CREDITS TO: UTA NO PRINCE SAMA 

CHAPTER 10

Long story short, at that night, six of them sang their debut song and as expected, Cecil was eventually turned into a human.

"Yes, I was the one who made you guys returned to the past," Cecil confessed as they started bombarding him with questions while licking his hand before realizing that he was no longer a cat, gaining himself disgusted looks from Masato and Syo. "Because Otoya said that Haruka wants to be all lovey-dovey with Tokiya (Tokiya gave Haruka a questioning look but the girl just turned away while blushing) during high school while you guys want to find a true love, so I supposed I would give it a shot. I also did not expect that the magic would be a huge success like this considering that I am just the beginner."

"Then, how about Icchi's lifespan? Is it the same?"

"Good question, Ren. Yes, it is the same and the same goes with all of us. Something so important like lifespan, who are our family, our pasts... they are the same. I am sorry, Tokiya. I have eavesdropped on your conversation with Haruka and I believe you already know about your death, right?"

Tokiya just nodded with a blank face.

This bloody cat can talk?

"You are going to flatline at the age of 29, two years after you got married with Haruka. I believe, through this whole returning to the past circumstance, we can find out who killed Tokiya then. At least, he can die in peace."

"Then, let's say we can find out who is the killer and we can stop him from killing Ichinose, how will Ichinose die then?" Masato asked, gaining himself several nods from the others as they also wondered about that in the first place.

"It will be a sudden death. His heart will stop beating when the time comes," Cecil now sounded like a doctor who has treated a patient with a chronic disease.

It was a huge and depressing silence but nothing could beat what Tokiya was thinking.

This was all too sudden. Not only his privacy was 'invaded' by a girl who claimed that she would marry him in next ten years, he also gained himself a bunch of dorkies as his friends who seemed treasuring him more than anything in this world.

He was also informed about how to avoid from being killed so that he could die in peace.

A normal human being will be so afraid with death but most of the time, they forget how death comes so sudden that there is no room for them to feel guilty anymore. But, in his case, he even knew in what year would he die. If he took it in more positive way, knowing when was his death would prepare him to achieve his life goal to his heart content.

"If we achieve the objective of why we are here, then are we going back to our original universe?" Natsuki pointed out.

"No. Even Tokiya is dead, we are still here, proceeding with our life."

They nodded again before..

"Did you plan all of this by yourself?" for the first time in everyone's life, Syo's voice sounded ridiculously and scarily calm.

"Yes since I am the only one who knows the magic. I need to remind you guys, you guys might think that you are an adult since you still remember everything from your future but your body is still the high school version. You guys have not grown enough yet."

"And you did it without our consent?" Masato's voice sounded deeper than usual.

"Yes but I am positive that you guys are going to agree with my plan."

"Making us in panic and all that, how come you look so happy and innocent like this, Cecil? Do you even have a heart?" Syo's face got closer with Cecil as he held back from punching the Agnapolis prince.

"Yes, I still have a heart.. I guess.."

"Then, take this!" Masato and Syo started attacking Cecil out of rage with Natsuki and Otoya being the typical them; the peaceniks.

Meanwhile, Ren noticed that there was something wrong with Tokiya. The blue head just stood there silently since the beginning, remained speechless.

A ridiculous magic with green sparkles was one thing but...

The cat... the black cat.. the frigging black cat that he took such a good care until now...

The cat who shamelessly snuggled and licked his face once they met eyes...

The cat is Aijima Cecil? This Aladdin-looking man? As a normal human being who loves cats, Tokiya had done a lot of embarrassing things with the said cat and yet..

The cat is a frigging human for crying out loud!

"That cat is.."

"Oi, Icchi. Are you okay?"

Eventually, he passed out out of disbelief.

"Ichinose-san!!"

And so, Ichinose Tokiya officially hates cats.

There was another shocking thing that took place as soon as Tokiya came to himself after failing to endure all those absurdities including the fact that all this time, he petted a cat that deserved a punch.

They were greeted by Shining Saotome, the principal of the academy.

"You guys created a very wonderful harmony when you sang together. What's the song, again? Maji Love 1000%, right? Miss Nanami, your song is so mesmerizing. No wonder Ringo praised your talent so many times. I guess making you guys debut as a band instead of as a solo singer will be a real hit, right?"

"Yes!!" all of them except Tokiya shouted excitedly.

And just like that, they were assigned to practice as STARISH, starting from the day on.

