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Kageyama has only been good at one thing.
His owner was well known for bringing up the most beloved Alien Stage competitors. Stars that shone even if they ended up snuffed out. Burning long into the audience’s memories.
Owner would describe themself as someone who had a talent for finding a gem even in the most unlikely of places. Dirty black market deals, small human pet auctions, once they even found a young girl singing to her sister in the neon bathed back alleys of a city they were visiting. So it was no surprise to find them attending an auction at a dingy human market, where the air was thick with the smell of iron, decay and mess, children chained in standing pods, with not even enough space to crouch.
His owner would often describe to Tobio what it was like on the night they found him. How they were almost ready to give up and leave to find a new auction when they saw him. Standing in a small pod, they discovered a tiny human boy, eyes and hair the same glistening dark of the twilight sky.
It was not his looks that caught their eye, but rather the soft sway he was swaying back and forth, almost like a self soothing motion. There was little room to move, only a handful of centimeters between Tobio’s little shoulders and the walls of his pod.
Moving closer, curious about this young child, Owner said they heard a soft lullaby, barely more than a whisper being sung under Tobio's breath. At that moment, they knew that the young, frail boy before them, barely big enough to reach their knees, would one day rule the stage. Not as a bright light, snuffed out in a supernova, but rather as a victor, the last one standing.
After arriving at the Owner’s house, Tobio’s days were often spent training. Owner would bring all kinds of strange looking creatures to tutor him. He remembers a round woman covered in scales that instructed him how to properly walk. The distance between each step, the way to hold his weight when he placed his foot down.
Punishments from this tutor were the kindest, usually only resulting in wearing heavy weights on his feet, making each step strenuous, occasionally even painful, but never leaving long lasting pain.
Another was a bug looking man, with round protruding eyes and a hunched back. His job was to instruct Tobio in how to properly speak. The way his words should be pronounced, an extensive vocabulary, and most importantly when to know to be quiet. Tobio was often told that he had no place speaking unless he was directly addressed and asked to, something he struggled with a lot in his first couple of years.
He would find an interesting instrument or new song piece and excitedly tell whoever happened to be around. He couldn’t help it, when he found something fascinating, he just felt like he needed to share it, even if it meant rambling on to the house staff while they were trying to clean the halls.
Tutor’s solution for this was one of Tobio’s least favorite. After trying a few punishments, Tutor came over with a collar to fit around his neck. He wasn’t told what it would do, just reminded of his lessons.
Later in the evening, after Tutor had already been excused for the night, Tobio wanted to tell Owner goodnight as he was headed off to bed. He ran into their study and opened his mouth to wish him pleasant dreams when he was met with a painful zap where the collar was located around his neck.
A laugh greeted his pained yelp, Owner standing above him and saying, “I’m glad this investment is paying off! Tobio, be sure to learn from this and stop speaking unless you’re spoken to.”
They stood and ruffled Tobio’s hair, walking out and leaving him clutching his neck and stifling his cries, scared that if he was too loud, the electric shock would burn his skin again.
The collar stayed on for three more torturous weeks, each painful shock reminding Tobio of his place in the house where he had grown far too comfortable.
But, by far, his least favorite had been the tutor who appeared as a stick-like lady, grotesque in appearance. Skin hung from her sickly frame, almost like cloth draped over her form. She was hired as a long term resident, her responsibilities to live in the house full time until Owner believed Tobio could live his daily life with approved posture.
This tutor, who Tobio nicknamed Sticky in his head, would haunt his steps every minute of the day. She was given a short metal pole and instructions to not leave any lasting damage. Any time he slouched, hunched his shoulders, or lowered his head too far down, Sticky would quickly attack the flawed area with the metal pole.
Owner must have seen how quickly he changed his behavior with the shock collar compared to the more tame punishments and decided to try that here. Every moment of the day, Tobio spent in terror of the next blow, often leading to him flinching at sudden noises and causing his posture to shift, swiftly being met with Sticky’s metal pole.
