A/N: warning - strong language
Enjoy! ^^
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The next week, Riku was quickly becoming more lifeless. No amount of makeup could hide his tiredness. He kept getting attacks every now and then. The agency simply said that Riku had caught a cold. Directors and broadcasters rolled their eyes when they knew they had to work with Kujou Riku. The boy was full of trouble.
Kujou Riku was at his limit.
Ryuu had tried knocking on Riku's prep room door before when they had a photoshoot in the same location, but Riku's manager sent the poor guy away in the coldest way possible.
TRIGGER went and asked Yaotome Sousuke for help. Tenn almost begged. The idols were simply told to stay away from Kujou Riku. Anesagi said it was the president's and her job to protect their idols, even if the path was full of thorns. If only they knew about the attempted murder, they may have had a different approach to the situation.
The adults in Takanashi Productions were sympathetic towards Riku, knowing something was going on. Still, they had a somewhat similar view to Yaotome Productions. Trying to get involved with a matter involving an idol from another agency was a complicated and delicate process.
"Sou-chan, is there nothing we can do?"
Tamaki went to sit in Sougo's room. It was very rare for him to not have any Ousama pudding in his hands. The young boy seemed worried. The way he sat on the floor and hugged his knees confirmed it. "Tamaki-kun" Sougo sat on his bed and looked at Tamaki with eyes full of concern.
"Iorin is upset. It's so obvious. Rikkun seems sick. They are so not happy. It makes everyone sad. I don't like it. Sou-chan, isn't there a way to solve this?"
Sougo sighed. "I wish there were an easy way." He was stressed since the atmosphere around the group became heavy. Even though it should have been none of their concerns, Riku was one of their friends and Iori's boyfriend. Sougo did not say anything more after that, but he had an idea. A risky idea he was willing to go through to save the whole group and Kujou Riku from misery.
"Everyone," After dinner, Sougo made an announcement. "Do we all agree that we want to help Kujou Riku-kun?"
An analytical look was shown on Iori's face. "Osaka-san, what are you trying to say?" Everyone else sat silently after the young centre's question, so Sougo continued.
"I have a plan. In order to ensure success, I will need you guys and TRIGGER to help." Sougo spoke as if he was presenting a new concept in an important meeting to a company. He even placed a document he prepared this afternoon on the table. "Because it will involve some or all of you, I want to make sure we all share the same opinion on Riku-kun's situation."
"I want everyone to be happy!" Nagi was the first to start. Yamato simply nodded along and added that he was happy to go with whatever plan Sougo put on the table. Actually, he was too lazy to go through the thick document. Iori was reading the document seriously, and he seemed satisfied with it. The student was more grateful that Sougo was willing to put it into action.
There was no need to ask Tamaki, the boy had already expressed his concern earlier. The only one left was Mitsuki, who had not spoken a single word.
"I can't understand him."
Mitsuki clenched his fist. His expression was almost scary.
"Nii-san..." Iori had a sad look on his face.
"But," Mitsuki kept his small smile to himself. "I want to be able to, and for that, I would need to have a long talk with Riku."
Yamato smiled after making eye contact with Mitsuki and nodding. I6 came to an agreement to commence the plan. Sougo excused himself to contact TRIGGER.
"Yaaas." Tamaki shouted. "Here's to kidnapping Rikkun!"
~~
"Osaka Sougo" Tenn approached the gentle boy as soon as he saw him. He had that professional expression. "Thank you for helping us. I appreciate it."
Sougo quickly waved his hands shyly. "Oh no, not at all, Nanase-san! It is only natural for friends to help each other."
It was the day when Kujou Riku had to go on a live TV show sponsored by the FSC, a huge company owned by Osaka Soushi, Sougo's father. While Riku was doing his job, Sougo stormed into the broadcasting area wearing the attitude of a rich businessman.
Sougo ordered one of the ladies involved in recording the show. "This is an order from your sponsor. We have a message for the idol to read out." The boy with lavender eyes handed the paper of the message to the lady, who looked unconvinced. "Surely you are aware that Osaka Soushi is the owner of FSC, who is sponsoring your event as of this moment. I am his son, Osaka Sougo. Your cooperation would be most helpful."
Sougo held the piece of paper out again and smiled. The lady accepted it right away. If she didn't, the show could start thinking about saying its farewell and expecting its own doom.
