A/N: Thank you for your faves, reviews and follows!
Enjoy!
Chapter 26
Invoking the "Cinq Curse".
…
For the entirety of N.O.T.E's performance, Catal Rhythm took selfies with their friends and teammates and the occasional stray fan that managed to slip in. And with them being right at the front, the group from Cinq could see what they were doing plain as day and got even more ticked off by it.
By the time their performance was over, N.O.T.E were so mad that even the host could feel their rage when they had exited the stage. At this moment, Catal Rhythm hopped up back on the stage and bowed to the audience, expressing their gratitude for the last time, before merrily heading off to their dressing room, oblivious that they had just invoked the "Cinq Curse".
…
"Senpai! You're the best captain ever!" Kise screeched as soon as Kenji closed the door behind them. "You're a genius!"
"Oi! Get off me, I'm exhausted!" the eldest teen countered, leaning on the table to support both him and Kise. From all that dancing, he wondered how Kise had so much energy left. "Besides, I'm no genius. As I said, it's what I see rock bands do at their concerts."
"Hmm…so they really enter the crowd like that?" Kuroko asked, since earlier Kasamatsu had to get the plan together so he hadn't the time to ask.
"Yeah. But it's mostly the vocalist who does it because the guitarists have to still play and the drummers…we all know they can't move."
"Oh. I see." The light-blue haired teen nodded. "They must be crazy."
Kasamatsu smiled his reply. "No they're not. They crowd-surf too, you know?"
"Oh. Have you thought of doing that?" Kuroko asked yet again. He then switched to his playful mode, "I can totally see you doing it in the very near future."
"What? I —"
He broke off as he heard his phone rang, and like before, his song that he wrote was his ringtone. Shrugging Kise off his back, he went into his pants (the one he wore from home) pocket and took it out. Kise peered over his shoulder to see the name of the caller but the captain moved away from him quickly.
"Hey what's up?" he answered.
The other fours' eyebrows rose at his tone of voice, and the fact that he was drifting away from them. Takao and Kise had the wickedest grins, obviously hinting at something mischievous. They sat back in their chairs, folded their arms, and watched the captain like hawks. Kuroko read his book but every now and then he glanced up at the captain, the devious smirk on his face hidden by the book. Kagami was the only one who remained a little normal —a little.
When Kasamatsu got off the phone, he turned and faced them with an apprehensive look on his face. Kise smirked, having a feeling of who the captain was conversing with.
"Uh, guys," the eldest teen started, knowing full well that his doom was near. Just given Kise and Takao's faces, he knew what the boys were thinking. "Reiko says good —"
"Yeah!" Kise screeched as he flew up out of the chair. "I knew it!"
"Shut up." Kasamatsu groaned while putting his face into his palm. "She says good job tonight." He groaned out.
"No need to be so shy Onii-chan." Kise teased. Takao was beside him grinning and made a heart with his fingers while batting his lashes. When he looked to Kuroko and Kagami, the Light and Shadow duo gave him two thumbs up.
Kasamatsu face-palmed.
The captain wasn't sure of what will happen first, him dying of embarrassment or him murdering them because they keep implying that he and Reiko were together or would be in the near future.
"Stop calling me that, Kise. I'm not your Onii-chan."
Kise grinned slyly. "Not yet."
At this moment, Kasamatsu flew from his seat and gave the blond a kick which sent him rolling towards and out the door.
"Senpai!" Kise wailed out. Neither of the boys saw that further down the hall stood N.O.T.E's manager.
xxxx
The dressing room was a mess.
Chairs were scattered here and there, water bottles were thrown all over the place, the contents spilling and making an even nastier mess on the floor. One boy could be seen in the far corner of the room in front of a mirror, smashing it with a full, sealed water bottle. Another boy was across from him, shouting all sorts of curses and swears under the sun as he kicked the chairs out of his way (which weren't really in his way). Another seemed to be the most controlled out of the four, as he only sat with a venomous look on his face. A thick and dark aura seeped out of his body that it had their attendants cowering in fear. And lastly, the fourth boy had a magazine of some sorts and with a scissors in his hand; he repeatedly stabbed at a picture of five boys that wore laser-cut masks.
