Afternoon...

"Tenn-nii..."

A picture on the magazine cover caught Riku's eye as he was about to exit a convenience store. A wave of sadness hit him as he stared at the picture of the solo idol on the cover.

"I hope you're happy, Tenn-nii," Riku muttered.

Of course you'd be happy without me around.

Riku kept the thought to himself, knowing if he said it out loud, it would destroy him, even if he believed it to be true.

Another magazine cover caught his attention when he was about to walk away again. It appeared to be a martial arts magazine, featuring shirtless Yaotome Gaku and another brown-haired fighter staring each other down on the cover. "Uwah! Yaotome-san looks so cool and strong."

Unlike me.

Riku shook his head. Whatever negative train of thought was running in his head had to stop. It was getting ridiculous. Riku decided to take that magazine to the counter and take it home with him.

"I'm home, Iori!" He shouted. Without checking to see what Iori was up to, he went straight to the sofa, got comfortable, and started flipping through the magazine to find a section featuring one of the biggest Thai Boxing events of the year called "BLACK or WHITE". The content was about last year's major match between Yaotome Gaku and Tsunashi Ryuunosuke.

Rumour has it Yaotome has stopped appearing in major matches ever since he lost to Tsunashi. While the Sea Dragon is eager to rumble, the Crescent Wolf has yet to confirm his appearance this year. Is the wolf waiting to strike at the full moon, or is he no longer interested in hunting big prey?

"Yaotome-san stopped fighting...?" The content shocked Riku. He knew little about Thai Boxing before he turned up at the gym. He had no idea Gaku was famous. "But why?"

Curious to find out more, Riku went to RabbiTube to dig up Gaku's fight videos. Then he saw it—the fight between Yaotome and Tsunashi at BLACK or WHITE last year. Riku was just watching casually on his phone at first, but he kept moving his face closer and closer to the screen. At one point, he had to pause the video and run back to his room to grab his laptop. The fighters weren't moving that fast, but they hit so fast that a phone screen just wouldn't do.

"Whoa..." Riku exclaimed. This was the first Muay Thai match he ever watched, and it was eye-opening. The boy was hyper-focused on his coach in the recorded fight.

"How?!" Riku gripped the edge of the low table in rising suspense. "How did Yaotome-san see that kick coming?" He swore Gaku had already lifted his left leg to block when Tsunashi let his right leg loose. After that, Gaku threw what looked like a cross, a wide hook, and an uppercut at his opponent. His attacks were ferocious, like those of a wild beast.

Although his coach seemed to be aggressive on the attack, Riku noticed he took a lot of clean, hard hits from the Sea Dragon. The loud slapping sound from round kicks happened countless times throughout the fight. Sometimes, the kick was so hard that it temporarily broke Gaku's stance. It was impossible to predict which side would win.

What Riku thought was super cool was when Gaku caught Tsunashi's push kick in his hand, pulling him into a body shot. It happened several times in that fight. Riku had to keep rewinding, even adjusting the video speed, to see what was going on.

"Yaotome-san..." By the end of the video, disappointment showed on Riku's face. No, not because Gaku had lost the fight, but because now that he'd watched one fight, he wished he could see it live in a stadium full of people cheering and screaming for their fighters. He did not want Gaku to quit his fight career. How the Crescent Wolf threw combination after combination without getting tired amazed him. He wanted to see more of it.

Absorbed by the beautiful display, Riku spent the entire afternoon digging up more of Yaotome Gaku's fight videos on RabbiTube. He had checked out some other fighters' matches, but they somehow seemed lacking. They weren't bad, just not special. His coach fought like his life was on the line and that pulled him in.

Through Yaotome Gaku and Thai boxing, Riku was quietly being granted the joy he couldn't reject.

Iori smiled as he watched Riku from afar. When was the last time Riku was interested in anything? He couldn't remember. He took what he saw as a good sign.

~~++~~++~~

That night...

"You really should do it. At this rate, you're going to fall behind. And you're going to miss standing in the ring, in the stadium full of people betting their lives to see you get that victory."

"Ah, fuck. What am I even doing? Of course, I have to fight." Gaku paced around the training room, cursing and ruffling his hair. Yuki's words bothered him because they were true. He really should be fighting in BLACK or WHITE this year.

