Well, this was uploaded later than I thought. Yeah, something happened to my life and it distracted me so much. Plus (lol) I tried to tier (is this the word we use when we want to get a higher rank for Utapri Shining Live?) for Tokilock event before deciding that it's too tiring and time-consuming. For those who are still anticipating this story, thank you for being so patient. For sure, I'll never abandon this story and if I do someday, I'll make sure to tell you guys, okay? J

WARNING: The legal procedure in this story might be misleading. I only referred to a Korean movie so please don't take it seriously. Mature scenes are briefly mentioned. And also, yeah, I apologize for the grammar, pacing and other flaws of this chapter.

CHAPTER 29

"I am going to make you unable to call anyone for the rest of your life. Just so you know, The Saint is not meant to be sainted forever. He also has his limit."

"Masato, don't!"

When Ren who was known for being calm and collected shouted anxiously, Tokiya knew something terrible would take place. When Ren who was always brave to take a risk desperately tried to stop someone, it meant business. The risk was too high even according to Ren's logic.

The scion was right. The sight of Masato just clobbered Saotome with a whiskey bottle was too overwhelming for him. Sure, it was his ultimate dream to see Saotome hit the rock bottom or at least learned how it felt like to be attacked unexpectedly but...

He never expected that Masato would be the final attacker, especially in his current condition. Masato was always badass even since they were young. The guy never hesitated to stand for what he believed was right but...

Chill immediately flowed through his veins as for the first time, he could see the violent side of Masato. The scion could not care less when people around him were panicky, police cars' sirens echoed louder after Ringo immediately reported the crime, camera flashes sparkled around him without showing the sign to stop. Instead, his blue eyes were only interested in the sight of the unconscious Saotome as they cast the dark side of him. The side which only wished that Saotome would pay for his crime and the pain that he had caused to them.

Even when he was escorted to the police station, he only smiled in relief. His chest was fulfilled with the proud feeling for himself.

Even when Tokiya visited him, separated by the transparent wall between them and only had a small hole in the middle to allow conversation, Tokiya swore that his twin was one of the prisoners who looked the most innocent.

The most innocent one but with the toughest guts. Since yesterday, the news of him smashing Shining Saotome's head with a whiskey bottle had been hot news. Fans from various social media came up with different speculations while other STARISH members also updated their respective statements, seeking for the public support to bash Saotome for being such a cruel president.

But, the public outrage could be put aside for a while. What mattered the most for Tokiya was Masato's condition after being imprisoned. A lot of consequences crossed Tokiya's head and he could not convince himself that the scion would be fine. Masato just attacked a famous figure who would continue using his power to bury his crime and turn the table against STARISH. The pessimistic side of Tokiya could not foresee any bright future after them.

Yet again, Masato's belief and persistence were too strong for him.

"Ah, before you asked me regarding Haruka, don't worry. She supported my decision to hit the bastard," Masato remarked cheerfully. The statement was surprising but Tokiya was too tired to be shocked. He could not expect less from the couple who always knew how to give him a heart attack. "Even yeah, she opposed it at first. Even just now when she talked to me, she looked worried sick."

Only a heavy sigh as a response. Tokiya was lost. He did not know where should he start from.

"How's the jail? Does anyone..."

"No, not at all. Nobody picked a fight with me even I am disabled. Instead, they were amazed at how I could walk long enough to hit that Saotome. They even said they respected me for the Saint title. While it's nice to be acknowledged like that but still... The Saint is imprisoned instead of The Stripper so they shouldn't expect anything sainted from me anymore," Masato said, along with deep chuckles. Apart from spending time with his family and friends, Saotome's injury was the best moment for him. He wanted to watch it over and over again.

"Why did you do that?" Tokiya asked finally. Masato caught him right away when he stopped chuckling.

The warm and friendly smile appeared again across the pianist's thin lips.

"I just thought that he's annoying because he talked too much. It's even more annoying when he really did what he threatened us with so it's better for us to shut his mouth. He's old anyway. He has to rest from his crime. He has to atone."