"Uhm, guys, we…we have to —"
"Shut the fuck up Oda-san!"
The manager flinched back in shock, but even though he was used to their behaviour, he didn't expect this outburst…so early.
"Osamu-kun, please calm down. What's the matter?" Oda-san asked in the calmest tone he could muster. In fact, he wanted to walk out of here and never return, but he remembered that he had a family support.
"What's the matter?! What's the matter?! It should be fucking obvious!" he roared, his eyes were red with rage.
Well, I'm not a mind-reader, now am I? Oda-san really wanted to snap back but he kept his mouth shut.
"Those fuckers from Aihara ruined everything!" Takuma joined in. He was still stabbing the magazine with the scissors. "They should die!" He stabbed the picture with more force this time, effectively ripping the book and shredding some parts of it.
"Didn't they go first? What did they ruin?" Oda-san really didn't know since he was busy running around for the little bastards, he didn't get to see their performance.
"How can those no-names manage to capture the crowd?" Nobuhiro screeched as he bit his finger nails. He had stopped smashing the mirror (although there was nothing left but broken glass all over the place). "How?!" he screeched. "When we were performing, no one looked at us! They didn't give a shit!"
Well, that was a bit of exaggeration, but it was for a fact that some patrons were discussing with each other what Catal Rhythm did and as such, didn't pay attention to N.O.T.E. Add to that, when the four boys saw what was happening, they lost focus a bit and only danced and sang like they were rehearsing in front of a mirror.
Seeing that this was going nowhere, Oda-san left them and exited from the room. These boys were going to drive him insane if he didn't find another job soon. He leaned on the wall next to the door, and exhaled a deep breath. He raked a hand through his hair and looked at the ceiling. N.O.T.E were awful, they were terrible…disgusting little shits. And that's not all; almost all of Cinq's idols were like that. Demons.
"Senpai!"
His head snapped up as he heard a pained wail. He looked down the hallway and saw a tall blond male lying face-first on the floor after which a shorter dark-haired male walked out looking a bit upset.
"I'm not your Onii-chan!" the raven-haired boy shouted.
"But you and Reiko-nee are perfect for each other!" he whined. "I can't see anyone else for my sister but you!"
Oda-san's eyebrows rose at this statement. What's this? It was a known fact worldwide that Aihara allows his idols to date, even as early as their trainee days. Although the fanbase for these idols are still upset whenever the news is out about someone dating, it isn't that shocking given that they knew that it was going to happen.
He saw the raven-haired boy's face redden with a blush.
"That —that's…" he trailed off. "…whatever!" He stretched a hand out to the blond male and aided him on his feet after which he whipped out a handkerchief or something and wiped off the blond's face. "Pester me again and you'll be sleeping with Kenji-san."
"Hai…" the blond whimpered in submission. Oda-san chuckled at this, as the two boys seemed like a parent and his son.
"Yu-chan, this is a blessing! It's best if you grab Rei-chan before it's too late!" Another raven-haired piped up with a taller redhead standing behind him. "Good girls like that are rare species!"
"Yu-chan" Oda-san deduced was his name, made a sigh of resignation before saying to the three present,
"Hai, hai. I hear you. Now let's get changed so we can leave. I'm tired. I want to go home and sleep."
"Ah…can we order take-out? I can't cook like this." The redhead groaned in what seemed to be agony.
"Unless it's healthy take-out which I doubt exists." This was their manager, Aihara Kenji. Oda-san knows this much. "But I can cook for you, you know?"
"No!" was the unison screech coming from them.
Oda-san saw Kenji raise an eyebrow in suspicion. "Hoh? You're hiding something aren't you?"
"What? No…" the boys said as they waved their hands dismissively, clearly avoiding eye-contact.
"I see." But this, by no means indicated that Kenji believed them. It was plain as day, even to Oda-san, that these boys had something in their kitchen or fridge that they didn't want Kenji to find out about.
"Anyway, hurry and get dressed! You have to rest because we have things to discuss tomorrow."
"Mou~" the tall blond one whined. "I wanted to see Yume in action…couldn't we stay and watch them?"
