Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Hm? Isn't that…?” An blinks as she sees a familiar tall senior ahead of her, “Kamishiro senpai~!”

Rui turns around, “Oya? Shiraishi-kun.”

The singer looks around, “Where's Tenma senpai?”

“Tsukasa-kun is on duty today, so I was thinking about finding him.” Rui smiles.

An crosses her arms, “Don't tell me, senpai wants to disturb Tenma senpai?”

“Ah no, I forgot I have something to tell him. I just remembered it now.” Rui chuckles softly, “Is there anything you want from me, Shiraishi-kun? Or you want to do another tutoring after class like last semester?”

“Ah, I'm fine with that. I have Kusanagi-san to help me.”

“That's great to hear.”

“How's Tenma senpai lately?”

“He's doing fine.” Rui smiles at her, “All thanks to Shiraishi-kun and your friends.”

“Eh? Why?” The two of them stop as An looks up at Rui. “I thought we're just throwing an after party for Tenma senpai?” Well besides it's to let them express their thanks and tell the blonde that he works hard. 

Rui shakes his head. “Maybe to you. But to Tsukasa-kun, it's showing that no matter how many times he falls, he still has people by his side.” He smiles softly, “Tsukasa-kun had gone through so much during last semester…” 

First the car crash… Then the bullying… His fight with his little sister… SEKAI… And Tenmama… 

“The party is enough for him to push him to move forward.”

“Kamishiro senpai…” An smiles at him, “Then, I'm not sure if I will bump into Tenma senpai later but tell him for me that, even for this semester, if Tenma senpai needs anything, I will definitely help him!”

Deciding to tease the younger a little, Rui smiles playfully at her. “Then, if Tsukasa-kun is asking you for help with our experiments, will you still help him?”

“E-Eh?” An crosses her arms, “I don't think Tenma senpai will ever ask that kind of questions. Unless it's you, Kamishiro senpai.”

“Oya? Tsukasa-kun is now my classmate, he will definitely still get dragged in.”

“Kamishiro senpai.”

Chuckling at the singer, Rui smiles. “I'm just joking, Shiraishi-kun.”

“Hm, joking. And then the next thing I hear is the teachers yelling your names.”

“Ahaha, it's not a guarantee.”

“It is.”

“Shiraishi, there you are.” The two of them turn. “Saya sensei is looking for you. She's at the faculty room.”

“Thanks!” As she watches her classmate walk away, An turns to Rui, “Well, seems like I need to go now. Later, Kamishiro senpai!”

Rui nods as the younger walks away. His smile never left his face and turned to the window, spotting the actor walking around the courtyard. “Tsukasa-kun…” Then a sad smile flashes on his face. “If only they know huh…”

“I'm going to buy juice. Need anything?” 

“Tuna sandwich.” Akito hands her the money. “Thanks.”

Nene nods as she stands up and walks out from her class. Heading towards the cafe to buy her grapefruit juice and Akito's sandwich, as she is about to climb down the stairs, she notices Rui looking at someone.

“Rui?” She makes her way towards him. “Who are you looking at…? Oh.”

“Nene…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think… We can actually help Tsukasa-kun about Tenmama-san?”

“……” She stares at the chairman, “Well, if we don't help… Then who will?” Nene looks at the taller male. “You know yourself how his talk with Tenmama-san went…” She turns to Tsukasa again. “When school started… During the opening ceremony… He hid it so well as if nothing happened…”

Nene isn't going to lie when she remembers the time when Tsukasa came to them, explaining how his talk with his mother went… And then when the school started, Tsukasa was all back to the usual Tenma Tsukasa. The loud and full of energy, Tenma Tsukasa, who is the world's future star. 

She was surprised by it. “As expected from an actor…”

“You’re right. Tsukasa-kun is an actor. He manages to make everyone fooled by his acting of his usual self in order to not make anyone worried even more…”

“Last time, we really dragged almost all of our friends to help him huh… Even Shiraishi-san and Shinonome-kun sometimes ask me how Tsukasa's been…” Not to mention, even Toya… And the ones who truly know… “Niigo…”

“They're the only ones that truly know.”

“Then, what about Tsukasa's sister?” Nene gives Rui a side glance, “She's the only one who lived together with him for 17 years. Isn't she supposed to be someone who also knows about Tsukasa's situation with his mom?”

“That…” Rui lowers his head a little, remembering the time when he and Tsukasa paid Kanade and Mafuyu a short visit.

“Please… Don't tell, Saki…”

“That depends on Tsukasa-kun. If he wants to tell her… Let him be. But if he doesn't want to… Then why should we argue with him…? It's his decision.”

What Nene said is true. Tenma Saki, the youngest daughter in the Tenma residence as well as Tsukasa's little sister… She is someone who truly deserves to know about her own older brother's situation. 

But what Rui said is also correct. It's Tsukasa's own decision to tell her or not. “True… But, if things go out of control again… Let's agree to tell Saki-san about this.”

Rui smiles at her and nods. “Of course.”

“……” Mafuyu stares at the flyer that is plastered on the cafe's door. 

After she starts living with Kanade, she slowly begins to want to try something sweet or simply look interesting to eat. All thanks to Mizuki, Ena and Mochizuki, the three of them help her to try out something new. She tried parfait that Mizuki recommended to her, and for the first time in forever, she actually liked the taste of it. 

And in front of her right now, there's a new cake serving in the cafe where she usually eats the parfait with her friends. “I wonder what it tastes like…” 

Living with the composer really brings back the colour in her life… Slowly exploring things that she wasn't really interested in when she was still living with her family… “Maybe I should ask—”

“Asahina-san.”

Hearing the voice calling out for her, she instinctively pulls out her smile and turns to the person. But as soon as she sees who it was, she drops her smile. “Tenma-kun.”

Tsukasa approaches her, “What are you looking at?”

She points at the flyer, “That cake.”

“You want to try it?”

Mafuyu shrugs. Does she even want to try it? Just because she slowly starts to think that some sweets look interesting to eat, it doesn't really mean she really wants to try it. She still doesn't know. “I don't know.” That's why she probably will just tell this to Mizuki and Ena. Those two love eating stuff like this. 

Tsukasa hums, “Then, let's go.”

“Eh?”

As the waiter serves them the new cake, Mafuyu stares at it. “Are you sure that this is okay with you?” Especially how the male also offers her that he will pay for it.

“I’m sure.” Tsukasa eats his ice cream. “I actually noticed you staring at the flyer for 10 minutes… That's why I was wondering if you want it or not.”

Mafuyu closes her eyes as her cheeks turn pink from embarrassment. She… She's been staring at the flyer for 10 minutes…? She doesn't even realize she's been staring that long… “My bad… I didn't even realize it…” She eats the cake.

Smiling softly at her, Tsukasa shakes his head. “It’s fine. So, how was it?”

“I'm not so sure…” She commented quietly but loud enough for Tsukasa to hear. She doesn't want to say it out loud or the workers will hear her. “It tasted different than the usual I eat with them.” 

“Well, it's a new cake.” 

“I guess you're right…” But… It isn't that bad. “Maybe I should buy a slice for Kanade…” 

“Then…” Tsukasa stands up from his seat. “I'll be right back.” 

“Eh? Sure?” She watches the male go to the counter. 

Mafuyu… She isn't so sure how to talk to the male at first. For her, Tsukasa is the loudest person she has ever met. However after the whole incident happened, the male is now quieter than before. The two of them can have their small talk without Tsukasa using his loud voice with her. It wasn't that bad but if someone from Kamikou noticed them talking to each other, all they got was stares. 

‘Well, it's probably a bit weird for them to see Tenma-kun being quiet.’ Especially how Kamishiro told her that Tsukasa is ‘going back’ to his usual self at school. ‘If I was his school friend, probably I would be weird out too.’

“Here you go.”

She snaps out of her thoughts as she sees Tsukasa put three boxes of slices of cakes and… Cupcakes…? “Tenma-kun, why did you buy so much?”

“Well… It's for your group and your SEKAI’s KAITO and the rest.”

“E-Eh?” She blinks. 

“You know… How it's currently hard for me to go there… Without my mom knowing it… Even outside, she somehow could tell that I went there… So, I think like… Probably it's not wrong to buy it for someone else's SEKAI virtual singers if you can't buy it for your own…”

“Tenma-kun…”

“Besides, probably this also should be a… You know, kinda like a ‘Nice to meet you’ greetings for them. We didn't even have a proper greeting yet.” He rubs the back of his neck, “Just consider this as a gift to them. And the cake… Well, it's thanks for helping me so much back then.”

“Is that so…” She nods. “Thank you.”

“It's nothing.”

“Talking about Tenmama-san… So, she really doesn't…”

“No. Too bad right?” Tsukasa smiles at her. 

“Do you have anything in mind that you can probably change her mind?”

“I don't know, Asahina-san. I don't know.”

“….…” Mafuyu lowers her head before looking at the male with a small smile. “I hope you can find your way out of this, Tenma-kun. I'm sure Kamishiro-san and the rest will help.”

“Thank you, Asahina-san.”

“Thanks for walking me back home, Tenma-kun.”

“It's nothing. Besides, I can't leave you carrying all of those sweets.” 

Mafuyu nods, “See you later. Have a safe trip.”

“Later.” 

Watching the male walk away, Mafuyu looks at the box of cupcakes in her hands. “I hope Miku, Len and Rin love these.” She closes the door and puts the box on the table.

“Mafuyu? You're back—E-Eh…?” Kanade blinks as she sees the boxes on the table. “M-Mafuyu…?”

“From Tenma-kun.”

“T-Tenma-san…?” She walks towards the table, “Cakes and cupcakes?”

“The cakes are for us…” Mafuyu ended up buying one more slice for herself as she thought about eating it together with her group as well. “Cupcakes are for Miku and the rest, he told me it's a greeting for them, since we both now know each other's SEKAIs.” Mafuyu looks at her, “He said thanks for helping him.”

“Is that so…” Kanade smiles softly, “Probably we should give his Miku and the other virtual singers something too.”

“Mhm.”

“I'm not sure if Ena and Mizuki are free now… Maybe we'll give them tonight.”

“Sure.” She watches the shorter girl put the cakes and cupcakes inside the fridge. “Kanade.”

“What's wrong, Mafuyu?” Kanade puts the cupcakes inside before closing the fridge. “Do you need anything?”

Mafuyu shakes her head slowly. Looking away for a brief moment before looking back at her. “I just want to ask you something.” Kanade tilts her head. “What do you think about the whole situation we're in right now?”

“What do you mean, Mafuyu?”

“I mean…” She pauses. “Right now… Tenmama-san hasn't said anything about us yet…”

“Are you worried that we might be in the same situation as us and your mother?” Mafuyu slowly nods. 

“I'm a bit… Scared…? I don't know…” She frowns, “Could it be… That this is what Kanade and the rest feel… When you were facing my mom?”

Kanade smiles softly before reaching out to pat Mafuyu's head. “Everything is going to be fine, Mafuyu.”

“Mhm… I hope so…”

“Tsukasa senpai~!” 

Tsukasa turns around and sees Mizuki running towards him. He smiles, “Oh? Akiyama! Good morning!”

“Good morning~!” They jumped in front of him. “Senpai, thank you so much for the cake yesterday! It was so good~”

“Then I'm glad you enjoyed it my dear junior.” He laughs.

“Of course~! Oh and Miku and the rest also enjoyed the cupcakes. And we have a little guest with us right now.” Pulling out their phone, Len appears and shyly looks at Tsukasa.

“H-Hello…”

Tsukasa blinks. “Len?!” This Len looks so different from his. He looks so small and shy… “Your Len is so different from mine…” If Wonderland Len is here, that energetic blonde definitely couldn't stop talking… 

Chuckling, Mizuki smiles at Tsukasa. “Well, different SEKAI different virtual singers~”

“U-Um…” Tsukasa looks at him. “About yesterday's cupcakes… Thank you so much.” Len smiles.

“Anytime.” He laughs softly, “I'm glad that you guys enjoy it.” 

“Len-kun ask me if it's okay for him to meet you.” Mizuki smiles. 

“Of course it's okay!” He grins. Reaching out his hand, Tsukasa uses his finger to pat Len's head even though it's merely a hologram. 

Len looks at Tsukasa, surprised by the sudden head pat. “Ehehe…”

Mizuki smiles before looking around, “Ah, Len-kun, we already arrived at school.” 

Len nods and he looks at the male, “U-Um… Maybe we can meet again one day?” He smiles. Even if he's at SEKAI, Len could feel the finger that gave him a head pat. ‘Ah, if only Tsukasa-san could give me a real head pat…’ 

“Sure do. See you later.” Len waves his hand and disappears back into Mizuki's phone. “He's so shy…”

“Right~ Len-kun is too cute~” Mizuki wrap their arm around Tsukasa's. “He gives you the little brother energy~” 

“I can see that.” Tsukasa smiles at them.

“What about senpai's Len-kun? What is he like?”

The actor crosses his arms as he hums. “I should say, he still has the little brother energy but more energetic then your Len.” 

“More energetic…” Mizuki smiles as they take off their shoes and change it. “Eh~ He sounds fun. Then if senpai's Len-kun wants to see us, I'm sure the others won't mind.” 

Tsukasa smiles. “Of course!” 

“Morning, Tenma.”

“Good morning!!”

“Tenma! Have you finished yesterday's work?”

“Hm? Of course I have. Why? Don't tell me you want to copy my work.”

“Come on Tenma~ Just for this once.”

“You've been copying my homework since last semester!”

Mizuki smiles to themselves as they watch Tsukasa talk to his classmates. “Tsukasa paisen~” Tsukasa looks at them. “See you at lunch!” 

“Later!”

Probably they should let Tsukasa be with his classmates now and head to 2-B class right now. Along the way towards their class, Mizuki slows down, taking their time to head there with a frown on their face. 

“Senpai… Really acting all fine huh…” The acting is so real that even Mizuki can't help it to think that Tsukasa really returned to the self that Mizuki is well-known for. “As expected from an actor…” They chuckled sadly before stopping walking and frowning. “Senpai…”

If only… Mizuki could do something for Tsukasa… They know… How the talk went worse than they all thought… Lowering their head a little, Mizuki sighs. “I wonder what I can do to help Tsukasa senpai…”

“Ah, Akiyama-san.”

Mizuki looks up and sees Nene walking towards them. “Nene-chan~” They smile, “Good morning!” 

“Good morning.” Nene smiles back before tilting her head, “Is everything okay? You look down just now.”

“Ah…” Mizuki frowns a little before shaking their head. “Nothing really… Just a bit worried about Tsukasa senpai.”

“Oh…”

“Ne, Nene-chan.” She looks at them. “Do you have anything in mind that you can help senpai?”

Nene blinks as she rubs her arm. “Not really… But, I'm sure we'll figure out something soon. Right now, Tsukasa is still Tsukasa. Though he's now acting to make sure no one sees him like that… We'll figure out something…”

“……” Mizuki smiles softly, “Why don't we walk to class together?” They wrap their arm around Nene's. 

“E-Eh?”

“You know how our classes are next to each other… Please, Nene-chan~!” Looking at the diva with pleading eyes, Nene sighs softly before she smiles and nods. “Yeay~!”

Saki stares at the black board as she's trying to balance her pencil between her mouth and nose. Resting her elbows on the table as she put her chin on her hands, “Hm…”

“Saki, everything's fine?”

Saki looks at Shiho before she lets the pencil fall and sighs. “Something's wrong with onii-chan… I can feel it… Like he's hiding something from me.” She frowns.

Leaning to the table next to Saki's, Shiho crosses her arms. “Hiding something? Like what?”

“Onii-chan has been acting so weird lately… I can tell something is up but I can't really tell what it is…”

“Have you tried talking to Tsukasa-san?”

“Already, but onii-chan said nothing's wrong… Onii-chan and his lie… He thinks I can't tell something's definitely up with him…” She puffs her cheeks in anger. 

“Good morning-wonderhoy~!!” Emu opens the door of the class happily. With her classmates greeting her back, Emu puts down her stuff and smiles devilishly as she sees Shiho is back facing her. However, as she's about to jump onto Shiho…

“Well, I'm sure you'll figure out what happened to Tsukasa-san soon. I mean, you know him better than any of us, so it wouldn't be weird if you can immediately tell if he's acting weird for once.”

“But onii-chan is acting weird!” Saki pouts.

Emu froze and backed up from the two. They're talking about Tsukasa's weird behaviour… But she was told by her friends at Kamikou that Tsukasa's acting well to hide everything… So of course Tsukasa's acting well too in his house. But… Saki is his sister… The person who lives under the same rooftop… Someone who grew up together with Tsukasa…

“Hm, oh Ootori-san. Good morning.” Emu jumps as Shiho suddenly greets her.

“G-Good morning!!” She smiles.

“Emu-chan? Is everything okay?”

Shaking her head, Emu laughs. “Of course everything is okay~!” She throws herself at Shiho… Probably should try to change the topic as well. “Do you guys have any plans for today?”

Saki and Shiho look at each other, “Well, we don't have any practice for today.”

“Great! Why don't we go to a cafe and eat something sweet after school?” Emu smiles at them.

“Oh! I heard there's a new cake at the cake shop! Why don't we go there?” Saki's eyes sparkled. “And onii-chan told me it's good too!”

“Really? Then we definitely need to try it!”

Saki nods, turning to Shiho. “Can we Shiho-chan? All three of us?” Emu and Saki give Shiho puppy eyes, to make the other agree with them.

“Urgh… Fine… We'll go to that cafe.”

“Yeay~!” The two of them high five as Shiho smiles at them.

Emu smiles. Seems like they both stop talking about Tsukasa's ‘weird’ behaviour for now. That's good… It's a decision that the male made for all of them… Do not tell Saki about his current situation, unless it's a desire to do so. This time, both WonderShow and Niigo will be extra careful to not make people know what they're facing now. 

“Luka! Where are you!” MEIKO looks around, before finding the pink haired virtual singer sitting at the bench… Staring into spaces. “Luka! There you are, I've been searching all over for you.”

Luka turns to her with a smile. “Mei-chan~” Luka chuckles softly as MEIKO sits next to her. “Did I make you worried?”

“I'm just making sure you don't sleep in weird places anymore.”

“Hm~? For now, I'm not sleepy at all.” She looks at the sky, “I’m still waiting…”

“For what?”

“Rui-kun and the rest to realize about KAITO and Miku-chan… And save all three of them.”

Chapter Text

Tsukasa looks up from his homework and looks outside. It's still raining… The rain really hasn't stopped since this morning, so WonderShow doesn't have any practice for today. If he wants to be on call with a friend, mainly with his troupe… He can't even talk to anyone since his phone is downstairs. Sighing softly, Tsukasa continues doing his homework. 

“Tsukasa!” Turning to the voice downstairs, the said male puts down his pen and walks by to the other side of his room. “We ran out some eggs. Can you go and buy it for dinner soon?” Tenmama smiles as she looks outside before looking back at him. “The rain isn't so heavy right now, so can you?” 

“Sure. I'll go.” Putting away his books for now, Tsukasa climbs downstairs. Taking his phone and money from Tenmama, he grabs the umbrella. “I'm heading out now.”

“Okay!”

Closing the door behind him, Tsukasa stares at the cloudy sky. “Rain huh…” 

Well, nothing interesting really happens. He just had a really peaceful and quiet walk towards the store to buy eggs… Only being greeted by a few school friends and helping an old lady cross the road. Nothing interesting… Not even Miku and the rest of the virtual singers pay him a visit. Tsukasa keeps on looking at his phone, actually hoping one of them will show up but… None of them did until he paid for the eggs. 

But… When he got out of the store… “E-Eh…?” The umbrella… Is gone… Tsukasa looks around before sighing. Guess he should have predicted that the umbrella will be missing huh… Especially he doesn't have enough money with him right now to buy a new one either. Looking at the sky, Tsukasa hums. 

Well, guess he will walk in the rain then. If he stays until the rain stops… What if it really won't stop until tonight? His mother will definitely be worried. 

Jumping onto the puddles, Mizuki hums happily. Today, their favourite seasonal sweet is back at their favourite cafe, and Mizuki is on their way to get them. “Hm~ Maybe I should get it for the rest too.” 

Stopping by the traffic light, Mizuki continues to hum a song before stopping as they spot a familiar senior walking across the road. “Eh?” Right on cue, the light turns green. “Tsukasa senpai!”  

Tsukasa turns around and the next thing he knows someone held out the umbrella to him. “Eh? Akiyama?”

Mizuki pouts. “Geez, you know how the rain hasn't stopped since this morning. Why didn't you bring an umbrella?”

Smiling softly at the younger, Tsukasa scratches his cheek. “I did bring it with me… But it got stolen…” 

“Stolen?!”

“Yeah… What are you doing out here, Akiyama?”

“I'm heading towards a cafe. What about senpai?”

“Buying eggs.”

“……” Mizuki looks at the plastic before looking back at Tsukasa. They can see water dripping from Tsukasa's hair… The male is all wet… ‘I wonder how long senpai's been walking in the rain…’ Mizuki smiles at him. “Then, do you want me to walk you home?”

“I'm fine with it.” Tsukasa smiles, “Thanks for the offer.”

“Ah.” Somehow… It feels a bit weird… Before the incident happened… Tsukasa would definitely strike some poses in the rain, like he had shown to Mizuki before… Right now, the male barely poses and only smiles at them.

Not to mention… This isn't the first time Mizuki heard from the older male that he lost his umbrella when going somewhere… Usually, Tsukasa would run back home to not get wet and somehow scream as well… But now… ‘Tsukasa senpai just walked in the rain…’

“Akiyama?”

Tsukasa… Really changed a lot… And… Mizuki won't lie… That they miss the old Tsukasa…

“Akiyama? Is something wrong?”

Mizuki shakes their head. “Nuh uh. I'm fine. Anyway! Let's go get some sweets, senpai!” They wrap their arm around Tsukasa's.

“E-Eh?”

“Come on!”

“But I need to go home.”

“Home can wait but sweets can't!” Mizuki looks at Tsukasa with pleading eyes. “Senpai, let's just go~ Besides you don't have any umbrella to walk back home!”

“I'll be fine, Akiyama.” 

“Nope! Just nope! Remember you used to scold us that playing in the rain can get us a cold?” Mizuki huffed. Time to give Tsukasa his own medicine. “And you're walking home without an umbrella! Right now, I'm the one who has an umbrella so you're coming with me!”

“Akiyama—”

“Hm? What's that? You said you will come?” Mizuki smiles widely, “Then, let's go!!” 

Tsukasa smiles softly and lets himself be dragged by the younger one. 

“The rain seriously won't stop huh…” Akito hums as he looks outside from the window of the shop.

“Well, they did say that the rain won't stop until late midnight.” Toya comments as he picks up a few CDs and looks at them. “It won't be a heavy rain but it is still raining. Hm… I wonder which one…”

Akito looks at Toya, “What's that for?”

“I need some inspiration for our songs.” Toya smiles. 

“Ehh…” As soon as Akito looks outside again, he sees two familiar people walking outside the shop. “Geh, Akiyama and Tsukasa senpai…”

Hearing Akito mention Tsukasa's name, Toya immediately looks up. “Where?” Standing up, the singer smiles. “It is Tsukasa senpai.” Putting back the CDs, Toya walks away. 

“Wait, huh? I thought you're going to buy them?”

“I didn't say I wanted to buy them.” Toya smiles at him. Taking his umbrella, the singer hurried to catch up with the two. “Tsukasa senpai! Akiyama!”

“Wha—Toya!” Akito catches up. 

“Ah! Otouto-kun is also here~” Mizuki smiles. 

“Where are you heading to, Tsukasa senpai, Akiyama?”

“I’m walking Tsukasa senpai back to senpai's place after we both got our sweets together!” Mizuki shows them the bag of sweets and grins. 

“Eh? Where's your umbrella?”

“It got stolen.” Tsukasa looks away from them, smiling awkwardly. 

“Ha? Stollen? How come?”

Tsukasa sighs softly and starts to tell the duo about how he got his umbrella stolen. “And now, since the rain still hasn't stopped, Akiyama here decided to walk me back.”

“Well, if I didn't drag Tsukasa senpai with me and dry his clothes as well, he probably would walk back in the rain.” Mizuki shakes their head. “Or worse—”

“Senpai will catch a cold.” Toya frowns.

Akito sighs. “Can't you at least buy a new umbrella rather than walking back in the rain, senpai?”

“W-Well…” Tsukasa shakes his head. “Don't worry, next time I'll buy a new umbrella.” He smiles before looking at his phone, realizing it's already late. “A-Ah! I really need to go now!”

“Eh? But I thought—”

“Thanks for the sweets, Akiyama! The offer too! But I really need to go. See you three at school!” He runs back home, without letting any of the three to actually lend him their umbrellas. 

“And there he goes…” Mizuki pouts as Akito sighs. “Well if he didn't come to school this Monday, we know why.”

“You're not wishing Tsukasa senpai to get sick are you, Akito?” Toya frowns and crosses his arms. 

“Ha? You literally see how paisen ran back home in the middle of the rain.” Akito sighs. “Maybe you should go ask paisen’s sister to look after him in case he does catch a cold.”

“Hm, not a bad idea, Akito.”

“Oh ho~? Does Otouto-kun now care so much about Tsukasa paisen~?” Mizuki grins.

“Good for you, Akito.” Toya smiles.

“Ha? What's wrong with you two?!”

Saki hums as she stares at the sky from the balcony. “Hm~ Even today it's still raining~ I wonder when will the rain stop… It still hasn't stopped since yesterday.” She pouts before hearing someone knock the door. 

“Saki? Can I come in?”

Noticing it's her brother, Saki nods. “Sure!” Tsukasa enters her room and makes his way towards her. “What's wrong onii-chan? Do you want me to help you with something? Or do you actually feel sick?” Yesterday she was told by Toya how her brother soaked himself in the rain. She got worried sick and eventually scolded her brother. 

“I'm fine, Saki.” Tsukasa sits next to her.

“So, what's wrong?”

Tsukasa blinks at her before chuckling, “Nothing, Saki. Is it wrong for me to come to your room?”

Pouting slightly, Saki moves closer to her brother and leans to his shoulder. “Well, onii-chan just suddenly came to my room without any reason…” 

“Did I really make you worry?” He frowns but still shows his smile. Patting Saki's head, Tsukasa chuckles softly. “My bad for making you worry.” 

“Especially how yesterday Toya-kun said you soaked yourself in the rain.” 

“I told you right? My umbrella was stolen.”

“But why didn't you buy a new one?”

“I didn't bring extra money with me yesterday.”

Shaking her head at her brother, Saki leans to him again. “I'm glad that Mizuki-chan found you and let you borrow her umbrella for a bit.”

“Well, Akiyama dragged me to the sweet shop before I went back home…”

Then the sibling hears someone knock on the door and opens it. “Ah, there you are Tsukasa.” The two of them turn around. 

“Mom? What's wrong?” 

Tenmama smiles, “There's someone I want you to meet and he's downstairs. Saki can come too if you want.” The two look at each other before following their mother. Both of them blink as they see an unfamiliar man sitting in the living room, talking to their father. “Tenpapa, Akatsuki-san.”

Tenpapa looks up and smiles. “Oh! The kids are here.” He chuckles, “Akatsuki, I'm sure you remember my children.” The dark red haired male turns around. “Tsukasa and Saki.”

Akatsuki hums before smiling at the two. “Ah yes! Tsukasa-kun and Saki-chan! I remember you two.” He chuckles, “The last time I remember seeing you two, when you were this small.”

“Uh…”

“Ah, of course. They might not remember me.” Akatsuki smiles. “My name is Kanzaki Akatsuki. It's nice to see you two again.”

“Kanzaki Akatsuki…” Tsukasa's eyes widened, “Wait! You mean The Kanzaki Akatsuki?! The director of the drama ‘Counting Days’ and ‘For you my future self’?!” 

“C-Counting Days?!” Saki's eyes widened. She loves that drama so much to the point she records it just to make sure she can watch it over and over again. 

“Oh? Seems you know my name through my top two original dramas.” He chuckles. “I wonder if I should be surprised.” 

“Akatsuki here is actually a friend of mine from middle school until high school.” Tenpapa smiles.

“That's right. Oh and I heard from your parents that Tsukasa-kun is a freelance actor. Is that correct? Together with your show troupe.”

