A/N: Hey lovely ppl! Kenar here~ This is the second to last chapter (well most likely) detailing the stuffs that happened at the concert. I've tried hard to describe things. It's not really my strong suit but i hope you will still enjoy this chapter!
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The energy was high.
Thanks to the upbeat melody of 'Viva! Fantastic life!!!!!!!', the quiet and chilly venue was heated up within mere seconds. The members of I6 danced and jumped around. Because of how the stage was built, their movements were not limited to just the front of the stage. Everyone, especially Tamaki and Nagi, made good use of that. The high school boy and the charming man ran around the stage, greeting the fans who screamed very loudly for the group.
Iori acted as the perfect centre of the group. He had some specific hand gestures that once he pulled them off, everyone else would either regroup at the front stage or run off to do their fanservice.
Yamato, Mitsuki, and Sougo were mostly dancing at the front stage. Occasionally, they would walk to the middle of the walkway, interacting with other members before swapping places.
Once the song ended, everyone regrouped at the front of the stage with Yamato in the middle. The melody of 'GOOD NIGHT AWESOME' started playing. The audience screamed as the group focused on their expressions and vocals.
Their second song soon came to an end and Iori took the centre of the stage where the spotlight shone on. Everyone else gathered beside him. Iori greeted the fans. "Good evening, everyone, and welcome to The Shining Star Live!" He announced the name of the concert in a composed manner, yet his smile made the hearts of the audience sway.
"Tonight is an exciting night, isn't it, Iori?" Mitsuki came forward. He attempted to touch Iori's shoulder. It was clear he had to reach for it. The audience laughed. "Hey! Don't laugh!" Mitsuki acted angry and shouted but the fans laughed even harder.
"Yes, Nii-san. Not only are we performing, another idol will also take the stage after us." Iori kept his smile. He was not about to let his personal feelings towards the new idol meddle with his professionalism at work.
"Are you guys excited to find out who he is? Because I sure am." Yamato chimed in. Most of the audience had confused looks on their faces.
Sougo chuckled slightly, seeing the audience's reactions. "Yes, we still don't know who he is," he spoke, and "EHHHHHHHH?" could be heard throughout the venue.
While I6 was doing their show, Riku was out in the backstage area. True, it would be ideal for him to stay in his prep room and avoid the cold weather, but Riku knew his body needed to adjust to it. His eyes were glued to I6's performance which showed beautiful teamwork. He was shaking internally, not realising how badly he wanted to go on stage and steal all the spotlight. The boy ended up dropping his teacup so many times that Banri offered to hold it for him. Good thing Riku had a blanket covering his stage clothes at the time.
Momo was screaming, squealing and periodically strangling Yuki's neck whenever the fanservice was coming their way. Yuki was worried he might pass out before he got to see the new idol appear on stage.
TRIGGER was trying their best to enjoy the concert without getting noticed. So instead of shouting to the top of their lungs, they waved their light sticks around excitedly. Ryuu often found himself forgetting and shouting a few times in the Okinawan dialect. Who could blame him when the concert was so fun to watch?
During I6's last song, which was 'MEMORiES MELODiES', Riku was told to be on standby. He was led underground by the staff to the spot with a lift that would make him appear on stage from below. It was right in the middle of the front stage. A little bit of calmness filled a part of the empty void inside Riku's heart. He did not know what it was, but it was the same feeling he got from being with Iori.
I'm ready. The boy had a serious expression on his face. He was about to go get his crown.
Everyone will look at me.
IDOLiSH6 bowed and thanked the audience plenty of times before exiting the stage. The spotlights stopped shining their lights on the stunning idols, making the whole venue completely dark once again. The only illumination left was from the various colours of over 4000 light sticks.
Everyone in the venue, including I6, tensed up as they kept their eyes on the stage. No one said a word. The revelation could be any moment now.
10!
9! The countdown began as the stage lit up. A large number was shown on a huge screen at the back of the main stage. The hyped audience soon joined in.
3! 2! 1!...
The melody of a brand new song started playing. People started to scream as the spotlights rotated around, shining the lights everywhere in the venue. Soon, the lights all came to a stop at the spot in the middle of the front stage.
