Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Love or Hate ❯ Volume One, Chapter Seven: Cheat ( Chapter 7 )

Cheat

Meanwhile, both bands had other problems to deal with. It all started with a little search on YouTube. Katsuya was surfing around on his phone. His mind went off to LaLa Land. The trending list started to blend together through the scrolling.

But then, he saw it.

“Huh?” Katsuya asked. The top video was called “Baby Love”. The band didn't ring any bells. Katsuya tilted his head.

“Who is Salt?” he asked himself. The guitarist tapped the screen. The video started to play. Nice drums. The guitar sounded soft. Katsuya's mind started to wander off. But then, something caught his attention.

“Huh?” Katsuya asked. He rewound back to 0:23 mark. That's when the guitarist took a listen. A confused look came over his face.

“What the hell?” Katsuya asked. He looked around the recording booth. Hideki had just walked in.

“Hey, Hideki!” Katsuya shouted. The drummer looked up.

“What?” he asked.

“Check this out,” the older man said. Hideki walked over with a curious look on his face. Katsuya handed him his phone. Hideki took the earbuds and listened. Seconds later, he narrowed his eyes.

“Wait a minute,” he said. “Is that…?”

“Yes,” Katsuya said. “This band ripped off our song, `Orphan Rain'.” The men looked at each other with big eyes. They both ran out of the room.

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Minutes later, the whole band took a listen to “Baby Love”. There was no denying it. Isao put down the phone.

“This band ripped off our songs,” he said. “I don't believe this.”

“It's not just them,” Hideki said.

“Huh?” Isao asked. He looked at the other videos. It didn't take long for it to become clear.

“Hey guys,” a woman's voice said. Charm Inu looked up. Mai and her bandmates stood in the doorway. Hideki, Katsuya, and Tokuma glared at them. Isao held out Katsuya's phone.

“Come look at this,” he said. His bandmates looked at him, stunned. Mai raised her eyebrow.

“Why?” she asked.

“Just look,” Isao said. Mai rolled her eyes and walked over to Charm Inu.

“Mai?” Yoko asked. The lead singer of Lady Dragon took the phone and looked at the screen.

“What am I looking at?” she asked.

“Tap `Poker Hearts',” Isao said.

“Okay,” she said. Mai tapped the video. It only took seconds to catch on.

“They ripped off our song!” she shouted.

“What?” her band asked.

“Not just you,” Hideki said. “Us too.”

“Who's ripping our music off?” Kasumi asked.

“Some band named Salt,” Katsuya said.

“Who the hell is that?” Mai asked. Hideki got on his phone.

“They are a local band,” he said. “They got on a label six months ago.” Everyone crowded around for a look.

“How is this even legal?” Mai asked.

“It just is,” Tokuma said. The Lady Dragon vocalist put her hands on her hips.

“Bullshit!” she shouted. “I'm stopping this crap!” Isao raised his eyebrow.

“How?” he asked. Mai turned to him.

“I am going to try any way possible,” she said. Something in her words felt so inspiring.

“Yeah,” both bands said. Isao forced himself to smile.

“I guess we could try before it gets out of hand,” he said. And so a temporary truce was formed between the bands. But who exactly was the band Salt? Why did they need to rip off Charm Inu and Lady Dragon songs? Before that could be answered, more headaches and problems would arise. Starting with the fans.

Track Seven