Thank you for the votes and comments, guys! It really meant a lot to me ^^ 

CHAPTER 2

A pair of red eyes drifted to every direction they could find. At the very back of the car but sitting in the center, Syo was leaning lazily against the seat. A pair of black earphones attached to his ears while his fedora closed half of his face. Next to him was Masato, also in his own world. Apparently, the scion decided that the sight of the dark cloud of Tokyo was much better than seeing a certain person.

Next to Otoya aka the owner of the red eyes was Ren. The long-haired man placed his hands against the seat to support his head. His cyan eyes signaled something to the redhead since a 'disturbing' circumstance was going off, just next to Otoya.

Conversely, Natsuki thought that it was better for him to chirp happily with 'Tokiya' about how pretty those random birds in the sky were. For a second, everybody was envious of the big guy's ability to stay sanguine in this kind of situation.

In this absurd situation.

"Woahhh, those birds again, Natsuki!" The 'Tokiya' or HAYATO exclaimed with his strong Kansai accent while pointing at the said birds like a pair of five-year-olds children. "Maybe they also wanted to celebrate your first day of working as an idol. Just look at the sky! It's beautiful!"

"I know, right? Waaahh, I never thought that HAYATO-kun is so chummy like this! I wish I can see this side of Tokiya-kun more," the big guy replied with the similar tone. It was surprising when no matter how ecstatic he was, Natsuki was still aware that he was in a car so there was no use to hold his fist up in the air. "But, you're right, HAYATO-kun. The sky is so beautiful!"

'Are you guys kidding me? The sky is dark,' was what Masato wanted to say right on the guys' faces enough from the way he scowled. He swore that the real Tokiya most probably had enough charm that could make even the dark sky mourned for him.

The sky was mourning since HAYATO would do his first job as the T of STARISH instead of Tokiya himself.

This morning, STARISH was scheduled to shoot CFs, followed by a couple of interviews. Yet, no matter how ecstatic they felt, they just could not express their excitement as it should be. They could not be so contented because they knew that Tokiya clearly did not share the same feeling.

Despite the tragedy in the bathroom, it did not stop a certain guy from smiling ear to ear. His frilly uniform was replaced with Tokiya's light blue shirt, black jacket, and black jeans, thanks to Otoya's guts to search for them in Tokiya's closet. His hair was adjusted to Tokiya-esque hairstyle, thanks to the redhead's persistence so that they could totally hide the real identity of the blue head.

"HAYA... HAYATO-s..."

"Just call me HAYATO, Otoya," despite the bright smile that was flashed directly at him, Otoya recoiled like he just saw a phantom. He moved closer to Ren, hugging the scion's muscular arm in order to seek for protection. "If you can call someone menacing like Tokiya as 'Tokiya', then I guess you don't have a problem to address me casually, right?"

"I think you're the one who is menacing here," Syo who surprisingly heard everything despite the loud song from his iPod suddenly remarked. He lifted his fedora back onto his head before pulling off his earphones. "Seriously, where the hell are you from? At least, despite how menacing Tokiya is, we know he really exists in this world. Unlike you."

"I don't know," HAYATO shrugged, nonchalantly. "Before I knew it, I was already in the bathroom and of course, I would look for Tokiya first but... just look at him! He's so dramatic! I couldn't explain anything and he..."

"No, he's not dramatic. In fact, that's a normal reaction from a real human being once they found out that a creature like you is real," Syo cut him short. He ignored Ren's pats on his arm which attempting to calm him down.

"Ohhh, Syo-chan! That's so meannnnn! But you're kind of cute so let me baby you for a moment!" HAYATO who was entertained with the fact that Syo tried so hard to act tough suddenly stretched out his hands before pinching Syo's soft cheeks.

"Waaaaaaa, that's hurtttt! Get your hands off me, you idiottt!" The car was starting to shake hysterically as Syo was thrashing around to kick HAYATO back to his seat. At the moment, everyone was convinced that if this lasted any longer, they would get scolded by their manager who silently drove the car.

"No wonder Natsuki loves to hug you a lot! You're so adorable like a baby! I love how you fail to act tough, Syo-chan!" HAYATO yelled, enjoying himself to victimize Syo's poor cheeks.

