A/N: Thank you for all your faves and reviews!

Enjoy!

Song used: One Ok Rock "Et Cetera"

Chapter 31

…

The day of the supposed public apology had finally arrived, and neither of the boys was in a good mood. It was a weekday, which meant that they had to go to school first, miss basketball practice, just to sit and listen to a fake-ass apology.

However, there was one thing that made the five ecstatic.

Since they were given the clear to be a band, there was nothing that will stand in their way of achieving that. Before going to bed yesterday, the five had an in-depth discussion about their next plan of action. Of course, the main idea was world domination, but there was still a problem that they needed to get over, and that was the case of the guitarists. Kasamatsu was no doubt the one fit for the lead guitarist role, but thinking about performing, it'll be difficult to move around with an instrument strapped to his body.

He could always teach Takao since the Rhythm and Lead are two sides of the same coin but then again…

However, they were in for a shock.

"Boys!" came an indignant screech as their front door was bust open. The five were in the middle of breakfast, and to say that they were surprised wouldn't express how frightened they were.

"What's up, Ken-san?" Takao asked, the others' mouths were full of food so they couldn't speak.

"What's up? What's up?" the manager repeated as he thundered in. "What's this!?" he shrieked as he held up a magazine.

Catal Rhythm looked impassive.

"A magazine." Kagami replied, oblivious to the older male's rage.

Kenji was not amused. As such, he opened it and flipped speedily through the pages before slamming it down on the table. "What is this?"

The five peered over and looked at the page and realized that it was their interview. At first, they didn't know what got Kenji worked up, but as they read, they saw what the big deal was. Everything that was said by them was written in, everything.

"Run!" Kasamatsu shouted. "The door! The door!"

The boys evaded Kenji swiftly, and made a dash for their front door, in hopes of escaping the rage of their manager. But as soon as they opened the door, they crashed into Nobuzane, Ren and Kiyotaka.

"We're cornered!" Takao screeched in horror. "We're gonna die!"

"Good morning to you too, boys." Ren said with a devilish smile. The trio men walked forwards with an intimidating aura forcing the five boys back inside where Kenji was waiting.

"Kuroko-san is the demon that I summoned from hell? What were you thinking?!"

"We never…it wasn't…" Kise tried to say something, but it died on his lips. "I didn't know he was going to put that in there! It wasn't part of the original set of questions, so I thought he only asked because he was curious who the "demonic father" is!" Kise argued to save their lives.

Kenji sighed. "Interviewers like to record everything in case they missed anything. So Aiba-san had everything you said."

"But…"

"So, next time, don't say these things. Although it gave the interview a more realistic feel, please…for the sake of me and the others not having a headache, keep your mouths shut."

"But Ken-san, it's hard to…" Takao pouted. "We promise we won't say anything too misleading —"

"A promise is comfort to a fool." Kenji sighed. "I won't fall in your trap."

Takao and Kise pouted at the manager while the others continued to stuff their faces.

"But anyway, that's not the real reason I came here today." Everyone stopped at that. "I was supposed to tell you this the last time, but because you came with your "rock band" proposal, it threw us all off."

"Completely." Nobuzane said with a nod.

"Sorry." They said in a sing-song voice.

"So, this is the heads up. You'll be recording your first full length album starting July. More details will be given later today when you come home." The producer continued. "I'll work you to death since I'm a crazy perfectionist."

But you all are…the five thought in unison.

"I can't believe this." Kagami grumbled. "If you kill us off, what will happen?"

The quartet deadpanned, "Your funerals."

"Cruel!" Takao and Kise shrieked.

"You haven't seen cruel yet." Kenji smirked.

It was at that moment that the five boys knew that they were so dead.

xxxx

When they had gotten ready, the Tokyo boys crawled into their van fretting about their future. With their dream team bent on killing them off, they knew that escape was not an option. For once, the drive to their schools was rather a peaceful one, as neither of them spoke. Kuroko was too engrossed in his novel, Kenji wondering just how many books he had. He was always reading. Kagami listened to music and Takao was just staring out the window. It was odd behaviour for the latter, but Kenji decided to let it rest. If something was wrong, he'd be whining and complaining already.

Soon enough, Kenji neared Shutoku, of where Takao exited. Since he didn't want anyone to get suspicious, the hawk-eyed teen always gets off a little far from the school gate, where no one could see.

So, he trotted along the sidewalk, walking alongside his fellow schoolmates but he was lost in own thoughts. He was filled with excitement, glad that they can actually bring "Alter-Ego" to life. He couldn't wait for the world to hear Kasamatsu's true voice, as singing in a group with four other persons; they can't use their voices to its full potential.

So deep in thought that he hadn't realized when he reached his classroom, and upon entering, Takao's friends and classmates could tell that something good had happened to him. With happiness oozing out his body, the boy was as radiant as the sun. And when his two closest friends —Tsukiyama and Honda—asked, the hawk-eyed boy only answered,

"The world will melt like butter upon hearing Yu-chan's beautiful voice."

Of course, the two had no idea what he meant and just left it as it is.

Not long after, Aika arrived, as soon as she noticed how Takao was over-bubbly and giddy, she suspected that something happened.

"Kazunari-kun, are you alright?" she asked.

"Ai-chan!" he screeched in pure joy. "You wouldn't believe what happened!" At that, he proceeded to drag her off to a corner of the classroom and said, "We get to be a band!"

The Latin Dancer looked stunned. "What?"

"Yup! We got the clear to be a band."