Two exact seconds later, the idol with fiery red hair appeared jumping out from below. Upon landing, he sang the first verse with the perfect timing to the beat.
"Without a cause..."
It was only halfway through the first verse when the audience started screaming, pointing towards the stage or shouting. Some of them had their mouths open in shock.
"Oh my god! It's him!"
"Kujou Riku!"
"It's really him! KYAAAAAAA KUJOU RIKU!!!!"
The screams got significantly louder. People began to wave their light sticks around the way they did for I6, meaning Riku had now truly become the focus of the moment.
"Affection!" Once Riku had finished singing his first verse, he walked to the middle of the stage pathway. "Switch those light sticks red!" The boy shouted before pulling off intense dance moves.
And the audience did as told. Riku smiled victoriously when he could see the sea of red all around him. He went back to singing, using all the vocal prowess he possessed. After all, 'Mr.AFFECTION' was his debut song.
"KUJOU RIKU?!?!" Mitsuki, Yamato, and Nagi shouted in unison before turning their heads to look at their young centre. Mitsuki was about to question why Iori did not trust the group with this information when he saw the perfect high school student stumble backwards, and Iori had never tripped on absolutely nothing. "So Iorin didn't know either?!?" Tamaki made a confused face while Sougo gently supported Iori, preventing him from falling.
"K-Kujou-san..."
Among the wild audience, "RIKU!!!!!" Tenn switched both of his light sticks to red before forcefully stealing Gaku's sticks and turning them red as well. "Oi, you-" Gaku was about to scold Tenn when he was cut off by the boy's brocon mode scream, "RIKU DAISUKIIIIII!!!!!". Even Ryuu was shocked by Tenn's reaction to the idol revelation.
"M-Momo, my heart..." Yuki put his right hand on his chest, making a distressed face. Momo was shaking Yuki's body violently. "DARLING YOU CAN'T DIE YET, RIKU-KUN IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU! AND ME TOO!"
Riku was back to the spot he appeared out of when Mr.AFFECTION ended. Without a break in between, a familiar song started playing right away. A series of small flames shot up from the tiny pipes on the edges of the stage.
"KYAAAAAAAA!!!" The solo idol pushed his body to the limit by dancing to Kujou Riku's top hit song. The moves he pulled off were sharp and strong. The transitions between them were very smooth. It showed how much effort Riku put into his practice and his work as an idol.
The fans that sang along to his song gave him so much energy, yet Riku was not satisfied. Anyone could tell from his eyes that he wanted more. Feeling amused, he used that moment to break the news to the crowd.
"Eyes on me! It's Nanase Riku!"
The name change could have caused a chaotic uproar, but Riku's performance kept the mesmerised audience from being distracted. They all continued to watch him, cheer for him, and sing with him. Satisfied with the reactions he was getting, Riku grinned even wider. He had not noticed that it was the first time he felt so alive on stage.
Iori moved to the spot where he could get a better look at Riku. He, of course, noticed Riku was not the same. It's as if he's enjoying the moment. The question is... what makes him so motivated?
The stage turned dark the moment the song ended. Riku slipped out to the backstage where I6 was. Banri ran to Riku with an oxygen bottle and covered the boy's nose and mouth with the mask. Riku was clearly out of breath. The boy did not think he was in pain due to him being so hyped. Plus, despite how sad this sounds, Riku was used to his lungs not working the way he wanted them to.
While getting some oxygen and rehydrating himself, Riku caught a glimpse of a young I6 centre who stood a distance away from him, watching him with a neutral expression. Iori was hard to read, and Riku being pretty much emotionless did not help. What the redhead knew was that Iori and the rest of the I6 were not going anywhere. Good. Keep watching me, Iori. The thought made a cheerful, if not a little mischievous, smile appear on Riku's face. The calm and composed Iori flinched. Riku winked at his boyfriend before returning to the stage. The solo idol wished he could have waited to see Iori blush.
