「Devil's Voice」Tenn Kujo

5 - False Song

"This is the song for your next comeback."

Tenn looked at the sheet of music in front of him, examining the assortment of lyrics and notes. 'NATSU☆Shiyouze' it read at the top. The song played in his head as he read through the sheet. It certainly had a different concept compared to TRIGGER's usual theme.

"All thanks to your music producer here. Any day later and he would've been fired," Anesagi chuckled lowly. 

"I - I'm glad I could meet your requirements!" The man next to the manager said, he bowed down.

"A pretty well written song here. I expected none less from you. Maybe next time, just get it done on the first try," Anesagi critiqued. 

Tenn eyed the song producer who laughed nervously whilst agreeing along with an 'I won't let you down' then excusing himself from the office in a rather hustled manner. Tenn glanced over at Gaku and Ryuu to check for their reactions.

"Different concept huh?" Gaku asked.

"This song's a little different from our usual performances," Ryuu noted.

Anesagi smiled. "Well, a song's a song. Your fans will love it regardless because it is TRIGGER who is presenting it." His brows then furrowed. "Perhaps you have a problem with it?"

"Ah - No. Not at all. I look forward to our comeback," Ryuu said quickly. Gaku and Tenn nodded in agreement.

"Very well. You are now excused. Study the song and prepare for recording, that'll take place tomorrow."

"Thank you," Gaku said as the three left the manager's office and headed off towards the elevator of the TRIGGER headquarters.

Once the elevator doors closed, giving them some privacy, Gaku spoke to break the silence. "Tenn, you were silent. What do you think of the song?"

"As manager said, a song is a song," Tenn replied.

"Do you truly believe that?" Ryuu asked. 

Tenn closed his eyes and sighed. Of course, they could read right through him. "There's nothing I can do about it anyways."

- - -

Tenn didn't like the song. It didn't feel right. The keys of the vocals weren't fit to match TRIGGER. The notes were were higher and more. . . peppy. Personally, he just wasn't feeling it.

Regardless, he worked hard during the recording session. The manager was right. The fans would love it. It didn't matter if it was different or actual trash. 

Finishing off the final note of the session, he held back his pants. His throat was tight and his lungs felt as if they had been burned. 

"Good work," the staff said to him.

"Thank y -," Tenn's voice cut off before finishing the word. He brought a hand to his throat, brushing it gently with his fingers. "Excuse me, I need to hydrate myself." He left the recording room. Gaku and Ryuu were sitting in the lobby, they were chatting and practicing their parts.

"Oi, Tenn. How'd it go?" Ryuu called to him.

"Fine," Tenn replied. He dropped in a coin into the vending machine. A water bottle fell to the dispenser with a klunk. He reached in and pulled it out, then took a sip. His throat felt more soothed.

"Next, Gaku," The staff called from the room.

The silver-haired male stood up from his seat and headed into the recording room. 

- - -

A few days later, news had spread of their new song. It gained popularity the moment it was released, shooting up on the charts. Anesagi congratulated TRIGGER on their hard work and accomplishment. But there was more than just the news of their comeback that had spread. 

"IDOLiSH7's Nanase Riku fainted on final song during an outdoor concert," Gaku read the headlines of the article.

"That's horrible. . ." Ryuu commented. He genuinely looked worried. "This Riku seems to be having it hard physically."

Tenn was silent.

Gaku continued to read, "Their final song for the performance was the same song as TRIGGER's NATSU☆Shiyouze which happened to be playing on the billboards at the same time.

Tenn raised a brow. "You mean they have the same exact song?"

"It seems so."

"I don't understand - How could they have the same song? Song and lyrics. . ." Ryuu said.

"It's certainly suspicious," Gaku said. "I'll have to contact the manager." He played the video of IDOLiSH7 preforming the song and Riku's collapse. "I have to admit, it matches them more."

"It really does," Ryuu agreed.

"But it's not their song," Gaku said, "I wonder how they got their hands on it. . . And had the audacity to perform it on a stage right when we had just released it."

Ryuu's worried face asked the question Tenn had been keeping to himself, "Is Riku okay?"

"He was transported to the hospital immediately. I doubt they would report details of his medical condition though," Gaku replied. He scrolled down on the article. His silence said there was none.

"A professional shouldn't preform when they know they could ruin the moment for the fans," Tenn said. 

"I'm sure we've all noticed their performances have been quite sloppy recently."

Tenn nodded. He didn't continue on any further. He knew, hearing the song play on the billboard had affected their performance through the Devil's voice. He didn't want to imagine how that must've felt. Disregarding Riku for the sake of his own composure, he still had to question the confusion of the song. 

Watching the video, the worry on the IDOLiSH7 member's faces made him feel slightly envious inside. But the anxiety he buried down kept trying to climb out. Even with an internal war going on, his outward appearance expressed no sympathy.

- - -

As the days passed on, no more news of IDOLiSH7 was heard. TRIGGER had preformed multiple short stages to promote their song, which was skyrocketing off the charts. Tenn had been feeling more exhausted with each performance. And there was no way to hide it anymore than he already had.

"Tenn, you need to get rest! You're all worn out," Ryuu sat next to him on the bench in the backstage of the venue.

Tenn took a gulp of water, almost chugging it. "I'm fine."

"You're obviously not." Gaku stood before him, casting his shadow over. "If you let down the manager, you're gonna have it."

"I won't."

"How stubborn can you be?!" Gaku almost shouted. 

The two shared glares back at each other. 

"I'm a professional. I - " Tenn did not raise his voice, he couldn't even finish his statement before his own voice had cut him off.

"Tch. This man -"

Gaku was interrupted by the manager making his way over to the group, "You're lucky this is our last mini-concert for the season. But there is an official TRIGGER concert next week. I expect you to be well-rested by then."

"I will," Tenn said.

Those two words were empty. He really didn't know how much longer he could hold on nor how much rest he needed to recover from his fatigued state. Was a week really enough? The burning in his throat had traveled from his throat to his chest. His legs felt wobbly and his consciousness felt more than just dizzy. 

What's happening to me?

But as Tenn had feared, a week did not suffice. A fever had taken over him and he was sent to the hospital a day before the concert date. 

「note」

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