Thank you for the votes ^^

This story is like a challenge for me to write about a character that I am not familiar with. Otoya is not my bias but I found his personality adorable and pleasant. He's likeable and I think he suits a tragic hero well. I am sorry if what I have portrayed in terms of his personality or family background doesn't sound right for you guys.

CHAPTER 2

The fans only knew Ittoki Otoya as a great dancer and gracious idol but to them, he was way more amazing as a friend and family.

He was a ray of sunshine for STARISH. His presence alone inevitably carried the warm vibe that one needed to enliven their life. Otoya was the glue of the group. The thing that mattered to him the most was his teammates and Haruka. He could not lose them since they were the part of his new life. His background as an orphan, residing in a house with a lot of children with the same destiny as him had molded him into a person with a strong sense of loyalty and affection.

As for Haruka, Otoya had always been the best guy for her, cherishing and solacing her like a princess. So, when he confessed his love to her with a very red face and stammered all the way, she knew this was the best thing ever happened in her life.

Choosing Ittoki Otoya as her timeless life partner... something that she would prize evermore.

Yet, the destiny decided to throw her an anguishing spiral out of the blue. She knew, unlike in fairy tale, they would not live happily ever after. One of them would leave the other person first but...

How she wished Otoya would not leave her after being shot on his heart. How she wished Otoya would not die with a devastating amount of blood, besieged his stock-still body.

They said when someone was on his deathbed, his behavior would change drastically but for Otoya's case, he did not parade any. He had still been loud, bubbly, and loving towards his wife. He still enjoyed playing soccer with Syo and he was late for their practice as usual.

So, where did it go wrong? Who was that bastard who killed him without mercy? What had Otoya done to them to the point of they never dithered over 'stealing' Otoya from Haruka and STARISH?

A month had passed and nobody knew the answers. All they could do was moving on with their life while recollecting the puzzles of their memories with Otoya.

"Guys, sorry I am late!" The loud crash against the door was not enough to make them jumped out of their skin. Instead, Otoya's piercing shriek almost ruined everyone's eardrums.

"What now, Otoya? Your alarm clock strangely did not make a sound? Or did you pass out somewhere?" The perfectionist in the group, Tokiya asked him. He always had the flatly soft tone but it was not always a good thing. Instead, it also passed as the ultimate sarcasm for that day.

"Nope. I just overslept," the guitarist beamed, scratching his head.

"Yet again," the pianist of the group, Masato added.

"Yeah, yeah, Masa. I overslept yet again," Otoya said, still putting on a bright smile.

"Poor Nanami. She has to put up with your sleeping habit," Syo said, half-joking.

"I am very sorry, guys. Don't worry. It won't last long. Sooner or later, you can start your practice on the dot," Otoya said, ignoring the verity that he looked too self-assured.

"What's that supposed to mean? Do you want to say that you won't oversleep anymore?" Tokiya lifted his eyebrow.

"Yes!"

"That's technically impossible," Masato adjoined, leaving his piano. "Habits die hard. I doubt you will change sooner or later, Ittoki. It might take several years."

"Waaaa, that's mean, Masa! I can change too, you know," Otoya said, pouting as both the blue heads did not show any sign of trusting him.

"Yeah, Otoya is right. You guys don't have to be so direct though," Cecil said, patting Otoya's back sympathetically.

"It's okay, Ikki. They both are just a pair of tsunderes who cannot say out loud that they are worried about you," Ren, the charmer of the group suggested, ignoring a pair of glowers from the said guys. "Icchi was like 'Otoya is late. Did he meet an accident?' while Hijirikawa went 'I should call Ittoki if he doesn't show up any sooner. I am afraid something might happen to him'."

"Waaa, that's a good impersonation of Miyano-san and Suzumura-san's voices, Ren-kun! I don't know Suwabe-san can be that versatile with his voice," Natsuki exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Otoya and Cecil supplied. They looked like they just created a temporary fan club for Suwabe Junichi.

"Shall we start now? It will take forever if we just talk about our voice actors," Tokiya said, taking his spot at the center of the training room in order to warm up.

