Daxam

Shine City II: The Next Season

Zac watched as Kyle walked off to find some David fellow, leaving him alone with Sabine and the DJ, Nori. Sitting there with the tweaked out Sabine and Nori, who looked on the verge of panicking, Zac was surprised he was so calm. Sure, the concern he felt for Sabine was etched into every square centimeter on his face, but, other than that, he was still cool, calm, and collected. His breathing was normal, his heart steady. It was all a mystery to him as it would be to anyone else.

He watched as Nori brought Sabine closer to her and didn't need to be told twice to take his spot on the other side. Seeing how comfortable Sabine seemed to be with Nori so close, he decides to sit a bit farther away. Just because she seemed alright with Nori so close, it didn't necessarily mean she'd feel the same way if Zac sat as close. She could feel boxed in and try to flee, hurting herself and others in the process.

Zac watches as Nori pulls an ice cube out from her drink and presses it against Sabine's lips, her hand visibly trembling and her breathing shaky. Not knowing what else to do in this situation, he reaches out and gently rests his hand on top of Nori's in an attempt to calm her down. "Easy," he quietly says, his eyes locked with hers, hoping that the calmness in his eyes could radiate out and help her and that Sabine wasn't paying him enough attention to hear him. "Calm down. If Sabine realizes how upset you are, she might get upset, as well. Just take a couple of deep breaths, okay?"

Shine City II: The Next Season

The more Zac listens to Sabine, the more he knew she was anything but okay. Normally, when someone felt hot, their skin flushed, but her skin was probably a shade or two paler than before she went upstairs, which immediately raised a red flag in his mind. What's more, she was speaking a mile a minute, her eyes darting around the club as if she were expecting something to jump out at her at any moment.

It didn't take much thought for Zac to figure what had happened in the time the two of them separated: her rapid-fire speech, the blood that still remained on her shirt, and her complaints that she was hot were all enough to tell him that she experienced one of the seedier parts of the VIP lounge.

Now, came the question: what now? He could tell her she needed to get to a hospital, since he was sure that, by the way she was acting, something was very wrong, but that could end up with her walking off alone, then who knows what would happen? He could ignore it, but that was immediately ruled out. Just from the short time he had spent with her, he had grown to like her quite a bit, and if he ignored what was happening, he'd never be able to forgive himself. That only left one option: to call her out on it.

"What'd you take?"

Shine City II: The Next Season

To me, brunette is anything darker than blonde that isn't red XD

Shine City II: The Next Season

Oh, definitely. When that first started playing, I was blown away by how drastic the mood change was X3

Shine City II: The Next Season

How about something like this?

Shine City II: The Next Season

@Delta44 It is, but you're not there, so I have no choice but to tell you all of this here XD

Shine City II: The Next Season

@Daxam Just added it to my massive anime list! Though I put it near the top so it'll get viewed quickly!

@Delta44

You'll know when it gets into the dark half when the outro music changes. It goes from the usual, soft, wind-down music to some pretty dark and heavy music. It's so great X3

Trigun and Cowboy Bebop, too. They could be considered starting off rather light-hearted and jokey, but then they get very serious toward the end. They're also two of my favorite shows ^^

And, although I don't know much about it, try Higurashi: When They Cry. It gets incredibly dark at some point, that much I do know

Shine City II: The Next Season

<Snipped quote by Daxam>

Holy fuck, that's intense! :O It kinda has me interested now!

@Delta44

It's actually a really good show. About...halfway throughish, it starts to get really dark, especially for a magical girl show. It's not that long, maybe 13 episodes, if memory serves

Shine City II: The Next Season

Zac wasn't sure how much time had passed. Twenty minutes? Half an hour? An hour? Two? It seemed like forever since Sabine went up into the VIP lounge, and yet he was still sitting there, waiting. However, he was debating on whether or not he should leave and catch Sabine at Mochavine the next morning, assuming he woke up in time. After all, he was getting rather tired, the rhythm of the pounding bass having a bit of a hypnotic effect on him.

Just as he was about to stand, he heard a voice. "Hey, you're that guy that Sabine ran off onto the dance floor with earlier right? Mind if the two of us sit here?" Looking up, Zac sees the guy who was with Sabine earlier, as well as the poor DJ, who had some sort of liquid thrown at her, both holding drinks. Smiling, he says, "Nah, go ahead. I was getting pretty bored, anyway. It'd be nice to have someone to talk to, at least for a little while."

"Things were a little...crazy earlier so I know we never were properly introduced, I'm Kyle and this is Nori," the guy says. His trademarked friendly grin on his face, Zac responds, "I'm Zac. It's nice to meet you both." Turning to the DJ, he adds, "Sorry about what happened with that guy, earlier. Least you had your friend there to loan you his shirt."

It was then Kyle asked where Sabine ran off to. Zac sighs and looks back to the VIP staircase, where the same guard from before was standing. "She went up there," he answers. "I'm not sure how long it's been. I was actually getting ready to go home when you two--"

His voice cuts off as he watches a young woman descend from the stairs before turning off into the bathroom. Without a doubt, he knew it was Sabine, but what had cut him off guard was that he knew he had glimpsed blood on her face before she disappeared. "Sorry," Zac mutters, already rising to his feet, his eyes trained on the bathroom door, "but I think she might need help." Without another word, he heads off toward the bathroom. As he walks, he sees Sabine exit the washroom before walking away, as if she didn't notice him approach, which wouldn't surprise him given the amount of people milling about.

Closing the distance between himself and Sabine, he gently rests a hand on her shoulder and asks above the blare of the music, "Hey, everything okay?"

@BeastofDestiny@Verdaux@Narcotic Dollie

Shine City II: The Next Season

2 SP00KY 4 M3 M8

You know, that'd make for a really interesting dating sim/anime/VN. It starts out all happy and normal and stuff, and then BAM! Sinister plots!

inb4 someone tells me of an existing VN/anime with the same premise...

@Delta44

Um, it's not exactly slice-of-life, but Madoka Magicka was like that. Starts off happy and sweet, normal girls become magical girls...

...Then one of the girls gets her head bitten off :|