"But...aren't you five idols? How can you be a band? A rock band, I presume?"

Takao shook his head as he threw a hand over her shoulder. "Tsk, tsk," he started, wagging an index at her. "Yu-chan's voice is like an angel's, plus, he writes amazing songs! Letting someone else sing it would be a criminal offence."

"Wow." Was all Aika could utter at the moment. She's never seen or heard of an entire pop idol group wanting (and getting the chance) to be a rock band while still maintaining their primary jobs. Rock and pop don't mix. Or rather, rock and pop idols. "So...can you play an instrument?"

"I'm learning the guitar. Rhythm guitar, to be exact."

"Oh. So how good do you think you are now? Can you play any songs?"

Takao moved his head side by side in a pondering manner. "I can, but there are certain techniques that I still can't do as yet." He chuckled. "Trust me, when I see Yu-chan play the rhythm guitar, I realize that I have a far way to go." He added, "But then again, Yu-chan is a monster. He's in a dimension of his own."

"Oh…"

But meanwhile the two were chatting, Tsukiyama and Honda noticed something, and huddled together.

"Remember when Catal Rhythm were talking on Juuzou's show and Taka said "Ai-chan" when they were roasting each other?" Honda asked, not taking his eyes off Takao.

"Yeah, why?"

"Doesn't Takao's voice sound like Taka?" he suspected. "At least in the way they both say "Ai-chan"."

Tsukiyama paused for a while before the realization sink in. "Oh shit. You don't think…?"

Honda shrugged. "I don't know. But I just thought that their voices sounded extremely similar. Too similar for people who aren't related. And, Taka is our age, and attends Shutoku."

"What are the odds…?"

The two boys looked at each other which were followed by a moment of silence. Looking back at Takao and Aika, the two males broke out in laughter. "Pfft! No...!" they said as if trying to convince themselves. But the more they eavesdropped on the pair's conversation and heard Takao mention "Yu-chan" and his angelic voice, the more their suspicions rose.

"No…" this time, it was of shock and disbelief.

...

Kenji dropped off Kuroko and Kagami at Seirin, and like Takao, they had to walk to the gate to avoid any suspicions (not that anyone would be suspicious of either of them). Still, instead of heading to their classrooms, they went to the gym where the entire team was waiting. They rallied around Kagami and Kuroko, expressing properly how heartbroken and mad they were. Kuroko learned that, talking over the phone doesn't convey a message properly because there's a lack of facial expression.

But unlike the others, nothing exciting really happened to these two, since Kuroko is like a ghost and Kagami is known as a basketball idiot.

...

At Kaijou, it was the usual for Kise, being hounded by fangirls on whether or not he was "Sunn". So doing what he has been ever since this started, he ignores them. Sure, he acknowledged some people but after that, he plugged in his earphones tuning them out completely.

Upstairs, Kasamatsu was chatting with Akagi and other classmates who joined in briefly or who were just nearby them and heard bits and pieces of their conversation. But when they dispersed, Akagi asked the captain,

"You seem to be in a better mood. Tell me, what happened?"

"It's just that we got the clearing to be a band from our boss."

"Oh!" the raven-haired boy chirped. "That's great!"

"Yeah, but he wants two complete songs by August 31st though." Kasamatsu chuckled.

"But it's already June. You'd have to write lyrics, create music and all that. It's going to be a lot of work especially with those guys who aren't as skilled you."

Kasamatsu smiled. "It's fine. They aren't that bad. They're like decent at the moment. We already have the two songs; all we need to do is change the arrangements to fit the electric instruments."

"No way!" Akagi gasped. "You've done them acoustically?" Kasamatsu nodded. "You work fast!"

"It's just that I've written the lyrics prior to this so…"

"Oh...Can I hear it? At least one song!" Akagi was excited to hear what his friend was capable of.

"Fine." Kasamatsu wasn't going to deny him, as Akagi would pester him all day until he caved anyway. "I'll sing the second chorus of Et Cetera."

"Sure."

Why can't I say "bye bye" like I want

To the you who's leaving me?

I know I said I never wanted to see you again

But can't I really think that way?

Akagi clutched his heart. Kasamatsu's voice was rich, melodic and when he sang, the raven-haired boy could feel his emotions stirring within. "Jesus Christ!" he gasped. "Kasamatsu, what the hell? I felt that." he held his head down for a brief moment. "Holy shit, have you gotten your heart broken by ―"

"I've never had a girlfriend." Kasamatsu cut him off. "You know this."

"But why does…?" Akagi couldn't even speak properly. "Shit…dude, how could you sing like that!?"

The captain grinned. "I don't know but it's a good thing that you felt the way you did."

"No it's —"

"Wow, Kasamatsu, I never knew you could sing." another classmate who had been sitting nearby joined in, dabbing at his eye to rid the tear that threatened to fall. "That was so beautiful. Where have you been hiding such a voice all this time?"

Kasamatsu and Akagi stared at the classmate, as though they had no idea what to do. But putting his acting skills to good use, Kasamatsu started,

"I can't sing. You never heard me sing. Got it?" the captain said with a powerful glare. But when his classmate didn't answer, he said again, "Got it?"

"Ha-hai…"

"Good."

Akagi stifled down his laughter by doubling his lips and clutching his stomach. "Did you have be such a yakuza?" he snickered.

"Yes." The captain replied. "Who knows what could happen later on? I don't want the entire class to find out that I can sing. Then it'll spread to the entire grade level and then to the rest of the school!"