“Y-Yes, we are!”

“Well, if I offer you to be in my newest drama… Will you agree to be a part of the main cast?” 

“Eh?”

“K-Kanzaki Akatsuki?” Rui blinks. “You mean… The director of ‘Counting Days' and ‘For you my future self'?” 

Tsukasa nods. “And he offered all of us to be a part of the main cast for his new drama he'll be directing this weekend. Akatsuki-san told me he hasn't found the correct actors to play four roles and he told me that we should try for it. And today we should be going to his studio to see if we suit for the four missing roles.”

Nene awes. “T-To be in Kanzaki-san’s drama…” She smiles. 

Emu smiles widely, “Then, why don't we go now!” Looking at each other, they all nod. 

“Let's go!”

Tsukasa looks around as he opens the studio’s door. “Excuse our disturbance.” As they all enter the studio, all four of them awes. “T-The studio is big…”

“As expected from a successful director…” Nene mumbles softly. 

“Oh! Tsukasa-kun and friends are here.” They all turn around and see Akatsuki approach them with four script books in his arms. “Did I make you guys wait?”

Rui and Nene blink as they look at the redhead in front of them. They… They are standing right in front of Kanzaki Akatsuki… Talking to him and breathing the same air… What kind of dream came true is this…?

“Ah no, we just arrived here as well. These are my friends.”

Emu smiles, “Hello! My name is Ootori Emu!”

Snapping out from her shock state, Nene smiles. “Good afternoon, I'm Kusanagi Nene. Nice to meet you.”

Rui smiles at him. “I'm Kamishiro Rui, it's a pleasure to meet you, Kanzaki-san.”

Akatsuki hums. “Tell me. How close you are to each other.”

The four of them blink before Rui steps forward to answer his question. “We're pretty much close after working together for a while.”

“No, no. I want to know. How close you are with your partner in your troupe.”

“Huh?”

“Like for example, Tsukasa-kun with Kamishiro-kun. How close you two can be or maybe Tsukasa-kun and Emu-chan. I need to know that.”

“Well…” Now Akatsuki moves his attention to Nene. “Rui and Tsukasa are really close to each other… Meanwhile I'm pretty close to Emu.”

“So boys and girls duo?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Can you four stand up there and form a straight line? Just stand there normally.” Looking at each other, they follow everything Akatsuki told them to do. It lasts for 10 minutes before Akatsuki smiles at them. “I see. Wait here and you kids can have a look at the script books while I go get the casting director.”

“That's… Unexpected…” Nene blinks. 

“I wonder why he asked us to do that.” Emu hums.

Rui looks at the script book. “Everlasting Love…” Rui looks through the book and hums as one of the scenes catches his eyes. “Tsukasa-kun. Page 14 scene 25.”

Opening to the page and scene Rui told him, Tsukasa reads it. “So rather about a love story… This is about friendship huh…”

“You told us that Kanzaki-san is looking for actors for the four missing roles… I wonder if it is related to what he told us just now.”

Looking through the character list, Tsukasa hums. “The only close friendship I see in the list is the main lead, Yuudamari Sakata, and his three close friends. A boy and two girls, Aikawa Wataru, Tsukizaki Natsume and Orihara Sakura.”

Rui nods, “Yuudamari Sakata, the main lead. The youngest son of the famous Yuudamari family who's a family of pianists… Aikawa Wataru, an orphan that grew up with his grandparents… Tsukizaki Natsume, the only daughter of the Tsukizaki family… And Orihara Sakura, the oldest daughter of the Orihara family…” Rui nods as he continues to read the four main leads. 

Tsukasa leans to Rui, pointing out the conflict of the story, “Seems like Wataru, Natsume and Sakura will be helping Sakata with this.”

“Interesting~”

Nene hums as she looks through the book. “Seems like this will be a 30 episode drama… T-That's a lot…”

Emu hums as she reads the summary of the drama. “Hm? A pianist… And three friends that bring colours into his life…” Emu blinks. “The main lead's parents don't like their son's friends…” She gasps loudly. “That's so sad!”

“E-Emu?” 

“The main lead's parents don't like his friends when the three friends are the ones that saved him from his darkness.” She looks through the script again, “And a huge conflict will happen…” She frowns. “But it will have a happy ending…”

“But, this drama looks heavy…” Rui hums as he continues to read the conflict scene from the drama.

“I know right…” Tsukasa read the script. 

“Sorry for the wait.” All four of them look up and see Akatsuki walking towards them with a woman behind him. They all stand up as the two adults approach them. “So?”

The woman stares at them one by one. “So you kids are around 16-18?”

“Tsukasa-kun and I are 18 while Nene and Emu-kun are 17.”

The woman nods. “So according to Akatsuki-san you're freelancers?” They all nod and hand them their resumes. “Oh? You kids already have your own resumes. I'm impressed.” She smiles. “Well, since we'll be starting the shooting this weekend and we still haven't found any suits for the characters…” She looks at them one by one. “Well, if Akatsuki-san is the one who chooses you kids, then I believe in the director's choice.”

“You mean…”

Akatsuki nods, “Since the casting director agrees with me, you four can come to your first day of shooting this drama this weekend!” He grins, “And goodluck practicing your roles.”

“Our roles? But we didn't know what our roles were.”

“I already gave it to you the moment I handed the four of you the script book.”

“Eh?”

“At the first page of the book.” The woman smiles. Finding it rather cute that they didn't realize Akatsuki already chose them to be the roles before he confirmed it to her and the rest of the crew to prepare clothes for those four.

Yuudamari Sakata - Tenma Tsukasa 

Aikawa Wataru - Kamishiro Rui 

Tsukizaki Natsume - Kusanagi Nene 

Orihara Sakura - Ootori Emu 

Chapter Text

“D-Drama?!” Ena blinks. “All four of you?!”

“That's right! WonderShow will be acting in a drama!” Tsukasa smiles.

“And Tsukasa-kun here got the main lead.” Rui chuckles. “While I got the second main lead.”

Shizuku smiles and claps her hands. “Wah~ Tsukasa-kun and Kamishiro-san are going to be on TV~ How lucky~ Congratulations to WonderShow. I'll be rooting for all of you~!”

“Hinomori-san, if I'm not wrong you've been on TV as well.” Mafuyu chuckles at her.

Airi laughs softly, “Well, it's not wrong to support our friends that will be on TV, especially in a drama. That's right, which drama will you guys be in?”

“The drama's name is ‘Everlasting Love’. Another original drama written by Kanzaki Akatsuki-san.” Rui smiles. 

“K-Kanzaki Akatsuki?! The director for ‘For you my future self'?!” Ena gasps even more as she smiles widely. “I love that drama so much!”

Airi blinks. “A-Amazing… Kanzaki Akatsuki-san… Uwaa now I'm jealous that you guys have the opportunity to work with him.” She smiles. 

“Kanzaki Akatsuki… Oh? If I'm not wrong, he also composed his own OST for his dramas.” Kanade smiles. “I don't really watch his drama but I listen to his drama's soundtracks for a while.”

“He sounds like a really amazing person.” Mafuyu chuckles. “How do you know he's searching for actors, Tenma-kun?”

“Ah, turns out Akatsuki-san is actually an old friend of my father. He came by my house two days ago and asked if WonderShow wanted to be a part of his drama.”

“Old friend?!”

Tsukasa nods, “I was shocked as well but with Akatsuki-san offering this to us, it might be a chance for us to grow further! A chance for me to become the world's future star!” 

Shizuku chuckles, “Goodluck, Tsukasa-kun! I'm sure you'll do great for the drama. I'm rooting for you~” She turns to Rui. “Kamishiro-san as well! Goodluck with your shooting~!” 

Rui chuckles and nods. “Thank you so much, Hinomori-san.”

Airi then turns to her phone as she gets a notification. “Ah, it seems like me and Shizuku need to go now. Minori and Haruka just ended their extra class for today and we'll be meeting a new composer for our new song.”

“Ah right. I forgot about that.”

“A composer?”

Airi nods, “We've been looking for someone to write our new songs. But right now Hasegawa-san is busy, so we need to find a new composer.”

Ena tilts her head before looking at Kanade. Seeing how Ena looks at her, Kanade blinks. “W-What…?”

The artist leans to her, “Why don't you try to write a song for them?”

“B-But, I don't know if my song ever suits them…”

“Hm?” Shizuku turns to the two. “What do you mean, Yoisaki-san?”

“W-Well… Momoi-san said you guys wanted to search for a composer to write your song, so Ena suggested to me if I could write one song for your group.” Kanade looks at her drink, “But I'm not sure if my songs will ever suit MORE MORE JUMP!’s image.”

Airi hums, “Maybe if Yoisaki-san can email us or send me a sample of your songs… Maybe we can look through it?” She crosses her arms. “Besides, it's also good for us to expand our image as an indie group. We can try new kinds of songs to sing.”

“Mhm! Whether it's ballads, happy or sad songs, we can always try our best to deliver the song.” Shizuku continues. “We would never disappoint people who do their best to write songs.”

“That's right!” Airi smiles. 

“Then, I guess I will send you a few demos.” Kanade smiles back.

“Alrighty! Then we look forward to your demos.” With that, the two idols leave the group. 

Mafuyu and Tsukasa immediately put down their smiles. “So tired…” They sigh. 

“Are you two okay?” Ena pats Mafuyu's head as the other nuzzles into Ena's hand. 

“I'm fine, just a little bit tired with today's duty.” Tsukasa smiles tiredly at her. “My energy easily drains out lately…”

Ena frowns, “Do you even get enough rest lately, Tenma-san? You know you shouldn't push yourself too much if you're at your limits.”

“Mhm, I'll try my best not to push myself past my limits.” Tsukasa chuckles softly. “I'm sorry if I made you worried, Shinonome-san.”

“Don't apologize for making me worried.” Ena sighs softly. “I'm just making sure you won't push yourself too much.”

Mafuyu looks up at her, “Ena's older sister side kicks in again.”

“What does that even mean?” She crosses her arms before standing up, “Well, I guess I should be heading to school now.”

“Be careful on your way, Ena.” Kanade smiles. The artist nods and waves her hand goodbye. She turns to the two, “So, how things have been going lately? Did Tenmama-san say anything?”

Tsukasa shakes his head. “No… After that night… She really stopped talking about it with me… But her rule is still the same… No phone upstairs…” He sighs softly. “But, she also somehow can tell I went there…”

“What do you mean?”

“Whenever we all went to the SEKAI to practice, Tenmama-san somehow could sense Tsukasa-kun went there.” Mafuyu and Kanade look at Rui, “There once I bumped into her when I'm with Tsukasa-kun… And the way she looks at me has already changed… And kinda like reminding Tsukasa-kun to not go there…” Rui crosses his arms.

“Is that so…” Kanade frowns. “Then, how do you even go there without letting her find out?”

“Rui's place.”

“Kamishiro-san's…?”

Tsukasa nods. “That's the only safe place to go to SEKAI without mom finding out. Mamashiro-san also helped us hide it from mom.”

“Wait, Kamishiro-san's mother… She knew…?” The two nod. “How…?” Mafuyu tilts her head.

“More like… She came into my room while all six of them were there on my phone… And mom saw them.” Rui hums. “Let's just say… Between us four, my parents are the only adults that knew about Wonderland SEKAI's existence and were fine with it.”

“Is that so… Then I'm glad they're fine with it.”

Tsukasa nods. “Yeah… I'm glad…” He lowers his head, ‘I wonder… What will happen if Mamashiro-san’s reaction is just like mom…’ He really doesn't want to know the answer.

Tsukasa paces back and forth as he reads through the script book and studies his role. Muttering each of his lines softly before sitting down on his desk taking a pen to write down some personal notes on the script book. 

He hums, “So… Sakata is a pianist which is an advantage for me because I'm also one… Let's see… Personality…” Tsukasa hums again, “A kind hearted and calm person…” He writes down on a small notepad and looks back at the script book. He flips to the next page. “A piano prodigy… And well-known as his mother's successful son…” Tsukasa stares at a certain line from Sakata's mother.

“As expected from my Sakata~! I know you will never disappoint me.”

And reading Sakata's reaction… “Hm… His response doesn't sound happy but instead…” Tsukasa leans to the chair as he holds the book, “It's empty happiness…” He stares at his character's lines. “Turns out, Sakata lost his heart after years of only playing piano for his mother's sake and wasn't allowed to interact with ‘normal' kids for years…” Tsukasa glances to the wall-less side of his room. 

“Though I often joined recitals and competitions back then, it wasn't that bad that I actually felt empty from it… I mean, it's normal right when you're a son of a pianist…”

For mother's sake… Empty happiness… Doesn't allow him to befriend ‘normal' people…

Something's missing… Something that Tsukasa missed from Sakata's characteristics… “What happened to you, Sakata… What happened to you that made you feel empty?” He flips through the pages, trying to find that hint so he can deliver the character and make him feel alive. “What do I miss from your character…?” He looks through all the lines that Sakata said…

Tsukasa sighs softly, he takes his book and walks downstairs. Looking around for his phone, Tsukasa smiles as he sees it was placed on the shelf. Taking it, Tsukasa places down the script book and calls the certain director. The actor smiles as the other male picks up the call. “Rui, I need a little help.”

“Tsukasa-kun? What is it?” Rui blinks as he glances at the time, “Did your mom allow you to take your phone upstairs?”

“I'm in the living room right now. Wait, am I bothering you with something?”

“Not at all, I'm currently studying Wataru’s character. He's an interesting character I must say.” Rui hums as he flips to another page, “What's wrong, Tsukasa-kun?”

“I need a little bit of help with Sakata… I think I missed something here…”

Rui hums again as he tries to find some scene that has Sakata. “So tell me what you think of his character.”

“Piano prodigy. Close to his mom but not his dad. Kindhearted. Calm. People like him because of his caring side and love to help people…” Tsukasa hums again as he reads through all the things he wrote down. “But… A personality that people don't really know… That his feelings are empty for some reason… When his mother said she's proud of him, all he can feel is empty happiness… I can't figure out why…”

“Have you looked through all his lines to figure out why? Or maybe his actions?”

“I already looked through but… None of them actually mentioned why he feels empty…”

“Hm, how about his surroundings? His parents' line or his friends?” Rui looks through all of Wataru's lines to see if there's any hint on what happened to Sakata. Then he spots on line that might help Tsukasa. “Tsukasa-kun listen to this line of Wataru's…”

Tsukasa looks at his phone.

“ «How can this be a mother's love?! I can't even see the love in her eyes when she looks at you.» And that's what Wataru yells at Sakata…”

“Wait, which scene is that?”

“Page 30 scene 159. It's the climax of the drama… The moment when Sakata already fell deep into his depression…”

“Depression…” He writes it down as his other hand is flipping to the said page. Looking at the part and reading through it, Tsukasa blinks as he finally spots a word. “Neglected…?” He frowns. “What do they mean by neglect…? I thought his mother loves him and takes care of him…” 

Or… He probably still doesn't really understand what neglect means…? “Rui…” The other hums. “What does… Neglect means…?”

Blinking as Tsukasa asks him the question, Rui stops writing down his own notes and stares at his phone. “Well, it means that someone doesn't get enough attention from someone else. If a child is neglected, it means that they didn't get enough attention or love from their family.”

The silence on Tsukasa's side kinda makes Rui worried a bit. 

Rui frowns, “Tsukasa-kun? Is everything okay over there?”

“H-Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Just writing down some notes…”

“Is that so…” But about Sakata's mother, Yuudamari Yuko… She shows how she loves her youngest son here. “Tsukasa-kun, how about Sakata's relationship with his father and older brother?” 

Tsukasa hums again, “He's not close with them. Sakata's brother, Yuudamari Osora, disappears from his life when Sakata was 6 years old… Their age gap is 5 years old. Sakata is 17 while Osora is 22… Meanwhile his father, Yuudamari Kent, is absent from his life… Only appear once in a while whenever Sakata's around… I don't see any scenes here where Kent is showing his love towards Sakata…”

“I see…” Tsukasa already did this much study. Rui nods, “So Sakata is neglected by his father…”

“But I still don't understand why Sakata feels empty when he's with his mother…” Tsukasa frowns. 

“Have you looked through Yuko’s lines?”

“I already have.”

“Give me a second…” Rui looks through every single Yuko’s line to help Tsukasa with the hint. However… Rui did find a hint in Yuko's part. 

“My son is a good son. I don't want him to be around all of you.”

“Wait, you said that Yuko loves her son right?” The other hums as a reply, “But she doesn't like Sakata's friends… The ones who help him get through everything and pull him away from the darkness… Not to mention she doesn't really like Sakata being around ‘normal' people…”

“So, Sakata is controlled by his own mother?”

“Yes. Yuko is a manipulative person… And she made her youngest son her proud trophy because her oldest son doesn't want to listen to her words…”

“While Sakata listens to all of her words and becomes her good boy… In order to not make Sakata rebel against her like how Osora did…”

“She started manipulating her youngest son when he was a child…” Rui crosses his arms as he looks at his notes. “As I thought, the more we dig into this story, this drama is indeed a heavy one…”

Since this requires a really heavy emotion to bring the character to life… Rui is worried for Tsukasa's well-being. Especially how he hears how sometimes actors get so carried away with their roles that they accidentally use those emotions in their private life… And sometimes they lose their identity… 

Rui shakes his head, ‘I won't let that happen to Tsukasa-kun.’ He flips open the page. 

Though this drama is indeed heavy, like Emu said before… It's a happy ending where Wataru and the two girls saved Sakata. “A happy ending…” He mutters. But before that can even happen, there's a lot of heavy scenes as well as crying… Even to a point where Wataru also cries when he's confronting Sakata. 

“Then… If you’re crying to practice for a show… What kind of sadness do you take to cry real tears?”

Rui rests his head on the table as he remembers what his mother asked Tsukasa back then. ‘What kind of sadness… I need to take… So I can cry real tears…’ He narrows his eyes.

“What memories do you use to make yourself cry? What painful thing do you need to remember to do so? Do you tell yourself that you’re tired? Do you need to remember all the painful things you face just to cry…?”

He frowns to himself. This… Will be a bit of a challenge to him. 

“Rui? Are you still there?”

“Mhm, I'm still here.” Rui sits up straight, probably he can figure it out one day… 

“I think I should go now, it's already late. See you tomorrow at school Rui.”

Rui nods, “Sure. See you tomorrow.” With that Tsukasa hung up the call. He let out a small sigh as he stared at his notes. “What kind of emotions do I need to use to make Wataru feel alive…?” 

Wataru isn't that complicated. An orphan that grew up with his grandparents… Someone who cares so much for his group friends that he eventually grows a bit overprotective of them. Wataru always looks after the three but he gives Sakata extra care. 

“So that's why Kanzaki-san asked if we're close to each other or not…” Natsume and Sakura are really close to each other while Wataru is close to Sakata. Akatsuki wants to see the close friends dynamic from them to make sure his characters are alive. Rui looks back at the title of the drama. 

Everlasting Love.

“Love…” If this story is about friendship… “I'm sure there's a reason why he decided to name the drama this.” 

“Eh? The main lead for the drama has already decided?”

“Yup.”

“Since when? So Tachihara got the main lead?”

“Oh, Riku got the main lead's brother.” 

The male blinks, “Wait, in all people Tachihara didn't get the main lead?” The other nods, “Then who got it?”

“A freelancer.”

“Huh?”

The shorter male wears his bag and looks at the brunette. “If I'm not mistaken, Kanzaki-san told me all four main leads were given to a freelancer troupe.” He hums, “What's their name again… Oh right, Wonderlands X Showtime.”

“Wait, you mean the troupe from that theme park?”

“So you know them?”

“Only heard about them.” The brunette hums. “What's in Kanzaki-san’s head when he chooses them…? They're just an unemployed troupe.”

“Beats me. You know how well Kanzaki-san chooses people for his dramas. Kanzaki-san’s casting never fails. I'm sure he sees something in them that leads him to choose them as the main leads.” He stares at the others before sighing, “Amamiya, please don't give me that look.”

“What look?” He smiles. “I'm just trying to figure out why he chooses them, that's all.”

“Don't question the director's choice.” The short male sighs again, “No wonder he gave you the antagonist role…” He shakes his head. “Well, shooting starts tomorrow and I hope you'll come just right in time.”

“Of course. I will never disappoint the director.” Amamiya chuckles. Watching the other walk away, the brunette hums. “Wonderlands X Showtime huh…” A certain someone comes across his head as he looks at the script book in his hand.

Tenma Tsukasa.

Amamiya hums amusingly. “Finally huh?” He walks away with a smile, “Look forward to working with you, Tenma Tsukasa. Especially when Kaede Mayura and Yuudamari Sakata don't have a good impression towards each other… Especially to Aikawa Wataru.” He chuckles softly.

“Acho.”

“Tsukasa-kun, are you okay?” Rui hands him a tissue. 

Mumbling thank you, Tsukasa wipes his nose. “Yeah, I'm fine. Probably someone is just talking about me. Let's just continue to study.” He eats his egg roll as both him and Rui continue their discussion about their roles for the upcoming shooting. 

“So, more digging… Kaede Mayura somehow always picks up on Sakata when he's alone and Wataru always protects him from Mayura…” 

“Doesn't this seem familiar…” The two of them look at each other. 

“Takahashi.” They said it together.

Tsukasa laughs, “Well, that will help you when Wataru protects Sakata from Mayura.”

“Fufu, that's right.” Then they can see Nene walk towards them. “Ah, Nene, care to join us?”

Nene rolls her eyes, “Well, what do you think I'm here for?” She sits down next to Rui and shamelessly takes one of Tsukasa's lunch and eats it. “I've done my homework with Emu yesterday and here is what we both take note of.” She hands Rui her notebook, “Can you take a look for me?”

“Of course.” He reads through all the notes and nods. “You two really did well huh?”

“I need to make sure I prepare myself to be in Kanzaki-san's drama.” Nene plays with her fingers and smiles. “It really feels like a dream come true…”

“It sure is.” Rui smiles at her.

Chapter Text

“Kanzaki-san.”

Akatsuki turns around and sees a brunette walking towards him. “Oh, Amamiya-kun. Is there something I can help you with?”

“About the casting. The main lead.”

“Oh, don't worry about that, I already found the perfect one for Yuudamari Sakata.” He smiles. 

“That's not it.” Akatsuki hums as Amamiya continues. “Why don't you choose Tachihara as the main lead?”

“Oh that's why you're here.” He chuckles softly before sitting down on his chair. “Tachihara-kun only knows basic piano. He's not suitable to be the main lead. Yuudamari Sakata is a piano prodigy. I don't want to take someone who never had that title before to be the main lead.”

“So that's why you choose him as Yuudamari Osora?” 

The redhead nods. “That's right. Meanwhile Tsukasa-kun here is a piano prodigy. So he's suitable to be the main lead.”

“But isn't he just an ex-performer from a theme park?” Amamiya frowns and crosses his arms.

Akatsuki leans to his chair with a smile. “You’re doubting my choice in my castings?”

“Of course not. I'm just curious.”

“There's a potential in him. And…” Akatsuki pauses. “His eyes are suitable for Sakata's problem.”

“Eh?”

“There's something in his eyes… That it's perfect to show what Sakata has been through. Of course we're going to start it with a short flashback to when Sakata was a child, where it started… But throughout the whole story, those eyes can bring Sakata to live.”

“But I read through the script. This drama is too heavy for an amateur like him. Especially with how suicidal Sakata is. Isn't that a bit too dangerous for someone who's still growing in this industry?”

“This is a good opportunity for him to grow. I watched their performances from their website. This is indeed an opportunity for him to grow.” He chuckles, “I know how dangerous it will be for him, that's why I already prepared a psychiatrist for him when we shoot those scenes.”

“Kanzaki-san's already prepared for the worst huh.”

“We don't want anything to happen to our crew while on set. My image and pride will be destroyed if words come out that I don't look after my actors.” Akatsuki laughs softly. “Is there something else you want to say to me, Amamiya-kun?”

Amamiya stares at the director for a while before turning around. “Nothing else but…” He pauses, “A troupe that graduates from a theme park… I don't think they can go far.”

“You look down on them?”

“Who knows. They just don't know how horrible this industry can be. Other than being on set…” He glances at Akatsuki. “People's words can be as cruel as possible. Especially if they still have that naive thinking they can still get so many positive comments on their performance.” 

“True. No one can get away from those anti. No exceptions.” Akatsuki looks out the window. “No matter how well you did, those people will find a way to make you fall.” He looks back at the younger male. “But then, that's the reason why you are still here.”

“Don’t sound so sure you know everything about me.”

Akatsuki laughs softly, “And this is why you're suited to be Kaede Mayura.”

“Whatever. I'm taking my leave now.”

 “See you tomorrow on set.” The other lazily waves his hand as he walks out of the office. Akatsuki smiles at him before he sighs and leans to his chair. Then he got a call. “Kanzaki Akatsuki speaking.” He sits up straight and smiles. “Ah, Shindou-san. So your girls agree with it?” He nods as he listens to the other. “That's great then. I'll be looking forward to it.” 

“Eh?! You'll be singing an opening song for an upcoming drama?!”

Saki nods, “Mhm!! And Shindou-san said that this time we will be singing a song that the director of the drama wrote. So we'll be having our recordings for the song soon.” She smiles.

Mizuki claps their hands, “Congrats, Saki-chan! Leonii has gone this far~!” 

“Thank you~”

“So, what's the name of the drama? I'll definitely watch it and won't be skipping the opening!” This is their first real life drama, usually Mizuki only enjoy watching anime. But for a senior and a friend, they will definitely watch it!

“Um… ‘Everlasting Love'.” 

“E-Eh…? Eh?!! Isn't that the drama that WonderShow will be in?!”

“Mhm! I haven't told onii-chan about this yet. I'm sure he'll be surprised~”

“I'm sure Tsukasa senpai will definitely be shocked by it~” Mizuki laughs. “Ah! That's right! This will also be another solid reason why to watch the drama! Tenmas in the drama~ The big brother is the main lead while the lil sister sings the opening~” Mizuki smiles. “So when will you tell senpai about it?”

“Tonight!”

“Then I look forward to knowing Tsukasa senpai's reaction~!” Mizuki laughs. “I bet senpai's going to scream around the school about Saki-chan singing the opening of the drama's he's in. Tsukasa senpai is really proud of his own sister after all~” They nudge Saki. 

Saki chuckles softly, “Ehehe~ Onii-chan just being onii-chan.” Then she looks at her phone, “Ah! I need to go now.” Standing up, Saki smiles at Mizuki. “Thanks, Mizuki-chan for inviting me to buy boba tea with you~ I will definitely invite you to a hangout next time. Oh and don't tell anyone okay?”

Mizuki nods. “It’s fine~ I need to go too. Well, see you later, Saki-chan! And I'll keep my mouth shut~!” They grin. 

“Mhm! Bye bye~!” Saki waves her hand. Watching Mizuki walk away, Saki hums to herself. “Well let's go home~”

Arriving home, Saki immediately goes straight to her room to put down her stuff before heading towards her brother's room. She did notice her brother's shoes on the shelf so there's no need to wait for him then! Knocking on the door, Saki smiles. “Onii-chan? Can I come in?”

“Sure.”

“Onii-chan! Onii-chan! I have something to te—” As soon as Saki opens the door, she flinches at the empty look her brother gives her. “O-Onii-chan…?”

Blinking as he shakes his head, Tsukasa puts down his script book on the table and turns to her. “What's wrong Saki?”

Noticing the script book, Saki sighs. “Hah~ I was so worried~” She enters his room and closes the door behind her.

“W-Worried…? What do you mean…?”

“Onii-chan had this empty look on you, I'm worried that something really bad happened and it turns out you are just practising.”

Tsukasa laughs awkwardly at her. “My bad, Saki.” He crosses his arms with a smile. “So is there anything I can help you with? And when did you come home?”

“I just arrived but that's not important.” Saki pulls her brother to sit down on his bed. “I have something to tell you!”

“Oh? What is it?”

“Ne, onii-chan. Do you know who will be singing the opening song for the drama you'll be in?”

Tsukasa hums as he crosses his arms. “Hm, Akatsuki-san told us he already found the artist but he didn't tell us yet. What's wrong, Saki?”

