Chapter Text
“Please take a seat in the waiting room.” Akito did as he was told and quietly opened the door to the small waiting area. Inside were only a handful of other people, an older man reading a newspaper and a mother with her teenage daughter. They politely acknowledged Akito as he crossed the room to take a seat in the empty row at the back.
The room was silent, apart from the radio that was playing from a speaker on the ceiling. It was just a generic pop song, so Akito didn’t pay it any mind. Still, fewer people should mean a shorter waiting time. Going to the dentist was already a pain in itself, he didn’t need to waste any more of his time waiting his turn in a full waiting room. Akito didn’t really like the dentist, but he forced himself to go anyway since his sweet tooth was making him more prone to develop cavities. He’d rather be safe than sorry.
Just a moment after Akito had arrived, an assistant came to get the next patient, the older gentleman. He set aside his newspaper and followed the assistant out of the room. Akito took that as a sign that his wait shouldn’t be that long, so he didn’t even bother taking out his phone or anything.
With no other stimulation in sight, his attention got focused on the radio. The pop song was slowly coming to an end, but he figured another just as generic song would take its place after that. However, instead of a new song playing, the radio host suddenly began talking. Apparently, it was time for a program.
“I’m incredibly excited to announce that we have an exclusive guest in our studio today! Would you like to reveal yourself to our listeners?”
“Um, sure. Hey everyone, my name is Toya Aoyagi.”
“Kyaa! Can you believe it?! THE Toya Aoyagi is sitting in our studio right now! This is the most exciting moment of my life!!”
Akito rolled his eyes at the host’s reaction. He had no idea who this guy was, but even so he knew that the host was exaggerating. To his surprise, the teenage girl in his waiting room perked up when she heard the name, looking up at the ceiling as if seeing the speaker would allow her to hear it better.
“For those of you who have lived under a rock up to this day, Toya Aoyagi is a national pop sensation! With a background in classical music, he writes songs that touch the hearts of others with ease and performs them with a voice that would leave anyone weak after hearing it. He’s especially popular with the younger female demographic. A complete heartthrob, if you will. I gotta say, I definitely see the appeal. I’m getting flustered just sitting and talking here with you!”
“Oh, I don’t think there’s a need for you to be so nervous around me. I’m not that special, really.”
“My, so humble! If you ever get a girlfriend, she’ll be the luckiest woman on earth! Speaking of, I’ve heard this is also the theme of your newest album, which you’re releasing tomorrow! Could you tell us a little more about it?”
“Yes, of course. It’s titled From afar and is my third studio album. While my other two albums have also been deeply personal to me, considering my fanbase and the most popular songs I’ve had, I decided to write an album dedicated entirely to romance. Specifically, I drew inspiration from my—”
The assistant’s voice suddenly threw Akito back into reality. It was the girl’s turn and she reluctantly got up, glancing back at the ceiling as her mother pushed her along. She must’ve really wanted to keep listening to the radio.
Sitting there all alone now, Akito let his head drop back and released a sigh. The radio interview continued playing in the background, but he had already lost all context and therefore all interest in it. Not that he’d been that interested in it to begin with. He couldn’t care less about some random pop star who’s singing about love again. Seriously, do they really not have anything better to sing about?
“And that concludes our interview with Toya Aoyagi! We’re all beyond excited to listen to your new album tomorrow. Seriously, I’m already bursting with anticipation! And I’m sure our audience feels the same. So, remember to listen to From afar as soon as it comes out! We’ll be holding a special live listening event too, so look out for that! Once again, thank you for your time and I wish you the best for your future career. I think this album is going to be a huge success!”
“Thank you for inviting me to your program. I’m grateful to anyone who gives my album a listen.”
For some reason, Akito was glad the interview was over. Something about it had really annoyed him. Maybe he was just irritated from the waiting.
And now, it was back to boring pop songs. Akito loudly groaned. To his luck, only a second later the door opened to reveal the assistant, who was there to free Akito from his agony. He jumped to his feet and left the waiting room to follow her.
—
The next day, Akito was back to work as usual. The part-time job at a boutique he’d had as a student had turned into his full-time job by the time he had graduated. He wasn’t proud of it, but that was just how things had turned out. At least he had a job to begin with. Seeing Ena struggle with her art career certainly let him appreciate the stability of his work.
The day wasn’t particularly busy, so Akito was left to just stand there and wait for customers to arrive. At least he wasn’t alone on his shift, although he wasn’t sure whether that was a blessing or a curse, considering who his coworker was as a person.
Mizuki slumped over the counter with a dramatic sigh. Akito was very determined to ignore her, but she just kept sighing over and over until he just wanted her to stop. “What is it now?” he asked, resting his hand on his hip.
