5WIRL + Wanderer COLLAB!!!

Chapter 1

Kazuha felt good today. The sun was shining and the streets were lively, and he had just woken up in a particularly good mood.
He walked into the training room with a smile on his face and greeted the rest of his idol group, 5WIRL.
Venti shoved a coffee into Kazuha's hands, "drink up, we've got to polish up a song!"
Kazuha chuckled, "which one are we deciding to finish?"
Venti wore a forest green cardigan over his white shirt, which complimented the green in his hair beautifully. Beside him stood Xiao, who definitely wasn't completely awake yet. He was wearing a matching cardigan to Venti's but his undershirt was black.
Heizou sat at a table madly typing on his computer. He was wearing a large white hoodie and had the longer portions of his hair tied back. Aether sat on the table beside him, swinging his legs back and forth. He was wearing his usual, plain casual clothing and offered Kazuha a smile and a wave.
"The one you most recently wrote," Venti pulled him over to the table and Kazuha noticed that there were way too many coffee cups around.
"How long have you guys been here? I thought I was going to be early," Kazuha set his backpack down slowly.
Venti looked at his watch, "uhhh, doesn't matter! We were just really eager to get started on something new as a surprise for our next live event!"
"Heizou has been here for about eight hours now and the rest of us got here three hours ago when he called us," Xiao sat down.
Kazuha smiled, "why wasn't I called? I would have been happy to help."
"Because," Heizou sat back, "I wanted to give you a break from writing so much. You keep cranking out songs and choreography 24/7."
Kazuha's smile grew, "I really don't mind, I enjoy writing."
"Yeah, well, also I want to branch out our genres a bit so I'm putting a twist on the choreography." Heizou went on, "and maybe there's a little surprise Collab I want to do..."
"Really? With who?" Kazuha pulled a chair out and sat down beside him.
"I said it's a surprise," he grinned widely, "I'll tell you after we finish solidifying the cadence of the song so I can really get done with the moves. I just need your opinion on a few things before Xiao and Venti can start picking out the music bits."
Kazuha shook his head, "you don't need my approval. It's a majority vote."
"Yeah, but it's *your* song! I wanna make sure you're okay with me changing some things and interpreting it the way I did!"
Kazuha laughed, "it's fine, really! Everyone is going to interpret it differently."
"Sure, but!" Heizou turned the laptop towards him, "just look it over for me!"
"I'm a bit worried about how long you've made it though, considering you've been here for so long," he chuckled.
"That was mainly for research and making sure my idea was feasible. I don't want us to take such a risky move without proper backing! I'm the newest member, I can't let any of my choices cause any problems."
"Heizou, it doesn't matter if our fans don't care for the direction we're going. Some people will love our work and others won't." Kazuha took a sip of his coffee, "now, let's see what you've come up with."
Kazuha spent a few minutes looking over the song and Heizou's side notes. He paused, "it certainly is a direction we haven't gone before..."
"Is it bad???" Heizou asked nervously.
"No, not at all," Kazuha shook his head, "I just think it's going to take a lot of effort to make this work."
"Exactly," Venti nodded, "and the rest of us decided it would be worth it! Besides, the surprise guest is experienced in this field so they'll be a huge help!"
"Oh? It's only one?"
"Shhh! Venti! You'll ruin the surprise!" Heizou exclaimed.
"Sorry!" He shrank in his seat and Xiao pat him on the head.
Kazuha became more and more curious about the mystery collaboration. Just who had Heizou asked to feature in this song?
As for the content of the song, based on Heizou's notes and the way he phrased the lines, it seemed rather... suggestive in nature. This really was something 5WIRL hadn't done before. They were considered quite the wholesome group of idols by their fanbase.
"I do have a question," Kazuha stated.
"Yes?" Heizou tried not to seem too scared but it wasn't working. Aether giggled to himself as he watched.
"Are you sure you want me in the center instead of Aether?" Kazuha asked.
"Yes. I have Xiao and Venti paired off, and then Aether and I, and you with our guest." Heizou was happy to explain.
"Oh." Kazuha blinked in surprise. "We're doing pairs?"
Heizou nodded, "I know it's not what we normally do, but the choreography works best that way and..." He gestured with his eyes in Aether's direction with a strained expression.
Kazuha blinked in surprise again. "Oh." Then he smiled, "I understand. I think it'll be fine. As long as our guest doesn't mind."
Heizou smiled giddily, "thanks, Kazuha!" He slid the computer over towards Venti, "you guys can have it now!"
Xiao dug through his bag, "forward me a copy and I'll start grabbing samples."
"Alrighty! Let's get to it!" Venti cracked his knuckles with an impish smile.
"And we can get started on the basic moves while they work on that," Heizou stood and Aether hopped down from the table.
Kazuha stood up as well, "you've been working for so long already, Heizou, you should take a break. How about you send me the choreography and I'll look it over with Aether?"
Heizou sighed, "fine. Aether helped me work out some of it, so he can show you where I was trying to go with it."
Kazuha nodded, "we'll be sure to write down any changes we make. And, Heizou, is there any particular reason you were suddenly inspired to work on this song? Yesterday everything was pretty normal."