“You know~” Saki grins. “Leo/Need will be singing the opening for ‘Everlasting Love'~ And we'll start recording the song soon~!”

Tsukasa blinks, “Eh…? EHHHHH?!!!!!!!” He grabs her arms as his eyes widen, “SAKI YOU WHAT?!!!”

“O-Onii-chan, your voice is too loud!!” Saki sighs before smiling at him. “Yup! We'll be singing the opening song for the drama you're in~” She giggles. “Ehehe~ If we watch the drama together, mom and dad will definitely hear me singing and watch onii-chan acting.”

“Do mom and dad know about this?”

“Not yet~ I'm planning to surprise them but I don't know if she can find out about it when they announce who will be singing the opening of the drama… You know, like how they usually announced it on the internet.”

Tsukasa crosses his arms and nods. “Hm, you're right…”

“But, but~ I'm so happy~! Singing the opening of a drama… Ha~ I never thought we could reach this point. We just want to be pros and do our best for all of our performances.”

“Well.” Tsukasa pats her head. “This is also a way to promote your group to people around Japan! You know how famous Akatsuki-san is, and I've seen the two previous dramas’ songs actually reached millions of viewers!”

“I… I know! B-But… What if we didn't reach those expectations?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“W-Well, of course I'm happy that we're going to have some recognition from people around Japan… But I'm a bit worried that we won't reach Akatsuki-san’s fans expectations… Onii-chan knows how amazing all the opening and ending songs are for Akatsuki-san's dramas.”

“Hah? Are you doubting yourself and your band, Saki?”

“Eh?! Of… Of course not!” Saki shakes her head, “It's just… I'm just worried that we might get a little bit overwhelmed with the sudden views we will get once the song is posted… Onii-chan knows how our highest view right now barely reaches 10k views right…?”

“Hm… You're right… It will be a little bit overwhelming if you girls suddenly get views above 10M and that's really not a small number…”

“R-Right!” Saki noticed how when she told Mizuki and a few of her closest friends, she never told them about her worries. Well, isn't it better if she only tells her worries to one of the people she trusted the most outside of Leo/Need? Her big brother. “10k and 10M… The gap is too big!”

Tsukasa chuckles softly before patting her head. “I get it. It really is going to be overwhelming if you girls suddenly get that high amount of views in your channel. But this is also an opportunity for you girls to grow. You know how there's also pro bands out there singing opening songs for anime and dramas! Even movies! You girls can also learn so much more with that.”

“Like…?”

“Maybe meet a well-known band?” Tsukasa smiles at her. “You can learn something from them, like how they composed their songs or how they handle things between them… Or most importantly, how they balanced their life.”

“How they… Balanced their life…?” Saki tilts her head, “Like…?”

“Well, once you reach pro level, your group will definitely already reach a point where you girls get the recognition you deserve. So from that point, people will sometimes follow your life updates on SNS. And from that, you'll be having two different lives, the well-known one and the private life one.”

“Uwa, onii-chan really knows a lot…”

Tsukasa laughs, “I thought you had some friends who're pretty well-known?”

“Ah right, Haruka-chan and the rest of MMJ! How could I forget? I saw how they are all wearing fake glasses and sometimes disguised so no one can tell it's them!”

“That's right!”

“Heh~ I see~”

“But what's more important is that you girls always remember why you formed a band in the first place.”

“Hai~! We won't forget that!” Saki smiles before she wraps her arms around her big brother. “Onii-chan is the best! You're really my number one and only big brother! I love you!”

“Saki…” Tsukasa tears up before wrapping his arms around the younger one, standing up and spinning around his room. “You're the best too! My number one and only little sister!!! No one in this world can replace you, Saki!”

Saki laughs as the two of them spin around, “Wa~i! And no one can replace you too, onii-chan!” Falling to the floor with Tsukasa under her, Saki snuggles close to the older male. “Thank you for being in my life, onii-chan… I can't imagine other people being my big brother other than you… Onii-chan is really my big brother that I've ever asked for! And… Thank you for always being there since little.”

Tsukasa looks at his sister on top of him before smiling and pressing a kiss on her forehead. “It's my job as your big brother to always be there for you, Saki. I can't imagine myself being other people being my little sister instead of you. So thank you as well, for existing in my life. I don't think I can live in a world where I lose you, Saki.”

“Mhm, me too… So onii-chan, promise me you won't do anything stupid.”

“Hm? Why do you think like that? Also, what is ‘anything stupid’ you're talking about?”

“Anything that is stupid and actually can be properly talked about.” Saki pouts slightly. “So promise me, onii-chan.”

“Hai, hai.” He pats her head. “I promise I won't be doing anything stupid for my little sister's sake. And Saki as well.”

“I promise~” She giggles.

Then the two of them could hear someone knock on the door and open it. “What are you two doing on the floor?” Tenmama blinks. “If you want to lay down, lay down on your bed.”

“Mom!” They both sit up. “When did you come home?”

“Like maybe five minutes ago. I heard you two being loud from the kitchen and suddenly went quiet, that's why I decided to check.”

“Eh? Really?” Saki smiles apologetically at her, “Sorry, mom.”

“It's fine, but… What are you two being loud about just now? Can I know what it is?” Tenmama smiles. Looking at each other, the siblings stand up and drag their mother to sit on the bench and tell her everything they talked about. “Eh? Saki's band is going to be singing the opening song for the drama?” 

“Mhm! Shindou-san said they will announce this news soon so I think it's better if my family knows about it before they announce the opening song.” 

“Congratulations, Saki! I'm so proud of you!” She hugs her daughter. “You girls really come this far huh?” Tenmama looks at Tsukasa as well before pulling him in her arms too. “I'm so proud of you both… You two grew up too fast…” 

“Mom…”

“Well, it's all because of mom and dad's support!” Saki smiles widely, “If it's not because of mom and dad to support us, we won't be here. Right, onii-chan?”

“Yup! If it wasn't for mom and dad's support, we wouldn't be reaching this point!”

“You two…” Tenmama shakes her head and smiles. “Don't forget that this is also because of your hard work.” She pats their heads. “Your hard work brings you here, no matter how hard the challenge is, you two continue to push forward and keep doing your best… I'm so happy for you two… My two precious stars that shine brightly on the skies…” She smiles warmly at them, “Well, why don't we cook something special together to celebrate this?”

“Sure!”

Standing up, Tenmama holds their hands as they all walk out of the room. “So, what do you want to cook?”

“Tenmake special homemade curry rice!” The two of them look at each other.

“Onii-chan and I had the same idea!”

“As expected from us!”

Tenmama chuckles softly. “Anything else?”

Saki taps her chin, “Hm… Oh! How about karaage?”

“Karaage huh?” The older woman nods.

“Shogaki and yakizanaka!”

“Oh? Sounds delicious.” Tenmama smiles. “I’m sure your dad will be shocked when he sees there's so much food on the table.”

“He will~”

“Alright! Let's cook before dad comes home!”

“Hai~!” 

Tenmama shakes her head as she watches the two start preparing all the ingredients for them to cook.

“B-Bakuno-san?!!!”

The said male turns and smiles as he sees the group, “Tenma-san!” The group approaches him. “You guys just arrived?”

“Mhm, we are. What about you?”

“I arrived five minutes earlier. I heard that Tenma-san got the main lead and the rest of you are the main lead's friends. Congratulations.” Bakuno smiles.

Rui nods, “Thank you, Bakuno-san. Since you're here… Could it be that Bakuno-san is also going to be in this drama?”

The male nods. “I'm going to be Kanade Izumi, Mayura’s best friend.”

“Eh?! Does this mean that we won't be friends in the drama?!” Emu frowns. 

“Emu…” Nene sighs.

“Ootori-san, you don't have to worry about that.” Bakuno chuckles softly, “Only on set we're like that. We can still be friends offset.”

“That's right, Emu-kun. This is just for the shooting of the drama.” Rui smiles at her.

“Is that so? I'm so glad~” She smiles widely at Bakuno, “Then, let's do our best for today's shooting!”

“Let's!”

“Oh? You guys are so lively today.” The group turns and sees the director walking towards them together with a tall woman. “That's a good spirit for the first day of shooting.” Akatsuki laughs.

“Akatsuki-san!”

“Kanzaki-san, for today and the rest of the shooting… We'll be in your care.” Rui bows slightly. 

“We'll be in your care!”

Akatsuki nods, “Don't worry, I will look after you kids. Also Tsukasa-kun. This is Ishiwara sensei. She's going to be your psychiatrist throughout the whole shooting session and she's also a friend of mine.”

“Nice to meet you, Tsukasa-kun.” She smiles.

Rui tilts his head, “Is this because of how heavy Tsukasa-kun’s character is?”

Akatsuki nods as he crosses his arms. “I am aware of how heavy the character will be. Suicidal thinking isn't something we need to take lightly. That's why I am getting a psychiatrist so we can avoid any incidents from happening.” He smiles at the group, “I don't want anything bad to happen to my crews and talents.”

Rui nods, “I see…”

“Kanzaki-san is really well-known to really look after everyone on set.” Bakuno looks at Tsukasa, “I've studied your character a bit… And Tenma-san really needs to have a psychiatrist to make sure you don't fall.”

“Mhm, I noticed that.” Tsukasa hums before nodding. “Ishikawa sensei! I'll be in your care!!” Tsukasa bows slightly at her.

Ishikawa stares at him before she nods. “I'll be in your care as well.” She chuckles softly. ‘This kid… He's really been through a lot huh…? A bright kid like him… Yet his body language really shows how he's already tired with his personal life…’ Ishikawa continues to stare at Tsukasa. ‘Thankful enough that Kanzaki-san decided to have me here to look after Tsukasa-kun… If not… I'm afraid something bad is really going to happen. But…’ 

She looks at the director, “You really know who you will choose for your characters huh? Those four… Really suitable for the four main characters.”

“Right?” Akatsuki smiles softly, “I immediately saw that in them when I first saw all four of them together and they were telling me a bit about themselves. Those four will carry this series… I believe in them.”

“Well, you're the director.” The psychiatrist chuckles. 

Not far from them, Amamiya hums softly as he drinks his juice box. Glancing at the group with a hum, taking the bag with him, Amamiya approaches the group with a smile. “Hello everyone.”

The group turns and Bakuno smiles at him, “Ah, Jun-san.”

“Bakuno-san. It's a pleasure to work with you again.” The male chuckles softly.

“Me too.” The actor turns to the troupe. “Everyone, this is Jun Amamiya. He will be Kaede Mayura.”

“Nice to meet you.” 

“Nice to meet you too, Jun-san. I'm Kamishiro Rui.”

“Kusanagi Nene, I'll be in your care.”

“Hello! I'm Ootori Emu! Let's do our best for this drama!”

Amamiya chuckles and nods, “Let's do our best!” He looks at Tsukasa, “And you must be Tenma Tsukasa am I right?”

“That's me.” He smiles. “You already know me?”

“I've been waiting for an opportunity to work with you for a while already.” Amamiya chuckles, “And lucky me that my wish finally comes true. Tsukasa-chan, Kamishiro-san, Kusanagi-san, Ootori-san, Bakuno-san…” He smiles at the five of them, “I'll be in your care for the whole shooting session.” 

“Of course!”

“We'll be in your care as well.”

“Oh and here is some juice for everyone. I bought them so I can at least get to know you guys well.” Amamiya smiles.

Nene glances inside the bag and she gasps softly, “There's grapefruit juice…” Without second thought, she immediately takes the juice before anyone else can take it. “Thank you, Jun-san.”

“Oh? Could it be that Kusanagi-san also loves grapefruit juice?”

“Eh? Jun-san too?”

“I love them so much! If you asked me to choose between orange juice or grapefruit juice, I'd definitely choose grapefruit.”

Nene smiles before chuckling softly. “Based.” 

“Thank you so much for the juice, Jun-san!” Tsukasa smiles. 

“It's nothing, Tsukasa-chan.” Then the group sees how the staff are starting to gather in one place. “Ah, it seems like the director is calling for everyone. Let's go together?” He smiles at Tsukasa.

“Sure!”

“Alright everyone! Right now, we will be reintroducing all of the actors for this drama!” A woman claps her hands. “First! The main character, Yuudamari Sakata!”

“Hai!” Tsukasa steps forward. “Tenma Tsukasa! I'll be in your care!”

“Aikawa Wataru!”

“Hai, Kamishiro Rui!” Rui puts a hand on his chest, “I'll do my best.”

“Tsukizaki Natsume!” 

“H-Hai! Kusanagi Nene! I'll be in your care.”

“Orihara Sakura!”

“Hai~ Hai~! Ootori Emu will do her best!” 

“Next! The rest of the Yuudamari family!” The woman flips the paper. “The mother, Yuudamari Yuko!”

A woman with wavy black hair smiles, “Ayame Kagura here. As always, I'll do my best, director.”

“The father, Yuudamari Kaoru!”

“Hmph…. Gotouda Kashi.” The man with glasses nods. 

“And the older brother, Yuudamari Osora!”

A blond male smiles. “Riku Tachihara at your service, director!” 

The casting director flips to another page and nods, “Antagonist! Kaede Mayura!”

Amamiya smiles, “Jun Amamiya. I'll be looking forward to working with Tsukasa-chan.”

“Kanade Izumi!”

“Bakuno Reki. I'll be in your care.” He smiles and bows a little.

And so, the list goes on. It only takes them a while before the casting director finally finishes with her part and she takes a step back, letting the director step forward. “Alright everyone! For those who have worked with me before, you already should know how we handle everything and the newcomers;” He looks at the four and smiles, “I'll look forward to your acting.”

“Yes!!” All four of them nod. 

“The four of you will be the ones carrying this drama. So give me the best acting ever and don't disappoint me.”

“Don't worry, Kanzaki-san, we won't disappoint you!” Emu smiles.

Nene nods, “Mhm, we'll do our best.” 

“If we make any mistake or our acting isn't like what you picture, please don't hesitate to stop us and point out all of our mistakes.” Rui looks at the staff with a serious look.

“That's right! We'll do our best to improve our acting so we'll reach those expectations and we won't disappoint you. And, thank you so much for this opportunity!” Tsukasa turns to the rest of the actors, “We, Wonderlands X Showtime, will do our best! So we'll be in your care!”

“We'll be in your care!”

“Somehow, those kids are so adorable.” Kagura squeals softly, “Too cute that I want to squish all of them.”

“Ayumi-san really loves cute things huh?” Tachihara chuckles. 

“Especially Emu-chan~ She looks so squishy… I want to get to know them now.” She walks towards the group together with Tachihara.

“Ayumi-san, don't pinch that kid's cheeks too much okay?” 

“I won't~”

Noticing the two approach the troupe, Amamiya hums to himself as he watches the female actor happily talking to the troupe. He smiles as he looks at Tsukasa, ‘Tsukasa-chan…’ 

Ah~ This will definitely be interesting.

Chapter Text

“Put less emotions in the character?” Tsukasa tilts his head. “Is my Sakata not good enough?”

Kagura shakes her head and smiles, “It's really good I must say. Your Sakata is something I never thought a freelancer could pull… But how should I put this…”

Tachihara cuts in, “Sakata is someone who completely lost his identity and he has zero emotion other than putting a facade to cover it up. However, the way you put up the character, I can still see the identity in Sakata.”

“What he said.” Kagura smiles. 

“Do you want me to show you an example, Tenma-kun?”

Tsukasa's eyes widened slightly before he nodded. “Yes please!”

Tachihara nods at the woman and the two of them get into places.

Tsukasa hums to himself as he watches them discuss which part they will do to show to Tsukasa. ‘Rather than put more emotions, this time I can't put any emotions…’ He frowns, ‘This is harder than I expected… But…’ He looks at the two actors, ‘I wonder if they show it how it's done… I'm going to understand more about Saka—’

“Mother.”

The moment Tachihara opens his mouth and starts Sakata's line, Tsukasa froze. His eyes widened at the sight of how empty his Sakata looked despite the male is actually smiling. “Wha…?” The cold smile… As well as those empty eyes that scream how he wants everything to just end and stop the pain… 

Somehow… Tachihara… He completely turned into a whole other person?! “A-Amazing…” This is what professional actors are like… Plus… Kagura’s Yuko is really scary… 

“Ah, my sweet dear, Sakata. You finally come home.”

« Sakata » nods and smiles. “Mhm… I'm home.”

Tsukasa continued to stare at the two as they both continued the short scene as an example—Wait… What do you mean this is only an example for him…? His level and Tachihara’s level… ‘The gap is too big… Way too big…’ He stares at the script and frowns. ‘Can I really… Do it…?’ 

“What's with that long face, boy?”

Tsukasa jumped as someone suddenly gently hit his head with their script book. Looking up, Tsukasa blinks. “G-Gotouda-san!”

Gotouda stands next to him as he crosses his arms. “What's wrong?”

“N-Nothing…”

“Don't lie to me. I don't like liars.” He narrows his eyes and Tsukasa flinches.

“Kashicchi, don't bully that kid.” The two turn and see the other two walk back towards them. “So, Tsukasa-kun, did you see how Tachihara-kun brings out Sakata to live?”

“Y-Yes!”

“So what do you think?”

Tsukasa hums, “I can't see any emotions in Riku-san’s Sakata… Even when Riku-san's Sakata is smiling, I can't spot any emotions behind that smile. It's really… Empty…” 

“Yup!” He pats Tsukasa's head. “I'm so glad that you immediately understand and I'm sure you'll do it better than mine!”

“B-Better than yours?!” 

“That's a challenge for you!” Tachihara grins as he winks at Tsukasa. “Do you think you can do it?”

Blinking at how the older male grin… Completely a different person when he demonstrates how his Sakata would be… Tsukasa nods, “I will take that challenge! And if I make any mistakes and still need some improvement, please don't hesitate to say it out loud!”

“This kid's voice is so loud…” Gotouda sighs. 

“Shh! Let him be. I like his spirit and energy. It reminds me so much when I'm still new here in this industry~” Kagura chuckles. 

“Mhm! That's the spirit!” He continues to pat Tsukasa's head before realizing that he's been doing this for five minutes. “A-Ah, my bad.”

Though Tsukasa isn't really used to this, “It's fine… And can I ask you something?” The older male nods. “To be honest… I never really see Riku-san practice…”

“Oh? My role is pretty simple since I have five younger siblings and I'm the oldest.”

“F-Five?!”

“Yup! But I actually have six little siblings… But one of them died due to cancer.”

Tsukasa frowns, “I'm sorry for your loss…”

“It's fine. She passed away two years ago. She's a fighter and I'm so proud of her. She fought her illness for 16 years! And do you want to know a small fact about her? Her energy and spirit are the same as you, Tenma-kun!”

“Me?”

“That's right. She has the loudest voice between all of us and she was really into acting after she watched a show. She told me that she wanted to be a top star one day…” Tachihara smiles. 

“Show…? Do you remember which show she watched?”

“Hm…” Tachihara taps his chin before smiling, “Happy Phoenix! She really loved that show and looked up to Amami Seiichi-san.”

Tsukasa's eyes widened. “That's my favourite show too! And I also looked up to Amami-san!” He smiles widely. “He's the reason why I wanted to do acting!”

“Oh?”

“But although my real reason was I saw my family smile that day and I wanted to make my little sister smile… But because of that show and Amami-san sparkling on the stage… I really want to become a star one day!” 

“Tachihara onii-chan, I want to be a star one day!!”

Tachihara blinks, ‘Just now…’ He smiles warmly before reaching out his hand and pats Tsukasa gently. If his sister is still alive… She would definitely be like Tsukasa huh…? “I know you will.” 

Tsukasa looks at the older male straight in the eyes. There's sorrow and… “Riku-san?”

“You know… Your reason to become a star… To make your sister smile… It's the same as mine when I decided to take acting rather than my own interests.”

“Eh? Your own interests? What's Riku-san's real interest?”

“I'm actually into bands. I play keyboard and sometimes bass.” He chuckles. “I also joined my school band. Both middle school and high school.” 

“T-That… That's amazing… My sister is also in a band! She's in her own band. But… Why did you do that?”

“I told you right? I decided to take acting because I see how bright and wide her smile is.” Tachihara smiles. “And… I want to fulfil her dream.”

“Fulfil her dream?”

“Gotouda-san! Ayumi-san! Your scene is next! Please go to the dressing room to get dressed.”

“Hai~!” The two adults walk away. 

“That's right.” He hums, “Her dream… Is to be a TV star. An actor. So I do this for her sake.”

“But… What about your own dream?”

“Oh that? I'm actually also in a band, but that's more like a hobby. I'm lucky that my friends formed a band and they invited me to join them.” Tachihara chuckles. “I rather treat my interest as a hobby rather than a job so I won't burnout from it.”

“Eh? You can burn out from your own interests?”

The older male nods, “Yup. Sometimes when you have so much fun doing something and once you treat it as a job, it can be stressful. But if you treat it as a hobby…”

“You do it whenever you have free time…”

“Correct! And you can also release all of your stress with it.” 

“Riku-san! Your makeup artist is looking for you!”

“Ah, I'll be right there!” Tachihara looks back at Tsukasa, “Well, you can always look for me if you're stuck.” He pats Tsukasa's head, “Good luck, Tenma-kun.” 

“Thank you so much, Riku-san!” As the male walks away, Tsukasa stares at his script book. “……”

“Tsukasa-kun~!”

Turning around, Tsukasa smiles as he sees the rest of his troupe walk towards him. “Everyone!” He runs towards them. “How's your practice going?”

“We're doing our best, I guess?” Nene smiles. 

“Tsukasa-kun! Give me some advice on being an older sibling please~!” Emu looks at him. 

“Fumu… I guess… You have to look after them when your parents can't. Basically you can be your little siblings’ parents when they're unavailable for the both of you. Since Sakura has two little sisters and their parents are always busy, it means that you have to be their parents.”

“Be their parents?” Emu tilts her head as she takes note of every advice Tsukasa gave her. 

“It means Emu-kun has to be the one who looks after them.” Rui smiles, “You fill in the empty space in them, taking the parents’ responsibility and making sure your little siblings get enough love and care. Am I right, Tsukasa-kun?”

Tsukasa smiles and nods. “That's right! Sakura is also shown as a caring older sister that will sacrifice everything she had to protect her little sisters.”

“Mhm, but I don't really get that.” Emu hums.

“Well, maybe because Emu's the youngest in your family.” Nene smiles. 

“I guess so.”

“Don't worry, Emu-kun. You still have time. They're currently filming the first episode.” Rui looks at the script book. “And next is Tsukasa-kun's turn right?”

“Yup! But I'm a little bit… Unsure now.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“W-Well… I asked Jun-san for some advice… And his Sakata is just… Another whole level than mine.” Tsukasa glances at the set before sighing. 

Looking at one another, Rui smiles. “I'm sure there's a specific reason why Kanzaki-san chose you to be Sakata, Tsukasa-kun.” He reassured the chairman. “The director knows who they choose for their characters. Besides, we were chosen for our characters by the director himself, not from the casting director. Kanzaki-san definitely knows what he's doing.”

“R-Right…”

“If you think you can't do it, we'll be here for you Tsukasa.” Nene smiles. 

“Mhm! We'll help you with everything we can as always.” Emu smiles widely. 

“Don't worry, Tsukasa-kun. We'll always be here for you.” Rui chuckles softly.

Looking at the three, Tsukasa stares at them. “You guys…” He smiles. “Thank you! I'll definitely do my best! Alright you guys! Let's continue—Eh?” The actor blinks.

“What's wrong, Tsukasa-kun?” The three turn to the direction Tsukasa looks before they all gasp as they see a person carrying a box but the male seems like he's going to fall any second now. 

“Careful!” The four of them rush to the male and immediately hold him before the male falls to the ground. Rui frowns. “Sir, are you okay?”

“Ah…?” The brunette glances at Rui before weakly smiles, “I… I'm fine. I just feel a little bit dizzy…” 

Tsukasa takes the box from the brunette. “Why don't you sit down for a bit? Your face looks so pale.” Before the older male could argue back, Rui and Emu carefully let the male sit as Nene found a chair for him and brought water as well.

“Here you go, sir.”

Smiling at the diva, the brunette nods before removing his cap. “Thank you so much.” Smiling more naturally at the four, the troupe stares at him. “U-Um… Is something wrong with my face…?”

“Y-You… You look so pretty…!” Emu's eyes sparkled. 

Nene starts to sweat, “E-Eh? A-Are you a woman…?” She literally called this person ‘sir’. 

Chuckling softly at Nene, he shakes his head. “I'm a man. Don't worry, my face is just a little bit feminine and people keep confusing me as a woman. I get that a lot so I don't mind it at all.” 

“Is that so?” Tsukasa nods, then he notices the person's pass. “Eh?” He's not a staff… But a visitor…

Looking at Tsukasa, the brunette hums. “Ah, you must be the main lead.” He smiles.

“H-Huh? How do you know?”

“Well, I—”

“Oh? Kazuki-kun!” The group turns and sees Akatsuki walk towards them. “You actually came!”

“Kanzaki-san.” The male nods. “Could it be that you're on a break?”

“Yup! We're taking a 30 minute break before continuing. And it seems like you're meeting these kids.” Akatsuki smiles as he crosses his arms. He turns to the troupe, “Since Kazuki-kun isn't really the type to introduce himself to people. Kids, this is Kazuki Asahi. A close friend of mine and a professional actor.”

“Nice to meet you all and correction, Kanzaki-san. I'm not that professional.”

“You are but you keep on taking side characters. You even deny my offer to be the main lead in my dramas.”

“I don't want to make any more issues.” Asahi smiles. “Especially when I'm married now.” He chuckles. “I would rather spend my time with my loved one.” 

“So that's why you only take side characters?” Tsukasa tilts his head.

“Yup. If someone offers me to be in their drama, I would rather take characters that only have a few lines. After I'm married, the longest line I've ever taken was only six lines and my minimum I got was two.” 

“Minimum two lines and maximum six lines?!” Tsukasa's eyes widened. 

“It's not that hard~” Asahi chuckles. “As you continue to grow in this industry, even when you get a side character that only has one line… You definitely will deliver it well. So never give up and keep on doing your best. Everyone has their own ways to learn your character. Even if it's difficult, if you're determined enough for it, I know. You will deliver the character just as what people expect from the characters.”

“Determine enough.” Rui hums and slowly nods.

“Kanzaki-san told me about you kids a little. You're a freelancer that originally works at the Phoenix Wonderland right? Wonderlands X Showtime.” Asahi smiles. 

“Yup! I'm Tenma Tsukasa, the chairman of WonderShow. This is my troupe, Ootori Emu, Kusanagi Nene and Kamishiro Rui.” The three smile at the brunette as a greet.

“After reading the script, I think this drama will surely be interesting since he decided to choose all of you as his main leads. And a little bit dangerous indeed.” He looks at Akatsuki.

“Don't worry, I already prepared a physiatrist for this matter.” 

“……” 

“Ah, I can't have a long chat with you for now. They're calling for me.” He takes the box from Tsukasa.

Asahi nods, “Of course.” Watching the director walk away, Asahi hums as he looks at the script. 

“Kazuki-san.” Asahi looks at Rui, “Why do you think the drama will be interesting?”

“Why huh?” Asahi hums. “Because the drama will be led by freelancers that have zero experience in the real entertainment industry. Not to mention high school kids.”

“Eh?”

“Don't get me wrong. I'm not looking down on you. I'm impressed how you kids are growing up and slowly learning about the truth behind the scenes.” 

“The truth behind the scenes…?”

“Seems like no one told you kids about this, I'm guessing they don't want to scare you. But… Here… You kids are stepping into the real entertainment industry. Where everyone's eyes will be on you. Sure you kids have experienced it enough through your shows when you're still with the park.” Asahi pauses before continuing. “Sometimes, you will attract some unnecessary eyes.”

“U-Unnecessary eyes…?”

Rui frowns a little, “You mean the paparazzi or the media, am I right?”

“Correct. That's why I'm a little bit concerned if you kids are really mentally ready to film the heavy scenes.”

Tsukasa lowers his head before he looks at Asahi. “Thank you so much for concerning us. But if it's to continue to grow so we can reach our dreams… We'll continue to do our best.”

“That's right!” The three nods.