Riku continued to deliver one powerful performance after another. Nanase Riku's image was not too different from Kujou Riku's except that all Kujou did was create an angsty illusion of himself, while Nanase was embracing that version of him. His mental problems be damned. Right now, Nanase Riku only cared about using his ability to the fullest.
Time flew by quickly for everyone in that venue. Riku stopped moving after what seemed to be his last song. The lights were now shining at the front stage. Riku took a brief moment to catch his breath before taking one of his earpieces out. Kujou Riku's fans stared at him curiously as he had never done that before. Riku took the mic up to his mouth and...
"Um, hello."
He spoke, and the fans screamed loudly. They were so excited that Riku stopped to talk. "Riku-kun!!!!" People, including Tenn and Yuki, called his name.
Riku blinked twice. He wondered what he should do, so he decided to raise his hand and wave to everyone at the venue. "KYAAAAAAAAA!!!! So cute!"
Riku's eyes were blank the whole time. His emotions seemed to have disappeared the moment the music stopped. "I suppose I should talk..." Iori in the backstage facepalmed. What a hopeless person. Banri watched his idol nervously, hoping it was not such a bad idea to let Riku talk on stage.
"Mhmm, first thank you for giving me lots of attention." That line from the doll-like Riku made his friends sweat. He's terrible with words was what Yamato and probably everyone who knew Riku were thinking.
"Ahahahahaha!" The audience seemed to think he was joking. Iori, Banri, and Ryuu sighed in relief. Riku survived this round.
"Before I sing the last song for tonight. Allow me to apologise to everyone." Riku bowed deeply to the audience in front of him. "I know I disappeared very suddenly and without a word. I'm sorry for letting you down."
"Awww." Some of the fans shouted "It's okay~"
Riku took a deep breath before continuing. "This next song... I chose it myself. It doesn't suit my style that much, but it is very special nonetheless." A glow started to appear in Riku's eyes as he smiled warmly.
"Eyes on me..." Riku put the earpiece back to where it was, put the mic he was holding back to the stand and grabbed it with both hands. "Sennen Saki mo Zutto!"
A soft and beautiful melody started playing. Riku closed his eyes. This is for you, Iori.
During the first few sentences, Riku struggled to move to the rhythm of the song. An emptiness visited him once again.
Come on. Riku thought. Let it reach him.
Slowly but surely, the solo idol's body began to move on its own to the rhythm as his heart was opening up and his mind was accepting his hidden feelings. Riku's voice seemed to have become louder, in a way that it was making its way into people's hearts. The moment Riku sang the chorus, he was no longer frozen solid. The doll began to smile, so brightly that some people found it to be blinding. The solo idol was radiating a warm aura, much like how the sun shone in the sky, and the audience could feel the dramatic change in the atmosphere.
Gaku knew Tenn was getting emotional, so he put his arm over the boy's shoulder and gave it a reassuring rub. Ryuu patted the centre's head gently.
"This is the first time we get to see him like this, huh, Yuki?" Momo spoke while smiling. "You just can't look at him and not smile... it's incredible." Yuki simply nodded. Riku had also warmed his heart. Momo chuckled, seeing how much Yuki was into the moment.
"Ku-Riku." Iori moved closer to the stage side entrance instinctively. For some strange reason, he was on the verge of bursting into tears. The image of Riku smiling on stage was indeed as special as how Riku described the song to be. "Thank you." The moment the word of gratitude left Iori's mouth, the younger boy swore Riku was glancing his way.
Father...
There is a lot I still do not understand. I do not know why you did what you did, and why you wanted to achieve that goal of yours.
Right now, I did it. I've found my crown, but I am not going to stop here.
Even if everything still seems dull and tasteless most of the time, I'd like to keep dreaming...
I believe this is what it's like to be living.
And I am not alone.
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Since Yuki is not an idol in this story I went ahead and stole his song for Riku fufu~ [That being said I stole Mr.AFFECTION too lol]
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!! I can't believe this fic got far to this point and it's all thanks to you lovely ppl who always give me the motivation i need <3
I'm on twitter as @kenarkrsun feel free to dm me ^^
[Link to the pic: https://twitter.com/kenarkrsun/status/1213733402093842432?s=20]