“I wish they would let us change the store playlist,” Mizuki complained, much to Akito’s surprise. Sure, listening to the same songs over and over got tiring, but this was the first time Mizuki was ever addressing the topic. Why did she suddenly care that much?
“What would you play?” he asked.
“Toya Aoyagi released his new album today! I can’t wait to listen to it already, it’s making me crazy!!” She wiggled her arms around to further illustrate her frustrations.
“Who?”
“Oh my god…Don’t tell me you don’t know who that is.”
Akito kept staring at her. “Should I?”
“Yes!!! Absolutely, you should!! He’s like, totally big right now!!”
But Akito just groaned to himself. “I guess the name sounds familiar. Was that the guy who gave that radio interview?”
“What interview?”
“It was playing at the dentist.”
Mizuki nodded in understanding. “Oh, you went yesterday, right? What did he say in it?”
“I don’t know. You think I listened to that?”
“You just said you did.”
“I just happened to catch a few things from it,” Akito deflected. “He just said he made a new album about romance or whatever. Why would I be interested in that?”
Mizuki’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Yes, I heard about that online! They said, the album was based on a real person that he had a crush on in the past! Talk about juicy gossip! I wonder who it could be…”
Once again, Akito could only roll his eyes. Everything he’d learned about this guy had been against his will. But then again, if he was as famous as everyone was saying, maybe he should give his music a try? Even if he had a feeling he already knew exactly what it would sound like, given the fact that it was pop.
“So, you’re like, one of his fangirls or what?”
“I like his songs a lot. They feel very fresh and innovative for pop standards.. His voice is really nice too, not to mention his looks. He’s totally boyfriend material. Well, not for me, haha! But for most girls, surely,” Mizuki replied.
“Huh.” Akito gave her a bit of a look, before giving it a thought again. He mostly ignored the last part, much more interested in what she had said first. “Fine, maybe I’ll check him out.”
“Yes!! You totally should. I know you’re more into street music, but I think you’ll like his songs too. They have a really unique sound to them,” she further encouraged him. He hated to admit it, but this guy got him curious now. But before Mizuki could ramble on about Toya Aoyagi, customers arrived and reminded the two of them that they were still working.
—
After he was finished with dinner, Akito threw himself on his couch to unwind a bit. It was late and all he wanted to do was scroll a bit on his phone, but as he unlocked it, he saw some messages from Mizuki.
<Did you listen to him yet???>
A sigh escaped his lips. What, was he supposed to drop everything and listen to this guy’s album as soon as he got home? He wasn’t as obsessed with him as Mizuki seemingly was, so this just seemed absurd to him. But Akito also knew that Mizuki wouldn’t stop bugging him until he had listened to Toya Aoyagi’s songs, so maybe he should just get it over with sooner rather than later.
Typing in just the first character of his name was enough to let the search bar auto-complete Toya Aoyagi’s name. He really was that popular it seemed. That idea got only further validated by the amount of plays his freshly released songs had already gotten online. His album was trending on pretty much every social media site.
Okay, so maybe Akito had underestimated this guy. That didn’t have to mean his music was that good though. He’d seen plenty of popular artists who only produced generic thoughtless pop songs that got hyped to the moon and back. Popularity didn’t always scale with talent, even though it should in Akito’s opinion.
He clicked on Toya Aoyagi’s new album and skimmed the song titles. His first impression was not that promising. These titles had definitely been used countless times for other love songs before. But you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, they say. And so, Akito hit play.
Wearing his headphones, Akito laid down on his couch and just listened. The first song began playing and (unlike its name) the sound was rather interesting. It was a simple instrumental intro, but Akito kind of found himself liking it. Sure, it sounded a bit sappy, but there was also a weirdly sharp, edgy feel to it.
While Akito was caught up in his positive surprise, the next song began playing. And for the first time, Akito heard him sing.
Wow.
He laid there like he was paralyzed. Truthfully, the song wasn’t terribly creative, but Aoyagi’s voice more than made up for it. The way he hit his notes so precisely, yet with so much emotion in his voice gave Akito goosebumps all around. No doubt—this guy was talented.
Well, this was still a recording. There was no guarantee that this is what he sounded like in real life too. But even so, auto-tune could only fix so much. Raw talent would always shine through.
The song came to an end and another one began. This time, Akito decided to focus more on the instrumentals again. There were a few samples he recognized from other songs, which he’d never have thought would’ve fit into such a song. And yet, somehow it worked perfectly.
And though he was reluctant to admit it, the lyrics weren’t that bad either. But, at the end of the day, these were still love songs. Akito couldn’t really relate, so he couldn’t really care that much about them. At the very least, his fangirls could appreciate them. Akito chuckled to himself.