Asahi stares at them before he chuckles softly. “Then, please continue to do your best. Don't ever give up on what you want. Just… A small piece of advice. I suggest you kids to not egosa anything on the SNS once the drama is out.”

“Egosa…?”

“It's ego surfing. You search your name on the SNS to see people's reaction. You're lucky to see the supportive message but it will immediately destroy you if you see their hate comments.” Asahi answers it. “One more… I want you kids to be more careful.”

“Be more careful?” Nene tilts her head. “What does Kazuki-san mean by that?”

“One of the biggest controversies in the entertainment industry… Scandal issues.” 

“Scandal issues…”

“Please avoid that issue as much as you can. If you get caught in the issue, you'll be in big trouble. It would be troublesome if the people caught you together with someone who's pretty well known… It will be a little bit hard to come back since you need to settle it in privacy and go on hiatus in order to fix it.”

Nene blinks, “W-Wait… That sounds… A little bit scary…” Especially when Nene had heard how a famous female singer went on hiatus because she caught up with a scandal with a famous actor. 

“R-Right…” 

Asahi chuckles softly, “Sorry, didn't mean to scare you kids but just be careful okay? And if someone starts harassing you, please immediately tell an adult you trust. It will be a huge trouble if you keep it for yourself.”

“Why?”

“Because sometimes… If you keep something to yourself way too much, and it's too much for you to take… It will make you suffocate and lose your focus on the drama. Their words will turn into hands that choke you as you continue to hide the fact you're already suffocating. They will continue to choke you…” Seeing the looks on their faces, Asahi smiles at them. “But. If you have someone you truly trust with this feeling inside you… Tell them everything you know… Then those hands will disappear and you won't suffocate anymore.”

‘An adult we truly trusted…’ Tsukasa stares at Asahi. 

Smiling at the four, Asahi then noticed a male on a bike, waving his hand at him. “Ah, my partner is here.” Asahi stands up.

“Partner?” The four of them turn. “But he's a guy…? I thought Kazuki-san was married?” Emu tilts her head.

“I am.” Asahi chuckles softly. “That person is actually my husband. I'm basically the wife in our relationship.” 

“Eh… EH?!!”

Nene's eyes widened, “H-Husband…?”

Asahi nods, “Well, since he's here now. I'll be taking my leave for now. Maybe we can meet again one day. Good luck on your shooting kids.” He walks away. 

Nene watches the brunette ride the bike together with his husband and drives away before she blinks. “I can't believe I just saw a real live married couple BL…”

Tsukasa stares at his script book as Asahi's words earlier replays in his mind.

“Because sometimes… If you keep something to yourself way too much, and it's too much for you to take… It will make you suffocate and lose your focus on the drama. Their words will turn into hands that choke you as you continue to hide the fact you're already suffocating. They will continue to choke you…”

‘Hands that choke you… Suffocating… Hiding the pain…’ Tsukasa's eyes widened slightly before smiling. “I think I know how I should deliver my Sakata!” 

“Huh? So suddenly…” Nene blinks.

“That's Tsukasa-kun for ya.” Rui chuckles. 

“I can't wait to see your Sakata, Tsukasa-kun!” Emu cheers.

“I will definitely do my best!” Tsukasa grins at them. “I'm Tenma Tsukasa! I will do my best to deliver Yuudamari Sakata and bring him to life!”

“You seem fairly interested in that kid, Asa-chan.”

“Am I? I just want him to do his best in this drama. He looks so serious with this drama, Amatsuki-san.” 

The male hums as he eats his food, “Well, I'm sure he will.”

“Of course.” Asahi chuckles softly. “I can't wait to watch the drama~”

Chapter Text

Since the four of them are still high school students and Akatsuki told them to balance their school life as well, WonderShow only required to come to the set to shoot for the drama during weekends. On weekdays, the crew will only film every moment that doesn't have their scenes. If the school ends early and they don't have any homeworks to do, they're welcome to come for the shooting. 

Right now in 3-C class, during the empty period both Rui and Tsukasa are discussing more about their scenes. It's a little bit surprising to everyone, including the teachers, in school since there's no explosion from the famous oddball duo. They spend most time discussing and practicing for their roles in the drama. 

“Since both schools end early today, I guess we'll be filming this scene soon.” Tsukasa hums as he stares at his script book.

Rui nods, “Well, it's already been a week since we started shooting. If this one goes well, then we'll be shooting this one today then.” He taps his pen against the table.

“Right…” Humming, Tsukasa reads his line. 

“Uwa… It's already been a week, Kamishiro and Tenma didn't do anything crazy.”

“Right, maybe they finally decided to let the school be peaceful?”

“They are really busy with their new job huh?”

“I saw the book once, it's actually a script book for a drama.”

“Eh?! They'll be in a drama?!”

“Our classmates will be in the drama… Uwa…”

“Sometimes I forget that they're actors…”

“Tsukasa, Rui.” The said two look at the window as Nene looks at them. “I can't come to practice at the rooftop during lunch. It's my duty at the library with Aoyagi-kun today.”

Rui nods, “Sure.”

“Tsukasa, what about you?”

“I don't have any duty for today. But I do have tomorrow.” 

“Well, that's tomorrow.” Nene smiles, “Well, I should go now. See you after school.”

“See you!” Tsukasa smiles before he turns back to his book. “Now, where was I…?”

“Nee, nee, Tenma-kun.” The duo turn and see their classmates approach the table. “You two are so quiet lately.”

“Which show you'll be on next? We can come to watch.” 

“Ah, Hanako-san, Tamaya-san.” Rui smiles, “This is actually for a drama we're in. But we can't really show you much since it will kinda be a spoiler.”

“Eh~ But we're a bit curious though…”

“Don't worry! They'll announce the airing date soon. We're currently filming for episode three and four. There's still a long way to go.”

“How long will the drama last?”

“30 episodes.”

“Uwaa…”

“Is Tenma going to have a loud character again?” 

“What does that even mean…?”

Rui chuckles softly, “Well, quite the opposite.” He smiles as the ones that listen to their conversation look at them with a confused look. “Tsukasa-kun.” The said male looks at him, “Why don't you show them your role? Introduce yourself to them but use your role’s personality.”

Tsukasa hums, “I guess I can.” He smiles before standing up, clearing his throat. “Everyone's ready?”

“Show us what you got, Tenma!”

Taking a deep breath, he closes his eyes before reopening it. As Tsukasa opens his eyes, he smiles. “Nice to meet you, I'm Tenma Tsukasa. I'll be in your care from now on.”

“Eh?” 

The whole class immediately went silent. Tsukasa is smiling but there's something wrong with his intonation. Some of them actually noticed his eyes are empty yet the male is actually smiling. For some reason… In front of them is just an empty body without any soul in him. Just empty… Completely different Tenma Tsukasa from the usual Tenma Tsukasa.

Rui hums. “Tsukasa-kun, I think when we're practicing soon, you should calm down a little before you start.”

As the director starts to speak, Tsukasa immediately turns to him, returning to his usual self. “Maybe. Ishikawa sensei told me to be careful while practicing.”

“U-Uwa… You'll be acting like that throughout the whole shooting session…?” 

“Yup!” Tsukasa smiles, “What do you think?”

“A-Amazing!”

“You look like a completely different person, Tenma!” 

“Mhm! Mhm! As expected from the actor.” 

As the whole class continued to phrase him, Tsukasa's mind completely thought about the opposite of everything they said. 

“It's still not enough. Your Sakata right now is still suitable for the early episodes but it won't be when we start filming the climax.”

Tsukasa frowns to himself, ‘Still not enough… I follow all of Riku-san's advice… Even Kazuki-san’s hints… But…’ Tsukasa stares at the book, ‘I still don't get it…’

Rui stares at Tsukasa, “……”

“Somehow their phrases just makes me wanna believe that my acting is actually good enough for Sakata.” Tsukasa hums to himself as he eats his food.

“I mean, I'm sure there's still more hints that we can help you to improve your acting.” Rui leans to the fence, eating his food as he carefully puts the vegetable at Tsukasa's lunch box. 

“Eat your vegetables!”

“No.”

“Tsukasa-kun~ Rui-kun~” A familiar virtual singer with twin tails pops out from Tsukasa's phone, smiling widely at them. “Miku came to visit~”

“Oh, Miku.” Tsukasa smiles.

“Hello there, Miku-kun.” Rui smiles. 

“What are you two doing? Where's Nene-chan?” Miku looks around.

“Nene can't join us today. She had library duty.” Tsukasa eats the vegetable Rui put earlier before he puts away his lunch box and takes his script book. 

“I see~” Miku hums as she sees the script book, “Oh? You're going to practice?”

Rui nods. “We are. Since school ends early today, we decided to go to the set today. Oh right, I already informed Kanzaki-san about us going to the set today.”

“Then we should start practicing!”

Miku hums again, “Ah! Why don't you practice at SEKAI instead? Maybe we can help you two.”

Sharing a look with Rui, Tsukasa nods. “Sure! Maybe I can ask a few pieces of advice from KAITO.” 

“Let's go!!” Miku jumps happily. 

With the two of them going to the SEKAI, Rui looks around. It looks like it's still the same but Rui could tell it's a lot quieter than before. Half of the attractions here have already stopped and are never used again by the plushies or any of the virtual singers. Even with the flowers, Rui heard from KAITO and Len that most of the flowers had already withered. 

“Tsukasa-kun~! Rui-kun~!” Miku runs towards them. “Let's go find KAITO!”

Miku… He heard from the others that she actually went missing for a while… And she just suddenly showed up without remembering anything that happened to her. Rui crosses his arms as he follows Tsukasa and Miku from behind. ‘She showed up right before our graduation show at the Wonder Stage and was watching the show together with the others… We're missing something right here… But… What is it…?’

“H—p —e…”

Rui jolts awake, looking around and notices that he's still in his classroom. He glances at the front, the teacher is not there before he turns to Tsukasa. The blonde is currently doing something, either his homework or the script again. Letting out a sigh, Rui rubs his face. 

The dream… He had the same dream again. How long has it been since the last time he got that one…? The dream of someone calling out for help… He couldn't recognize who the voice belonged to but… Wait… Isn't it the last time… He actually saw Tsukasa…? Or is it really him…? He can't remember. It's been too long since he has that dream. But if it's really Tsukasa… 

Hearing the bell, Rui let out a sigh. School ends early and there's no club meeting. He packs up all his stuff and wears his bag before standing up, walking towards Tsukasa's place and smiles. “Ready to go, Tsukasa-kun?”

“Let's!”

As promised with Nene, the two of them wait for her at the school gate. Before noticing a certain animator walking towards them. “Rui~ Tsukasa senpai~” 

“Mizuki.” Rui smiles.

“I heard from Nene-chan that you're going to the set to continue shooting.” Mizuki smiles at them. 

“Yup, we are.” Tsukasa chuckles, “Is there anything we can help you with?”

“Not really but…” They look around before pulling out their phone. “Someone wants to see you.” 

NiigoLen appears from Mizuki’s phone, smiling shyly at them. “H-Hello.”

Tsukasa smiles, “Len. You come to visit us?”

“M-Mhm. I heard from Mizuki-chan and the others that your troupe will be acting in a drama. So I wanna say good luck to you two.”

Rui chuckles, “Is that so?”

“Is that me from another SEKAI…?!”

Hearing the familiar voice from Tsukasa's phone, he pulls up and another Len shows up. “Len…”

Wonderland Len's eyes sparkled as he looked at the other him. “Uwah~! I can't believe there's another me!”

“M-Me too…” NiigoLen smiles. 

“W-What are you guys doing there…?” Both Mizuki and Tsukasa immediately pull away their phones as they see Nene approaching them with Akito, An and Toya.

“Oya? Aoyagi-kun, Shinonome-kun and Shiraishi-kun are here as well.” Rui smiles.

“Tsukasa senpai. Kamishiro senpai.” Toya nods at them. 

An smiles, “Could it be that senpai is actually waiting for Kusanagi-san?”

Rui nods, “We do.”

“Ah right, you guys will be on a drama TV…” Akito hums, “Goodluck with the shooting for the drama then.”

“Thank you so much, Akito!” 

“Well, since Nene is already here… I’m sure Emu-kun is already waiting for us at the meeting spot.” Rui looks at the second year students. “We’ll take our leave now. Mizuki, thank you for the extra support.” He smiles knowingly at them.

Blinking at first, Mizuki smiles as they finally get it. “You’re welcome! We’ll be rooting for you guys. I can’t wait to watch WonderShow on TV~!”

Tsukasa chuckles and crosses his arms, “Then, we’ll be doing our best. See you guys tomorrow.” The three of them walk away.

Mizuki stares at them before sighing. ‘It’s really impossible to not notice how Tsukasa senpai has already stopped doing his weird poses…’ They frown. ‘I wonder if there’s anything else I can help him with…’

“Akito, Toya, have you guys noticed how Tenma senpai has been less loud and hasn't done any weird poses lately?” 

Akito nods, “Yea, it’s hard to ignore it when we already know him for a while.”

“Well, Saki-san said that Tsukasa senpai also acts a little bit off at home but he said that it’s probably because of his role in the TV drama.” Toya hums.

“Wait, really?”

Toya nods, “I heard from Saki-san that his role this time is a complete opposite of Tsukasa senpai. So he basically will turn to another whole person.” 

“Uwah…”

‘Turn into another whole person…’ Mizuki watches the actors walking away. ‘I wonder if it's similar to how senpai act before…’

“Tsukasa-chan~!” The four of them turn around and see Amamiya walking towards them. “Could it be that the four of you just finished with school?”

“Jun-san.” Rui smiles and nods, “We are. Both schools end early for today.”

“I see…”

“What about Jun-san? Where did you come from?” Emu tilts her head.

“Same like you guys. My uni class just ended, so I want to buy some drinks before heading to the set.” Amamiya hums, “Do you guys want some drinks? Everything's on me.”

“Eh?”

“Thank you so much for the drinks, Jun-san.” Tsukasa smiles at him.

“It's nothing. It's not wrong to freshen up yourself a little before starting working.” Amamiya smiles before drinking his sake. “This is so good!” He grins. “Want some?”

Both Tsukasa and Rui blink at the offer. “It’s alright, Jun-san. We're still underage to drink that.” Rui smiles at the other male, politely denying his offer. 

“Ah right, you guys are still high schoolers… What a miss.” He finished his sake in one go. “You know, since our scenes together will come very soon…” Amamiya stops in front of Tsukasa. “You really never see me act as Mayura right? You only see me acting as the kind Mayura. Not the bully one.”

Tsukasa nods. “Mhm. Why's Jun-san suddenly—”

Since Amamiya is taller than him, the male immediately towered Tsukasa, his friendly expression immediately replaced with a scary one. “Hello there, « Sakata » -chan.” The male smirks.

Shuddered by Amamiya’s sudden change of attitude, Rui immediately pulls Tsukasa away from the male. “Wha…” 

The male laughs, “What an accurate reaction, Kamishiro-san!” He claps his hands.

“W-What… What was that just now…?” Nene blinks.

“S-Somehow it's a little bit scary…” Emu peaks from Nene's back.

“Hm? It's Mayura obviously.” Amamiya chuckles. “A senior who always picks up on Sakata and Wataru being the one who always protects him.” He crosses his arms, “Tsukasa-chan and Kamishiro-san have the accurate reaction just now. I really want to surprise you two with this but… I just can't wait to see your reaction.”

“P-Professionals are so amazing…” Tsukasa mumbles softly. The way that their roles and their real personalities gap are so big… 

“Tsukasa-chan is amazing too, you know? At first I was scared that you might not be able to handle this role, but you actually can handle it pretty well.” Amamiya nods to himself. “Kamishiro-san, Ootori-san and Kusanagi-san too. You guys really did pretty well for a freelancer. If I’m not mistaken this is the first TV drama you’re in, right?”

“Yes we are.” Tsukasa nods, “We actually appeared in a movie before but we were extras. This is pretty much the first time that we immediately got the main roles without an audition. Especially from a director with a big name…”

Then Amamiya hums, “I’m actually curious… How did Kanzaki-san find you guys? I never see freelancers get into a drama this easily…”

“That…”

He leans closer to Tsukasa, “Or could it be that you guys use connections?”

“Huh? Connections?”

“Yup. Like maybe… Hm… Who knows… Giving money to him to easily accept you guys into this drama?”

“W-What…? We would never…!” Tsukasa frowns.

“I don’t know. I heard how Ootori-san and Tsukasa-chan are both from really well off and rich families. Who doesn’t know about the Ootori group owning the Phoenix Wonderland?”

“What does PhennyLand have to do with this?” Emu tilts her head, “I’m doing this because I have so much to learn so I can make more people smile in this world.”

“And Tsukasa-chan’s mother is a well-known piano teacher right? She had done a few amazing performances and already sent off a few students to perform and one of them being her eldest son.”

“What are you—”

“Everyone who often watches the piano recitals is already well-known about the Tenmas. Her son, who is a young piano prodigy. Even the famous Aoyagi Harumichi, also looks up to your family. If I’m also not mistaken your mother and Aoyagi Harumichi-san are old friends right? Your family is literally well-known in the classical music community. The eldest son of Tenma had been performing in a few performances and participating in many competitions. Almost all the competitions he got the top 3 and eventually got the young piano prodigy title.”

“S-Stop that…” Emu, Nene and Rui look at Tsukasa in worry. “How do you—”

“However, the young prodigy suddenly stopped joining recitals and competitions due to unknown reasons. Many people wondered why he stopped when his mother continued to send off her students in recitals. Some rumours started to spread about whether her son didn’t want to continue due to stress or he was actually being forced to do it or… It has something to do with Tenma's young daughter.”

“You…!”

Rui frowns and looks at the older male, “Jun-san, I think you should stop now. You’re—”

“No one knows and the mother only told them that this is only her son’s request that he didn’t want to join the recitals anymore and didn’t explain any further. That’s why I think you probably use your connection to reach out to Kanzaki-san, Tsukasa-chan.”

“I…”

“It could be from your mother’s connection with the entertainment industry or probably your father’s connection. Again, if I’m not mistaken, your father is also a bit well-known with his own friends right? A hard working father and a kind not to mention someone who always opens his arms to get to know people… It also could be that… Kanzaki-san and your father are old friends from their school years.”

Tsukasa’s eyes widened.

“Akatsuki here is actually a friend of mine from middle school until high school.”

H-How… Did Akatsuki tell him…?

“Ah! I see! Judging by your reaction, that’s definitely how you guys reached out to Kanzaki-san! Tsukasa-chan’s father is an old friend of Kanzaki-san.” He chuckles to himself. “What a dirty way for you guys to come here~” Amamiya smiles and leans closer to Tsukasa, grinning widely and cups his cheek. “You’re really an interesting person to work with, Tsukasa-chan~ I really can’t wait to work with you even more after this.” Before the male could continue his blabbering, Rui, Emu and Nene immediately pull Tsukasa away from him, hiding him behind them. “Oh?”

“It’s true that Tsukasa-kun’s father and Kanzaki-san are old friends. But it’s completely different from what you were thinking.” Rui narrows his eyes. “We’re here because Kanzaki-san reached out for us first.”

“You’re such a creep for digging into Tsukasa’s life without his consent…” Nene frowns. “Tsukasa is our friend and we would never do that to him. Who are you to just randomly get into his life like that?” She can’t believe that they’re going to work with this kind of person…

“We’re not going to let you hurt Tsukasa-kun like this!” Emu frowns, “It’s not nice!”

“You guys…” Tsukasa looks at the three of them.

Amamiya stares at them before he smiles. “Is that so? Then, good luck. Use that ‘protectiveness’ to stop Mayura from continuing to bully Sakata.” He turns away from them, “Whether I was acting or if it’s real… It’s up to you guys to decide. Welp, see you at the set.” Amamiya lazily waves his hand and takes the second can of sake from his bag.

After they make sure the male completely disappears from their sight, the three of them look at Tsukasa in worry. “Are you okay?”

Smiling weakly, Tsukasa nods. “I’m fine. Thank you for backing me up… He really… Got into my mind after he mentioned Saki…”

“It’s alright… But Jun-san is just a creep for doing that to you, Tsukasa.”

Rui crosses his arms, “He mentioned almost everything about your family and even Saki-kun’s well-being…”

“Mom never let it be public about Saki’s health… She only told her closest friends… That includes dad…” Tsukasa frowns.

“He definitely digs into every information about your family…” Nene frowns. “Now it’s kinda scary that people like him also will do the same thing to us…”

“When Kazuki-san warned us to be careful… I wonder if he also meant to be careful around people like him…” Emu looks at Rui.

“That also can be it… Some people actually sell private information of someone to the media to expose them or spread scandal issues so they can bring that person down…”

“But it’s actually really worrying me that he let us believe that he was just acting rather than thinking it’s his normal behavior…” Tsukasa sighs. “To make his role more realistic by doing such a thing…” It’s also scary how Amamiya told him about everything he knows regarding Tsukasa’s family and the three of them pulled him away from Amamiya… Almost accurate to the real scene in the drama… ‘It’s almost an accurate situation too…’

Sakata, Wataru, Natsume and Sakura are hanging out after school ends and the four of them encounter Mayura… Who exposes Sakata’s life that he stalked and the three saved Sakata before the other could continue. 

As for them, the four of them are actually heading to the set and they bump into Amamiya… Who soon goes slowly from being a really friendly person to a creep who digs into his life, and Rui, Emu and Nene pull him away before Amamiya can continue to destroy him…

“Whether I was acting or if it's real… It’s up to you guys to decide.”

Acting… Or real…

How should he know…?

“Let’s… Just go to the set…” Tsukasa sighs softly. “We can’t be late.” Looking at each other, they softly agree with Tsukasa even though they’re all worried for his well-being.

‘Don’t worry, Tsukasa/-kun… We’ll protect you.’

Chapter Text

“Amamiya-kun bullied you?” Akatsuki blinks as the troupe comes up to him and tells him everything about Amamiya. He hums, “What kind of bullying are you saying?”

“He kinda mentioned something sensitive to Tsukasa and something he shouldn't say.” Nene frowns. 

“Mhm! Mhm!” Emu nods.

“With all due respect, Kanzaki-san…” The director looks at Rui, “Is Jun-san always like that…?”

“……” Akatsuki crosses his arms and hums. “Is that so…?” He nods.

“Akatsuki-san?”

“I'm deeply sorry for how he acted towards the four of you. But…” He pauses, “He already told me that he wants to help you kids to practice with your roles. So he's willing to play the villain role in order to help you kids.” Akatsuki smiles softly.

“Wait… So his behavior towards Tsukasa earlier…”

“It's just acting.”

“Just acting… But it feels so real and he's really a creep.” Nene frowns. Right now the three of them just finished with their makeups and are currently getting ready to shoot their scene, while Tsukasa is still with the makeup artist.

After they told Akatsuki about it, the three of them make sure that Tsukasa won't bump into Amamiya. 

Rui hums, “But… Come to think of it… He did say we can use that protective feeling in the drama…” He looks at Nene and Emu, “Plus, when he did that earlier… It's actually almost the same as the one in the drama…”

“Could it also be that Jun-san really wants to help us with that scene? Just like how Kanzaki-san told us?” Emu looks at Rui.

“…Yes…”

“But it's still not appropriate for him to just dig into someone's life like that.”

“Hm, I thought you guys did the same before?” The three of them flinched as they heard Tsukasa's voice coming from behind. They turn around only to see Tsukasa has his arms crossed. “You guys forgot? You even saw what I was going through too.” He raises an eyebrow.

“O-Of course not…”

“We're really sorry for doing that to you…”

“We’re sorry, Tsukasa-kun.”

The chairman sighs before shaking his head. “I'm not mad anymore.” He uncrosses his arms, “Everything he said is already happening and I can’t do anything about it. Plus you heard it from Akatsuki-san himself that it was just an act by him. I know how to react to his Mayura, same as you guys.”

“But, Tsukasa—”

“He gave us the choice to either think it as an act or he really meant it. Like what Akatsuki-san said earlier. He's just trying to help us with our roles.” Tsukasa pauses, “Let's just focus on that. Remember what Kazuki-san said. We can't let these thoughts hold us back from performing. We can't fail anyone here. They're counting on us to carry this drama and we'll definitely do our best to reach their expectations.” He smiles.

Can't fail anyone…

Need to reach their expectations…

“Mhm, I'm a big brother. I will be okay, mom. You don't have to worry about me. Mhm… I can look after myself. Bye bye, mom.” Putting down the phone, Tsukasa lowered his head. “…Saki needs to be transferred to another hospital… And it's far from Shibuya… Mom will definitely stay with Saki and dad will come home late as usual…” He frowned before Tsukasa shook his head. 

“No, I should take this chance to find more show ideas for Saki!” He smiled. “I can't be sad, mom and dad won't be worried about me. I'm a big brother. I can take care of myself.” 

He really doesn't want to fail anyone or not reach their expectations. He needs to get into his role now. 

“Tenma-kun, Kamishiro-kun, Ootori-chan, Kusanagi-chan! Get ready in five minutes and head to the set now!”

“Hai!”

“Alright! Let's all do our best!”

Smiling to each other, the three of them nod. “Let's!”

The rest of their shooting surprisingly and unexpectedly went well. Though there's a few times they need to retake the scene, they still can catch up with the scene. 

Tsukasa drinks his water as he looks through the script book. He got a 30 minute break while the others are currently on set, filming their scenes. Taking the chance to take a look at the script, he fails to notice someone behind him. 

The male leans down, next to Tsukasa's ear. “Tsukasa-chan~”

Startled by the whisper, Tsukasa immediately turns around. “J-Jun-san…! You startled me.” He was thankful that he wasn't that loud that it might just disturb the filming session. 

Amamiya chuckles, “Sorry~” He sits next to Tsukasa, “I just want to check on my junior.”

“Junior?”

“Well duh?” He smiles, “You’re now an actor that works in the real industry. While I already worked here for a while and you just started today, that makes you my junior.” Amamiya chuckles and slings his arm around Tsukasa's neck. “About earlier.”

“Earlier?”

“When we're heading here together.” A small ‘oh’ from Tsukasa before Amamiya continues. “I hope you know why I'm doing that.”

“Well, you're just acting right?” Tsukasa hums. “Akatsuki-san already explained to us.”

“Heh~ That's great then—”

“But. I'm not allowing you to do the same towards Emu, Nene and Rui.” He crosses his arms. “You can do that to me but I won't forgive you if you do that towards those three.”

Amamiya blinks before he smiles. “Of course~ Besides, I'm not even interested in their life. I am only interested in yours.”

“Hm? My life isn't that interesting?”

“To me… Your life is more interesting than a dreamer girl who just wants to protect the Wonder Stage, a diva who used to be scared of singing and an alchemist who wants to direct a show. But you?” He leans closer to Tsukasa, making the younger male to back up. “I am seriously curious… Why do you stop playing the piano?” Before Tsukasa could answer, Amamiya gently shushed him. 

“I am genuinely curious about you. You really caught my eye, Tsukasa-chan…” Amamiya smiles. “I wonder if one day you'll also suddenly leave the entertainment industry without any reason just like how you did with piano.”

“I have my reason and I will not leave until I reach my dream.”

“Oh? What dream?”

“All four of us want to perform all over the world and make people in the world smile. We will do our best to make the best shows all around the world, all four of us. That's our promise together.” 

Amamiya stares at Tsukasa. “Your dream…” He smiles. “That's so amazing.”

“I know—”

“But, I actually wonder how long you kids will last in this industry.”

“Huh?”

“Just consider this as training. When you were filming, what did you feel?” Seeing the confused look on Tsukasa, he hums. “You still have people's eyes on you… But how do you feel?”

“Ah… Well… Probably a little bit nervous. Their eyes kinda like… Staring at you, other than wanting to watch you perform, they're looking at you as if you will make a mistake.” Tsukasa hums, “But I still manage to get it throughout the filming session. Though there's still a few moments that I need to retake my scene.”

“That's good, really, really good.” Amamiya ruffles Tsukasa's hair. “For someone who has never been in a drama and immediately gets to be the main character… I'm surprised and proud how you manage to get through those stares.”

Blinking at the sudden praise, Tsukasa smiles. “Thank you so much, Jun-san.” 

Amamiya chuckles, “I told you, I just want to help. But my style of help is that way.” He grins. 

