Chapter 218: (Side Story) Before Underneath

Mori Kimitoshi was as surprised as anyone by his own interest in Tanaka Naoki. Not that Tanaka lacked people interested in him. Sure, at first no one had paid much attention to the new freshman but he was currently getting a lot of interest from the teachers, which drew jealous attention from the other students.

Everyone had assumed that the guy had gotten into the music college with money, and they weren't entirely wrong. Only money or a scholarship from people with money could have gotten someone with so little musical education in. But Tanaka was absorbing everything in his first semester like a musical sponge. He'd apparently been self taught for the most part, but unlike many he was quick to adapt, quick to pick up new instruments and able to transfer what he'd learned on one to the next.

Kimitoshi had been considered the school's prodigy for awhile, but he wasn't jealous of the attention Tanaka was collecting, he was curious. He arranged to meet by suggesting to one of the teachers he got along with particularly well that knowing how well Tanaka could coordinate with other musicians and perform music he hadn't studied would be useful, if he was as serious about a performing career as he appeared.

Tanaka Naoki was as casual and careless as rumor painted him. He was also far more talented than he let on. He might have been self taught before enrolling, but he'd gathered experience with quite an eclectic range of music.

Kimitoshi had expected to catch him completely off guard with the arrangement he'd created. It included classical, rock, and even a drinking ballad.

Instead Naoki had not only kept up, but when the teacher revealed that the arrangement had been crafted by Mori Kimitoshi, Naoki declared, "You really are the genius that everyone claims! That was so awesome! Only Shin is better."

"Shin?" Kimitoshi questioned.

"My best friend, he's a great composer and songwriter," Naoki enthused. "He's only fifteen though, but he'll get over that and catch up soon. I can't wait until he becomes famous."

Before the test they'd just completed, Kimitoshi would have completely doubted that this mysterious 'Shin' was any good, and he still suspected that Naoki was exaggerating. After all, he had just published his first single, and it had been a grueling experience.

Even though logic told him that every criticism had been accompanied by a dozen praises, it was easy to forget the praise, and hard to forget the criticism.

--

It was a busy semester, but Kimitoshi found himself seeking out Naoki not for his talent, but just to let his weird and random stream of babble wash over him sometimes. He learned a lot more about Naoki too. Unlike his own stable boring family situation, Naoki had been abandoned young and bounced around the system for years.

Kimitoshi couldn't imagine how Naoki could maintain such a generally optimistic outlook on life. Not that he was always happy or anything, he spent as much time groaning about things as he did exulting over things, but he lived with an enthusiasm foreign to Kimitoshi. When he finally met Kobayashi Shinichi, he wasn't at all surprised to see the younger boy acting as a stable anchor for Naoki.

Shinichi was miserable in this school, but determined. He didn't seem to be nearly as naturally talented as Naoki, and Kimitoshi was disappointed. Not that he didn't respect the younger boy's determination, but Naoki's descriptions had gotten his hopes up.

Kimitoshi didn't realize that everything Shinichi shared when he was around was school work, until Naoki invited him out to karaoke one night. He was tired and feeling pressured by the warm and cold responses to his attempts to launch his career. In some ways he regretted not waiting until he'd finished school, in others he knew that his reputation as a prodigy of the school was helping boost him this far already.

Kimitoshi expected a normal Karaoke session and was surprised when Naoki and Shinichi automatically skipped the music selection and just set the boosted mic to active. They sang some of Shinichi's songs, and then they sang some of Kimitoshi's songs. He was indescribably flattered that Naoki and Shinichi had memorized them and worked out harmonics.

By the end of the night both of them were comfortably calling him Toshi, and he'd started calling them Nao and Shin. They'd called it Karaoke, but it had really been a jam session, and Kimitoshi reworked his next submission the next day with more enthusiasm than he'd felt for awhile. He also asked if he could submit a multi artist work.

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The company replied astonishingly quickly this time, that they would be accepting a new duo soon and he was welcome to find another artist and apply. Kimitoshi was both happy and disappointed. He had to pick one. He picked Naoki, not that he had anything against Shinichi anymore.

He was shocked when Naoki refused.

"I won't participate unless Shin can participate!" Naoki declared stubbornly.

Kimitoshi tried his best to persuade him, but Naoki wouldn't budge. Even Shinichi tried to persuade him. Kimitoshi felt a bit guilty about the way the two of them fought over it. They weren't getting anywhere and time was running out, so Kimitoshi literally begged the agent he'd worked with for any opportunity for 3.

The agent asked with confusion, "Weren't you aiming to be a solo artist? Why the sudden change?"

"These guys," Kimitoshi realized it only as he made his reply, "make me still want to create more music even when I'm feeling too tired to care anymore."

The agent got back to him 24 hours later, "The only thing I can find is a boyband competition, and you're a bit too old. If you can find at least one more younger boy, I think I can get an application approved?"

"I'll find someone, please prepare it," Kimitoshi replied firmly.

--

They found Ando Hideki, a year younger than Shinichi, but his voice had changed early and it wasn't bad. He was pretty talented for his age too, although he only played the instrument that practically every teenager thought was 'coolest'. He played an electric bass guitar.

It wasn't difficult for them to work around those limitations though, and Hideki's parents were willing to let him enter the competition. Kimitoshi immediately contacted the agent, and was informed that someone else within the company was interested. The agent firmly pressured Kimitoshi into adding Sasaki Akito to the group.

Akito was the same age as Hideki but had a much more outgoing and charismatic personality. His best instrument was the keyboard that Kimitoshi preferred, but when he shared his hesitation with Naoki, Naoki asked curiously, "Why does it matter what he plays? You can play almost everything, and I can focus on whatever no one else wants! Our only real problem is Shin."

They were both silent for a moment. Shinichi was working hard, he really was, but he was only barely proficient in anything. They couldn't even dump him on bass and give him simple chords because Hideki had that spot. The instrument he was best with wasn't even an instrument, it was the synthesizer program on his tablet.

"We'll call him our songwriter and he can just sing. His voice is pretty good, for now?" Kimitoshi said. "We only have to get through the competition, nothing else matters if we fail there."

"What about when we win and get the five year contract, will you regret not using your songs?" Naoki questioned seriously.

Kimitoshi laughed at his unyielding confidence. "I can still compose, as long as I make Shin write the words. That's always the most frustrating part for me anyway," Kimitoshi declared.

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