The entire team headed to the venue as if it were any other day. However, there was something that had to be done before anything else.

"Open wide and say ah," the doctor asked Risa, who sat on a chair in the dressing room of the venue for more privacy.

Risa complied and the doctor pushed her tongue down with a stick to be able to see her throat with the help of his glasses' flashlight. Risa choked a few seconds later, so the doctor stepped back.

He threw the stick into the recycling bin and put his glasses in his bag.

"In addition to the radiography I just took, I can confidently tell you that it's nothing serious."

Risa and I smiled at each other.

"That doesn't mean you don't need to rest, however," the doctor added. "In fact, I'd recommend a week of absolute rest, at the very least."

My stomach dropped to the floor.

"A week?" I asked.

"That's right. Even though I'll prescribe her medicine so that she can talk normally within the next couple of days, I wouldn't risk damaging her vocal cords permanently by singing over the next five to seven days. Still, she should be able to do basic singing exercises in three or four days."

Seven days of absolute rest meant that Risa wasn't going to be able to sing for three concerts. At least it was somewhat relieving to know that she could recover for the last concert of the tour.

The doctor had already grabbed his bag when he said, "Look, I don't recommend this to my regular patients, but there's something you can take to speed up the recovery."

Risa promptly raised her head, but I was quick to question him.

"Why don't you recommend it? Is it illegal?"

"Not at all, but it can have adverse effects, so I only recommend it to people who really need it, like bosses who can't postpone meetings, TV presenters, streamers, actors, or singers. People that need their voice to survive, in summary. It can also do permanent damage if abused."

Risa and I glanced at each other. To my surprise, she didn't seem to be against the idea, but I was.

"Thank you, but we'll have to pass," I replied.

The doctor smiled, "Understood. Don't hesitate to call me if you need more help or if you change your mind."

He stepped out of the room and closed the door, leaving Risa and me alone.

"Why?" Risa asked in a low voice.

"Why did I reject it?"

She nodded.

"Because it sounded like he really didn't recommend it. I care about the fans and it's good to see that you do as well, but you should put your health above anything else."

Her smile was enough for me to know I had done the right thing.

In the blink of an eye, it was time for the concert.

The girls waited in the tunnel to go out, but Risa's hands wouldn't stop shaking. Sanae grabbed one of them and it seemed to calm Risa down a little.

Unlike every previous concert, there was no intro. Instead, the girls simply walked onto the stage. The crowd cheered anyway, so the girls had to wait for the cheers to calm down.

"Thank you, everyone," said Sanae. "Thank you for coming tonight. We'll be direct with you, there's some bad news. Risa lost her voice today."

Audible disappointment could be heard throughout the entire venue.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"But we all decided that the show must go on," continued Sanae.

Risa smiled, "I might not be able to sing, but I'll still dance my heart out for you."

To my surprise, not only did the crowd cheer again, but they also chanted Risa's name. They kept doing so for a while and then clapped.

Risa couldn't help but get a little teary. She swept the tears with her arm before bowing and waving at the crowd. Miki then gave the order to start the intro sequence.

The concert went on as usual, save for Risa's parts, which were sung by the rest of the girls in unison.

Seeing that the crowd was just as cheerful as usual, if not more, Sanae was brave enough to ask them to sing Risa's longest section in a song that wasn't hers. The crowd heartily did, and they were loud. I couldn't believe my ears.

Eventually, it was time for Risa's songs. The crowd seemed confused when the girls walked off stage, except for Umi.

Our assistant was already standing beside me, holding Umi's favorite guitar. Luckily, Umi always brought it with her.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" I asked the assistant.

She frantically nodded. "It's only a few thousand people and nothing else!"

"Don't worry, they won't focus on you, but it's okay if you don't want to do it."

She shook her head. "No, I'll do it! It's my job."

The girls walked past us and Satō handed them towels, so I asked the assistant to go ahead. She ran onto the stage and toward Umi, who snapped her head toward the assistant when she saw her running with her precious guitar. I could only imagine the heart attack she gave her.

Still, Umi thanked her and the assistant ran back off stage. She bent forward to hold her trembling knees.

"I did it!"

"Good job."

Standing alone in the middle of the stage, Umi strapped the guitar on and played two of the most beautiful songs I had ever heard. Even though they were songs about Risa, she portrayed the emotion incredibly well. Judging by the crowd's claps, they thought the same.

Once the songs ended, the girls got back on stage. However, the assistant had to go take the guitar from Umi, so I made sure to ask her not to run this time.

The rest of the show was a success, and so were the next three shows.

Finally, it was time for the last concert at the biggest venue of the tour: a sold-out arena with a capacity of five thousand people. And to get my revenge for the surprise party, I invited a few special guests.

"Mom?! Dad?!" both Sanae and Risa burst when Mariko and Mr. Okazaki entered the green room. They even jumped at them to hug them.

"It's been a while, huh?" smiled Mr. Okazaki.

"We missed you so much!" added Mariko.

They eventually stepped back.

"What are you doing here?" wondered Sanae.

"What do you mean? You didn't know?" asked Mariko.

Sanae and Risa shook their heads.

Mr. Okazaki laughed. "Kaito was kind enough to invite us, and ever since his declarations on that show, we're not afraid to be seen with Blostars anymore. It's nice to see everyone doing great, by the way. And it's nice to see how much the team has grown."

"Thank you," I replied.

Both Mariko and Mr. Okazaki kept talking with Sanae, Risa, and everyone else in the room for a few minutes until they had to leave. Obviously, they were going to be in the crowd during the concert, including all the guests about to pop up.

It was time for Aki's parents and Haru to pass by, who were just as happy to see each other. Aki's parents had gradually grown to accept Aki's career path, and showing them how much money we were making helped a lot. Her father even approved of our relationship now.

Then it was Aya's, my brother's, and my parents' turn, who hadn't met the rest of the team properly. Of course, they didn't waste time and embarrassed me by showing them pictures of when I was a baby.

After that, Astra's guardian and Umi's brother stepped in. Astra was more than delighted to see her guardian, while Umi wasn't very happy to see her little brother alone in a crowded place even though it was the same city. Telling her that Astra's guardian was taking care of him calmed her down a little. Still, it was always jarring to see how calm he was compared to Umi.

Then the last guest arrived, although it wasn't a surprise for us.

The concert took place, and it wasn't too different from the previous ones. However, there was one bonus song at the end of the setlist: Auras, featuring the amazing Aeryx.

The crowd cheered when the song started, even though Aeryx hadn't appeared yet. Eventually, the music cut off and the lights turned off. They turned back on as soon as Aeryx started singing to reveal her standing behind the girls. The crowd went crazy.

I wasn't sure about the girls, but it was the most emotional concert for me. Once it ended, the girls gave Ceruty the scheduled interview. To our surprise, Aeryx asked to join the interview.

The celebration was nothing short of emotional either since we were surrounded by family, friends, and coworkers in the Araki restaurant, one of the most expensive restaurants in the entire country.

Everything happened so fast and before we realized it, the adrenaline drop hit all of us over the next few days.