“Well, I guess there are different ways of helping someone huh?” He chuckles softly. ‘Maybe Jun-san isn't as bad as we think he is. Though his ways are a little bit weird, I'm guessing that it's fine.’ 

Right…?

“Well, it's still 5 minutes and you have 25 minutes more, huh?” Amamiya checks his phone. 

“It's only been 5 minutes?” Time is weird… Sometimes it moves fast, sometimes it moves too slow… ‘I thought it's already been 15 minutes or so…’ As Tsukasa is about to look at his script, all of sudden someone snatches his book from him. “Huh?” He looks at Amamiya. “Amamiya-sa—” Tsukasa stops as he can see the older male's facial change. ‘Ah.’

“All on your own huh? I thought you would have your friends around you.”

Immediately grasping at what Amamiya wants to do, Tsukasa smiles at him. “Kaede-san. Are you here to have lunch as well?”

« Mayura » scoffs, “Do you think I'm like those people?” He throws the book to « Sakata »’s face. “You're being lucky I don't feel like destroying someone's property now.”

“Is that so?” « Sakata » picks up the book and smiles. 

In the original script, Mayura ripped off Sakata's piano sheet book and threw it in the trash while he dragged Sakata to somewhere else and started beating him up. As practice for their scene later, Amamiya only throws slow punches and Tsukasa moves his head according to where the other punches. 

This makes Amamiya laugh a little, “Tsukasa-chan, you're really an interesting one~” He leans closer and smiles, “Why don't you join my agency rather than staying with your troupe that won't go anywhere?”

“Eh?”

Miku walks around the lake as she pretty much has nothing to do. Humming softly as she listens to the soft song that's coming from under the lake, she smiles softly. “Kanade's song is really warm huh?”

She then notices something flashed up. “Huh?” Walking towards the said spot, Miku glances at the lake. Looking around, she hums, “There's nothing…” 

“H-Help…”

“Eh?” Again the same spot flashes up and it forms a small black circle on the water surface. “…What's that?” Deciding to take a closer look, Miku kneels down and looks at the circle. She could hear a voice… 

“H-Help… me…”

“That voice again…” And it's coming from the black circle. “Who is it…?” No response and Miku frowns. She looks around and there's no one here in this area, so she's all alone. Glancing at the circle again, Miku leans closer, carefully so she won't fall. “Who is it? Please respond to me if you hear my voice.” 

“He…lp…me… Please…”

‘Somehow… This voice is familiar…’ Before Miku could call out for the mysterious voice again, she blinked as she heard a soft melody coming from the circle. “Eh…? This song… It's not Kanade's song… Or Mafuyu's…” But she had listened to this before. The melody is familiar… ‘I wonder whose song it is… But I can actually barely hear it… Maybe if I lean closer…’ She leans a little bit closer to the circle, trying to listen to the soft melody. 

“SEKAI… Danger…”

“Eh?” Before Miku knows it, she feels something pulls her to fall into the lake. 

“Miku, danger!” 

Falling backwards as they pull Miku away from the lake, Kanade frowns. “Miku, are you okay?”

“That's really dangerous, Miku.” Ena frowns. “We still don't know how deep the lake is.”

“Ena… Kanade…” Miku blinks, “Mizuki and Mafuyu too…” 

“Geez, if we're arrived a bit late, we don't know that you fell into the lake.” Mizuki sighs. “Especially since there's no one here.” 

Miku lowers her head, “I'm sorry…”

Kanade shakes her head, “It's okay, we're just glad that you're okay.” She smiles softly.

“But Miku…” The said virtual singer looks at Mafuyu, “What are you trying to look for in the lake? If we want to say you tripped, you were kneeling here.”

“That's right. Did you find something?” Ena tilts her head. 

“Ah.” Miku glances back at the lake and the black circle already disappears. “It's gone…”

“Gone? What's gone?” Mizuki glances at the lake, “Did you really see something?”

“Mhm, there's a black circle on the lake's surface. There was a flash, so I decided to check it out.” Miku stands up and points at the spot where she saw the circle, “I saw it here.” 

All four of them look at each other before looking at the said spot. “You saw a circle?”

“Mhm. It wasn't that big or small. But… When I checked on it, I heard a voice.”

“V-Voice?” Ena blinks. “Do you know who?”

Miku shakes her head, “It's familiar but I don't remember who… And I also hear a song coming from that circle.”

“Song?” 

A nod, “It's not Kanade's song or Mafuyu's… It's someone else's…”

“Eh?”

“Someone else's song…?” Mizuki tilts their head, “Miku, do you remember the melody?”

“Not really… The melody is too faint… I can barely hear it, but it was there.” Miku stands up, “But, that voice… She's asking for help… And saying something about SEKAI…”

“SEKAI?”

“Mhm, she said something about SEKAI being in danger… I don't know why she means it but…” Miku takes a deep breath and stares at the spot, “I'm going to see if I can find something about whose voice it is.” 

“Miku…”

KAITO, who heard their conversation, had his arms crossed. “Tch… It's going to happen very soon huh?” He walks away. 

“Then about the melody… Maybe we can help you with it.” Kanade hums, “Since Miku heard the melody, maybe you can hum it so we can help you.”

“Mhm! Maybe we can figure out whose song it is.”

“Kanade, Mizuki…” Miku smiles. “Mhm, I'll hum the song. It's not that clear but… It sounds like this.” 

As soon as Miku started humming, the four of them froze. “Huh…?”

H-How…?

“Icchan~ Shiho-chan~ The lyrics for the song are here~” Saki smiles widely as she runs towards the rest of the band. She went to the studio with Honami to get the lyrics as they're having practice today. 

“Is that so?” Shiho smiles. “Let me see it.”

“Here you go.” Honami hands it to the bassist. “Shindou-san said we'll start recording tomorrow after school and he already sent out the demo.”

Ichika nods, “Mhm, I already got it and we already listened to it.” 

“Wai~ I can't wait for tomorrow's recording~” Saki cheers. 

“We'll definitely do our best.” Ichika smiles.

Before Shiho could give her thoughts on the lyrics, her phone rings. Giving the papers back to Honami, she answered the call. “Yes?” The bassist nods. “Mhm, I'm with the girls. I know, I will be careful.” Shiho pauses as she listens to the other side of the call. “Mhm, onee-chan too. Be careful out there.” Shiho smiles. “Don't worry, onee-chan. I will inform you if anything happens. Make sure you do the same too.” She nods again. “Mhm, see you tomorrow.” 

As soon as Shiho hung up the call, Saki hummed. “Shizuku senpai?”

“Mhm, she just asked me to be careful and not walk home too late at night.”

“Eh? Why?” 

“Ah, I haven't told you guys about this yet…” Shiho rubs her arm. “The thing is… Onee-chan currently has a stalker and that person has been following her lately. So she’s kinda worried that the stalker might approach me as well to get closer to onee-chan…” 

“Eh?!”

Shizuku stares at her phone before sighing softly. “Shii-chan…”

“Shizuku! You're coming?”

She puts her phone away and smiles. “Mhm! I'm coming, Airi-chan.” She quickly walked towards the rest of MMJ as they headed to a restaurant.

Unknowingly, someone in the shadows staring at their way… 

“Shizuku-sama…”

Chapter Text

The sound of a faint camera shutter can be heard by her as she's walking back from a small meeting to get her group some job to raise their name more. Shizuku only fastened her steps and tried her best to take different routes to go back to their shared house. She doesn't want to go there straight… Or it will make her situation worse. Even after police reports… They won't do anything, until the stalker goes physical. 

She knows this well… The police are completely useless when it comes to stalking… Shizuku thought the stalker already stopped stalking her way back when she's in Cheerful*Days… Yet… It freaks her out as she's suddenly getting dms from the stalker… There's also a few pictures of Shiho they took and sent to her… That's why she's worried for Shiho's safety. She's scared that that person will approach her little sister one day and Shizuku doesn't want to put her in danger. The fact that she doesn't even want to walk on her own right now but she needs to since Airi had something urgent from her family that she couldn't join Shizuku. Minori and Haruka have extra classes for today… And that leaves Shizuku on her own. The rest of MMJ already told her not to confront the stalker if she's alone and just ignore the person. 

‘Please… Just leave me alone…’ Shizuku halted her steps as she looked around. “E-Eh?” She doesn't recognize this street… “Where…?” Frowning, Shizuku pulls out her phone. “Ah? It's run out of battery? No way…” What should she do now…? She just got lost and she doesn't even remember where she came from. “What should I do…? What should I do?”

“Eh? Shizuku?” 

The said idol immediately turns around as she sees Tsukasa walking towards her. “Tsukasa-kun…!” 

“What's wrong? You look like you're in trouble.” He crosses his arms.

“Ah…” Should she tell Tsukasa about her stalker…? Maybe no… She doesn't want to trouble her childhood friend. “My phone battery ran out. And I actually don't recognize this street…” She smiles wryly at him.

“You're lost?” 

“M-Mhm, pretty much like that…” Shizuku nods, “But I don't expect to bump into you over here.”

“Well, I need to do some errands for mom. I got a day off today while the others didn't.” Tsukasa hums, “Then, why don't I help you?”

“Eh? But you're doing an errand…”

“I just need to buy some groceries for tonight's dinner. Mom said she didn't have time to do so, that's why she asked me to do it for her.” Tsukasa smiles.

“I see…” Ah, she remembers that they ran out of food too in their shared house… “I just remembered that we don't have any food left in our shared house. Maybe if I join you, I can find something for us to eat tonight.” Shizuku smiles.

“Mhm! Let's go then.”

“Let's.” Shizuku chuckles softly. At least if she's with Tsukasa, she feels a lot safer now. ‘I'm so glad I bumped into Tsukasa-kun…’ Probably for now she should just stay with him. It's better being with someone rather than being on her own. 

Yet… No one knows what the future is holding… 

“That guy… Who…?” The person took more photos of them together, following them in the shadows. “Who…? Why does Shizuku-sama look so happy with him? Shizuku-sama is laughing with him… Who are you?” The person grits his teeth. “…Boyfriend…” He grips on his phone. “That guy… He's definitely her boyfriend… How dare you…”

“Who… Who are you…?” The man aggressively presses the button of his computer keyboard… In the dark room that is full of the idol Hinomori Shizuku’s goods… Both from Cheerful*Days and MORE MORE JUMP!… “You're definitely someone… I recognized you somewhere before… Where… Where is it—” He pauses as he sees the blonde on MORE MORE JUMP!’s new year livestream.

“Wonderlands X Showtime’s Tenma Tsukasa!!”

He smirks. “Found you~” Cracking his fingers, the man starts looking for everything he can find about the actor. “Hm? ‘Everlasting Love’…? An actor…” He hums. “I see.”

An actor and an idol…

Dating each other in secret…

“…you shouldn't do that, you know…” 

This is unforgivable.

ـــــــــــــــــﮩ٨ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ــــــــــــــــــﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـﮩـﮩــــــــﮩ٨ــــــــــــــــــﮩ٨ـ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـﮩـﮩﮩ٨ــــــــــــــــــﮩ٨ـ

‘Tsukasa’ stops walking.

“Tsukasa?”

“Tsukasa-kun?” The pinkette tilts her head.

“What's wrong, Tsukasa-kun?”

‘Tsukasa’ lowered his head as he let go of the girl's hand. “I think it's better this way… Maybe I should just forget everything…”

“What do you mean?” The pinkette frowns. “We want you to remember who you truly are. We want you to remember.”

“That's why we're doing this. We don't want you to lose sight of who you really are, Tsukasa.” 

“We don't want you to lose your feelings, Tsukasa-kun. We're always there for you. We promise to stick together.” The tall male smiles and holds out his hand to ‘Tsukasa’. “We will guide you through that darkness.” 

“I…” He looks at the three before he covers his ears and shuts his eyes as lots of unfamiliar voices suddenly rush into his head. His whole body starts glitching again. 

[ His acting sucks ]

[ I've watched their shows before and I can't believe the loudest person in the troupe being the main character in Everlasting Love? You gotta be kidding me. ]

[ He's too loud for my liking. I hope he became mute one day ]

[ If only there's a mute button on him ]

[ I hope he'll die ]

[ Kill yourself Tenma Tsukasa, no one wants you here ]

[ Jump off a building or something. You're not needed here lmao ]

[ I wonder what Shzk-chan see in him that makes her wanna date him ]

“Tsukasa.”

“Tsukasa-kun.”

‘Tsukasa' opens his eyes when he feels the three hug him. This warmth… “I…”

“Whatever you hear in your head right now…” The diva smiles softly.

“…All of them are not true.” The dreamer shakes her head, hugging him tighter.

As the alchemist pats his head, “Tsukasa-kun is really important to all of us and we want you to live and move forward just like how you always do. Tsukasa-kun is our star… A really bright star. We will do anything to protect it from dimming down. You're no longer alone, Tsukasa-kun.”

“E-Everyone…” 

“Now, Tsukasa-kun…” They all let go of him. The male reaches out his hand once more, “Let's continue our journey… Until we reach the end of this (SEKAI).”

“I…” As his body stops glitching, as he's now wearing a middle school uniform, ‘Tsukasa' nods. “M-Mhm…” He takes the male's hand. “L-Let’s go.”

The three smile at him before they all start walking again. ‘Tsukasa' looks at the three. ‘I wonder who they really are… They're so nice to me… And…’ He looks at his hand that connects to the male. ‘Warm…’ Even the hug earlier…

But… This is really nice…

He really likes it.

Chapter Text

“Fuwahh~~ Today's filming session is really a success~” Emu smiles widely as she stretches out her arms. “I got praise from Ayame-san that my acting is getting better.” She hums happily.

Nene chuckles softly, “I'm glad, Emu. I mean, Emu really looks like an older sister during the filming.”

“Mhm! All thanks to Tsukasa-kun's advice!” Emu giggles. “Right, Tsukasa-kun?” She turns around and notices how Tsukasa is a little but further behind all three of them. “Eh? Tsukasa-kun?” The two also turn around and they all stop walking. 

The chairman has his head low as Tsukasa walks as slow as he can, staring at the ground… As if he's really in deep thoughts. Rui frowns slightly, “Tsukasa-kun?” He softly calls out for the male.

Noticing how the three stop walking and staring at him, Tsukasa blinks. “Why are you guys staring at me?” 

“Is everything okay, Tsukasa?” Nene tilts her head. “You were quiet the whole time.”

“Ah.”

Emu frowns. “What's wrong, Tsukasa-kun? Did something bully you again?” 

Blinking, Tsukasa shakes his head and smiles. “No one's bullying me, Emu. Probably I'm just pretty tired with today's filming. It's pretty exhausting, I'm not going to lie.”

“Is that so?”

He nods and smiles at the three, “You guys don't have to worry. I'm okay.”

Rui stares at the male. Somehow… “Tsukasa-kun. Maybe you should go see Ishikawa sensei when you're free.” He frowns slightly. “I really don't want you to adapt Sakata's characteristics too much.”

A nod, “Mhm, I will. I'll chat with her later. Let's go home.” He looks at his phone. “It's getting late too. I don't want to make mom worried.” A smile on his face before he starts walking again. 

“Rui-kun…” 

The tall male sighs. “For some reason… All I could see was ‘Sakata’ rather than Tsukasa-kun himself…” The three of them start walking again. 

“Mhm…”

“But, but. We'll definitely make sure to snap Tsukasa-kun out from the character when we're off camera.” Emu smiles at them. “That's why…” She runs towards the blonde and throws herself at him. “Tsukasa-kun~!!”

“Gowaaakkk?!! Emu?!!”

She giggles. “Let's go home together~! Let's go go goooo!!!” Wrapping her arms around Tsukasa's arm, Emu starts dragging him away.

“Wha—Emu!!!” 

“Noisy…” Nene chuckles softly. “Well, that's the Tsukasa we know.” 

“…” 

“Rui?” Nene looks at him, “What's wrong?”

“Just worried a little. Once we start filming those scenes… Tsukasa-kun really needs to have a therapy session with Ishikawa sensei… More often than before. He can't skip a day.”

“Right… Maybe when we get our day off, why don't we go to Phennyland to cheer him up?”

Rui smiles and nods. “Sure, let's do that. I'm sure Emu-kun would also like to go there.”

“Mhm.” Nene smiles.

As they all arrive at the street that they will go separate ways to go home, Tsukasa waves his hand at the rest before he starts walking back. He let out a sigh. ‘I'm so tired…’ Weird, he never felt this tired before whenever he's acting. “Maybe this character is actually exhausting me…” Tsukasa hums to himself. But…

“Why don't you join my agency rather than staying with your troupe that won't go anywhere?”

He frowns to himself. Tsukasa stops walking and stares at the ground. “…”

“Eh?”

“Join my agency! And that will make you grow a lot more as an actor. Not to mention you'll get even more popular. Plus, I'm sure my manager—”

“I'm sorry but, I kindly refuse the offer, Jun-san. I won't go anywhere if it means leaving my friends behind.” Tsukasa frowned. “All four of us are in this together. We won't leave each other behind because we still want to do lots of shows together. We're joining here merely because we want to learn more about acting and improve ourselves, as well as this is an offer from Akatsuki-san himself that we thought was a great opportunity for us to go even further.”

Amamiya hummed, “But, Tsukasa-chan~ You will get more recognition if you join my agency.”

“If it's only for my own recognition, then I'm sorry. Those three also deserve recognition. We will become the world's stars together.”

“…” The male stared at him before humming. “Is that so?” 

“Yes. So, I'm so sorry but I really have to—”

“Shh…” He put a finger on Tsukasa's mouth, shutting him up. “I'm not done talking, Tsukasa-chan. Sometimes I really wondered why such an amateur like you guys got here. But then after what you and Kanzaki-san told me… I do consider just watching you guys from far… But you know… You really caught my eyes.”

“Nene's right, that guy is just a creep.” Tsukasa slaps his face. “I shouldn't think much—”

“But for now, I won't accept you denying my offer. I will do anything to get you with us, okay, Tsukasa-chan?” He cupped the younger male's cheek, he then ruffled Tsukasa's hair. “See ya~”

And the fact that Amamiya acted like he never said those things to him in front of everyone yesterday… Even during today's filming… Does this mean that he doesn't want those three to know? ‘I didn't tell them either…’ It's not like he doesn't want to tell… Tsukasa doesn't really have the energy to tell them, especially how today's scene just makes him this exhausted. “Maybe I should consider telling them about this…”

“You…” Tsukasa turns around and blinks. “You… Um… Tenma… Tsukasa, right?”

“Kazuki-san!” His eyes widened slightly as the brunette walked towards him. Tsukasa turns to him, “I didn't expect to bump into you here.”

“Mhm, me too.” He chuckles, “Are you heading home?”

“Yeah, my house is just two houses away.” Tsukasa smiles, “What about Kazuki-san?”

“Heading home as well. If you say your house is two houses away… We're actually neighbours then.”

“Eh?”

“We just moved here recently because… Uh… Reasons.” He smiles. 

“Ah! Now I remembered! So Kazuki-san is the new neighbour… We saw someone move into the empty house in front of ours… But we never really know who since there's always no one when mom wants to give a visit.”

“That's probably because we were pretty busy when we just moved here.” Asahi smiles softly. “But, Tenma-kun… I actually saw you standing here for five minutes. Is everything okay?”

“F-Five minutes?!” The other male nods. That's probably because he was so deep in thought that he doesn't realize how long he's been standing here. But… 

“If someone starts harassing you, please immediately tell an adult you trust. It will be a huge trouble if you keep it for yourself.”

“Um… Kazuki-san.” The older male hums. Since tomorrow is the weekend and he's free tomorrow… “Are you free tomorrow? I kinda have something I wanna ask.”

“Eh? Sure.” Asahi nods. “Then, why don't you come to my house tomorrow?”

Tsukasa nods. An adult that he trusts… Who even does he trust right now? An adult… His parents? Nah, after what happened… Rui's mother? She probably won't understand much about what he wanted to ask… Ishikawa? Maybe? But somehow… The brunette in front of him right now… ‘He looks like a really kind person… Probably because he was the one who told them about talking to someone if someone harassed me…?’

“Tenma-kun?”

“See you tomorrow, Kazuki-san!!” He bows before quickly walking away, not realizing that he actually startled the other.

Asahi blinks, “T-That scared me… What a loud voice you have…” He smiles, “Just like Amatsuki-san.” He chuckles.

“Mom, I’m going to visit our neighbour for a bit!” Tsukasa wears his shoes. 

Blinking, Tenmama walks towards him as she wipes her hands, “Neighbour? Who? Raina-san? Tama-san?”

“The one that moved in here recently.” He kisses her cheek. “And after that, I'm going out with my friends.”

Sighing, Tenmama nods. “Alright, don't be back too late. Also, say hi to them for me.” She smiles.

“I will.” Tsukasa nods, “I’ll take my leave now.”

“Be careful on your way.” Watching her son leaves, Tenmama sighs softly. “Tsukasa looks so troubled lately… I wonder what’s in his mind… Could it be that his character is too hard for him…?” She pauses, “...” 

Looking around Tsukasa finally spots the said household. Pressing the bell, Tsukasa waits for someone to answer. “Kazuki-san, it’s me.” Then the small gate opens. Taking the signal as they welcome him in, Tsukasa walks through the small gate and closes it behind him.

“Ah, Tenma-kun, you’re here.” Asahi smiles at him. “Welcome.”

Walking towards the brunette, Tsukasa smiles. “Pardon my disturbance.” He enters the house and awes slightly, especially at the big cat playground in the living room. “Kazuki-san, that's a really big cat playground…”

Asahi chuckles as he leads Tsukasa to the living room and sits down. “Well, we have five cats anyway.” 

“F-Five…?!”

“Mhm, all of them are my partner’s.” An orange and white cat jumps on his lap and lays down. 

“Uwa…” Noticing a black cat next to him, Tsukasa slowly reaches out his hand and lets the cat lean to his hand. “So fluffy…” He looks at Asahi, “May I?” As the brunette nods, Tsukasa carefully lifts the cat and plays with it. “What’s her name?”

“Mochi.” 

“Mochi-chan…” Playing with the black cat, soon enough three more cats joining and playing with the blonde. Even the orange and white cat jumps off Asahi’s lap and joins the rest of the cats to play with Tsukasa.

Quietly watches the cats playing with Tsukasa, Asahi smiles warmly at the younger male. He could see Tsukasa having fun with the cats and he’s glad how the boy finally smiles properly. ‘Cat therapy works all the time.’ He chuckles softly. ‘I’m sure you were exhausted, Tenma-kun…’ Asahi hums, “Tenma-kun.” The said male looks at him, “Maybe if you’re stressed or exhausted, you can come here to play with the cats.”

“E-Eh…?” Tsukasa blinks, “I don’t want to bother, Kazuki-san…”

“It’s okay. My partner will come home from work around 10pm. You can just come here and relax yourself with our cats. Cat therapy works too, you know?”

“Cat therapy…?”

“You’re currently doing it right now.” He chuckles, “Tenma-kun finally smiles properly too.”

This takes Tsukasa by surprise. Smiles properly…? ‘Am I not smiling this whole time…?’ He lowers his head as he pats the grey cat’s head. “But… I don’t understand…? Playing with cats can also be called therapy?”

“That’s right. Playing with the cats can actually lower your stress level. When you come here, you actually look so tired and stressed. But after playing with the cats, you look much better now.”

“Ah…”

“Now, since Tenma-kun is now calm… Is there anything you want to ask me?”

“The thing is…” Tsukasa lowers his head and frowns slightly as he starts telling everything about how Amamiya treated him and the other three. A small smile on Tsukasa’s face as the cat purrs and rubs her head against his body. He gently pats the cat’s head. “So… I’m not sure how I should tell the others about this…”

“I see… Tenma-kun, you said he touched you on the face right?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty uncomfortable when he does that, especially how he makes himself look like a creep.” Tsukasa sighs. “I really don’t mind if he wants to help me with the character but I don’t think he needs to do that.”

Asahi nods, “That’s right. It’s really unnecessary for him to touch you like that if it makes you uncomfortable. Plus he said how you caught his eyes… In my experience, that means a bad sign though… But I still got through it with my partner’s help.”

“...”

“Tenma-kun, it’s really better for you to tell this to your friends.”

“I know… But I just don’t know how to tell them… Especially about the offer… I tried to deny it but he didn’t listen. He said he won’t give up on getting me to join his agency and leave WonderShow for good… I don’t want WonderShow to be separated from each other…” Tsukasa frowns. “I don’t want that… I still want to do more shows with them. I want all four of us to succeed together… I still want to make people in this world smile together with them.”

Asahi stares at him before smiling softly. “Tenma-kun…” The brunette stands up and sits next to Tsukasa as the cats move away for their mother to sit. He gently holds Tsukasa’s hands and squeezes them gently. It surprised Tsukasa a little at how soft and warm the brunette’s hands are. Not to mention his fingers and nails are pretty and kindly pale… You can actually think it's a woman's hand rather than a man.

‘Kazuki-san’s hands are so soft… And they’re warm too…’ Tsukasa looks up, finally having a really close look on the older male. Asahi really looks so young and his face is just flawless… But Tsukasa then spotted a small faint scar under his bangs right above his left eye, yet he still looks so beautiful. The warm smile on his face just makes it better… “Kazuki-san is really so pretty…”

“Thank you.” Asahi chuckles softly. “But… You really don’t have to worry about separating with your friends. People like them don’t have the right to peel you kids apart unless he did something horrible for you kids to separate. I believe that your bond with your troupe is really strong that nothing in this world can separate the four of you.”

“...” Tsukasa’s eyes widened slightly. 

“I have friends like you guys… A group of four friends… Something bad happened to them that they almost went separate ways and almost disbanded their group… But since they already developed a strong bond between them, they didn’t. They solved it together and found a way out from their bad situation, and now until today, they are still together.” 

“How long…?”

“This year… It’s already been 11 years since they formed their group together.” Asahi chuckles softly.

Tsukasa's eyes widened, “11 years?!” The older male nods. “It is actually possible to stay that long with the same group member—No… A group of friends…?”

“Of course it’s possible. As long as you keep your bond between you strong… Nothing is impossible.” He squeezes Tsukasa’s hands again. “I believe in you, Tenma-kun. I’ve actually watched a few of your shows from the park’s official website, and I must say that your shows are really spectacular.”

“Thank you so much, Kazuki-san!” Tsukasa smiles.

“And I do believe that all four of you will succeed together in the future.” Asahi smiles warmly. “Just keep on doing your best and don’t let anything or anyone bother you and your friends’ journey towards the stars in the sky. Don't let them block your way to success and never give up. If you fall, get back up on your feet and start running. I will always root for you guys from now on.”

“Kazuki-san…” His eyes widened, “You… You’re too kind…”

“Am I?” Asahi chuckles. “I get that a lot. But it’s not wrong, right? Basically I’m just one of the fans since I’m rooting for you guys now.” He smiles. 

“I guess you’re right.”

He laughs softly. “But do you know what you should do now?”

“Mhm! I won’t let Jun-san do whatever he wants! And he can’t separate the four of us. As Wonderlands X Showtime's chairman, I will make sure he or anyone else won't make us grow apart from each other.” Tsukasa grins before smiling widely, “Thank you so much, Kazuki-san! I feel a lot better now.”

Asahi smiles back and pats Tsukasa’s head. “I’m glad I can help. You can come here anytime you want. My gates will always open for you. You also can invite your troupe to come to have some free cat therapy here.” He chuckles. “And you won’t be troubling me or my partner. We would be more happy if you came.”

“Mhm, I will keep that in mind for now.” Tsukasa nods, “Thank you so much again.” He stands up, “I guess I should take my leave for now.”

Asahi nods, “Of course.” Walking the young actor to the front gate, he smiles and pats Tsukasa’s head. “I wish you the best, Tenma-kun. I’ll be rooting for you from now on.”

“Kazuki-san is really too kind. Thank you.” Bowing to the older male, Tsukasa smiles. “See you later, Kazuki-san!!” He walks away.

Watching Tsukasa leaves, Asahi hums. “Now I wonder how long you have been there at the corner?” He turns. “You know you can’t do that to your own colleagues, Jun Amamiya-kun. It can count as stalking.”

“Kazuki-san is as sharp as ever huh?” He walks out from the corner and smiles. “But as for your information. I am not stalking him.”