"Stay where? As you saw, the audience is packed. And you don't have tickets to get in."
The blond let out a whimper.
"Don't worry; you'll see Yume live soon enough. Trust me," Kenji reassured, ruffling his blond locks. And with that, the boys and their manager headed back into the dressing room, Oda-san letting a sigh.
Seeing all that transpired, N.O.T.E's manager felt envious. He envied Kenji for being lucky enough to be the manager of those boys, and he envied Catal Rhythm for staying true to who they were. If only his boys were like that, friendly with each other, joke around with each other…but no, they were assholes through and through and they don't even have a proper relationship with each other. It was for that reason, any time N.O.T.E were going on a TV program, —be it an interview, a variety show, anything for that matter— Oda-san never watches. It was stomach churning to see them being so pretentious so fake, like the perfect and cute angels that they aren't.
"And will never be." He added.
…
After minutes of screaming and raging, N.O.T.E finally calmed down somewhat and left the venue in a sour mood. Oda-san felt at ease for once, given that throughout the ride back to the company, the boys were quiet. Normally when they've gotten upset, Takuma and Osamu would be grumbling until forever comes, Enya would be blasting his music so loudly that even people from a mile away could hear it. Nobuhiro would be reading a pretty gruesome manga, in hopes of getting torture references. But, for some strange reason, they're quiet. But, the tension in the van was extremely suffocating. The poor manager felt as though he was being choked by an invisible hand or something.
Oda-san had never been so relieved to see the company building before in his life. He pulled up in the parking lot and without a word; the four boys exited the car and headed inside.
"I wonder why they came here instead of going home?" Oda-san said questioningly. With a sigh, he followed them inside and entered the elevator. Unlike the four boys, Oda-san greeted the receptionist. The group travelled up the building and exited on the fourth floor, and made their way to their office.
Oda-san had a bad feeling.
"Murakami-san!" Osamu shouted as he pushed the door open.
"Shit!" the tall male sitting in the cubicle shouted in fright. Oda-san didn't miss the eye roll coming from the others in the room. "What is it that you need?" Murakami-san asked in a neutral tone. He, like Oda-san absolutely hated that they were employed here —well, the company isn't bad, it's just how they create their idols.
"Catal Rhythm. They need to disappear!" he screeched.
"I'm sorry but I can't do something like that." Murakami-san deadpanned. "I don't want to end up in prison."
"What do you mean!?" Enya pushed through and grabbed the man in his collar. Murakami-san was this close in snapping the boy's neck. Oda-san and another —Arataka-san had to "persuade" the boy to release Murakami-san.
On the other hand, Murakami-san was blinking so much in a single second, it was clear that he was trying to suppress his urge to kill the boy.
"Aren't there some scandals you can create!? Huh!?"
Arataka-san's face twisted with disgust. While it was known that they sabotage other groups on stage, doing something like that could ruin the lives of innocent boys forever.
"We really can't do that." Oda-san piped in.
Before the four could explode yet again, Arataka-san said, "It's impossible to do. No one knows what Catal Rhythm looks like, and their birth names aren't even up on their profiles. So there's no way we can create scandals about people who we don't know."
"Fuck!" Takuma hissed. "So they'll forever be in existence?"
"Yes, Takuma-kun." Murakami-san drawled. "There's nothing you can do."
N.O.T.E fell into silence. But that silence meant that they were pensive, this, in essence, is never a good thing for whoever is on the receiving end of their schemes.
"We'll fucking see about that." Osamu snapped. "Let's go boys."
xxxx
When Catal Rhythm reached home and dropped themselves into the sofa, that's when (Kise and Takao especially) felt the tiredness. Their whole bodies ached, as dancing three songs back to back was murderous. Even though they had their stamina from basketball, this was worse since they barely got any breaks in between songs.
"Man, I feel worse than after a match." Kagami groaned out, stretching as he did so. "I'm exhausted." And this was saying something as after the concert, the teams had wanted to meet up for some matches at a nearby streetball court but even Kagami had declined the offer from Aomine. That showed just how tired the redhead was.
"I know right?" Kise agreed with a sigh. "But, it was loads of fun. The audiences faces were classic."