"Let me go, you jerk! Somebody help me!! Help me!"

Unfortunately, the bunch of 'somebody' just laughed together including Masato. Natsuki even had his eyes glistened with tears since this was the first time somebody could relate to him and shared his 'Syo is Cute' philosophy.

Except for Otoya.

Normally, the redhead was easily entertained by simple jokes. It did not take much effort to make him guffawed but at the moment, the best response he could show was chuckling awkwardly. His mind was swirling busily with the thought of the sick Tokiya in their room.

On the spur of the moment, the events which led HAYATO to sit in the same car and went to the same studio with them churned out in his mind.

For the first time ever since he had roomed with Tokiya, the guitarist was doled out with the strident sound of his roommate. The redhead was so used with the blue head's random singing especially after he finished with his lyric writing or when he simply just wanted to test his vocal range. Plus, Tokiya's voice was so pleasant to hear frequently so what harm could it cause?

But, in that morning, the usually engaging voice turned more horrified that it managed to send a heavy sleeper like Otoya jumped from his bed. The scream was way too much that it kicked his guts away to rescue his roommate. What would make the stoic like Tokiya to produce such a wretched scream? The redhead wanted to know but at the same time, he refused to know!

At last, Otoya dragged his heavy legs to Reiji who still slept soundly on his bed.

Asking Reiji for a help was as easy as falling off a log. Given Reiji already engrossed himself as a dependable senior for his cute juniors, the leader of QUARTET NIGHT wasted no times to save his blue-haired junior.

"Tokki, wait for me! Your senpai is... Huh!?"

Both Reiji and Otoya who clutched the back of his senior's orange shirt were left surprised as soon as the actual sight of the bathroom was registered in their minds.

"Oh, you must be Ittoki Otoya, Tokiya's roommate! Nice to meet you!" a certain blue head who was neither Tokiya nor Masato exclaimed brightly. Disregarding the duo's thunderstruck reaction, he shook Otoya's hand. "I still remembered on the first day in Saotome Academy, you excitedly put on my costume. Even Tokiya jumped down your throat afterward, I must say that I felt so honored. My costume made someone excited to wear it when Tokiya himself felt disgusted at it."

"Huh? Hm... Well... Tokiya, what happened!?" Otoya was about to blush before he noticed the sight of piteous Tokiya, shaking frenziedly on the floor like he just found the only ghost that managed to scare him. The guitarist quickly hugged Tokiya from his back, ignoring the wet blue hair that poked his face.

"And you must be Kotobuki Reiji-san, Tokiya's senior," HAYATO reached Reiji's hand, shaking it chummily. "Nice to meet you! I am HAYATO. Tokiya is so lucky to have you as his senior. You're so kind, unlike your other teammates. Please be patient with Tokiya. He might look mean and snap easily but when it comes to works, I guarantee you... he'll make your life easier. Even Himura-san and his ex-president also said the same thing."

"He... he talked... He talked too much," Tokiya, on the other hand, looked like he had one foot in the grave. "Otoya, tell him... Tell him to get lost."

"HAYATO-san, Tokiya asked you to get lost," Otoya said innocently. This situation was so absurd but he was more concerned about Tokiya's health welfare. "Rei-chan, please do something."

"Huh? Well..." The brown-haired senior startled as he was dragged to the reality by Otoya's beseeching voice. He was flattered at HAYATO's praise but at the same time, he did not know how to interrogate this 'twin' of Tokiya.

Like... What was he supposed to ask in the first place? 'How did you separate yourself from Tokiya?'

Logically speaking, it was not logical by any means!

"Whattt? That's mean, Tokiyaaaa!!" HAYATO screeched, making all three of them winced at the note that he accomplished. "It's been a long time since I can see this world without being trapped in your body and you already ordered me to get lost? No, I want to stay here longer!"

"He... He wanted... He wanted to stay here longer, Otoya," that was the time when Tokiya felt his soul really escaped from his body. Otoya's anxious voice which calling his name was the last thing his ears could capture before everything turned pitch-black.

Because of the dramatic and 'deplorable' encounter with HAYATO, Tokiya literally lost his ability to do everything by himself. His body temperature was very high all sudden and they had to call a doctor to examine the blue head.

