CHAPTER 3

"Wow," was the first word that Masato managed to say after letting his eyes wandered from left to the right, silently admiring how dazzling these five men who sat in a half circle were. "Just wow."

This morning, his wife told him that he was the first son of a very rich family in Japan. He was a member of a very famous seven-member boy band, STARISH and he was the H. Each of them had their assigned instrument and his was piano. Apart from group activities with his six teammates, he was also active as an actor and soloist.

His first reaction when he knew the truth was full of blankness. His eyes were blank. His whole expression was blank. His mouth was also too 'blank' to speak. He never thought that he had spent half of his life glamorously.

But, after looking at his teammates up close, he felt less convinced that the old him even matched their level because...

First of all, all of them looked so cut out to be a celebrity given how dashing they were. Each of them had their own magnetism that could make the women swooned over them.

Do I really make friends with someone like them? Masato doubted.

Second, how on earth a boy band could have a lot of members like theirs? To him, five-member group was quite a fitting number to perform on stage.

"What's with the reaction, Masato? Why are you looking at us like watching TV?" Ittoki Otoya, the guy who was so red due to his eyes, hair, and shirt asked. He curved in a chummy smile as he put his arm around Masato's shoulders.

"Well..." Still feeling numb after experiencing their aura, he added slowly, "I did think I am watching TV right now. You guys look..."

"Handsome? Charming? Glamorous?" The only foreign member in STARISH, Aijima Cecil let each of the complementary words escaped flamboyantly from his mouth. "Well, what can I say? We were born dashing including you, Masato."

However, Masato just blinked at the overconfident remark while sitting still between Otoya and another STARISH member.

The only man who had his hair in a ponytail, Jinguuji Ren was silently observing Masato before supplying, "he thinks that you're narcissistic, Cecil."

Masato gasped in horror while the rest of them split their sides. The only one who looked rather insulted was the narcissistic Cecil, crossing his arms over his chest while pursing his lips.

"Is that what you thought, Masato? Please say no because you just hurt my feeling," Cecil demanded, childishly.

"Nope, I didn't! I swear I didn't!" Masato exclaimed while waving his pale hands nervously. His blue eyes sized up as he anxiously tried to explain himself. "I just thought that maybe a celebrity must be full of themselves or else, they can't perform in front of the crowd confidently, right?"

"That still sounded the same as 'narcissistic'," Cecil's shoulders dropped while pulling a very upset face. His teammates just giggled at Masato's more concerned expression.

"Owhhh, Masato is so cute!" The tallest guy and the only one who wore glasses, Shinomiya Natsuki exclaimed like the guy's lunatic fan. He dangerously spread his long arms before trapping the smaller Masato into his hug.

"Wait! What just happened? Which part of this is cute?" Masato asked obliviously as Natsuki squeezed his thin body tighter. Surprising for everyone, Masato seemed did not mind the affectionate body contact from the big guy.

"Don't bother about it, Masato. This idiot sees everyone and everything smaller than him as cute so whatever that you did just now was cute... I guess," the smallest guy in the group, Kurusu Syo explained. He fixed his fedora like a tough guy and for a second, Masato was amazed at how black and glossy Syo's nails were.

"Thanks for explaining, Syo," Masato said as Natsuki pulled away from proceeding any further than squeezing his bones. However, his simple gratitude sent everybody staring at him in shock.

"Wait, you... you remembered him, Masato?" Otoya asked. His red eyes lit up in amazement that Masato thought it could leave him a hole.

"Yes. His full name is Kurusu Syo, right?" Masato answered, nonchalantly. He did not realize the fact that he just called out just one person's name meant so much to other people.

Did it mean his memory loss was too severe? He did not know.

"Yes, he remembered me!" Syo jumped shamelessly before smirking proudly at the rest of his friends. Ren and Cecil rolled their eyes while Otoya and Natsuki stared at Masato like he just said something stupid. "Obviously, he likes me way more than you guys!"