The others nodded in agreement. When they had mounted on their friends' shoulders, they were able to see the expressions of some of people nearby. And really, they were classic.
"I see it on the news already." Takao smiled, looking a bit giddy. "Rookie idol group —Catal Rhythm creates a stir yet again when they entered the crowd and sang lines of gratitude at this year's MusicStock." The hawk-eyed teen said, mimicking the speech of a news anchor.
"Well, all the better." Kuroko yawned. He then whipped out a novel before asking, "So, on a different note, what are we going to do about our band? We don't have a name."
"That's right." Kise nodded. "And I've just realized something too. Aihara doesn't manage rock bands. What are we going to do for management?"
"Oh shit."
Quick to the rescue, Kasamatsu said, "If push comes to shove, we could keep our dream team except Kenji-san. That is, if he doesn't know how to manage a rock band, and all we have to do, is get someone who has experience in that field."
"That makes sense. Since producer, publicist and booking agent does the same job no matter the genre of music." Kuroko nodded.
"So what are we going to do for our name?" Takao asked.
"Hmm…how about Team 5K?" Kagami suggested.
"You must be joking." Kise rejected. "That sounds like the name of a mangaka or something."
"And here I thought my naming sense was terrible." Kuroko said with an eye roll, the others chuckled at his comment.
Kagami snarled at him. "As if you had anything better."
"In fact, I do." Kuroko quipped. "I suggest Alter-Ego." Silence engulfed them all. Knowing what was coming next, Kuroko continued, totally unperturbed by their facial expressions. "I chose this name because it fits us. We're a pop idol group and it is said that the opposite of pop is rock. So, the band will be like "The other self of Catal Rhythm" since "Alter Ego" means "The Other I"."
The other four exchanged shocked glances with each other. Kuroko was known notoriously for having a terrible naming sense, so for him to come up with something so profound was shocking.
"I take it our band is no longer nameless?" Takao said.
The others sans Kuroko nodded in agreement.
Kise shivered with joy, "Man, I can't wait to get started! Getting the crowd pumped up with my energetic drumming, Takaocchi and Kagamicchi's heart-pounding rhythm and bass to drive the audience into insanity, Kurokocchi's smooth and suave keyboard playing to keep everything in harmony and Senpai's singing to rile them up further…" he cooed. "It will be wonderful mayhem!"
"Kyyaaa!" Takao screeched in joy. "Don't forget Yu-chan's awesome guitar solos! The female populace will melt like butter beneath our music!"
"While it will be wonderful, we don't know much about bands." Kagami joined, slightly spoiling their mood. "We gotta research first, right?"
"Way to ruin the mood, Kagamicchi." Kise said with an eye roll.
"Tell us something we don't know." Takao added.
"You bastards…" Kagami snarled.
Kasamatsu chuckled at their antics. But just then, his phone rang out, its loud and obnoxious ringing frightening the five boys present.
I can't feel the way I did before
Don't turn your back on me
I won't be ignored!
The captain jumped up, fishing in his pocket for the device. They were used to the captain's numerous ringtones, but they found it strange that Kasamatsu mostly listens to Western rock music.
"Hello." Kasamatsu said as he answered. He didn't inch away from them like prior, and this fuelled their belief even more. Plus, the ringtone and his tone of voice were different. Kise and Takao were going to have a field day when the call ended.
"What?!" In that moment, the other four saw the captain fly off the sofa and dashed into their bedroom, doing what? They don't know, since they're too tired and lazy to move. But then, they heard a girlish scream coming from their bedroom and immediately, they flew up from the sofa, worried.
"Senpai!" Kise screeched as he entered the room. All four saw Kasamatsu sitting around the table in front of his opened laptop. His hand covered his mouth but that didn't catch their attention. It was the tears that rolled down his cheeks.
"Yu-chan?" Takao asked in worry. This was unusual Kasamatsu behaviour and as such, they were fretting. "Is everything alright?"
"Ye-yeah." The captain stuttered. "It's just so perfect."
Hearing that, made them realize that Kasamatsu wasn't crying because of something sad and tragic, but he was crying because he was happy. But happy for what? They don't know.