"Ohhh, one of the tsunderes gets shy," Ren teased, tying up his long hair.

"You better shut up if you don't want to see both tsunderes give you hell," Syo said.

"Thank you, Kurusu. I am forever in your debt," Masato said, as prescribed as possible. If there was one thing that could make Masato and Syo could relate to each other was their endless exasperation towards Ren.

Thus, their normal practice took place on that day. When they said normal, it was including how Syo would rake Cecil over the coals since the prince kept dancing to his infamous Agna Dance. Masato would fight with Ren, nagging how lousy the latter's dance movement before they decried each other's cooking skills afterward. Natsuki and Tokiya never got on each other's nerves until Natsuki suggested the perfectionist to try dancing like Piyo-chan.

This craziness was something that Otoya never got tired of.

It has been a long time since I can spend time together with Otoya-kun and STARISH, Haruka thought as she served their breakfast for today. Apart from composing new songs for the group that she had founded ten years ago, she also had a few other projects including composing songs for CFs and movies theme songs.

But today was not for her to think or find inspiration. Her time was fully for Otoya. It might be a gathering with STARISH but she still would spend more time with her husband.

"It's all set. I should wake him up now," she muttered excitedly. She left the dining room, heading straight for Otoya who was still dead to the world. His talk show shooting with Kotobuki Reiji ended too late last night.

Yet, much to her puzzlement, Otoya was shifting restlessly on the bed. His chest rose unevenly as he panted in his sleep.

"Otoya-kun?" Haruka quickly sat beside him and that was when she could spot the tears which streamed down her husband's cheeks. More followed suits as he murmured something low.

Is he crying?

"Otoya-kun, wake up! Otoya-kun!" She shook his shoulder anxiously. Whatever he dreamed of, it must be something horrifying and she did not want him to keep being scared and alone in his nightmare.

The ruby eyes shot open, caused more tears trickled down his cheeks.

"Otoya-kun, are you okay?" Her question was left unreciprocated. Instead, Otoya was staring at the ceiling in despair.

"Otoya-kun!" The frightened wife patted his chest continuously which eventually made Otoya snapped from his little world.

"Did you have a nightmare?" she asked, pushing his red bang backward before wiping his tears.

"It seemed so," Otoya muttered, quickly curving in his significantly lovely smile.

It was palpable that he was still overwhelmed by the emotions that he suffered from the nightmare, given how shaky his pupils were.

"Please tell me what's about, Otoya-kun. You know I am all ears for you, right?" she coaxed. She planted loving kisses on every inch of his face, attempting to soothe and physically tell him that she wanted to comfort him.

"It's nothing, really. You don't have to worry," Otoya replied before pulling her into his embrace. She squeaked out of shock, her cheek immediately felt Otoya's wet black shirt.

He sweated a lot. Just what happened...

"Don't worry about me," as if he can read her mind, he muttered. Calloused fingers caressed her short hair, channeling his endless affection towards her.

"You're sweating," Haruka stated, reminding herself of not to feel too pampered by Otoya's embrace when she had another serious thing to fret about. "You cried a lot so I don't call those as fine, Otoya-kun."

He chuckled. It was supposed to make her feel better but his throbbing heart against her ear betrayed him.

"I just had a dream about a ghost from the horror movie. You know... the new one that we kept talking about? I watched it with Tokiya last night. I guess I still couldn't forget it."

"Oh... really?"

It did make sense.

"Yeah. It's so scary. In the movie, it only stood there and did nothing but in my dream, it suddenly strangled me from my back and..."

"Please stop, Otoya-kun! You know I am a scaredy-cat, right? I can't even survive a ghost house for crying out loud," the cute voice interrupted. He could feel she snuggled up to his chest more.

Otoya laughed melodiously. The memory of they screamed together in a ghost house which was organized by Otoya's orphanage suddenly showed up in his mind. Silly him. Instead of protecting or comforting her properly, he ended up shrieking as loud as her after Cecil's hand-made ghost suddenly showed up from the ceiling. What a strong chemistry they had!