Even after she was dismissed when Tobio’s training was considered complete by Owner, Tobio’s proper posture continued to be highlighted by the deep blues and purples beaten into his skin. Sticky still haunted his night terrors for months, following him around with her metal pole, ready to hit him should he even breathe wrong.
Tobio is a perfect doll. Beaten and broken to mold into the shape Owner had planned for him. Always proper, but never weak. Strong, but not overly assertive. Regal, but without being cocky. Only good for one thing.
In a way, being moved into the ANAKT Garden was a relief. While he had been taken from Owner’s house, the only place he had ever known, there was anticipation mixed into his dread. He no longer had trainers constantly breathing down his neck, hitting him whenever he did something they deemed improper. Now, here at ANAKT, he would be surrounded by the thing he loved most, music. The other children would be there for the same reason he was, because they wanted to be the best.
Although he should have known that, just like when he moved to Owner’s house, he would be met with nothing but disappointment.
No one seemed to care as much as he did about music. The children ran around the green fields, and napped under the artificial sunlight while Tobio worked on perfecting his voice, and on building up a solid image for fans to get attached to, just like Owner had instructed him to do.
Vocal training was a game to them, and at music study they took the time to talk and laugh with their friends. It was like none of them even cared about why they were here. Tobio was excited to come to ANAKT, because he felt the draw of a challenge found in being surrounded by other talented and determined performers. He wanted to improve, not feel as unchallenged as he did by the other children of ANAKT Garden.
It was like these children’s owners had no care for if they would one day rise to the top and become champions. Like they were content with them making it only a round or two before they were voted out of the competition.
The first few weeks were the hardest. The children learned quickly that he wasn’t like them, too focused on practicing and improving his skills. Sometimes at lessons, Tobio would go to some of the other children and try to help them improve. He would tell them what exactly they were doing wrong and how they should work harder to fix it.
He would even offer to help them. But the children seemed to take this kindness as an insult, saying that he was a cruel ruler who wanted to control everything they did. Eventually, his offers to help were met with harsh shoves to the ground and whispered insults behind his back.
Tobio wasn’t a total idiot, he could hear what they said about him.
Two boys he had offered to help with their volume control the other week, whispering after he walked by them in line for their evening meal. ‘What a freak, you would think he’s a robot with how obsessed he is with practicing.’
A group of children playing by a few trees, one of which Tobio has decided to rest against and work on recalling different scores to practise later. ‘Did you see him try to decide how I should sing during practice? I’m telling you, that guy's a total dictator, if everything isn’t exactly how he likes it, he freaks out.’
A couple of girls who saw his poor attempt to smile when he passed a test. ‘His face is so scary, it’s like he only knows how to make one expression. Not to mention that creepy look on his face just now.’
‘I know right? If he doesn’t fix his face, one of the caretakers might take it the wrong way and beat it until it looks better.’
‘Yeah, but would that really be such a bad thing? Maybe a long beating is what he needs to get that stick out of you-know-where.’ They walked away laughing to each other, and Tobio made a silent vow to himself to never smile again, no matter how excited or happy he was.
Tobio didn’t understand what he had done wrong. Everything he was doing is what is expected of him, he’s following all the rules that Owner put into place. He even went out of his way to be kind to the other children by offering them help and teaching them how to improve their skills! And all he receives in return are sharp words, cruel hands, and exclusion from anything involving the others.
Somehow, while being here he had forgotten the lessons Owner and the tutors had drilled into him since he was young. Kageyama was only good for one thing. He wasn’t meant to play with others after a long day of practice, feeling the soft grass under his feet while they rushed through a game of tag. He wasn’t meant to smile or show joy when he reached a new accomplishment or goal. He should not speak unless spoken to, or he would be met with electric shocks and painful shoves.
He was created for only one thing, to perform. There is nothing else in him, he is only meant to hit the right notes, to sing along with the correct tune. He would dance and pretend and follow the given script until he could convince the audience to adore him. He would improve until he was the best, the last one standing on that stage.
Nothing else matters for Tobio because there is nothing else. Not for something like him.