Heizou shrugged, "not really. I've always wanted to collab with other idols and since there are five of us a song with pairs would work best. I was looking through all our unfinished songs and this one seemed the most romantic to me. Then again, almost all the songs you write are like that." He giggled, "is there someone you think about when you're writing?"
Kazuha paused to think, "not really... I actually draw a lot of inspiration from my cat... And my roommate always has their significant other over so I guess I just see a lot of romance happening around me." He smiled.
"Go! Shoo! Take a break!" Venti pushed Heizou towards the door.
By the time Heizou returned—after accidentally taking a nap—, Aether and Kazuha had synced their choreography to what Xiao and Venti had done with the music so far. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
"Am I really not allowed to know who we are going to collab with?" Kazuha asked.
Heizou giggled with an evil expression, "nope! Not until I know for sure they've agreed!"
Kazuha chuckled, "alright, but wouldn't it be easier to choreograph if I know who-"
"It's fine!" Heizou waved him off with a laugh, "I'm sure they'll be just fine! I said they were experienced, remember?"
"I know, but I'm just worried they might not be okay with-"
"If we need to change something, we will," Heizou pat his shoulder, "don't worry so much! I promise you two will be happy to work together!"
Kazuha forced a smile, "alright..."
Not two minutes later the doors opened again and two woman stepped in.
It was Sucrose and Jean, 5WIRL's managers. Jean walked in first, quickly typing on her phone while looking around the room. She had a computer bag under her arm and a pen in her hair. "Heizou, I really would appreciate it if you had asked me before you contacted-"
"Don't say it! You'll ruin the surprise!"
Jean wore a quizzical expression, "surprise?"
"Yeah! For Kazuha!" He gestured dramatically.
Kazuha waved, "good afternoon."
"Uh, yeah, okay..." she looked at everyone else who gave her a thumbs up. She shrugged, "alright, I won't say anything."
Sucrose smiled, "I think it's really sweet that you're going so far to give Kazuha a break."
"Aw, it's nothing!" Heizou blushed.
She pushed up her glasses, "Jean is currently communicating with... uhm, our surprise person's manager about the collaboration."
Heizou clapped his hands together, "nice! Let me know when everything's smoothed over!"
"That's actually what we're here for," Sucrose carefully took the computer bag from Jean and walked over to the table. "Their manager seemed excited for the opportunity to have the idol take part in a unit. She even suggested we do more than one song, saying they have a few lying around they can get done for it."
"That's great! The more the merrier!" Heizou was grinning from ear to ear. "This is so exciting! So they've agreed!"
"It seems so, we just need to get a date and time to meet up and discuss details." She set out the laptop and started typing away.
Jean spoke up, "she wants to meet with us right now."
Everyone looked at her in shock.
"RIGHT NOW-right now?!?!" Heizou asked.
Jean nodded.
"Take her up on it! Seal the deal!" He encouraged as he ran up to her and looked at her phone. "There's a great tea place a few blocks away, ask if she can meet us there!"
"Uh, meet me and Sucrose," Jean chuckled, "you all still have work to do."
"Aww, come on!" Heizou tugged at her sleeve like a child, "pleaseee?!?! I'll pay!!"
Jean thought for a moment, "fine, but only you. And don't say anything unnecessary."
"I wont!" He quickly collected his belongings, "I'll be back soon! Hopefully I'll be able to tell you who we're collab-ing with, too!" He waved excitedly at Kazuha as he darted out the door.
Jean shook her head with a chuckle, "I don't think I've seen him so excited since he joined the unit."
Sucrose smiled, "since you have Heizou, I'd like to stay here and help out. Just text me if you need anything."
Jean nodded, "see you soon."
—
Yea Miko smiled warmly, "I must say, I was so surprised when I heard you wanted to collaborate."
"Well, I was surprised, too," Jean rolled her eyes with a small giggle.
"Oh? So it was *your* idea?" Miko narrowed her eyes in delight at Heizou.
Heizou nodded, "yes, ma'am."
Miko giggled, "how adorable. I have no objections to it, we aren't really doing anything as far as lives right now." She heaved a sigh, "to be perfectly honest, we've hit a creative wall. I haven't been managing for long, but even I hadn't expected to come to a halt so quickly."
"That's right, he hasn't been outside of a unit for long," Heizou brought his hand to his chin. "I heard that his fan base hasn't gotten any smaller, though."
"No, his fans are loyal. Though... there are quite a few who were against him leaving HARBINGERS." She shrugged, "but this is better for him, so I don't care what they want."
Heizou marveled at her, "wow, you really care about him."
"Of course," she chuckled as she looked at Jean, "is it not the same for you?"
Jean smiled, "it is, only there's five of them and they can be a handful at times."
"I'm sure," Miko nodded, "I probably wouldn't be able to handle it. Then again you have another manager to help you with it."
"Yes, I'm quite thankful for all she does," Jean chuckled, "I would probably die without her."
"Oh, I do have one question," Miko turned her fox-like eyes onto Heizou once more, "why us?"
