Sochu P.O.V.
“Pour me another one, Sochu.”
“This will be number fifty-four piano man.” I was carefully watching him.
“Really, now? I lost count at four.”
I placed the drink on the counter, Belgar Thruskan mix, house specialty.
And just as the previous thirty drinks, it went down in one go. Thankfully it was not working ours.
A drinking Brett Black on the counter would cause a commotion in the Titty these days.
“By the way Sucho, you know anything about the branch I belong to now?”
“You do? That’s great, we have several. Which one is it?”
“Kagemishe, Kagemoshi…something like that. My mind was elsewhere when boss told me.”
I stretched out my hand for a western handshake. Brett who is not really Brett clumsily returned the gesture and we saluted each other.
“Welcome to the Kagemusha, we are now brothers in arms. More specifically, brothers in the shadows.”
“Really Sochu? You run the supply line or something?”
‘Small talk for a suffering soul.’
“Not quite but not too far either. You’ll learn more once when you are out an about.”
The staff was keeping their distance. They could tell something was off. Brett’s Qi was intense and seeping out irregularly.
I continued to clean for opening hours as I made an offer with more small talk.
“You know, Kaen is a beautiful kingdom, you might like it there.”
Brett’s eyes remained dull but there was a slight fluctuation in his Qi.
“Westerner, Sochu.” He pointed at himself with the glass in a self mocking manner.
FLASH!
A picture was taken of the moment.
“Hey Zuwan, you playing around?” I asked our little playful hostess.
“I thought the lights, the angle and the pose is perfect for a cover. It just needs editing. One hundred Ucra for the picture, Sochu.”
“Ha, ha, ha! Always the deal maker, Zuwan.” Brett became very expressive with her.
“I always aim to please, Mr. Black.”
She would give that picture for free, if Brett touched her.
“Fine, fine. If it’s as good as you say, you have a deal. We will check later.”
“Say Brett, how about we drown those sorrows with the special drinks from the concert and some music?”
His eyes finally lit up a little.
“Good, we are going to the studio. You play, we’ll talk and something will come out of it. If not, at least you’ll get an incredibly satisfying hangover.”
‘Artists are great when they are in their creative highs and some are when they are in an emotional low. I was going to test my new brother here.’
“Zuwan, have someone take over. Tell them I am recording with Mr. Black.”
We moved to the studio, drinking along the way.
“You wanna join, Zu?” Shouted Brett.
“Yes! Yes! I’ll be there in a few!”
She ran off like a possesed porcelain doll.
----------------------------------------
The studio atmosphere was lively. A deadly music producer turned master barman, a drunk, out of his mind awakened generational talent and an extremely happy, horny hostess were making a grand ruckus.
‘The Seal of Amaterasu is upon him. Interesting, little brother!’
“Zuwan, give him some space it is time to let our rainmaker make some noise.”
I placed a special rejuvenating concoction for my new shadow brother on the grand piano. A half drunk, half inspired state is best when it comes to severe awakened improv.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Zuwan, move from the seat. Drink a little, there’s plenty.”
Relunctantly she left Brett’s side with a pouty face.
‘How the hell can you compose with hands on your crotch?’
Brett drank it all in one fell swoop. Three breaths later, he was in the condition I wanted. He started playing the keys trying to find his inner voice.
It was time for a sales pitch.
“You can go to the Kaen kingdom if you don’t want to stay here, brother.”
“A westerner in Yinshengan? I don’t even know this continent.”
He kept playing with the keys as we talked.
“A member of the Kagemusha is respected anywhere in the cultivator world. Besides, songwriter, musician and friend of Ixur Ember. No one will reject you, your conditions are suitable.”
Sipping another drink from the many servings nearby, he told me.
“Ok. Talk to me about this great place of yours.”
I began to tell him about a home, a home I couldn’t go back to.
An hour passed. With a reseated Zuwan trying to crotch up a soberer Brett.
‘If his woman catches you, Zuwan. You’ll be turned into flaming meat chopsticks.’
SMOOCH!
“That’s enough!” I shouted.
The girls here, sometimes, are just wild. Zuwan began serving drinks and playing with the craftmics pretending to be non the wiser.
“Good try, but nowhere to being close enough, Zu.” Brett was nonchahalant with a smile.
And with drinks, lights and a piano, “Sinner’s Lullaby” was born.
I was reading the original lyrics penned by our new rainmaker. The piano was a collaboration, I helped a bit.
‘A good work, yes, yes!’
♪Tell me what I wanna hear
Sell me a desire
Far away from here
Where there’s no fear
Where no one knows
The things that I’ve known
I care not if it’s true
As long as it is good♪
♪Can you soothe my world?