Tokiya nodded. He knew more conversation would be useless when it comes to Masato. The scion's stubbornness was as critical as his. Nobody could change his mind even his life depended on it.

Masato could spot how tangled Tokiya felt inside so he knew, he should be in charge more in the conversation.

"I already remember a lot of our pasts, Tokiya," he said, sending the vocalist to look at him in shock. "Now I know why you hate me. You have suffered a lot and I couldn't be much happier now since I can atone for my sins to you, Tokiya."

This was getting ridiculous.

"What? What are you..."

"The scene which your character attacked my character with a whiskey bottle due to jealousy... it's real, right? I mean... what do you really feel about me all this time," Masato said. "Truthfully, I got inspired by that scene. Your acting... it shows how hurt you are so I guess I wanted Saotome to know how did it feel to be attacked in the face. This is the best I can do as your friend but also as the one who caused you misery. At least before I die, I have something to smile at. I have something to be happy about which is your happiness. You deserve to be happy, Tokiya."

"But not in this kind of way, Masato."

"Someday, you're going to get married. You will have your own family. Your children will depend on you for a lot of things so you have to be the father who you want them to see you as. Just take Harumi as an example. She isn't your daughter but she sees you as her idol. I bet you don't want your children to see you as a sex slave when in fact, you were exploited. Please think of your other kind of future, Tokiya. Your job is not the only life you have."

"Not when you ended up turning yourself into a criminal."

"Only the world's law decided that I am a criminal but for me, I am not. I just fought for my friend, for your future so that you won't suffer anymore and you won't use the clichéd reason like 'please think of your wife and children before deciding to protect me'. For me, what I think and believe is what matters the most. I believe that sometimes only physical violence can stop a scum like Saotome when the law said the physical attacker is the wrong one. Plus..." the warm smile appeared again and it took all for Tokiya not to scream in rage. "It will make people think. If the Saint is a criminal, if the Saint is violent and not gentle like his agency had promoted him, what about the Stripper then? Perhaps, he's an angel in real life?"

Tokiya's eyes sized up. Each of the words squeezed his heart, forcing themselves into him. His chest felt tight with the strange warmth. Masato might smile like he did not have any worry in his life but he just proved that he already considered the pros and cons of his doing.

No wonder he had Haruka's support at the end.

"Masato, you..."

"I want you to start a new life, Tokiya. A new life where no one has rights to force you into anything. If you don't believe in sex before marriage, live it. If you feel insulted with how people treat you like an object, then show them that you deserve to be treated with dignity. Besides me, our friends also want it for you, Tokiya. We did all of these things because we want you to be happy. We want you to get your justice."

It was certainly awkward when the melodramatic words were so sincere that it could make him cry. It was so awkward that it was not enough for the heart-throb to solely squeeze his knees.

"Stop saying embarrassing things, won't you?"

"I don't know how much time I have after this. My body is not doing well these days so it's best for me to be honest, no matter how embarrassing they are," Masato said.

It was decided. Masato's stubbornness got him nothing to say.

Masato's sudden attack In order to shut his target's mouth was proved the best for them even other STARISH member were still shocked by it. The attack did cause Saotome to lose his consciousness for two days which was laughable for them since while his mouth was foul and only knew how to downgrade or threaten people, it did not apply the same thing to him physically. His endurance was not as strong as his verbal skills.

So, after he was discharged from the hospital, not only every single path of him was crowded with reporters and STARISH's fanatic fans who wished him dead and threw eggs at him, Saotome was also surprised with a large inspection of his office, house, and other headquarters to find evidence for his crimes.

"I am not guilty and you can't arrest me just because the public demand it! I said don't touch me! I won't go with you and I'll make sure you guys pay for this humiliation!"

Not long after that, he was surprised by how easily they found the documents which covered the contracts between him and the clients regarding Tokiya's sexual assault, thanks to Hyuga and Ringo. He never shared his passwords to anyone but they knew it.

How? Through their years of cooperation. They guessed it based on Saotome's favorite words, people, real name et cetera.