"What's perfect?" Kagami asked.
He turned the laptop in their directions and let them read what was on the screen. Confusion marred their faces, the captain laughed at their expressions.
"What's Summer Sonic?" Kise asked as he scrolled with the others behind him. "What is this? A music festival?" he scrolled some more, "Who the hell are all these people?"
"It's a rock music festival." Kasamatsu replied, as he got up and left the room. "I'll be back soon; I'm going to Kenji-san."
When he left, the others kept looking at the screen, where they saw that certain names were encircled with red, the sloppiness indicated that someone drew it there before sending it to Kasamatsu.
Kise's brown eyes scanned over the names, "Hmm…LynKyn Park, Gazetto, The Cigarettes, Dear en Gurei, AJIKAN…? Who are these people?" Kise kept reading the line-ups but he didn't read them out loud.
"This is what got Kasamatsu screaming like a girl? I thought someone died." Kagami sighed. "I don't get it."
"Well, it's rock. We won't get it." Takao said as he rested his chin on Kise's shoulder to focus on the screen. "But since we plan to be a rock band, how about we tag along for the experience?" the hawk-eyed boy suggested. "I mean, it's obvious that he plans on going."
"My first rock concert…I wonder what it's going to be like?" Kise asked. "Watching lives doesn't really show us what the audience goes through, right?"
"That's right, Kise-kun." Kuroko said.
A couple minutes later, Kasamatsu returned, happiness oozing out of his body in waves. He was even humming as well.
"Yu-chan, are you going to Summer Sonic?" Takao asked before the eldest teen could even sit.
"Yeah, why?"
"We're coming with you."
Kasamatsu's face took a worried expression. "No."
"Eeehh!? Why not!?" Kise and Takao asked.
"It'll be best for us since we want to be a band!" Kise shouted.
Kasamatsu sighed. "Don't get me wrong. I did plan on bringing you to FujiRock but we'd be busy on that day, Kenji-san said." He said. "It's just that for new guys like you, Summer Sonic isn't for you. Especially with that line-up on the same day, it's going to be extremely dangerous for you."
"Psshh…" Kise fanned him off. "We can handle it."
Kasamatsu's face turned smug. "Have you ever been in a moshpit? Circle pit?"
"Haah?"
Kasamatsu didn't say anything more except shake his head at them.
xxxx
Catal Rhythm slept like logs until Sunday afternoon. Actually, it took Kenji to head over to their house and wake them before they sleep out the entire day. And remembering what they looked like the first time he woke them up after a hectic performance, the manager decided to bring company —Tobio of Perfect 5th, otherwise known as "Cameraman-chan".
With his Besteker video camcorder in hand, Tobio was ready and fully equipped to catch every and anything. The two then entered the boys' house and found that they were sleeping in their living room. Kise and Kasamatsu were in the sofa, the former being in the reverse position on the furniture. His left leg was bent over the back pillows while his other was bent with his knee resting on the inside arm. His head rested on the coffee table, his right arm stretched out on Kasamatsu's legs. Meanwhile, said captain was in a sitting position, with his head rested on a throw pillow, his feet up on top of the coffee table and his arms crossed at his abdomen. He seemed normal.
Across from them on the left was Takao, who was curled up in one of the arm chairs. He was turned sideways in the furniture, with his head rested on one arm of the chair, while his left leg bent across the other arm. His right leg bent was over his left, hanging from the arm.
On the right was Kagami, who had slumped a little bit with both his hands hanging off the arm rests. His feet were stretched out forwards, going underneath the coffee table.
Kuroko…he was on the coffee table, sleeping on his back. Although his position was normal like Kasamatsu's, the mere fact that he was sleeping on the table was enough to send Kenji and Tobio roaring wit h laughter.
"Good grief!" Tobio laughed. "Not even Dai-chan sleeps this terrible!" he then looked to Kenji. "How is this possible!?" he asked as he went over to Kise, who, in his opinion had the funniest sleeping position. "Model-kun isn't so gracious now, huh?"
"I'm beginning to think that they only sleep awful when they're extremely tired." Kenji as he slowly woke them up. Tobio was too busy videoing them to assist. He wasn't going to let this pass him. He was going to get everything.
