Thank you for the votes, gravixxx, KaySoxs48, and Multi-Fandom_Nerd! This chapter is for you guys. ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own Uta no Prince Sama. I just own the plot.

CHAPTER 15

For the first time in his life, he could and did not believe his eyes.

No, Tokiya thought. The audiences were also in the same boat with his eyes. It looked like they decided to deceive him by staring at him like a strange person who needed his mental condition checked.

'What the heck? Otoya's still alive, you fool!' was what they wanted to scream so bad on his face if only the ceremony was a casual party with no VIPs.

Yet, in fact, they did not have any idea how much Tokiya wanted to yell 'no, he's dead! You guys are the fools one!' back to them.

But, still... Considering the current situation whereby the person that had been the subject of his speech and was here and looked oh-so-healthy, it was bound for Tokiya to be the crazy man here.

The first son of Ichinose family looked at Masato before using the telepathy which he always did with his best friend.

'Is that really Otoya?'Tokiya mentally asked while glancing at his brother who was still gazing at him. It looked like the redhead wanted to butcher him alive which scared him even more.

"Huh? Are you crazy or blind? Of course, he is Otoya!'

Tokiya recoiled as he could feel that Masato was shrieking in his ears, enough from seeing how sharp the scion glowered at him. He had no idea how absurd he looked like as he flinched when he had nobody around him.

The way he looked at Otoya back with the same level of surprise just irked the said boy even more.

"Seriously, what are you so surprised at? Are you trying to make a joke?" Otoya scoffed before averting his attention towards the still confused audiences. "Ladies and gentlemen, I genuinely apologize for my brother's lame joke. Maybe he was keen to participate in variety shows so he just wanted to test the waters. I am so sorry for the shaggy-dog story, though."

Otoya ended up saving the day by making the audiences settled down and at least, laughed at Tokiya's strange melodrama.

Apart from the fact that they were still in the middle of a formal ceremony, the reason why Tokiya did not explode to Otoya like usual was that he was gobsmacked.

Just what happened to his head?

Just what happened to Otoya exactly?

"What the heck are you doing, Ichinose!? Do you want to act that much to the point of you acted so dramatic like that!? Are you freaking out of your mind!?" The way Tokiya got scolded by Hyuga, his ex-homeroom teacher made him seemed blameworthy for committing a vandalism. Meanwhile, standing next to the buff teacher was Ringo, A class teacher who only shook his head out of incredulity.

Hyuga definitely was the most irritated today because all the teachers, VIP and Shining Saotome (of course!) literally shot a death laser at him, mentally admonished him for not preparing Tokiya well enough for the ceremony speech.

"I am sorry," Tokiya said, softly. His head locked down to the floor, pretended to be mortified even his head was still puzzled by the miracle that took place just now.

Otoya... He is still alive...

"What's the matter, Tokiya-chan? Are you not feeling well?" Ringo who was much calmer (most probably from the fact that he was not the one who shouldered the utter embarrassment like Hyuga) asked since Tokiya's face looked pallid.

"Eh? I... I am okay, sensei."

"Then, why do you..."

The next babble of voices from Ringo and Hyuga was no longer being the center of Tokiya's interest as soon as he caught the sight of a certain redhead, talking loudly with Syo and Natsuki.

Not long after that, he spotted Masato who was strolling alongside Haruka. He totally could read the atmosphere, given how blushed the scion looked but he could not care less about the 'romance-to-be' vibes between the two classmates. As rude as the usual him, he did not waste any second to drag Masato to the small corner of the hall.

"Oi, Ichinose! I am not done with you! Come here, you twerp!" He paid no heed to Hyuga's desperate and fuming cry. Instead, he sped up, practically crashed whoever that he could crash.

"What the heck, Tokiya!? I was talking to Nanami!" Masato yelled, struggling to pull away from Tokiya's deadly grip but to no avail.