"Saotome doesn't do this thing a lot. He doesn't make the offer at first but if a lot of clients keep requesting the same idol, he will let them use him or her. As for Tokiya's case, Saotome did want to rent him from the start. Tokiya fits in a lot of categories, unlike other STARISH members. Plus, Tokiya lived on his own, earned money to support himself since he was 13 years old so nobody is going to complain if he's oppressed. If Tokiya refused, Saotome would sell Haruka instead, followed by other STARISH members except for Ren and Masato," Ringo confessed when the police kept asking Saotome regarding the contracts but were yelled nonsensically by the legendary singer.

"Ringo, what are you talking about? How could you do this to me? We're supposed to be on the same side!"

"The same side, my foot," Hyuga interposed, a wicked smile appeared across his lips. "You even want to run away with your private jet. You did not have any plan to save us, right? If that's the case, I guess this is the dead end for us... and you as well. I want to see you behind bars too," Hyuga remarked.

It turned out much easier on Saotome's part but not the clients like Kuoda Shin, Nakamura Yuna and many more. A lot of times, their explanation during the trial in the court almost sent STARISH to pounce on them and clobber them mercilessly.

"The first time it happened was with Kuoda Shin," Tokiya started after he vowed that he never lied in the court. "He invited me to drink with him. I am not a fan of alcohol but since I am his junior and he claimed that he wanted to celebrate our collaboration for the movie, he encouraged me to drink. I took a few sips and talked normally until I felt my surrounding was spinning. I wanted to tell him that I wasn't okay but I couldn't. I collapsed and with the blurry vision, I felt weird because Kuoda-san smiled instead of anxiously helping me. That was when he... he touched me."

It felt disgusting to remind himself of the first tragedy. His next set of words caught in his throat until he fixed his friends with a look.

"You can do it, Tokiya," he was positive that was what Tomochika tried to mouth. The others smiled encouragingly at him.

"Tell them you're not wrong. You're the victim here," Haruka supplied. Her promise to bring him to see Harumi previously lifted up his spirit once again.

It certainly did when it was Kuoda's turn to confess.

"Look. I may mingle with boys and my juniors all the time but for God sake, I am straight! I am married to a woman and have two kids. I don't have any feeling to a man no matter how hot he is. I care about Tokiya just like with other juniors but it seemed like he took in a wrong way. With his Stripper title, single status and how he made money from showing off his figure, it's not surprising for him to seduce me instead."

Tokiya was too numb to respond. He expected those kinds of statements anyway and for him, it was a waste of energy to feel angry. Let the evidence spoke for him.

But it was also expected for his teammates especially Syo and Cecil to be energetic to fight back.

"You son of a bitch! How can you be that shameless to blame him instead!? You raped him, you jerk!" Syo screamed, bringing all eyes towards him.

"Just surrender, will you!? You aren't straight!" Cecil added, ignoring Otoya who held his shoulder in order to calm him down.

"Silent! More interruption without permission, I'll order you to leave the court," the judge said back which managed to soothe the angry duo.

When it comes to witnesses, it was expected that Otoya would have a lot of things to say since they were roommates but Cecil...

No matter how hostile their friendship before, it seemed like it never happened. Instead, every single of his words showed anger and determination to help him.

"Aijima-san, for the last 13 years, did you see the defendants show any suspicious act towards Ichinose-san?"

"Yes and I do have something to say about Kuoda-san."

Indeed, Cecil was shouldering his regret and shame like a mountain. The more he 'reminisced' their pasts, the more he recalled how painful Tokiya had felt in order to protect them and mask his suffer, the prince from Agnapolis ended up losing his sleep. He cursed himself for being oblivious. He insulted himself for being there but useless for Tokiya's recovery.

13 years ago when STARISH was still in Master Course...

"Tokiya!"

It was just a friendly and playful hug around Tokiya's shoulders when the blue head was spaced out in the corridor but his reaction was downright strange. He did not only slap Cecil's hand away as if it was a plague, he even moved away from his spot.

