WARNING: Implied mature scene and yeah, poorer description and grammar. I was in the state of 'the story matters the most. My brain is so tired of something to the point of it affected my writing'. Heck, I don't even know if what I wrote here does make sense or not. I really apologize for that.

CHAPTER 27

The VIP room of the restaurant was supposed to fill with only joy and cheekiness. That was what Otoya intended for it to happen. He wanted all STARISH members to gather here again and had a fun chit-chat for hours. Whenever they wanted to escape from their works and relieve their stress, this place would be their destination.

But now, it was crammed with worry, grief, and anxiety. His precious children, Ittoki Daichi and Ittoki Riku were kidnapped when he was supposed to pick them up from school. A few witnesses saw two men quickly took them into a car and left the school.

Now, it was already 24 hours since they were missing, much to everyone's concern. Otoya was sitting between Cecil and Syo. He lowered his redhead as the words of encouragement from his friends had managed to keep him from imagining the worst thing. Yet, he could not help but seldom muttered...

"If only I picked them up earlier..."

Meanwhile, his wife, Nozomi was sitting between Haruka and Ren's wife, Maaya. Her nose and eyes were still red from crying.

"If something happens to my children, I can't forgive myself," the redhead mumbled. The adult him had matured so much but his maturity would be shaken once this familiar situation hit him. He was done with the loss of someone he loved. He did not want to lose any of them anymore.

"Don't say that, Otoya. It's not your fault. No one can expect things like this to happen," Haruka said.

"But, Haruka... It's already almost a day and they hadn't found any sign of my children so that alone indicates something terrible might happen."

"We don't know for sure, right? You have to stay calm, Otoya. Nothing good will happen if you punish yourself with that kind of thought," Haruka said.

Meanwhile, Ren's mind echoed something.

"You know, with just a call, I can drag you all to hell."

His frame had endured so many negative emotions right now but with how creepy Saotome's line sounded back, he felt like he was fully swallowed into a hopeless hole.

Is it really him?

A certain call that he received in the midst of the sorrow made him left the VIP room.

"Hello, Masato?"

"Ren, what happened? I can't reach Haruka at all. Is everything okay?"

Ren could hear Mitsuki and Harumi's laugh from the call so he could assume that the scion was in his room.

"Haruka is busy comforting Otoya's wife since... they can't find the boys yet."

Heavy sigh instantly tickled his ears.

"God," Masato exclaimed. "Who could have done such a thing? I can't imagine Otoya has an enemy who wants to destroy his life."

"Me neither but as one of STARISH members, he does have an enemy."

"What?"

"I don't know. I don't want to accuse anyone but suddenly, I remembered the bastard's line, saying that with just a call, he can drag us to hell."

Chilling and quiet vibes emerged without ado. It was as familiar as when Masato scolded him for stealing his melon bun but Ren did not need to be a genius to know that now was not the right time to tease his friend.

"Masato, are you still there?"

"Huh? Yes, yes, I am," Masato replied as his voice slightly shook from his burning anger.

"Masato, it's not good for you to be angry often. You have to calm down for your health's sake."

"Who said I am angry, you fool!?"

"Yeah, I wonder who said that," Ren said as a bitter chuckle escaped from his lips. This childhood friend of him never changed no matter how many times he lost his memory.

A nice guy but with a bad temper.

The sudden appearance of panicky Natsuki startled Ren. Another chaos took place when others bombarded him questions.

"Oh, Natsuki just came," Ren told Masato, noticing that the big guy was still wearing the costume for his children show. "I wonder if he left when he was supposed to shoot for his show. He didn't even change his clothes."

"Oh, he wasn't there just now?"

"No. No one could reach him."

"I see."

"Hey, Natsuki. Where have you been? We're looking for you," Syo said. His story of how he was fired but he did not even throw a punch towards Hyuga was buried. He would tell them next time.

"Don't mind me. Is there any news about them?" Natsuki said, breathing harshly as his green eyes widened at each of them. His face was as pale as Otoya's and the others could relate much. Natsuki was affectionate towards everyone's children so he felt like he just got a heart attack upon reading a message from Syo.

At the same time, he felt angry at himself for turning off his phone for a few hours ago. Screw his melancholy and need to be alone!

"No, not yet," Haruka answered, still holding Nozomi's weak hand. "We're still waiting."