Tokiya released Masato from his grasp only when they were too far and hidden from other people. The vocalist looked around nervously, making sure that not even a single soul could hear their conversation. He was about to bombard Masato with a long series of questions when he could feel a hand pushed his head out of the blue.

"What the heck was that!?" Tokiya looked at Masato, as incredulous as how the scion glared at him.

"That's my line, you fool! What the heck is wrong with you!? You acted like some sick weirdo when you were supposed to give a prestigious speech and now, you dragged me all the way here just when I was about to confess to Nanami! Why did you do this to me, you fool!? Why!?" Masato looked resolute to impair Tokiya's eardrums as he shouted as raucous as possible, sending his friend to flinch.

"So loud," Tokiya muttered, covering his innocent ears.

"Whose fault is that, you fool!?"

"Okay, I am sorry! Jeez, you are so... Okay, okay! Just stop shouting, won't you!?" Tokiya lifted his palm up to Masato's red face, deciding to capitulate for the sake of his eardrums. How was he supposed to be a great musician if he could not hear after this?

"So, what do you want?" Masato asked with his arms crossed over his broad chest. Even he sounded so calm, the way he put his beefy arms was enough to warn Tokiya that he would not hesitate to show off his judo skill in case the blue head still showed any sign of absurdity and insanity.

"That... That redhead... Who's he?" Tokiya asked, putting on a panicky face.

Again, the ridiculous-looking face... I should be with Nanami now or else, somebody will die today, Masato thought, suppressing himself from punching his own best friend.

"Huh?"

"I mean...The one who interrupted me while I delivered a speech just now," Tokiya described.

"Oh... That guy..." Masato's expression darkened. His blue eyes stared at the floor, looking all shocked. "I actually wonder about that too, you know? How can he possibly be here? Wasn't he supposed to die?"

Tokiya's eyes brightened up. As expected from Masato who was always...

"Like hell, I will say that. I just copied and pasted your dramatic speech just now," Masato's sardonic and annoyed expression went back to their place. This time, he looked like he would gobble Tokiya like a titan from certain anime. "Being thrown to the ground after rejecting Shibuya, one-week disappearance... What are you? A scriptwriter now?"

"I swear he was dead!" Tokiya persevered and this time he did not recoil like a wuss even when Masato got his fist ready.

"Don't make me laugh, Ichinose Tokiya! If you are going to be insane because of the pressure of being an idol, you should be from the start! Why now!? When your dream is achieved and you already have a lot of offers for movies."

"But... But..."

"But what?" To see that Tokiya looked so confused, Masato decided to calm down and gave his friend a chance to explain himself.

"What really happened exactly?"

Noticing that this conversation would not go anywhere unless he answered Tokiya, Masato tried his best to explain everything while resisting his punch from spontaneously throwing itself at Tokiya whenever the guy showed his stupidly confused face.

From Masato's narrative, Tokiya found something different.

The curse never happened. He never cursed Otoya to die.

Otoya had never been the matchmaker of Tomochika and him.

Otoya never disappeared for a week.

Otoya never acted weird nor asked Masato to stay away from him.

And the most important thing was... Tomochika never killed Otoya. Instead, she was expelled from school because she ordered the C Class trio to attack and confine him in the derelict class.

That was the only truth and not out of his 'delusion'. The fact that Tomochika perceived him and Haruka as the threats was correct.

"So, have you gotten your memory back now?" Masato said, eyeing the possibility for Tokiya to regain his sanity.

"Masato," Tokiya responded. The scion could spot the sign of absurd fortitude, emitted from his friend's eyes.

"What?"

"To be honest, there are so many things that I don't understand. Maybe I lost my memory or something so can you, by all means, clout me so that I can make sense what exactly happened to Otoya? You know judo so if you want, you can throw me down as well."

This guy, Masato froze on his spot. He could feel that his brain was haltingly processing Tokiya's words, given how ludicrous it sounded in his ears.

Can somebody help me hark back to why I was befriended by this guy?

"..."

"Please, Masato," it became more annoying when Tokiya switched on his dramatic mode, grabbing his arm forcefully.

