Work Text:
“More more, more more, more more…”
For the past hour or so, Minori has been watching the group’s past music videos. It was refreshing to see something not within the shades of gray and red. In a way, it was a distraction from reality but she saw it as something she did for the memories. It's just her method of watching MORE MORE JUMP! grow into the idols they became in the present time.
The video starts off with a gloomy darkness with only the group’s slight outlines giving off an off-white. The next second, however, the shining lights burned away any despair, replacing it with hope. The girls danced in unison while the cheerful audio singing played. Yet the lingering sadness never ceased to exist. Their voices would fall flat for a moment before going back to the usual. They knew their influence could only go so far. They knew their hope would be outweighed by despair eventually.
Even then, Minori didn’t feel like giving up in the slightest. The other girls too felt the same. Through this difficult time, they want to succeed. To give hope to the people who have forgotten life outside of guns and death. The days when the flowers would bloom and the children would laugh at stupid jokes together. Minori had her moments in the past too. Her bad luck would sometimes end up worse than usual. On a rainy day, she forgot to bring an umbrella but luckily Haruka was nearby to shelter her from the rain. Minori was eternally thankful for it. Another day, she forgot her wallet but she was with Airi so she agreed to pay for their ice cream.
It was a simpler time… A time that the world longed for. Yet it was out of reach. The rebellion was still going on which meant more lives were taken away. More gunshots. More spilling blood. More graves to make. The ordinary days were no longer within sight. Only tomorrows filled with fear.
People were gambling their lives away to see who would be the winner. Who would relish in their victory and who would go down with regrets and honor was the question. In the end, it was nothing more than a loop of violence… Minori couldn’t bear to see it continue. In simple terms, it was wrong. Minori knew the bloodshed only cost more lost lives and she spoke against the act of committing murder.
It only fell on deaf ears. It might have even cost some of their influence.
After covering snooze, the people have suddenly stopped listening to MORE MORE JUMP’s songs. Minori tried to understand why. The group specifically chose this song because it was their way of telling the world to still have hope. A song about a girl spreading hope to a city found in war. The lyrics found within were meant to be heard by everyone caught in the mess. It was the only way to try to spark back hope in people. The girls deducted that it failed miserably, much to their disappointment.
Haruka guessed that the news outlets were too focused on the riots to even make a comment about anything else. The same goes for online articles and even billboards. The rest of the group found themselves in a worsening mood. Haruka then stated that they might need to try a different approach to their goal. Airi was the first to question her. Minori and Shizuku were also curious. If they couldn’t do songs and streams… Then how can they spread hope?
Minori was found thinking throughout the week about how they can spread hope “a different way.” What can they do? Can they even try to do anything else? It was a dead end for sure. If conveying how they felt about the rebellion didn’t work… What’s the next step?
As the days of stagnant progress passed by, the death count would skyrocket by triple. The rebels were now found storming and stealing from innocent civilians’ houses. Some even found a bullet to their heads. It was as if everyone had forgotten why this started. Why were buildings on fire and why did everyone suddenly feel okay with holding a gun even to their loved ones? Does the outside world even know about this?
In the end, everyone was scared yet feared by one another. Guns were the new handheld devices and the law couldn’t catch up to those who shot bystanders. The least amount of effort was to say “rest in peace” to the bodies on the sidewalks. The cycle of violence continued and Minori could only hope that one day, MORE MORE JUMP! will be able to break it.
For now, however, Minori shared a quiet moment with Haruka. It has been weeks since their last shared quality time. (Work meetings don’t count) Their last date was before the situation started when the two went to a cafe to take a break from work. It was nice to find solace during the time they were living in. For about an hour or so, they chatted like they weren’t seeing literal corpses outside their homes or hearing constant updates on failed damage controls. Still, their conversation still ended up back to it and they could only look to the twinkling stars in the night sky for a wish to go back in time.
After another minute, the two decided to head home. Minori waved goodbye to Haruka before sprinting towards her house. She checked her phone and saw the time was 9:00 PM. She guessed she probably should enter quietly since her little brother would be asleep now.
When her house was only a corner away, she slowed down her pace. There was no need to hurry up now that she was nearby. Minori stepped over a body before looking up to see her home. She opened the door gently but found it utterly destroyed. The neatly placed decorations were now smashed and ripped while the dinner table was in halves. The fridge was wide open with its insides empty.
Minori, distressed, went to check on her parents and brother. When she reached her parents’ bedroom, she found the door wide open. Her parents were lying in a puddle of blood and the bedroom itself was stripped of its belongings. Minori choked but she knew she had to check up on the only other person, her brother.
She ran to her brother’s room but heard footsteps. If her parents were dead and her brother possibly in harm’s way, who could be inside? Minori then remembered the news of the people looting homes and she suspected that these must be some of the ones mentioned. She no longer ran but took one small step at a time to avoid making noise. However, the floor creaked and she heard a gunshot.
She fell over as the blood oozed out of her head and began crying. She was never going to see her little brother again. She was never going to touch Haruka’s hand again. She was never going to taste Airi’s cooking again. She was never going to hear Shizuku’s singing again. She was going to die at home, alone and full of regrets. She could hear the people yelling at each other. It was a blur, however. She was losing consciousness by the second.
”… DOING… A KID… CRAZY?!”
“… SCARED OKAY? I… POLICE… DONE FOR!”
“… SEE WHAT YOU… INNOCENT…”
“LIKE YOU… WHAT ABOUT THOSE… PARENTS OR SOMETHING!”
Minori felt her eyes close slowly as the two kept arguing. Maybe she could have gone and stayed at Haruka’s. Then maybe she would have been safe but that would mean she would have to live with the fact that her family was killed. She didn’t know which option was better but she didn’t have to know. She had already taken her last breath.