The Goddess of Music [UtaPri fanfic]

Chapter 28: Painkiller

"That old bastard," Miyako clicked her tongue upon hearing a familiar name from the men. She let out a sigh before calling the security guards who arrived in no time and dragged the four men away.

"Ah, one last thing," Miyako stopped the men who were being pulled out of the room. "Go deliver this message to that disgusting man..."

Moments later, Miyako stepped out of the control room, another sigh escaping her lips.

"How cool~" A voice called out from the hallway on Miyako's right. She turned her attention to the source of the voice to find Reiji along with her other friends who smiled at her.

"You guys... Why are you here?" The pink haired idol asked, a confused expression on her face.

"We noticed that something was wrong when you pulled your in-ear out, so we decided to follow you!" Reiji explained with a big grin on his face, "I'm glad we did because I got to see such a cool Miyako off the stage!"

"Was it that evident?" Miyako asked, worried that everyone else would have noticed as well.

"Not really. Most people would not have paid attention to small details like that," Camus assured.

"I-I didn't notice at all until the upperclassmen told me about it!" Haruka exclaimed, trying to ease her mentor's tension.

"We did not mean to be rude by eavesdropping, but by your explanation on your earpiece, I understand that you took out the side that had the melody during the song, am I correct?" Masato questioned, the subject piquing his interest.

"That would mean that you went through the rest of the song without having anything to help you with the pitch and the beat..." Tokiya added as he put his hand on his chin, indicating that he was in deep thought. "That's not an easy thing to do, even if you're only singing, but to think that you pulled it off while playing the drums at the same time..."

"No wonder you're recognized by even the biggest people in the entertainment industry!" Natsuki chimed in.

"It's not that big of a deal," Miyako let out a humble chuckle. "Besides, the song was almost over anyways." She paused to glance at a small digital clock on the wall behind the group before she spoke up once more. "Thanks for all the kind flattery but I really need to make my way down to the dressing room now," Miyako pointed towards the previous clock show that she was running out of time.

"We'll accompany you on the way there!" Reiji skipped as he and the others followed the idol down the hallway.

"By the way, what was the 'plan' that you heard those men talk about?" Reiji brought the topic that was on his mind for a while now, his voice full of curiosity.

"Ah that," She recalled as the group continued to walk down towards the dressing room. "You see, I was planning my first stage to be more focused on the drum performance and the second to use the lights and special effects. Their plan was to mess up the codes so the lights would go crazy and the firework effects would explode."

"Wouldn't that cause a lot of damage?" Otoya gasped.

"Probably. That's why I have a favour to ask you guys," Miyako turned towards her friends before continuing. Based on what I heard through my earpiece, the staff that was helping me in the control room has most likely been knocked unconscious and moved somewhere. I would have went to find him personally, but..." Her voice trailed off, but the others understood.

"Leave it to us!" Syo put on a confident grin, ready to get some action.

Miyako nodded, glad to have such supportive comrades.