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Chapter 15

The Day After.

…

Kenji entered Catal Rhythm's house and went into their bedroom. Seeing the boys sleeping soundly made him smile briefly. However, their postures were terrible. On the bunk dubbed 'The Ace Bunk' by the boys, Kise lay on his back stretching diagonally across the bed. His right foot was slung over one side of the bed, while his head and left arm was hung over on the left. Kenji was glad that the window was closed, because he may have fallen out during the night. But, Kenji wondered, how is it that a model has such an atrocious sleeping posture?

But then he remembered that Perfect 5th were the ones who moved his boys...to think that they didn't spare the time to fix them properly. On the bunk beneath him, half of Kagami was on the floor. Kenji winced; he knew that once Kagami wakes up, his neck is going to hurt.

Looking at Kuroko, Kenji nearly burst out in laughter. He's heard many stories of Kuroko's bed-hair but seeing it up close and in the flesh was an altogether different experience. The boy's dyed dark purple hair was sticking up in all directions as he lay on his back, hands bent at his head like a newborn.

He looked over to 'The Point Guard Bunk', and found yet another hilarious sight. Takao was in a similar position to Kise; however, his head wasn't hanging off. Instead, his left arm and leg were thrown over the edge as he lay on his side. His right hand somehow found its way underneath the guardrail and hung over.

Kasamatsu was the only one who looked the least funny. He looked like he was freefalling with one foot bent in a right angle, his face firmly planted in his pillow.

Unable to resist the urge, Kenji took out his phone and snapped pictures of all the boys in their funny sleeping positions. But when he was done, he quickly turned over Kasamatsu fretting that he may have suffocated and died. And (not surprisingly), Kasamatsu didn't even stir.

With a sigh, Kenji pulled their sheets off before drawing back the curtains. The bright sunlight entered the room in full force, assaulting Kise's face. He let out a high pitched screech as he flew off the bed. Kise stumbled and crashed into the dresser due to his entire body being sore.

Hearing the screeches and the clattering, the others rose up like zombies fresh from the dead. Kenji felt a six pack coming. His boys were killing him and they haven't even woken up properly yet. The manager made sure to burn this image into his mind, and next time, he'll definitely bring a cameraman.

"Ow!" Takao shouted as he tried to get up. He was unaware that his hand was underneath the guardrail and nearly broke it. He sounded like he was hitting a high note.

"Why is my cheek on the floor?" Kagami groaned as he slowly got up. However, his arms were trembling, and not long after, he crashed face-first into the floor.

"I feel like I played against Touou twice." Kasamatsu groaned out as he managed to get onto his feet. He leaned on the bunk so as to not fall. "I hope we don't have to go anywhere today."

"Is Kise-kun dead?" Kuroko asked, the drowsiness was evident in his face and voice. All eyes darted to the model who was slumped against the wall.

"I'm very much alive, Kurokocchi." He mumbled out.

Kenji's laughter simmered down into a series of chuckles. "You have a meeting soon. With the President."

"Eh?!" they screeched. "Why?" they seem like they were about to burst into tears. But at least, they seemed to brighten up.

"Well, Dad doesn't know you guys so I guess he wants to meet the boys who caused such a stir at the Festival." Kenji chuckled. "It won't be long."

They sighed.

"Fine," Kasamatsu sighed. He then looked to Kuroko and made a gesture. The boy knew what this meant and lazily walked to the bathroom. They all used the bathroom in one set order ―Kuroko, then Kagami, Kasamatsu, Takao and Kise being the last. They decided on this arrangement starting from the person that spent the least time in the bathroom to the most.

After they showered and freshened up, they ate breakfast which was prepared by Kenji. Their manager felt sorry for them, so he decided to cook for them just this once. However, at breakfast, they were still so sore that they couldn't even feed themselves. Kenji laughed at their misery and decided to watch them struggle. Kagami and Kise kept complaining about their necks ―Kagami wondering why he was sleeping in such a position. Takao complained about nearly breaking his arm when Kise frightened him, Kasamatsu just didn't want to get out of bed. Kuroko was just trying to eat.