"So? You're not the only one with a beautiful voice at school." Akagi shrugged. "Well, let me correct that statement. You aren't the only one that can sing, but your voice is the most beautiful that I've heard." He then added, "Look at the choir. They're a bunch that breathes singing. So what of it?"

Kasamatsu sighed. "You don't understand. I'm thinking about school festival. If they find out I can sing, who knows what shit they'd want me to do on stage."

"But you're an idol and soon-to-be-frontman. You're supposed to be used to performing on a stage in front of people."

Kasamatsu was not pleased. "Seriously, I'm going to strangle you one of these days."

Akagi made a playful yet mischievous face and said, "Choke me Daddy," before bursting out in full blown laughter. At that moment, Kasamatsu stood up, grabbed his chair and made a swing at Akagi's head. Sadly, the boy managed to avoid it, and escaped out in the hallway.

But, he wasn't out of the woods yet. As a basketball player of Kaijou, Kasamatsu was fast, too fast and caught him within a blink.

"I was just joking Kasamatsu. It's a new slang that even has tons of memes on the internet. Don't be so cold! Come on…"

But the Blue Elite said nothing but dragged his friend up the stairs leading to the school roof. And there, the entire school could hear the wailing sounds of a poor soul in agony.

xxxx

After school, Kenji picked up his troublesome boys but before they headed to the venue, Kenji carried them to the stylist. All their hairs had grown out, and even though Kise clipped his and Takao's, Kuroko, Kagami and Kasamatsu never trusted the blond with a scissor in their hairs.

But Kasamatsu had it worst than the others. His hair has a faster growth rate than the others, which he was not happy about. Kise never stopped hounding him to cut it, the blond even wanted to give him a "hot" hairdo.

Soon, they reached their destination and all five were quickly seated in the chairs, Kise and Takao humming in delight as they already knew what they wanted. Kagami and Kasamatsu looked uneasy and pensive; Kuroko was still reading his novel.

"So, boys, what shall it be today?" the stylist asked.

"I want my bangs out of my face." Kise said, using a breath to blow the golden strands upwards for a second. "I want a cool hairstyle fit for a drummer!"

The stylist looked confused. "Drummers typically have long hair. Cutting yours would be against drumming code, wouldn't it?"

"It's only temporary." Kise reasoned with a shrug. "I have Inter-High coming up; the bangs are becoming a hindrance."

"I see." The stylist then looked to Takao, who seemed to be beaming. "And you?"

"Hit me with your best shot."

"I got you." He said with a wink before looking to Kasamatsu and the other three. He made a gesture to them, indicating that they should speak up.

"Surprise me." Was all Kasamatsu uttered. He didn't follow up hairstyles, so he didn't think he needed to worry too much.

"I want my usual hairstyle." Kagami said.

Kuroko just shrugged.

So, with that done, the stylist and his assistants went to work. The five sat in the chair and watched half with dread, half with nonchalance upon seeing shreds of their hairs falling to the floor.

Within thirty minutes or more, and Kenji applauded a job well done. His boys looked absolutely stunning.

Kagami sported a piecey flat hairstyle which features short sides rest beneath long strands of straightened hair. His hair was cut into layers and lightly tousled with mousse to give it a textured effect after which the hair is then brushed forward and serves as bangs. Kuroko's hair was cut stylishly —his front bangs were cut in the shaggy bowl cut style, but the sides were done short and the back was an undercut that reached to his earlobe. Takao wore "the comma" hairstyle, in which his hair was done in a side part, and the right front bangs were clipped and styled, resembling a comma while the left remained short.

Kise's hair was styled in the shaggy layered hairstyle —the blond's front volumed bangs sat neatly on his eyebrows giving him a stylish look with a boyishly sexy air. Last but not least was Kasamatsu, whose hair was in the faux hawk with no undercut hairstyle. The front fringe and crown were done upwards, while the sides were clipped short but not too short to resemble a skin fade, so too the back. It gave the captain a boyish appeal thanks to its shagginess as well.

"Wow Senpai! You should totally keep that hairstyle in!" Kise shrieked as Kasamatsu spun around in the chair to face them. "You look stunning!"

"You're over-exaggerating." The captain sighed as he rose from the seat.

"On the contrary, Kise-kun is not being dramatic at all this time." Kenji said with a nod. "You're quite dashing."

"See? Even Reiko-nee thinks he looks great!" the blond shrieked as he turned the phone's screen towards them.

Startled, Kasamatsu asked, "What? How?"

"I took a picture, duh."

"When?!"

"Obviously when you weren't looking." The blond deadpanned.

"Well, you can ogle each other all you want later, we're late." Kenji said.

"Good." Kise smiled before sitting cross-legged in the chair once again. "Let them wait."

Kenji sighed in distress. "I suggest you get your asses in the damn car now."

"Hai, hai." They hummed as they trudged out. Waving goodbye to the stylist and his assistants, they hopped into the van and headed to their destination. At first, Kenji wanted them to change out of their school uniforms but the boys felt extremely lazy and couldn't bother with all that. At least they had on their shades and with these hairstyles; no one would ever guess it's them.

Within a couple hours of driving, they finally reached the venue. It was the same place as the show; however, this time it seemed as though they weren't going to be on a set. A worker had met them and carried down a long hallway, seeming to be going where the offices were.

Soon, they stopped at a double door, where they could hear mumblings coming from the other side.

"Right this way." The worker said as she walked to another double door and slid it open.

