Broken Fragments
Chapter 18: Easy-going Career
The MEC building became busier and busier after Yuuhi's debut. Two months had already passed since her debut and the confusion about her and Kirari's identities. Her fans gradually increased and more people became captivated by her uniqueness. Kirari's die-hard fans also slowly accepted the fact that she wasn't Kirari and that she wasn't trying to be the late idol.
Along with the increase of fans also came the increase of work. Yuuhi, 'The Fallen Angel,' had already released an album, a single, and had already collaborated with Fubuki on a mini-album. Yuuhi was also going to have her first concert after the release of her first mini-album. Not only was she working on albums, but also on commercials, promotions, and radio shows, too. Truly, her career was going well.
"Are you ready?" the sound engineer asked from the control room, holding onto a button that would allow him to talk to Yuuhi, who was inside the isolation room.
The isolation room wasn't huge, but it wasn't small, either. A few instruments, such as the drums, guitars, and the keyboard, were behind Yuuhi. A professional microphone attached to the wall extended near Yuuhi's face, giving her the ability of having free hands instead of holding the microphone.
Outside, the control room, was full of equipments used to edit music, instrumentals, vocals, and even sound effects. The walls also had plaques, awards, and certificates hanging on them, showing that some of the most popular idols, like Aoi Kirisawa and of course, Kirari, had worked in that studio before.
Yuuhi nodded with a soft smile on her face, holding onto the headphone she was wearing. The music started playing after the engineer hit the button, causing the isolation room and Yuuhi's headphones to be filled with music that the sound engineer had recorded with the band earlier. Yuuhi closed her eyes to relax and feel the music, also concentrating on the lyrics she was to sing.
The sound of the violin started the song, its smooth melody powerful and majestic. It didn't sound like the sophisticated classical songs, sounding dark and in a rush, instead. A short transitional pause allowed the violin to fade out. Then, came the sound of the guitars and drums that prevailed over the room and the earphones. Although it sounded dark, it was entrancing, like Yuuhi.
Ichiban no negai goto oshiete
Anata no hoshii mono
BORYUUMU furikireru hodo tsuyoku
Ooki na koe de sakende mite
Hiroto, who was always isolated of what Yuuhi's next song would be, was shocked of how powerful her voice was. Yes, the song was powerful, but the way she sung it felt like she could control anybody who would listen to the song. If someone else were to sing this song, they wouldn't have as much impact as what Yuuhi was radiating. His eyes grew wide as Yuuhi opened her eyes to look at Hiroto with seductive, evil-looking, blue eyes while the song started to reach its first peak.
Taiyou ga mezamenu uchi ni
Hajimeyou sekai wa
Hikari ni tsukimatou kage to odoru
Sou kimi no te wo totte
The sound engineer, although captivated by the song, too, didn't forget his job and still controlled how the song would sound when it's done. He adjusted buttons that controlled the volumes, background instrumentals, and other elements, but he never touched the buttons that would edit Yuuhi's vocals. He was amazed because she never missed any important points, or even went off-pitch or flat. To simply put it, Yuuhi was amazing.
Saa nani ga hoshii no? Nani wo motomeru no?
Atsumeta kagayaki sono te no hira ni
Subete sukui toru yogoreta yozora ni
Kuroi DAIYAMONDO BURAKKU DAIYAMONDO
Since Yuuhi didn't allow Hiroto to watch her practices before her recordings, he'd always be surprised and shocked of the outcomes. He was completely enchanted by the dark song, called 'Black Diamond,' that he didn't realize that Yuuhi was done recording.
"That's it?" Hiroto asked as the strawberry auburn-haired girl came out of the isolation room to thank the sound engineer for his works.
"What do you mean that's it? It's always been like this, remember, Kazama-san?" the sound engineer laughed.
Hiroto sighed and scratched his head, realizing what the engineer said. Always, Yuuhi would only record her new songs once because she's never made a mistake. If she were to record the same song again, it would only be because new, inexperienced interns were the ones working in the control room. Yuuhi didn't have a problem with it, but since her schedule had been hectic lately, only professional sound engineers worked with her.
"True," Hiroto replied, laughing with him.
After thanking the people in the recording studio, Hiroto escorted Yuuhi to his car and the both drove back to the MEC building. They went straight to Hiroto's office to see her schedule.
"That's it for today," Hiroto said, smiling as he leaned back on his office chair.
"Good job on today's work," he smiled at Yuuhi, who was fast asleep on the couch.
Hiroto kindly smiled as he walked to the small drawer by the door to get a blanket. He gently placed it on Yuuhi, who was already plopped onto the couch. Although she looked tired, Yuuhi still looked charming.
"You're so much cuter when you're asleep," Hiroto said, staring at the fair-skinned, sleeping beauty.
"And less mean," he giggled.
Hiroto walked back to his desk when he heard a beeping alert message from his email account. When he opened the email, he clenched his fist and teeth in fury and aggravation. He quickly pressed the 'archive' button after reading the email.
"I can't let you do that," he thought, looking at Yuuhi once again.
Then, he picked up Kirari's framed picture by his desk, his eyes sad and lonely.
"I just can't."
Author's notes:
The song used for Yuuhi's new song was 'Black Diamond' by Nana Mizuki. This song was actually sung by Utau Hoshina from Shugo Chara, but since it had that "dark aura" kind-of feeling to it, I decided to use it for Yuuhi's new song. Disclaimer: I do not own any of Nana Mizuki's songs (obviously) or Utau Hoshina from Shugo Chara.