I am back to this fandom and fanfiction-writing because I miss both of them ;) Plus, no matter how busy I am, so far, I have promised myself that I will complete this story and Sweet Serenade no matter how long it takes *guilty* This story will only have ten chapters so I was like 'let's put this to the end and let it leave my head for good'. While I was choosing which story I wanted to update, I came across a question from Digila-san which story I would focus on after Beautiful Affection. My answer was this story but it was To Embrace The Sun that was completed first because the idea decided to be good to me. For this story, I hope the same thing will happen in terms of writing word by word. I am still terrible with it tbh.

CHAPTER 6

From now on, Tokiya swore that the scariest person who he had ever met was himself.

Or HAYATO.

It was not like he never encountered people with nasty and toxic personality. He was bullied a lot by his seniors before he debuted as HAYATO. He was belittled by his ex-president and ex-manager. He was isolated for his aloof and perfectionist trait. He was scammed when he looked for part-time jobs to support his living cost after his parents cut all his financial support.

All of them was nothing compared to the moment when he encountered the disturbing side of himself. He never had an evil thought but HAYATO...

Behind his smiling demeanor, he was ready to steal everything from him. His career, life, friends, Haruka...

No, Haruka was not his to begin with. Sure, the girl was a fan of him but the person who made her love Nanairo No Compass was...

His HAYATO side. So, did it make sense that he believed HAYATO wanted to steal Haruka's attention from him as well?

He did not know anymore.

He also certainly did not know what to think when Ren and Masato decided to gang up on him regarding his harsh comments on other members.

"I don't know what to think, Ichinose," Masato said, eyeing straight at the guy from his tatami. How the heck did he manage to get it back despite Ranmaru's disapproval, none of them knew including Ren. "As much as we just know HAYATO for a short while, what he said about you belittle others made sense, though. Apparently, you only respect someone who are mature according to your standard."

"But still, I can't help it... I was just being frank."

He still remembered how Syo glared at him and ignored him for the whole day. Natsuki and Otoya avoided his eyes, walking away quickly from him as if he was a plague.

"I never knew that it would come across as mean," he said. Each word from his lips escaped slower when the images of his upset teammates were clearer in his head.

"Sure you do. I know sugar-coated words are worse but at least, you can mind your words a bit so that they won't cross the line. I am sorry to say this but the others started to have a bad impression of you."

"I am sorry, Hijirikawa-san. I got your point but I am afraid I can't tone down my words just because they're too sensitive."

Masato who was busy with his brush and canvas ended up putting those items aside. Now that the scion fully focused on him, it did feel intimidating and menacing. Tokiya knew how charismatic and strong Masato's father, Hijirikawa Masaomi looked like so it was no surprise where Masato took it after.

"Why?"

"I believe that honesty is a must, especially in this industry. We're all grown-ups who can't grow up solely from the compliments. Rather, the flaws we have are meant to..."

"So that's why you heartlessly belittled Ittoki as well? Since our days in the academy, you do seem like you have problems with how he just be himself. Do you remember what Hyuga-san commented on you both? While you're excellent technically, he will buy Ittoki's CDs because his songs have a heart, unlike yours," Masato said calmly. It did sound calm but the way his blue eyes pierced at Tokiya sent the chill to everyone who might just walk past the room. "What makes you think you can say he's like a clown and cannot survive the showbiz when all he did was trying to make you and HAYATO get along? Do you think you're so perfect that you have nothing to fix, Ichinose? I bet you do know already what you lack even no one points it out."

No one needed to remind what kind of sin he did to Otoya because it remained as his biggest guilt until now. He wanted to put it aside. It took all for him to convince himself that he was correct all alone. Otoya was just too sensitive. Otoya should take his comment positively if he wanted to improve. He should take Tokiya's complains seriously since Tokiya was more experienced than him.

That was what he told himself everyday since the day they fought.