"Tsk, obviously he was just being nice!" Cecil threw an immature remark, concealing his utter frustration after being called 'narcissistic' by Masato. "You look like a kid so he didn't want to make a kid sad."

"What was that!?" Syo stopped his mini celebration before screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Why, Masato? Why? Why only Syo?" Otoya tried to sound like he just cracked a joke even in fact he was hurt inside.

"Well, just because..." Masato replied grudgingly. The way he bit his lips was enough to tell Ren that he had something in his mind about Syo.

"Correct me if I am wrong..." Ren shot an indicative look at Masato. "Perhaps, do you only remember Syo because of his cute but tragic size?"

"Woahhh! That made senses, Ren!" Natsuki exclaimed while clapping like a seal, disregarding Syo who was looking daggers at him.

"Now when Ren put it that way, I feel more relieved. At least Masato recognized Syo merely because of his small size," Otoya bluntly remarked while rubbing his chest in relief.

"Can't you guys just stop assuming randomly? Plus, there is no way Masato only remembered me just because..."

"I am sorry, Syo. I don't want to lie," Masato bit his lips in guilt. He looked so serious that it insulted Syo. "I have a hard time to memorize all of you guys so when I observed our pictures back on the internet, you stood out the most. The others are about the same height but you..."

"Thanks, Masato," Syo clenched his fist, struggling to not attack his sick but still-irritating friend while the others avenged themselves on Syo by laughing hysterically. "Stop laughing, you doofus!"

"This is so much fun. It doesn't matter where he goes, Syo is always victimized for being small. The world really loves tall people I guess," Cecil wiped the streaming tears from his green eyes.

"At least I felt nice to know that the reason why Masato didn't recognize me because I am tall," Otoya supplied, eyeing his own height. Compared to others, his figure was skinnier and he did not have a broad shoulder. Still, it was the ideal figure for the main dancer of a boy band.

"Yeah, unlike certain people," Ren lifted his eyebrow at the certain person who was this close to flip the coffee table right in front of him.

"Cut it out, guys. Poor Syo," Masato added while coughing in his fist.

"Excuse me, Masato. The one who started all of these was you. Did you forget it already? You were the one who said something about his height," Ren reminded, sarcastically and for a second, Masato believed that it was too dangerous to have the man around. He was way too sharp and sly.

"Oh, yeah, you are right," as soon as Masato dropped his fist to his hand, he laughed melodiously, making Syo had his jaws dropped. The pianist really wanted to restrain his laughter since he did not want to offend the short guy but this time, he could not control it. The way Syo reacted dramatically to everything was amusing. No wonder everybody loved poking fun at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Just laugh if that makes you happy, then," Syo sighed in defeat. Deep inside, it felt warm to see the ashen Masato could laugh like he did not suffer from a life-threatening disease in the first place. He looked around and he could tell that the others could relate to him.

There was no way they could forget the sight of Masato suddenly passed out in the middle of the corridor after they attended an interview. Since then, more obstacles struck and their group activities did not seem to stand a chance. Masato was comatose for a few months and no doctors could determine the type and ground of his disease.

And now, they had to help Masato retrieving his memory. Every time they paid for a visit, they always ended up reminding Masato of his job and friends.

"Considering you are cheerful today, you must feel better, right?" Cecil asked. He leaned forward, showing that his attention was all on his sick friend. "How's your memory? Do you remember anything from your past?"

"Nope," Masato's eyes lit up to stress the fact but everyone could tell that he was frustrated with his progress. "I can't recall anything. Even now, I can't believe that I used to work in the same industry as those actors on TV."

"Hey, don't say 'used to'," Otoya who shared the same sofa with Masato patted the pianist's shoulder. "You make it sound like you never recover from your disease. You're still an idol like us, you know. We want to see you singing with us again."

"Yeah, Otoya is right. We are waiting for you to heal and then, maybe we should stage our comeback. Haruka sure can compose the best song for us," Natsuki encouraged.