STARISH's reaction? It was various since they were not a bunch of robots after all. Like Otoya, Syo flinched and avoided HAYATO like a contagious disease. Masato recoiled as well but he was much calmer while Natsuki was so friendly that he got close to the blue head right away. The only one who seemed to not be affected at all was Ren and his reason was;

"I kind of saw this coming, seeing how much Icchi hated HAYATO. Plus, it's Shining Saotome's territory, right? Anything can happen."

When Masato's 'so, what now?' question lingered in the air, Shining Saotome suddenly appeared, rotating in the air for a few seconds before landing on the center of the room.

"Since Mr. Ichinose is sickkkk, we will have Mr. HAYATO to replace him after he recoverssss."

That was it. Without describing the motive of his order, the president disappeared, jumping all his way to outside. They knew more than everyone that the legendary singer's orders were mandatory and they were in no position to disobey him.

Now, other STARISH members could not help but be doubtful about the president's order. They were walking their way to their dressing room but HAYATO still maintained as a very idiotic Tokiya with a clown-esque grin.

"I think you better start practicing to be Ichinose now, HAYATO. At least, please do something with your face," Masato commented, attempting to draw HAYATO's attention. The guy was so busy scanning the studio like a student in the middle of a field trip, making his beam noticeable.

"Hijirikawa is right. If you maintain the foolish smile, Tokiya will get totally pissed off and whack you once he finds out," Syo reasoned out, making sure his pace was faster in order to match others since he was short.

"Huh? What's wrong with my smile? This is Tokiya's face after all so logically speaking, this smile is his too," HAYATO pointed at his beam. It was so disturbing since it reminded them that Tokiya never showed such a bubbly expression unless he hit his head.

"Yes but it's not Tokiya-esque, HAYA," Ren interrupted before his long finger settled on his own throat. Except for Natsuki, the others recoiled to hear the instant nickname that he gave to HAYATO. "Your voice, especially."

"Oh, man... Do you mean I have to talk like THAT?" HAYATO exclaimed in disbelief. It amazed them how he could talk while constantly had his head turned in their direction without straining his neck. "With such a cold voice? That's hard!"

"We believe yours is way harder," Masato and Syo bashed with the similarly annoyed expression.

"I personally think the way Tokiya-kun talks is cold but his singing voice is really amazing! I can listen to him all day," Natsuki commented like a fanboy. When he balled his fists animatedly, he almost smacked those staffs who passed him with his elbow due to his tall frame.

"But sometimes, it's too flat. I wonder if he's really interested in talking with us," Ren suggested. Since he led their way, he had to bend his torso a bit backward to allow his voice reached their hearings.

"Of course, he is. Maybe that's just the way he talks," Otoya said.

No one ever noticed that HAYATO was silently digesting each of their comment.

"Yes, Otoya's right. His natural speaking voice is like that," HAYATO acknowledged. "Back then, before he debuted as me, he was mocked and bullied a lot for acting mature all the time. You guys know how Tokiya was, right? His demeanor looked like he underestimated everyone since he was a perfectionist who was good at everything. They also teased him for sounding flat and trying to act macho and what not. I wondered what he did wrong, though. How come they bullied him just because he has a voice like that? You know what? Since then, Tokiya found it hard to make friends..."

His story stopped abruptly as the blue eyes looked around. Sympathetic stares flashed from different directions and that was when HAYATO realized that he just told something that Tokiya would not feel comfortable to share.

"Well, nevertheless, like Ren had said, I had to make my voice like Tokiya's," he cleared his throat, trying his best to ignore other's gazes.

"I wonder if Tokiya's doing alright," Otoya mumbled while his scarlet eyes gazed particularly at nowhere. "Maybe I should call Rei-chan..."

"Don't worry. He still passed out but he'll be fine. This is not the first time you see him get sick, right?" HAYATO supplied.

"Yeah," Otoya replied, weakly.

"But how do you know he still fainted? It's not like you can see him," Syo pointed out. His arms were crossed over his chest, conveying his suspicion. The others also stopped walking as they sought for the same answer.

"Just because," HAYATO carefully avoided his eyes, settled on a door which had 'STARISH' on it.

Unbeknown to them, a smirk appeared across his lips.