Gaku's hands-off coach slash manager, Yuki, couldn't understand why Gaku would hesitate. A fighter who would not fight could not be a fighter. Simple as that. Had Gaku gone on long enough without fighting a single match, it would be time to consider a career change. Sure, he could focus solely on his gym business and run it forever.

But did he truly want that?

Gaku missed the ring and the feeling of being in it. At the same time, he dreaded it. The ring was tempting, but get close enough, and the smell of hunger and bloodlust could put even the toughest fighters off.

Gaku recalled the BLACK or WHITE match he had fought in last year. That was thrilling and fun. Gaku loved and respected an opponent like Ryuu—a highly skilled opponent who fought with pride and honour.

Ryuu had won. Only by a few points, but he'd won.

It was likely his match would be Ryuu again this year. Perfect for a rematch. So why was Yaotome Gaku still hesitating? He had every reason to fight and none not to. It was like he needed just one last push to make him say yes to the match.

"Damn it!" The pro fighter struck the punching bag hanging near the room entrance with his elbow. He grabbed hold of it and began kneeing it repeatedly to take out the frustration. Whatever short-range, explosive strikes he could think of, he took them out on the target in front of him.

"Y-Yaotome-san?" A familiar voice called out to the raging coach.

'Who the fuck is there?!" Gaku boomed, turning sharply and shooting a killer glare at the person who dared show up at the wrong time.

His face fell when he met Riku's widened eyes. "Nanase..." He took a moment to catch his breath before approaching the young boy. "Sorry, I-"

Instinctively, Riku stepped backwards, hugging his arms to stop his body from shaking, telling himself it was just the kind Yaotome Gaku in front of him and not some monster that would tear him apart.

Seeing as Riku was scared, Gaku refrained from getting any closer. Right, he had a class to teach. He had to get it together. To cool off, Gaku decided it was best he left to splash some cold water on his face. "Get on the mat when you're ready. I'll be right back."

Shaking his head, Riku forced himself to take out his hand wraps and put them on. There was fear, sure, but he couldn't help glancing into the distance with worry, wondering what could drive Gaku so mad.

Riku had calmed down a fair bit by the time Yaotome, who was holding the Thai pads in his hands, returned to the mat. He jumped slightly when the coach slapped the Thai pad together. Gaku always did it. He should have been used to that sound by that time.

"Nanase," Gaku lightly touched the pad on Riku's waist when he saw Riku was still somewhat out of it. "You ready to go?" Riku nodded, and so they both got into a fighting stance.

"You're going to do a jab, cross, hook, cross, and a right round kick." Gaku held the pads in front of his face. "Start slow to get used to the combo. We'll work from there."

Riku thought Gaku was quiet. Too quiet. He commented on Riku's techniques but he kept it brief. Once Riku's muscles remembered the combo, he asked, out of the blue, "Is it true you're quitting your fight career?"

"Where did you hear about that?" Gaku almost stopped moving. The pro fighter only realised then that he had not been focusing since the beginning of the session. To think he was being unprofessional again.

"Is it true?" Riku asked again with a more forceful tone. That last round kick from him hit so hard that Gaku had to push against it with more force. For some reason, Riku wasn't happy with him quitting.

"Hell no! I'm too young to quit." Gaku denied it since he wasn't happy with the thought of him quitting either.

"Ah, that's a relief!" For the first time in this session, Riku grinned. His punches suddenly became lighter.

Riku's actions matched his fluctuating emotions. That bit was predictable. Why did his emotions change? Now, that bit was incomprehensible. Why would Riku care if he were or were not to appear in the ring?

Gaku slid backwards when Riku threw his round kick this time, so the redhead missed. "Wha-?!" Instead of letting his kick go all the way through, Riku retracted his calf back to his fighting stance.

Gaku came back to Riku with a light jab to his abs. Unprepared, the red-haired man stumbled backwards. "That was the shittiest round kick I've ever seen." The fighter took the Thai pads off his arms, throwing them to the side. He took his stance before thrusting his right hip, making his leg fly in the air, circling it until he came back to standing. "This is what a round kick looks like. You don't go around slapping people's butts with your foot. Throw your hips. Use your shin as a sweeping tool."