Almost an hour later they were done and the six set out for the Complex. At first, Catal Rhythm felt at ease, thinking that they were going to be driven. Kenji just laughed and said,

"Of course not! You're numb and sore! You need to loosen up!" he was enjoying this. "Walking will help the pain to go away."

"But isn't the Complex far from here?" Takao asked.

Kenji shrugged. "It's at a reasonable distance where you can either walk with friends or take a taxi without feeling dissatisfied."

"Oh." But even though they said so, they were almost breaking out in tears.

The six then walked off, Kenji was ahead of them telling them to pick up the pace. The five groaned aloud in agony, and in that moment, Kenji whipped out his phone and called Hikaru. He then proceeded to tell the dance instructor that his five boys wanted to have practice with him.

"No we don't!" they screamed and summoned strength from the great beyond to move off.

By the time they reached the Complex, Kise looked like he had just run from a horde of fangirls, while the others looked like they were coming from playing a match against a Miracle. They then headed to the President's office via the elevator, at first; Kenji had cracked a torturous joke about taking the steps instead.

It was then that they realized that while Kenji wasn't as sadistic as Hikaru, he was still evil. Dragging themselves to the office, Kenji told them fix themselves up before entering. After much shuffling and the what-not, Kenji knocked on the door thrice before hearing a deep voice telling them to come in.

Kenji and his boys strolled in confidently, all eyes in the room landed on them. There was a round table in the middle of the large room; Starburst, D:FI and their managers were already seated beside each other, leaving the rest of seats for Catal Rhythm and Kenji. President Aihara was seated at the top-most area.

The six males greeted them before taking their seats. The air was thick with tension, and only an idiot wouldn't be able to notice the hostility between D:FI (except Amari and Hirose) and Catal Rhythm.

"Now that everyone's here, I'd like to say to my début groups ―Congratulations." President Aihara smiled.

"Thank you." The boys all chorused.

"Now, as you all should know, the trials you faced in your trainee days are just the tip of the iceberg. The real deal has started the moment you stepped foot on the stage at the Festival." He said. "Perilous times are ahead."

"Perilous?" one boy from Starburst said. He was a tall dark-haired boy with light brown eyes. Only Takao could remember his stage name which was "Solar".

"Yes." President Aihara said while nodding. "You'll have to face the veteran groups, not only from our company but from others as well. And the issues with fans that are crazy in love with you and the anti-fans that will hate your guts out. I don't even need to mention the troubles that come with the media."

Everyone nodded. While only Takao and Kise had a clear understanding of these (the former watches the entertainment news and such, the latter is a model and faces these things almost daily), Kagami, Kuroko and Kasamatsu had an idea of what these things entail. After all, ever since the video of them dancing with Perfect 5th went online, the barrage of questions and harassment they've face was huge. And that was just because they danced with Perfect 5th.

Imagine their lives in days to come…

"But, as long as you all do what you're supposed to, and follow the advice of your managers, then you should be fine." The President said to ease the boys present. "Any questions?"

"Yes." Nakajima said as he raised his hand. Aihara nodded to indicate that he could speak. "It's about them." He said as he pointed in Catal Rhythm's direction. All five's eyebrows rose after which came the eye rolls. "How could they get in the company through the back door, and even début before other trainees who've been here for years?" He continued, "They even got their own instructors!"

The President was silent. He looked at Nakajima intensely.

"Oi, Nakajima," another of Starburst ―"Jupiter" started. He was as tall as "Solar" but had silver hair and green eyes. "Haven't you seen their performance? It's obvious that they can dance and sing; what more do you need?"

"What are you saying?" Nakajima scoffed.

"I'm saying that you should stop. I admit, at first I was pissed about it too but after seeing them perform, I realized that there must be a reason for them to get in without taking the audition." Jupiter sighed.

"Oi," Nakajima stood up, almost in anger. With a sigh, Amari and Hirose pushed back their chairs further from the table in hopes of escaping from any crossfire. Their manager was about to take action but the President beat him to it.