"Hm? Oh, because I think it would be good for both of us. It gives my unit some extra publicity and it helps you to get on your feet as a single idol." He explained. "Well, and he's one of my teammates' favorite singers, so..."
"Ah, a sort of thank-you for letting you join? Fufu~ how cute~"
"Yeah, sorta. I already got everyone else a gift. Kazuha doesn't talk about his hobbies or anything much, so I had no idea what I could do for him. But he mentioned that he hoped Scaramouche—er, Wanderer now, right?— would be able to make it on his own after he left HARBINGERS. I hadn't even thought that Kazuha listened to their music, but he said that Wanderer had been his bias for a while."
"Isn't that sweet," Miko giggled. "I'm even more eager to get started now! How does tomorrow sound?"
"Really?!" Heizou almost jumped out of his chair.
"Calm down," Jean laughed as she forced him to sit still. "Tomorrow sounds great. We'll be in the studio from 8:00 to 5:00, come by any time."
"Sounds like a plan," Miko pressed her hands together with a smile.
—
The door slammed open, startling everyone in the room.
"Guess what?!?!" Heizou announced, "It's official!!!"
Venti stood up, "yay!!! Isn't that great, Xiao?!"
Xiao looked up from his laptop, "hm? What?"
Aether clapped happily and looked over at Kazuha.
Kazuha chuckled, "do I get to know who it is, now?"
Heizou ran over and took out his phone, "you wouldn't believe it if I told you, so I'll show you the messages."
"I wouldn't think you're lying," he laughed.
"Look!" Heizou forced the phone into his hands.
Kazuha's eyes immediately widened upon seeing the profile picture. "No... Heizou, how in the world-"
"Just read!"
Kazuha looked over the short string of direct messages. "I... can't believe this... you actually got the Wanderer to..."
"Surprise!!!" Heizou wrapped his arms around Kazuha. "Do you like it?!"
"I- yes, but-"
"But what???"
"I..." Kazuha grew anxious, "I've never met a celebrity before... and- and he'll be working alongside us... and it's a song I wrote..." He was spiraling.
"You think too much!" Heizou laughed. "I looked into the kind of music he does now and it all lines up!"
Kazuha nodded, "when, uh, when is he..."
"Tomorrow!!!" He exclaimed.
Kazuha looked like he might faint. His face was flushed and he put his hand on the table to stabilize himself.
Venti grew concerned, "uhm, was this a bad idea?..."
"No way!" Heizou smiled triumphantly, "Kazuha's just so happy he's nervous!"
Kazuha swallowed hard, "I, uhm..."
"Oh." Venti began to smirk, "does Kazuha have a crush on another idol~"
"Duh!" Heizou laughed, "have you seen the way he talks about the Wanderer?!"
Kazuha sat down, "is it... really that obvious?..."
"Yes!" Heizou laughed.
Sucrose nodded, "I noticed it, too."
"Mhm!" Aether giggled.
"Yeah, it's pretty obvious," Xiao commented.
"Was I the only one who didn't know?!" Venti was offended.
"I didn't know, either," Jean shook her head. "Kazuha, if this makes you uncomfortable-"
He held his hand up, "I'm fine. Just... anxious... Besides, it's just one song."
Heizou laughed nervously, "maybe not..."
Kazuha looked at him in fear.
"His manager said she wanted to throw in a song or two," he pressed his fingers together.
Kazuha was thinking out loud now. "He'll be here... tomorrow... and we'll be performing my song... and you've paired us together..." It dawned on him, "Heizou, are you trying to set me up?"
Heizou stuck his tongue out, "maybe, maybe not."
"Heizou, we can't date anyways," Kazuha reasoned, "wait, that's a good thing. It's- it's not like I'm in love with him. It's only a crush." He took a deep breath in and out.
"Uh the rules only say we can't 'pursue romantic relationships in public'," Heizou used his fingers for quotations. "That doesn't mean you can't just, I don't know, sneak in a kiss or two."
"Heizou!" Kazuha covered his face in embarrassment.
"What?" He laughed, "I'm just saying!"
"It's fine... it's fine..." Kazuha shook his head, "that's not going to happen so it's fine... it's just a few songs...
"This is a good opportunity for us, too," he slowly put his hands down. "We get some training from a more experienced idol and we can't date anyways so it'll just be a good work experience."
"Yeah! See, it all works out! Plus you get to meet your favorite idol and get to know them! Even if you decide you don't like them it's still a win for everyone! I thought it all through!" Heizou put his hands on his hips like a hero in a comic.
Aether happily clapped for him.
Kazuha nodded slowly, "yeah... yeah, it'll be fine..."
"Come on!" Venti pat him on the head, "I'm sure if you set your mind to it you could woo him if you wanted to! Use that charm of yours!"
"That's- that's just a stage act, I don't think I could actually do that to someone I liked..." Kazuha rubbed his arm.
"Ah, don't worry about it! The nice manager lady said he was excited to collab with us!" Heizou looked over Sucrose's shoulder to see what she was up to.
"He- he did?..." Kazuha asked quietly.
"Mhm~" Heizou smirked over at him, "just don't get your hopes up too high~"
"I- I'm not, I was just... asking a question..."