The boys nodded and looked through, immediately being greeted by camera flashes, bright lightning and chatter. There was a long table on the stage, with the producers and organizers of the Challenge.

"What's all those people and camera doing here?" Kagami whispered, looking back to Kenji who was behind them.

"It is a public apology, Kagami-kun." Kenji deadpanned. "And given the fact that this incident has even pissed off Germany, then by all means, gather the entire nation's journalists for this." He said half in sarcasm.

"Shit." Kasamatsu sighed.

"That is why, you should be careful of how you speak." The manager added. "You could be in this mess a lot if you don't watch your mouths."

"Note taken."

Soon, the men and sole woman politely greeted the journalists before inviting the five boys on as well.

So, Catal Rhythm strutted forwards, a menacing aura seeping out of their bodies. There were smiles present on their faces, however, they weren't of joy —they were the types that said "you're lucky cameras are here. You'd be ripped to shreds."

The air suddenly got heavy, and when the boys sat in their seats, the tension was so thick that people were starting to see it. About a minute or two of silence, the producer gathered himself and spoke,

"On behalf of the Challenge's organizers, and all other personnel involved, we'd like to offer our sincerest apologies." The producer started. "What we did was inexcusable, unjust and we had no right to do such a thing to you five.

"In addition, we would like to apologize to Yuki-san for putting him through that unfair situation. We deeply regret our actions. And as such, we would like to offer a rematch to both N.O.T.E. and Catal Rhythm which would be judged fairly and —"

"No, there's no need." Kagami said, cutting them off. Although he hadn't meant for everyone to hear, his mouth was right at the mic.

Everyone stopped and looked at the five.

Doing damage control, Kasamatsu quickly said, "A rematch isn't necessary. You've already apologized so there's no need to go that far." He mustered the most polite voice in his arsenal. Even though the aura seeping out of his body would make anyone run in fear.

"But…"

"There. Is. No. Need." The captain said once again, this time in a stronger tone than before. Taking a breath to calm himself, Kasamatsu continued, "It'll just cause more trouble than it's worth. Let's say we'll win the rematch. There are people out there who'll make a fuss saying that "Catal Rhythm only won because their questions were easier," or "the producers made it so that they'll win because of what happened last time" and blah." He sighed. "I'm not about that life. This is enough drama. So, let's just end it here, and move on."

"Ah…"

Meanwhile, outside the door, Kenji raked a hand through his hair when he heard Kasamatsu speak. "Shit, I never knew Kasamatsu-kun had an inner yakuza."

"So Yuki-san, how do you feel about what happened at the show?" one journalist blurted out. This wasn't supposed to be a part of it.

"There is no word in the Japanese lexicon that's able to accurately describe how mad I was, and still is." Kasamatsu answered.

"Is that so?" the journalist was stunned by the eldest teen's words.

"Yes it is. What was done to my boys was cruel and unforgivable."

"You say what was done was "unforgivable", but you're being offered an apology which to me, it seemed like you accepted. How can you explain this?"

Kasamatsu sighed. "In truth, not only me, but the five of us find it unforgivable. But in this industry, we have to be hypocritical because if we spoke the truth and say "we don't accept your apology because it isn't genuine", the entire nation will come down on us and say things like "who are they to not accept these people's apologies" and make a mountain out of an anthill." He explained. "So, to let peace reign, we're going to accept an apology and move on with our lives, because apparently, idols aren't viewed as human beings with emotions."

"Hmm? What makes you think that?"

Kasamatsu rolled his eyes. "Obviously, if we were to express how we truly felt, as I said before, people would make a mountain out of an anthill saying that "we're not fit to be idols" and blah, because the mainstream idols these days keep everything bottled up in front of cameras and only smile like everything's alright when it's not."

"Ah…" the journalist couldn't counter this one because it was a fact.

"Which means, as much as we want to snap their necks and send them to hell, we can't because idols aren't supposed to express themselves like every other average Joe of this country." Kise sighed. "It's sad."

"It's not sad, it's unhealthy." Kuroko joined in. "Keeping things bottled up is unhealthy."

"Which will lead to sadness."

Outside, Kenji couldn't believe what he was hearing and fainted due to the shock. The very thing he had just warned them about was unfolding before his eyes. Although it was something that needed to be heard, the young manager had a feeling that his boys had just created another storm.

The whole room was enveloped in loud chatter and boisterous outbursts, and the five were close to getting up and leaving. They were told about an apology, not a questions and answers session. Questions were directed at them from every corner of the room, and as much as their mouths were burning to reply, they remembered Kenji's wise words and simply said,

"We can't answer your questions because —"

"This will be enough for my boys." Kenji came in and said in one of the mics. "Thank you for your time." And with a polite bow, Kenji ushered his five boys out before all hell breaks loose. But he knew this wasn't the end, the apology hadn't ended because he saw the lengthy paper in one of the other parties' hands. If Kagami hadn't said what he did, and if the journalist hadn't asked the questions, then the producer or whoever he was would still be reading his apology.

"Boys, what did I just say about watching your mouths?" Kenji hissed as they made their way back to the van.

"Did we say anything wrong?" Takao asked.

Kenji stopped and eyed Kise. "No not really, but Kise-kun did."

"Whaat?" he drawled. "I didn't."

"If I recall, you said "as much as you wanted to snap their necks and send them to hell", right?"

"Yeah…they needed to know how angry I was!" he huffed. "Keeping things bottled up is unhealthy, you know?"