"Oh, it's you..." Tokiya exclaimed, stroking his chest right away.

"Yes, me. Why?" Cecil's eyes sized up at the dramatic reaction. His hand which was slapped by Tokiya froze in the air while his brain was still in a confused state. "Did I do something that offended you?"

"No, no. You didn't," Tokiya said with a smile. "I just got shocked. I am sorry for slapping your hand."

"Really? But you look pale, Tokiya. Is there something wrong? Plus, what are you doing in the middle of this corridor? I bet you were staring at the president's picture for a few minutes already, right?"

"Owh, that..." Tokiya glanced at Saotome's picture when he won an award with an unreadable expression. Cecil was regretful that he could not notice sooner that Tokiya loathed the president so much. "I guess I was thinking about works so much so I ended up here."

"I see..." Cecil glanced at how Tokiya folded his arms around himself loosely.

Does he hate the hug that much? Well, Natsuki did say that Tokiya doesn't look comfortable when we touch him, he thought. Maybe that's just his personality. He grew up alone anyway.

Deciding to brush it off, Cecil was back to his cheerful mood again. "But today is your day off, right? I bet you are bored, right?"

"Yeah."

"I got an offer to be a permanent guest. Do you know the variety show which we watch together every week?"

"Oh... the one you can't read the title since it's all written in kanji?"

"Yeah, yeah, that one... Hey, that's mean, Tokiya!" Cecil exclaimed, pouting when Tokiya chuckled right away. His poor Japanese skills had been the subject of laughter among his friends. While he normally did not take it to heart, it was surprising for him that prim guys like Masato and Tokiya also loved to make fun of him. "Well, my point is I want to invite you to be there to observe my performance. You know, just to criticize me and point out my flaws. Are you free tomorrow evening?"

"I am but... you know, I don't think I am the best person for this part. I myself have a lot of things to improve."

"Hey, don't say that! For all of us, you do everything perfectly. In fact, we respect you. Not only because you have more experiences than us, you always work hard and never take things for granted. You might not notice it but the rest of us are inspired by you. We want to be like you."

Back then, Cecil never knew that his casual words meant everything for Tokiya. For a rape victim who was stuck with the fact that he was treated like a toy rather than an idol who was supposed to share his talents, the simple yet warm words comforted him so much. At least, he knew that his presence meant something to his close friends. There were people who still treated him like a human with dignity, not like a doll.

"Well, I guess I am flattered," he said. "I'll help you."

"Really? Yes, thank you so much, Tokiya!!" Screaming was not good enough to express his happiness so the prince quickly trapped the thin frame into his hug. He did sense that Tokiya froze right away and did not bother to return his embrace.

On that day, before they started the shooting, it was normal for Kuoda to greet them. He had been a friendly senior but Cecil never thought that his presence was like a monster for Tokiya.

Especially when he suddenly trapped Tokiya who was smaller than him into a seemed-to-be platonic embrace.

"You sure are friendly with your juniors, right, Kuoda-san?" Cecil said.

"Of course. Tokiya is one of my closest juniors since he was still HAYATO. He's cute when he tries his best, right?" He said, stroking Tokiya's stiff back.

"Oh..." Cecil could spot how blank Tokiya looked but maybe it was because he was not that comfortable. Unlike others, he took time to get used to Natsuki's excited hugs after all.

"See you soon, Tokiya. Maybe a drink or two tonight will help you play your role well."

Cecil never knew that one day, he would curse himself for being oblivious and did not read the line properly. He thought the 'role' was Tokiya's role in their movie but...

Kuoda just meant his role as the senior's toy.

"I bet you learned a lot from him, right, Tokiya? He looks so capable."

"Yeah," a monotonic answer from Tokiya did not cast anything suspicious for him.

After his shooting ended, he was surprised by Tokiya's disappearance. He did not notice when it happened at all. He called the blue head, he asked around but nobody saw or bumped into him.

It was confusing until he noticed the toilet with a 'No Entry' signboard.

Huh? Since when?

He called Tokiya again and that was when a melodious STARISH ringtone played in the toilet.

