#He HAD TO DESTROY THEIR DREAMS RIGHT AFTER TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT NAGI

[nazbruhh]

Spoilers:

This card of Akito hurts even more after the event, like....they were this happy to fulfill their dreams, UNTIL SOMEONE HAD TO Destroy it man......

[pjsk-story-summaries]

Light up the Fire Event Story Summary

TL;DR: Some time after Vivid BAD SQUAD's highly successful third event, Taiga calls them and their allies to a meeting in the streets. He tells them that they'll never surpass RAD WEEKED, before revealing the truth of Nagi's death. He then immediately challenges them all to a street battle, effortlessly destroying all of them. EVER, Kotaro, and Arata all decide to give up on surpassing the legend. An is still in shock.

Ken brings them all back to WEEKEND GARAGE and explains RADder's past, as well as the origin of RAD WEEKEND.

RADder had been performing together ever since they were kids. Though they'd found success with a record label, conventional fame wasn't for them, so they quit and formed their own label. Touring was difficult, so after An's birth, they decided to focus on recording so Ken could help her grow up.

When An was around ten years old, Nagi was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given five more months to live. After watching An's passion for singing, she decided to end her life by putting on one final show- RAD WEEKEND. Nagi's hope is that the event will light the fire of the next generation to carry her dream forward.

A few weeks before the event, Nagi called the whole town to a meeting. There, she revealed her diagnosis and asks a few favors: that they all come to the event, that they pretend she's still alive even when she's gone, and that they never tell An the truth.

RAD WEEKEND was a huge success. Nagi was thankful for everything singing had given her. Taiga decided to continue singing abroad, and Ken decided to start WEEKEND GARAGE and help the street's youth grow.

Shortly before she passed away, Nagi explained why she didn't want An to know about her death. She knows An will be one of the people who will carry her dream forward and surpass that night. If An learns, then she'll associate singing with loss and lose this dream forever. It's sad not being able to say goodbye, but Nagi knows it's for the best. She died a week later.

Though An is still distraught over Nagi's death, she resolves to keep fighting to surpass that legendary night. The rest of Vivid BAD SQUAD is right behind her.

Fan translation (lozy bug) / Song (Gekokujo) 2DMV

Much of this event takes place in the form of flashbacks. To more clearly distinguish what is past and present, flashback content will be italicized.

This story deals heavily with themes of hospitalization, sickness, and death. Please read with caution!

Chapter 1: Rin and Len serve Vivid BAD SQUAD food while MEIKO's out. They show the two the recording of their most recent event as a reward. Akito praises Kohane's performance, and while An doubts her ability still, she's determined to reach her goal. Toya notes that the whole town seems to be cheering them on now.

Taiga's leaving for a US tour soon, so he had asked Vivid BAD SQUAD and their allies to meet him that evening for something important. Rin realizes that An left her handkerchief and goes to return it.

At the meeting, Taiga praises them all for putting on such a spectacular event. He's impressed by all of their growth. However, he's certain of one thing: they will never surpass RAD WEEKEND.

Chapter 2: Taiga reveals that the reason RAD WEEKEND was so big was because it was also Nagi's farewell. She died shortly after the event. The rest of the town lied about it to protect An, at Nagi's request. Though An denies it at first, she slowly realizes that Nagi truly is gone.

Taiga immediately challenges them all to a street battle.

Chapter 3: A crowd begins to form. Despite Taiga's power, Akito urges everyone to face this battle head-on. Taiga picks EVER to go first. Though EVER does well, Taiga destroys them. He chooses Kotaro next. However, the pressure gets to him and he fails. Arata chooses to go next. Even though he knows the truth now, he's still going to carry Souma's dream. Arata sings even better than he ever has, but Taiga still easily defeats him. Taiga questions if he's just trying to cling on to what he has left of Souma.

Vivid BAD SQUAD is last. An freezes, still processing Nagi's death, while Kohane, Akito, and Toya face Taiga. They're struggling, however. An musters up the determination to sing and goes with everything she has, motivating her friends to do better, too. An can't stop thinking about Nagi and falters. Taiga taunts her about it, so An sings back with everything Nagi gave her. Vivid BAD SQUAD ends up finishing their song successfully.

Taiga recognizes Vivid BAD SQUAD's skill, the "next generation" Nagi always talked about. Still, he shuts them down with a performance of a song from RAD WEEKEND. Seeing their defeat, the town leaves, certain nobody will ever surpass it.