Kenji sighed. "I know. I heard Kuroko-kun."

They climbed in the van smoothly and flawlessly as if doing one of their routines. But all throughout this, Kenji watched them with a concerned gaze. The future was still unknown to either of them, but given how truthful yet fearless these boys were, the manager had a feeling that they'll be the ones who'll end up shaking up the idol world —not in terms of amazing routines and vocals, but in touchy topics such as this.

"I am going to have a headache." He mumbled as he drove off.

xxxx

After conference, the boys were dropped off at Makio's by Kenji. Now that they've been given the clear, Catal Rhythm set out to perfect the two songs even though Kise and Takao were a bit disappointed that they weren't going to use neither Clock Strikes nor Kasabuta. As even though for the latter song, Kasamatsu only had a verse, it was still a pretty powerful song, but the leader argued and said:

"We can't let the President feel too much. Et Cetera is enough, right?"

He had a point, but still, Takao really wanted Kasamatsu to sing Kasabuta as well.

As such, throughout the following days, most of their times were spent at Makio's after basketball practice and before vocal training, Kise even managed to swindle the older man's key and create duplicates for each of them.

However, it was in their latest practice session that they told Kasamatsu they needed a house for themselves because coming all the way to Yokohama just to practice was really tiresome. That would make the captain quip, by saying:

"So why are you telling me this?"

And Kise would feisty answer back, "Because you'll be at the legal age to buy one soon."

Kasamatsu laughed, clutching his stomach while he was at it. "You idiot! The legal age is twenty not eighteen!" The captain howled with hysterical laughter.

"But didn't they move the age of majority to eighteen the other day? I saw it Senpai!"

Kasamatsu shook his head. "Kise, they lowered the age of voting, that's what you saw."

"Shit."

But during their practice, Makio had returned to torture them but it was here that Kise dropped the bomb on the poor man.

"Hey, Makicchi," the blond started. "You're going to be our manager."

Makio froze on the spot. "Excuse me? What?" Kise didn't even ask, his tone of voice sounded like a command rather than a statement. Even Kasamatsu was a little shocked, Kuroko seemed unperturbed, Takao kept his eyes on Makio and Kagami…he couldn't believe that Kise was so bold. Still, the four realized that choosing Makio made sense. How awkward it would have been if they outsourced some stranger.

"Why?" the drummer asked.

"Because you're perfect! You were in a band, so you know how things work."

"But…" Makio started but trailed off. "…I have Euphoria to run and my brother to take care of. I can't be your manager." He added. "Plus, you didn't even ask!"

"What are you talking about?" Kise countered. "Of course I did."

Makio was not amused. "Ryou, you were demanding me."

Kise smiled. "Demander is the verb for "to ask" in French, no?"

"Motherfu—" Makio broke off when he remembered that there were four other teenagers in the room. Can't have them hearing such foul language. "You're Japanese! How does French get into this!?" he screeched. "My answer is no and that's final!"

"Makicchi! Don't be so stubborn!"

"You're being unfair, you little brat!"

"It's alright; I can always talk to Onee-chan or even Reiko-nee." Kise said, seemingly to calm down. He fished his phone out of his pocket and what was more; he didn't seem hurt that his teacher had ruthlessly rejected him.

Makio gasped in horror with widened eyes, realizing what the blond was going to do. "You wouldn't dare." He hissed.

"Apparently, you don't know who your soon-to-be-brother-in-law is." Kise smirked.

Makio succumbed to the blond's wishes. There was no way he was going to be subjected to his fiancée's and her sister's tempestuous rage. "Fine. But only temporary until you actually get a proper manager!" he huffed.

Kise grinned deviously. "Temporary? Don't be delusional. You'll be with us until you die." He mumbled beneath his breath but the others heard it clear as day. And to say that they never looked at Kise the same would be an understatement. The blond was extremely scary.

"So…" Makio started, deep down he was still bitter since Kise used an underhanded tactic to lure him in. "…how much am I getting paid?"

"When we get to that bridge, we'll see how best we can cross it." Kise said.

"You bitch!" Makio snapped. "Do you know what managers do?! I have to be your advocate, consigliere, crisis intervention specialist and therapist! And knowing you, your mouth alone is a breeding ground for a public nightmare! I will be stressed! And you're gonna look at me, and say something like that?! I need to know if my pay-check will be worth it!"

Kise gasped. "I'm not a bitch! I'm a male! And you won't be stressed! You're overreacting!"

"I'll show you what's overreacting!" Makio snapped, grabbing Kise in his collar.

"See? You're overreacting!"

"I'm not!"

"Is too!"

"Not!"

Throughout their argument, the others looked at the two with a tinge of amusement. Their argument was funny, even though both males were serious. But in the end, Makio completely submitted due to Kise bringing up his sisters yet again.

"Are Ruiko-san and Rei-chan that scary?" Takao asked. "I can't see it."

Makio turned white as a sheet. "You have no idea. They're ruthless thugs! The whole family!" he then shot Kise a glare, who seemed to be feigning ignorance. "Don't let their pretty faces deceive you!"

"Seriously?"

"Yes!" the drummer shrieked.

"Makicchi," Kise started with a chuckle, "You're overreacting."

"I'm not!"

Kise then looked to Kasamatsu and asked, "Senpai, do you believe him?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Just curious."

"Then why didn't you ask Kuroko or anyone else if they believed him?"

"Because this has nothing to do with them."