Can you ease my soul?
I’ll settle for a glass
If that’s all you have
Tell lies to me brother
You pour me another
As I swallow my pride
There is no goodbye♪
Chorus
♪Let’s toast once more
A kiss, two for sure
The forsaken and wronged
A little fool’s sing along
One shot before dawn
And one more for the road. ♪
♪What are these feelings?
They ain’t coming
They ain’t leaving
Some reasons for living
All seems unforgiving
Can I keep believing?
Care not if it’s deceiving
As long as it is pleasing♪
Bridge
♪You ain’t getting what you wanna
You know, no one’s ever gonna
The lines written for a toser
You don’t have to be this loser
An open book is always broken
By the hearts of the rotten
Don’t be me, be free
That is, if you can be♪
Outro
♪A late night lullaby
For those without eyes
The forsaken and wronged
Come on, sing my song
One shot before dawn
And one more for the road. ♪
The bridge was harsh, way too harsh for such a piece. We tried a few variations for a little bit, then we settled on a skeleton version for the Singing Phoenix.
“Brett, I am going to play around with this. Rock will be great but this one is far closer to the current trend in Turgan. This one is going to be the ticket! You leave this to me, ok?”
Brett was just sitting there fending off a lascivious Zuwan. She was red in the cheeks from watching her idol create a work.
“I am that kiss or two, aren’t I? Aren’t I?” She kept asking over and over.
The fist ever Brett Black groupie was also born.
‘She either passes out or she needs new panties.’
Brett sent the music sheet through his communication crystal. Since we had to wait for an answer and Yǐngr wasn’t around it was time to offer a helping hand to our new shadow.
“Brett if you want you can really leave Turgan. You can really sleep peacefully for a while or if you really dare, you can forgt everything. Even who you are.”
Breet dropped his drink, he knew I was dead serious. My Qi was exploding inside the room. Poor Zuwan passed out.
‘Normal people. Tsk.’
He was mulling things over. Ten minutes later he said.
“One more surprise, at this point who cares? Not me. What’s the catch?”
I took out three of my special culticrafts, a mix from the cultivator and the crafts of the awakened, and I placed them on the grand piano for Breet to see.
“The first drink will put you in stasis, that is, you will be asleep for months. When you wake up you will be in Kaen, under the direct guidance of the Kagemusha.”
For a half drunk, those eyes were pretty wide.
“The second one will help you rest and avoid nightmares and convultions. You will be well rested, enough to think clearly. Of course that also means your Andurian brethren will take you with them. As a side note, the Andurin are watching you right now.”
Anger, surprise, pain, a tinge of darkness. The dark energy wanted to seep from him. He said nothing but those eyes were everything.
‘I can see why he joined.’
“The third will make you forget. Forget it all, you will drink away your name. You can start over with us, forget all the pain, all the games and all the lies.”
Many, many sand grains later.
“Boss said that one should never drink any of your special crafts.”
“My boss is the chairman not her. I work wherever I want to. This is your choice, what will it be? Face the Andurin? Live in Yinshengan? Start over?”
“Trusting anything, anyone is a nonstarter these days but I also don’t really care.”
The communication crystal of the Singing Phoenix glowed brightly. Brett smiled.
“Pour some other stuff, we have to wait a couple of hours. Sister Ixur is sending us a recording.”
‘He truly is in the good graces of that crazy woman!’
Zuwan happily rejoined the festivities for the next hour. Coincidentally, Yǐngr arrived at the same time that the recording crystal did.
“Why are you bringing a hostess here?”
“No need to complain, she was helping with a song. I’ll set up the controls for everybody to listen.”
“I see your rare specialty drinks over there.” She was upset.
“He has the right to choose. That’s the ancient pact.” I profusely refuted her stance.
“Brett, you have to go back with your people. If you want to fully join us afterward, you can.”
“Mr. Black is joining the Titty permanently?” Zuwan had no idea of what was really going on.
A needless tumultuous argument sprung up for several minutes.
“Enough! I’ll go, I’ll go. The two women I like said the same thing.” Brett’s declaration brought silence.
“Chottoippai noma sete kure.” He spoke the language of Kaen.
“Oh, you are learning my tongue?” I was happily surprised.
“Just the bare basics for the important stuff. Take a leak and the like.”
We all laughed loudly.
I placed my very special drink on the table, the one that would allow him to sleep soundly for a day. My inmortal culticraft beverage.
The music began playing in the studio. The skeleton version of “Sinner’s Lullaby.”
“When you wake up, you’ll be back in Malaktaraf.”
Happily listening to the song we drank some more until he finally closed his eyes.
Zuwan stole one more smooch.
‘Sweet dreams, brother.’