Not to mention he almost confessed his love to his wife. Judging his tendency to be a stammering mess, he found it hard to believe that he finally managed to date and marry Haruka.

She almost fell asleep since Otoya's chest was the best pillow that she ever had when he suddenly sat up, still holding her small frame. She received a kiss on her forehead, flashing that she should stop agonizing and focusing on their excursion today.

"Let's prepare for today, shall we? We have a looottt of things to do," Otoya said, caressing her cheek before leaving the bed. For a second, Haruka was about to ask him to cancel the outing and spend time together in their house instead but Otoya was moving around like a red squirrel, reaching his towel after taking out his clothes for today.

Well, I guess he is so excited about today. Oh, speaking about...

"Otoya-kun," she called, which stopped his way right in front of the bathroom's door.

"Yes?" The red eyes widened, followed by a charming smile.

"What do you say if we shop for baby clothes too? I know we don't have a child yet but you know... Just want to imagine how our children will look like if they wear them."

However, Otoya lost his smile right away. It seemed like he himself was surprised of his spontaneous reaction that he chuckled awkwardly.

"Well, it's not that I don't want to buy them but..." he placed his dark green towel on his shoulders as he beamed. "I don't think we need them."

It was a simple answer. As expected from Otoya but this time, his demeanor upset her.

"But, Otoya-kun..."

"Just buy what you need, okay? You had worked so hard so you deserve a special treat from your husband," Otoya reasoned out before heading into the bathroom.

It indicated the end to their conversation about the topic. His reaction was shocking. Otoya had always been thoughtful of what Haruka needed. As long as it was the best for Haruka, it would work the same for him but this time, he physically showed that she should follow what he said.

Is he not ready to expect a child yet? I know it's only been six months since we got married but...

"Okay, guys. Can somebody tell me what on earth are we doing here?" Syo asked, staring at the crowded shopping complex in disbelief. "In this frigging shopping complex? It's not like we are invited to launch it or something."

It was totally a disbelief and nightmare for a bunch of popular idols like them. Shining Mall which was their president's another business branch was having its first day and it certainly got crazy with the fans who were the loyal buyers of Shining Agency's products. The band's merchandise was also one of the hottest products here but the worst case would be; STARISH members would be spotted and they had to run for their life.

Walking around in public without bodyguards was something that only they could picture in their mind. Being in disguise was still risky since there were a lot of smart fans who could recognize them just from their walking style or voice.

But, because of the insistent Otoya, they were here but another worst case was the redhead was still nowhere to be found!

"It's because of Otoya. He wants us to shop for things with him," Cecil said. He cared less about their risky outing as he was happy to see so many fans supported their group. They squealed as soon as they managed to buy their merchandise.

"But, why here instead of some more peaceful places?" Masato asked before eyeing Tokiya. "You know, today is the first day so of course we can expect so many people like this."

"Huh? I don't know. Don't ask me," Tokiya said, quickly. "I was about to ask the same thing."

"You always don't know anything about your best friend, Icchi," Ren said. Even his voice sounded a bit muffled against his scarf which covered his mouth, it did not make him sound less annoying.

"Well, if your regular fracas with Hijirikawa-san is the result of knowing each other too well, I am afraid I prefer my definition of friendship more. Thank you," Tokiya retorted right away.

"But the more important thing is where are Otoya-kun and Haru-chan?" The timing could not be more on the dot. As soon as Natsuki pointed out where was the mastermind of this sudden outing, they could see a couple with a suspicious outfit like theirs, waving at them.

"Sorry, guys. We're..."

"It's okay. We somehow could get used to it," Tokiya said, followed by others' nods. Was it sarcastic? They did not know themselves.

"I promise this will be the last one I got late," Otoya put his palms together, pressing his nose against them.

"Yeah, every day is the last one for you," Syo replied. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"Huh? Plan? Who said we have a plan? I just want to pay for you guys. You guys can buy anything!"

"What?" All of them resonated but were still aware enough to control their voices from drawing unwanted attention.

"Yes. I already asked the managers of your favorite shops to send me the bills. Masa and Tokiya can buy as many books as you both want and the same goes with you guys too!"