"Huh? Is that Tokiya?"

The ringtone stopped. He knew Tokiya just turned off his phone.

"What is he doing..." he muttered to himself and could hear his own heart thumping in his ears. Passing the short signboard, he checked the stalls, finding there was only one with a shut door.

"Tokiya, are you there?" He knocked and he swore he could hear a terrified gasp from inside.

"Cecil..." his friend's voice was weaker than he expected. "Are you done?"

"Yes. But seriously, since when have you been here? I didn't notice that you left."

"I am sorry. I had a severe stomach ache."

"I bet it's because you didn't eat a lot for lunch, right, Tokiya? Had Masato known this, he would certainly lecture you for not taking care of your health. Well, I guess I will tell him since you only listen to him," Cecil said firmly.

"I guess you will," Tokiya said with chuckles before opening the door.

It took a while for Cecil to collect his words.

"Okay, that face is so pale. You're even sweating," Cecil remarked, eyes wandered around until he spotted Tokiya's hand which was rested on his waist. "Let's go back home and you can rest properly. If I know this, I won't drag you along."

If only he knew that he really should not drag Tokiya along...

Even until now, when he confessed as the witness, the regret maliciously poked his frame. There was a lot of 'should' in his mind. He felt stupid and thought that he did not deserve to be called Tokiya's friend.

So, he did not want to repeat the same mistake. Together with the rest of STARISH members, they already prepared another back-up plan.

Ren already persuaded a few female actresses who were not only his close friends who caused a misunderstanding with his wife but they were also the victims like Tokiya. They were also threatened. They were also toyed for years. They had the strength to confess everything, thanks to Ren's assurance.

"People are still oblivious and skeptical about male sexual abuse. They thought that men should be strong and can protect themselves. Even Tokiya also highlighted the same thing but trust me. If he finally makes up his mind to confess and the public accepts it, it will be much easier for women like you to confess as well. Just imagine how great your contribution is to the younger generation. They will know that in showbiz, it's not all sunshine and rainbows and they have to be extra careful. They will end up admiring you for fighting for your justice."

Ren was always cunning with his words but to take it positively, he knew how to comfort and cheer up people.

So, their presence grew more tension to the defendants and the public. All of them were famous celebrities like Tokiya but no one knew what they had gone through in order to shoot to stardom.

"It's Kuoda-san. He harassed me a lot when we were together."

"Nakamura-san said if I don't serve her brother, she will slander me."

"The first thing I saw when I woke up was...Kuoda-san was hugging me and we didn't wear anything."

In the blink of an eye, Shining Agency just left the impression that it was not the factory of famous idols but also a whorehouse. As long as a lot of money was guaranteed, you were in.

So, with enough evidence, medical examination and testimonies, the victims got the justice and pride back while the perpetrators finally deserved their punishment. There was no use for them to fight back by using bribery because the public would protest and protect their beloved idols including Tokiya. Nakamura Yuna's empire would suffer and Kuoda Shin had lost his fans to Tokiya.

Tokiya made his way out of the court with others but the only one he could see was Harumi, all smiling before running towards him happily.

"I miss you, ojichan," she whispered, sending the familiar warmth towards his ears. Tokiya was not a really optimistic person but this time, he could feel a new future was waiting for him.

No, it was not just a new future. In fact, it was a new and beautiful future.

In the midst of the sweet reunion, Tomochika could feel the chill when she caught a pair of purple eyes, staring at her with a cruel determination. She immediately gasped to see her soon to be ex-fiancé, not far from the busy crowd. It was an immediate reflex when she hid behind someone big like Natsuki.

"What's wrong, Tomo?" Natsuki asked, disturbed by Tomochika's tight grip around the small part of his dark green shirt.

"Nothing. I just feel stuffy."

So far, Eiichi did not have any chance to attack her due to their busy schedules. She even rarely stayed at her own house given Eiichi knew the password and could barge in anytime. 

That's all from me who attempted to give more scenes to Cecil. As usual, feel free to drop a comment about this chapter, okay? :D