But, the guilt was too strong in his heart. It was an irony since it was his wish so that Otoya would be more mature and learn to give him personal space instead of pestering and annoying the heck out of him.

In his room, he gained his peace. He gained his time to think and idle all alone whenever he did not have works because the others were too busy with each other. They were too busy to do all sorts of activities that would occur possible without needing Tokiya to join them.

"So, you started to think that you're not right in this matter, right?" Masato said, pulling his back from his thought. One his eyebrows was lifted, showing that the pianist was hoping that Tokiya finally had the senses knocked on his head.

"No, I don't. Plus why you're so persistent to make me changed my mind? It's not like I insulted you as well, Hijirikawa-san."

"It still doesn't make me pleased, though," Masato remarked.

"Why?"

"Because you insulted my friends and that's what we call the teammate spirit. You feel upset when others are upset."

"You've a lot to learn, Icchi," Ren who just put down his magazine had changed his posture from Ranmaru's sofa so that eye contact with Tokiya would be possible. "We all know that a sweet person like Ikki normally doesn't take things to heart. Whatever you said to him must upset him so much."

"Do you hate him that much?" Masato added. Obviously, he was not done. "I hate to say this but seeing all of these made me think, do you solely join STARISH because Nanami is the composer? Like... that's it? What about the rest of us? Don't you feel the thrill when you join STARISH with us? Or do you only treat us just like the people who coincidently work with you since disbandment is quite a trend nowadays?"

Normally, Masato would be the neutral one in the group but now...

His look was full of sadness.

Tokiya knew he just lost his teammates' trust.

"And one more thing, about Nanami... do you really want to leave what happened between her and HAYATO just like that? At least, please clear up the misunderstanding before we decide to pounce on you."

Tokiya swore he could literally see a burning effect from Masato. Something that an anime creator would do whenever a character was supposed to appear as menacing.

"About the guys, as far as I concern, I just told the truth and besides, everyone has their own way of thinking. It's not that all of you think that Shinomiya-san's cooking is good either," he said as he sat up. When he saw how Ren frowned and was about to say something, Tokiya added, "Well, yeah, except for you, Ren. For some reasons, you enjoy his cooking a lot. See? Everyone has their own opinion. Ren can think what he thinks so why can't I?"

He left the room, did not even bother to glance at them for the last time. For sure, despite their daily and petty fight, the roommates would never share the same opinion with him.

That did not matter, though. Out of everyone, Tokiya was the most used to live like an outcast.

He could survive even the whole world turned against him.

Or so he thought.

"Do your job as an idol, Mr. Ichinose," was the first thing that Shining Saotome ordered as soon as he was summoned.

It felt like everyone who was related to Master Course dorm decided to gang up on him.

"Excuse me?"

"Clear up the misunderstanding about you and Miss Nanami or your reputation will go down to the drain. I bet that's what you want to avoid the most, right? After all the hard work..."

Nanami-san...

That was when his conversation with the sweet composer struck his mind. It took place after his confrontation with HAYATO. He was on his way to Masato and Ren's room when suddenly, he almost bumped into the girl.

Well, their paths almost crossed regularly. Initially, it was a pain back then since she would give him either the curious or admiring look which was obvious it was for HAYATO. She also would try to greet him or poke her nose into his business. But as time passed, when she had more meaning in his life, he loved their sudden encounter the most. He was not a smooth talker like Ren who could randomly ask her to spend time with him which was immediately stopped by Masato who was like a protective brother for her. He was not bubbly like Otoya and Syo who could make Haruka smiled effortlessly. He was not chummy like Natsuki who could easily hug her like a teddy bear and freely expressed how she was cute et cetera.

Man, they all had good points but he was still busy nitpicking.

"Nanami-san..."

"Ichinose-san..." It was clear to him that her gesture appeared awkward after the gossip. "Good evening."

"Good evening. Where are you heading?" He asked even a composer like her had a predictable life. It was not like she juggled with other part-time jobs as well.

