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Leid was not having a lot of fun. Well, partially, but that was only because he’d barely received notice that Kuromu wanted Lindy-Chan at her concert that night. Normally he could make it if they told him a week before, but they’d just told him THAT MORNING!
He was planning on hanging out with Jazz and Allocer that evening, and then he had to spontaneously dip! They probably suspected something was up! Especially because their messages were so weird, but Kuromu had whisked him away from his house just an hour after they told him about his performance. She’d literally come, picked him up, and just… left with him. He barely had the time to grab his phone.
Jazzy: Leid
Jazzy: WHERE ARE YOU
Allocer: I thought we all agreed to hang out this evening, Leid.
Games4Life: something just came up can’t come bye
Jazzy: wh
Allocer: Well, that’s quite odd.
Jazzy: i guess
Jazzy: i was going to tell you all i got tickets to go see Kuromu live at her concert tonight
Jazzy: guess its just me n you Allocer
Allocer: Indeed.
…okay, now Leid was panicking. Kerori gently placed her hand on his shoulder, opening her mouth to say something to the shocked demon.
“Leid-kun, listen-” Kerori spoke very gently, like she was speaking to a panicking child. She was.
“Oh devi they’re gonna be here! At this concert! Kerori, what if they recognize me? And realize I’m Lindy? And they hate me? And never talk to me again! Kerori, how do you make it so nobody recognizes you?”
Marbas placed another hand on his shoulder, her presence calming enough. She let out a deep sigh.
“Breathe with me Leid. In, out.” She nodded to him, then nodded back to Kerori, who turned to continue getting her hair done.
“I’ve been planning on asking you this for a few weeks now, but now is the best time to ask. Leid, how do you feel about becoming a part time devidol? You’d be part of our agency, so you can perform with Kerori. You won’t have as much free time, but you’d be on stage, you’d have a big social media presence, and we can even get you solo concerts.” Marbas spoke to him very gently this time, still holding onto the terrified boy.
He liked being Lindy, oddly enough. He knew most other boys didn’t, but it was enjoyable. He loved dancing with Kerori, and singing too. It was a lot of fun, and if he could do it all the time… that would be worth it.
“I’ll do it.” He let out a breath, and steadied his fingers on his phone. If Jazz and Allocer were going to be at this concert, he might as well make it a good concert, right?
The stylist ran over, hurriedly putting him into a chair to begin their work on his hair and clothes. Chiding remarks about his appearance were foreign, and kinda odd, but welcome still.
“Shax-kun! Your nails and cuticles—when was the last time you did them?”
“Shax-kun, your hair! The ends are dry and dead! Why don’t you use a good conditioner?”
“Shax-kun, you need to take better care of your skin.”
The remarks were genuine, he knew that. Honestly, no matter how many times it happened, he still got flustered from them taking care of him. It was like when Elizabetta whisked him and Kerori away to do their hair. It was… nice.
Even Shakky never worried over his appearance like this. She never even bothered to put him in a dress! Then again, their parents had to force her to play with Leid, so he didn’t know if she was a really good example.
“If you’re looking to grow out your hair, I know a dozen salons that offer products to increase your hair length. You probably want to use them if you’re staying as an devidol.” The hair stylist said, smiling down at him. She was really pretty, and her fingers worked quickly as she clipped on the hair extensions.
He looked childish with the hair extensions pulled into pigtails. Leid inspected himself for a moment, and widened his eyes. Maybe he could get them to put his hair down?
“Um, Mieko-sama, can you please put my hair down? I think I should try something new for this concert.” Did he put enough plea into the words? Hopefully.
The stylist paused, and looked over to Marbas, who nodded back. She sighed, pulling out the small hair ties that kept the extensions in the small pigtails.
Kerori just gasped, this time it was genuine.
“Leid, you actually look cute.” Kerori grinned, making the boy scoff at her.
“You doubt my cuteness? Have you seen my face? I’m adorable!”
“That’s good, cause you’re getting a solo of that song I gave you.”
Okay. That did actually break the illusion.
“What.”
“Yep! You’re wrapping up the show, Lindy-Chan!” A wink and signature pose from Kerori. That had his heart squeeze—with fear.
“Oh my Devi. Kerori, you didn’t tell me this!”
“Would it change anything?”