"Then how does —?" he cut himself off. He realized exactly why Kise would ask him such a thing, and frankly, he couldn't believe his ace. "Why are you so hellbent on this?"

"I told this before Senpai," Kise smiled darkly. "You're the only one that is good enough for my sister." He inched closer to his captain after which he placed a hand on his shoulder. "And I will stop at nothing to make it happen."

Makio whistled. "You poor soul." But then, he broke out in laughter. At least he'd have someone to suffer with. "Let's band together, Kasamatsu-kun. When you get older, let's drink our hearts out at the fact that the women we love have a psycho brother who may very well kill us in our sleep if we break our girlfriends' hearts!" he slung an arm over the young man, the others stifling their laughter.

"This is not how I imagined what having my first girlfriend would be like." Kasamatsu mumbled.

"Hoh?" Takao smirked. "I see what's happening here."

"Shut up!" Kasamatsu blushed as he took up his guitar. "Let's —let's get to work!"

"Right~!" they replied in a sing-song voice. Kise flew over to his drum set and sat on his throne, rubbing the sticks together. Kuroko silently sauntered over to where his keyboard was, and tested out a few keys before putting on his headphones. Kagami and Takao swiftly strapped on their guitars on their bodies, so too did Kasamatsu.

Makio sat before the five cross-legged, using his fingers to count down when they'll start. When he made a fist, that's when they began, Kuroko and his keyboard starting.

…

By the time the five were done, it was minutes after eight o'clock, but Makio was impressed. There were a many times when they had to stop and change some arrangements, but for the guitars, it was superb —well, Kasamatsu was. His skill in playing the instrument was really top-notch, but there was something the drummer noticed in his bodily movements.

"Kasamatsu-kun, you like to move around, don't you?" he asked.

"Yeah…" the teen said as he looked down. He knew what Makio was coming with. "…it's gonna be hard playing the guitar and singing, isn't it."

The drummer nodded. "Even if you use a head-worn mic or whatever, just having an instrument strapped to you will be a hindrance."

Kasamatsu sighed. He had been mulling over that for quite some time, but thought that he could work around it. He loved playing the guitar, but it seems as though it was just not meant to be.

"Wait, so what's gonna happen?" Kagami asked. "If Senpai can't play the lead then…?"

"Takao will play it." Kasamatsu cut in.

"Eh?!" the hawk-eyed boy was shocked. "Me?"

Kasamatsu nodded. "The Lead and Rhythm are two sides of the same coin. Once I teach you what to do, you'll be just fine."

"O-okay." He stuttered.

"Now that that problem has been solved, is there anything else that you're unsure about?" Makio asked. "I have time before opening."

"Well, I don't want to be the sole vocalist because all of us can sing. But they insist that." Kasamatsu started. "I want the world to hear their voices too."

"Oh." Makio nodded. "Did you think of anything?"

"Well, I thought that when we perform our songs live, they could sing like a verse or join in on the chorus or something, but I wanted their voices to be on the studio version too."

"Yu-chan! We've been over this! The world doesn't need to hear us! You're the one with the most beautiful voice out of all of us!" Takao countered. "Calm down."

"No! I can't do that!"

Before their argument escalated, Makio said, "Hear what, why don't you have two vocalists then?" he suggested. "Like, Kasamatsu-kun would be the main and whoever else would be the other one."

Just then, Kuroko had a stroke of genius. Placing his hands on the keys to gain their attentions, the light blue haired teen spoke, "Rock bands usually release their songs in album format right?" they nodded although it was a rhetorical question. "So why can't we release a full length album and a mini-one at the time?"

"Two CDs in the one package?" Kasamatsu asked.

Kuroko nodded. "And that way, Kasamatsu-senpai can be the voice on the full length album and Takao-kun can be the voice on the mini album."

"Makes sense, makes sense." Kise agreed.

"Wait! I'm the other vocalist?! Since when?!" Takao screeched. "I was not informed of this!"

"Since a while ago." Kuroko deadpanned.

"But what about you?" Kasamatsu asked.

Kuroko shrugged. "Hidden track, maybe."

"Kagami? Kise?"

"Same."

"Hmm…" Makio hummed. "That can work. I mean, rock bands do what they want. They aren't so heavily restricted like idols are."

Kasamatsu heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank God. I'm not the only one that's going to be in the spotlight."

"Yu-chan, get used to it." Takao said.

"I'm shy!"

"Says Leader-sama of pop idol group Catal Rhythm." Kuroko teased.

"How could you!?" Kasamatsu screeched in betrayal.

Kise let out a gasp as though something happened. All eyes looked to him, wondering what the cause of his behaviour was.

"If Takaocchi is the other vocalist, then doesn't that mean Senpai would be the lead guitarist during that time?"

"Well yeah. Since Kazu-kun will be singing, it makes sense that Kasamatsu would play the lead." Makio shrugged. "It's a win-win for everyone."

Hearing this, Kasamatsu had a pleasant smile on his face. He'd get to play the guitar. He'd get to rile up the crowd like all his favourite guitarists have, driving them into a blissful frenzy.

"I'm satisfied." He said out loud.

"No shit." Kagami laughed. "Look at your face!"

"What's wrong with my face?!"

"You look like you're thinking about Rei-chan again." Takao snickered. "That's the only time you make that face."

Kasamatsu reddened and hid behind his guitar. "N—No!" he stuttered. "W—wh—where did you get tha—that from?!"