The atmosphere in the dressing room was fulfilled with a strange tension. Everybody already wore their clothes according to their assigned colors but all attention was paid on HAYATO in order to turn him into the presentable Tokiya.

"Ohhh, this is so cool," HAYATO remarked, admiring his purple outfit. "That Tokiya is really something, though. He has cool clothes, cool hairstyle, and a cool voice. To be honest, I am proud that I had shared the same body with someone like him."

The others just chuckled. As much as the idea of the HAYATO got separated from Tokiya's body was surreal, this situation was not bad at all. So far, this HAYATO did not mean any harm.

So far...

"Okay, we're done with the outfit. So, let's fix your face first. Sure, it's handsome but we still need some makeover," Ren clasped his hands together before touching HAYATO's slightly smaller shoulders. "Your eyes... Icchi's don't look as bright as yours. His were cool and the same goes with his smile. In your case, you should smile a bit. Just relax and do not exaggerate."

"But I don't exaggerate. This is just my natural smile. You see?" HAYATO drew a curved line on his lips, emphasizing the shape of his smile.

"His smile is too wide but he's still cute," Natsuki exclaimed.

"And your voice... Try to make your voice like Icchi's," Ren encouraged while gesturing with his hand.

"Well, okay then," HAYATO straightened his posture before clearing his throat. "Good morning, everyone. I am Ichinose Tokiya from STARISH."

"Woahhh," Otoya, Syo, and Natsuki could not conceal their amazement while Ren and Masato pursed their lips to show their acknowledgment.

"What are you guys so surprised at? I came from Tokiya after all. Of course, I can imitate his voice perfectly," HAYATO commented, in unison with his chuckles.

'But actually, you make us see you guys as the twins who never get along' was what everybody wanted to answer.

"Yeah, you're right. Hahahhaa," Otoya scratched his head and finally, he found this situation as funny. He could not help it since he always admired Tokiya's voice.

"Well, I think we don't have that much problem with your voice," Ren concluded before scanning HAYATO at a glance. "Speaking about your walking style and what not, if you think it's so hard to be Icchi in just 15 minutes, you can learn a bit from Hijirikawa. Hijirikawa, teach him."

"What? Me?" Masato's baritone voice thickened with irritation as his roommate suddenly shifted the responsibility to him.

"Yeahh, Ren! You're right. Tokiya and Hijirikawa-san are very similar," HAYATO jumped to Masato's side. He was this close to hear the pianist's dramatic scream due to shock. "But I am just going to call you Masato and get friendly with you. I believe your personality is way much better than Tokiya."

"Thanks but what should I teach him... Again?" Masato asked around. He did not forget to throw a fiery glare at Ren.

Soon, Masato regretted to agree with Ren's crazy idea.

The blue-haired scion sighed in fury. After they were done with their make-up and walked their way to the studio, a certain idiotic blue head kept following his pace back and forth. The guy even imitated the way the scion suddenly sneezed after his nose was poked with Ren's red rose.

"Please stop it, HAYATO," Masato warned as he snatched the innocent red rose from Ren before throwing it into a trash can which the scion could spot right away. "You're disturbing me and I don't like it."

"But your walking style is very elegant, Masato. I think I should learn a lot from you," HAYATO said while stroking Ren's back. Even Ren looked calm, HAYATO knew that he was upset after seeing his red rose's tragic ending.

"Cut it out already, won't you?" Masato mumbled flatly but everyone could tell that he was flattered by HAYATO's compliment.

Soon after they showed themselves in the studio, they were greeted by the director of their first CF, Yashamaru. All staffs seemed busy with their respective tasks, stopping their pace for a while just to greet them before moving around again.

"Congratulations for the awesome debut, STARISH," Yashamaru, the 40 years old director said. He could not hide his excitement to collaborate with the promising idol group from Shining Agency. His black eyes observed each of the handsome faces until they settled on someone who had a very wide grin.

"Wow, you look so excited today, Ichinose-san. Can't wait to get rid of the HAYATO image, I guess?"

"No, I smile like this because I miss being HAYATO. I might debut as Ichinose Tokiya but I still want to maintain my HAYATO image."

"Oh, really?" Yashamaru exclaimed, eyeing other STARISH members.