It was like a culture shock for Tokiya. He never imagined that he would debut again in a band. He would like to object yet come to think of it...

For what, though? Was it more satisfying for him if he debuted as a solo singer? Nobody could guarantee that.

As far as he still felt awkward to spend time practicing with the guys, he loves their debut song and he loves singing it with them. Nanami Haruka sure is so talented and could be an auspicious composer.

Yet, in the next morning, much to the blue head's dismay, Aijima Cecil has officially joined them as a S Class student. To make thing worse to the point of Tokiya almost flipped a table, Cecil's seat was just right beside him.

It managed to distract Tokiya from paying attention in class for the whole day.

"I don't know what to think anymore," he mumbled while massaging the bridge of his pointed nose. No matter how many times he recalled all the moments in that single night, he still could not believe how dramatic his future sounded.

"Anything happened, Hayato?" someone's husky voice quickly brought him back to reality. Tokiya turned from his seat and greeted his president, Yamada Seichiro.

Or to be more exact, the legendary celebrity is the one who forced him to be Hayato. Seichiro did not allow him to be a singer with the bloody excuse;

"You are more suitable for variety shows and dramas."

Which made Tokiya deciding to make an agreement with Saotome to debut again as Ichinose Tokiya.

"No, nothing. I am just practicing some lines from the script," he was half-lying about that though. He did practice until he remembered about STARISH and Haruka.

"As expected from a hardworking idol like you. You are currently leading in acting and variety shows while my son will be a top singer in our agency."

"Your son?"

As cliched and coincidental it could be, a few knocks from the door put the end to their conversation.

"Coming," as Seichiro allowed them to come in, a boy which is a year younger than Tokiya and resembled Seichiro greeted them but the one who Tokiya could not take his eyes off her was...

Megumi, Seichiro's second wife or also can be introduced as...

Tokiya's mother. A mother who just abruptly left him alone after her divorce.

"This is my son, Zen," Tokiya shook hands with the lad while his heart pounded so fast as he was about to hold Megumi's hand. "And this is Megumi, my wife."

Seichiro never knew that he did not need to introduce Tokiya to his biological mother in the first place. Tokiya knew about the bitter truth since a long time ago when Seichiro showed him his family picture.

"So, you are that Hayato, right? With that frivolous ohha-yahho trademark," Tokiya was too speechless to react with Megumi's lame yet downgrading joke.

"Yes," he flatly answered. From the way Megumi looked apart from wearing expensive dress and stunning jewellery, Tokiya could guess just how happy Megumi was with her current life and family.

And obviously, she did not even care about this son of hers who deeply missed her. To make it worse(?), Tokiya did not resemble Megumi that much so it would be easier for Megumi to deny the fact that Tokiya is her son.

"Hayato, do you remember when I said that both my wife and son used to live in London before? Now they are back to Japan so that Zen can start a new career. My wife and I had discussed in depth and we both agreed to make Zen as a promising singer."

The news hit Tokiya hard. A singer? They will make him as a singer? Then, what about me?

"Is that so? That sounds... good. I am sure Zen-san will be a popular singer since you and Megumi-san chose him out of many people.."

"Hayato.." Seichiro held his shoulder and Tokiya was sure that this geezer had an idea about what his inside was struggling about now. "You have a beautiful voice and I know you want to be a singer too. But, I still think that variety shows and acting suit you more. They demand you and you have countless jobs because of that. You already made a lot of money and I know, I had made a right choice. I believe in you, Hayato."

Tokiya mentally rolled his eyes as he listened to the not-so-moving yet overdramatic speech from Seichiro. Knowing Megumi, he was strongly positive that Megumi was the real culprit of this plan. Tokiya would not be surprised if Zen is actually a bad singer but since Megumi basically loves his precious son too much, she persuaded her husband in her own way so that Zen would be a superstar as well.

That was the power of Yamada Megumi or to add more details, a gorgeous lady who used to be a member of Ichinose family. Well, who can resist her charm? No matter how atricious her personality is, nothing can stop her from fully using her beauty to seduce an insanely rich geezer like Seichiro.

"How do you do with your family, oka.. I mean... Megumi-san?" Tokiya asked as he was left alone with Megumi. Zen needed to go to the restroom while Seichiro had a short meeting to attend.

Cliched as hell! There is always a scene whereby two people with shared dark pasts, who struggle to not let the cat out of the bag, ending up in the same space so the awkwardness will be searing hot until they decide to confront about their past once again.