"Otoya, don't worry," the typical Natsuki quickly wrapped his long arms around Otoya's thin frame. "It'll be fine. They said that if you don't receive any news, it means they're fine. Just keep praying for your children, okay?"

"Thank you, Natsuki," Otoya hugged him back, tears still welled up in his eyes.

At this moment, when everyone was already numb from saying anything comforting, the people who they wanted to see the most suddenly appeared, all safe and cheerful.

"Daddy! Mommy!"

All of them lifted their heads, freezing on their spots as they could not believe what their eyes served them. Ren quickly promised Masato to update him on the situation before ending the call.

"We're back!" Daichi, the first son exclaimed happily as if they just went back from school and not abducted. "Waaah, everyone is here... Owh, not everyone. Tokiya ojichan and Masato ojichan aren't here."

"Daichi! Riku!" The husband and wife immediately hugged each of the children. The others sighed in relief even the fact that they went back on their own was unbelievable.

Just what happened to them? Who sent the children back to their parents?

"Are you guys hurt anywhere?" Nozomi exclaimed, scanning her sons frantically.

"No, we're not," Riku said, eyeing everyone in a confused manner.

"Where have you been? Somebody took you both, right? Who are they!?" The impatient Otoya had his hands held Daichi's shoulders tightly.

"Daddy, why do you look so scared? Something happened?" The seven-year-old boy asked as the two pairs of red eyes held each other.

"Just answer me!"

"Otoya, calm down," Cecil muttered but Otoya could not care less with somebody's clichéd suggestion when his sons could be in danger.

"They... they said they're Daddy's friends so they played with us and gave us ice cream," Daichi said, still flinching when for the first time ever, his loving and cheerful father looked anxious but intimidating at the same time. "Oh, they also asked me to give a letter to Daddy."

"What?"

Another clichéd situation. It felt lame to receive a random latter after he almost lost his sanity upon knowing his children's disappearance.

But after he unfolded a letter and recognized the handwriting right away, Otoya knew the situation was not lame at all.

Or else, his tears would not drop now.

It doesn't feel nice if your children get stolen, right? That's what I feel if you guys still try to 'save' Tokiya. Please remember. Another funny move from you guys, I will never return your children anymore.

Nozomi already left the room with the boys in order to protect them from the depressing situation.

Now, the letter was now in Natsuki's trembling hand. His mind only echoed this particular thing.

So, what happened today are not coincidences.

Maybe it was a natural talent for Masato to be able to read Ren's mind.

And it was also natural for them to agree with each other since his heart strongly said the same thing. What happened to Otoya's sons was Saotome's plan. It was a wicked warning for them so that they would stay away from Tokiya.

It was more saddening for him to be weak physically since he basically could not do anything to contribute to their situation. His long fingers reached the piano keys, pressing randomly as his frustration got the best of him.

If only he could help... if only he could initiate something instead of sitting on his wheelchair and do nothing.

"That's what you're supposed to do! Sit there and do nothing!" Tokiya's angry voice ricocheted in his head. "I was already tortured when you're healthy so when you're sick, please spare me more trouble! I don't want it anymore!"

All of these are my fault, right? If it's not because of me, Tokiya didn't have to be the opposite me and all of these things would never happen, his heart whispered.

As the melody of Original Resonance filled his mind, he started to play. With Haruka's guidance and the fact that playing the piano was his second nature, it did not take long enough for him to master it back. His fingers proficiently pressed the keys, producing the sweet song which popularized him and Tokiya.

Suddenly, it felt like God just answered his long-time prayer. It all started after he and Tokiya were dubbed the twins of STARISH.

It was the beginning of the nightmare for Tokiya but Masato was oblivious of it.

Or was he not?

It was eight years ago before Masato and Haruka got married. Actress and female singers hunted Tokiya down like beasts. They harassed him. They offered their everything to him. They were willing to do anything so that he could be theirs. They even crossed the line which testing his patience. They stalked him. They trapped him so that he would sleep with them but being a celebrity under a powerhouse like Shining Agency, he was protected by the president. Saotome always found his way to make them closed their mouths. Tokiya was 'rented' only when they paid enough money just like the idol's 'regular clients'.

But the rumors and slanders still circulated in the agency which caused the trust that STARISH planted had for him, the respect that they planted on his head as their unofficial leader just vanished. From an idol with admirable work ethic, Tokiya ended up as a man who only knew how to use his good look for women and fame.