Masato looked around, keeping the image of encouraging nods from his friends in his poor memory.

"Thank you, guys. I bet the old me must be happy to have you guys as his teammates," Masato remarked with a bright grin plastered on his face.

"Hehehehe. Not exactly," they denied, almost in unison with their awkward smiles.

In fact, the old Masato might suffer from high blood pressure and heart attack because of their mischievousness. Making the strict Masato shouted at them 10 times a day was a regular basis.

Together with Tokiya, the T of STARISH. Both blue heads were the one who ended up lecturing them like their parents. Yet, most of the time, Masato tended to become more emotional and violent once he snapped.

"But..." The pianist who noticed something off suddenly shifted his glances between his friends and the picture on his lap. He then lifted it to match everyone's eye level. "Is this guy one of us too?"

As soon as their eyes looked at the said guy, the brouhaha in the vast room was replaced with the vibes of uncertainty. Natsuki and Otoya avoided Masato's puzzled eyes while Syo and Cecil exchanged glances with Ren, who just lifted his eyebrows.

"Yes. He is Tokiya, the T of STARISH," Ren explained reluctantly while the others started to feel uneasy. The way Ren just lost his infamous smirk made Masato wondered...

Did I just ask something that shouldn't be asked?

"I see," Masato observed the guy who never visited him. His blue eyes slowly sized up as he was amazed by something that was so obvious about him and Tokiya. "He looks like me and he seems close to me. Are we siblings?"

"No, but you guys are hailed as the twins in STARISH," Otoya responded. He tried so hard to keep his bubbly expression when his heart ached to see Tokiya's smiling face in the picture.

It had been a while since the last time they met the guy who was the vocalist in the group.

"Owh," Masato blinked. "But why he is not here? It'll be great if all of us can meet together like this, right?" It looked like Masato was still interested to know the mentioned guy's whereabouts.

"Yeah, it'll be great," Syo supplied, flatly. "But it can't be helped, though. This guy is an in-demand idol now so it might be hard for him to pay you a visit."

"I see...Come to think of it, I think I saw him this morning in a few CFs. Is he the spokesperson for the famous hair product?"

"Yeah, he is," Ren answered half-heartedly. It was annoying to talk about that jerk now but he had to endure it for Masato.

"And also a skincare product?"

"Yup," Natsuki nodded.

"But why have I never seen ours? Is it because we are no longer the famous idols like Tokiya?"

Auch! The rest of them felt like they were just being slapped.

"That's not the best way to put it but yeah, all of us except him worked in showbiz less because we focused on our family," Cecil answered while attempting to swallow the fact that Tokiya was currently the most popular among them.

Yeah, Cecil is right. That guy seems busier and more popular because he doesn't have a family to commit to. His time is all for himself so he can take as many projects as he wants, Ren thought as he took a glance at Tokiya in the picture, hugging shoulders with Masato on the grand stage.

It had been 17 years since their debut and STARISH never officially disbanded. Nowadays, they focused on their solo projects but the rest of them would attend a couple of shows as STARISH once in a blue moon.

Yet, for some reasons, Tokiya became distant from them. He would give any single excuse that ever existed in this world every time they invited him to a small gathering. According to Kotobuki Reiji, their senior who often collaborating with the blue head on talk shows and dramas, Tokiya had returned to his old self; being way too workaholic to the point of he would ignore his health welfare. But, the worst part was the idol did not allow them to visit him even after he was hospitalized several times.

Before they knew it, all those bitter-sweet memories with Tokiya just faded away because it was obvious that Tokiya was avoiding them.

"Man, that must be tough for Haruka," Cecil was the first one who commented as soon as they excused themselves from Masato's room.

"And those girls too," Natsuki stared down at the floor. "They said to me that since a few days ago, Haruka never allowed them to see their father since he cannot remember any of them."

"And he looked way paler than the last time we visited him," despite the composure, anyone could spot a heavy sorrow in Ren's voice.

