The boy with a slightly pale face walked towards the stage with his manager. Kujou tried his best to steady his breathing. He was used to it. He could perform a song with that level of trouble. Not that it was recommended.
The two went backstage to find I6 and TRIGGER were already there. Riku forced himself not to look at them and only focused his sight on the entrance to the stage. Both TRIGGER and I6 decided not to say anything to avoid conflicts. Plus, both Tenn and Iori knew Riku was unwell just by looking.
Riku, no! If you perform in that condition...! Tenn thought and tightened his fist. Ryuu and Gaku squeezed Tenn's shoulder to help him relax, even though they didn't know what was going on.
Kujou-san...! He doesn't look well. Surely his manager notices and yet...! The high school student was angry but knew he couldn't cause a commotion.
"Eyes on me, everyone!" Kujou Riku shouted as soon as he stepped on stage. There, he performed his newest hit song. The whole room was filled with screams and cheers as Riku jumped and showed off his tricky dance moves. His performance kept its full angst and power - the only Kujou Riku's image fans were allowed to see.
"I hate to say it. His show is great." Gaku and Ryuu couldn't take their eyes off the stage. Tenn felt like someone had punched him in the gut every time Riku moved with such intensity. I6 were cheering from backstage, except for Iori, who sat quietly feeling conflicted.
Tenn looked around, and his eyes happened to meet with Iori. They both had serious looks on their faces.
Izumi Iori... you know something.
~~
Riku exited the stage, breathing heavily and went straight to the dressing room with his manager. TRIGGER didn't have time to be concerned as they were called on stage right away. Iori also thought he had to focus on I6 performance first.
The cheers of the fans were the loudest once TRIGGER appeared on the stage. It became even louder as the trio danced, selling all their attractiveness.
TRIGGER high-fived with I6 as they walked out. Tenn wanted to go see Riku right away, but Ryuu reminded him they had to wait to make sure his manager left first. TRIGGER rehydrated themselves, then went to hide near Riku's prep room. They wished they could watch I6 perform at that moment. Then again, the three prioritised a family situation.
~~
"Looks like you'll be fine. Great performance, Kujou. Don't forget you have a magazine photo shoot tomorrow at 3 PM. " With that, Riku's manager left the room.
Riku's breathing was a lot more steady after getting his medications and oxygen. Somehow, he still felt a little dizzy and tired. This is weird...? I thought I got better. Why is everything getting blurry?
"That's our cue!" As soon as TRIGGER saw the manager leave, they walked towards the door. I6's happy music could be heard all the way here. They were still on the stage, bringing entertainment to the fans.
Tenn knocked on the door three times. "Kujou-san, do you have a moment?" Tenn spoke carefully in case some people were nearby.
There was no answer.
Tenn knocked again. "Kujou-san?" He shouted. Once again, no answer. Tenn started to panic. His lungs...! He decided to twist the doorknob and let himself in, along with Gaku and Ryuu.
It was like that day Iori met Riku. Medications were everywhere on the table. Except Kujou wasn't crying, he was sitting on a chair, having a bad coughing fit.
"Riku!" Tenn slammed the door shut and rushed it. "Where's your inhaler?!"
Riku showed Tenn he had an inhaler in his hand. "Not... working." Riku forced the words out.
Ryuu finally grasped the situation and shouted, "I'll call the ambulance!"
No, no, no! I don't want to go to the hospital. Riku thought but he had no strength to deny it. Plus, he really needed help. His head was filled with 'what ifs'. What if people see me? What if I can't work tomorrow? What if...
"Gaku," Even though Tenn was childish and too soft at times, he was always calm when Riku had an attack when they were kids. He knew back then that Riku needed him so he had to be strong for his sickly brother. "Go tell Anesagi-san to make sure this doesn't leak to the media." Even though Yaotome Sousuke was a man who used the power of the media to control people, TRIGGER's manager was a woman worth trusting. Tenn knew Anesagi would be able to keep the secret and she could deal with the media. Gaku nodded and left the room right away.
Riku tried his best to calm his breathing, using the oxygen and everything. "Tenn-nii, I'm... sorry." Riku thought of that day, the day he crushed Tenn's feelings.
Tenn went closer to Riku and patted his head. "Silly boy, you have nothing to apologise for." Even though Tenn was really hurt that time, Riku is still Riku. His dear brother. Tenn was more than glad to hear Riku call him 'Tenn-nii' for the first time in years. TRIGGER's centre was hoping he could talk to Riku, but it didn't matter to him right now. He just wanted to make sure Riku was safe first.
Soon, the ambulance came and took Riku away. Anesagi was busy doing the sudden job TRIGGER got her. She would probably complain to them afterwards. TRIGGER sat in their prep room. Tenn breathed in and out slowly so tears would not roll down. The boy knew that wasn't Riku's worst attack and that he would be fine. Still, he wasn't sure why he felt the need to cry. He finally went to Gaku and cried into the leader's chest. Ryuu went to pat Tenn's back, hoping it would ease even a little bit of the pain Tenn was feeling.
I will make sure you get to meet him, Tenn. Gaku set his determination after seeing his lover in distress like this.
~~
I6 exited the stage, celebrating their success. Even though most of the fans were there to see TRIGGER, they managed to capture people's hearts.
I6's prep room was just past TRIGGER's. Iori was following behind Tsumugi and the others when, all of a sudden, his mouth was covered and he felt he was being pulled hard. Iori saw the door shut before him. He was then released.