Twinkling, sparkling—oh, Riku's eyes certainly were. He loved it when his coach demonstrated a technique. Compared to ground fighting sports, Muay Thai techniques weren't as complicated, yet they could be difficult to master. To the student's eye, Yaotome's execution was picturesque. His mouth opened wide when Gaku showed off a round kick to the head.

Yaotome got behind Riku. As he looked down, he saw a face mixed with anticipation and fear. "Stand still. I'm just going to give your hip a little exercise."

Not quite sure what to expect, Riku nodded hesitantly.

"Relax, or it won't work." Soon as Gaku finished talking, he placed his hands on Riku's hips. "When you do a round kick, you start from here." He used his right palm to apply pressure, pushing Riku's right hip forward while using the remaining hand to support the other side. He did it repeatedly. "Thrust. It. Forward. Now do it yourself."

The coach stepped in front of the trainee and watched Riku twist his hip. Satisfied, he nodded. "Good. Now lift your right leg as you throw that hip. Make sure you are on the balls of your feet. It's an extreme calf workout. Can't avoid that."

Riku tried twisting a few more times before lifting his leg. And it worked! Although his leg was almost touching the floor, it made a complete circle. The trainee almost fell over when his right leg landed, but Yaotome caught him just in time. Looking up, he saw the face of a gentleman. That scary, raging, rough fighter was gone. Riku felt perfectly safe in Yaotome's arms.

"You're supposed to kick and land sharply, you idiot." Gaku chuckled. "But well done for getting the basics right." He lifted his wrapped hand as though he were about to teasingly flick Riku's forehead, but stopped immediately when he heard that sharp inhale from the boy. Instead, he lowered his hand and fixed Riku's hair.

Riku forced his eyes shut, bracing himself for some sort of pain. But when he felt Yaotome flick the strand of hair away, he could breathe again.

"I am never going to use violence on you, Nanase. There's no need to be scared." All of a sudden, Gaku dropped the line. It simply had to be said.

"Says someone who makes me eat like 10 push kicks a day..." Riku pouted.

Gaku shrugged his shoulders. "That's part of training. Not happy with it? Find a way to counter it."

"Seriously though, I want you to trust me," said Gaku. Trust was important in martial arts. It was a form of art for a reason. The rules were in place for a reason. Partners or rivals had to know how not to cross a line for a reason. In other words, Yaotome Gaku wanted Nanase Riku to trust him.

"I-" Riku's heart was beating fast. He wanted more than anything to trust Yaotome; to be able to open his heart to someone.

And to be able to accept love and care from someone.

"I'll try, Yaotome-san."

"...Did I just walk into a cheesy drama set?"

Riku turned around to find a familiar face giving him a deadpan look. "Iori?! What are you doing here?" Realising Iori might have seen EVERYTHING, Riku's face grew red. "More importantly, h-how long have you been standing there?"

"Why are you embarrassed? It was just a quick drill," said Gaku to his trainee, crossing his arms over his chest. "So who's this guy?" Instinctively, he kept a close eye on the young man.

"I had to run an errand around here, so I thought I would stop by to see how you're doing, Nanase-san." The youngest turned towards Yaotome and bowed. "Do you allow spectators, Yaotome-san?"

Gaku frowned. Iori didn't introduce himself but knew who he was and Riku seemed to have further questions. "Wait, wait, wait. I've never told you where the gym is, so how did you find me here?"

Now that got Gaku's full attention. This guy was pretty suspicious. Squinting, he took a step forward as if to protect Riku.

"It's simple. I know who you're training with. All I needed to do was a quick search to find this gym." Iori answered plainly.

"What are you, a stalker?" Glaring at Iori, Gaku placed his palms on his waist.

"No." Iori denied it, not shaken by the Crescent Wolf's fierce gaze one bit.

"Then are you Nanase's boyfriend?"

Now Iori reacted. "N-No..." He blushed, turning all soft like Riku earlier.

Riku gave his coach a very confused look as if to say what gave him that idea.

A victorious smirk appeared on Gaku's face. "Then... his ex?"

