Warning (Nah, not really.): For this story, let's pretend that the duet project with HEAVENS took place when STARISH members were in their mid-20s which was when Otoya and Haruka already got married, okay? It makes my life much easier lol.

CHAPTER 15

Haruka rose from her bed frantically. Her sweaty body and dishevelled hair could be put aside when she had the biggest concern in her head.

What did Kyoko mean when she said Otoya was not normal? What could it mean when she said Otoya was dangerous?

She looked around and this was another nightmare that she would do anything to get rid of it even she had to sacrifice her life.

She was back again in the timeline where it was after Otoya's death. The sight of their wedding picture, their shared bed and furniture almost send her to cry again before...

Something shifted beside her on the bed which almost made her screamed before she could see the glimpse of red hair from the duvet that she shared with.

"Otoya...kun?" She muttered. The body shifted again before Otoya's head popped out. Drowsy eyes stared back at her and that was when she could feel something clutched her chest.

"Haruka, are you okay?" The redhead said before glancing at the clock. "It's only 3 o'clock. Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I..." Her throat felt dry at those emotions that she could not describe with words. "I don't know. I just had a bad dream."

Hearing her cracked voice, Otoya sat up while rubbing his tired eyes. He slowly pulled her into his embrace. Seconds passed and while the contact was so warm alongside the caress on her back, she felt empty.

That was when Kyoko's voice echoed back in her ears.

"He was obsessed with Shining Saotome since I can remember, Haru-chan. He always has a lot of pictures of Shining Saotome with him. Usually, he doesn't like it when anyone easily barges into his room so I was surprised when he allowed you to use his room as you pleased. At that moment, I was positive that he already planned to bring you here from the start so that's why he hid all the pictures from you."

"Sure, he looks a lot like the younger Shining Saotome except for his hair and eye color. But it shouldn't be the reason why he had to become so absorbed in his world, right? He only listened to Shining Saotome's songs. He only talked about the guy all the time that the other kids started to ignore and isolate him. If any of them criticized the singer, he would snap and never treated the kid like his friend again. While he looks way better as he grows up, I still think that he has something in his mind when he decided to be trained at Saotome Academy."

Despite the memory, Haruka still tightened their embrace, burying her face to the crook of Otoya's neck.

No, I shouldn't believe in Kyoko-san just like that. I should listen to both sides before I can decide.

"Otoya-kun never knew his parents. He was raised by his aunt since he was small so when she left because of an illness, the child psychologist did say that he was disturbed. He needed a lot of moral support so that's what we as the helpers tried our best to support him. But, until now, he rejected us. He might be chummy with other orphans but there is still a boundary between him and others."

That should be. In the original timeline, when he was still working on Next Door project with Otori-san, he did say that he would bring the misfortune if we stayed with him. That's why he closed up.

"It's the same nightmare, right? You're making me worried, Haruka."

But, why wouldn't he reject STARISH and me?

"It's because you're Saotome's future asset, Haru-chan. You're valuable for Saotome. He would do anything so that Saotome would feel threatened. It seems like there's something that he tried to prove to Saotome-san. I am not sure what is it but I have heard talking to himself a lot of time so that's what I could conclude so far."

"Is it about the child's death?"

Otoya's curious voice was like a sinister echo in her head given how cruel the definition was. Instantly, she pulled away from the embrace before staring at him like he just spat nonsense.

"What? What did you say? The child? Which child are you talking about, Otoya-kun?"

"Haruka..." from how long the redhead's sigh, it showed that she just could not move on from somebody's death from a long time ago. "Please... not again. You have been mourning the child's death since forever. You won't move on..."

The truth was painful enough that she decided to ignore the fact that Otoya was getting tired of her.

"What are you talking about, Otoya-kun? My child... Our child is not dead. They are..."

Now when she held her stomach, she could finally grasp the situation. She was way older than herself in Saotome Academy so it was expected that the baby was no longer in her stomach.

But, the baby... did not make it unlike before? What had gone wrong? My child didn't stay alive?

"The child was dead when you reached your trimester. Don't you remember? You lost them since you have health issue..."

"No, it can't be..." she shook her head as her small frame shivered in despondency. "There is no way..."

"Haruka," he reluctantly pulled her into his embrace again.

It was a long night. She could not process everything calmly so all she could do was bursting into tears in her husband's arms.

She was married again to her husband but she was separated forever from her unborn child.

Otoya never thought that he had to deal with much stress nowadays.

As if to deal with his melancholic wife was not challenging enough, now he had to deal with the guys who put on sour faces in the waiting room. They were supposed to be filled with nervous but ecstatic energy given six of them should share the same goal at the moment.