"You are not my friend anymore. Bye."

"Masato, please!" When Tokiya reached his shoulder, that was when Masato snapped like a barbaric monster.

"Just cut it out already! Why the hell should I hit you all of sudden!? You are not making any sense!"

"That's why I want you to clobber me. I want to make one!"

"What!?"

"Pleasseeeee, Masato! I need you to hit me now. You are strong so your hit should give sufficient impact," Tokiya patted his head with Masato's hand so that it could encourage his friend to bash him to the fullest.

"People might misunderstand if they see this..." Masato responded, slowly. He was that tired to put up with Tokiya's rubbish.

"Then, do it before anyone sees this. Pleaseeee...."

"You are crazy, Ichinose Tokiya," Masato raised his thick palm, summoned the courage to bash Tokiya. As much as his temper was tested so many times by the guy, he never thought for one second that he would clobber him.

"Don't make that face!" Masato yelled as he could see that Tokiya already grimaced.

"I am sorry but your hand is so big, Masato. It's scary."

"Then, is it my hand's fault for being so big!?"

"No, not at all! In fact, it comes in handy for a situation like this."

"..."

As Tokiya expected that his face was going to meet its pathetic and absurd destiny with Masato's slap, someone interrupted out of nowhere and hugged him tightly.

"Eh?" The best friends exclaimed as soon as they saw Otoya, glared childishly at Masato.

"Masa, what are you doing? Why are you trying to hit my brother?" Otoya pulled Tokiya closer to him as he said 'my brother'.

"Eh? That's... That's because this idiot forced me to do so!" Masato pointed his accusing finger at the blank Tokiya.

"Ehhhh? Why, though? You are weird, Tokiya!"

I am weird because you are being weird, Otoya.

"And what are YOU doing here?" Masato asked the cheerful redhead.

"Oh, I am here because my brother has a lotttt of things to explain now," Otoya said as dissatisfaction written over his face.

"I know right," Masato remarked as he understood the guitarist right away.

"Eh? What are you guys talking about?" Tokiya stupidly asked.

Otoya crossed his arms while looking daggers at Tokiya. His cheeky and bubbly expression was no longer there, much to Tokiya's panic.

"You are so unbelievable, Tokiya. You said you hated me and then when I tried so hard to save you from Tomochika, you became nice to me. I thought we finally got along but now, BAM! You suddenly faked my death in front of those VIPs, those teachers... Just what the heck is wrong with you, big bro? Are you insane?"

"I think so. He needs to examine his mental condition," Masato acknowledged, ignoring Tokiya's dissatisfied look.

"You said that I died because I tried to save Nanami from... Who? Tomochika? Yeah, it's true that she paid for the consequence but it's not because she kidnapped Nanami. She ordered her minions to assault you and that's why she was expelled from this school. And then, there is this story about my disappearance like whatttt? You are my roommate, Tokiya! How come you cannot notice that I am around? And after that, you said I already died but came back again as a ghost and then I left everyone again. Just so you know, logically, nobody in this world could live more than once. Because of your absurd script, everybody got dubious about me. They think that I am a ghost! That's the saltiest claim that I have ever faced in my life! You are responsible for this, Ichinose Tokiya!"

"Yes, yes, you. You are responsible for this, Ichinose Tokiya," Masato nodded, silently enjoyed himself to see somebody knock some sense into Tokiya's head.

"I am sorry," Tokiya muttered in defeat.

"Thank God," Masato scoffed.

"By the way, you guys! Just now, Cecil introduced me to his mother. She resembles me and when I took a closer look, she reminded me of my mother," Otoya remarked. "Kotomi-san is positive that I am her son but I said that's impossible. Like... How could I possibly have two biological mothers, right?"

"Yeah, you are right," Masato agreed.

Oh, my... Aijima-san really brought his mother here, Tokiya was quickly worried in case Aijima family wanted to take Otoya away from him.

What should I do??

