Seeing as there was nothing they could do at that moment, Gaku and Tenn moved on to tackle the problem of why Riku was (taken) here at this cafe in the first place.
"So what do you have in mind?" Tenn started.
"Mhmm, Iori likes Usamimi friends and anything cute or fluffy." Tenn and Gaku looked at Riku in disbelief.
"You sure you're not being delusional?" Gaku felt the need to question that since it was the exact opposite of Iori's 'sharp and cool' idol image.
Riku turned to stare at Gaku's face. "Iori likes them." He repeated. Seriously, those blank eyes gave Gaku the creeps. He would not dare ask again. Tenn made a mental note to add this method of "how to shut Gaku up' to his personal list.
"Then why don't you buy those things, Riku?" Tenn asked, keeping a small smile on his face. He enjoyed every minute he spent with his adorable brother. Riku replied that he could. "But I want to do something... special for Iori."
Gaku and Tenn turned to look at each other before each went into a deep thinking pose. Gaku crossed his arms over his chest. Tenn put an index finger over his mouth.
"What if it's a cake?" Gaku muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.
"You use cake to solve every problem, idiot," Tenn immediately countered.
"What?" Gaku glared at Tenn. "You demand it every week!" He shouted. The argument was about to break out when Riku spoke, "Cake is too ordinary," shutting down the couple.
Tenn sighed before smiling a little more, thinking he now understood what Riku meant by 'special'. "You want to give him something that can only come from you then?"
Riku blinked twice. Then he nodded. He explained that he had no idea what he could do. "Make a card?" Gaku suggested. Riku sat still, so Tenn added, "Or buy a fancy one and write something for him?" Riku reacted. Gaku swore his suggestion was never heard by Riku. He held back on suggesting the boy bake a cake as he remembered hearing from Tenn how incredibly clumsy Riku was.
After a while, Riku shook his head. "I... don't know what to write in it."
"Simple, write what you want to say to him." Gaku leaned forward with his arms on the white metal table. His gaze was fierce, yet it reflected a hint of kindness. "Write your feelings down, Nanase."
Riku bit his lower lip upon hearing the word 'feeling'. He seemed to be shaken as the vision of his adoptive father giving him a look of disgust and disappointment overwhelmed his mind. "But-"
Tenn wanted to yap at Gaku for pressuring his traumatised little brother, but he held his tongue. Deep inside his heart, he, too, wanted to see the boy express his emotions freely. Tenn also leaned forward and took hold of Riku's cold hand. "Riku, there is absolutely nothing wrong with showing how you truly feel."
Gaku rolled his eyes. Say that to yourself, brat.
Seeing as this was a sensitive subject for Riku, Tenn took care to speak softly. "Whatever you do, if it truly comes from your heart, Izumi will feel it. It doesn't need to be complicated but it needs to be from you."
~~
Riku rolled on his bed the same night, trying to think of what he could do for Iori's birthday. He did visit a shop selling a wide selection of cards on his way back home. After spending several minutes deciding to buy a pink pop-up Usamimi Friends card, he ended up failing to write down even a single word on it. He had tried to make a card with drawings on it. You guessed it. Riku could not even draw a flower, let alone create something that could tell a story.
As Riku said before, he might not feel much, but he had his memories. He was sure he wanted to thank Iori for always being with him and not abandoning him even when he had done terrible things. Riku had stated several times before that he wanted Iori to be happy, and he wanted to protect that happiness in the younger boy's heart. However, right now, Riku only wanted to show his gratitude.
I can't do anything. Riku felt discouraged. Feeling something felt so uncomfortable to Riku that he wanted it gone.
Riku lied flat on his back in his bed and began to hum a tune of one of his songs, hoping it would ease his unstable heart.
"Sing, son."
"Father..." Tears began to form in his eyes. "Whatever did you mean?"
"Sing for the crown, my son."
"What if my crown is something much smaller than what you have in mind? Would I be in the wrong to pursue it?" Alone in the room, Riku spoke to the plain ceiling without getting any responses.
"Sing Freely."