Yet, for Masato, his opinion about Tokiya never changed because unlike others, he was there when Tokiya met his misfortune. He was there when Tokiya showed signs that he hated his life.

And it happened on the same night when they attended Eiichi's birthday party.

The twins were supposed to meet in Tokiya's apartment after the party. Since they had collaborated on a drama, they promised to practice for the last time before tomorrow shooting.

But, Masato was only greeted with a widely open door which was impossible to happen in Tokiya's place. He knew how careful his friend was unless something terrible might happen to him. After shutting the door, the scion quickly searched for Tokiya, frantically calling his friend's name.

He never expected that he would get shocked by the sight of unconscious Tokiya on his bed.

Something definitely happened. Masato instantly got the picture as soon as he scanned the bedroom and Tokiya's state. His instinct that Tokiya did not lure any girl to sleep with him seemed correct. As soon as he woke the blue head up, that was the most confused expression that he had ever seen from Tokiya.

"How come I am here? I believe I still attended the party..."

"You're in your house. Do you remember how did you get here?" Masato said which was responded by Tokiya, shaking his head. "But, first of all, I think you should take a shower since..."

Masato's anxious look brought Tokiya's eyes to himself. This was when he realized that nothing covered his body apart from his white duvet. His body sweated crazily and it felt strange.

He and Masato ended up staring at each other.

"Here is your tea," Masato said, putting a glass of hot tea on the brown table. They were sitting in the living room, trying hard to focus on their script when their minds were still clouded with what happened to Tokiya.

"Thanks," Tokiya nodded, still not looking directly at his friend. "So, where are we? Scene 44 or Scene 45?"

He's scared, Masato mentally commented. He did not bother to answer his friend when Tokiya's shaking hands captured his attention the most.

Who would not be afraid, though? Unless it was a habit for Tokiya to sleep randomly with a girl who he himself did not know did she get into his house. Masato knew how aloof his friend was with girls. Unless he had to work with them, Tokiya never crossed his line. He never touched a girl whenever he pleased.

But, tonight or since he was called as The Stripper, his principle when it comes to relationship had been insulted and toyed. He knew, whoever the girl was, she was not part of Saotome's plan. She was not their regular or new client because the president never allowed anyone to barge into Tokiya's house.

"I think we should start with Scene 44. I am not satisfied with..."

"I think we should make you calm down first, Tokiya."

Silence lingered in the air. The piercing look from Masato suffocated Tokiya which made his blue eyes looked at everywhere but his friend.

"What... What do you mean..."

"Your hands... They are shaking. It's really unlike you, Tokiya. Normally, you aren't anxious that much."

"I am... I am just shocked."

"Of course, anybody in your situation would be that way unless... yeah, if the person thinks that your situation is normal. We should stop here and let you rest."

"No, we cannot, Masato. The practice..."

"I believe you already memorized the dialogue. For once, put aside your workaholic side and give yourself a break. We'll have a long shooting tomorrow, Tokiya. I am afraid your body can't take it. Don't worry about me wasting my time here or whatnot. Your condition is much more important now."

Just when Masato almost used his violence to force Tokiya to rest when he saw how guilty the man looked, he muttered, "Okay, then. Thank you so much, Masato. I am sorry for what happened tonight.

Why should you feel sorry, you fool? It isn't even your fault, Masato mentally said.

After he left the house, Masato found that he could not reach Haruka at all. She went missing during the party and he ended up worrying about her all night.

Masato's sudden but helpful memory continued with their fan meeting for a movie. It was a lively event with a lot of girls shouting their love towards them.

But for Tokiya, it felt like a bunch of animals lined up to take a chance to touch him and verbally harass him. His line was full of perverts, unlike Masato's which was more peaceful.

"I am really in love with your character, Masato!" A fan exclaimed as she placed her cute notebook on the table. "He's so charming and it makes you look 100 percents more handsome."

"Oh, does it mean I am not handsome when I don't act?" Masato cracked a joke. His hand swiftly left his autograph on the notebook before handing it back to the girl.

"Of course you're still handsome. I am actually your big fan since you debuted. You looked so pure and gentle. Unlike Tokiya," the girl said, thoughtlessly. She did not even bother to lower her voice when Tokiya was just next to Masato.

"Hey, don't say that! Tokiya is much gentler than me. My friends said that I tend to be violent when I get angry," realizing that Tokiya took everything to ignore the girl, Masato ended up saying anything that would tone down the situation.