This can't happen, Tokiya thought as he slowly stepped downstairs. Much to his shock, Cecil and his mother, Kotomi came to their house, talking about Otoya.

"What the hell are they saying? Why are they coming here? Do they really want to take Otoya away?" He mumbled to himself when their conversation sounded faint in his ears.

"Who wants to take me away?"

"Waahh!"

"Shhh!" Otoya, the reason for Tokiya's surprise covered his brother's mouth in panic. Meanwhile, the three heads in the living room turned to their direction in utter shock, did not expect a human could produce such a deafening sound.

"Er... Hehe. Well, that's Tokiya, my first son. You know him, right, Cecil? He always shouted randomly because he loves to practice his singing. Maybe he wanted to try more genres," Kazuki remarked awkwardly before looking daggers at his sons, sending Otoya to mumble 'sorry' while pointing at Tokiya.

"You're so loud, Tokiya," Otoya whispered after those three people continued their conversation.

"It's your fault. Why did you come here?"

"It's because when I came from the kitchen, you looked like a robber who wanted to rob his own house," Otoya justified, flatly.

"Em... Well, I want to know what they are talking about," Tokiya went red out of discomfiture.

"Oh, I see. Actually, they want to know more about my past. That's why they come to see daddy," Otoya answered, calmly.

"What!? For what?" In contrast, Tokiya looked more horrified.

"Because Kotomi-san is still positive that I am her son so she wanted to find out the truth, I think?"

What's the deal with the woman? Can't you see that Otoya belongs here and he's not your son? Tokiya mentally complained.

"Then, are you going to leave me?"

"Huh?"

"If she's really your mother, are you going to leave me? We'll never meet each other again. You'll be brought far away from here..."

"You make it sounded like they are trying to kidnap me, Tokiya," Otoya put on a blank face which suggested disbelief. "Plus, like I told you, it's impossible. My mother passed away from a car crash. There is no way I can have two biological mothers, right?"

"Yeah..." Tokiya replied, weakly.

He did not need more family drama about a long-lost son. He just wanted Otoya to stay here, as the part of Ichinose family.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing over there?" He was startled by a high-pitched voice from the ground.

"Otoya..."

He climbed the tree house because he wanted to clear his mind from thinking about Otoya but as usual, it became the redhead's hobby to invade his privacy.

"I believe you are supposed to read a book in your room instead of climbing a tree, right?"

"I feel bored. This place is much cozier," Tokiya answered flatly.

"Well, you got a point there," Otoya climbed up the tree, taking a seat beside his brother. "But... Daddy said to me that this area is quite haunted, especially at night like now. Last two weeks, our neighbor just bumped into a messy-haired ghost."

That sentence sounded familiar but where did I hear it? No, the whole conversation itself... It's like a déjà vu, Tokiya pondered.

Ah, that one! The first day after Otoya was discharged from the hospital. We talked about ghosts, right?

As soon as they met eyes, Tokiya could swear that he saw something in the red eyes.

It was like Otoya tried to say something like 'does it sound familiar' but later, Tokiya was convinced that it was only his imagination since when he took a closer look, there was nothing wrong with Otoya's eyes nor his facial expression.

Maybe... It's just my imagination.

"It has a pair of red eyes, sharp teeth... The face itself... It looked like it's just been scratched and stabbed..." While Otoya was trying his best to scare his brother with his cheeky face, Tokiya was resisting himself from showing how a chill flew in his veins.

It was slow but intimidating. It made his heart beat so fast when he noticed that Otoya was literally copying his sentence before and threw it back to him.

This kid... Is he trying to make fun of me instead?

At this moment, Tokiya was not only convinced that all of those disturbing things that happened to him and Otoya were not his mere imagination but...

He was also positive that he was not the only one who knew and experienced them.

Otoya was with him. Otoya knew everything.

"Why do you look so scared, Tokiya?" It was calm and out of worry but Tokiya felt something was terrifying there. "Are you, by chance... Are you starting to feel afraid of ghosts? That can't be... I said those things because I know you are not scared of them!" Otoya exclaimed dramatically.