“DEVI YES!”
Jazz was having a nice time with Allocer. They were sitting in the stands and chatting away about Callego-San and General Furfur.
Honestly, it did suck that Leid wasn’t with them. Jazz did miss his close friend. Leid normally came to every hangout they held, but this time he’d just… dipped!
It really wasn’t cool of him.
Allocer was speaking about his girlfriend again too. Jazz really didn’t know how to tell his friend that he wasn’t interested in hearing about the girl from the other school.
And, luckily, he was saved. The lights in the concert venue completely shut off, leaving just the stage illuminated. The concert venue went silent, everyone staring with bated breath. A fog filled the stage, the glowing lights bouncing off to create the illusion of hundreds of glowing colors.
Kuromu rose up onto the stage from some hidden piece of equipment. Jazz was enjoying the show itself—it wasn’t every day he got to see Kuromu live. But he still felt… bad. Weird. He felt oddly sick that Leid couldn’t be with them to see this.
Leid was his best friend! That was it! He just missed his best friend.
Kuromu launched into her hit songs, dancing and twirling all over the stage. Jazz had to admit she was very pretty, the long purple hair spun with her. Her wide blue eyes caught everyone’s attention, and her signature pose was just as cute as she was.
Still, something was missing.
It was a nagging persistence in his head. Something was really missing, and it made him feel a weird mix of emotions. Sad, longing, angry? Jazz really couldn’t tell. Kuromu’s performance was astounding. Her voice was beautiful and it really did sound nice!
But it didn’t make his heart race.
She was cute, really cute, but he didn’t feel so connected to her. Not like all her fans claimed.
But the girl who just rose next to her on stage, She looked a lot like Leid in person.
The Devidol Lindy—someone who mysteriously appeared during the Evidol Games and has since then graced the stage with her presence. Nobody knew much about her, aside from the fact she was friends with both Irumi and Kuromu.
And wow, she was pretty. The entire venue was cheering, and Jazz was pretty sure that he was too. His eyes were locked onto her.
She seemed… scared. Clutching onto Kuromu for support. The other devidol just grinned and held the mic close to her face.
“Can you all be sweet to Lindy-Chan? It’s her first time singing a solo!” Kuromu’s overwhelming cuteness had the audience promising her that they’d be good for Lindy.
Lindy just smiled, and the band kicked in. Jazz would admit it immediately, he knew nothing about music, but woah, her voice blew him away. It was deeper than he was expecting, not quite tittering into a deep male singer, but had a charm to it. She was loud and she glittered on the stage.
She looked almost electric. One hand out to the crowd and the other behind her.
A siren would be a better name for her.
The song was excited, happy about the future. About an impact that could be left.
It was pretty.
Leid had his head on his desk. Kuromu was guzzling water behind him, and Marbas-San was discussing some sort of revenue they got from the concert alone. He was not listening to a word being said to him.
Leid had sung in front of hundreds of demons. No—thousands of demons. Her concert was live broadcasted too. Oh Devi she’d just sung a song about the future to hundreds of thousands of others!
“The meet and greets are in about six minutes. Lindy, you only pulled a few people in to talking to you, but it’s to be expected. This is technically your first debut into devidol society.”
Leid let out a long suffering groan.
“Up! Up and go into the meet and greet rooms! Come on!”
Marbas actually pushed the two of them out of the dressing room. Kerori just smiled at him, leading Leid to an empty room. Some guard demons were standing outside, making sure only demons with proper tickets could enter the room.
This was nerve racking.
The first demon came in. Someone Leid didn’t know. They spoke to him about how much they loved his voice, about how they wished they could be a devidol.
Honestly, Leid just smiled and nodded the entire time. Was this what being a devidol was like? Just smiling and nodding? Honestly he didn’t want to do this ever again if it was.
When he was home he was going to play his video games.
The door opened again, and his head lifted up.
The person who walked through the door was Jazz. The best friend he’d blown off for the concert. Leid cursed inside his head.
“Lindy! You did pretty well out there. My friend Leid mentioned you…are you his sister?”
Oh great King Derkila.
“...”
Maybe if he stayed silent they’d get the memo. He just stared and blinked.
“So… is that a no?”
He said nothing. Jazz stared at him.
“Okay..?”
This was going to be the death of him.