They were so accustomed to blunt fans. Masato himself used to get compared to other members. But now, he was nervous since most of the fans for today's event kept insulting Tokiya's personality and role. It did not put him in a comfortable position no matter how much they adored his image.

Yet, nothing could beat a middle-aged woman whose ultimate goal was probably to insult Tokiya and praise Masato. She looked young but still weird to adore and line up to take a signature of an idol while grabbing her daughter's arm. It was obvious for Masato that the daughter was forced to ask for his signature given how pouty she looked.

"If you're not a popular actor, I will take you as my son-in-law, Masato," the woman said, patting Masato's broad shoulder. "My daughter and I love your group and we're even picking our favorite member. I adore you since you're so proper and polite like a perfect man but my daughter here is a fan of someone like him."

Using 'someone' was slurring enough but the woman even used 'him' instead of using Tokiya's name. Yet the blue-haired man still managed to curve a smile and try his best to ignore the woman's remark.

So patient, Masato thought.

But, ignorance was sometimes hard to do especially when the other person was too idiotic to realize that Tokiya was being quiet out of politeness.

"What's this guy's name again?" The old woman rudely pointed at Tokiya's nose, could not care less when the idol's fans glared at her.

"Mum, don't treat him like that! That's embarrassing," the daughter said, glancing nervously around her before her eyes ended up holding Tokiya's calm face.

"He's Tokiya, ma'am. Ichinose Tokiya," Masato said carefully even he could feel his anger burnt inside. "You shouldn't address someone like that."

"How can I treat him politely when all he did was stripped on screen? I don't understand why he should be on the same level as you when he 'sold' his body for a living? What's his name again? Tokiya, right? Tokiya, you should learn from your friend to sell your talent and be a good example for your fans. Not behaving like a prostitute."

"Excuse me, ma'am. Don't you think you're too..." Masato's words did not fully come across when he could feel Tokiya patted his knee. He turned, only to receive a still collected look from his friend and a shake.

'Don't. Just let her be'. He was positive that was what Tokiya tried to convey.

"That woman is so rude. If only it wasn't a fan meeting, I would give her an earful. How could she treat you like that!?" Even when they both were heading to their dressing room, Masato was too angry to stop whining. He could not care less when the event staffs around them looked intimidated to witness his temper.

Or maybe they were amazed at how calm Tokiya looked when his friend did not show any sign of closing his mouth. It must be piercing for his ears when Masato's voice was so close and loud.

"Masato," Tokiya called out as soon as there were only two of them in the dressing room. He turned to face his twin, which immediately send the man to stop complaining.

"I'm glad that you're my twin," Tokiya said with a small smile. His voice was as flat as usual but it did not soothe Masato.

"What? What's that supposed to mean? Where did it come from?"

"I am saying that you don't have anything to worry about, Masato. It's normal for us to face rude fans. We can't expect all people to like us, right?" The wide grin did not appear convincing for Masato but he decided not to push Tokiya to express what he truly felt if that was his choice. "Besides, you're the Saint, like an angel. It doesn't feel right if you keep defending me from my anti-fans. It'll ruin your image as well since you're defending someone like me."

"Don't give me that crap! What do you mean someone like you? They don't have any idea how nice and prim you're off-screen," Masato cut him with a stern tone. "I am your friend and I know how your true personality is so I won't hesitate to defend you even it will ruin my image."

Tokiya's eyes widened before his lips slowly cracked a smile. Another tiring smile and calm expression for that day.

"Thank you, Masato. I really appreciated that."

Tokiya did smile. He did say thank you but deep inside his heart...

What a pain. You made it hard for me to hate you, Masato.

The memory still continued, much to Masato's puzzlement and blessing.

It was because now, when he looked at it from the perspective of Masato who lost his memory, he learned something that he should do from the start.

When Tokiya said that he was glad that they were twins, he did not really mean it.

A few occasions had proved him right. He was positive that their movie, Intertwined was one of Tokiya's ways to express his stress from being the bad twin of Masato. The movie revolved around the mute Itsuki who held a grudge against his older brother, Kou.

It was ironically a perfect way to describe their friendship.

"Hey, are you still studying the sign language?" Masato asked one day, approaching Tokiya who was reading a book intently.

"Yeah. I am memorizing a new sentence, you know. It's for the new dialogue that the scriptwriter put in last minute. See what I am doing?"

"Okay, what's that? I have no idea."

"It means I hate you."