Chapter 4: Taiga arrives at WEEKEND GARAGE shortly after the battle. He tells Ken that An knows the truth now.

Arata leaves the group, defeated. He's given up on this dream after not being able to face Taiga. EVER follows, certain they won't beat him. Kotaro beats himself up over not being able to perform under pressure and runs away.

Ken finds the Vivid BAD SQUAD in the alley. An starts yelling at him for lying about Nagi's death. Ken takes them all back to WEEKEND GARAGE to explain everything.

Ken and Taiga met in middle school. Taiga hated his lack of passion in anything, so he showed him street singing. Ken, moved by the performance, began singing too. Nagi joined the group shortly after. They eventually officially formed a team. After a successful debut at Crawl Green, they signed with a record label and started a career as professional musicians.

Chapter 5: They quit the record label due to creative differences. What mattered most to RADder was the music, not fame. They decide to start their own record label, despite the challenge. Touring was difficult, but rewarding.

After An was born, Nagi instantly fell in love with her. The group decided to pause touring and focus on recording so Ken could spend more time with An.

A decade later, things are going strong. They have a tour planned for the US. However, Nagi's health is failing. She reveals she's been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and only has 5 months to live. There's no cure.

Everyone is distraught over the news. Nagi wants the others to determine the future of RADder. Taiga doesn't want to lose his sister.

Chapter 6: Nagi doesn't know how to process her own death. Still, An wants to practice singing with her, so she puts on an act to not worry her. Watching An grow reminds her of how much the town means to her. An mentions wanting to perform with Nagi one day, and while she knows it will never happen, a part of her wants it to be true.

Nagi tells Taiga and Ken that she wants to end her life by putting on one final event. She wants to inspire all the kids in Vivid Street to continue singing, to carry their dream to the next generation. Ken's on board, but Taiga doesn't want to give their dream away. He wants to sing with Nagi's dream instead.

Ken asks when Nagi's going to tell An about her diagnosis. She reveals that she probably won't.

Ken gathered up all their old rivals and friends, and Nagi convinced the owner of COL to host the event. Despite her poor health, Nagi is putting everything she has into the event.

Though she tries to hide it, Nagi gets nauseous at the end of practice. Her condition is worsening quickly. She's not sure she'll make it long after the event. She wants to watch An grow up and keep singing with her. She doesn't want to die.

Chapter 7: Nagi reveals her diagnosis to the rest of the town, spare the kids. She reveals RAD WEEKEND as her final event, and wants everybody to come. She also asks the town to pretend she isn't dead when she does leave. The owner of Crawl Green decides the story is Nagi went abroad to learn about singing in different cultures and languages, so it's like she never stopped chasing her dream. Finally, Nagi asks that the town never reveals her death to An.

The night of RAD WEEKEND arrives. Nagi thanks them all for doing this. Nagi sings with everything she has left. The energy in the venue is like nothing they'd ever seen.

After the event, Taiga reveals his decision to keep singing, for himself. Ken decides to stay on Vivid Street and foster the next generation. Nagi will cheer them on from the grave.

Nagi is now unable to leave bed. Ken and Taiga go visit her. They end up talking about An and her excitement to follow in Nagi's footsteps. Though Nagi's sad she won't be able to say goodbye to An, she knows it's for the best. She's certain An will be one of the ones to surpass her. Nagi doesn't want An to associate singing with her death, and then never sing again. Only when she's strong enough should she know.

Nagi passed less than a week later.

Chapter 8: An starts crying. She wanted to thank her for everything, and for her to meet Kohane and Akito and Toya, and see her surpass RAD WEEKEND, and perform on stage together.

Ken is confident that they will surpass RAD WEEKEND and carry Nagi's dream beyond where even she could. Knowing the faith Nagi placed in her, An resolves to keep working towards that legendary night. Toya's done running, and Akito's determined despite the challenge. Kohane wishes she could have meet the Nagi An loves so much, and will continue to follow them all.

Meanwhile in SEKAI, Rin keeps crying. She'd ended up hearing everything and told the rest of the Virtual Singers. They resolve to continue helping the kids however they can.

Ken listens to the kids decide their next move. He hopes Nagi sees how incredible they all are, and decides to help them out however he can.