"I'd suggest you think carefully before you speak, especially to strangers." Iori suddenly felt tired. To think this was the idiot his best friend was willing to open up his heart to. "Anyway, please don't mind me. I'll get out of the way and watch." The dark-haired student stepped back and found a comfortable spot on the floor, partly pressing his back against the wall.

~~++~~++~~

Iori watched the rest of the session like a hawk. He could say it was an eye-opening experience. Iori had never really been in a serious sports club, let alone seen a Muay Thai training session.

Perhaps what surprised Iori more was how determined Riku was. He watched as Riku threw a flurry of punches on the punching mitts. Groans and complaints could be heard towards the end of each two-minute round, yet Riku never took his eyes off the target.

"DON'T SLACK OFF!!"

Sometimes, Iori flinched because Gaku yelled so loudly. The protective boy could hardly stay still when he saw Riku take a smack to his forehead.

"Ack!" Riku yelped. He moved back, shook his head to regain focus, and came back with more focus.

Years ago, Iori would already have been running to the attacker in an attempt to stop the nasty bullying. Perhaps Riku doing Muay Thai truly was a way for the guy to cope: to fight in order to move on some way, somehow, and not just to cause himself more pain.

"Listen, I'm going to teach you clinching." When the round ended, Gaku spoke as Riku was sitting on the mat, taking recovery breaths. "Take off your hand wraps. You'll normally do these in gloves but I want you to get used to the feel of it first."

"The feel of it?" Riku tilted his head, blinking twice.

"It will be uncomfortable." Gaku spoke from experience. Almost all newcomers to martial arts were surprised when he demonstrated it to them. "I want you to try it first. If you're not cool with it, we can skip. It's commonly used in a fight, but since you're not fightin-"

Riku clenched his fist before giving his face a couple of light wake up slaps. "I'll do it, Yaotome-san. You said you'd train me like a fighter even if I don't fight." Giving up was not an option for him.

"Heh." Gaku grinned. Fiery Riku was back and he couldn't get enough. "Get up."

Iori stared as Gaku stepped closer to Riku. How close? If Riku were a little taller, their noses would be close to touching.

Riku's heart raced. Looking up, he wanted to take his eyes off Yaotome's intimidating gaze, but he couldn't. In fact, he wanted to keep looking at that pretty face. The man in front of him felt completely different from the bullies who used to stare him down with disgust.

How would he put it? Yaotome Gaku felt much more like Izumi Iori.

Slowly, Gaku moved his left hand to the side of Riku's neck before placing his palm on the back of Riku's head. Then he put the remaining hand on top and used his fingers to apply pressure to the back of Riku's head. Just a bit of pressure. That was what Gaku thought.

"Mfphh?!" Riku's head was fully in Gaku's chest.

"Keep your head up, Nanase," Gaku ordered. "Resist my force."

Riku attempted to lift his head back up, but Gaku pressed it down even harder. Even worse, the fighter squeezed his elbows inwards.

"Nghhhh, I-I can't." Riku tensed, his teeth gritting. How could the boy's unused neck muscles fight the strength of the trained fighter's biceps? His instinct was telling him to get out of Gaku's grip. His hands trembled as he pushed against Gaku's abs, not knowing how else to set himself free. Without demanding that Gaku let him go, he tried to find a way to escape.

Alarmed, Iori stood up. His heart raced. Even though his strength could not possibly be compared to that of a trained fighter, he would do anything and everything to get his best friend out, if needed.

Gaku let go when he felt Riku's breath quicken. Instead, he touched Riku's wrists lightly. "You good?" He'd gotten somewhat better at managing Riku.

"That was scary." The boy was so spooked that he had tears in his eyes. He was trying to relax by reminding himself that Gaku had promised not to hurt him. "I'm fine, though. Just, just-"

Seeing as Riku was gradually calming down, Gaku felt safe to tease the boy. "Crybaby," he mocked.

"Hey, I'm not crying!" The younger boy pouted, even pointing a finger at his coach's face like a kid. "You only surprised me. I'm going to get you next time!"

Iori let out a sigh of relief and sat back down.

"Well then," Gaku spread his arms wide, "Care to try it on me?"