"To the third practice room. I have a bunch of new songs that I need to review."

"I see."

Seconds passed but both of them were too awkward to even excuse themselves.

"Well, I suppose... excuse me..."

"Wait, Nanami-san!" Her stuttering voice was soft but it was strong enough to act like a switch so that Tokiya could pull himself together and speak up.

"Yes?" She asked back, orange eyes held his eyes. She did not know how cute she looked like when she was way shorter than him and had this curious look.

"Well, about what happened between you and HAYATO..." he said. This time, the pain of being her burden because of HAYATO clouded his system. "I am so sorry. I never thought that HAYATO would do something like that. Had I been there, I wouldn't allow him to go out with you and cause trouble..."

"Oh, it's actually okay, Ichinose-san. I can understand HAYATO-kun that much."

Wow, she's speaking to him more casually now, huh? That's fast.

"What do you mean? He just openly said that he is me and he bluntly introduced you to everyone. I bet you wouldn't be comfortable..."

"I have gone through worse, Ichinose-san. Remember?" The sweet voice chuckled lightly. It was a wonderful sight but tormenting to see. He already read some comments criticized Haruka for going out with their beloved idol. "People bashed me for being unable to read music when I passed the entrance exam. Compared to this situation, it's much worse since I was still learning and I have to face them every day. But this time, it's not like I'll face the fans every day, right? It won't bring me anything good if I keep worrying about it."

"I... I admire you for that. I really mean that, Nanami-san," Tokiya said absent-mindely. He did not want to blatantly show how much he admired her positivity but his mouth decided to betray him. "Don't worry. I will clear up the misunderstanding. There're a lot of people who think that we're dating so..."

That was when something heavy and sorrowful hit his heart.

Nanami Haruka... it would be so nice if they did love each other and could tell the whole world what they felt about each other. It would be a heaven for him if he was given the freedom to confess the girl.

But this kind of path was his choice and he did not want to ruin Haruka's future with his feeling.

"Yeah, I will do that," while he still felt lost, Tokiya still did not forget to complete his sentences.

"I believe everything will be okay, Ichinose-san," Haruka said with a smile. Probably his attempt not to let his anxiety shown did not work at all. She could see it. "The most important thing is we both know that we don't have any relationship. That's enough for us."

It was the best comfort that he had ever had when nobody supported him anymore.

How he wished he would hear the voice and words again and again but...

"You dare to space out, Mr. Ichinose?"

Yes, he did dare to space out. That was why he could not keep listening to Saotome's lecture. Instead, his thought was for Haruka who was not supposed to be the 'scapegoat' between him and HAYATO.

"I am sorry, president."

"Sorry is not enough. The damage is done so after this, please state clearly in your social media that you and Miss Nanami are just friends."

"Why should I when HAYATO was the one..."

"You still don't get it, do you? I guess I do overestimate you sometimes," Saotome said. Each word from his lips was in unison with how he grimaced. Sarcastic and intimidating. "All of these happened because of you. Not only Miss Nanami but your whole team is upset because of you."

Because of me...

Because of me?

What's wrong with me? Is it so wrong to debut again as myself instead of as HAYATO? Is it my fault again that I pointed out others' flaws because I want us to be the best?

Rumors were still around that Ichinose Tokiya from STARISH currently dated his composer. So, as the one who had to do the damage control even the damage itself was done by HAYATO, Tokiya finally uploaded a so-called official statement.

'Nanami-san and I don't have any relationship. We are just friends. I know we as the idols are not allowed to date so I am not that somebody who will jeopardize my and her career, especially when it took all for me to debut again as STARISH member. I swear to God that we're not dating. Instead, please anticipate more projects from me and I do hope the biggest support from you guys.'

He felt more bitter after the statement was uploaded. He loved her but he had to deny his feeling to the strangers who had nothing to do with his life.

Yes, they did play a part in his life. Without them, he would not gain his fame and income. But still, his personal life had nothing to do with them.

