Chapter 224: Idle S-san (5700 characters!) (Patreon)

"By the way, how's Sakiko's new song coming along? I haven't seen her bring it up in the LINE group lately," Yutenji Nyamu said, setting her drumsticks down with a pale hand and slipping the light-purple headphones off her head.

She wasn't giggling and goofing around like usual. Her expression was dead serious.

Unlike Wakaba Mutsumi, Misumi Hatsune and Yahata Umiri, who couldn't care less about buzz, Nyamu was the band member who'd been in the industry the longest. She cared a great deal about how hot SOUTH was.

And this time, a Budokan show was on the line!

A rare thrill stirred in Yutenji Nyamu's chest. As someone from the industry, she knew exactly how much weight "debuting straight at Budokan" carried.

Add the popularity Minami Yuji had already built up for SOUTH…

If they could just get through the whole show, real fame would be within arm's reach!

But before fame came—

Nyamu shot a sidelong glance at her bandmates.

They were all still absorbed in their own business, as if they hadn't heard a word. She pushed herself upright, her cherry-pink lips twitching.

"Sorry, maybe I was too quiet just now. What I wanted to ask was, does anyone know how far along Sakiko is with the composing?"

Yes. The composing.

Never mind how important a good song was to a band. Fifteen songs in two months was, without question, an enormous undertaking.

She was one of the band now, after all. Of course she wanted to know the details.

"…" Maybe because her voice had risen a little this time, Yahata Umiri finally heard her.

She lifted her androgynous, pretty face, plucked the bass strings a few more times, and said, "I haven't asked Miss Toyokawa, but fifteen songs in two months… Even with Miss Toyokawa's talent for composing, I think it's still not very likely."

She had filled in as a guest bassist for plenty of big bands, so she knew full well how long a good song took to write.

Even if inspiration exploded and you wrote two songs in a single day… what then? Inspiration didn't show up every day.

She answered Nyamu offhandedly.

Nyamu's reaction was anything but offhand. The moment she heard that, she shot to her feet.

"Huh?! Not likely?! Then what are we supposed to do about our Budokan show?"

Exactly!

She had gone out of her way to ask Omiya Nana in the agency's publicity department about this. They had already started trial ad placements on all the major sites, and before long they might even shoot an ad poster for SOUTH's show. Since Minami Pro was footing the bill, SOUTH would be front and center on the poster, with the members of famous bands like Roselia placed below them.

With Minami Pro spending this big…

And Umiri was telling her they might not even have a setlist for the day?

How was she supposed to stay calm?

Umiri, however, was not calm-challenged like her. She just glanced at Nyamu and moved her fingers away from the tuner.

"Using the old SOUTH songs would be fine too, wouldn't it?"

Her tone was flat, as if she truly didn't care what they played.

"Well, that's one way to solve it… But aren't we the new SOUTH?! How can we possibly use the old SOUTH's songs?!"

Nyamu was the first to protest, even widening her big pink-purple eyes at Umiri. "Doesn't it bother you at all?"

The two of them were practically grasshoppers on the same string. They were the only new members of the band, after all.

Misumi Hatsune and Wakaba Mutsumi, on the other hand, had both followed Toyokawa Sakiko from the old SOUTH. Old songs might not matter to them in the slightest, since over eight years they had built up countless fans.

But for Nyamu, who had only just joined SOUTH, that was absolutely not acceptable. Wasn't this exactly the moment for a brand-new song, one that would introduce the two of them as the new members in a blaze of glory?

"I don't mind. I actually like the old SOUTH-era songs quite a bit."

Faced with Nyamu's heated argument, Umiri merely shrugged.

She had joined SOUTH to get bandmates she could trust. As for buzz and the like, she honestly didn't care.

Damn it!

"What about you two?! Are you really fine with this? This is a once-in-a-lifetime Budokan show! So many listeners from the old SOUTH days will come. You don't want to fob them off with old songs, do you?"

