I found an old DVD. When I asked my dad what it was, he said he didn't know either.
"Why not watch it and find out?" He suggested.
I popped it into the DVD player and it began without any menu screen or title. A young man with pale red eyes stood uncomfortably close to the camera.
"Is it on?" His voice asked with minor audio distortions. He moved away from the camera slightly, his face more in focus. His crimson bangs were choppy and his hair was down to his shoulders. The man blinked in realisation.
"Ah, it's on!"
He moved back, joining six other young men. They all wore brightly coloured and unique outfits consisting of black shirts, white trousers, black boots and colourful jackets. Each man was assigned a different colour. I recognised the dark purple haired man with blue eyes as a younger version of my dad. I paused the DVD and turned to him.
"Dad? Is that you?"
"Oh wow… That was about ten years ago."
When mum walked passed, she gasped.
"STARISH's final concert? I haven't seen this in ages..." She sat down, cuddling next to dad as I continued the DVD.
"Hello, everyone! We are STARISH!" The boys said in unison.
"I'm Ittoki Otoya!" The red haired boy exclaimed.
"My name is Ichinose Tokiya." Younger dad said.
"Yo, I'm Kurusu Syo."
"My name's Shinomiya Natsuki!"
"Jinguji Ren here."
"I'm Masato Hijirikawa."
"And I'm Cecil Aijima!"
"This DVD will show live footage of the STARISH-final goodbye performance." Dad explained.
"We hope you enjoy." They said in unison once more. The screen faded out onto a massive stage. The lights were dim and only distant mutters and shouts from the crowds around the camera. Suddenly, a single spotlight filled the view. Someone rose from the floor. He was shrouded in darkness, yet you could see the beads of sweat trickling down his face. When they sang, multiple male voices came out.
"With the love that we sing here…"
The person in the middle split into another six as they continued to sing. The light brightened, showing the group from danced around on the stage while the camera focused on each of them as they sang.
"Dad look, it's you!" I pointed as the younger version sang with the camera focused on his face. The younger Dad had a small ponytail draped over this left shoulder and a small amount of stubble across his jaw. Current dad covered his face with his hand, groaning as mum laughed.
"Look at you, dear! You were so cute with the ponytail!" She giggled.
"I remember that ridiculous hairstyle. What was I thinking?" He laughed too.
"You were young, it's normal to try ridiculous hair."
I turned back to the TV, mesmerised by the dance moves. Their singing sounded amazing! They complimented each other so well and the transition from the first song to the next was smooth. Only during the transition did I notice the cries from the audience.
"I love you, Ren!"
"Cecil, look over here!"
"Tokiya, you're so handsome!"
The second song began, more catchy and upbeat than the first. The dazzling lights caught my attention as they sang. Hayato and Akira wandered in, sitting beside me in just as much awe of the concert as I.
The DVD continued, showing small segments of the group just talking or introducing the next song. My favourite part was dad's solo. The talking part before his song told of a funny story involving him and his ex-roommate, Otoya. Dad made the same embarrassed expression as his younger self did.
"Now for the song." He interrupted "I hope you all enjoy it. This is one of the songs from Hayato."
Hayato? I paused the DVD and looked over at my brother.
"You wrote a song?" I asked. He shook his head and we turned to dad for an explanation.
"What did you mean, dad?" I questioned.
"Well… When I was a little older than you, Riku, I was an established idol. But I went under the name, Hayato. For years, I was pretending to be an upbeat, overly joyful and hyperactive idol who was the identical twin to Ichinose Tokiya. But, when I met your mother, I stopped because it wasn't really me."
"Wow." Me and my siblings gasped.
"Was that why you named me Hayato?" My little brother tilted his head. Mum and dad nodded. Hayato's grin grew wider. "That's so cool!"
I turned back as dad began to sing. I recognised this sing. "Nanairo no Compass". When I was younger, dad used to sing this to me and my siblings to help us fall asleep. He still sang it to Akira whenever she would wake up and go into our parent's room.
