One Kick Girl — Chapter 75
"Thera-Sol's Return: The Rave of Cosmic Proportions"
Raon POV — Shion meltdown — Yuno unchecked marketing
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1. Thirty-Seven Minutes of Peace
Raon knew it was going to be a bad day when she opened her eyes and the sun was spinning.
Not metaphorically.
Literally rotating to a beat only she could feel.
"...this is your fault," Shion groaned from the kitchen, clutching her coffee mug like a life raft.
Raon rubbed her face.
"It's not spinning. It's just… shimmering."
Shion stared at her.
"Normal suns don't shimmer, Raon. That's disco behavior."
Raon blinked.
"I don't like how you said that."
"The universe doesn't care what you like."
Shion drank her coffee.
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2. First Sign of Disaster
Raon's wristband buzzed.
Not a notification.
Not a mission alert.
A ringtone.
A bassline.
Yuno's voice burst through:
"HE LIVES!!"
Raon jumped.
Shion winced.
Yuno screeched:
> "THERA-SOL HAS DESCENDED UPON THE CITY MALL!"
Raon blinked.
"…The mall?"
"Yes! And people are DANCING! It's beautiful!"
Shion calmly set her coffee down.
"We're going to jail," she said.
---
3. Mall of the Disco Dead
The Bureau van screeched to a halt in front of SunGate Mall.
Crowds spilled out of every entrance.
They weren't panicking.
They were vibing.
Raon stepped out.
Her ears filled with a pulsing rhythm.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom-ba-boom.
She felt her leg twitch.
"No," Shion said, grabbing her arm before the twitch could evolve into an act of war.
Inside the mall:
People wore shards of disco glass like jewelry. Eyebrows. Earrings. Bellybutton glitter.
A woman passed them wearing a shard embedded in her forehead.
"It blessed me!" she cried.
Raon stared.
"I— it what?"
---
4. The Cult of Thera-Sol
A stage had formed around the fountain.
Not built.
Just manifested from mirrored fragments and retail signage.
Above it floated Thera-Sol—
the disco god they definitely did not intend to create.
It pulsed in shimmering waves of mirror-plated radiance.
An announcer approached the microphone.
He was tall.
Tall like a lamppost.
Tall like the Bureau's budget nightmares.
He wore a tracksuit made entirely of reflective panels.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," he boomed, "WELCOME TO—"
He spread his arms.
> THE CHURCH OF THE ONE KICK.
Raon short-circuited.
Shion made the sound of someone dying inside.
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5. The Sermon
A hush fell over the crowd.
The announcer turned toward the floating Thera-Sol.
"We gather today," he whispered reverently, "to honor she who roundhoused the heavens…"
Spotlights hit Raon.
"…THE SAVIOR OF RHYTHM…"
Raon mouthed: no no no no no
"…THE MOTHER OF DISCO…"
Shion physically collapsed against a planter.
"…ONE.
KICK.
GIRL."
The crowd erupted.
Phones up. Tears streaming. People chanting "ONE KICK! ONE KICK!"
Thera-Sol spun slowly, emitting a holy bass drop.
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6. The Prophet Arrives
Maestro Dome slid onto the stage as if teleported by smugness.
Headphones glowing. Suit immaculate. Aura unbearable.
"My children," he intoned, palms raised to the fluorescent heavens, "behold the dawn of Radiant Harmony."
Raon whispered to Shion, "I will kick him."
"You can't kick him," Shion replied.
"I can, and I will."
"Raon, if you kick Dome, the disco god will become angry. And then what? It starts a music festival?"
---
Thera-Sol lowered itself.
A beam of soft rainbow light hit Raon.
Dome gestured at her.
"Step forth, chosen one."
Raon shut down.
"Nope. Nope nope nope. Hard pass. I refuse to be the messiah of glitter."
Dome leaned in the mic. "She is shy."
The crowd cheered louder.
---
7. Yuno Makes Everything Worse
A scream from the second floor balcony:
"MERCH DROP INCOMING!"
Yuno leaped over the railing, parachuting with a huge banner:
> #KICKTOASCEND
She landed in a pile of beanbags (marketing stunt props).
"YOU ALL GET STICKERS!" she shrieked, firing holographic holo-stickers into the crowd.
Little kids swarmed.
Adults too.
Shion grabbed her head.
"Why are there children here?!"
Yuno shrugged.
"Religion markets better if you start early!"
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8. Divine Kick Attempt
The crowd parted, chanting.
Thera-Sol began humming.
Boom-BOOM.
Boom-BOOM.
Boom-BOOM.
Like a heartbeat that had snorted glitter.
Raon's leg pulsed.
It demanded.
It yearned.
It whispered:
> kick the sun
Shion hissed through her teeth.
"Raon. If you kick it again, I swear on every dimension, I will bury you myself."
Raon clenched her fists.
"I am fighting my instincts—"
The bass dropped.
Instincts won.
She blurred upward like a missile.
---
9. Kick vs Cosmic Rave
Her heel struck Thera-Sol square in its mirrored core.
It didn't explode.
It didn't shatter.
It evolved.
A sonic shockwave rippled across the mall.
The fountain water rose in synchronized arcs. Mirrors spun overhead into spirals. Shoppers levitated gently, dancing mid-air.
A neon banner unfurled from nowhere:
> THE SECOND COMING OF KICK.
Dome wept openly.
"My god… she hath ascended the groove."
---
10. Shion vs Reality
Shion stalked onto the stage, shoulders shaking not with fear but pure exhausted fury.
She grabbed Raon by the cheeks.
"LISTEN TO ME."
Raon stared into her eyes.
"You are not a deity."
"But they're cheering—"
"You are not a prophet."
"They're chanting—"
"You are a gremlin who eats snacks and kicks anything shiny."
Raon thought about that.
"…But I'm very good at it."
Shion screamed silently into her palms.
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11. The Rave's Verdict
Thera-Sol hovered before Raon.
It emitted a final, transcendent bassline.
A pulse of text formed in midair, refracted off its mirrored face:
> APPROVED.
PROCEED TO PHASE TWO.
Raon blinked.
Shion blinked.
Yuno screamed joyfully.
Dome collapsed in prayer position.
The mall crowd raised their glowing phones as one.
And then—
Thera-Sol vanished.
Like someone hit the universe's disco off-switch.
Silence.
Raon whispered:
"…Wait… what's Phase Two?"
Shion cracked her knuckles.
"If it involves space I am killing someone."
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END OF CHAPTER 75