Making his way through the album became weirdly fun. Each song was really distinct from the rest, and yet all of them matched really well. There was also a bit of a story going on here. That must’ve been that thing that Mizuki had mentioned, how Aoyagi wrote this album about a person he knew. Even if Akito couldn’t relate, the songs conjured up really vivid imagery that made it much easier to immerse oneself in the idea.
A distant love that could’ve been, but never was. As corny as it sounded, Toya Aoyagi had made it work somehow. Akito was feeling really emotional. Maybe because he could actually relate to that concept, albeit in a more abstract way.
He was nearing the end of the album. One quick glance told Akito that the last song was coming up. So, he locked his screen again and leaned back, closing his eyes to enjoy the very last song of the album, before this experience would come to an end.
It started off normally. Yet another great song, but this had been expected at that point. However, as the second chorus had passed and began transitioning into the bridge, something really unexpected happened. A rather…familiar melody began playing.
Akito opened his eyes in surprise, startled by what he had just heard. After the first shock, he tried to calm himself down again. People often come up with similar melodies independently from each other. This could just be a coincidence.
But then, Aoyagi began singing again.
Akito’s heartbeat picked up the pace and he broke out in a cold sweat. This couldn’t be, it just couldn’t. But how was that possible? Was he mistaken? He had to make sure.
He rushed over to his closet, rummaging around until he found a dusty old shoebox. Looking inside, he took out an old torn-up notebook, flipping through its pages with shaky hands. And then, he found it.
This couldn’t be written off as a coincidence anymore. Not when the lyrics in Aoyagi’s song were word for word something only Akito should’ve known.
The song ended and left Akito behind in silence. Thousands of questions were racing through his head, but his body was unable to move at all. What did this all mean? He needed to know the truth.
He needed to know who Toya Aoyagi was.
Filled with motivation again, Akito reached for his phone and typed Toya Aoyagi’s name into Google. Staring back at him was the picture of a handsome young man, the same age as Akito himself. Yeah, he could see why he was popular.
Still, he snapped out of it and dove right into his Wikipedia page. After skimming most of it, Akito was starting to get a picture of what had probably happened. But in order to understand all of it, Akito would need to confront his dark past again.
—
Rad Weekend—the legendary event that had changed the lives of everyone who’d been there to experience it. Akito had been one of those people. In fact, he’d been so impressed by it that he became entirely obsessed with it.
More specifically, he became hellbent on trying to surpass it.
Of course, Akito knew it wouldn’t be easy. He was aware of what kind of goal he had set himself, what kind of declaration he had made to the people around him. But he would do everything in his power to get there. He was determined to prove his resolve.
And so, Akito began practicing his singing. He knew he wasn’t anywhere near the level he needed to be to surpass Rad Weekend, so he subjected himself to a really intense training. However, soon enough it began to pay off. Akito’s voice was improving, people were complimenting him on his progress and began to take him seriously. It felt amazing!
But then, he got cocky. Entered an event that he hadn’t really been ready for. Completely humiliated himself in front of a large crowd.
The owner of that venue had not been happy with him. However, the one who’d been the most disappointed in his performance was himself. It was an eye-opener. But Akito wasn’t ready to give up yet. Instead, he would use this opportunity to work even harder and iron out every last flaw in his singing.
For a while, Akito was back on track. Practicing, improving, revising. His confidence slowly came back, although he had learned his lesson about taking on challenges he wasn’t yet ready to face. Still, he was sure he had grown immensely ever since he’d started.
And yet, something was still missing. No matter how many hours he spent practicing, Akito felt like he had stopped improving at some point. Like he had hit his ceiling. But wasn’t that way too early? He wasn’t there yet, he had to get even better than this!
Practicing more didn’t help, so Akito tried finding another way to improve his skills. He talked to a few other people on Vivid Street and someone suggested deepening his understanding for music through making a song himself.
He wasn’t sure it would work, but Akito was willing to try anything by that point. He signed up for a free trial of a music software and tried his best to figure it out through the help of online tutorials. His first track was…something. We don’t talk about it.
After getting the hang of the program, Akito focused more on the creative aspect behind it. He didn’t know a lick of music theory, but he had a good sense of rhythm and tempo, so that had to count for something. He even went as far as to ask Ena if her composer friend could give him some feedback on his tracks. That’s how serious he’d been about it.
At the end of his 30-day free trial, Akito came out with a song he was truly proud of. It could’ve used more polishing, sure, and the lyrics were also a little clunky in a few spots (the english was mostly gibberish that he thought sounded cool), but it was something Akito had made all by himself. That alone was reason enough to be proud. He played his song for his classmates and included it in his street performances. Most people received it pretty well, only furthering Akito’s confidence in himself.