"No, I am scared because you don't feel scared at all. What's gotten into you?" Tokiya pointed out, mentally asking Otoya to confess whatever sick jokes he tried to pull on. "Normally, you were scared of the ghosts the most."

"Ehh? What do you mean by 'what's gotten into me?' People can change and so can I. Plus, the ghosts here are not that scary. Maybe they just love this place. They won't disturb us if we don't pick a fight with them."

"And how do you know that? How can you be sure? Have you ever met them before?" Tokiya asked, slightly impatient.

He was hoping to see some nervous reaction from his brother but Otoya was way too calm and...

Tokiya did not like that.

"Well, daddy told me that and I believe in him. Moreover, come to think of it, we shouldn't be so afraid of ghosts when they were used to be humans like us, right? And one more thing, they don't even have a body, a medium that will make it possible for them to touch us, let alone to harm us."

"But ghosts can be sly or tricky, sometimes," Tokiya said. "They come back for a reason. First, maybe they miss someone. Second, maybe they want to ruin someone's life or take revenge."

"That actually sounds scary," Otoya chuckled awkwardly as his hands rubbed each other, emitting some coldness from his body.

"Really? I don't mind, though," Tokiya stated. "If they want to take revenge, go ahead. I am ready to face the consequence."

Otoya turned to see Tokiya, looked all gloomy.

"There is no such thing as that," Otoya said with a smile.

"Really? But after what happened during the ceremony, I started to believe that such thing can happen."

"Instead of taking revenge, I bet they will like you more since you are not afraid of ghosts. They won't harm you."

"I don't expect them to like or forgive me easily but at least, if they want to take revenge or something, I want them to know that I am ready," Tokiya stated, softly.

It was a silence. Tokiya was waiting for the 'ghost' to take revenge on him or confess how much 'he' hated him but much to his shock...

Otoya hugged him.

"Seriously, are you alright?" Otoya said. His voice thickened with concern.

"Nah, nothing. Maybe I feel so cold. That's why I kept talking rubbish. You don't have to feel so uneasy about it," Tokiya slowly relaxed in the embrace.

"Hell, I won't," Otoya suddenly sounded serious. "You acted strangely since the ceremony. Daddy and I were so worried about you. We thought that maybe you just felt stressed out but... The way you acted now... It did not seem like the real you. Our friends also said the same thing."

"I am sorry. I guess that I had a nightmare about you."

"About me?" Otoya pulled away, making sure that his eyes met Tokiya's.

"Yeah. The same nightmare that I said when we were in the ceremony. You died because I cursed you to death and then... You came back. You just wanted to apologize to me and then... You..."

"Tokiya..." Otoya flinched as Tokiya pulled him into his arms. The way his brother sobbed afterward was heart-rending to hear.

"Please don't leave me, Otoya... Please don't go to Aijima family if they want to adopt you. I need you here..."

Otoya slowly curved in a grateful smile.

"Are... Are you not angry at me anymore? Even what I did to mummy?" Otoya asked hesitantly.

"No, I don't. Not anymore. Why should I feel angry with you, Otoya? You are such a good brother for me. My life won't be the same without you."

A few minutes of sobbing passed with Otoya tried his best to comfort his brother with his hand stroked Tokiya's back.

"That's enough, Tokiya. There is no reason for you to cry anymore. You have achieved your dream so it's the time for you to shine more as an idol and maybe... You can start dating someone..."

"No, I don't think I am ready to date someone," Tokiya cut him short. He was done with the matchmaking, dating and what not. He was traumatized. "What about you? You should do something about Nanami-san."

Otoya furrowed his eyebrows. "Why should I?"

"Why shouldn't you?"

"It's because Nanami is dating Cecil. Maybe she could see how much he loves her and I am happy for both of them. If only Masa is not so bashful, maybe Nanami will consider his feeling, given how nice Masa is with her."

