

“This doesn’t qualify as an answer.”

“Brilliant. I knew you had something to you.”

“Don’t try to change the topic.”

“I’m not so arrogant as to believe I am omnipotent, Yoshi. I don’t see through everything that is presented in front of me. In fact, I fail many times over. Even my first evaluation of you wasn’t even correct. Don’t you agree?”

Yeah. When I played together with Nelina, his opinion changed. I wanted to ask for that reason, too, but that doesn’t matter.

“But if I understand that there is something I hadn’t seen before, then I can change my opinion. That’s what it means to question yourself.” Gabriel played with the glass, as the foam inside, placed on the golden liquid, shook.

It was so quiet, I heard the sound of it all. Even though this was supposed to be a live house. Gabriel is perfect. Sure enough, he can’t see through everything, but I can tell he’s very harsh on himself when he realizes he is in the wrong. But even so, I can’t see how he would have changed his mind and invited Nelina into his band.

“You don’t seem too satisfied. And I don’t blame you. However, did you ever think of it this way? Maybe you’re misunderstanding her? Like I have. Don’t you think?”

Misunderstand? I…Nelina?

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t tell you any more than that.”

“Why?”

“Another correct question. However, you lack the necessary thought right now. You should start thinking about why I can’t tell you.”

Because it’s not something I should know of…but that was ridiculous, so I shook my head.

“Anyway, Neliena will be handling some of the songs for the new project. Understand?”

Gabriel remained as calm as always. And…I did understand. But understanding and agreeing were two different things. However, I figured he wouldn’t tell me any more than this, so I got off [The Ark]. Nowhere to go, I walked down the streets beneath the illumination. Hearing what Gabriel had to say, I was even more confused. How did Nelina manage to twist her hands around Gabriel’s neck? No, even before that…who is she, even?

When I came to Bristol, I was like a lost child. Not knowing where to go, I was always confused. And yet, Nelina is different. She seemed like she was unable to do anything on her own, and yet she had everything under her palm already. She even scored the seat of the vocalist. I’m sure it’s not the body language she talked about, but I also have no idea how she achieved it. And then there’s what Gabriel said.

Am I really misunderstanding Nelina? She’s selfish, reckless, greedy, and aggressively goes against anything she doesn’t like. And at the same time, her voice is utterly beautiful. Terrifyingly so, even. But, I was reminded of Boudicia. Before I found out that she was the Ghost of Bristol, before I even heard that term, I met Boudicia. And even after I learned that she was the Ghost, I’ve seen her show anger, laughter, and tears, all close by. What if it was the opposite?

How much of Nelina…is actually Nelina? Why is she so infatuated with music? But before I could dive into this thought, my phone made a noise to tell me of a message. It originated from JF sending me a blog article without any comment. It was the blog for Queen Bear’s Revenge. I knew they’d kept a blog for a while now. But rather than it being a personal blog owned by one person, it revolved around advertisements and official statements, so it wasn’t being updated regularly.

Everything important regarding the crew, you could find there…written by Lara. I checked the title. It was kept short, but in this context, three words held a greater impact than any paragraph. This is war—I quickly opened the blog and read the rest of the post.

Let me start by prefacing this. Just like most of us writers, I love music. Whenever I write graffiti, I listen to Massive Attack’s [Mezzanine], and I lost count of how many times I replayed Porthishead’s [Dummy]. That’s why I don’t want to make this agenda against music itself. Unlike a certain someone, I won’t generalize against a concept. However, I can’t stay quiet, either. We’ve fought this whole time. The history of graffiti reflects the history of how Bristol’s citizens fought against the unreasonable. And yes, I cannot disagree that it ended up in vandalism at times. However, as we are now experiencing such a massive force coming to crush us, we can’t choose our methods. If we wait until it’s our turn to state our opinion, it’ll be too late. That’s why we’ve continued to put our feelings into art, conveying them onto the walls. Our voices…our screams and wishes…that’s the only place where we can let them out. It’s our only weapon to protect ourselves.

I’m sure you remember the graffiti the Ghost of Bristol wrote inside the art museum: “Here I’m allowed everything all of the time.” Not too long ago…Bristol’s graffiti, and our culture, had been purged from the Bearpit and killed by the city council. The reason we could stop their merciless rampage was that we stood against them. We fought, and we rebelled. We cannot lose against those who threaten us. Graffiti exists for that reason…and so do we. Here, we are allowed everything all the time. To put out our chests and say that. And we won’t let anybody say that what we do is wrong.

I heard there will be a live concert on the night of Christmas at the ship, right? Then we’ll arrive with one of our own. A friend of mine was generous enough to sponsor an abandoned ship. And we’ll do a live painting there. The entire ship will be buried by graffiti. At the same time…at the same time. We won’t accept some one-sided announcement. So take this as a message of our own:

We don’t want to be part of your ark that only accepts chosen animals. The stormy and endless sea is our true home. Because Bristol…is the town where the great pirate Blackbeard was born. That’s right—This is war. Let’s decide who should survive.