“Is that so?” He crosses his arms. “Jun-kun… Please don't mess up with his head too much. Even if you want to help.”

“What? I didn't do anything though.”

“Even if you think so, please don't go overboard with him.” Asahi sighs, “And please stop harassing him as well.”

“…”

“Well, I'm going in now.” Bowing slightly at the other, Asahi walks through the small gate before closing it. 

“Not my fault for him being interesting and catching my eyes.” Amamiya stretches out his arms and walks away.

“Everyone! Sorry for making you guys wait!” Tsukasa jogs towards the group. 

“Nuh uh! We're just starting~” Emu smiles widely. “We just finished setting up everything for our outdoor picnic!”

“Yup! It took us a while to find the perfect spot!” Mizuki grins. “And we finally found one~”

“It's you who keeps on saying that this or that place isn't perfect.” Ena sighs. 

Kanade chuckles softly, “Well, I do think that this spot is just nice.”

Nene nods. “Mhm, I think so too.”

As Tsukasa sits down between Rui and Mafuyu, the tall male smiles. “How's your meeting with Kazuki-san?”

“It went well.” 

“Work related?” Mafuyu tilts her head.

“Kinda like that but I also asked him for a little advice.” Tsukasa put down his sling bag. 

“Oya?” Rui hums, “What kind of advice?”

“…” Should he tell them now? But wouldn't it just ruin the whole picnic today? Tsukasa just suddenly got a text from them that they planned to have a NiigoSho outdoor picnic as a relaxation together and maybe the virtual singers can join them too. 

“Tenma-kun?”

“Let's discuss it after the picnic.” He smiles. Tsukasa looks around, “I kinda agree with Akiyama now. This spot is just perfect, especially when Miku and the rest wanted to join us.”

“Right~” Mizuki hummed, “This place is really hidden from other people.” They smile. 

“Hai, hai.” Ena pulls out her phone. “Rin, Len. It's okay to come out now.” Soon enough the Kagamines peek out from Ena's phone.

“Is this… Even okay…?” Rin looks at Ena. 

Noticing the two blondes on Ena's phone, Emu smiles widely. “Is that your Rin-chan and Len-kun?!” The said two jumped and hid back inside the artist’s phone, out of habit of hiding from people. 

“Emu, you just scared them.” Nene smiles wryly.

“Ah! I didn't mean to scare you! I'm sorry~ Rin-chan, Len-kun~”

NiigoLen peeks out, “I-It's okay…” A small smile on his face. “N-Nice to meet you.”

Nene smiles, “Mhm, nice to meet you too.” She notices how NiigoRin peeks out as well. “Hello, Rin.”

The blonde virtual singer startled as she was noticed by Nene. “N-Nice to meet you.”

“Another us!!!” As Nene's phone is already on the ground, their SEKAI Rin and Len appear and their eyes sparkle. 

NiigoRin blinks, “Another me…” 

Ena chuckles softly and puts her phone down. “And you two must be their SEKAI’s Rin and Len.”

“Yup! We are!”

“Tsukasa-kun~! We're here~!” Tsukasa pulls out his phone and both KAITO and Miku appear. “Picnic with new friends~” Miku smiles widely, “Hello everyone!!” 

“We met again.” KAITO smiles at the group and bows, like a showman will do to his audience.

NiigoRin blinks, ‘Ah that KAITO…’ She puts a hand over her head. 

“Ah, this is your Miku.” Mafuyu nods before she also pulls out her phone. “Miku. You can come out now.” 

NiigoMiku smiles softly. “Hello.”

“So… Everyone's really here huh?” WxS MEIKO hums as she looks around with a sleepy Luka next to her. 

Ena blinks as she notices the adult group of the virtual singers from WonderShow actually shows up unlike their’s. “So they’re MEIKO and Luka of your SEKAI huh?”

“Fuwah~?” Luka smiles softly at Ena and smiles, “Hello~”

Mizuki stares at WxS Luka. “Your Luka looks like she just wakes up from her sleep…”

“Well, Luka-san usually sleeps all the time.” Nene explains. 

“Mhm! She even can fall asleep while standing.” Emu smiles. “Where's your version of Luka onee-san, MEIKO onee-san and KAITO onii-chan? Are they going to join us today?”

“Uh…”

As it's on que, a familiar voice comes from Kanade's phone. “How troublesome.” Niigo KAITO flicks his tongue and crosses his arms, as Luka and MEIKO also appear from Kanade's phone. 

“Fufu, sorry for taking a long time to show up.” Niigo Luka smiles. “I was looking for these two.”

“…”

“Looking for those two?” Emu tilts her head. She met Niigo KAITO before… “Asahina senpai's MEIKO onee-san and KAITO onii-chan don't like socializing?”

“Kinda like that…” Kanade chuckles nervously. 

“This is just wasting my time.” Niigo KAITO rolls his eyes. 

“It's not wrong to join these kids for a picnic. Besides, they invite us, don't they?” WxS KAITO smiles. 

Worrying that the same thing happened just like before at the stage and in the train, Kanade cuts them off before they could start throwing each other words. “W-Why don't we just start our picnic for today? WonderShow and Niigo really did a great job lately.”

“T-That's right.” Nene smiles.

As Ena and Tsukasa pour down the juice into the cups for all of them and hand it to everyone, Tsukasa smiles. “Alright everyone, congratulations for everyone's hard work lately… Let's continue to do our best in the future. So… Let's all cheer!”

“Kanpai~!”

The whole group starts to talk to one another, together with the virtual singers. Chatters and laughter. Even Mafuyu has a genuine smile on her face as she's actually enjoying this moment. As for Tsukasa, he's currently thinking about what the older brunette told him earlier. 

“Tenma-kun, it’s really better for you to tell this to your friends.”

“You really don’t have to worry about separating with your friends.”

“ I believe that your bond with your troupe is really strong that nothing in this world can separate the four of you.”

“It’s already been 11 years since they formed their group together.”

Friendship that has stood strong for over a decade… He looks at the group. ‘I want that long friendship too…’ It's really crazy if you think how long it needs to take to reach 10 years. ‘Close friendship bond…’ And without going separate ways… It's kinda… Hard… Especially when they will go to college after high school to continue to study… 

Him and Rui might go to the same college since their parents help them with it… Maybe… But isn't it kindly selfish to wish for something like this?

“Tsukasa senpai?”

‘Let’s not focus on that one…’ Taking a deep breath, Tsukasa looks at them. “Everyone, I have something to tell you all.”

He won't let Amamiya win easily and he won't lose easily as well. 

Chapter Text

“No way!” Mizuki's eyes widened. “No one can separate WonderShow!” 

“But, Tenma-kun… Do you really want to go with that agency?”

“Of course not.” Tsukasa shakes his head. “If he offers it to all four of us, I can probably think about it. But he only offered to me and told me that Emu, Nene and Rui couldn't go far. There's no way I'm joining people that look down on my friends.” He frowns and crosses his arms.

“Tsukasa…” 

“Plus… On what Kazuki-san said… He probably… Harassed me as well…” He sighs. 

“Well, it does count as harassment.” Ena shakes her head. “But… Why didn't you tell them earlier?”

“That… I don't know myself.” Tsukasa rubs the back of his neck. “I tried to tell them yesterday but the filming session exhausted me so I didn't have the energy to tell.”

“How many episodes does this drama have…?”

“30 episodes. We're currently filming for episode 17.” Nene looks at Kanade. “And our schedule for filming also started getting packed.”

“Really?” The four nods. “Uwa…”

“Tomorrow, we'll be on set from morning until night. Our weekend schedule is really tight to be honest. But Akatsuki-san said we can have a day off for today… Since we'll be on set for the whole day tomorrow.” Tsukasa drinks his juice.

“Then what about school?” Kanade tilts her head.

“We… Probably going to leave early. Probably around the third or fourth period.” Nene puts down her cup, “Kanzaki-san said the schedule for the other actors is also tight, so he already prepared official letters for the school and our parents.”

“Well, you four are the main characters after all.” Ena smiles. “Then, what do your parents think about this?”

Nene hums, “My parents said as long as I can catch up with all I missed in class then they allowed me to.” 

“My big brothers and sister don't mind it at all. They said it's a good opportunity to learn more things and they trust Kanzaki-san to look after all of us.” Emu smiles. 

“Is that so?” Mizuki nods before turning to the older two. “What about Rui and Tsukasa senpai?”

“Did Tenmama-san say something about it?”

Tsukasa rubs the back of his neck, “Well… Mom questioned it at first… But dad helped me convince her. So she has the same reason as Nene's parents. As long as I can catch up with class, she allowed me. Dad doesn't mind it at all since Akatsuki-san is his friend after all.”

“My parents don't mind it at all.”

“Well, if the parents don't mind it, I guess you four only have to continue to do your best then.” WxS KAITO smiles. 

NiigoMiku nods, “Mhm, and if it gets too hard, please remember to rest.”

“Thank you, KAITO onii-san, Miku-chan.” Emu smiles. “We'll definitely do our best.” 

“I'm sure you will.” Kanade chuckles softly. 

“Then the school will really be quiet without you guys huh?” Mizuki smiles.

“Huh?” Mafuyu and Kanade look at Mizuki.

“I guess until we finished with the filming for the drama.” Nene sighs, “So you guys can enjoy the peaceful school until then. After the filming for the drama ends, then the school will be noisy again with these two show freaks.” 

“Oi.”

“Your school is noisy…?” Mafuyu tilts her head. 

“It's kinda a Kamikou thing… With these two.” Nene points at the two males. “No matter how much the teachers stop them, they still do it.”

“I already told Rui to stop but he keeps on bringing his stuff to school.” Tsukasa crosses his arms. 

“And Tsukasa-kun is always there with me.” Rui smiles.

“That's because I want to stop you!”

“But… As in noisy…?”

Mizuki chuckles, “I don't know what they did but whenever there's an explosion in school, it's always these two.”

“E-Explosion…?!” Kanade blinks. 

“E-Eh? Tsukasa-kun and Rui-kun make things explode in your school?” NiigoLen tilts his head. 

“We didn't make things explode.” Tsukasa sighs softly, “It's more like this guy right here…” He glances at Rui before looking back at NiigoLen, “…He brought his stuff to school and sometimes something explosive.”

“But it's not that dangerous to the school that can make the school building collapse.” Rui smiles.

NiigoLuka hums, “What an interesting activity.” As the brunette next to her tilts her head. 

“And you two didn't get caught by your teachers?”

“Of course they do, MEIKO.” Mizuki laughs, “Tsukasa senpai and Rui always get chased by the teachers and they always get detentions.”

“W-Well, probably because Kamishiro-san and Tenma-san are causing explosions in school…” Kanade smiles wryly.

“I'm trying my best to clear out my name and Rui's.” Tsukasa pouts.

“And you two just keep on making trouble.” Nene sighs.

“Kamikou is really an interesting school huh?” Emu smiles widely.

“Anyway~ Do you guys want to play anything? Today's a really good day, so why don't we do something?” Mizuki smiles. “Taking a break won't hurt. Let's all forget the worries for now. Like playing games or anything.” 

“I'm not sure.” Ena hums. “I don't think of any activities that we should do together.”

“I brought UNO!” Emu shows them the small bag. 

“Uno huh?” Rui smiles before chuckling. “Sure, let's play that.” 

“Somehow… I'm kinda worried about playing uno with Rui…” Tsukasa stares at the director.

“I'm praying for you, Tsukasa.”

“Eh?”

“WAIT!! WAIT!! WAIT!!!” Tsukasa stands up and stares at the plus cards. He looks at Mafuyu, who's staring at her cards. “A-Asahina-san please… Please…” 

“…” She stares at her cards, obviously having a plus card. 

“Asahina-san… Please no…” 

The said lyricist looks at him. This is the group's second round and none of them actually give Tsukasa the chance to win. It all started when Ena didn't have any cards and put down her plus card… All of them start to put down their plus card, not wanting to become the one who gets all the cards.

And it leads them to right now… The two lone SEKAI creators stare at each other while Mizuki is laughing, Kanade and Ena feel bad for Tsukasa and the rest of WonderShow members are hoping Mafuyu will put down the card.

“Asahina senpai, go for it!”

Mafuyu takes the plus four card and stares at it. “Sorry, Tenma-kun.” She puts down the card. 

“NOOO!!!!” Tsukasa falls to his knees, staring at the ground as Rui and Mizuki count the plus cards.

“And that's… 30 cards!!” Mizuki laughs. “Tsukasa senpai loses again!” 

“I was so close to winning…” 

“Well, that's what happens if you are the first one to say ‘uno’.” Nene smiles though deep down she's so happy that Tsukasa doesn't have any plus card… If he has one… ‘I’ll be the one who's going to take all the cards…'

“Sorry, Tsukasa-kun. Rule is rule. We set the card limit only to 25 cards.” Rui smiles.

“Damnit…”

“Now I feel bad for Tenma-san…” 

Mizuki shakes their head. “Don't be, Ena. It's more fun this way.”

“Don't worry, Tsukasa-kun! You'll definitely win next time!” Miku cheers from Tsukasa's phone. “Miku will cheer for you!”

Looking at the virtual singer, Tsukasa smiles. “Thanks.”

“Alright, let's continue the game.”

“Let's~!”

“Eh? Isn't he…”

“No way…” 

“Guys! Have you seen the post? There's no way right…?”

“But, it's not the first time we see them together, right? We live in the same town. There's no way we won't notice them being together.”

“Is this thing even valid? I don't want to believe this.”

“This is definitely to slander the two of them.”

“But what if it's true…?”

“We'll never know it's true unless we hear from them.”

“Eh?! They're dating?”

“But… They're kinda cute together, you know?”

“…Should I ask her during their next livestream? But…”

“How dare she lie to us…”

“This is unforgivable.”

“I refuse to believe it's real. I went to the same school as him… I can ask him for confirmation. Mhm, let's ask him at school.”

“Even if they're dating, why would we be bothered by it? You should be happy that they're finding each other. We can't do anything. If you're a true fan, you should support them instead.”

“You're right… No matter what, I'll continue to support both of them.”

“…This is a betrayal.”

“They're not even good with each other.”

“Who even that guy is? I've never heard of him before.”

“Who is he to date her?”

“How can a lousy nobody like him date her?!”

“Wonderlands X Showtime's chairman, Tenma Tsukasa and MORE MORE JUMP!’s Hinomori Shizuku are… Dating…?”

“…I lose…” Kanade sighs as Ena puts down her last card. 

“Lemme see it.” Mizuki looks at Kanade's cards. “Uwa, so close…”

“Technically, Yoisaki-san is in second last. Tsukasa-kun is the one who loses this round.” Rui chuckles.

“You two did well, Kanade-chan, Tsukasa-kun.” NiigoLen smiles.

“Thanks, Len.” Kanade smiles wryly.

“Do you guys want to play another round?” Ena asks them as she helps Emu to rearrange the cards. 

“Maybe later.” Mizuki lays down on their back and stares at the sky. 

Tsukasa looks at his group, “Right, if we had time… Let's do another movie marathon.”

“Why so sudden?” Nene tilts her head a little, “But I don't mind it at all.”

“Kazuki-san gave me this.” He shows the group the hard drive. “He said he lets us watch dramas and movies he's in that maybe kinda can help us with our roles. Maybe it can help us a little.”

“Uwa, that's so kind of him.” Mizuki rolls and looks at Tsukasa. “What's his name again?” 

“Kazuki Asahi. Akatsuki-san said he's pretty professional but Kazuki-san is actually really humble about himself.” Tsukasa hums. 

“Why does that sound familiar…?” Ena hums, “Wait… Um, Rin, can you excuse me for a moment?” The said virtual singer nods and moves to Mizuki's phone. 

“Shinonome-san?”

“Ena-san?” 

After searching and scrolling, Ena brightened up. “Found him. I know his name sounds familiar.”

“What's wrong, Ena?”

Ena shows them the page, “I heard about him through a friend from my art school… And he actually once got caught up in a scandal before and it caused both parties to hiatus for a while to handle things.”

“Huh?”

“I don't want to make any more issues.”

“One of the biggest controversies in the entertainment industry… Scandal issues.” 

“Please avoid that issue as much as you can. If you get caught in the issue, you'll be in big trouble. It would be troublesome if the people caught you together with someone who's pretty well known… It will be a little bit hard to come back since you need to settle it in privacy and go on hiatus in order to fix it.”

“So that's why he told us that…” Emu looks at Nene. 

Ena pulls away her phone. “I remember reading about this issue. A dramatuber covered this case before and he said something… Someone actually found him sleeping with a girl in a hotel and they did it.”

“Huh?!” Mizuki sits up, “No way?!”

“But Kazuki-san looks really kind… He had a really soft look when we met him before.” Emu frowns. 

“I thought he's already married…?”

“I'm not sure but it's from four years ago. He took a year of hiatus because of this.”

“Uwa…”

“Did he stand up for it?” Kanade tilts her head as the topic caught her interest a little. 

“He did. He made a statement that the rumours about him are false and he didn't sleep with anyone. He got into a fight with the dramatuber in the stream but that stream was private… But people said Kazuki-san was crying when he talked to that dramatuber.”

Rui hums, “He took a year hiatus but he knows it's not true…”

Nene frowns, “It's definitely the backlash from the people on the internet…”

“Well… Some of them actually threatened to kill him and he got stalked.” Ena frowns, “But he sued the dramatuber… And after his return, everyone slowly forgot about the issue.”

“Well, that's good for him.” Tsukasa nods. 

“Then, Tsukasa-kun and the others need to be careful then.” The troupe looks at WxS MEIKO. “It will be troublesome for you guys since you're in a famous director’s drama and you four are the main characters, which means many people will see you.”

“She's right…”

“Kazuki-san already told us not to egosa once the drama is airing… Which will be very soon.” Rui crosses his arms.

“Uwa?! The drama is airing soon?! I can't wait to watch it.” Mizuki smiles, brightening the atmosphere a little. “I can't wait to watch Tsukasa senpai and the others' being in a TV drama. Not to mention Leonii will be singing the OP.”

“Saki said she cried when she sang the song.”

“Eh? She cried?” 

Tsukasa nods, “Saki said when she read the lyrics, it already touched her feelings but when she sang the song, she cried. And she needs to retake her part because of it.” He smiles, “Even Honami cried a little.”

“I wonder what kind of song it is.” Kanade hums. “I look forward to listening to it.”

“Mhm, me too.” Mafuyu nods.

“Eh? WonderShow and… Niigo?” Hearing the voice, all virtual singers immediately retreat into the phones as the group looks up. Only to reveal An and the rest of Vivid BAD SQUAD.

“Oh! It's vbs!” Mizuki smiles, “Yaho~”

Toya smiles, “Tsukasa senpai.”

‘Geh…’ Akito frowns in annoyance as he sees Ena and Tsukasa being in the same place, ‘Since when did they get this close?’

“Are you guys here to have a picnic as well?” Emu smiles.

“We just want to walk around after our practice ends.” Kohane then looks at the group with an apologetic smile. “Did we disturb your picnic?”

“Of course not.” Rui chuckles softly.

“Ah right, ‘Everlasting Love' will be airing soon right? I just want to say that I can't wait to watch the show.” Kohane smiles widely. “Especially when Leonii will sing the opening song.” 

Kohane immediately gets more excited to watch the show after she notices the announcement for the group that will sing the opening song for the said drama. Who isn't excited when your group of oshi will appear as the main characters in a drama and your friends will sing the opening song?

“Mhm, we'll be watching the show.” Toya nods. 

“Thank you so much, Toya! Azusawa!” Tsukasa smiles at the two. 

“Well, I think we should go for now. Don't want to disturb NiigoSho’s picnic.” An smiles, “See you guys later.”

“Bye bye~!” Emu waves at the group. 

“Now, where were we?”

The group eventually continue their picnic and play games together with the virtual singers. Completely in their own (world) as they're having fun together. 

“And I think we should end the stream soon huh?” Airi smiles as she hugs her pink pillow. “We had a really fun zatsudan today.” She chuckles.

“Right?” Shizuku smiles. 

Minori puts down her drink. “Mhm! It's really fun when we just sit down here and have a chat.”

Haruka looks at the comments and smiles at how everyone is having fun with today's relaxing zatsudan stream. “I’m glad everyone's having fun.”

“Maybe we can make a karaoke stream next?” Minori looks at the girls and comments agree

Airi hums, “We'll put them in our streaming plan then.”

“Oh!! Can't wait for the karaoke stream!”

“Karaoke stream~!”

“Look forward to it!”

“Welp, it's time to end the stream.” Airi smiles at the camera. “Today's zatsudan is really fun. We really talked about lots of things today. So everyone thanks for coming today! Otsumomojyan!”

“Otsumomojyan!” Minori and Shizuku wave their hands at the camera.

“Otsumomo—Hm?” Haruka blinks as she reads a specific comment between all the comments in the chat.

“…How dare you betray us Shizuku. Dating with someone when you're not supposed to.”

“Eh…?” Haruka froze right after Saito ended the stream. It will be unprofessional of her if she reacts like this when the camera is on. 

“Hah~ One hour of zatsudan.” Minori stretches her arms as Airi hums.

“Maybe we should discuss more on what to do for our streams other than zatsudan, dancing lessons and work out sessions. Minori just adds a singing stream…” Airi crosses her arms.

“Oh! Oh! Maybe a gaming stream? Like Wii sports or any Nintendo Switch games.” Minori smiles at Airi. “Or maybe let's go vlog.”

“Hm, not bad ideas.” Airi nods, “Haruka? What about you—” 

“Not now, Airi.” Haruka immediately takes her phone and scrolls her SNS. “Not here…”

“Haruka-chan?” Shizuku tilts her head, “What's wrong?”

Haruka’s finger immediately stops strolling as she finds the post. “…This is bad.”

“Haruka?”

She looks at the group and frowns. “Someone had spread false rumors about Tenma-san and Shizuku dating on the SNS.”

Chapter Text

“This is really bad huh?”

Akatsuki sighs heavily as he massages his head. This is definitely a little bit way too early or maybe, he doesn't expect it to happen now. Well, that's probably what will happen if both parties are already well-known and have their own fan base… He leans to his chair and stares at the screen of his laptop, reading the article. 

A former actor from Phoenix Wonderland's Wonder Stage, Tenma Tsukasa and an idol from an independent idol group, Hinomori Shizuku, are dating?!

“……” This shouldn't be much of a big deal probably since the news is only spreading around people in Shibuya… So they should clear this misunderstanding as soon as possible before it spreads to people outside Shibuya.

“I trust you to look after my son and his friends.”

“…They're still kids.” And he agreed to look after them. If anything happens to them, it will be his fault… And his good name will be ruined and people will start accusing him for taking underage children to work with him as well as putting them in danger.

“Me and Tsukasa-kun are 18.”

“Still a kid. They haven't reached 20 yet.” Akatsuki sighs again, “But they're still high school students.” 

“Kanzaki-san.” Ishikawa enters the tent. 

He looks up and smiles softly, “Ishikawa sensei. Did Tsukasa-kun and the others talk about this yet?”

“Well…” Ishikawa frowns slightly, “He did. They're currently outside, wanting to see you if it's okay for them.”

Akatsuki sighs and nods, “Sure.” He puts away the papers, books and pens as the four walk towards them. 

“Kanzaki-san…” Rui frowns. “About the rumors…”

“I'm aware.” The director sighs. 

Tsukasa steps up, “Akatsuki-san, I can explain. Shizuku is my childhood friend and that isn't the first time I'm being around her.”

“That's right, Kanzaki-san…!” Emu frowns. “Tsukasa-kun and senpai did nothing wrong.”

“Yes I know.” Akatsuki smiles softly. “Rest assured, we'll help you investigate who started this rumor and we'll do something about it. We might as well make a police report on this.”

“P-Police report?” Nene frowns slightly.

“This can count as stalking… Though it won't help much but at least it will alert the police that someone is currently stalking you… Or do you have any idea on who's stalking you, Tsukasa-kun?”

The three look at Tsukasa, who shakes his head. “Not really… But I did get stalked before—Wait, is it stalking?” Tsukasa looks at Rui. “The one we made the police report with Ken-san…”

“It's more like bullying, attempted murder and kidnap.” Rui crosses his arms.

Completely caught off guard by it, Akatsuki blinks. “Kidnapped…?” And Tsukasa almost got himself murdered by someone?! 

“It's kinda… Not really an old story… But we kinda like… Have a pretty heavy stuff going on with us before.” Tsukasa smiles wryly. Way too many things happened back then. 

“If that's what it is, then I'm glad you're still alive, Tsukasa-kun.” Akatsuki chuckles softly. 

Tsukasa smiles, “Thank you, Akatsuki-san.”

“Well, about this rumor… We will do our best to stop it before it reaches outside of Shibuya. We'll settle this as a private and working matter. Do not try to make things easier for these people to frame you and your idol friend and put more fuel into this small flame. I'm saying this for your own good. If you want to continue to befriend your idol friend, make sure you are careful with everything you do. Maybe less seeing her in your private life.”

Emu raises her hand. As Akatsuki turns to her, she puts down her hand, “Is it okay for me to ask why? Tsukasa-kun and Hinomori senpai are friends.” 

Akatsuki sighs, “That's the painful reality when you get yourself into this rumor. If you ignore the rumors, sure it's better to ignore it but sometimes it will just make it worse if people who started this rumor spread more false information about you two. This can also destroy your good image if people know you had a bad rumor spreading about you. Especially when your friend is an idol. You'll just pour more fuel to the fire on her side if you choose to ignore it. Believe me kids… I've seen worse than this.”

“…” The group fell silent, not sure how to respond to it.

“I'm here not to scare any of you or to stop you from continuing to continue being friends. But right now someone just spread a rumor about you dating that idol friend of yours. She already had quite the fan base and it will be bad for her if those certain fans show their true colors.”

“Those certain fans…?”

“The ones that have a parasocial relationship with her. Ones that think they know Hinomori-san better than you and so called being the white knight to ‘protect’ her from you.”

“Para…social…? White knight…?” Emu tilts her head as she has never heard these words in her life.

Akatsuki smiles softly, “Parasocial relationship is when a fan thinks that they know their idol better than anyone and sometimes stalks them to get to know their idol's private life. They're also the ones that will never accept any rumors about their idol being in a relationship with anyone, especially if it's the opposite gender. For example…”

Akatsuki takes two pens and shows them to the group.

“A is a girl idol and B is a male idol. Both of them are actually friends, close friends in their private life but they both have big audiences. Meaning, they have a lot of fans. While they're working as an idol, these two barely interact with each other but off camera, they're super close. So one day, while they're both having a day off together, they decided to go out together as best friends. However… While they're doing so…” 

Akatsuki holds two pens with one hand as he takes another pen and holds it in his other hand.

“Fans are nothing but complete strangers to them when it comes to private life. So they never noticed or realized that their fans saw them together. Like I said, they're both close friends, so A and B are having so much fun being together, laughing and joking around. This person… C, secretly took pictures of them being together and started spreading rumors about them dating each other.”

Tsukasa's eyes widened. ‘…Just like that picture… Someone took a picture of me being with Shizuku…’ 

“With C spreading the false information, both A and B fans start to question their relationship. Some of the fans will accept it since it's making A and B happy however… The fans that I want to warn you about are the fans that will never accept their idol being in a relationship with someone else.”

“E-Eh? But isn't it their private life?” Nene frowns. “I still don't understand why they're angry when their idol is in a relationship…”

“It's because they believe that their idols are their boyfriends or girlfriends. As well as being unprofessional if they're in a relationship with their partners. If A and B are really in a relationship, these fans will never accept it and make sure both sides suffer from it. A’s fans will attack B while B’ fans will attack A. These attacks aren't just telling them to stop being friends… But death threats, slander, doxing and spamming them with negative comments. And that…” 

Akatsuki frowns slightly as he puts down the third pen.

“That causes these two to grow apart and stop interacting with each other. From close friends in private… To strangers in order to protect each other. And it always works… A’s fans stop attacking B and B’s fans stop attacking A.”

“But Kanzaki-san, we shouldn't grow apart with our friends if the fans freak out about their idols being close friends to each other. We have our own life and they're not going to interfere with it.”