A series of memories played with Riku's state of mind. "Yaotome-san, is it really okay?"
"No one is going to hurt you anymore, Riku."
"Iori..." The redhead took a deep, shaky breath in. He wiped the bits of his tears away, rolled off his bed to grab his phone and made a phone call.
~~
The next morning, Riku knocked on the door before entering an office that he was now pretty familiar with. Once again, he stood before a man in a magenta suit who had a lovely smile on his face.
"Good morning, Riku-kun," Otoharu greeted the boy. Kinako in the president's arms also followed up with a 'MyuMyu!'. "You said you wanted to talk. Has Banri not been a good manager to you?" The oldest man teased his employee.
"I'll hope it's not that." Banri, who stood right beside the president, spoke with a hint of anxiety in his voice. The president was most likely joking. Still, the idea of him getting fired or demoted was scary.
"Is it possible for me to get another song for my debut concert?" Riku jumped straight to the point. The two older men had gotten used to Riku's way of speaking by now. However, it was unusual for Riku to request something so serious and so suddenly. The boy had always been following 'orders' obediently. The smile on the president's face dropped. "Riku-kun, Care to explain why?"
"I want to try writing a song," Riku bowed deeply. "Please."
Banri was quite surprised. That was one of the last things he expected from Riku. Why the sudden inspiration? Otoharu continued with his questions. "And what makes you want to do it?"
"There is someone I want to reach." Riku's eyes reflected pure determination. "The song will not be just for him. I want it to attract all the attention to me, but I want the lyrics to be special enough that he will know it is meant for him." Banri and Otoharu kept staring at Riku without saying anything. The boy refused to back down. "It is a selfish request, but please!" He bowed again.
After what seemed to be a long moment of silence for Riku, both Otoharu and Banri chuckled, catching Riku's attention.
"Looks like you've finally found some sort of fire in you, Riku-kun." Otoharu's smile returned to his face.
"It would take too much time to compose a new song, work with the lyricist and learn the dances for your debut concert." Banri's words formed a wave of disappointment inside Riku's heart. "Although, we do have a selection of pre-written songs in stock. You could have a look at them to see which one suits you the most. How does that sound?" Banri smiled. He did not think becoming Riku's manager could become such an interesting life experience.
"Ah..." Riku's mouth formed an 'o' shape before changing into a smile. His eyes glittered like the shining stars. "I'll gladly take that offer. Thank you very much, president and manager!" He bowed deeply for the hundredth time before leaving the room.
Otoharu was the first to speak when he was sure Riku's footsteps could not be heard anymore. "That boy has a lovely smile."
"A shame he is not able to show it so often." Banri's eyebrows dropped a little. He was partly worried, partly charmed by Riku. Right now, Banri was sure he had made the right decision.
~~
All tickets were sold out.
And so the day has come. When 4500 people from all over Japan gathered in one place to see IDOLiSH6 and the true identity of the secret idol. Despite the cold weather, people came to this outdoor venue, hoping their favourite idols would warm their hearts.
The concert was being held in the evening, so both I6 and the solo idol had plenty of time to do the soundcheck and take care of other preparations on stage. I6 had finished theirs. Everything seemed to be going well for them. Every single member was in top condition, not to mention each was feeling quite energetic.
"We can't see him even now!" Mitsuki was one of the people who wanted to know the identity of their rival. He and the rest of I6 were told to stay in their prep room. They were not allowed to leave until the solo idol finished his testing session.
"I heard this is his debut concert, not just his first live," Yamato spoke while taking off his sweaty t-shirt he wore during the prep practice.
"So unfair..." Tamaki pouted. "We only got 9 guests at our first concert."
"Worry not, Yotsuba-san." Iori looked stunning in his dark blue costume. It made him stand out from the others who were wearing white. "The guests came for us, not for him." The young centre's face showed that IDOLiSH6 was ready to give the crowd what they came for.