"Did you guys notice how he limped just now? He could walk just fine before, right?" Syo's bitter question made some of them gasped in disbelief.

Great. Another trouble, Ren's heart whispered and he bet the others also shared the same thought with him.

"Come on, Mitsuki! Let's see if we can see daddy," two girls came out of nowhere, running along the corridor. "Ah, good morning, everyone," Harumi bowed politely, followed by Mitsuki who basically would follow her sister's movements every time she did not know what to do.

"Good morning," the uncles greeted back with a string of chummy smiles.

"Where is mommy, Ren ojichan?" Harumi asked hopefully when the said guy kneeled down to meet her eyes.

"Probably in her room, composing," Ren answered, smiling at Mitsuki who hugged his neck endearingly.

"Then, we can see daddy. Let's go, Mitsuki," without sparing any time, Harumi reached her sister's hand before sprinting into Masato's room. The uncles started to get panicky.

"Hey, girls! Your mommy said..." Natsuki and Syo immediately chased the energetic children but they stopped themselves as soon as they noticed Masato, resting on his bed while staring impassively at the small girls.

"Good morning, daddy!" Harumi and Mitsuki went to Masato's sides respectively before embracing him.

"Morning, daddy!" Mitsuki imitated.

What happened next was too much for the uncles to see.

"Hi... Good morning," as expected, Masato was completely clueless to see a pair of random children greeted him.

"Daddy, we miss you soooo much! Why didn't mommy allow us to see you, daddy? Are you really sleeping all the time?"

"Well..." Masato threw a perplexed glance at his two friends who gestured him to see the frame beside the bed but as clueless he was, he did not get them. Plus, he did not know where he should start since he could not recall these two kids in the first place.

"I am sorry but is she..." Masato was interrupted by Syo and Natsuki's desperate gesture. They simultaneously mouthed 'don't ask who they are' while shaking their heads.

"Daddy, what happened? Don't you happy to see us?" Harumi who could sense the strange aura among Masato and his friends pulled away from her hug. This was when she noticed that Masato was paying his attention to his friends instead of his daughters. He furrowed his brow, trying his best to decipher what Syo and Natsuki tried to deliver.

"Harumi, Mitsuki," Natsuki stepped forward, trying to lure the girls. "Daddy is tired. I think you should let him rest. Come, let's play outside."

"No, I don't want!" Harumi exploded, snatching her hand from Natsuki. She frantically climbed down the bed before looking daggers at her father. "I don't understand. What's wrong with you, daddy? Where's our morning hug? Why did you act like you..." she sobbed while Mitsuki, even she was innocent, she knew she had to comfort her sister just like how Harumi did to her before. The small girl jumped down from the bed before holding Harumi's arm.

"Oneechan, don't cry..." Mitsuki tried to coax her sister but Harumi was too despondent to listen to anybody.

She missed her daddy so much. She resented Haruka for not letting her to see Masato but just when she finally could meet him...

He seemed did not have any recollection about his own children.

"Do you forget about us, daddy? Do you... hate us?" The fists that she had balled were shaking and it strangely hurt Masato.

"I... I am sorry, dear. I did not mean to..."

"I hate you, daddy!" Harumi cut him short with anger as she stormed to outside, ignoring anybody who tried to stop her. Her cute hand wiped the tears that threatened to wet her cheeks.

"Hey, wait!" Masato desperately tried to chase Harumi yet he could not feel his long legs, sending him to collapse onto the floor.

"Masato!" Natsuki and Syo shouted in unison before reaching for his friend who had a horrified expression on his face.

"Are you alright, Masato?" Natsuki asked as the scion trembled hard.

"Hey, Masato! Are you okay?" Syo urged impatiently as he tried to support Masato to stand up but the man was just frozen on his spot. His chest pumped faster as something popped out in his mind.

What's... What's wrong with my legs?