It was probably because Tokiya put the expected tone if his character was not mute, Masato felt like it stabbed through his heart.

"Owh... that's... that's quite strong."

The fact that the scene where Tokiya killed Masato with a whiskey bottle was the hottest topic at that time due to Tokiya's realistic acting eventually sent a chill to Masato's spine.

Tokiya did hate him.

The suppressed hatred in Tokiya eventually ruptured when other STARISH members pulled a serious discussion about him. Masato tried his best to change their minds but it was to no avail. They were ashamed of Tokiya's status. They thought that it was better for Tokiya to be excluded from STARISH if it meant the blue head could survive alone with his offensive image.

"He should withdraw or we ourselves will make him withdraw," Syo decided.

"While he's my best friend, I should think about my children more. They admire him and I don't want them to follow what he does for a living," Otoya reasoned out.

"He doesn't show any sign to stop what he's doing. I wonder if Tokiya really wants to sing with us anymore. It seems to me that he lost his passion to sing," Ren remarked.

And more justification to support their decision to continue as six members of STARISH. Feeling suffocated and frustrated with their attitude, Masato left the practice room, only to see Tokiya standing still outside the practice room. The blue head looked hurt, no more fake and collected expression written over his face. From how he quickly left when he saw Masato, it was apparent for the scion that his friend heard everything.

"Tokiya!"

Long legs stomped impatiently as a desperate voice from behind called Tokiya's name. Another pair of long legs followed, tried their best to match his pace.

"Tokiya, wait!" Masato managed to snatch his friend's arm before slowly releasing his grab. "You might hear everything but..."

"Masato, please. I am not really in the mood to talk with anyone so please leave me alone."

"I am sure they don't mean it, Tokiya. They're just stressed out and..."

"If you want to comfort me, by all means, you don't have to do that."

"But, Tokiya..."

"They called me 'prostitute'! Do you expect me to shut my ears and play dumb with the situation!? I am not a doll!" Masato's determination to soothe him immediately pushed his buttons. Tokiya turned, raising his voice as he lost his temper. "I heard that, Masato! They were saying that STARISH will be peaceful without me and that's the verdict! I shouldn't agree with this band from the start!"

"Don't say that, Tokiya," Masato said. He attempted to approach Tokiya but his friend recoiled and moved away from him. "You know this, right? STARISH won't be the same if we miss anyone of us and that rule is also applied to you. We had been friends since..."

"I don't want to buy the friendship saga anymore. Enough is enough! Especially with you, Masato!"

"What?"

"Because of you, because of your annoying image, I had to suffer to be the opposite you. People insulted me like a prostitute... it's all because of you!"

"Tokiya, calm down..."

"Now, I will tell you, straight to your face that I hate you, Masato! The thing that I said during the variety show, I meant it! I hate you! I never felt so insulted in my life and guess what? I wish this stupid twins concept never existed! Being your twin is so depressing! You got all the good traits while me... I was treated worse like a whorehouse! But, you know what's the worst thing!? It's you're my friend! You made me go through all this rubbish but I can't even take revenge on you because you're my frigging friend! I wish we are enemies so that I can destroy your life just like how you destroyed mine!"

On the spur of the moment, Masato could not feel his legs anymore. His chest felt hurt at Tokiya's yell while his head started to spin as the bitter truth ambushed him without mercy.

Like... he cared for Tokiya but that guy hated him? To make it worse, he could not even get the picture from the start? Where did it go wrong?

"Tokiya, I... I never thought..."

"Yeah, go on! Play with your victim card. 'Tokiya, I never thought that you suffer from this.' 'Tokiya, I don't mean to make you suffer like that' and the list goes on. Just please stop yourself from saying something like that! It's annoying and from now on, I will never... never involve with STARISH anymore! You guys can proceed with only six of you! I don't care!"

When Tokiya left the corridor angrily, how Masato wished he could chase the guy like what he normally did. How he wished at that time, his legs would not feel suddenly weak, his eyes would not feel heavy and his chest would not feel tight with pain.

That was the first moment when his health got worse and the same goes with their friendship.

Now, even his heart thumped fast with the painful memory of their friendship, he never regretted it.

Instead, he was glad that it happened. With the memory, he was not as clueless as before anymore and that was what he wanted it to happen.

After that, the next thing he did after asking Harumi to bring his phone to him was...

"Ren, about your plan to ruin the news conference, please count me in."

As usual, feel free to let me know what do you think :D