To beat QUARTET NIGHT and HEAVENS so that they could be the event's opening artist... normally for this type of event, they would spend more time to communicate so that they could motivate and support each other.

But now and for some reason, the excitement and anxiety was not shared well by his friends. They were all in their own world, as if Triple S event meant nothing for them. As if the fact that they would be known and acknowledged internationally crossed as something that they just could brush off.

Otoya looked around to see if anyone was available to talk but getting frustrated right away when he noticed their cold gestures. Both Tokiya and Syo were wearing earphones which they took out from their pockets as soon as they took their seats. Ren and Cecil closed their eyes as they leaned comfortably on the black sofa. Only Natsuki did not seem to bother to do anything. His green eyes glued to the floor as he sat like a statue.

"Hey, Natsuki... do you have any idea how amazing QUARTET NIGHT's performance will be? Man, it drives me crazy just to think about it."

"Who knows..." Natsuki said slowly. It was a few seconds of silence as Otoya hoped that Natsuki would put more words but to no avail. The man was stiff on his spot.

Is it because they already went through this concert once so they don't feel as ecstatic as I do? Yeah, it makes sense, Otoya thought.

"By the way, where is Hijirikawa? Why doesn't he show up here?" Ren suddenly spoke up in annoyance. His cyan eyes cracked open as he looked up the ceiling.

Then only the others bothered to look at each other except for Otoya who frowned at the scion.

"Why would you ask him out of blue, Ren? He... he already left us ten years ago..."

The rest of them froze as the reality suddenly hit them.

No wonder...

No wonder it felt so natural not to have Masato around. The feeling was strange but natural. Not to mention the staff around them kept mentioning STARISH as six members instead of seven.

"He left? Why?" Ren asked absent-mindedly. His eyes looked empty but no one needed to be a genius to guess how broken his heart was at this moment.

"I guess you guys was unprepared as you jumped straight to this moment, huh?" Otoya said. Akward but bitter chuckles escaped from his lips. "He left because he did not want break his promise with his father. Remember? He promised his father that he only learned performing arts for a year."

Otoya could sense how cold and tense the atmosphere in the waiting room had become. Sure, he could not blame them. He knew the entire history of STARISH. Losing only one member was like losing any part of their bodies.

"No, it doesn't sound like Hijirikawa at all," ignoring Tokiya's cue to pull himself together since they were about to perform on stage, Ren shot up from his seat as his eyes were directed towards Otoya. "I know him. No matter how intimidated he was with his father, he never easily gave up his dream."

"That's what he told us, remember?" Otoya insisted, feeling intimidated to see the very serious Ren who was normally playful and nonchalant. "He didn't want to debut because he just wanted to learn performing art. He will inherit his father's company since he's the first and only son of the family."

Without Otoya's knowing, the rest of them had eyed each of them in horror and despair.

Haruka decided that she would put on her fake but professional look just for the event that was about to happen. STARISH had personally told Saotome so that they wanted take a break from any kind of event for the sake of finding out who was Otoya's murder.

But apparently, the magic decided that they have to go through Triple S decisive concert once again no matter what happens, she thought. It is that important for our goal, huh?

They knew for the first Triple S concert, it was QUARTET NIGHT who won for the first round and would represent Japan for the opening performance.

But still, she could not help but feel the sense of nostalgia and excitement. When she felt the miserable hit for losing her unborn child and how suspicious Otoya had become, she quickly shook her head and patted her cheeks to make herself focus on the current reality.

That was when she could hear the sounds of steps approaching her direction. Well, it was bound to happen given she was currently standing around the stage's entrance door. She was smiling at her friends before raising her hands to give a high five. It was like a compulsory ritual for STARISH and her since they debuted. She was their founder and biggest supporter so it was bound that she would demonstrate her support till the end; till the moment when they were just about to reach the stage.

But, it was not returned as normal as she expected. With Otoya, it did feel normal. He received her hands full-heartedly with a bright smile. But, starting from Syo who entered the stage just behind Otoya...

It was surreal awkward that it turned out heart-breaking for her. She clearly wanted to put their hands together but all the guy did was smiling and nodded half-heartedly before proceeding to the stage.

Of course, the man was hurt. Insulting STARISH as a whole for their feelings towards her was one thing but most probably the guy who used to have a heart disease felt bitter about her insulting and yelling at his best friend, Natsuki in public space as if Natsuki did not have a face to keep.