"My... My legs..." The blue-haired man touched his legs in terror. "This is strange. Why can't I feel anything?"

"Well, maybe... maybe your legs gave out because you had rested on your bed since last night? Come on, we will help you. Don't panic, okay?" while praying that nothing worse would happen, Syo slowly stood up, followed by Natsuki, supporting Masato to walk.

Please, God... Don't make it harder for Masato... The blonde duo internally prayed as they looked at Masato's numb legs.

"Okay, Masato. Are you ready? One... two... three..."

As soon as Natsuki stopped his count, Masato pushed his weight upward but his legs disappointed him again. They ended up dragging him to fall flat on the floor again.

For a second, nobody said anything but the air was tense enough, in synch with their thumping hearts.

Syo and Natsuki locked their eyes together out of alarm. They were informed that Masato would suffer from paralysis soon but...

They never expected that it would be this soon.

"Daddy..." Mitsuki who was staring at her father out of puzzlement ended up touching Natsuki's shoulder. "What happened to daddy, ojichan?"

"Daddy is sick, honey. Don't worry. Daddy will get healthy again," while supporting Masato's weight, Natsuki forced a smile to comfort the girl.

"Daddy sick," Mitsuki repeated calmly, oblivious with the fact that she just tugged her uncles' hearts.

"What happened? What's wrong with my legs? They were fine this morning! Why!?" Masato started to lose his composure. He just learned from his friends that he had a family. He had a wife and children who waited for his recuperation but...

If his legs were going to be dysfunctional, what would happen to his family? As much as he lost his memory of them, he did not want to be their burden! He was the one who supposed to take care of them and not the other way around.

"Masato, please calm down. We don't know for sure, right? Maybe your legs just got tired," Natsuki pulled the trembling scion into his arms. He himself almost lost his self - control but he was in no position to feel shaky when Masato needed strength from his friends.

"Hey, guys, what happened here? Why Harumi..." Cecil who just came from outside asked impatiently, followed by Otoya.

"Daddy cannot walk," Mitsuki answered, flatly.

Cecil scooped the girl into his arms as her answer sent him and Otoya to be shocked. They could feel their heart throbbed as they saw Masato was panting anxiously with Natsuki stroked his back.

"I think we should call his doctor now," Syo remarked. His sweat dropped instead of the low temperature of the room.

"Harumi! Harumi!" Meanwhile, Ren was seen running around the house, getting apprehensive about the said girl's whereabouts. As soon as he saw Harumi stormed out of her father's room with tears streaming down her face, the father of a daughter did not waste any time to look for the girl.

"As much as I don't like you, I wish you were here, Tokiya. You always know where to find Harumi every time she's upset," Ren mumbled while his cyan eyes still looked around before he could spot a small girl, sitting on the ground while sitting in seiza-style. Ren swore he had looked for her in the area just now but with the way her dress blended in with the colorful flowers behind her, the man could put two and two together.

"Harumi," he stopped when he saw Harumi lifted a smartphone from her side while tears still flowing across her cheeks.

"Who's she calling?" Ren sneaked while hiding behind a big purple pole.

"Please pick up the phone," the blue-haired girl muttered in frustration as she tried to dial the same number a few times. "Hello, Tokiya ojichan."

"Tokiya?" Ren's eyes sized up as the unexpected name came out.

"Tokiya ojichan, where are you? I want to see you. It's hard here. Mommy doesn't let me see daddy. Daddy doesn't remember Mitsuki and me anymore. Daddy and mommy are bad!"

Ren swore that he found something that was supposed to be a secret between Harumi and her beloved uncle, Tokiya.

So, all this time, Tokiya did not really ditch us just like what we thought?

A/N after a tiring but crucial rewrite 

When I write Utapri fanfictions, I always need Ren's witty and observant sides :) As for Syo, I can't help but tease his height a lot in my stories XDDD.  

So... that's all, perhaps (that's random). I have nothing much to say about this chapter. Nevertheless, feel free to drop a comment :D