"Don't cry anymore, you're fine as you are." I sang. My voice wasn't the best but I enjoyed singing every now and then.
"Look at the sky!" Hayato and Akira sang along.
"Ah, my sweetest love." My parents joined in. We had a small family sing along before my siblings and I forgot the words and let dad and his younger self sing the rest of it. I noticed Akira's eyes drooping closed as she fell asleep on my shoulder. I smiled, patting her light purple head. Soon enough, Hayato fell asleep on my other shoulder. I felt myself going too, but mum's giggling stopped me. I turned my head as much as I could but all I could see was mum smiling fondly at the three of us. The song ended and the crowds cheered. Younger Dad then began singing "Believe my voice". I joined in the chorus with dad but tried not to sing too loudly. I worried I'd wake up Akira and Hayato. I sat through two songs from Syo and one from Natsuki (which was more rock focused than I thought it would be) and dad asked me to pause the DVD. I did. Mum picked up Akira and dad picked up Hayato, taking them to their rooms. Thank God, my shoulders felt stiff. Mum and dad came back in, taking their seats on the sofa and I pressed play again.
Each of the group sang two solo songs and mum and dad talked about them and their time at Saotome Academy. The story of how they formed, when Cecil joined the group, even all about the other concerts they did. Dad frowned slightly as they finished some song all together. Mum noticed.
"Honey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, dear. Just remembering this being the final song of the concert."
I watched the screen intently. They began singing legend star, each of the members in turn saying the simple phrase. Before they began singing properly, dad made an announcement.
"Please welcome to the stage, for one night only, Quartet Night and Heavens!" A group of four more guys ran in from the left. A group of seven ran in from the right. They high fived, hugged and fist bumped each other before STARISH continued the song. The song was upbeat and made me feel like dancing along. Quartet Night and Heavens added more depth and volume to the song as they joined in. The smiles across all their faces was magical and made me smile too. But then the song digressed. Otoya, Natsuki, Cecil and Syo cried as they sang. Dad, Masato and Ren gave small sad smiles as they huddled together. From the sides of the camera, I noticed some of the other idols also crying as they watched STARISH huddle together in a group hug. The chorus kicked in again and they released from the hug, still with tears in their eyes but they gave their all into the last chorus. The song ended and the crowd cheered and yelled even louder than before.
"Everyone!" Otoya began "I just wanted to thank you all for supporting us for ten years! It's… It's been…" He burst into sobs, turning and crying on dad's shoulder.
"It's been an honour to sing for you and it's been an honour to be part of this group. Without STARISH, I wouldn't have opened up and grown into the man I am today."
"I can't believe this is the final chapter in STARISH's story." Natsuki sobbed, clinging to Syo for dear life.
"Natsuki, it's ok. We've had a good run, and it doesn't mean the group is over!" Syo exclaimed, patting his head.
"Chibi is right." Ren stated. I heard Syo telling him to not call him that. "STARISH may be over, but it won't leave our hearts."
"Jinguji's right." Masato added.
"Thank you all so much for coming!" Cecil sobbed.
"Thank you STARISH for bringing us together tonight. And thank you for all the fond memories we will keep close for the rest of our lives." A brunette man chimed in.
"I agree with Kotobuki. Without STARISH, we would not have risen to the heights we did and for the memories we share, we cannot be more grateful." A man with bright purple eyes with thick rimmed glasses stated. The three groups gathered together in front of the camera.
"And our final thanks goes to our composer, Nanami Haruka."
A young girl with peach hair and large yellow eyes rose from the floor. She bowed.
"Without her, none of us on this stage would have gotten together and sung for the past ten years."
The crowds grew louder in celebration. And with a last "thank you" in unison, the TV went black. The DVD player released the DVD.
"That was a blast from the past." Dad grabbed the disc and a pen and wrote on the front.
STARISH's final concert. He put the disc on top of a small shelf.
"I'll have to find a DVD cover for it later. Come on, Riku, time for bed."
The window outside showed the moon, illuminating the large garden beside our home. Was it really that late already?