"Why are you so... No, to say that you're suddenly generous is not the right word," Cecil said, struggling to find words. "You're always generous but... hmm, what is the word?"

"I can see you're still having trouble with your Japanese," Syo remarked.

"That's not what I meant!"

Yeah, that's not what Cecil-san meant, Haruka thought. She silently observed her husband who was laughing while stopping Syo and Cecil from being at each other's throats.

The rest of them also secretly looked at each other.

The fact that Otoya wanted to pay for everyone in conjunction with their recently high income when they earned the same amount was one thing but...

What's with this bad feeling? No one could tell.

"Otoya-kun," as soon as his favorite voice called him, the said redhead turned.

It felt like he fell in love with Haruka all over again as the sight of her, wearing the light yellow dress that he chose for her met his eyes. She looked good in whatever she wore and that was the fact that Otoya realized as her husband.

Still, his heart could not take it. She looked so beautiful, especially when her loving and anticipated smile was only for him.

"Is this okay?" She repeated as all her husband did was staring at her. She glanced at herself, searching for the part of the dress that might look weird for her body.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah. You look... beautiful," his cheeks were dusted in red as he spurted out whatever his brain could process. It was a typical reaction that she got whenever she tried to dress prettily and she was glad that she always managed to satisfy him.

"Thank you! Then, I will take this one," she was about to get into the dressing room when he reached her arm.

"Haruka..." he stared deep into her eyes as his hand went down to her hand before squeezing it. "Can you wear it now? Please..."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes, I love it! Like, really love it," he exclaimed, holding her hands as he observed her down to her toe.

"Okay, then," she looked down, her cheeks were as red as his.

"Why don't you go and pay for your clothes first. I want to buy ice cream. Any flavor that you prefer?"

"Hm... I prefer if we share the ice cream so you can pick whatever flavor you want," she said. If she was blunter, she would curse herself out loud now for being so cheesy in public.

Yet, she could not help it. She loved it the most when she could share everything with Otoya.

"Oh, really? I was about to ask the same thing," he chuckled, stroking her head. "Then, wait for me here, okay? This is the card. And after this, please settle all the bills for other guys as well. I really wish you can help me, Haruka."

"Huh? Why are you asking me to..."

"Because I got something to do after this. Please... do it for me," he pleaded, unconsciously showing his infamous puppy eyes towards his wife.

Waahh, so cute!

"Okay, okay!" She said, almost blurting out 'Stop giving me those eyes!'

"Thank you, Haruka! Thank you so much! This is why I love you!" He said, hugging her cheerfully like a son who finally could convince his mother to buy a toy car.

"No... problem."

Is it me or is he too excited about this? Why he's so happy with such a small help?

While waiting for his ice-cream, Otoya was gazing at his wife through the glass door. She was talking with one of the saleswomen, laughing and smiling.

Good, Haruka. Please laugh out loud like that. Smile like you're the happiest person in the world. I will always pray for you so that you can continue being a sunshine like that.

Her smile cheered him in so many possible ways that he himself was surprised at. Her smile was so precious and so her laughter. He could hear and see them all day.

Because of her, he found his true home. He found a group of people who would spend their time with him like a family.

I wish we have more time together but...

Still, thank you for appearing in my life, Haruka.

As he paid for the ice-cream and walked towards her, she quickly excused herself and headed for him. The smile was still on her face but this time, it also brought tears to him.

Take care, Haruka. I will always love you no matter where do I end up.

Take care of her, guys. I am sorry for everything.

That was when he could hear feel something sharp and brisk penetrated his heart. Loud sounds followed in horror but the last one that was too painful for him to hear was...

"Otoya-kun!"

As he felt Haruka's warmth against him, followed by her sobs, there was one line clouded his mind before his body felt too tired and heavy that he had to rest eternally.

On the first day of Shining Mall launch, Ittoki Otoya, an idol from Shining Agency was found dead after being shot by a gun.

I am in the midst of finding a new title and trying not to be too descriptive. It'll be time-consuming if I follow the rules of proper writing such as 'Show vs Tell' and what not.