Their practice went as normal as it could. The rest of them still talked with Tokiya, only when they talked about their work.

He never expected that was the only moment when he did not feel left out. It was indeed obvious that his teammates were still upset with him but they were mature enough to spread their job and personal life fairly. They were well-aware that it took only one 'funny' doing from them to cause gossip that STARISH members did not get along well.

But who knows when they tried to maintain the peaceful vibe, the president decided to bring a new member for STARISH, which they just knew that it was supposed to consist of seven members instead of six.

And they just knew that seven meant more chaos.

"The reason why the STARISH logo has a star for A because Mr. Aijima is regarded as the secret weapon. You can say that if this is an otome game, he is the special character that you have to do a special task in order to make him available to play."

What the...

The fact that they never heard of the existence of Agnapolis could be put aside but what happened after that was aggravating. Aijima Cecil might be talented. He had a low voice which might sound more amazing if he did use his voice to sing and charm his fan. He was a new member with zero fan base so it was bound for him to work harder to win STARISH's fans. It was a typical pressure for a new member and in reality, there were cases where fans could not accept a new member to the point of harassing the new member to withdraw from the band.

But, the Agnapolis prince decided to touch his own bandmate's nerve by solely focusing on Haruka. He held her, he sang to her a sweet song and while the confused Haruka claimed that she already knew the lad from her dream, that was when Cecil decided to be bold.

He almost kissed her which caused all of them forgot their tense with Tokiya for a while. Instead, they all jumped to them; Masato and Tokiya protected Haruka human-size shields. Syo, Ren and Otoya held Cecil like their lives depended on it while Natsuki was too speechless to do anything.

After all things had slightly calmed down, they somehow ended up in the saloon. Silence lingered in the air with all of them except for Natsuki pulled a long face.

How could they not? They all loved Haruka but had to suppress their wish to confess to her. They all loved Haruka but they protected her like a very fragile vase but Cecil...

He did not even bother to wait for 24 hours to openly confess to Haruka that he loved her and let every single soul around him knew.

Only Natsuki who might forget that his cooking was disgusting decided to 'cheer them up' by serving his burnt Piyo-chan biscuits. His optimism triggered Syo but the big guy noted that they should welcome Cecil as a new member despite what happened earlier.

That was when the prince decided to be random again by saying out loud the background information about each of the member, much to their surprise.

Natsuki with his kind heart and cooking hobby...

Syo with his athletic but short-tempered personality...

Otoya with his smile as his selling point...

Masato with his calm and collected demeanor but had a 'questionable' passion in his heart...

Ren with his flamboyant trait but with a miserable past...

And last but not least...

"Hm? Twins?" Cecil asked, pointing at HAYATO and Tokiya.

"Yes, I am the older brother!" HAYATO who was standing behind Tokiya exclaimed in right away.

"Oi!"

"Even it's two minutes earlier, it's still early. Not later than your birth, Tokiya-chan!" HAYATO remarked, pinching Tokiya's cheek as his attempt to show their instant sibling relationship.

"But which one is the member of STARISH?"

"He is. I am just here because I am visiting him. I live in Fukouka," HAYATO replied.

"I see..."

With how awkward the moment was which all because of Cecil and also how HAYATO had given them indirect gestures that he did not want Cecil to know who he was yet, they ended up falling into dead silence again.

But... is it just me or...

Cecil could not continue with his interrogation session with HAYATO when suddenly, snow storm which was supposed to be impossible to happen did suddenly happen at the moment since it was still summer clouded the whole building.

"Aijima Cecil!"

With the deep voice, it solved the long-term mystery of where did the fourth QUARTET NIGHT member disappear after they performed Poison Kiss before.

Two weeks passed...

No, no need to fast-forward to two weeks just to conclude what he had gone through. Five days were enough.

