The moment Camus was dragged out of the building by an unsuspecting Tomochika, Cecil knew he was on his own and hell he had no idea on what to do. The fierce blond usually dictated whatever work that needed to be accomplished and Cecil would just follow, so this situation where he had to play senpai served as a challenge. Not only did he have to deal with his own duties, but also he had to cover Camus' job because Haruka had no future in acting as a cold-hearted, two-faced royal. It had always been Cecil's dream to work with Haruka alone but not like this. It was not at all pleasant to look at the woman you so loved with admiration and only to remember whose eyes you were looking into and right now, Cecil was looking into the ice blue orbs of his senpai.

"What are we going to do now, Cecil-san? Without Camus-senpai, how are we supposed to know what to do?" Haruka asked worriedly.

The black-haired prince felt the weight of the world on his shoulders – that, or perhaps it was because everyone gazed at him and expected an answer. Even the remaining Quartet Night were looking at him expectantly.

Geez, if Cecil found this situation which he caused difficult to handle, how much more when he someday becomes king of Agnapolis?

'The muses must be testing me. Again.' The prince thought miserably before he cleared his throat. "As what Camus said, we should do our best to act as if nothing happened."

"That's kinda hard to do, frankly speaking." Ranmaru grumbled.

"Aww...don't be such a downer, Ran-Ran!" Reiji exclaimed.

Cecil was quick to add, "D-Don't worry senpai! We will be with you to make sure, uh, what you're doing isn't too out of character! The rest goes for all affected." He then turned to his bandmates. "Everyone, let's do our best and guide our senpais out of this!"

Cecil's awkward speech seemed to have lightened the room as the members of Starish grinned and gave a reassuring nod. The former cat was just glad nobody threw a lamp at him unlike the previous switch mayhem. He swore he had nightmares about a stiletto digging right though his skull.

Ren was the first to speak. "Well? You heard Cesshi."

"I'm surprised you didn't do some strange ritual dance on the spot." Syo commented. "I'm impressed."

"Our senpais will be taken care of." Masato said a bit too darkly for Reiji's taste.

"At least say it with cheer, Masayan! You sound like you're plotting our murder!" The clown senpai exclaimed.

"Leave him. That's just how he speaks." Ranmaru explained. 'Although murder sounds good right about now.'

With things settled, the pretty idols went to carry out their duties, all while silently praying nothing or nobody would screw things up. Cecil stayed with Haruka ofc since the composer took the body of Camus.

"Camus-senpai has an interview today? Oh dear, how am I supposed to do this??" Haruka panicked.

"Relax, it'll be alright." Cecil cooed. "It's just a question and answer about working with Quartet Night and with Starish so you can pull it off. Plus, I'll be there to guide you in case you get lost so no need to worry."

"Okay. Thanks, Cecil-san." Haruka said with a smile.

The cat-boy returned the gesture and swooped in to embrace her.

Then he remembered the person he was hugging and abruptly let go. He was glad his senior was snatched away by Tomochika and that the others left or else Cecil would never live to see the next sunrise.

"W-Well then, let's go! I'll give you some pointers on the way."

The duo was escorted to the rendezvous for the interview and true to his words, Cecil taught Haruka responses which best fitted Camus' idol persona. Once they stepped into the building, they were greeted by the staff, and the man they believed to be Camus was ushered to the dressing room to freshen up before the interview.

"You'll do fine. Just remember to look at me if you need help." Cecil reminded.

A few minutes later, Haruka found herself sitting in front of the interviewer. A sense of nervousness surged through the composer but once she saw Cecil standing at the back, she relaxed.

'Calm down. You can do this.' Haruka thought and cracked a smile. The interviewer started talking and it was going well until the next question.

"So tell us about Permafrost, Camus-san. What is your kingdom like?"

Haruka gulped. She wasn't informed anything about Permafrost other than it being Camus' snowy residence.

"Well, it's foreign."

Cecil mentally face-palmed while the interviewer let out a chuckle, thinking that the other was joking.

"You definitely have a good sense of humor, Camus-san! Please, tell us more."

Clearing her throat, the composer answered, "It's filled with ice and snow thus serving as a perfect venue to enjoy hot cocoa."

"That's a nice thought. What do you like about your kingdom?" The interviewer asked.

"What I like....?"

Haruka looked over to Cecil who signalled what to respond. At least, he attempted to.

"I...I really like the...flying monkeys?"

Cecil, the interviewer, and Haruka herself couldn't help but sport a face of shock. Flying monkeys? Seriously???

...

Well, perhaps those things DID exist. Haruka wouldn't know since she never went to Permafrost before.

'Flying monkeys? I was signalling the castle!' Cecil thought.

For the record, it would've been more believable if he wasn't holding a half-eaten banana.

Haruka tried to save the situation from turning into a complete nightmare. "Did I say flying monkeys? Oh silly me! I meant flying horses! They definitely are a symbol of Permafrost's mystic beauty and grace!"

The interviewer and Cecil looked at her incredulously. On one hand, that response still sounded ridiculous but on the other hand, it was more believable and Cecil had to commend Haruka for that nice save. Sure it wasn't something Camus would say yet it was better than flying monkeys. Now Cecil only had to hope that those flying horses did exist in Permafrost in case anyone decided to visit the place otherwise Cecil's a dead man.