~~
Banri entered the solo idol's prep room to find Riku sitting at the corner of the table. The boy was not in his peak condition, but he was ready to entertain the crowd nonetheless. The stage practice earlier went smoothly. The staff ensured water, sports drinks, and Riku's medicines were ready backstage. Unlike other idols' concerts, Kujou Riku would always have around half a minute between one or two songs to catch his breath. Banri decided it would be best to keep that stage routine.
What was new for Nanase Riku was the fact that he would have to talk for a bit on stage this time. Not because someone instructed him to do so, but because he truly wanted to try to connect with the fans a bit more. Kujou Riku would just carry out his performance, say some cool lines, and end the concert. Nanase Riku wanted to try anything to entertain people and get their attention.
"Are you nervous, Riku-kun?" Banri grabbed a chair and went to sit next to Riku.
Riku turned to look at his manager. "Why would I be?" He did not understand why Banri asked such a 'weird question'. It was his job. He was simply doing what he used to do all the time.
"Ahaha. That's good." Banri chuckled. "I guess you're already used to performing in front of a large crowd." He smiled warmly.
"Mhmm," Riku took a sip of his hot green tea. "The stage is mine, manager. People will give me attention."
Banri swore he could see a small smile on Riku's face.
"No one will take their eyes off of me."
~~
"I can't believe we are here."
Among the sea of people at the concert venue stood the famous trio in their disguises. The sky was getting darker, meaning it was almost time for the idols to appear on stage. The trio was ready in their seats on the eastern-most side of the venue. Tenn kept denying that he was not at all interested in finding out whether the secret idol was Riku or not. The young boy pretended to be annoyed when Gaku and Ryuu went to buy tickets, with a spare one for him, without telling him. Actually, Tenn was dying to know it. Not to mention he had always wanted to see I6 from the audience point of view. They had earned every TRIGGER member's respect with their efforts.
Each member was holding two light sticks. "One for Sougo-kun, the other for Tamaki-kun." Ryuu happily switched the sticks on to show the colours that represented the people he usually hung out with. Gaku did not think much. He turned one on as yellow and the other as green. As for Tenn, the boy kept staring at his sticks.
"Why think so hard? Just switch them on for the Izumi brothers," Gaku nagged at Tenn. It was a logical choice though since I6 had 6 members. One cheer for each member was a fair choice.
Tenn sighed and began to press the button on one of the sticks for the light colour to change. Then he came across a tone that did not match anyone in I6. "Red?" Ryuu and Gaku spoke at the same time.
"Must be a colour for the new idol, huh?" Gaku stared at it.
Tenn thought hard. Red. That colour matched Riku's hair. Although gold and silver were the colours used at Kujou Riku's concert. He decided to not think about it too much, so he kept pressing the buttons until he got an orange light stick. He repeated the same action for the remaining stick to get dark blue.
The outdoor venue had a main stage in the front, with a wide stage walkway cutting through in the middle. Perhaps it was not the most suited for an idol group, but for a solo idol, it was convenient to reach out to the fans.
Towards the front of the stage, near the middle, a couple stood, not taking their eyes off the stage. "Darling Yuki~! I can't wait any longer!!!" Momo waved six dark blue light sticks in his hands around frantically. Yuki swore no one's excitement could top Momo's. "Ioriiiiin!!!" Momo shouted with his sweet, energetic voice.
Yuki, on the other hand, was holding six red light sticks. He loved I6 too, but he wanted to take a gamble and root for the secret idol. "No one will ever take Riku-kun's place. Right now, though, I'm just in for the good music."
Before long, the stage light dimmed out. Silence filled the venue as everyone was ready to scream to the top of their lungs. Six shadows appeared, lining up at the front. A few seconds later, the intro of Viva! Fantastic Life! started playing, and the stage lighted up to show the glittering aura of the six idols.
"KYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
The venue went from quiet to blasting in an instant.
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I'll try my very best to describe the concert scene in the next chapter. This is kinda like a filler chap, but its important so I hope you enjoyed it anyway~! Once again comments and votes are appreciated. I love them caramel slices <3
I'm on twitter as 'kenarkrsun' feel free to dm me ^^
I feel like it would be disastrous if Riku really did write a song XD