“I understand, Kamishiro-kun. We should most likely ignore them since it's our private life but it's not as simple as you think it is. If it's only on the internet, it's fine… But it would be horrible if the fan saw you in the streets. Imagine what's the worst case scenario if that fan saw you while you're stuck in a rumor like this.”

“Uh… They'll… Attack us…?”

“Yes. It's the worst case scenario if that person brings a weapon with them to harm you with the mindset of you taking their idol away from them.”

“……”

“Those people are crazy… They're not fans.. They're just obsessed with their idols…” Nene frowns. “That's not healthy at all…”

“That's why we'll do our best to prevent this issue from going further. Don't worry, Tsukasa-kun, I'll make sure nothing happens to you. I promised your parents I'll take care of you, so rest assured.” The male smiles. “Just… Make sure not to pour more fuel into the fire, okay?”

Tsukasa nods, “Thank you so much, Akatsuki-san.” And the other three also said their thanks before walking away. Tsukasa sighs softly. “I know there will be a risk of me walking with Shizuku alone that night… But she was lost. How can I leave her alone there? Shizuku’s my friend.”

“Helping a friend isn't wrong, Tsukasa.” Nene smiles, trying to reassure the other male. “It was the person who started that rumor who is to blame.”

“That's right, Tsukasa-kun! So rather than thinking about it, why don't we practice for our next scene?” Emu smiles, 

Tsukasa smiles at the younger group, “Thanks guys.”

Noticing Amamiya approaching them, Emu, Nene and Rui immediately get in front of Tsukasa, shielding the male from the brunette. Rui crosses his arms and smiles slightly, “Yes, Jun-san? Is there anything we can help you with?” His tone is still polite yet the three can tell that Rui doesn't like the male being around them.

After knowing how Amamiya acts around Tsukasa and telling him to join his agency… There's no way they're going separate ways this early. They still have a lot to do… And probably they'll stay as a group until they reach their dream together.

“I found out about the scandal thingy on the SNS.” Amamiya hums. “I just want some confirmation if it's true or not.”

“Of course it's not. Me and Shizuku are friends.” Tsukasa shakes his head. “She lost her way and I helped her get home safely.”

“Is that so?” Amamiya nods. 

“Yes—”

“Tsukasa-kun!” The group turns and sees Kagura and Tachihara walk towards them. The woman frowns slightly, “I saw the SNS… They're spreading false rumors… Right?”

“Mhm they did.” Rui nods. “Kanzaki-san told us not to add more fuel into the fire.”

“So I'll do my best to be more careful.”

Tachihara nods, “I'm glad. But I think you should try to cover your face as well. Wear a mask or a cap. It will help you protect your identity when you go outside.”

“But what about school then? I usually walk to school.”

“Ah…” Right… They forgot that these four are still high school students… Kagura hums. “Wear a mask and at least make sure you go to school with someone. Even after school is finished.”

Rui looks at Tsukasa, “Guess we'll walk to school together again.”

“Oh! Oh! I know!” Emu smiles, “We can ask my driver to send us to our schools! It's not like we've never done that before. And it's safer too since we go to school by car.”

Nene hums, “Well, I guess we can.”

“Then, until the situation calms down, we'll go to school by Emu-kun’s car.” Rui nods.

“Thanks, Emu.” 

“Ehe~ Well, it's not like my driver doesn't know you guys.” Emu smiles.

“Then, that's for the best.” Kagura chuckles. “Well, we have a long day today. Let's do our best for today's shooting!” 

“Let's!” 

Amamiya watches the female hyping the group once more, he frowns to himself. He glances at the director's tent, ‘He better clean Tsukasa-chan’s name before the drama starts airing. If not…’ He sighs and walks away. 

Shizuku stares at her phone, reading the headline of the news for a few times already and she lets out another sigh. She didn't even eat during the whole lunch, only sighing and staring at her phone. 

This actually makes Airi and a few of their classmates worried for Shizuku. They've already listened to Shizuku's explanation about the rumors and Airi being the one who enabled Shizuku's words. 

“Shizuku…” Airi frowns.

“Hey… Momoi-san… Did she talk to the other guy about this yet?”

Airi shakes her head. “Not yet… But meeting Tenma-kun face to face is kinda hard now…” She sighs.

“Why doesn't she just call him and discuss things with him?” The question was only answered by Airi shrugging before they looked at Shizuku once more.

Shizuku sighs softly and stares at Tsukasa's number. It's not like she doesn't want to call him… But… Knowing that Tsukasa’s now sometimes busy with his work as the main actor in the upcoming drama… She doesn't want to disturb him working. But…

‘I need to discuss things carefully with Tsukasa-kun.’ She stands up, actually surprising the whole class who were staring at her. Shizuku looks at Airi, “Airi-chan, I'm going to the rooftop for a bit.”

“E-Eh? Sure…?” 

Shizuku takes her phone with her and walks out of the classroom, ignoring the whispers and looks from the others. If this continues, it will turn out worse for both of them…

‘And I can't let that happen…!’ 

Goada @ssoHIjB23d71Hbdis

[ I wonder what Shzk-chan sees in Tenma Tsukasa that makes her wanna date him ]

Nekoji @nyannn5621

[ If you bump into Tenma Tsukasa in the streets, please avoid him. You'll definitely be deaf if you bumped into him. ]

Nobo @67jsn89JHak

[ I've watched their shows before and I can't believe the loudest person in the troupe a.k.a Tenma Tsukasa being the main character in Everlasting Love? You gotta be kidding me. What a joke. ] 

Arriving at the rooftop, Shizuku closes the door behind her. She looks around and sighs in relief. ‘Great, Minori-chan isn't around.’ She pulls out her phone and looks for Tsukasa's number. ‘For now, I should discuss it with Tsukasa-kun on my own… Then when we reach an agreement, we’ll discuss it with the others. Things are still in control for now… I still need to make a stream to apologize for it and explain properly about what happened…’

“How dare you betray us.”

“……” 

After Haruka told them about someone spreading the rumors around the SNS, the five of them immediately look for any other rumors that they haven't noticed before. But nothing and it's a relief. The moment the four of them look at the pictures that were being taken, it's obvious (to them) that Tsukasa was just helping Shizuku. They know how it is easy for their tallest friend here to lose her way, especially since lately Shizuku's old stalker is back… So of course they won't use the usual path to go home if they felt like they were being followed. Lucky for Shizuku, she bumped into Tsukasa. But it turned out not that lucky that someone secretly took pictures of them and spread false information about them dating. Well… It's technically not that wrong since Tsukasa is her ex… 

But those are old stories! The two of them are friends now. 

Shizuku looks at her phone and nods to herself, “Let's do this.” She presses Tsukasa's number and puts her phone next to her ear. She's really hope that Tsukasa isn't busy—

“…!!” Her eyes widened slightly and she smiled. “Tsukasa—”

“My apology but this isn't Tsukasa-chan.”

“E-Eh…?” Shizuku pulls away her phone. But… This is Tsukasa's number…? She puts the phone back next to her ear. “Um…”

“Oh right. Tsukasa-chan is currently on the set now. I noticed his phone rang, so I decided to pick up the call so I can inform him about you calling him.”

“Ah, is that so?” Shizuku nods. “Um… Can you tell Tsukasa-kun to call me after he finishes?”

“I will.”

“Thank you so much… Uh…”

“Jun Amamiya. Just call me Jun.”

Shizuku nods and smiles, “Jun-san. I hope you can tell Tsukasa-kun that I want to talk to him and—”

“You're really the Hinomori Shizuku huh?”

“Eh?”

“So, can you tell me what's up between you and Tsukasa-chan? Are you two really… Actually a thing?”

“…Huh…?”

Cupmen @rtSRyh463tf

[ Tenma Tsukasa, please kill yourself. Jump off the building or I hope you'll get hit by a car. How dare you take Shizuku-chan from us. Who even are you? I don't even know you so I bet no one even knows you LMAO you're not even famous or good in acting. You suck. Don't even dare to get close to Shizuku-chan or I'll kill you myself. Die. ]

Chapter Text

“Onii-chan…” 

Shiho looks at Saki in worry before glancing at the empty desk, which is supposed to be Emu's place. The pinkette is absent due to their full schedule for their shooting for the drama and of course the school is aware of it. 

“Saki… Did Tsukasa-san say anything to you…?”

“Well… Mom and dad don't know about this yet… So we don't really talk about this at home.” Saki sighs. “But he did say not to worry… But I'm getting worried since it's slowly spreading out.” Especially when some girls actually come to see her since it's her brother… As well as Shiho… “Did Shizuku senpai say anything to you?”

“Well… Onee-chan said that I shouldn't worry too.” Shiho pauses, “Saki, do you want to go to the rooftop with me?”

“Eh?”

“It's lunchtime right? Why don't we have our lunch there? Maybe we can invite Honami and Ichika too.”

The frown on her face immediately disappears as Saki smiles widely, “Sure!” Just as Shiho mentioned the other two, Ichika and Honami peek in their classroom. “Ah! Icchan! Hona-chan!”

“Saki, Shiho.” Ichika smiles as the two approach them. “Going somewhere?”

“We're heading to the rooftop to have lunch.”

Honami smiles, “Ah, us too. We're just about to invite you two to join us.”

“Then, let's all go to the rooftop~!” Saki wraps her arm around Honami and starts dragging the drummer away.

Shiho smiles, ‘I'm glad she cheered up a little.’

“Shiho?”

“I'm fine. Just a little glad that Saki cheers up.” Shiho smiles wryly, “You know… The thing that happened between our older siblings right now…”

“Ah…” Ichika frowns. “I hope we can actually help something…”

“Too bad we can't.” Shiho sighs, “This is something that onee-chan and Tsukasa-san needs to handle on their own with the help of their group and manager. We can only support them and maybe…” She pauses.

“Maybe?” The vocalist tilts her head.

“I was kinda thinking of finding the first person who spread this rumor on SNS. That's the least I can do to help onee-chan and Tsukasa-san.”

“Well, I think you can try to do it together with Haruka and Hanasato-san. They're kinda trying to look for the SNS user that started this rumor.”

Shiho hums as she crosses her arms before nodding. “Mhm, then I'll go ask them when I have the time.”

As the four of them arrive at the rooftop, when Shiho opens the door, she can see her older sister is on her phone, facing the fence. “Ah… Onee-chan…”

“Huh?” The other three also peek and see the said idol.

But…

“N-No…! You got the wrong idea…!” 

“Eh?” 

Shizuku frowns, “Me and Tsukasa-kun are just friends. We've been friends since childhood and that's why we're close. We're nothing but just friends…! Please stop acting like you know us well.”

“Onee-chan…” Shiho frowns before she walks towards Shizuku.

“S-Shiho…?!”

Before Shizuku could answer, Shiho snatched the phone away and put it next to her ear, “If you want to spread more lies about my older sister and her friend, I'm asking you politely to stop spreading them.”

“S-Shii-chan?!”

Amamiya blinks, “Oh? Who am I speaking to right now? Hinomori Shizuku-san’s little sister?”

“Who I am is not important to you. All I want is you to stop spreading lies about my sister and her friend. I don't care—”

“Now I remember… You're… Hinomori Shiho… From Leo/Need, am I correct?”

“…!!”

“And one of your band members… The one who plays the keyboard… She's Tsukasa-chan's little sister, Tenma Saki-san.”

“You… Who are you…?” Shiho frowns before shaking her head, “No… Who you are is not important as well. Please stop disturbing any of us… Including Tsukasa-san.”

“Are you sure? I mean… I'm pretty much Tsukasa-chan's colleague, so of course I need to interact with him.” Amamiya hums, “And I'm so honoured as well to get to talk with the bassist of Leo/Need. The band that will sing the opening song for Everlasting Love. Nice to meet you, I'm Jun Amamiya.”

Shizuku turns as she sees the rest of Leo/Need approaches her. “Everyone…” 

“Nice to meet you too. With all due respect, Jun-san. Please do not disturb my older sister anymore. Please do not harass my sister or Tsukasa-san. That's all from me.” Without letting the other male speak, Shiho ends the call. But it shocked her when she saw Tsukasa's name. “Eh?” She looks at Shizuku. 

“Shiho, who is that?”

Shizuku frowns slightly, “He introduced himself as Jun Amamiya. I wanted to talk to Tsukasa-kun but he picked up the call instead…”

Saki frowns, “So he used onii-chan’s number to talk to you?”

“Mhm.”

“What did he ask you, Shizuku senpai?” 

“Well… He just asked if the rumor is true… And he's kinda trying to twist my words after I explained the real situation to him.” Shizuku sighs. “I haven't got the chance to properly talk to Tsukasa-kun, so I was trying to see if he ever had free time to talk with him.”

Saki hums. “Then, why don't you come to our house then?”

“Eh?”

“But Saki, you said it yourself that your parents don't know about this yet and Tsukasa-san doesn't want them to know.”

“Ah… Right…”

Shizuku smiles sadly, “Thanks for the offer, Saki-chan. But if I go to your house, someone might see me and it might add more fuel into the fire. It's a really risky path since I go to your house and it will just make the situation worse.”

“She's right.” Honami frowns. 

“Is that so…?” Saki sighs. Yet again… Stuck in a situation where she's helpless to help her older brother… 

Noticing Saki's frowns, Shizuku walks towards her and hugs her. “Thank you, Saki-chan… I know you really want to help your brother… But right now… We need to be extra careful with our steps. The path that leads us to the solution for this situation is really… Unclear and we really need to think a few times before we use that idea.” She pats Saki's head. 

“I just… Want to help onii-chan…”

Shizuku smiles softly. “I know… I can see it… But really… Don't worry. Me and Tsukasa-kun will do our best to handle this situation.” She pulls away from Saki and cups her cheeks. “Believe in your brother.”

“I…” Saki nods, “I will…” She smiled softly, “Thank you, Shizuku senpai.”

Shizuku smiles warmly and pats her head, “And, please refrain from looking through the search for Tsukasa-kun's name on the SNS okay…?” She smiles wryly. She had already seen the hate comments and death threats towards the male… She really hopes that Tsukasa won't look at and read those comments… Even for her side… It's not that pretty as well… It still stung her when she read a few comments about her that night…

And… It really… Hurts her so much… But… Everything… Everything is going to be okay… Right…?

Last night…

Shizuku shifted around her bed as she couldn't sit quietly after she found out about the fake rumors about her and Tsukasa… Sitting up, she glanced at Airi, who's sleeping peacefully. Shizuku carefully got out of bed and took her phone with her. She sat at the balcony and stared at the moon before looking at her phone. Opening her SNS, Shizuku took a deep breath and egosa for her own name… Even though she knew the risk… Her hands shook and frowned deeply as she read through the comments one by one. 

Just a user @n0b0dy_0404

[ Hinomori Shizuku-san w You finally did it huh? w Please don't make me laugh. Are you trying to act like you're a victim when you could have probably used your so-called beauty to make people fall for you? Please. This issue is so funny to me. LOL. Poor that Tenma Tsukasa guy. He's probably just a victim of her seduction. I've seen him before and he's a kind kid. Poor guy. ]

Kasa-kun oshi #1 @_kasanui

[ This is definitely a set up!! Tsukasa-san would never fall for someone like Hinomori Shizuku!!! Ugly ass bitch!!!! Stay away from him!! ]

Tensyun @temm67

[ Isn't she the ex-member from Cheerful*Days, Hinomori Shizuku? Could it be that she left the group because she was also caught in a scandal with that guy or maybe someone else by her ex group members, but they changed the reasons so their names won't be dirty? What a shame. I thought she's a professional idol but turns out she's just a slut. ]

Hunna @hyun_00

[ Tenma Tsukasa-san, please stay away from Hinomori Shizuku. She's not worth your time. If she ever makes a live stream and cries over this issue, then she's a bitch and using a play victim card. I've always come and watched your shows and I never saw you having a love interest in any way. She's definitely seducing you with her fake face. So please ignore her and focus on your drama and your mental health! I'll be rooting for you! ]

C0RE @soOHvu9382Jnnm

[ Hinomori Shizuku. Fake ass bitch, stay away from Tks-kun!!! I hope your life gets worse since you just make his life worse!! You just ruined his first TV drama!! Why do you even exist?! Kill yourself! Die! ]

Dasho fan here! @guuuuru

[ Team Tenma Tsukasa!! We'll protect him! Don't let that bitch Hinomori Shizuku go easily! ]

Fujita @fuujita23

[ Non-follower, sorry for the reply!! But MMJ is going to have a livestream soon! Let's attack her there! We won't let her go until she apologies to Tks-kun! ]

Dasho fan here! @guuuuru

[ Thank you for the notice! ^^ Let's all protect Tks-kun from her! We won't forgive her easily! ]

Fujita @fuujita23

[ Mhm! We'll never forgive her for ruining Tks-kun’s image before the TV drama airs! I was so looking forward for people to see how amazing Tsk-kun's acting is but because of this bitch, she's ruining everything… ]

Dasho fan here! @guuuuru

[ I know right!! She's destroying Tks-kun's image! ]

Shizuku immediately made herself stop reading the reply as it was getting harsher and harsher. She put down her phone and hugged her legs, pulling them close to her chest. Airi and Haruka already told her not to egosa on her own… Or maybe… Don't do ego surfing at all… These comments… 

‘They… They don't know anything behind the scenes…’ Shizuku frowned, tears forming in her eyes and she hid her face in her legs. ‘B-But…’ If she doesn't have a stalker… Or maybe having that person follow her… Maybe she wouldn't have bumped into Tsukasa…? She… Why did she have to burden her friend that time…? If only she… 

[ Why do you even exist?! Kill yourself! Die! ]

If only she—

“Shizuku-chan?”

Shizuku looked up and wiped her tears away as she saw two familiar virtual singers looking at her in worry. Miku frowned, “Is everything… Okay…?”

“What happened? We come as soon as we sense something bad has happened…” Rin frowned as well when she saw the tears. “Did something happen?”

The moment when Miku and Rin felt something was wrong with the SEKAI… The slight shake when they were on the stage talking to each other… They wasted no time by checking one by one. From Minori, Haruka, Airi to Shizuku. This had never happened before… As if there's a small crack on the fragment of feelings for the Stage SEKAI.

“A-Ah…” Shizuku forced herself to smile. “Can I… Talked with you two… In SEKAI for a bit? I don't want to bother Airi-chan and the others.” Miku and Rin shared a look before nodding. Wiping the remaining tears away, Shizuku picked up her phone and went to SEKAI.

Miku sighs softly as she sits on the edge of the stage and swings her legs back and forth, frowning slightly. Hearing the boots coming towards her, she turns around and smiles slightly, “KAITO…” 

“Miku.” KAITO smiles and sits next to her. “Is something wrong? I saw Rin-chan frowning but she was gone before I could even approach her. And you're frowning as well.” 

“Ah…”

“What's the matter?”

“I just… I wonder what we can do to help Shizuku-chan and her friend…” Miku frowns as she remembers what Shizuku told them that night. “Turns out her stalking issue is getting worse… And it led to a rumor where people thought Shizuku-chan and her childhood friend were a couple when they aren't.” She sighs.

“Oh my… That's not good…” KAITO frowns. “…Is she?’

Miku nods, “She got a lot of hurtful comments from people on the internet.”

“I think maybe she should stop egosa for now.” KAITO hums. “Does Airi-chan and the others know about this?”

“They do. But I'm not sure if they know about Shizuku-chan read those horrible comments towards her…” Miku sighs again. She read through the comments together with Rin last night… And they really… Not nice at all… “She said she might talk to her friend about this today.”

“You mean, the Tsukasa-kun she told us about before?” Miku nods, “I see. Well, I hope she's doing well with it.” Seeing how the idol is still frowning, KAITO hums, “Then, why don't we go visit her?” He smiles.

“Eh?” Miku nods, “Mhm! Let's go.”

The two of them stand up and head towards the place where they can connect with the girls in their world. But as they both appears on Shizuku's phone, “Shizuku—?!!” The two of them immediately hide themselves as Shizuku's phone is still in Shiho’s hand. 

Shiho looks away from her sister, who's talking to Saki, she looks at Shizuku's phone and blinks. ‘KAITO-san…?’ The bassist shakes her head, ‘No… That's impossible. There's no way KAITO-san is in onee-chan’s phone. She doesn't even have a SEKAI like ours.’

“Shiho?” Ichika looks at her as she tilts her head, “You're staring at Shizuku senpai's phone.”

“Ah…” Shiho looks away, “Nothing, I thought I heard KAITO-san. Maybe it's just my imagination—”

“You're calling?” The two of them looks at Ichika’s phone. The said virtual singer peeks around and hides himself inside there as he spots Shizuku. “Is everything okay with Saki-chan? I saw her come to SEKAI last night but she left before I can talk to her.”

“Mhm, she's okay. Just worried about her brother.” Ichika smiles wryly. 

“Is that so…?” Leonii KAITO nods before he glances at Shizuku's phone and blinks. ‘Eh…?’ He make an eye contact with MMJ KAITO.

The other male blinks as well. ‘A-Another me…? This is such… A bad timing…’

“M-Miku-chan!!”

The two of them startled as they heard Rin’s voice screaming out Miku's name. They both turn to her and immediately shush her, signaling her that Shizuku is around other people.

“A-Ah…!”

Yet…

Ichika and Shiho look at each other before looking at Shizuku's phone. “S-Shiho… You… You heard that… Right?”

“Y-Yeah… Rin…? Is that you…?” 

“…!!” Leonii KAITO's eyes widened. ‘T-This is bad…!’

“…” MMJ Rin covers her mouth. 

MMJ Miku looks at the male, “K-KAITO… W-What should we do now…?” She whispers.

“…” 

Chapter Text

Earlier in Stage SEKAI…

Rin walks around the flower garden and crouches down to stare at the flowers. She sighs softly as her head replays the moment when Shizuku showed them the horrible comments about her and Tsukasa. All the death threats and negative comments… Even worst, there's a few rape threats too… The real world is such a creepy and scary place huh when you step into the wrong place. But Shizuku's words that night…

“B-But… I'll try my best… Not to look at them after this… Besides, I’m not alone and I have MMJ with me now. I'll do my best to overcome this. I'll make sure I at least walk back home with someone.”

Rin felt relief when Shizuku told them that and they still found a few kind and supportive comments, telling Shizuku that they will still be with her and believe in her. It really helps Shizuku a little bit. The idol really needs to stop doing ego surfing for her own mental sake.

Rin sighs, “I wonder if there's any way to help.” Soon something flashes from her behind, causing Rin to turn around and blinks. “Eh?” She stands up and walks towards it. “The… Fragment of feelings…?” The white and light green fragment floats on top of the flower pot. However, as Rin approaches the fragment, it starts to flicker a few times, making Rin frown in worry. She looks around, “Miku-chan and the others are probably at the stage… Maybe I should—”

Another flashing coming from the fragment. Rin turns and her eyes widened as she sees the light of the fragment slowly die down before it completely disappears. This feeling of deja vu… As if… This has happened before… “Mi… Mi…”

“Rin?” Len blinks and walks towards her, “Is everything—”

“M-Miku-chan!!!” 

“Uwa?!”

Present, Wonderland SEKAI 

Walking around the SEKAI, Luka could see how the condition of the SEKAI is slowly getting worse. Almost all of the attractions here have stopped moving. Most of the flowers have already wither. She looks around and frowns slightly. “I wonder where KAITO is…” After Miku returns from her mysterious disappearance, KAITO is the one who acts weird now. 

They all can barely see the chairman around. If it's daytime, you won't see him around or bump into him yet you'll only see his silhouette before it disappears again. When it's nighttime, that's the only time they can actually bump into the male as he was helping the remaining plushies go to sleep. 

Luka looks at the sky as it's already ‘daytime’ here. The plushies playing around and doing shows among themselves yet never failed to make her smile. Feeling relief that they still want to do shows, despite everything that happened to their host. 

She continues to walk around until she arrives at the specific black door… Which is now covered with the yellow ‘Keep Out’ tape. She touches the door and frowns slightly. The room has been seriously damaged after the black orb exploded. She looks at the floor and frowns as something black is covering the floor… As if it's trying to spread around. 

Luka looks back at the door. Something inside her tells her that she needs to open the door… Yet she knew the danger it would bring, especially how unstable the room is right now. The tape is tied tightly at the knob, not letting anyone twist it open. 

“Luka, there you are.” She turns around and sees MEIKO walk towards her. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I thought you were sleeping somewhere else again.”

Luka chuckles softly, “Me-chan~ Sorry, I just want to walk around the SEKAI… And maybe find KAITO as well.” 

MEIKO sighs and shakes her head, “I'm not sure if KAITO is in this room, Luka. We can no longer enter the room, remember? You tried to enter before but something in that room forcefully pushed you out.”

“…” Luka stares at MEIKO before sighing. “I guess so… But…” She turns to the door, “I can't shake the feeling that we actually need to break through the door… And KAITO is the only one who can do it…” But now, the said male isn't even around and it's really hard to find him now, despite being the chairman. 

“Well…” 

“M-MEIKO! L-Luka…!” The two of them turn and see the plushies running towards them, their eyes are teary.

MEIKO frowns as she kneels down and a bird plush immediately jumps into her knees and hugs her tightly, crying softly. A dog plush tugs her hand, “Sharkie… And Whale… They're… They're not moving…”

A rabbit plush cries, “They're not responding either… We were doing a small show together… And.. And… When it's their turn… They're not moving…” 

“Ah…” Luka frowns. ‘10 plushies stopped moving today huh?’ 

“It's going to be okay. They're just in a really deep sleep like the rest of your friends.” MEIKO smiles softly as she pats the plushies’ heads. “They'll wake up soon, I promise.”

“R-Really?”

“Mhm, they will.” 

“Me-chan…” Luka frowns to herself. That's… Kinda a big promise… Since they didn't know when these plushies would wake up again… Especially when they have no clue on why the plushies stop moving. ‘Tsukasa-kun…’ Did something bad happen to him right now…? Or something bad happened during the filming session? 

Should she check on Tsukasa and the others? But right now they're literally surrounded by adults… So it might be hard for them to go to see them. 

“Luka?” The said virtual singer snaps out of her thoughts as MEIKO waves her hand in front of her face. “Is everything okay? You spaced out.”

Looking around as she notices the plushies aren't around anymore, Luka frowns before shaking her head. “I'll be right back. I want to check up on Tsukasa-kun and the others.” Without waiting for MEIKO to say anything, Luka turns around and walks away.

“W-Wait… Luka! Wait up!” MEIKO runs after her.

“Hm?” The floating bunny tilts her head as she watches MEIKO chasing after Luka. “I wonder what's wrong with them? Luka—”

“Usa-chan.”

The bunny turns around and smiles, “KAITO~! Welcome back.” She flies towards the chairman and hugs him. She let out some happy noises as the other male hugged her back. 

“Do you know where the others are?”

The bunny looks up and hums, “MEIKO and Luka are going somewhere together. Miku-chan, Rin-chan and Len-kun are doing a show on the stage.”

“So you're alone right now?”

The bunny nods, “Mhm! I am. Just wandering around. I just want to see if Tsukasa-kun and the others come to SEKAI. It's been a while since they came here.”

“I'm sure they're busy right now. But I'm sure they'll come here when they have time.”

Seeing the chairman smile at her, the bunny tilts her head. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Then, if KAITO says that, I'll wait for Tsukasa-kun and the others!” The bunny smiles. “Ah right… KAITO, where have you been? Miku-chan and the others are looking for you. Everyone is worried about you.”

“…”

“KAITO?” The bunny calls out for the male softly.

“…”

The other male only stares at her, making the bunny tilt her head in confusion on why the chairman doesn't answer her question. Yet before she could even ask the chairman again, she notices a fragment appears next to them. “Eh? What is this?”

“It's the fragment of feelings.”

“Fragment of feelings?” She looks at the male. Seeing the male nod, the bunny turns back to the fragment. “So shiny.”

“Why don't you touch it?”

“Eh? Is it okay for me to touch?” But KAITO and the others have already told them to never touch anything that they've never seen before… But… He did let her touch it. 

“Of course. I'm right here, I'll ———— you.”

“Is that so…?” She turns to the fragment and looks at it carefully. She could see a tint of black on the fragment but… Seeing it shines brightly, it really makes her want to touch it. “So shiny…” She held out her paw and eventually touched it, blinding her with bright light. “U-Uwa!!!”

Rin looks around, “Eh? She's not here either.” 

