Anime Oneshots

No Name - Levi

The most beautiful and meaningful event of the year bears the name 'The Reluctance Ball'.

At the most formidable times, society changed to the worst. The gap between the classes was present as far as men started forming the first associations thousands of years ago, but the types of slavery changed within every culture and time. Those who didn't have luck to escape the harsh punishments of their debts are now are imprisoned to entertain the high classes in various ways. Depending on their talents, they were devided into different sections: some worse than the others. One of them was the 'The Reluctance Ball'. Having no other gift other than the voice, you would be trained to perform all kinds of music on stage. And once in a year, the most talented ones had the honor to perform on the yearly ball.

One of the entertainment groups was called 'No Name'. A band consisting of three people who wore suits and white bandages over their eyes. A female guitarist. A male drummer. And a male singer.

They decided to discard their names after the verdict to mock the higher-ups, acting like mere pigs in the unjust world as they were judged. Their songs were provocative and sharp tongued, which was the reason why the elites liked them so much. It was very amusing to watch them struggle against the system, like fish trying to survive on dry land.

Today was the day of their performance and one particular lady was looking forward it.

Her story was different. She might have been a member of the most wealthiest class but few knew her struggles to the top. She wasn't popular among the nobility because of her nasty reputation. The gossips whispered about all kinds of physical cruelties she had done in her early years, only to emerge on the top of her section as a winner. Years passed after her uprise and she managed to build herself a steady income through connections and some shady trades. But between all the masks she wore, one thing remained: she valued life more than anything in this world.

Having rarely time to enjoy herself, she managed to spare some time to look into the event invitation she recieved from one of her work partners. Upon hearing that the notorious band 'No Name' participated in the annual ball after placing under the top ten in the musical stand-off, she promised herself that this was something she wished to see with her own eyes. If someone could show her the beauty of life in a way only she could understand, it was definitely the convicted singer that had the guts to provocate the nobles on such high levels.

A blood red dress hugged her curves while the rest of the gracious body was ornated with various jewlery. Silently, she moved through the crowd to her arranged table right in front of the stage. Some moments passed until the lights went out and dark silhouettes appeared. All eyes were on the still figures, concetrated, waiting for their first move, like predators patiently lurking the pray. They were only mere pigs on the stage, after all. The young lady took a sip of champagne focused on the current situation.

They endure the looks of humiliation with such resistence that it can be felt in the air.

The instrumental of the song started and the singer spoke the first words: "Kneel down, pigs..."

His voice echoed through the hall, catching even the attention of the waiters. The lady held her breath unkowillingly, listening to every twitch of the string and processing each word throughly that left his lips.

"I'll show you, tearing it to pieces

If you only

Wish for salvation, for the future

Then, kneel down"

She could feel every emotion that he leaked through the song. It reached her heart because she could relate to all the horrors that the unfortunate had to bear. She was no stranger to the lowlife of the modern society, but over the years she forgot how it felt to be under everyones heels. Long forgotten memories awakened in her, making the audience seem more and more like the deepest pit of hell itself.