"Boys," President Aihara's voice resounded. "While I do understand that anyone would have felt upset at their entry, please don't blame them."

"But Aihara-san, we've been working our ass―ourselves hard ever since we became trainees! How could they get things so easy?!" Nakajima said. The people in the room couldn't tell whether or not he was sad or angry about this matter. Catal Rhythm were tempted to grab the boy in throw him through the window.

The President stared at Nakajima. "Get things easy? When?" but before Nakajima could say anything more, he continued with a grin, "Alright, how about a test?"

"A test?"

"Yes, the new school year is approaching so I want you all to do something for me." The President stood up with a nasty grin. "The moment school opens I want you all to join a sports club."

"EEHH?!" Came the high pitched screech from the boys present. "WHY?!"

"Hold on. I'm not done. I want a monthly report as well and if you fail to even make it onto the bench; you'll revert to being trainees."

Kenji and the other managers doubled their lips so as to not burst out laughing. Their boys' facial expressions were priceless. That last sentence was obviously a lie, but being that they wouldn't know about the President's tendencies, they took it seriously.

"But we're idols! How will we have the time to play a sport and our work?" Jupiter screeched in horror. "I can't even imagine! Rehearsals, recordings, shoots and other things plus training and camps and competitions!? Aihara-san, isn't that a bit too much?"

Catal Rhythm leaned back in their chairs looking smug. While they were trainees, they had Winter Cup preparing for; at this moment Kagami wanted to laugh at the complaining bastards.

"No, it's not. You're young."

"So, which sport are we going to play?" Amari then asked. He and Hirose were the only ones not freaking out. "Is the choice up to us?"

"Yes, entirely yours. You can choose to play the same sport and write a joint report or you choose whichever sport you like and write your own report."

"How about volleyball?" this time it was "Mars" from Starburst who spoke. He was the twin brother of Jupiter.

"Oh hell no." Jupiter disagreed with a huff. "Have you not seen those monstrous spikes? I wonder how come the receivers' arms aren't broken yet."

"Alright, alright." The President said to gain their attention. "You can get started on this elsewhere. Now go." He said while making a shooing movement with his hand.

After bidding their farewell, Starburst and D:FI got up and left the room. Their managers congratulated Catal Rhythm on their success before leaving their boys as well. President Aihara then once more congratulated Catal Rhythm.

"So does that mean we're off the hook?" Kagami asked, referring what Kenji had told them what would happen should they have failed.

"Yes, and even if you didn't drive the crowd crazy, I wouldn't have kept my word." He admitted. The five exchanged glances. "While at the outset I was serious about it, when I kept getting your monthly progress report from Kenji and your instructors, I realized that letting you go would have been cruel.

"Four of you knew nothing about music and had to learn from scratch, in another instance, four of you couldn't dance, all five of you couldn't sing to save your lives but you still pulled through to become the amazing boys that you are today. All the while preparing for Winter Cup."

The President chuckled before he started up again.

"It's amazing really. I was greatly appalled when Kenji and Kuroko-san told me of your after school activities. Kagami-kun, Kise-kun and Kuroko-kun are aces; Kasamatsu-kun is his team's captain and nationally strong point guard, while Takao-kun is a top-notch point guard. I had to ask myself, how do you do it? You have to be learning what the others from Starburst and D:FI learnt in two years in approximately eight or nine months.

"It was then that I changed my mind. I thought 'regardless of how their début turns out, they'll still be idols'. And I'm glad I did." He smiled. "Welcome to the Aihara family, Catal Rhythm."

"Thank you." The five managed to respond. They were all in shock somewhat, as they never expected that lengthy sentimental speech. Kise, being his usual drama queen self, was almost close to tears.

"However," The President cut back in. "Because you boys didn't go through the standard process that idol trainees do, you'll be required to do them while you work. So, in between whatever time you have, you'll be learning song composition, choreographing, and other languages."

Seeing the distraught look on their faces, Kenji quickly said, "You won't be learning them all at once. Don't freak out on me."