Syo and Masato did not even bother to hide their gasp.

Ren let out chuckles.

You better be prepared to see the sunrise after this, Icchi, he thought.

Natsuki just giggled while Otoya had this 'what the heck?' face. They knew Yashamaru also as perplexed as them.

Yet, one thing for sure, everyone was sure that Tokiya would surely get mad and pass out again.

"Waaaahh!" Tokiya shot himself upward as he was haunted by a very disturbing nightmare, followed by a strange squeak right beside his bed. He turned, slightly perplexed to see Haruka, holding a small white towel.

"Ichinose-san, you're awake," the composer remarked, softly. Her cheeks were dusted with pink color that it made Tokiya's heart thumped fast right away.

"Na...Nanami-san, what are you doing here?" The shock and happiness battled against each other in his mind. Blue eyes sized up as he looked around the room. Otoya and Reiji were not there and speaking of Reiji...

Tokiya had slept on his senior's bed. Most probably because it was impossible to make him sleep on his bed which was on the top bunk.

"I... Well," the composer placed the white towel on her lap. It was more embarrassing to use it to wipe Tokiya's sweaty face when the guy was already awake. "Jinguuji-san had called and asked me to keep checking on you from time to time. He said you are sick."

"Oh..."

That's so kind of you, Ren. Very kind, the blue head mentally commented.

"I guess, it's still burning," Tokiya was startled with the touch from Haruka's delicate hand, placed on his sweaty forehead. "Did you have a nightmare, Ichinose-san? You talked in your sleep and you were all anxious."

Oh, my... So embarrassing!

"Well..." while coaxing himself to keep his composure, Tokiya cleared his dry throat. "Actually, I think I just saw that shallow dullard this morning before I passed out. I don't remember what happened..."

"Do you mean HAYATO-sama?" Haruka blinked innocently. Who else, though?

"Ye... yeah..."

Wow, she still called the dullard with 'sama'. Does she still admire him?

"Are you sure you saw him this morning? Maybe you just got a nightmare," Haruka suggested. All she put was a white plain dress but she still grabbed Tokiya's attention, especially when she sat gracefully beside the bed.

"I am not really sure but... Did other guys say anything?"

"Nope."

"Then, maybe I did have a nightmare. Come to think of it, how come HAYATO suddenly appeared right in front of my eyes and..."

"Oh, are you awake already, Tokiya? Good evening!" A terrifyingly high voice interrupted the conversation and as soon as Tokiya saw what Haruka saw, he wished he could run away and live in an isolated island because...

The shallow dullard was here, ostensibly. His hairstyle was turned into his significantly spiky one, proving to Tokiya that his eyes did not deceive him.

"Good evening, Tokiya! Good evening!" When he got no responses from the shocked Tokiya, the dullard trapped the feeble body into his arms before patting his back several times.

"Tokiya, are you alright? How's the fever?" Otoya took a seat beside Tokiya, checking his temperature by placing a hand on the vocalist's forehead.

"Oi, say something! Don't scare us!" Syo, who tended to be aggressive when he was caring, shook Tokiya's shoulders but the blue head's focus was on HAYATO.

That was when everyone realized that HAYATO and Haruka were staring at each other after the guy pulled away from Tokiya.

HAYATO claimed that his natural smile was the very wide one but now, he curved in a very gentle smile as his eyes never left Haruka's adorable face. It was obvious why the composer had her cheeks dusted with dark pink color.

Way darker than when she had to nurse the sick Tokiya.

"You are Nanami Haruka, right?" HAYATO asked. He lowered his head, matching Haruka's eye level.

"Ye... yeah," the composer's mind was swamped by so many questions but she felt like her mouth was too frozen to let the questions escape. "HAYA... HAYATO-sama?"

"Yes, I am. This is your HAYATO-sama, Haruka-chan."

It was a simple and innocent greeting that they could expect from an idol to his fan but everybody had a very bad feeling about this circumstance.

Would there be another one person who would like Haruka? To be honest, they all were so sick of this! Six of them were compact enough and they did not need more rivals in order to win Haruka's heart. 

So, what do you think about this chapter? Feel free to let me know by dropping a comment! Have a good day, guys ^^