If only I didn't drag Masato away from confessing to Nanami, maybe Masato stood a chance. I am sorry, Masato. But, still... You also love her, though. What about you? Tokiya thought, glancing at Otoya's collected face.

They spent more time talking about their career until something crossed the elder sibling's mind.

"Come to think of it, who the heck is the person?"

"Hm?"

"I mean...The one who sent the question about my wish. Just what the motive..."

"It's me, you silly," Otoya smirked before flicking Tokiya's forehead.

"Auch! What!?"

"What do you mean by 'what'? I thought that you want to say something like you want to act in Hollywood or something. I was hoping to achieve them together but you beat about the bush, talking crap about my tragedy. Do you want me to keep alive that much!? I am, you idiot!"

"Ehhhh?"

Otoya's POV

I know Tokiya is still confused but he decided to put it aside and accept the fact that I am still here. Just now, I can see that he looked terrified when I mentioned ghosts. For sure, it's not because he's scared of ghosts but it reminded him of something else. I am not sure what it is. I can't remember it so just like Tokiya, I decided to put it aside and accepted the fact that I already debuted with him and I can attend so many shows with him after this.

For me, that's all he needs to know. He doesn't need to know the rest of it. He suffered more than enough. After this, I just want to see him happy and I don't want him to ponder all the questions in his head because...

Believe it or not, those questions remained mysterious... Even to me.

The rumor remained mysterious... Even to me.

Do you still remember the rumor? It said that Saotome Academy can fulfill any kind of wish. I repeat... It's just a rumor so nobody actually knows the fact. Ren said to me that the academy won't change the destiny of dead people but again...

That was also a rumor. Nobody knew the truth.

So, until now, I still wonder... Was I dead? Did I come back for a short while as a ghost? Am I... A person now?

I could only guess that the answer was 'yes' for all of them, thanks to Saotome Academy.

But for me to be a human again, Tokiya had to suffer from a series of events that I bet would traumatize him for the rest of his life. I really hope he could erase them from his mind and focus on his career. I'll make sure to keep this as an eternal secret including the fact that...

All of those things that happened to me including being cursed, got killed by Tomochika, disappeared for a week were the process for my wish to come true. I wished Tokiya could treat me as his brother but I guess... The academy was too cruel in this one. It wanted to see Tokiya extremely suffered from my death before fulfilling my wish. The fact that Tokiya cried and isolated himself in his room was the proof that he finally treated me like his own brother or to be more exact...

My wish was fulfilled only after I died.

Before I stood a chance to come back alive again, I was always around because I missed Tokiya. I missed everyone. I wish I could say to my brother that he should stop crying because I already forgave him. When everyone in school ill-treated him, I just wanted to go berserk because they have no rights to do so. I felt so upset when he was absent from school and this was when I felt indebted to Masato the most. He was really a good friend to us. Just when I thought of giving up, I came back alive again and I am soooo happy. I guess when Tokiya said countless times to himself that he wanted to see me again, the academy decided to make me alive again while all those tragedies including how I died because of Tomochika would be 'cancelled' and forgotten by everyone except Tokiya and me. I think that's the best conclusion.

So far, I am sure that I am a human. I really hope that I am not a ghost neither already dead and only exist in everyone's imagination because... I don't want to see everyone gets sad again. Enough is enough.

For now, I want to focus more on my job. We are the idols and that's all matters to me. Please wish us luck. Bye, bye.

THE END

Fuhhh, finally! Just finally! T_T I can't believe it ended. Enough is enough. I no longer have to make Tokiya, Masato, Cecil, and Tomochika suffer from 'OOCness syndrome' :D

Well, before I officially end this story, I would like to say thanks to guys who have read, commented and voted this story. Some famous writers here said that you know people love your story when they vote so I can't believe this ridiculous story got votes and deserved more votes (according to gravixxx ^^) Thank you so much! If you want, you can read my other stories like Crystal Time (this was the first fanfiction and I thought it's cringe-making!) and My Little Little Girls (still ongoing). Last but not least, sayonara! Feel free to leave a comment. ^^