"Holy shit." Makio howled with laughter. "Are you hearing yourself?! You're stammering so bad you can't form a sentence properly!"

"Shut up!"

"He's blushing!" Kise shrieked out and made a lunge to pry the guitar from Kasamatsu's face. "Come on, let me take a picture~!"

"Get away from me!"

"Kagamicchi! Hold his arms! Takaocchi, get the legs!" the blond commanded. "Kurokocchi, you take the picture! I'll hold him in place!"

"Stay away!" the captain screeched, dashing from them.

Ignoring the five boys, Makio looked at the clock mounted on the wall and sighed. It was almost opening time. He got up and walked to the door while the boys were still trying to get a picture of Kasamatsu's blushing face (although by now he's more murderous).

"Boys, I gotta go. When you're ready to leave, you know what to do."

"Hai~!" they chirped.

"No! Don't leave me with them!" Kasamatsu screamed, struggling against Kise's choke hold. Being a martial artist, the blond had a frightening grip.

Makio smiled. "I'll leave you to suffer."

He shut the door behind him, ignoring the screams and wails coming from the room.

xxxx

On the way back, Kasamatsu was murderous. He made sure to sit beside Kenji this time, because he knew he would have killed them. As for the other four —Kise and Takao were humming in delight although they didn't get a picture of Kasamatsu's blushing face, Kuroko was reading as usual and Kagami was listening to music.

"Kenji-san," Kasamatsu started, gaining the manager's attention.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Can we invite people over?"

Kenji laughed. "Of course you can. Why wouldn't you be able to?"

"I don't know. I just thought that…because…you know…"

"You can bring over anyone you want, but no truckload of girls."

Kasamatsu snorted, "Tell that to Kise. He's the one who knows a truckload of girls."

With a smile, Kenji continued, "But, if you are going to invite people over, I need to know who they are, their relations to you and when they will be coming. You don't know what can happen."

Kasamatsu raised an eyebrow in confusion but only replied, "Right…"

"Why the sudden question?"

"Kise's birthday is coming up."

"Oh."

The remainder of the journey was quiet, even the noisy duo of Kise and Takao had long stopped humming and singing. Kenji found it odd, and thought that they were secretly planning something against him. He knew for a fact that Kasamatsu was concerned with Kise's birthday as he'd just indicated, but what about Kagami? The redhead was always arguing with Kise or something, Takao would be giggling at their antics or singing a random song, Kuroko was his usual self.

Without worrying too much, Kenji focused on the road before him.

xxxx

Finally, the five were home, after having vocal practice with Akamine and Foreign Language with Ichinose. They were beat, but at least, they were getting used to their busy schedules.

"Hey, Kise," Kasamatsu started, "Could you go ask Kenji-san about the whole house thing you mentioned to me?"

"Eh?" the blond screeched. "Why me?" Kasamatsu's face darkened. "Alright, alright, I'm going!"

"Good boy."

As soon as the blond exited the house, Kasamatsu assembled the other three. They were in the living room, comfortably seated in the sofa and armchairs.

"So, there's only one reason why we're all here right now." The captain started, constantly peering over his shoulder to see if Kise was coming back. "Kise's birthday is coming up. What the hell are we doing for him?"

"The standard." Takao shrugged. "Throw him a party, but where?"

"Here. We can invite people, Kenji-san said. But no truckload of girls."

"Pfft! As if we know that much girls." Takao laughed.

"If we throw him the party, can I bury that pretty face in a pie first?" Kagami said while sinisterly rubbing his hands together.

"Why Kagami-kun?" Kuroko asked.

"It's standard birthday procedure." The ace grinned.

"I see."

…

"Kenji-san!" Kise called as he pressed the doorbell incessantly.

"I'm coming! Jeez!" the blond heard a shout from the other side of the mechanism. He chuckled a little, but then returned to his original state. He wasn't at all thrilled that he had to tell Kenji about the space issue while the rest of them were busy lounging at home. "Kise-kun?" the door opened, revealing the manager.

"Ah, do you have a minute?"

"Sure." Kenji opened the door wider, indicating that he should enter. "What's the problem?"

"Well, it's about our space." Kise started. "It's going to be a hassle to always have to go to Makicchi's to practice with our electrical instruments, but we can't keep them at home because there isn't enough space to fit them, the mics and amplifiers needed plus our acoustic instruments. So we were thinking of —"

Kenji held up a hand to stop the blond. "Say no more."

"Eh?"

"You said you want more space, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Follow me."

"Eh?"

Kenji chuckled and led the blond out of his house and instead of going towards the elevator down the hall; they turned right and headed in the opposite direction. Reaching the end of the hallway, they stopped at a wide double door at which Kenji punched in a code on the keypad and soon, the double doors slid open.

A clean hallway revealed itself —on the left was the glass door like the one they had at their current home, which lead to the balcony while on the right, there were four doors placed at intervals.

"What's here?" Kise asked.

"You realized that the building where you practice your choreo and have vocal training looks relatively new, right?"

Kise nodded. "I thought it was refurbished."

"Nope. It was recently built, like seven or so years ago." Kenji said. "Before, our idols had to do everything here since they lived where you and the others are now."

"Oh."

"But now that the Arts Building has been constructed, Dad didn't know what to do with here and ended up turning it into a living space." The manager said as he pushed open the first of the four doors. It led to an empty, wide open room with a large mirror spanning the entire right wall. As they walked across the space, they headed to a door that was nestled in the top left hand corner. But Kise saw another door on the adjacent wall and decided to take a look. Exiting, the blond saw another identical room to the one they're currently in.