Next, she tried to raise her hands towards Natsuki who was expected to be more forgiving. The man accepted her hands which almost send her cried but his small smile was the most upsetting. It was no longer the air-headed or excited grin whenever he praised her for being cute like his Elizabeth.

Immediately forcing a smile over her lips so that it would not affect her mood, she hesitantly raised her hands to Ren and Tokiya as the next guys. Like her, they were hesitant but lifted their hands anyway. The sound of two pairs of hands were slammed together was not as energetic as it should be. STARISH knew why but none of them had the moxie or felt obliged to point it out.

Soon, she knew why.

When Cecil's turn came up, she realized that they lost one member.

Hijirikawa-san... where's he?

"Cecil-san..." She exclaimed as she absent-mindedly raised her hands. She could spot how forced the Agnapolis prince's smile was as he returned her high-five. "Where is Hijirikawa-san?"

"Haruka..." He turned to hold her shoulder. "We just learned about it too. Masato did not make it as a STARISH member in the first place. Somehow the past had changed. He went back to Kyoto to inherit his father's business."

"What?" She stared back at Cecil's upset eyes as she studied the situation slowly. "But, the last time I met him was when he visited me in the orphanage. How could this be..."

"What?" Cecil exclaimed, unable to conceal his shock. At this rate, the sound of their fans cheering for each of the member's name faded away from his mind.

Haruka almost lost her balance as she tried to decipher the truth about Masato.

She tried to swallow the truth slowly because the last time when she tried to take it one go which was the moment when Otoya just died, she felt like she lost her breath that it suffocated her lungs.

So, she still leaned against the wall of the backstage, trying to fight back the tears that had welled up her eyes.

Hijirikawa-san... he's never part of STARISH.

How could it be? I thought that you'll stay with us. It's ridiculous when you chose to be with your father when this is the life that you have dreamed on.

What happened exactly? In the original timeline, he was supposed to stay with us till the end. Jinguuji-san even said that Hijirikawa-san never returned to his hometown after the debut since he didn't want his father to force him to give up his idol life.

"Haruka..." a soft but worried voice of her best friend hit her which unconsciously offered her the best comfort that she could ask. Tomochika was fashionable as always with her black skirt and loose grey blouse but the beautiful sight was covered by the tears that threatened to stream down Haruka's face.

"Look. This is confusing. Why Hijirikawa-san is not with others on the stage? Why only me at the audience who found it weird? Why they didn't introduce them according to STARISH acronym..."

"Tomo-chan..." The composer lifted her head to match her best friend's eyes given the woman was taller than her. "Hijirikawa-san... he is..."

Tomochika who could grasp the situation almost instantly ended up enveloping the fragile frame into her arms. "Haruka..."

"Why all of these happened to me, Tomo-chan? I lost my child and now..."

Tomochika's purple eyes sized up.

What... what did she just say?

"I am sorry to hear that, Haruka," Tomochika softly said as the composer had calmed down . They managed to find an empty bench to talk about what just happened secretively. Her hand found Haruka's, not only offering her warmth when the girl was cold from her overwhelming emotions.

"It's okay. I guess we never meant to have a child. Coincidentally, the real Otoya-kun never wanted a child from the start," as she mentioned the truth, her mind quickly flashed how nonchalant her husband was about the child no matter which timeline she ended up. "But, I can't quite grasp the truth that that Hijirikawa-san left us."

He's not like the Ittoki Otoya who I know and love.

"Yup, I believe none of the guys especially Jinguuji-san had especially believed this. I mean... we all know how much Hijirikawa-san loves his works. Yes, he might not express himself much but he would shine when he performed or sang. He even said to me that he had fun the most when he performed with STARISH. That obedient son of Hijirikawa Masaomi even rebelled against his Dad while he worked on his duet project with Sumeragi-san. It doesn't make sense..."

"Unless if something did happen when we were busy time-travelling, it shouldn't be a surprise," Haruka said, fingers playing with the hem of her light blue blouse. "But it doesn't mean it's not devastating. The last time I saw him was when he visited me in the orphanage. He confessed his feeling and what other guys felt about me. He asked me to be strong no matter what kind of fate hits me but he never said that he would leave me. I was in his debt but he never requested anything from me other than my happiness. I really feel bad about that, Tomo-chan. I didn't feel like myself anymore once I learned that I would never see him backstage."

Suddenly, the thought of how distant the other guy's reacted to her had torn her heart again.

"They must hate me now, right, Tomo-chan?" The best friends' eyes locked at each other. "Just now, I lifted my hands to give them high five but Syo-kun didn't even accept them. The rest of them just smiled and did the high five even I could tell them that they were hesitant."