"Plus, after a short while, once your instructors can identify who has the skill in whichever area, only that person will be studying it. For example, Kise-kun is shown talent as a songwriter while Takao-kun shows his talent as a choreographer. Thus, Kise-kun will be the only one learning song composition while Takao-kun learns choreography. Understood?"

"Hai!"

"That's all I have to say for now. It was a pleasure meeting you five."

"Likewise."

Kenji and the bunch quickly exited the room, and the moment that the door was shut behind them, they exhaled a breath of relief.

"Man, I thought that the President would have been a scary old man. He's pretty nice, isn't he?" Takao said.

"Yeah," Kise agreed. "Though, I wonder who Kenji gets his cruelness ―" the blond broke off as a hand covered his mouth.

"Don't say it." The captain said with a look of worry on his face. "I swear, I can't manage any strenuous activity. I'm still sore, you know?"

"Hmm? What was that?" Kenji asked with a smile as he looked at his boys. "I could've sworn that I heard my name."

"It wasn't me." All five gave out.

"Do you want us to die?" Kagami whispered indignantly.

With a hum, Kenji led the boys towards the stairs (much to their displeasure) and had them descend. They walked until they reached the fourth floor. The doors in the hallway were the same colour, in opposed to the third floor that had different door colour for each. Kenji walked to the middle of the hallway, before knocking on the white door.

"You're going to meet the other members of your 'dream team'." Kenji said with a grin.

"Other members? Did we meet any before?" Kasamatsu asked. "I don't remember any."

Kenji pretended to be hurt. "I'm a part of it. Aren't I your loveable and hardworking manager?"

"I don't know about the loveable part, but you are hard working." Takao said. A dreadful silence enveloped them before Kenji whipped out his phone. He typed speedily at the screen, all the while chuckling darkly to himself.

"Takao!" the other four ended up screeching. Kise was tearing up. Knowing Kenji, he was probably setting them up to get slaughtered by Hikaru.

Kenji then knocked on the door and shouted, "Yo! Are you in there?!"

Catal Rhythm raised their eyebrows as it seemed too casual. But, they then blew it off as Kenji being Kenji; after all, he seemed quite friendly with almost everyone he came across.

"Of course, you brat!" a voice snapped from the other side of the door. He seemed a bit angry. Just then, the door swung open with a force, revealing a young blond man (who still looked older than Kenji), dressed semi-formally. He was as tall as Kagami, and just as thick.

"Hello to you too," Kenji smiled, totally unfazed. He then waltzed into the room and not wanting to be left behind, Catal Rhythm followed suit. They greeted the angry blond man at the door and scurried in.

Inside was…neat?

Chairs were neatly stacked in one corner of the room while their corresponding desks were placed beside them single file. On top of these desks were colourful lidded cardboard archive boxes. Some of these boxes were red, white and orange, with a sole one being pink. Strangely, even though the room was not arranged, the chairs and desks were neatly placed.

"Hello, everyone!" Kenji perked. "These five boys are Catal Rhythm, please take care of them. They're quite the handful."

"We're pleased to meet you!" they chorused with a bow.

"I'm Sato Kiyotaka. I'll be your Booking Agent." said the blond man from earlier. He seemed to have calmed down, as there was a genuine smile on his face. "And forgive us for our workspace. We're in the midst of changing things around…" he then gave a venous stare to the other men who were by the window. "…because someone kept bitching about having a modern contemporary workspace and someone else agreeing."

"Well, excuse me for voicing my strong personal opinions in a free country." One of the men by the window quickly countered. He was as tall as Kenji and had wavy black hair and dark eyes. He was a bit baby-faced, and neither of the boys could figure out his age. He then walked up to Kenji and Catal Rhythm,

"I'm Watanabe Ren. I'm your publicist." He smiled. "And Kenji's best friend. Pleased to meet you."

"That's right, let the scheming bastards unite." Sato scoffed as he headed further into the room. "You're in for a real treat Catal Rhythm." He added with a laugh. Kenji and Ren reassured the boys that Kiyotaka was just being dramatic, but knowing Kenji, Catal Rhythm had a feeling that the man was right.