Having failed to win Umiri over, Nyamu gritted her teeth and turned her big eyes to the other side of the room, where Hatsune and Mutsumi were clearing their throats.

She was telling the truth. There was a bit of selfishness mixed in, sure, but she really was thinking of the band. For a first debut show, going all in on new songs was obviously the safer bet.

But—

"Uh… well…"

Under Nyamu's stare, Hatsune's fair face instantly flushed with embarrassment. She pressed her fingertips together and answered in a small voice, "As long as I get to see Yuji, I'm fine…"

"Hiss!!!"

Crap, she'd forgotten this girl was a pure lovebrain!

Nyamu cursed inwardly. She tore her gaze away from Hatsune, who was cupping her face in both hands and murmuring "Yuji, Yuji," and pinned her last hope on Mutsumi.

A short silence followed.

"Ask. Sakiko."

Mutsumi's amber eyes drifted blankly up from the guitar in her hands, and she spat out the briefest possible answer.

Fine…

It wasn't the answer Nyamu had imagined, but Mutsumi was right. Whether fifteen songs in two months was possible, they'd have to ask Toyokawa Sakiko herself.

Only—

"Why isn't Sakiko here yet?"

Nyamu sat back down. Her pale feet, still in heels, swayed slightly as she looked at the clock face, puzzled.

The hour hand was already pointing to 9:30. That was over an hour past the start of the Minami Pro practice session.

If you asked who worked hardest in SOUTH, Nyamu would be the first to raise her hand and point at Toyokawa Sakiko.

She really did work hard. Sakiko handled the daily training schedule on top of writing lyrics and music.

On that point alone, even Nyamu, who usually clashed with her, had to admit it: when it came to effort, nobody in SOUTH could surpass Toyokawa Sakiko.

So why was a person that hardworking… late today?

It made her uneasy.

Just as Nyamu was about to ask Mutsumi and the others what on earth was going on with Sakiko, a crisp click sounded as the door opened.

And in the same instant, Nyamu saw her.

The real leader of SOUTH, and the main composer for this Budokan show: Toyokawa Sakiko.

But…

"Master Yuji?"

Nyamu rose from the sofa in surprise and stared at the black-haired young man trailing behind the pale-blue-haired twintailed girl. It was Minami Yuji.

She remembered perfectly well that Yuji had been busy shooting Like a Dragon lately. And even if the shoot weren't keeping him busy, he should have had all kinds of Minami Pro business to deal with.

How did he have time to come see them in the practice room?

Perhaps noticing her stare, Yuji answered with a smile.

"Ah, I actually have something to take care of here. Go ahead and talk among yourselves."

"Okay."

If Yuji said so, Nyamu could only press down her curiosity and turn her eyes to Sakiko, who had just walked in.

"Sakiko, I want to ask you, how is the composing really going? Can you finish all fifteen songs in two months?"

Nyamu did still hold some hope for Sakiko. After all, for the past few days she'd had Hatsune and the others bring her lunch and had sat in front of her computer the whole time. Maybe she really had figured something out.

But Sakiko's next sentence told her at once that things had gone sour.

"Sorry. Even after these past few days, I'm only at about thirty percent."

Sakiko shook her head and answered calmly.

"Only thirty percent?"

Nyamu thought, this is bad.

Thirty percent in three days… Converted, that was about ten days per song. Even at that pace, fifteen songs would take 150 days.

It looked like Umiri had been about right. Two months simply wasn't enough.

In that case—

"Then Sakiko, have you thought about having Master Yuji find an outside composer? Two months goes by fast, and if we can't get fifteen songs done, the ones who lose out aren't just us, it's Minami Pro too."

She said it without a trace of hesitation.

The moment the words left her mouth, everyone in the room felt it. What overwhelming pressure!

Because the words sounded harmless, but in fact they were razor sharp. Telling Yuji to find an outside composer was practically a blatant challenge to Sakiko's ability.

The air froze in an instant.

