It was called Project Orfice.
A group of bands from different agencies would be touring alongside each other. When we weren't touring we'd be living in the same building together, seems the higher-ups intended us to learn from one another and interact.
And that would be fine and all... if those groups weren't delinquents.
There were already four people there when we boarded it. The awkward atmosphere as we greeted them only to be met with silence and eyes that sized us up was suffocating.
I flipped through the company profile sections the moment I sat down, to familiarize myself with the groups, most of these bands we're to travel with have been... well blacklisted. By blacklisted I mean they all have bad reputations.
Similar to our group, these groups had one or more than one member that has either been sued, thrown into juvie, or a child that's been in and out of the foster care system.
It reminded me of blacklist... he paired up his daughter with a group of problematic but talented kids, polished them, and capitalized on their talents. Why is he so drawn towards delinquents? I mean his preference is fine and all, I just wish I didn't have to interact with the likes of them.
I sighed. At times like this, I should try being like Utaka. Completely unbothered by pressure and stress...
Oh? As I scrolled I found a group that reminded me of our own.
A band of three. They seemed to have their debut around the same time as well. Similar to Banshee, it was a group whom's name you'd probably hear being uttered in the streets of Tokyo, "Betelgeuse".
The drummer had a history of violence; juvie and eventually dropping out of high school but their lead singer had an angelic voice similar to Akemi's.
I'm sort of surprised Hysterical Kitten Entertainment agreed to expose such volatile bands to each other.
I didn't mind that we were traveling with them... but the fact we'd eventually be sharing the same living space alongside them made me feel unlucky.
All the bad apples were tossed near me!
Well... since I'm a leftover side piece from Azure Phoenix, I suppose it's fitting.
The group sat in the back of the bus, so I took my spot near the front. Agawa sat adjacently behind the seat Hagihara sat at which was across from mine.
As I plugged in my earbuds for the ride, the scent of sweet perfume and strawberry shampoo wafted into my nostrils. Akemi had plopped herself in the seat next to mine.
"Why are you sitting next to me?"
"You don't own the seat, nor the bus." She casually said, leaning back into the chair.
Shockingly her "Akemi-ness" has been growing on me. Not in the sense that I've come to like her, but I've been de-sensitized to finding her annoying.
I let her be by ignoring her.
My mind drifted back to the "homework" Hanabusa had mentioned, we'd be performing at a certain venue near the end to be evaluated by the company for this public performance, this challenge would have certain conditions, but Hanabusa never specified what they were.
He said he would tell us when the time was right.
We also had to sign a contract stating that we consented to be filmed and having that footage later used at any given point... I'm suspicious of what the higher-ups have in store...
The tour ride consisted of Agawa sharing the snacks his fangirls gave him before he left. He reminded me of Utaka for a second.
When Akemi left for the bathroom he came over to show me the video of a couple of professional bands before getting booted upon her return.
He also showed it to Hagihara, who seemed to be working on typing a document from beginning to end.
The bus stopped at a small studio apartment in Gunma. Scattered about the place were camera men.
Conveniently it had enough bedrooms, and a couple of practice rooms but only one room to record.
"I heard Blacklist! once used this place." Agawa educated us as we entered. This building seemed old but atmospheric, the simple white walls made me want to lose myself and focus on whatever task awaited us.
The number of rooms were limited, thankfully there were two bunk beds in one room, so Agawa, Hagihara shared one room. While I ended up isolated once again.
Later, I was informed a member of the other band wanted a separate room because his bandmates were bad sleepers and would be sharing my room.
Hanabusa showed us around. Near the practice rooms, there were cube-shaped rooms partitioned by side doors, some had desks while other rooms were bare. It felt like a tiny office on the inside, I loved it.
For places where someone wanted to practice/work by themselves. It was perfect. I designated one of the rooms as my cubby home and throughout our stay would occasionally find myself recharging there after practice.
I ran into someone there one day.
Her red hair reminded me of Akemi at first.
"What are you doing in here?!" I ask somewhat annoyed.
I had left some of my song lyrics for future projects as well as my laptop in here, the thought of her looking through them felt like an invasion of privacy, some of those songs were too embarrassing to be seen by anyone else.
She turned around and I quickly realized I was mistaken.
"Ah, I'm sorry, I thought you were..." I tried to apologize only to realize I wasn't quite in the wrong here. My voice hardened. "This room is taken."
The moment she saw someone else's belongings she should have put two and two together right?
The thought of her looking through those songs and plagiarizing it occurred to me and I couldn't help feeling conflicted. You really can't be sure of anyone these days, no... to begin with, I got too comfortable. I should have left things like this in the dorm.
"That so?...Sorry." As she passed me, I gave her space and looked over my things to see if she took anything.
Everything was here, I heaved a sigh of relief. Wait, nowadays you can just take a picture of things on your phone. I panicked for a moment when I heard a shrill voice behind me.
"I didn't steal anything!"
I turned around, she was still here?
She stared at me with genuine dislike before leaving.
I didn't feel sorry however, she brought the suspicion on herself lingering here.