If Riku's manager was in the area, she would probably have interrupted Sougo. Thanks to Iori's strategic advice and Ryuu's warning, they had Yamato make use of his superior acting skills earlier. Nagi did the makeup for Yamato to make him look much older and prepared a smart suit for this occasion. Yamato, with a short silver hair wig on, approached the cold manager in a professional manner, introducing himself as a movie director who was interested in Riku's performance. It took Yamato a long while to convince her to discuss the matter in a private room away from the broadcasting area.
Within a minute, the lady ran to Riku with a note in her hand. Riku took it without thinking much. His eyes widened the moment he unfolded the paper.
"Ah, it is a note from TRIGGER" Riku hid all his emotions and read the message as told. "Tsunashi-san and Yaotome-san said Nanase-san has been having a lot of cake lately. He is having a slice right now in prep room 4. The two said that Nanase-san has never shared his cake and that's why they want to pass this message to you all."
Riku kept his character and chuckled. "My, my, looks like someone's going to have to buy a whole cake soon." In the back of his mind, though, he knew 'Prep room 4' was too oddly specific. Especially when he caught Osaka Sougo staring straight at him. Plus, his manager was not there.
Definitely not a coincidence. Riku might have been naive, but he certainly was not stupid.
As soon as the live show ended, Riku still did not see his manager. He took a gamble and quickly walked away from the broadcast area to find 'Prep room 4'. It was the smallest prep room in that studio and was a little far away from the other prep rooms.
There was only one thought on Riku's mind at the moment. Tenn-nii. Riku's only goal was to warn his twin brother about his insane adoptive father.
The redhead no longer cared about anything else. Not even his own life...
Not even Iori.
Riku walked rapidly down the quiet hallway, looking left and right to make sure his manager was not there. All of a sudden, someone managed to creep up behind Riku's back and put their hand over Riku's mouth. Their other hand took hold of Riku's body.
"Mmmphh!!!" Riku struggled to get out of the grip.
"Riku-kun, listen, it's me. Ryuu. I-"
"MMMMMMMMPPPPPPHHH!!!"
Riku was indeed listening. Instead of calming down, though, he shook himself even more violently while fighting for air. Riku could only think about if his manager were to appear now, his twin's life would be in danger. His father was crazy. Riku believed the man could actually brutally murder someone.
Ryuu used his strength to grip Riku tightly. He looked behind him, expecting an accomplice.
Another set of footsteps could be heard. This time, another attacker put a blindfold on Riku. "Shhh! Rikkun, calm down, don't shout, okay? It's me. Tamaki. Just come with us, understood?"
Because Riku would not stop fighting back, "Tamaki" Ryuu and Tamaki proceeded with their next plan. Ryuu changed his grip so that he could lift Riku's from underarms. Tamaki took hold of Riku's legs and together, they ran to their destination: Gaku's car.
Riku gave up fighting. He didn't even have the strength to shout when Ryuu stopped covering his mouth, given how poor his health had been. But Tenn-nii...Tenn-nii!
"Riku!"
As soon as Tamaki and Ryuu placed Riku on his back in the backseat of the car, Gaku drove off like a man who had just successfully robbed a bank.
Riku tried to speak while drawing in deep, laboured breaths. That voice, of course, he would know it from anywhere. "Tenn-nii!" Tenn gently untied the blindfold to prevent Riku from forcefully tearing it off.
Finally, they met again.
Riku looked up to see a pair of glistening pink eyes that belonged to the only angel he knew in this world. The youngest reached his hand up, gently caressing Tenn's warm cheek.
Riku could feel his face getting wet.
"Oh Riku." Tenn took Riku's hand and clasped it in between his own. He wished he had never let the boy go. He messed up and never learned from his mistakes. How many times would it take for Tenn to remember to stay by Riku's side?
"Tenn-nii *huff* don't... cry"
Riku felt a moment of calmness he had never experienced in a long time. Somehow, for a brief period of time, he could forget everything he had been through.
"Rest now, Riku."
Tenn placed Riku's hand back on the boy's chest. He hummed a peaceful melody that he had always sung for Riku when they were kids. Riku soon let the darkness take over as he fell asleep.
~~
Fufufu... kid, you are breaking my rules. You don't care about the consequences, do you?
It's because you don't have any emotions.
That's right, you're fucked in the head.