"Kenji-san, what are you doing here, so early?" Kagami yawned.
"It's not early. You have to wake up."
"Ten more hours." Takao groaned out.
The manager sighed, Tobio giggled in the background. With a sigh, Kenji whipped out his phone and dialled, leaving it on speaker. After two rings the person answered with an all too familiar voice.
"Hello? What's up, Kenji-kun?"
"Kuroko-san, could you —" He broke off when he saw the boys flew up immediately, Kuroko snatching the phone and speaking with his father briefly to prevent the man from coming to the Complex to kill them off. Kenji smiled triumphantly; Tobio couldn't contain his laughter anymore. He guffawed; he wheezed, he shrieked, everything one could think of. At one point, the camera had almost fallen out of his hands, but luckily, he was quick enough to catch it.
After Catal Rhythm came to their senses and was less sleepy, Tobio had left because he needed to save the footage. He knew that if he had stayed, they'd find a way to destroy it.
Sadly for Kenji, he had to wait roughly two hours before the boys were ready, so in the meantime, he decided to cook them breakfast. And yes, he saw what was in their fridge, and although most of the foods weren't what he gave them and had junk foods here and there, he realized that they played basketball still, they'll burn everything right back off before they even had practice anyway.
…
"This meeting is to discuss the next Ai-Fest." Kenji began.
The five boys looked at the man with surprise. Currently, they were at their dream team's office, still looking a bit tired, but not like the zombies they were this morning.
"But it's just May. Why are we talking about this now?" Takao asked.
"Because, the next Festival is going to be different, bigger and better than all the others prior." Ren grinned. "And you have work to do for this one."
"Eh?!"
"So, the organizers have finalized what next year's festival will be like and here's it." Ren said as he handed them the papers. Reading it, the boys didn't know how to feel about it.
Day 1
Idols from outside Aihara Productions will be performing alongside the host company's idols and if they so wish, are able to do collaborations with the host company's idols. In addition, outside companies can choose to début new groups here.
Kise and Takao were shrieking about doing a collab with Yume or Tensei, but Kiyotaka asked one question which shot down their hopes instantly, "Do Tensei or Yume know who you guys are?"
Day 2
Idols from the host company perform. Each group is to do two new songs, and like Day 1, they can choose to do a collaboration with idols within the company.
This, Kise and Takao screeched about dancing with Perfect 5th again, since apparently, they couldn't do it with Tensei or Yume…at the moment. Kasamatsu didn't care, Kuroko hummed and Kagami seemed fired up. He still remembered when they danced in the Tokyo Dome and felt that a re-match should be had.
Day 3: Meet and Greet
This is final day of the festival, in which no performance is done. Fans are able to meet their favourite idol for a handshake, autograph signing etc.
"Handshake? Signing autographs? That's pretty lame." Kagami grumbled. "I mean, who'd want that?"
"Kagami-kun, this is the only time fans get to meet their idols close up. They'd break their necks to get here." Kiyotaka replied.
"If I were a fan, I'd want a tangible memory or something. Something as bland as an autograph doesn't count."
Hearing him say that, set off the others, more so Kasamatsu, Kise and Takao.
"I have an idea!" The three boys chirped.
"Uh oh." The dream team groaned out. With both Kise and Takao saying that they had ideas, they knew it was bound to be stress. But seeing Kasamatsu's face, they had no clue what was in store for them. Then, the five huddled up together and whispered in low voices so that their team couldn't hear a thing. After a couple minutes, they broke apart and grinned like they were going to face a tough opponent. Kenji and the others could see a fire light in their eyes, and the manager was inwardly fretting.
"So what do you have in mind?" Ren asked, leaning forwards. He knew how creative these boys were and was itching to see what they thought up.
"It's going to be mind-blowing."
Thank you for reading!
"LynKyn Park" is referred to Linkin Park, "Gazetto" is GazettE, "The Cigarettes" are The Oral Cigarettes and "AJIKAN" is Asian Kung-Fu Generation. We couldn't use them in the story because this site doesn't support real life fanfiction.