❝　　listen to　｡　　usseewa　　⁺
（🪡）mizuki & mafuyu ver.

（🌀）marionette - ada.
❝　　s.her　｡　　🪡　　⁺

（🌀）luna - hikiko.
❝　　any　｡　　🪡　　⁺

lights were all around, the stage illuminated in pink and purple, it was almost blinding. the headlights were focused on just the two of them, as they slowly stepped on the stage, walking towards their microphones, these were their last moments before competing for who would keep their life. it was inhumane, the thought of having to sing and impress aliens for the right to live a few more hours, days if you're lucky.

but this was reality, marionette knew that, this is why she had come up with a plan. gazing at luna, yet luna was only focused on the audience beneath them, waiting for them to begin. the smaller one sighed, removing her microphone from the stand. it was pink, just like everything else about her, except her outfit. they had put her in an all-white dress, she almost looked like a bride this way, while luna was dressed in darker clothes, an oversized sweater and baggy jeans with patterns on it. the difference in their aesthetics was almost amusing.

music started playing, both of the contestants taking one last breath, marionette had her eyes closed, getting a feeling for the melody she's been practicing to for the past week, before she began her turn, the opening line was all hers, and although her voice was considered sweet and pure by the aliens, in this moment it was filled with boldness and slight anger. that's what fit well into this song, anger, it's what luna and her had agreed on.

"what is rightness?"

her eyes opened once again, looking over at luna, a smile displaying on her lips. they'd win this round, together, no matter what it took. they've been working up to this moment for so long, marionette held out her gloved hand for luna, who met her eyes, before intertwining their fingers with hers.

"what is stupidity?"

the pink-haired couldn't disguise her grin, as they matched up their voices, the only way to disguise between them being the way marionette's was slightly deeper. they were in complete synchronisation, with the exception of when they sang the parts where it was only one of them using their voice. and yet, although completely convinced their plan would work, marionette couldn't keep from watching the scores, shown on the big screen behind them, which was framed in porcelain doves.

the score was almost driving her insane, constantly switching between her and luna having the higher one. as she looked over at luna, she noticed that they weren't any less nervous, they just tried to ignore the screen, but it was clear how anxious they were, their grip on her hand almost starting to hurt. luna's eyes were tightly closed, their eyebrows had formed into a frown. observing them, marionette had almost forgotten to keep singing, and that was visible on the screen. there wasn't much time left, their score had dropped, there was no more equality between them.

panic came up in her stomach, she felt sick, eyes wide as she kept switching between looking at the scores, luna and the audience, which was filled with those ugly aliens and their poor human pets. her hand left luna's, and she took a deep breath.

the sun shone brightly, golden as always. it always did, it was so often here, luna wondered if maybe it had never cried before. was this garden the sun's home? maybe the children here were intruders, like the aliens were intruders of the planet. the sun has already been here before luna ever came to the garden, so maybe he too was just another intruder of it's homeplace?

they silently sat in the shadow of a tree, hiding from the light of the sun. maybe it'd be even happier if luna wasn't here? they didn't want the sun to hate them, when they liked it's warmth and comfort so much. the moon probably liked them way more, or was it angry that some human had been named after it? luna wouldn't know. no one ever looked at the moon, everyone was always asleep when it shared it's light.

the moon was quite relatable, luna also never got to show who they truly were. people never looked at them. they pulled their legs closer to it's chest, purple hair falling into their pale face, eyes watching the shadows of the leaves moving slightly. they heard the laughters of the other children, playing with the metallic fish in the small sea, or playing tag together. sometimes luna couldn't help but feel sad at the sight, they were all so happy and here he was..

they let out a soft sigh, burying her face in their knees, closing their eyes and listening to their own breath. that was, until they felt a soft tap on their head, making them look up and face a girl his age, with short pink hair and a bright smile. "i noticed you're alone.. do you wanna play tag with me?" her hand was held out to them, waiting for it to take it.

"... but what about the sun?" luna whispered, leading the girl to tilt her head slightly. "do you not like the sun?" she asked curiously, sitting down in front of them and placing her hands on her lap. luna only shook her head in response, sitting in a similar position as the other girl, although avoiding eye contact for unknown reasons. not that the girl minded.

"well.. maybe we can draw together then?" she looked through a small bag she carried around. usually the children in the garden left their bags in the rooms, but this girl seemed to not want to leave it out of sight. she took out a bit of paper and two pencils, one was pink and the other was purple. she handed luna the purple one, taking the other for herself, before placing the paper between them.

"do you like drawing?" she asks, looking up, her eyes kind of resembling luna's memory of what the sun looked like. she hadn't looked at it in a while, as they believed it wouldn't like that. ".. i do" he nods silently, starting to hesitantly draw a small cat on the corner of the paper, while the girl wrote a word on the other corner with a small bunny next to it. "what's that?" the taller one asked quietly, pointing at the word with it's pencil.

the female smiled, "that's my name!" she decorated the first letter of her name with small hearts. "i'm marionette, but you can just call me nette, it's shorter!" she introduced herself, smiling brightly, she looked like she'd start glowing soon. luna smiled very subtly, trying to return the favour. "that's a cool name.. i'm luna."

"ohh..! you're named after the moon!" marionette clapped slightly, "i love the moon." luna's eyes were filled with slight admiration. ".. me too. i love the moon, too."

luna's eyes betrayed a bit of shock as their friend began singing the lines that were supposed the be his, not giving them the chance to raise their score any more. they noticed the desperation in her eyes and voice, and their eyes moved over to the red lights of the guns which were pointed at the both of them. didn't they want to tie their scores? why was she doing this now?

it looked at the scores, frowning in confusion at the fact marionette had brought hers to be above theirs. wasn't she the one to have proposed this plan? they didn't get it. until now everything worked out, until she had suddenly stopped singing, just to then begin overshadowing him. it made no sense. what was going on? their grip on the microphone tightened, trying to get some lines out, but they didn't mix well with marionette's anymore, it was a mix of two people's desperation to try and be better than the other, and yet marionette's score was still higher than luna's.

the melody was close to it's end, the guns raised, pointing at luna. marionette didn't look at her friend, finishing the song. she felt guilty, maybe for the last time this season, but luna had meant something to her. the relationship wasn't a good one, it never was, but marionette couldn't help the horrible feeling of having lied to them, proposing the option of getting a tie and having both of them survive, just to throw it away as she got panic she'd die last minute. her hands covered her ears, and yet that didn't help her blend out the gunshots, because either way, she saw the blood at her shoes, mixing with their white colour.

the microphone rolled through the red liquid, until it came to a stop against luna's microphone, which has hit the ground a few seconds before their body followed. marionette's hands lowered, eyes hesitantly moving towards the other, her pink eyes meeting dead ones. this was her fault, and yet the relief of being able to stay alive was bigger than the guilt of being at fault for her friend's death. she didn't even notice the guards putting her collar around her neck, a small clicking sound emitting from it as it closed around her skin. her eyes had already left luna, instead focusing on the big letters "marionette win" on the screen.

the only thing that could bring her away being the aliens, leading her back to her room, which was in her signature colour, a light pink, looking way too warm and welcoming for what just happened. as she entered, her mind went blank, leaving nothing but the urge to sleep and get in contact with her soft, fluffy bed.