A Harmonic Grind (An Uta no Prince-Sama Fanfic)

Prologue

~???'s POV~

     Spotlights, microphones, throngs of screaming fans...this was nothing new for me. I was the kind of girl who went to concerts every week, almost every day.

     How I got in to each one is a different story. In certain instances, I just had to buy one of my friends an order of fries and I was in. In other cases, my only way to get in was to run down the town's main street in a bunny costume-while being videotaped. Despite some embarrassing forms of payment, I always got through.

     However, this concert in particular was special. Someone very important had given me three tickets to a sold-out show and a manila envelope that I couldn't open until it began. Being the paranoid man that he is, my guardian Rodney checked both the tickets (for validity) and the envelope (for explosives). Once he finally finished being my "bodyguard", I grabbed my cell and got Akemi on the line.

\/\/\/\/\/

     "Are you serious?!" a familiar screech rang through the crowd.

     "Yeah," I replied,"I've never seen this many people show up in this stadium before."

     "Not that, you idiot! You've seriously never heard of them?"

     "Akemi, you know I've been busy. Do you think that I would have time to find out about every new music group in existence?" I was then greeted to the customary "that's just ridiculous" look from my friend. I didn't argue it; as the music nut that I am, I didn't even believe myself.

     "But seriously Keira, how have you not heard of this band? They just won the best award for their level! Oh yeah, I had heard about that; Rodney had told me that this year's UtaPri competition was the stiffest competition he had seen yet. If this group was the winner, I thought, they had to be somewhat professional in their performance.

     I could hear the cheers surrounding us get louder, and music was starting from the stage. I knew the drill at this point; the jewel of the show would arrive in about thirty seconds, more or less. As the decibel level rose, so did the volume of Akemi's now screaming. I have to admit though; the venue was so enthusiastic about the act that I couldn't help but start to cheer along with them.

     After an estimated twenty-three seconds, smoke erupted from the stage and everyone lost it. Standing up there was, according to Akemi, the seven-member boy band STARISH who had just snagged that aforementioned UtaPri award and saved themselves from being forcefully disbanded. In her mind, they were the best of what music had to offer, that they were the start of a new revolution.

     I, however, was not so easily swayed. Having been to more concerts than my entire class combined, I knew about what could be considered pure gold and what was simply pyrite. Looking the group over in that silent split-second, they seemed to be in balance with each other looks-wise. No one looked out of place or as if they did not care.

     Finally, the idols opened their mouths; what came out proved Akemi's theory true. It was as if their voices had a certain tie that was both pleasing to the ear and the mind. In the day and age of boy bands, they had all sounded the same to me. This group, while there were some tweaks that could be easily changed, just needed one more push to get them to the absolute top.

     That's when I remembered something:that manila envelope. Pulling it out of my bag, I retrieved the contents inside with a grand sweep. I was a little disappointed; the only items in the envelope were two pieces of paper.