On the spur of the moment, Megumi slapped his face. Her long and red fingernails managed to make his cheek turned red as well but Tokiya was too despondent to feel the pain. He met the brown eyes of his mother, indirectly asking what was that for.

"I think you should get used with 'Megumi-san' instead of 'okasan', Hayato-san. A past is still a past. No need to be so melancholic about that," Megumi said flatly and nonchalantly.

Honestly, did this old woman ever love him as her son? Tokiya did not think so, though. Especially when she addressed him as 'Hayato-san' instead of 'Tokiya'.

"Whatever it is, you are still my mother even all this time, you don't acknowledge me, let alone my dream to be a singer," he answered her calmly but for some reasons, it angered her more.

"Because you don't deserve to be a singer, you scumbag!" the high-pitched voice and scream which was used to be his childhood trauma was no longer could intimidate him. Instead, he just stared blankly at Megumi's pretty face, getting ready for her insults while his heart was already torn into pieces. "You.. with your useless father's blood in your body... do you think being a singer is your forte? Listen here, you brat! Your father is such a loser so there is no way a successful specialist like me will live together with that asshole anymore. I picked you just because I want to prove to everyone once again that you are not a loser like your father but you paid me back with your big speech about your dream. Your big speech about how you want to be a singer!"

Yes, his father's company went bankrupt due to his comrades' back-stabbing but Tokiya still could not understand the solid reason why Megumi left his father. Was she supposed to give him a full support instead? Obviously, she married him for his money.

"Then, how about Zen? Why do you support his dream to become a singer?"

"Because his father is extremely rich and not a loser like yours. There is no way for a president of a gigantic talent agency like Seichiro will end up as a no-hoper like your father and so does his child. I love Zen and I believe he will have way brighter future as a superstar."

"I think the loser one here is you, Megumi-san. I just noticed something you know? Your husband used to tell me that Zen is 16 years old which means you and Seichiro-san had a child when you were still married to my father. It won't be possible for you to have two husbands at the same time so.. I guess that Zen is your love child, right?"

"So what!? It's none of your business!"

"For someone who is well-educated and perfect like you, you sure are a whore, right? You made love with another guy when your husband struggled to make you happy... what kind of bull.."

"Stop!!" again, she went crazy. She hit him countlessly but Tokiya's strong muscle acted like a shield for him. "You bastard!"

"Hey, what's going on here!?" luckily, Seichiro already arrived and Tokiya did not need to deal with his barbaric mother any longer. "Megumi, what are you.."

"This asshole is frigging rude! You should fire him now! He doesn't deserve to work here anymore!"

"I will leave first, kaichou," Tokiya quickly left. He could not stand with the depressing atmosphere anymore.

He simply did not care anymore.

The next thing he knewwas he currently stared at Saotome Academy's big lake helplessly. It was 12 a.m. but he still did not want to take a rest in his room. Instead, he wanted to seek some fresh air for his about-to-explode head even so far, it was to no avail.

It was to no avail because he missed his father, Ichinose Akira. The reflection of himself from the lake really reminded him with his father.

"Otousan.." he muttered in despair. "What did you do wrong to deserve all of this? Why okasan is such a.." he bit his lips, struggling to not curse his mother when deep inside of his heart, he always thought that Megumi deserved more than profanities.

"She had treated me like her puppet. She wanted me to be perfect. She disapproved me when I want to be a singer, unlike you. You know what, otousan? When I got my first song, I really want you to be the first person to listen to Nanairo no Compass. The melody is really beautiful so I was sure that you would love it but.. I totally forgot that you are no longer here."

"You.. with your useless father's blood in your body... do you think being a singer is your forte? Listen here, you brat! Your father is such a loser so there is no way a successful specialist like me will live together with that asshole anymore. I picked you just because I want to prove to everyone once again that you are not a loser like your father but you paid me back with your big speech about your dream. Your big speech about how you want to be a singer!"

Now, he even wondered what was the use for him to spend his life as Hayato if Megumi treated him like an enemy?

Why would he live as Ichinose Tokiya if his own mother would do anything to ruin his life?

Why would he try to sing if his father, the only family that he had was no longer beside him?

If my own mother treated me like that, then I guess.. nobody even cares if I exist or not, right?

As he spaced out in dispair while his mind decided to totally give up, his hand slowly took out a knife before making a long cut along his wrist.