Cecil accepted Saotome's offer to be an idol because he wanted to sing. As soon as he was informed that Haruka would be his only composer, he did not spare his eyes to anything else. Even his parents did show a bit concern about how fast could he adapt to Japan since he was a spoiled prince who was still naïve about the world outside of the castle, he was confident with his choice. Since he was a child, Aijima Cecil had never felt this certain about his life goal so to see him willingly survived in a foreign country on his own, his parents decided to leave it to Shining Saotome.

"Just call me if you cry or miss home, okay? Your father will send you a private jet or something."

At that time, he thought that his mother, Kotomi was over dramatic. Just like any typically immature teenager, he thought he was big enough to live away from his parents. There was no way he would let his father ask any jet to escort him home. Who did they think they talked to?

But now, even not yet, I do want to cry. Does it count, Mother? Can I come back home? He thought helplessly.

The figure who caused the sudden snow attack in Master Course was Camus. Finally, he was assigned to guide Cecil as his senior which was the only reason why he only showed up now in this story. Everything about him was so cold. His ability to emit snow unnecessarily just to tell everyone that Camus was here, his eyes, his fair skin, his hair color, his voice and...

His insistence to sleep with the lowest temperature of the bedroom which immediately made someone from a hot country like Cecil suffer every night.

And the last but not least, Cecil wanted to highlight Camus' tyrannical style of guidance. Very strict and did not give a damn how new Cecil was.

"At this rate of laziness, you can't be an idol!" They argued one day.

"You wake up way too early, Camus!"

"Shut up!"

They walked across the garden but he had no idea what kind of place did Camus plan to bring him to this time. As he could see how Haruka was watching him from her room upstairs, it did not take long for Cecil to leave Camus with his almighty lecture. The count from Permafrost could walk and talk alone with his rod but all mattered was Cecil wanted to relieve his stress with Haruka. The soft-hearted composer would surely take his side and know how to comfort him.

Or... maybe unlike previously unfortunate event, he could kiss Haruka for real?

Just the two of them in the room?

That thought made him stupidly forget what kind of punishment would he receive from the strict Camus. Being cursed by Ranmaru was way better than when Camus decided that it was the time for Cecil to learn how harsh the society could be.

But with how Cecil literally stormed to Haruka's room without bothering to think that it was the perfect time for Haruka to write songs, he could not care less any of his future. Probably because no matter how foul-mouthed Ranmaru was, Cecil could not take it as offense since his Japanese vocabulary still needed a lot of improvement. He doubted he would fully understand the rocker. Second, no matter how vicious Camus was, he would never end his life for real.

"Ehem!"

When he was just about to knock on Haruka's door, he forgot there was still a person he still needed to be careful with.

"What are you doing here?"

He was Tokiya's so-called twin, HAYATO.

"I was positive that I've heard that you and Camus senpai were arguing about your works so how do you end up here?"

Cecil used 'so-called' because he felt something off about the guy who was the opposite of Tokiya. Their personalities were too different, like north and south. It was typical for twins but...

Meanwhile, for some reason, even he was smiling, HAYATO still looked like he would hit Cecil in any second for trying to bother Haruka. Without bothering to answer him, Cecil made his way towards the guy. Seconds passed and without words, they both knew that they needed to talk.

Only two of them.

Standing way too close with HAYATO or anyone else might be a thing for the prince. It did not take too long for them to figure out how he did not have a sense of respect for people's personal space but...

He decided to express more how he did not have any problem to touch anyone. He had his finger poke HAYATO's chest several times with eyes sized up.

"What are you doing?"

"It can't be..." The prince flinched dramatically. Eyes still held HAYATO's curious blue eyes. "You... you're not real, right?"

It was an innocent question but it was too direct that it took all for HAYATO not to lose his bright smile right away.

When it comes to a friend who will advise his friend to pull himself together, Masato is the man for me haha. I do have a soft spot for him and everytime I write about him lecturing his friends, I can imagine him, his voice and posture perfectly. Seriously, Masato is so underrated T_T