"Come on," Kenji urged, standing by the door.

But seeing the sheer size of the rooms, Kise couldn't help but ask, "They're huge. What were they before, dance practice rooms?"

"Yup!" Kenji replied.

The duo left through the door, into another space. On their left and right were rooms smaller than the practice ones, and were also empty. They continued on, Kenji showed Kise the bathroom which was next to the smaller room on their right.

"Oh ~ I like!" Kise cooed as he saw the tiled space. Drool was even tempting to leave his mouth. Leaving from the bathroom, they entered into the living room and kitchen area which, thankfully was furbished.

The kitchen was to the right in an L-shape, with the cupboards, counters and sinks, drawers taking up the entire wall. There was no fridge but that was the very least. An island was present as well, with stylish chairs surrounding it.

Kise swept his brown eyes to the living room, where he saw a TV, identical to the one they have back home, but the blond soon realized that there was no sofa. Instead, there was a…square sofa in the floor?

"Kenji-san, what the hell is that?" he asked as he pointed.

"Oh, it's a square conversation pit. You've never seen one?"

"Conversation…pit?" Kise's face twisted at the word. Conversation is a good thing, but the word "pit" isn't usually used for anything worthwhile. "No, I've never seen one."

Kenji chuckled. "Dad is a bit old-fashioned so…"

"I can tell by his age." Kise deadpanned.

Kenji stifled a laugher and walked past the pit towards the double doors and genkan with shoe storage. Exiting from that door, they ended up back into the hallway that faced the balcony.

"Wow." Kise started, looking back at the place. "If your Dad refurbished that, who was he going to sell it or rent it to?"

Kenji shrugged. "Anyone who wanted it."

"But why hasn't anyone…?"

"The idols present don't know about it because they weren't around then. And no ordinary person wants to live on the same floor as idols. You lot are a rowdy bunch, you know?"

"Isn't there soundproofing?"

"Yes, but now that Diverse are back, you'll hear them and Perfect 5th in the hallways cussing each other out a lot more often and Triple Threat trying to ease them off each other. It's quite an amusing watch, the idiots." He mumbled the latter sentence before continuing, "That and fans are quite…persistent when they want to be noticed."

"Ah, they'll camp outside won't they?" he totally disregarded the first sentence about Diverse, Perfect 5th, and Triple Threat."

"Exactly."

"So…why are the rooms so big?" Kise asked again. "I can understand with the two rooms that were dance practice areas, but the others, especially the kitchen…"

"Well, it's because more than one group would be practicing at the same time. So, after practice, they'd usually cook for each other, which is why the kitchen needed to so big, and they'd all eat in the living room, that explains the conversation pit and not a regular sofa."

"Oh." But Kise couldn't be happier. "So that's ours now, right?"

"Yeah, I'd have to tell Dad."

"Then tell him before someone else comes for it!"

Kenji jerked back at the sudden outburst. "I already did. Calm down, Kise-kun."

"You can do that? There's isn't any need for formal requests?"

Kenji sighed. "Yes. But I simply gave him a heads up. When I get back I'm write up the proper request."

Kise sniffed, pretending to wipe a non-existent tear. "I love you, Kenjicchi!"

"What…?" Kenji asked before his mind processed what the blond said. "Don't call me that abomination!"

"Too late~!" the blond sang as he skipped off to the double doors. But he was halted as there was a keypad there. Kenji had to input the code for them to get out. Seeing this, Kise made a mental note to never piss off Kasamatsu. If he isn't quick enough, the captain could still catch him and slaughter his mischievous behind.

"Now run along and tell the others to start packing. I don't think this'll take a week."

"Sure!" Kise skipped to home with a bright grin on his face. Opening the door and taking his shoes off at the genkan, the screeched, "Senpai!"

"What? What the hell is it?" Kasamatsu asked, covering his ears.

"What took you so long too?" Takao asked, trying to hide that he was actually glad for the blond's lengthy abscence.

"I was looking at our new house." The blond huffed.

The others paused immediately, even Kagami, who had been in the kitchen, peered around the wall, to see if his ears were deceiving him.

"Excuse me…what?" Kuroko asked, looking over the top of his novel.

"I said, I was looking at our new house." Kise grinned. "Long story short, our boss had refurbished a place where idols of the past used to practice in and now it's ours to live in."

"Oh." They gave out.

"So where is it?" Kagami asked from the kitchen.

"Third floor still. But the entrance is a double door down that side." He said as he pointed in the direction. "It's perfect Senpai! We can use one room for our acoustic instruments and the other for our electrical ones! And the bathroom! God!" he shrieked in delight.

"So…why didn't you come call us?" Takao huffed. "We wanted to see it too!"

"I wasn't thinking! It was just so sudden! Almost as though Kenjicchi was waiting for me to tell him something like this!"

"Ah…"

"And he said to start packing because it shouldn't take a week."

"What shouldn't?"

"Probably the request for us to move, I don't know."

"Before we should even consider moving, let's eat dinner first. I can't lift shit while starving." Kasamatsu mumbled.

"Right you are, Senpai. Right you are."

But little did Kise know that him taking a long time to return was actually a blessing to them. He was in for quite the birthday surprise.

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

And thank you all for voting and voicing your opinions! The poll is now closed, and the people have spoken! This story will be kept as is, much to my (Nightmare) pleasure. Taichou wanted it to be separated but oh well...Thank you~!