"Oi, Tenn. Why did you do that!?!" Gaku shouted when he realised Tenn bolted out to 'kidnap' Iori. Ryuu's mouth dropped.
Iori stepped back, slightly surprised when he regained his balance. "Nnngghh. TRIGGER??"
"Izumi Iori," Tenn said, grabbing Iori's arms tightly. Iori actually felt threatened. He had never seen Nanase Tenn look so scary, even in his 'professional mode'.
Oh god, this must be about Kujou-san. I bet he's going to ask how he appeared on our show and all that..!
When I first met Kujou-san, true, I wanted to tell Nanase-san about Kujou-san, but I've been thinking hard about it. Kujou-san did PLEAD with me not to tell anyone. I have to keep the promise. His idol career could end if I'm not careful about spilling information. Plus, I can't imagine what his father would do to him.
"Tenn, stop it!" Ryuu instantly got up and ran to Tenn. Both Gaku and Ryuu thought Tenn was going to hurt Iori. It wasn't unlikely that Tenn would do something strange after all the things that had happened to him.
Tenn only stopped crying just a minute before, but now his tears were starting to roll down again. He squeezed Iori's arms tighter. Gaku quickly stepped forward to try and pull Tenn back when Tenn yelled, "Don't come any closer!!".
Tenn drove Iori into the wall. Iori yelped. He wasn't hurt. He just didn't see that coming. Even though Tenn was smaller than the high school student, he possessed a lot of strength.
"N-Nanase-san, what are you doing?"
"Oi, Tenn cal-"
"SHUT UP GAKU!" Tenn then turned to face Iori. "Riku... Riku..." Tenn tried to hold back his tears. Again, we all know by now that it never works.
"What happened, Nanase-san?" Iori regained his calm and collected personality and asked.
"He was taken away by an ambulance."
To everyone's surprise, Tenn 'kidnapped' Iori because he just wanted to tell the young boy about Riku. Tenn did that only because he sensed Iori had noticed that Riku was feeling unwell. TRIGGER and I6 were close, so he thought it was okay to let Iori know. Gaku and Ryuu facepalmed and sighed. They suddenly felt exhausted.
True, Tenn wanted to know how Riku and I6 were connected, but he wanted to be the one to speak to Riku himself.
"Thank you for telling me, Nanase-san." Iori kept his straight face. In reality, he was very worried. I want to visit him...!
"Aren't you going to see him?" Iori asked. He thought Tenn would want to be there to support his brother. Maybe it's to protect their images.
"We would if we didn't still have work to do." Ryuu shook his head in disappointment. He wasn't the type to hold a grudge. When he saw Riku like that, the only thought he had was, 'is he okay?'.
Tenn poked Iori's obliques, making him flinch. "Visit him for us, okay?" He smiled a little, letting his childish side out.
~~
"Iori! Where did you just suddenly disappear to?!?" Mitsuki screamed. I6 and Tsumugi were starting to be worried.
"Sorry, Nii-san. And Minna-san. I stopped by to quickly chat with TRIGGER." Iori didn't lie. He really was 'chatting' with TRIGGER.
"Eh? They haven't left? They finished before us." Tamaki questioned.
"This is suspicious indeed..." Nagi put a hand on his chin.
"What is?" Iori asked. Did I miss something?
"The thing is, manager went to get us some water, and she overheard something." Yamato started and looked at Tsumugi, hoping she would continue the topic.
"Ah, yes," Tsumugi said, taking a few seconds before realising it was her cue. "I heard Anesagi-san's voice and she was saying something like 'make sure the public doesn't find out why an ambulance came here'.'"
"I wonder what happened..." wondered Sougo. "Iori-kun, what's wrong?" He noticed Iori looking down at the floor. Everyone's attention was on Iori.
I don't have the heart to lie to my dear friends... thought Iori. The fact that he was sad and worried about Kujou didn't help the situation either.
"It's Kujou-san," Iori spoke in a quiet voice. "Nanase-san said he was sent to the hospital." Kujou-san, I am sorry. I can't take it anymore. I can't lie. You are a good person at heart and you deserve to be known that way.
"EHHH?" I6 shouted. Iori had to make a 'shhhhh' noise to make sure no one else heard this.
"Minna-san, the truth is..."
Iori began to describe how he met Riku. He explained that because of Kujou Takamasa, Riku was made to act cold. He told I6 about how Riku was terrible at expressing his emotions. Iori didn't know the full details about Kujou Takamasa since Riku never told him.
"You MUST not tell anyone about this," Iori insisted.
"Of course," I6 and Tsumugi confirmed.
"But, wow, Kujou Riku and TRIGGER's Nanase Tenn are twins? That's almost unbelievable." Yamato was surprised.
"Iori, you shouldn't be just standing there then." Mitsuki went and patted Iori's head. "Go, visit Riku. And tell him we hope he gets better soon." The rest nodded, giving Iori a clue that they supported him.
"Nii-san, minna-san, thank you." Iori bowed before leaving the area. I6 had no more work that day. Iori originally planned to have dinner with Riku, which he never got to ask. Firstly, though, he had to make sure Riku was alright. And he needed to confess that he told I6 about him.
"Hoo, never thought Iori has made this much progress already. Are you proud, Mitsuki?" Yamato smirked and mini-punched Mitsuki.
"Do you even need to ask, Ossan? I am SUPER proud!" Mitsuki beamed and the room was filled with laughter.
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Tenn omg >< what a cute person <3 Next chapter is still being written so uh please give me time teehee~