In an instant, the irritated redhead got onto his tiptoes and latched onto Gaku's neck by interlacing his fingers behind it. He used every bit of his strength to pull Gaku's head down; he even tried jumping a bit, but the fighter's neck hardly moved. Even worse, Riku earned a full-blown laugh from Gaku. "Bwahahaha! How amusing!"

In an instant, the fighter forced his left arm through the tiny gap between them, and his right followed, forming a proper clinch. This time, Riku braced his neck before Gaku could push it down completely. Loving how quickly Riku was learning, he decided to be a jerk by crossing his right leg behind his left. At the same time, he pulled Riku's head downward to the right, throwing the boy off his feet. Not knowing what was coming and not having enough leg muscle strength to keep balance, Riku landed on the side of his bum. His coach released the grip, continuing to laugh, earning glares of vengeance from the fallen boy.

Riku got up. He tried again, with Gaku's guidance this time. They started off slow. A lot of whispering went on until Riku got used to the basics of clinching and being gripped tightly. At the end of the session, Riku and Gaku played around, trying to force their way in to get the innermost grip, which would grant that person better control of their opponent.

~~++~~++~~

"Ahaha! Today was really fun, Yaotome-san! Thank you."

Gaku couldn't stop smiling because Riku wouldn't stop shining. The student was still pumped and raring to go. He was like a little sunshine spreading his warmth in front of Gaku's gym. Gaku wished he could bask in that light forever. The coach did well again today and he should be brimming with pride.

Yet something was still bothering him.

As Riku excused himself to get a drink from a vending machine a short distance away, the pro fighter saw an opportunity in Iori. Riku's reason for fighting and Riku's past were still a complete mystery to him, and he was dying to know them. "You said you're sharing a room with Nanase?"

"What about it?" Questioned Iori. He didn't seem to be wary or anything.

"There's one thing I must know. Is Nanase safe?" Asked concerned Gaku. He wanted to ask more, but this particular bit bothered him more than anything. "It's gone now but there was a bruise on his jaw the other week."

"I see that guy hasn't told you anything." Shaking his head, Iori let out a sigh. "He is now. That bruise had nothing to do with it." He answered straightforwardly.

"Now? What do you mean by 'now'?" Gaku didn't like that answer at all. "Nothing to do with what?"

"That isn't my story to tell. I do want to say one thing, though." Iori glanced at Riku, who could be seen making his way back to them. "It's rare to see Nanase-san this happy. I've been sort of managing his life from the shadows. Despite that, I can't manage Nanase-san's happiness."

"Managing? What are you on about?" The fighter frowned. Thanks for making him even more confused.

"Yaotome-san," Iori said, taking a quick bow just before Riku came into view. "I ask that you treat him kindly."

Riku ran the last few metres towards the two men. He turned to smile at Iori. "Sorry, did you wait long? Let's go, Iori." He then turned to his coach, gleaming the same way. "Thank you again for today's session, Yaotome-san."

Gaku watched as the two walked further and further away from him.

"You can't help me!" Riku's voice rang in Gaku's head.

"But I want to," Gaku muttered to himself.

~~++~~++~~

Soon after the young men got back to their apartment, Riku was out like a light, leaving sleepless Iori sitting on a couch on his own, flipping through the martial arts magazine Riku had bought earlier today.

"Nanase-san..."

Iori's thoughts drifted to the past...

"Give it back to him. Right now."

Iori shouted at the bullies who took Riku's inhaler. Riku had just been minding his own business, studying quietly at the library. Those boys with terrible personalities decided that the redhead stuck out like a sore thumb and stole an inhaler from Riku's school bag.

"Tch. It's the teacher's pet. Let's go, guys. Fun's over."

One of the bullies threw the inhaler on the floor. Another stepped on it.

"No!" Teary Riku screamed.

As they were leaving, one guy intentionally bumped into Iori's shoulder. Another boy pushed him hard. All sent deadly glares at him. Iori treated them as if they did not exist. He immediately rushed to his best friend, who was kneeling on the floor in devastation.

"It's broken..." Riku talked between sobs. "Mom and Dad are going to be so upset..."

Iori could hear soft gasps, which were a bad sign. "Shhh, you need to calm down. You can't have an attack right now, Nanase-san."