This time, Tomochika did not give a comment right away. Instead, she gazed at her miserable best friend while her mind was busy studying the meaning of their conversation.

"Perhaps, do you..." the way she initiated her sentence was enough to draw Haruka's attention towards her. "Do you regret your choice to only focus on Otoya-kun and keep your distance from others?"

It was a direct and easy question with a difficult answer to blurt out. Tomochika knew it as much but she could not stand to see the miserable Haruka. As if what she had gone through all this time was not tormenting enough for the composer.

"I don't know, Tomo-chan... I am Otoya's wife but I think I miss the other guys as well. I wish I can turn back time. I wish I don't have to hurt others like that."

"I think you have to give them sufficient time to recover. You know... for them to recover from what you had confronted them and also the fact that Hijirikawa-san suddenly wasn't the part of STARISH. They must feel overwhelmed like you."

All Haruka could do was nodding after she found it hard to swallow the bitter truth that Tomochika had conveniently but 'maliciously' told her.

"Damn, he even turned off his phone," Ren cursed as he threw his phone to his side. He leaned, did not expect others to react to his sudden outburst. They knew what to expect when they lost Masato out of nowhere. "What's the deal with this guy? He is supposed to go back to Kyoto for inheriting his father's business, not disappearing like he just moved out of this planet."

After they had done with their works for the day, five of them had a serious conversation at Ren's house. The living room alone was vast and luxurious enough to fit only one owner but they should not expect less from a scion like Ren.

No one ever thought that at this time, they had the same opinion; it would be better if Haruka stayed in this house instead of Otoya's orphanage.

"Knowing his strict father, anything is possible, Ren. Maybe that's why he met Nanami before he left us. It seemed like he already knew that he would not stay longer with us. I bet you already know the most about Hijirikawa's situation even way before you started whining like this," Syo remarked. "I guess that we just have to accept that Hijirikawa is no longer with us."

"I wonder what's the significance of Masato-kun withdrawing from STARISH in this timeline. I mean it's entirely different from the original timeline since he did not even get to debut. Because of that, the magic had somehow made Sumeragi Kira busy with his solo projects since apparently he has no partner to work on the duet project," Natsuki pointed out. "I feel so upset, you know. As if learning that Ren-kun and Tokiya-kun were accused of falsifying the testimony is not enough."

Cecil who was not interested to talk much since he knew the truth about Otoya suddenly opened his mouth.

"Tokiya, are you sure that what Eiichi said is true and all? It's not like I doubt you or anything..."

"Well, you already doubted me once. What does make that different?" Tokiya interposed, bringing his friends to eye each other nervously. His voice and the way he talked were too smooth but it was still sharp which shattered Cecil's heart right away. Despite the chummy smile, anyone could tell that blue head was being sardonic. Even Ren who was supposed to feel upset like Tokiya was also taken aback by Tokiya's unexpected remark.

"Tokiya, I am sorry..."

"Well, back to why we gathered here despite I am supposed to work on my duet project," Tokiya cleared his throat, directly declining Cecil's attempt to explain himself. "Otori-san has showed me the contract that he had signed with Otoya. I recognized Otoya's handwriting and signature well so it should not be doubted at all. Otori-san admitted everything to me including how he and Otoya agreed to slander Ren and me so that it looked like we falsified the testimony. Hijirikawa-san somehow got involved as a so-called accomplice since he was with me in the book store and he is... well, Ren's close friend even I bet he will never admit it out loud. Based on the original timeline, Otori-san and Otoya were both daredevils who had a grudge against their father. They wanted to end their lives in a way that would make their fathers meet their downfalls."

Until now, it felt impossible for them to imagine how was Tokiya's reaction when he learned the truth for the first time from Otori given how collected Tokiya looked at the moment.

"I can't believe that his fate is that twisted. Well, yeah, I do realize that our president and Otoya-kun resembled each other but I thought that it was just a coincidence. Never thought that they are actually a father and a son," Natsuki said. "I don't know what to think, really. For sure, if Haru-chan... I mean if Haruka learns about this, who knows what she will feel..."

"Lady is strong. That's for sure but she will burst into tears for days, that's also for sure," Ren said with a heavy sigh. "To know that her husband only used her for his revenge... it will be tough for her when she's the first person who wanted to use the magic to find Ikki's murderer in the first place."

Silence lingered in the already depressed air as they already felt scared of the possibility for Haruka to be so broken with what Otoya had done.

"What is the most upsetting is..." Tokiya said as he leaned back weakly. Normally, he hardly gave up to his tiredness but to juggle between works and emotional problem had finally drained him. "We apparently can't do anything to stop Otoya from committing suicide if he's determined to do it."