He is nothing but a doll, porcelain and frail, but the cracks just make him all the more alluring to viewers when he performs. The stage is set and he is in position, dangling helplessly by the marionette strings beaten into his skin by his tutors, swaying to a song at the mercy of Owner’s hands. He is not his own, rather a set piece, a husk of a creature that only exists to show just how talented and skilled the puppet master is.
He was created only for this.
“Hey, why are you sitting all by yourself? Are you trying to be cool or something?” A loud voice calls through the field, drowning out the soft flow of the stream Tobio often hid from the other children at.
Was that person talking to him? Tobio looks at the empty field surrounding him, trying to see if there were any other children nearby that the child could be speaking to.
A short boy with vibrant orange hair stands about a meter away from Tobio, frantically waving his arms like some kind of confused bird, in what he assumes is his way of getting Tobio’s attention.
He wore the same clothes all the boys in ANAKT Garden wore, a loose, plain white top, flowing in the breeze and matching shorts. Combined with his vibrant hair, this boy was almost hard to look at in the bright artificial sunlight.
“Umm, why are you staring at me like that? You’re not gonna, like, hit me or something, right?” The bright boy huffs out a nervous laugh, his left hand coming up to run through his short, orange hair, almost unconsciously, kind of like it was a nervous tick born out of habit.
Tobio has never seen anyone who looked like this boy before. His very being breathed life, smiles given freely and words spoken without any care for how they sounded or if he came off as rude. He is so unlike the dull world Tobio has been trapped in until now.
Nervous, Tobio says the first thing that comes to mind.
“Are you an idiot or something?”
Well, Tobio has never been known for his kindness towards others. He internally curses himself for already scaring this boy off, the first of the ANAKT Garden children to speak with him since the first days after his arrival.
Although, having this boy’s ire might be worth it for having seen this look on his face. He looks absolutely ridiculous in Tobio’s eyes. After Tobio spoke, the boy’s mouth fell open into an ‘o’ shape, his brown eyes widening almost comedically. He looked a little like the small bugs Tobio would find crawling near the trees where he sat, killing time until their next lesson and shielded from the other children and their sharp words.
Slowly, his shocked expression curls into a small grin, the boy walking towards Tobio with determination in each short step. It was like he transformed into a new person, the startled boy from moments ago replaced by one with a strong and single minded determination.
“I’m not an idiot.” His grin somehow becomes larger, becoming absolutely blinding to look at. A challenging look burns in his eyes as he takes his thumb and points towards his own chest. “I’m Hinata Shouyo, and I’m going to be the best singer to have ever performed on stage!”
Tobio swears at that moment, the world narrowed to just them. The stream stopped flowing, and the wind paused, halting the rustling leaves on the nearby bushes. It was like there was nothing else in existence, except for this bright boy, Hinata Shouyo, he reminds himself, and Tobio standing in front of him.
He can feel his own cruel and ugly smile creeping up his lips, the phantom pain of those girls' harsh words echoing far back in the recesses of his memory. A strange sensation starts blooming in his chest, feeling almost like the warmth of the first rays of spring sun after a harsh winter. It reminds him of when he used to learn something new, excitedly running to the house staff to ramble on about his findings.
Tobio scoffs at him, closing the remaining distance between the two until they are face to face. Or in this short boy’s case, face to chin. “You really must be an idiot then,” The small flame in Hinata’s eyes dimmed just the smallest amount once Tobio had uttered those words.
“I’m Kageyama Tobio, and I’m going to be the best singer to have ever performed!” Tobio strikes the same pose as Hinata, thumb jamming into his own chest in emphasis.
Hinata’s fire comes back stronger than ever, a silent competition beginning to brew between the two of them.
Maybe, just maybe, this is what Tobio had been missing. His heart is pounding in his chest, feeling like it could burst in excitement of having found someone like him. Hinata, the vibrant boy who, with just a few words, had Tobio’s blood pumping in anticipation.
As their eyes met, he was only able to think of one thing. Judging by the expression on Hinata’s face, Tobio is sure he is thinking the exact same thing.
‘I’m going to beat you.’