'I hope Camus will never hear about this!' The prince thought desperately.

Well, he was half-right because somewhere in the middle of the mall was an unfortunate blond royal too engulfed with his internal screams of agony.

~

Camus felt the last bit of dignity slipping away from his fingers and it was replaced with a soft yellow fabric handed to him by Tomochika. God knows how long they had been walking around the establishment that catered to the needs of peasants (which Camus wasn't a part of, fyi).

"It suits you, don't you think?" Tomochika began.

Camus forced a smile. He could only pretend to be Haruka for a period of time and he contemplated on dropping the act once they arrived in the perfume section of the mall. While the unsuspecting Tomochika went to try on some of the testers, Camus stood near a stall of girl's cologne which smelled like chocolate and candy. Camus being Camus everyone.

'I should be having an interview instead of this mockery.' The royal thought as he politely refused an offer from the saleslady. 'I wonder how those fools are doing. They will definitely hear from me if they messed up.'

(Camus, honey, the less you know, the easier it is for you to breathe.)

The male stuck in Haruka's body forced his/her feet to walk when Tomochika called. So far, they had been to almost every section of the mall and the taller of the two went out of those stores carrying at least a bag of products. Camus held two small bags containing a scarf and the other a bottle of lotion, both of which he purchased for the sake of looking normal. The royal only hoped that this was the last stop before they finally exit the mall for commoners and maybe Camus could ditch the other and swing-by the café which sold those mind-blowing sugar cookies he recently liked. Camus being Camus everyone.

The noble went to where Tomochika was and a sense of dread shot through his spine. Neon pink lights glowed around the door frame of the store while sheer lilac-colored fabric draped on the walls. Tomochika grinned and at that moment, Camus knew he was plunged into hell's core.

The blond idol barely managed to speak and he hated it. "L-Lingerie!??"

His companion nodded. "We talked about this two days ago! I need to get better support after that awful wardrobe mishap and you need something seamless for that dress I bought you."

His Camus-ness was thrown out the window and the earl tried to weasel his way out, albeit lamely. "I don't think this is necessary!"

"Yes it is! Now come on!"

Having no other choice, Camus found himself walking through aisles filled with undergarments, each aisle getting racier than the last.

'This is not what a knight of Permafrost should be doing!' Camus thought as he shielded his eyes from lacy underwear. 'My eyes are becoming impure!'

Tomochika, on the other hand, was too engrossed with the selection the store had to offer. She talked to the person she believed to be Haruka about the kinds of lingerie and how they boosted a woman's assets, unaware of the color draining from the other's face.

"...that's why those bras exist. Ah, not that we need those though." The taller female rambled. "Oh, by the way, have you found anything?"

Camus shook his head. He blocked any sounds or words minutes ago and he could not be bothered to remember any of it.

Tomochika took a set of undergarment. "How 'bout this one? This looks cute!"

The earl immediately waved off the suggestion, thus earning him a frown.

"Well you've got to pick something. Meet me at the counter when you're done." Tomo-chan said before she left.

His cool was rapidly melting. Camus knew that he HAD to HAVE some sort of lingerie with him or they would NEVER leave the damn store (and he wasn't even exaggerating on this one).

Once again, the royal roamed the area and searched every aisle for the closest to being decent set of undergarment while he lowkey judged the childish prints on some of the selection. After a miserable 5 minutes, Camus returned to Tomochika with a set of seamless beige lingerie.

The taller red-head raised a brow. "Eh? Doesn't that look kinda ordinary?"

Camus gritted his teeth and let a mini blizzard take over. He just went through what perhaps was the greatest struggle of his life and boy, he had enough of this shit.

"Does it matter???" The irritated Count said coldly.

"H-Haruka!??"

Somewhere in Tokyo, Ai was watching a flash report about a blizzard taking over a mall. There was a vague figure of a female waving what seemed like a sceptre in the distance while said female cackled manically. Ai switched to another channel unaffected.

~

"Do you think they're doing okay?" Masato asked.

Without bothering to look up from the magazine he was reading, Ren replied, "They're fine."

Masato highly doubted that, yet there was nothing he could do. He went back to finish his calligraphy.

"By the way," Ren began. "Ran-chan...er, Rei-chan wanted to go around the city today since he's free."

The look on the pianist's face made Ren add, "Our schedule's clear for today. Rei-chan probably wants to know us better and it wouldn't hurt to spend time with a different senpai."

A moment of contemplation passed and Masato sighed. "Alright. What's the worst that could happen?"

Sometime in the future, the blue-haired idol found himself in hiding.

Poor Masato...he just dug his own grave by saying those words.

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

The-line-that-must-not-be-uttered :D

Hello dear reader and before you go pick up that axe, let me explain to you my long-ass hiatus. This summer wasn't one I was excited for, cue the gasps, and mainly because I did my internship AND there's a thesis that needs to be revised. One cannot simply enjoy the sun with school work on the line -_- istg I will go wild, do some updating, and maybe travel to Japan once I graduate uni. One more year everyone. ONE. MORE. YEAR.

I still haven't watched the latest season of UtaPri so don't hold me responsible for things I don't know (yet).

Anyway, thank you so much for reading and for having the patience of a saint, dear reader! I really appreciate the messages you left and for your continuous support :D Hope great things come your way and until the next update~