And my son, your brother is dead.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"
The redhead sprang up and screamed to the top of his lungs. "NO DON'T KILL TENN-NII!!"
"Riku!" Tenn immediately swung the door open and ran to hug Riku, who was trembling, sobbing, choking and screaming in fear. All the things he said consisted of the words 'Tenn' and 'kill'. Tenn was more than shocked to hear this but kept hugging the boy tightly. This time, he was not letting go. "Riku, I'm here. I'm right here. Calm down."
Riku tugged Tenn's shirt and looked up at Tenn's face with his tearful eyes. "Tenn-nii?"
"Yes. Tenn-nii is here, Riku. Have you forgotten me?" Tenn gave Riku his soft angelic smile.
"No..." The boy buried his face in Tenn's warm chest. "I thought you were dead." With that, Riku's breath became rapid again. He looked around frantically. "Oh no, no, where am I? Where's manager-san? No, what if she sees us?"
Riku saw that he was on someone's double bed with a rather luxurious-looking bed sheet. The room had basic bedroom furniture such as a closet and a drawer. They were all white with golden edges. On the ceiling, there was a dazzling chandelier lighting up the whole room.
Riku had no idea where he was.
"Breathe, Riku. Breathe." Tenn was worried that Riku might need oxygen. They did not have any as Gaku was still out buying it somewhere. At least the boy had an inhaler on him. Tenn rubbed the boy's back. "Tell me what's going on, Riku."
"I-I need to go back. Or, or-"
"Please, Riku," Tenn pleaded. "I'm here to help. Not just me. Gaku, Ryuu, and I6 all are wor-"
Riku cut Tenn off. "Father *cough* will kill you Tenn-nii!!"
Tenn froze on the spot.
~~
Tenn, and a short while later, Gaku, sat in the room and listened to emotionless Riku, who was explaining that the 'accident' on Friends Day was actually attempted murder. Also, he explained how he was confined and supervised at all times. Gaku gritted his teeth and punched the wall in frustration. It may be true that he did not like Kujou Riku much but no one should be treated this way. Tenn had tears sitting in his eyes, ready to fall. He tried to remain calm and strong for Riku, who was the one who went through hell.
"Now that you know the truth, let me go, Tenn-nii." Riku stood up but Tenn reacted quickly and pushed Riku's shoulder down. "No, like I said, we're helping you. Right, Gaku?" Tenn turned to his lover and Gaku simply nodded.
Riku ignored it and tried to walk away. Gaku appeared in front of him. "No one will find us here, Kujou. Your old friends helped us out."
"My... friends?" Riku tilted his head in confusion. It was then that the door was swung open and two familiar faces appeared.
"Momo-san and Yuki-san..." Riku spoke.
"Darling and I knew something was going on watching you on TV!" Momo ran to Riku and took the boy's arms.
"Oh. When Iori-kun contacted us Momo was overjoyed... Imagine how jealous I was." Yuki twirled his long hair and made a hurt face so Momo quickly ran to hug Yuki. "He anticipated that your manager might come hunting you down so he asked us to help."
"Meaning?" Riku spoke with blank eyes.
"You are at our house, Riku-kun. No one should know where a nobody like us lives, hmm?" Yuki gave a gentle, reassuring smile. Momo nodded along with Yuki. "Make yourself comfortable." The odd couple then left Tenn, Gaku, and Riku on their own in their bedroom.
"Alright," Riku gave in and sat back down on the edge of the bed. "What now?"
Tenn was taken aback by the whole event if he had to be honest. Not because he was a target, but because of how cold Riku had been after calming down. He could not care less about Kujou Takamasa killing him. He just wanted to save Riku. Still, he was surprised at how Riku had never even mentioned Iori's name or asked about the boy other than talking about Friends Day. "Riku, aren't you forgetting someone?"
There was a knock on the door. "Excuse me," The boy said, turning the doorknob and letting himself in.
Riku looked up. His emotionless eyes met with a pair of familiar greyish blue eyes.
"Iori"
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Okay, they got Riku now. I wonder what will happen next teehee~
I know the last chapter hurt a lot of you poor souls I hope this can revive you lovely people a bit before I take you all on an underwater rollercoaster ride again :P (well, my signature word: maybe XD)
I'm still having a block on some parts so bear with. Thank you for all your lovely support ALWAYS!!
If you wanna contact me or anything just PM or @kenarkrsun is my twitter ^^