Even Nyamu, the one who'd said it, could clearly feel it.

She could almost picture what came next. With Sakiko's proud nature, she would never borrow anyone else's strength. A fierce argument was surely coming.

Nyamu didn't want to fight either, but this was a moment when not fighting wasn't an option. It was for the sake of the band as a whole. She could hardly count on Umiri, Mutsumi or Hatsune to bring it up, could she?

What Nyamu hadn't expected was that, after hearing her, Sakiko not only showed none of the irritation she'd pictured, but actually nodded right in front of her.

"My ability really is lacking. I do intend to find an outside composer."

"Huh?"

Having said that, it was Nyamu, so aggressive a moment ago, who froze.

Because—

Isn't that reaction a little too normal?!

Nyamu scratched her head.

She truly hadn't expected it from that Toyokawa Sakiko. The Sakiko who valued the band's original independence above all… was voluntarily admitting she wasn't good enough? And even looking for an outside composer on her own?

Did you eat something weird or what?

Nyamu was dumbfounded.

Faced with that expression, Sakiko merely tucked the strands of hair that had fallen beside her ear behind her head with a snow-white finger, and looked at her curiously. "What do you mean, 'huh'? Wasn't it you who suggested finding an outside composer?"

"Uh—"

Her throat blocked by those words, Nyamu turned red and couldn't get a sound out for ages.

She really wanted to say: sure, I did suggest it, but isn't your reaction kind of off? Wasn't it you who used to go around saying, "The independence of the band's creative work is irreplaceable, and I will never let any outsider touch SOUTH's music"?

But considering how provocative that would sound, Nyamu finally took a deep breath and swallowed the words stuck in her throat. She asked, full of suspicion, "So, Sakiko, which composer do you want to go with?"

The corners of Sakiko's mouth curved upward.

Hearing the question, she gave a faint smile and bowed her head slightly. "What a silly thing to ask. The person who'll be composing with me is right in front of you, Miss Yutenji."

"Right in front of me…? Wait… are you saying…?"

Nyamu's expression went from suspicion to blankness to shock, a perfect demonstration of changing faces like flipping pages.

The thing was…

"Are you saying the person who'll compose for us is Master Yuji?!"

Her hands slammed down on the black glass table, and her mouth fell open.

"That's right."

Faced with the dumbstruck Nyamu, Sakiko only smiled and nodded.

Well, well…

Nyamu sank back onto the sofa, her body swaying. She finally understood why Sakiko, who always insisted "I will never let any outsider touch SOUTH's music," was willing to take a step back and look for an outside composer.

So that was it…

Her pink-purple eyes turned to Minami Yuji, and Nyamu found herself speechless.

He wasn't an "outsider" at all.

But… one problem had been solved, and another popped into Nyamu's head.

Namely… could Minami Yuji really write songs?

It wasn't that she doubted her own master. It was just a fact. If it were acting, she would back her master's coaching one hundred percent. But this was band composition! It had about as much to do with acting, Yuji's specialty, as the moon had to do with pigs.

In all these years, she had never once heard that Yuji had any composing experience.

Never mind that SOUTH had always been famous for high-quality, high-difficulty songs. A casual, half-hearted, just-for-fun song wouldn't help their current situation at all, and would only drag down the standing of the whole band.

But then…

She didn't dare say any of that out loud.

Nyamu closed her mouth.

She wasn't stupid. Yuji was her master, a big name in the industry, and her boss. Saying those things would only offend him and make trouble for herself. There was no point.

But what Nyamu hadn't expected was this—

"Before we settle who the outside composer is, I'd like to ask Miss Toyokawa one thing. Does Minami-san really have the ability to compose proficiently?"

Umiri had gone ahead and said, bluntly, everything Nyamu had been thinking.

And her wording was razor sharp, questioning Yuji's ability from the very first line.

Even Nyamu froze for a second.

They said people with talent didn't need to bother much with the social niceties of the industry. But wasn't this too little bother?

That was Minami Yuji, you know!