Luckily, it didn't turn into a full-blown attack. Worried, he decided to walk Riku home. Again, like many other days. As usual, Riku's parents invited him to dinner with a warm welcome. Riku's home was always warm, and the food there always smelled tempting. The TV was turned on in the background. Riku's father was absorbed in a novel while the mother was cooking and setting the table at the same time. The high school boys were told to relax on the couch. Everything seemed normal.

Until they all sat at the dinner table.

"Thanks for always looking after our troublesome son," the mother said to Iori at the dinner table.

"Riku is nothing like his twin brother, you see. Always so clumsy." The father chimed in.

Riku kept eating his food. His hands kept moving in a way that seemed like he paid no attention to an ongoing conversation. Iori, who could only sit and say, 'It was no trouble,' just couldn't force as much food down his throat.

True, their words might have been hurtful, but they still tended to Riku's needs. So it wasn't like Iori had never confronted Riku about why he hadn't said he was being bullied at school.

"I'm the reason our family broke. I can't cause any more problems for them."

Iori hated Riku's answer, but he couldn't do anything about it directly. Instead, he could use his management skills to help Riku in some other way.

"I don't want to depend on them anymore, Iori," said the 18-year-old Riku one day after shedding tears on a daily basis. "I'm nothing but a burden to them."

After spending a night at Izumi's residence to brainstorm and figure out what options Riku had, Iori came up with an idea. "Do you think you can manage a part-time job, Nanase-san? You have an incredible voice."

And so Riku set foot on a track Iori had secretly laid out for him. Riku started saving up by working small jobs, most of which made use of his singing ability. Eventually, he received more voice-acting jobs. Perhaps idol production companies would have scouted him if his face and body weren't scarred. After all, people were into cute male idols like the modern-day angel, Kujo Tenn. Riku spent around two years after graduating high school making money until he could move out and rent a cheap, rundown flat. Iori also spent around two years helping to reshape his family bakery business. During that time, the two kept in close contact with each other.

While Riku never thought of how to further his career path, Iori did it for him. Iori heard Riku say that he didn't deserve to have a good life because he had caused nothing but trouble to his family, and even Iori, way too many times. Considering how stubborn Riku was, Iori saw no point in arguing with the stupid guy. Instead, he took command of Riku's life's steering wheel.

"You grew up reading sheet music, surrounded by people in the entertainment field. Are you interested in composing at all, Nanase-san?"

"Composing? Making music, you mean?" Riku gave Iori a surprised look.

"Yes, what else could it be? You could perhaps get into uni, pursue a music degree, and learn from experts before making your own music one day?" Iori answered in the least suggestive way possible, but yes, he was encouraging Riku not to think just about the present.

"My own music? That sounds cool..." Riku sounded half-convinced. "What about Iori?"

Here they were now: Iori studying management, hoping to help his big brother Mitsuki with the family business, and Riku studying music. If there was one thing Iori regretted, it was finding enjoyment in taking control of Riku's life from the shadows.

But as he said to Yaotome, he couldn't manage Riku's happiness.

Several weeks ago, Riku telling Iori he wanted to give Thai Boxing a try came out of the blue. It sounded nothing but stupid. Martial arts had absolutely nothing to do with music or Riku's life other than bringing pain. It led Iori to believe Riku was developing self-destructive behaviour. Iori still believed it was partly true, but from today's observation, Riku did appear to find enjoyment in Thai boxing.

Perhaps he had guided Riku far enough. Their paths would soon diverge. He was hoping that when it did, Riku would spread his wings and fly freely, living in eternal bliss.

"If this is what you do to move forward, then who am I to stop you?" Looking in the direction of Riku's bedroom, Iori muttered. 

---------------------------------

Teehee~ Feel free to let me know what you think! Oh and if I can't update next week the next update will be the week after because I'm going on a holiday. See you next update lovely ppl~!

Chapter Notes
- I refrained from using Ero Ero Beast as Ryuu's fighter name since he isn't in the idol industry
- round kicks do happen commonly in Thai fight matches hence why you'll see that a lot in this fic.
- that hip thrusting exercise was one of the techniques my coach used on me.
- I once embarrassingly fell flat on my bum after a complete round kick. Right in the middle of the room full of people. Might as well turn it into a fic material.
- you can throw a taller and bigger person off balance in clinching if you do it right :P