Logically, he should’ve made another song, an even better one, but his free trial was up and he didn’t want to spend so much money on the subscription. His parents wouldn’t have paid it for him either, so Akito just kept this one song. Besides, he wasn’t sure it had really improved his singing all that much. He had a rough idea on mixing now, but that wouldn’t help him with live performances.
Once again, Akito had hit a wall. One that he wouldn’t be able to overcome.
People were slowly growing tired of him. His potential was long gone and there wasn’t much hope for him improving as much as he had at the beginning. Akito grew desperate. He wanted to fulfill his promise of surpassing Rad Weekend, he didn’t want to be just a loudmouth with nothing to back up his claims. Akito needed to prove himself. He needed to improve at any cost.
Little did he know, his obsessive behavior would cost him the most valuable part of himself—his voice.
He’d been pushing himself too hard, staying up too late, not knowing when to stop, practicing out in the cold rain. His own strictness with himself was detrimental to his health. Akito ended up collapsing right there on Vivid Street.
Unfortunately, it took some time for someone to find him and call an ambulance. His life hadn’t been in danger, but when Akito awoke, his voice was gone. According to the doctor, it was only a temporary inflammation and he would get his voice back if he let it rest for a bit. But even so, Akito’s spirit had been shaken beyond repair.
A week later, his voice slowly returned. Another week later, he could speak normally again, but not sing. Even after a whole month had passed, doing his warm-up exercises was hurting his throat. He was truly at a loss.
Still, if he put too much strain on his vocal chords again, he was risking damaging them forever. He had to be more careful with himself. And so, Akito played it safe and waited. He waited for a whole three months, before attempting to sing again.
When he did, he was excited to notice that it didn’t hurt anymore. He could use his voice freely again. However, the lack of practice during those three months was also more than evident. Actually, it was way worse than that. It like the last six years of his life had been undone.
Akito had trouble hitting the correct notes, his tempo was all over the place, he had trouble controlling his breathing—in other words, he was back to square one.
He really tried to keep his resolve up. He really tried to tell himself that it was only a temporary set-back and that he’d get to his previous level in no time, but his heart wasn’t believing it anymore. After everything he’d been through, seeing all of his progress get undone in such a short amount of time was the final nail in the coffin to shatter his resolve once and for all.
Akito broke down completely.
He cried, he screamed, he threw everything around. He had failed completely.
The next weeks were spent entirely in his bed. He didn’t even get up to eat. Luckily, his mother was so kind as to leave a plate of dinner by his door. Even Ena would contribute a slice of her cheesecake to his meals. Looking back, he didn’t nearly thank them enough for supporting him during this difficult time in his life.
At some point, after his head had cleared up a bit, Akito got back up. Admittedly, the main reason was boredom. Akito couldn’t stand lying around and doing nothing anymore. Even if he had given up on music, he still needed some kind of activity or hobby he could partake in. He wasn’t the kind of person that could sit still for too long.
He tried out various hobbies after that, but none really stuck. Akito had never found that spark again, that he’d gotten from music. But he was done with that. He had tried and he had failed. There was no use in trying again. He already knew where his limits were. No need to find out a second time.
When he graduated from school, Akito didn’t really have any dreams or ambitions anymore. He kept his job at the boutique, just as a full-timer now, moved out into his own apartment and continued living a quiet life. It wasn’t exciting at all, but at least he was free from his struggles. No comparing himself to others, no practicing until he collapsed, no feeling bad about himself over his lack of talent.
It was…peaceful. Boring, but peaceful. That’s probably what it meant to mature: Not minding a boring life anymore. His old self could never.
Which brings him back to the present. The past that he had stowed away in this old shoebox just came to haunt him in the most confusing way ever. How did Toya Aoyagi know Akito’s song? Why did he incorporate it into his own song? Does this technically count as plagiarism?
From his Wikipedia page, Akito learned that Toya Aoyagi had apparently attended the same school as him, Kamiyama High. Akito remembered playing his song to some of his classmates, so maybe Aoyagi had overheard that. Or maybe he had listened to one of his performances on Vivid Street. There were many possibilities. That wasn’t the issue.
No, the main question was why. Why did Aoyagi use Akito’s song? Did he like it that much? But then, why did he never say anything to him? Akito barely remembers seeing this guy at school, let alone talking to him. Not to say it never happened, but if it did, it hadn’t left an impression on Akito. He leaned back with a sigh.
However, one thing was clear to him: Akito needed to meet with Toya Aoyagi. That was the only way to get any answers to his questions.