Their boss!

If he really got upset, he could cancel their Budokan show with a wave of his hand!

Don't drag me down with you!!!

Even Nyamu, who had always known Umiri was a straight shooter, twitched at the corner of her mouth and tried to pull her back.

But then—

"With all due respect, I know Minami-san's accomplishments in acting, but composing and acting aren't directly related. If this is only a hobby, I'd suggest leaving the composing to someone more professional."

Well, well…

Nyamu covered her face with her hands.

Now it was really over.

Because Umiri was basically slapping Yuji in the face. Saying composing had nothing to do with acting, saying to hand the work to someone else… Even if it was true, you couldn't say it like that!

Unable to stop herself, she stole a glance at Yuji.

And then she was startled to find that he showed not the slightest hint of anger. He still wore that gentle smile.

That surprised her quite a bit.

What surprised her, and Umiri beside her even more, was what Yuji said next.

"Setting aside the question of replacing me, have you two ever heard of Idle S-san?"

"Idle S-san…?"

Nyamu and Umiri couldn't help exchanging a look.

That name…

Heard of him? Hardly. The name was legendary across the entire music world.

Idle S-san, an online composer-blogger.

Gender and name unknown.

Most people only knew that he was a mysterious composer who began appearing online six years ago.

He had shone brilliantly from the moment he debuted, becoming famous for "Evening" and "Summer, Cicadas, Exhaustion…"

"Summer, Cicadas, Exhaustion…" in particular had hit 180,000 downloads in a single week, and topped the Oricon free chart for download numbers for 19 weeks in a row.

What was even more remarkable was that, unlike most online composer-bloggers with a uniform style, Idle S-san, with his panda avatar, wrote in a wide range of styles. Whether gorgeous or classical, it all seemed to come effortlessly to him.

In 2017, he composed "Deceiving the Innocent You" for the TV drama How I Wish You Liked Me, winning that year's Best TV Drama Theme Song award.

The same year, he composed "Wave of Killing Intent" for the famous game franchise Ninja Gaiden, winning the Players' Best Track of the Year award.

In 2018, he composed "Powerless" for the TV drama Forgot the Taste of Sugar. That same year, he released a new paid single online, "The Sea Breeze Was Especially Noisy That Day…", which hit 100,000 downloads in a week and topped the paid chart for 26 consecutive weeks, setting a record for consecutive download-chart wins.

But even more remarkable than any of these records and honors was his skill on the harmonica.

Idle S-san had uploaded harmonica recordings online a few times, and the moment they appeared they were adored by countless listeners.

In the listeners' words: "Just hearing that mellow harmonica makes you feel like you've gone back to those wonderful days."

The pity was that, for reasons unknown, after causing such a sensation Idle S-san deleted all of those harmonica recordings.

That became one of the greatest regrets among many "S fans."

Of course, some listeners also wanted to find out who Idle S-san really was.

But his secrecy was simply too good. Neither the clients who had worked with him nor the traces that could be tracked online amounted to much.

So calling him the most mysterious online composer-blogger of recent years was no exaggeration.

Sadly, as time went by, Idle S-san uploaded music less and less often, until now… that account with a full 1.3 million followers had fallen silent.

Some said he might have fallen ill in real life.

Others said he might have run out of talent.

But most people believed that this genius composer, with his ever-changing styles and famously gorgeous technique, would return sooner or later.

And so.

When Yuji mentioned Idle S-san,

both Nyamu and Umiri froze.

A legend is a legend because their story can't be replicated. By that measure, Idle S-san was a legend in the truest sense.

He had appeared out of nowhere when nobody was looking.

He had vanished in an instant when ten thousand people adored him.

Just like fireworks.

And now Yuji was bringing up Idle S-san… Could it be…?

"Yes, that 'could it be.'"

Yuji smiled and held up his phone.

On the screen, an avatar of a panda gnawing on bamboo stood out vividly.

"I'm Idle S-san."

he said.