"We can't even interrogate him about the suicide plan in this timeline as long as his duet project with that Otori doesn't take place yet since he's still innocent up until now. Heck, just like in the original timeline, their duet project will be the highlight. It will cause chaos and it feels like those two final episodes in a series where it will be a turning point for the plot," Ren said. "Man, I already have a bad feeling about this."

"No, please don't say something scary like that, Ren," Syo said. "Not when I am still in dilemma between sympathizing Otoya who solely wanted to have his father's love or hating him for using Nanami like that."

"Forgive me if I am wrong but the reason why we have to wait for the Next Door duet project is because we don't know either the fact that we're always there for him and had told the reason why we were transported to the past was enough for him to cancel his plan to commit suicide, right? He doesn't even commit it yet so we don't have anything to interrogate him, right?"

"Yes, you're right," Cecil said, followed by others' nods.

"And since the suicide in the Shining Mall was the main reason why we used the magic, there is no way we can change it so we can't convince Otoya-kun not to do it since it'll oppose the reason why we want to use the magic in the first place, right?"

"Yes, exactly," Tokiya said which was returned by Natsuki's nods.

"Man, I can't believe that the culprit who we wanted to catch all this time was the victim himself. Soon, the scene that we all want to forget will replay in our eyes," Syo remarked with a heavy sigh. His own words had made his chest felt tight with the urge to get angry with what the truth had served them.

"I thought I will go crazy again to see Lady cries just like the day," Ren said, averting his gaze at the window. The sight of the full moon was indeed beautiful but it could not match the hopelessness that crawled to his veins.

After that, none of them bothered to echo more words since they had shared the same feeling with Ren.

They absolutely wanted the best for the woman no matter how much she hated them.

Meanwhile, the other 'male lead' of STARISH's conversation, Otori Eiichi was walking lazily towards his father's office. No matter how much he felt bitter and treated the office like a circus with him as the animal, he was trained professionally and abusively that he should not let other people to know what he had in mind if his thought only ruined his image as an idol with a great profile. So, he had to come across as charming and cool all the time. It took all for him to smile at every single staff in Raging Entertainment whom he happened to cross path when he was on his way to meet the hell of his life, Raging Otori.

As he could hear his father's voice to allow him to go inside, he wasted no time to push the white door, facing his smirking father right away. That painfully reminded him how the mass media always 'praised' how similar he was with Raging Otori. They both were well-built and tall. They emitted the confident and elegant aura that would win the women's hearts. Eiji was the definition of opposite him since he took after their mother; a cute look and soft voice. How their parents ended up marrying each other was still a mystery because Eiichi always thought that his father did not deserve their perfect mother at all.

"What is it this time, Dad?" Eiichi asked, unable to swallow the sight of his very happy father. It made him felt sick and he did not want to risk his health when he had his duet project in his list.

"Okay, then. This time I will cut to the chase since I can see that my son here will work so hard for the duet project," Otori replied as he straightened his back.

"Of course, Dad. The guys and I will do anything to surpass STARISH. It's the time for us to show that STARISH is not our match."

"Good, I love the spirit, Eiichi," Otori said proudly. "I especially love the part where you yourself stated that you will do anything to beat STARISH. This is our opportunity given your partner is Ittoki Otoya."

Eiichi frowned. "What do you mean? Do you have a plan so that I'll beat him alone? What about the rest of the members then?"

"Don't underestimate the guy, Eiichi. Sure, he might lack some skills but his family background is very useful for us as the rival of Shining Agency."

"What do you mean, Dad? I don't understand."

"Of course you don't understand since that Shining Saotome had kept his secret for too long. I had to hire a very high-paid private investigator to find out this valuable information," Otori chuckled with how innocent Eiichi sounded. Little did he know, his small gesture just made his first son's heart bloomed with happiness. He felt strangely happy when his father treated him like an endearing kid who was allowed to make mistakes instead of being perfect all the time. "Here."

Eiichi took a big brown envelope from his father.

"What is this?" He asked, being oblivious of the fact that the envelope contained all necessary information in order to turn Ittoki Otoya into a mess.

"Go back to your dorm and study the information. Use it to break Ittoki Otoya, the only and love child of Shining Saotome."

The statement alone was enough to make Eiichi lost his breath for a second.

"What?"

Now that I am done with this chapter, I must say that I need to watch episode 9 and 10 again to write chapter 16. But before that, let me watch one or two episodes of Psycho-Pass season 1 as my reward haha. Hope to see you guys soon :D