"I'm Ito Nobuzane. I'm your producer." Another said with a bow, taking them out of their thoughts. To Catal Rhythm, he seemed the most ordinary out of the bunch. "I'll be overseeing and managing your music."

After the boys did their introductions, they decided to help Kenji and the others set up. The whole thing ended up being fun; the males getting frightened almost every minute by Kuroko. In addition, Catal Rhythm chatted with their 'dream team' about varying topics, and not just music. Kasamatsu and Kagami ended up getting teased about not ever having a girlfriend; Ren broke out in tears because Kuroko told him that people think he's a ghost and run from him. Takao and Kiyotaka broke out in song; the latter's voice sounding extremely terrible.

When everything was done, Kenji sent the pictures of the boys sleeping to everyone. The men had a field day. While Ren howled with laughter, he made a statement that had Catal Rhythm quivering:

"Hurry up and get famous, 'cause the moment you do, these pictures are gonna be posted!"

At that, Catal Rhythm believed that what Kiyotaka had said was right; Kenji and Ren are scheming bastards.

xxxx

"I can't believe that we're actually idols!" Takao squealed in joy. "You know, this has never crossed my mind! I've never imagined myself being an idol!"

"Well, I've imagined myself being a bassist in a rock band or a musician before." Kasamatsu said, taking a sip of his drink.

"You have?!" the boys shouted, gaining the attention of the customers. At the moment, they were in Maji Burger since they had no other plans for the day.

"Well, yeah, I play the guitar remember?" He said with nonchalance.

"I've been wondering for a while now, is it just me, or does Kurokocchi actually looks good with dark hair?" Kise asked out of the blue. It was totally off their current topic and the others had to wonder about the sudden change. But, throwing that aside, they stared at the once-light-blue haired teen. Kuroko continued to sip his milkshake without a care in the world.

"I admit he does." Kasamatsu said, before turning to look at Kise. "And so do you. It's a great change to your blinding hair colour."

"Ah, I know, I know. Lots of my fans complimented me about it." Kise grinned.

"You posted a picture? How crazy are you?!" Kagami shouted. "Even I have more sense not to!"

"Huh? What's wrong with it?"

"You say that your fans are suspecting that you're Sunn, right? We performed at the festival with dyed hair, and you posted that same dyed hair! Obviously, people are going to say it's not a coincidence."

The colour from Kise's face drained. "No!" the blond howled out in anguish. Quickly, the blond deleted the post, hoping that his fans hadn't saved the picture.

Kise made a pout, "this is terrible. I can't even post a picture anymore? This is the worst."

"No it isn't." Kuroko piped in. "What's worst is if Kenji-san doesn't bring us to the hairdresser. Obviously we can't turn up to school looking like this right?"

"Kurokocchi, you do realize that school is tomorrow, right?" Kise deadpanned.

"Oh shit!" Takao said as he rose to his feet. "I had English homework!" he then grabbed Kagami in the collar. "You've got to help me, Mr. Returnee!"

"Oi! I'm not done with my burgers!" Kagami shouted trying to resist Takao's pull. However, the two were saved by Kuroko's quick thinking. He told Kasamatsu and Kise to help him carry these burgers while Takao hauled Kagami. And as such, while grabbing the attention of everyone, the five boys left the establishment to help Takao with his homework.

"Oh, you know, I think I had homework, too." Kise said. "But I can't remember if it was Math or Social Studies."

Kasamatsu glared at the model, "You better pray it's Math because I'm not helping if it's Social Studies."

"Senpai!" Kise wailed out.

While everyone else was concerned about homework, Kuroko was just upset that he has Kagami's burgers and was unable to drink his milkshake.

"This is unfair." He mumbled.

Thank you for reading! Don't forget to leave a review!

Hina-chan: Oh yes, we planned to use ISAC.

AI: We thought that Kise would feel heavier than Kagami since they had to put him up on the top bunk. But we stand corrected.

Guest (1): This story won't end as yet since they plan world domination.