“Rin! Have you found Usa-chan anywhere?”

She turns to Len and shakes her head, “Nope! Maybe she's hiding somewhere.”

Len hums, “Well, let's find her over there. Maybe she's around the ship.”

“Mhm!” Then Run frowns slightly, “I hope she doesn't stop moving like the others… She's really important to Tsukasa-kun…”

Len smiles and takes her hand, “I'm sure, Usa-chan will be okay.” He gently squeezes Rin’s hand. “So come on! Let's go find her.”

Looking at Len, Rin smiles and nods. “Mhm! Let's go!”

MEIKO and Luka carefully peeks out of Rui's phone and looks around. “Hm, they're not here.” All they can see is people walking around and not a single sight of the four. “I wonder where they are…” MEIKO hums to herself.

Since Rui's phone is inside his bag, Luka takes the risk and looks around. “Rui-kun?” She calls out slowly. But of course, no one is around… But she did finally spot the four being on the set. “Ah! Me-chan, I finally found them.”

MEIKO blinks, “Where?” Luka points at the set and MEIKO finally sees them. Ah, they're still working huh? But…

“Cut!! We’ll do the scene again!”

“E-Eh?” Nene blinks. This… This is the 10th time… And they still haven't gotten their rest. She glances at Tsukasa, who's panting and having someone to dab his sweats. This scene is… Challenging Tsukasa… ‘Tsukasa… You can do it.’

Rui takes a deep breath and thanks the makeup artist that also dabs away his sweats, trying not to ruin the makeup. He puts his hand on Tsukasa's shoulder and nods. Sending him a quiet message about how they can do this. 

Tsukasa looks at Rui and smiles wryly. “Thanks.” Where… Did he do wrong…? Is his acting still not enough for this? 

“Camera!!” 

Hearing this, Rui went back to his spot and Tsukasa took a deep breath, also going back to his spot. He needs to focus… He can't let anything bother him so much…

Use every negativity inside him to put in his acting… This scene is where Sakata broke down so hard after his mother found out that he's still hanging out with his ‘useless’ friends… 

He could see Kagura smiling softly at him and nodding, mouthing to him that he can do it. 

He smiles back at her. The older woman has always been so nice to him and really makes sure she won't be so overboard with him. Well she did say she had a son… Anyway…

This is the tenth time… It means that it's still not enough or it's still not right to Akatsuki’s expectation. Maybe he needs to use other feelings for this? Sakata's breakdown… Sakata's breakdown… 

Ah…

“T-Tsukasa…?”

The time when his mother found out about SEKAI… His breaking point…

“Set!!”

Isn't that a little bit too extreme? But… It's similar to how Sakata breaks down… Then…

“Action!!”

Slap

The three of them gasp loudly as the older woman slaps their friend hard. Sakata looks at his mother and holds the place where she just slapped him. His eyes widened, scared. “M-Mothe—”

“You ungrateful child!! I told you to stay away from them!” 

“Yuko-san that's enough—”

Yuko glares at the three, “Who are you to say my name?!” She pulls Sakata and hides him behind her, “I told you to stay away from my child! I don't want to see you three around him!!”

“M-Mom…”

“Shut your mouth child! Who allowed you to speak?!” She narrows her eyes, making the male flinch badly. “We're going home right now!” 

“B-But—” Sakata shuts his mouth as he sees his mother's glaring daggers at him. “Y-Yes…” He lowers his head.

“Sakata…!” Wataru frowns.

Tsukasa takes a deep breath. The time… When his mother found out about SEKAI… And not allowing him to bring his phone upstairs… ‘Here goes nothing…’

Emu, Nene and Rui probably accidentally broke their characters as they see how empty Tsukasa's expression is. His dull eyes and his smile… He's not smiling at all… The painful expression behind that smile is showing but it's not. The male looks like he wants to cry but no tears come out from those eyes that's already lost their colors. 

“…!!!…”

It's just like… That time…

Akatsuki stares at Tsukasa before he finally smiles. ‘That's the one I'm looking for.’ Even the reaction from the three… ‘Just perfect.’

“Everyone. It's okay.” Sakata ‘smiles’ at them. “I'll be okay. You three should go home.” He looks at the older woman, “Mother… Let's go home.”

“As we should.” The woman huffed before she tugs Sakata with her, walking towards her car.

Snapping out from their shock, Sakura frowns. “S-Sakata-kun…!” However, she stopped when Wataru shook his head. “B-But…!”

“Sakura-chan…” Natsume frowns and she holds her friend's hand, squeezing it. “It's… It's going to be okay…” She looks at the taller male, “…right?”

Watching the two walk away, Wataru nods. “Yes… We'll save him… Sakata-kun… Wait for us…”

“And cut!!” 

Akatsuki claps his hands and stands up from his chair, “That's more like it!”

As soon as they said cut, Kagura immediately checked on Tsukasa, “Oh god… Are you okay? I didn't slap you hard right?” She frowns. “Tenma-kun…” She calls out for Tsukasa softly as the male still hasn't broken out of his character. 

“Tsukasa-kun!!” Emu runs towards the two together with Nene and Rui. 

“Tsukasa-kun?”

Seeing how Tsukasa is unresponsive, Nene frowns and looks at the woman. “A-Ayame-san… Is he okay?”

Kagura sighs softly and she hugs Tsukasa tightly. “It's going to be okay… We're done now.” She gently pats his head, “It's going to be alright… I'm right here… We're all here for you…”

Taking a deep breath, Tsukasa finally snaps out and nods. “T-Thank you.” He smiles wryly at her.

Kagura smiles warmly, “It's okay. I'm glad you're able to snap out of it. I'm worried that you weren't able to snap out of it.” 

Tsukasa turns and sees his friends look at him in worry, “Did I really make you guys worried?”

Nene sighs, “Almost—”

“We're suuuuuuuper worried!!” Emu hugs him tightly. “But! But! Tsukasa-kun's acting is so amazing!” Her eyes sparkled. “It makes me almost break my character!” 

Rui nods and smiles, “It sure is.”

Nene sighs again before smiling, “You really did an amazing job, Tsukasa. Your acting just now makes me want to do better in mine.”

“Mhm!!”

Tsukasa smiles at them, “Thanks guys. As expected from the future star himself! But… You guys are also amazing, you know? Give credits to yourselves too.” He laughs.

“Alright, everyone! We take a 30 minute break before we go to the next scene!” 

“Hai!”

Tsukasa let out a sigh as he drank his water, ‘That's really tiring huh…’ He takes his script book, ‘Next scene is the next episode huh…? Next break down scene.’ He hums, ‘After Yuko drives them back to the house, she explodes once more and locks Sakata in his room as a ‘punishment’… And he had a breakdown… And that's when things get a little bit harder for Wataru and the others to help Sakata…’ 

Too focused on the book, Tsukasa jumps slightly as someone suddenly slings their arm around his neck. “Tsukasa-chan ~”

Tsukasa turns and blinks, “J-Jun-san! You surprised me.”

Amamiya chuckles, “My bad~ Anyway, I watched you earlier. As expected from the future star huh?” He smiles. “That acting really surprised all of us. As someone that used to work at the theme park, you never fail to impress me.”

The male raises his eyebrow, “What does that even mean?” He frowns. “Any insults towards my friends—”

“I'm not insulting anyone though~?” Amamiya chuckles as he pulls away. “Just want to say that you really did well.” He smiles.

“Is that so? Thank you.” Tsukasa smiles back. “I thought you're on your day off today?”

“Day off or not, I always come to set.” Amamiya chuckles, “It’s more fun coming to the set though. I lived on my own, so yeah. At least if I'm here, I'm not that alone.”

“I see.” Tsukasa nods. 

“Well, I should go for now and you should rest a little while you can. Pushing yourself isn't good for your health. Welp… See ya later, Tsukasa-chan~ Good luck with your next scene~” The male winks before walking away.

Tsukasa stares at the male, ‘I really never understand him…’ He walks towards his group and notices Luka and MEIKO in Rui's phone, talking to them. “Luka and MEIKO? You guys came to visit us?” He smiles.

Turning to the SEKAI creator, Luka and MEIKO look at one another before nodding. Luka looks back at Tsukasa, “Tsukasa-kun, is everything okay?” They haven't told the others about the plushies that have stopped moving yet… WonderShow only knows about the flowers… And just now they only talked about their acting. 

They really need to tell them about this matter before it's too late.

Tsukasa blinks, “I think so…? What's wrong?”

“Are you kids free now?”

“Well, we have a 30 minute break.” Emu smiles. But her smile immediately replaced it with a confused look. “What's wrong, Luka nee-san, MEIKO nee-san?”

“…”

“We kinda have something important to tell you. Can you come to SEKAI for a quick moment?”

“Eh?” The four of them stare at the two virtual singers before looking around. 

Rui hums, “I guess we can. But we need to find somewhere so they won't notice us going to SEKAI.” The other three nod. “Then, let's go.”

As the four of them go to a spot where no one will see them, Amamiya stares at them. He notices the four of them are talking and staring at their phone but he can barely see anything since they're practically surrounding their bags. Curious about where they're going, Amamiya quietly follows them. Seeing the group hiding behind the tent that hides them from everyone, the moment he turns around and looks back at them, he blinks. “Huh? Where…?” He looks around. Literally no trace of the four… 

As if they magically disappear from there.

Tsukasa blinks as he looks around and no one's around the area except for him. “H-Huh?” He was separated from the others…? Shouldn't he be with the others if he goes here with them? Tsukasa sighs, “Guess I need to walk huh?” But before he could even start walking…

“Ts—as—un.”

“Huh?” He turns around, looking at the vast sea in this SEKAI. “Who?” Isn't that… The ‘voice’ that always appears in his dreams and somehow in SEKAI as well before? 

“Ts—s—un.”

Hearing the voice again, he looks around once more. “Who?! If you're in trouble, call out a little bit louder!” Sure it's kinda creepy… But what if it's one of the plushies here that's in trouble? Hearing the ‘call for help’ a little bit louder now, Tsukasa quickly follows the voice. He grips on the fence and carefully looks around before noticing a pegasus plush on the water… Not moving at all.

Tsukasa’s eyes widened. “Are you okay?!” He frowns as he hears no response from the plush, “Hold on! I'll help you get out of the water!” He looks around. Noticing a cane not far from his spot, Tsukasa quickly grabs the cane and holds it to the plush. “Grab onto—Eh?” The SEKAI creator blinks at the moment he looks at the water. 

A reflection of a place he's never seen before… It's totally opposite of how the sky there and here. Over there it looks cloudy? But what makes him shocked even more as he saw a fairly familiar person also staring back at him, clearly shocked as well… 

“A-A…A-Asahina-san?!!!!”

Still hasn't recovered from his absolute shock after seeing his fellow SEKAI creator, out of nowhere, Tsukasa felt a pair of hands push him… Causing him to fall into the water. “…?!!” 

Trying to swim back to the surface, Tsukasa could feel something pulling him down. ‘H-Huh?!!’ Using all of his energy to swim back up as he's slowly losing oxygen, Tsukasa frowns when he notices that he's been pulled down even more. Covering his mouth and nose, Tsukasa calms himself down before he starts swimming up again. This time, he's almost at the surface. ‘Almost… There…!’

Yet…

Another sudden force, as if Miku and Emu are being a human missile and launching themselves at him, hits his abdomen causing Tsukasa to open his mouth reflexively before closing it again as he's now losing the air. He covers his mouth with his hand as the mysterious force continues to pull him deeper into the sea. 

‘This… Is bad… I'm losing… Air…’ He grits his teeth, ‘Emu… Nene… Rui… Help…’

“Hm~ Not yet~” 

Tsukasa could barely open his eyes now. The only thing he could see is a blurry black figure hovering above him as he's still sinking deeper.

The cold hands cup Tsukasa's cheeks. “I would like to talk to you again… But… It's still not the time.” A chuckle as ‘he’ watches Tsukasa close his eyes. “We'll meet again soon, Tenma Tsukasa.”

“—sa-kun! —kasa-kun! Tsukasa-kun!!” 

Gasping for air, Tsukasa immediately sits up and starts coughing. 

“Calm down.” A hand rubs his back. “Geez, you made us worried for a sec.” Nene sighs. 

Tsukasa looks at her, “N-Nene…?” Then he notices the others and looks at them. “Rui… Emu… Luka and MEIKO too…”

Emu frowns. “Tsukasa-kun, are you okay? Did something happen?”

“I… What happened…?”

Rui kneels down, “When we came to SEKAI, you weren't there with us. So we went to look for you. We took at least five to ten minutes to find you and we did. You were laying here, unconscious.” He frowns. “Is everything okay, Tsukasa-kun? Are you exhausted?”

Tsukasa blinks before he holds his head. What… Happened…? He had no idea as well… It feels so blurry. “Probably a bit exhausted.” Tsukasa smiles wryly. “But I have no clue about why I'm suddenly here.”

“Huh?”

MEIKO frowns slightly before shaking her head. “Why don't we just sit here while me and Luka tell you what we're going to tell you kids.” The group looks at her and nods. 

With the three sitting down on the bench while Rui's standing next to the bench, Luka takes a deep breath. “I'm sure you guys are already aware that most of the flowers have already withered. Even some of the attractions stopped moving.” The group nodded again. “Well…”

“Luka-san?” Rui tilts his head as he notices her hesitation.

MEIKO sighs, “Almost half of the plushies here… They stopped moving.”

“…Huh?” Tsukasa blinks, “S-Stop moving…?”

Emu frowns, “Like… Stopped moving for real…?” The two nod, causing her to gasp. “N-No way…” 

“You're… You're lying…” Nene's eyes widened.

“Luka-san, MEIKO-san, do you have any idea on what caused them to stop moving?” Rui frowns.

“Well…” They both look at Tsukasa.

“M-Me…?”

‘Make sense…’ Rui thought to himself, ‘Tsukasa-kun is this SEKAI host… If anything happens to the SEKAI, something bad must happen. But… We were just acting. Our shows have never affected SEKAI before…’ He hums. ‘Or… Tsukasa-kun's feelings are all over the place because of the stress…?’ Rui frowns. ‘Well… I wonder if Tsukasa-kun ever egosa… I've seen the comments… It will be bad if he really sees them.’

“Rui?” 

Snapping out from his thoughts, Rui smiles at them, “Yes?”

“You look like you're really deep in thought, what's wrong?” Nene tilts her head.

“Ah, no. Just thinking of any possibility for the SEKAI to slowly crumble down like this…” First the flowers, then the attractions and now the plushies. “…Tsukasa-kun.”

“Yeah?”

“Let's do something fun together at school tomorrow ♪”

“Ha?”

Seeing the smile on Rui's face, Tsukasa immediately knew what kind of fun he was talking about. “Do you really want to get expelled from Kamikou?!!”

“I mean~ We can always run away and hide from the teachers.” He chuckles, “Come on, Tsukasa-kun. It's been a while since we're had fun at school together.”

“No!!”

“Please~?” He uses his puppy eyes, trying to make Tsukasa agree with him.

“No just no! Get away from me!!” Tsukasa runs away. 

“Tsukasa-kun! Come here!!”

“NOO!!!!!”

Nene stares at the older two, “What is wrong with them?” 

Emu chuckles, “Rui-kun and Tsukasa-kun are playing tag. Come on, Nene-chan! Let's join them!”

“E-Eh? B-But—Uwah!!” Emu drags her away, joining Rui chasing after Tsukasa. 

“Why are you guys chasing me?!!” 

“Anyone who caught Tsukasa-kun will be rewarded with anything they wanted~♪”

“Oi!!!”

MEIKO couldn't help herself but smiling as the four of them played around. ‘I wish we could stay like this forever…’

‘Everyone is really having fun huh?’ Luka chuckles softly before she yawns and falls asleep. 

“They're really—Eh? Luka?” MEIKO blinks as Luka falls asleep. She blinks before letting her sleep and looking back at the group. It's been a while since Luka's sleeping when she's around them. “I'm glad you're feeling happy and having fun right now, Tsukasa-kun…” She smiles. But MEIKO knows that this fun won't last any longer.

Chapter Text

“Rin…? Is that you…?”

The three Stage Sekai virtual singers stayed quiet as the two stared at Shizuku's phone. Hoping that something else will distract them. And it did.

“Icchan? Shihocchi? I'm right here.” Leonii Rin peeks out of Ichika's phone. “What are you looking at?”

“Ah, Rin…” The two of them glance at Shizuku's phone before shaking their heads. “Nothing.”

“Is that so?” Rin nods. KAITO suddenly ran to her and told her that these two almost found out about the other SEKAI. As much as she wants to get to know better with her other SEKAI variations, she doesn't want to take any risks. Just what if things go bad if they find out about each others' SEKAI? 

As the two of them talk to Shizuku, Rin looks at KAITO and gives him a thumbs up. 

Even with the Stage Sekai virtual singers' side, they let out a sigh of relief. 

A really close call huh… Well, at least things are going well for now.

“The tea Mochizuki-san brings is really good…” Mafuyu hums to herself as she's drinking the tea while doing her homework in her room. She ties up her hair into a messy bun and finishes the tea, clearly enjoying the warm tea flowing inside her body. 

She stares at the empty cup before looking at the time. ‘Kanade should have already gotten back from the hospital…’ She puts down the cup and stands up before peeking out. She looks around and knocks on the door of Kanade's room. “Kanade?” Mafuyu waits for a little bit before she opens the door and finds the composer sleeping on her chair. “She's sleeping…” 

Glancing at the blanket on the floor, Mafuyu picks it up and covers Kanade with the blanket and takes off the headphones, putting it on the table. Mafuyu looks at the screen. ‘Kanade’s new demo…? But it looks like it's unfinished…’ Saving the program, Mafuyu puts the computer to sleep before carefully walking out of the room so she won't accidentally wake her up. 

‘Kanade’s really been working hard lately… She still hasn't given up on making a song for me…’ Mafuyu sighs to herself. ‘I'm hungry.’ Walking towards the fridge, she takes the pudding that Shizuku gave her today at school and eats it. 

Lately, it's somehow peaceful for her and everyone… Except for WonderShow’s side… She knew about the rumors on the internet all thanks to Ena and Mizuki. About this, they really can't help Tsukasa and Shizuku other than continue to support them as their friends. ‘I hope Tenma-kun and Hinomori-san’s friendship won't be destroyed by this…’ She recalls how both Ena and Mizuki said that this kind of rumors are really bad and might end Tsukasa and Shizuku's friendship, due to ‘protecting’ each other from being attacked continuously.

“Humans are weird huh…”

Speaking of weird, aren't they the same? Who would actually have created a SEKAI on their own and actually met Hatsune Miku and friends? She heard Kanade and Mizuki talk about imagining Gumi and Kamui Gakupo…? Is that his name? Maybe. But those two are also apart in SEKAI… ‘I wonder if those two are really in SEKAI… What kind of personality will they have…?’ She hums to herself. 

Gakupo… Maybe like KAITO? Or similar to him with the mix of Len? 

Gumi… Uh…

“Why am I thinking about this…?” Mafuyu sighs. Speaking of the two, she's been listening to a few vocaloid songs lately, all thanks to Ichika recommending her and Kanade a few songs as an inspiration and just out of interest. Pulling out her phone, Mafuyu scrolls through the chat as she looks at the playlist. “Seven deadly sins… Night∞series…” Even if it's not a Niigo-ish kind of song, the idea of making a song series like this kinda perks her interest. Maybe she can propose this idea to Niigo. 

Just as she thinks about Niigo, she gets a DM from Mizuki about meeting her at SEKAI. “Sure.” Sending her reply, almost immediately Mizuki replied back to her and announced in their nightcord server about them being in SEKAI. Throwing away the rubbish, Mafuyu heads to SEKAI and looks around for the said animator. Instead of arriving at the usual place they arrive in SEKAI, she arrives at the lake.

“Mafuyu~” Mafuyu turns as she sees Mizuki walking towards her. “You actually came~” 

“What's wrong, Mizuki? You suddenly want to see me.”

“Oh! Right! Come on, follow me!” Taking Mafuyu's hand, she pulls Mafuyu towards where Len and Miku are kneeling and staring at the lake. “Over there.”

Miku looks up, “Ah, Mafuyu's here.”

“What's wrong?” 

“There's something like an image shown on the surface of the lake. But it's too blurry for us to see.” Len points at the spot, “Over there.”

Looking at the image on the surface, Mafuyu blinks. Blurry…? “Eh?” It's a clear image to her… “It's not blurry at all.”

“Huh?” Mizuki and Miku look at each other. Miku tilts her head, “Could it be that the image is only clear when Mafuyu looks at it?”

“I don't know.” Mafuyu shakes her head.

“T-Then, Mafuyu. Can you tell us what it is?” 

She nods, “Mhm, I can try.” Kneeling down, Mafuyu starts describing to the three on whatever she sees in that image. “And there's also—Eh…?” She blinks as she stares at the familiar male in shock.

Isn't that… “…Tenma-kun?” Feeling a sudden force pushing her, Mafuyu accidentally slipped. “Ah!” She falls inside the lake. 

“Mafuyu?!!”

Mafuyu closes her eyes before reopening it and tries to swim back to the surface, yet there's something heavy is weighing her down to sink further into the lake. Not to mention the water feels heavier… She doesn't know how to describe it but feels so heavy that she just wants to make herself sink deeper and just drown in here. This… Is bad… She needs to go back up. But… It's just… Too heavy… Something is pulling her down…

‘H-Help me… Mizuki… Ena… Kanade…’

“M-Mafuyu!!”

“Come on! Grab her hand!”

“Don’t let go of my hand, Mafuyu! Ena, Kanade! Help me pull her up!”

“Mhm!”

Eh…? The hand that grabs her hand slowly pulls her up, despite this mysterious force trying to pull her down, she could feel that the force is losing and the hand continues on pulling her up. The next thing Mafuyu knows, three pairs of hands grab her and pull her up, making her cough out all the water. 

“There, there.” Kanade squeezes Mafuyu's shaking cold hands. 

“I-I’ll come back with towels!” Ena goes back to her room and immediately grabs the clean towel before she heads back to SEKAI, wrapping it around Mafuyu. 

“That was so close.” Mizuki sighs in relief. 

Mafuyu looks up and looks at the two. “Kanade… Ena…” Then she looks at Mizuki. “What… Happened…?”

“After you fall, Len and Miku rush to get Ena and Kanade.” Mizuki explained. “And I tried my best to grab your hand and pull you up.” A frown, “Mafuyu, you fall after you say Tsukasa senpai's name… What did you see?”

“Ah…” Mafuyu blinks before she turns back to the lake but to her surprise the image disappears. “Mizuki… The image…”

“It disappears after you fall.”

“Ah…”

“Mizuki, Mafuyu, what image?” Kanade tilts her head. 

“Well—”

“M-Mafuyu-chan…!” Mafuyu looks up as she sees Len, Rin and Miku rush towards them. “I'm so glad that you're okay…!”

Miku frowns, “Did you hurt anywhere, Mafuyu?”

“What happened?” Rin frowns as well.

“Miku, Rin, Len…” Mafuyu shakes her head, “I'm okay. Mizuki, Ena and Kanade saved me in time.”

“In time?” Ena blinks, “What do you mean?”

Mafuyu looks at the artist. “The thing is…” She starts to explain everything. “And if the three of you didn't pull me in time, I'd probably drown already.”

Kanade looks at the lake. With Mafuyu's explanation, Kanade could feel that whatever is in this lake is really more than just stuff that is important to Mafuyu… “But then… It's really impossible to slip unless you're not being careful enough.”

“I am being careful. But I just feel like something pushes me into the water.”

Ena frowns, “But for now I'm glad you're safe, Mafuyu.” 

“Mhm, she's right.” Rin nods. “Len also almost falls into the lake but Luka saves him in time.”

“W-Well, that's because I'm not being careful…”

“But right now… You saw your friend from the image…” Miku hums, “I think… It's your friend's SEKAI.”

“Eh?!” Mizuki blinks, “B-But, you're right…! The way Mafuyu describes it really sounds like Tsukasa senpai's SEKAI…” She hums as she remembers what Wonderland Sekai looks like from the pictures Tsukasa showed them.

“Right…?” Ena nods. “But, why so sudden…?”

“…” KAITO, who had been listening to them for a while now, clicked his tongue before walking away. “This is really bad…”

Sighing softly, Ena stares at the lake for a bit as the others have returned home. “Things really don't go well lately huh?”

“Well, if people are more careful, I'm sure we can actually avoid all of this.” Ena turns around and sees KAITO walking towards her. “You and your friends should have been more careful.”

“Hey, we are—”

“Not just you four. Those other four kids as well.” He crosses his arms. “Lots of things can be avoided if you all be careful and not go somewhere you shouldn't go.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I mean what I mean.”

“Ha?” 

“And you. You should be careful as well. If not, lots of bad things will happen.”

“…” Ena stares at the other male before sighing softly, “Hai, hai… I'll be careful…” She stares at their reflection on the lake, “Say, KAITO…”

“What is it now?”

“By ‘we can avoid things from happening’… If we have the ability to go back and change that ‘one thing’… Will things go normally and all of these will disappear? Like…” Ena pauses, “All the things we went through right now won't happen…?”

“…” KAITO uncrossed his arms and shook his head. “I can't say for sure. It will and it won't. Depends on you on how you live your life. There's a lot of wonders in this world. Your world and SEKAI.” 

“Is that so…?” Ena hums softly. She did remember how things turned out this way… On WonderShow’s side, it probably starts with Tsukasa almost getting hit by the truck… Maybe? There's probably another thing happening behind the scenes. But for their side… It all started when Kanade accepted Tenmama’s commission. Which is… Already done. There's also an MV for it… 

After Tenmama drops the commission and apologises to them for her ‘rash decision’… Tsukasa allowed them to continue it and they had already sent him the file of the song for him to listen to. They haven't gotten any feedback about it from him yet but one thing Ena knows is that the male let them post the song in their channel. After Kanade posted the song… It's the only song where none of them ever wanted to listen to it again or celebrate it like they usually do. To her surprise, that song has almost reached 10 million views already, even though it has barely been a week since they posted the song. 

She only read through the comments, the majority of them saying that the song felt different than their usual songs… And they really like it… Some of them even want them to do more songs that have the same ‘feelings' like that song…

Do they even know the whole journey for them to finish the 4 minute song?

There's a lot of reasons why the four of them never go back to the song and celebrate it… 

Ena sighs softly to herself, “I'm heading home now…” 

“Ena.” The said artist looks at KAITO. “I mean it. If you and your friends take a step carelessly, things will go wrong even more. So don't do stupid things.” He walks away. 

Ena blinks, “Huh?” KAITO looks like he knew something they didn't know… And his words… It sounds like a warning… “W-Wha—Wait! KAITO…!!” She runs after KAITO. A warning… A warning for what…? Last time KAITO gave them a warning, they ignored it… “KAITO! Mou! You gave me a warning and don't walk off like that!”

KAITO glances at her but doesn't stop from walking, “So, you that's how you see it huh?”

“Well, you worded it like it's really a warning.” Ena crosses her arms as well as trying to catch up on the male. “Nee! Don't walk too fast!”

“I thought you're going back?”

“After you told me that?! KAITO, you really—Ow!” She bumps into the male, “Hey! Don't just walk too fast and suddenly stop!”

KAITO rolls his eyes before he points at something, “Look over there.”

“Ha?” Ena looks at the direction KAITO pointed at before she blinks. “E-Eh…?” There's a bright yellow fragment floating in front of them. “W-What is that…?”

“The fragment of feelings.” Noticing Ena's about to touch it, KAITO grabs her wrist, “Don't touch it.” He narrows his eyes.

Flinching, Ena pulls her hand away, “My bad…” She stares at the fragment. “But… What is that…?”

“The mistake that some certain people need to fix.” KAITO crosses his arms. “It will only get worse if they still fail to notice their mistakes.”

“W-Worst…? As in…?”

“SEKAI to get corrupted and high possibility for you to lose the SEKAI. Not just here but that kid's SEKAI as well.”

“E-Eh?!”

Chapter Text

“Rui, dinner's ready—” Mamashiro stops herself as she sees her only son sleeping with his head resting on the table and clearly shows how Rui falls asleep while reading the script. She smiles softly and shakes her head, “You're really tired huh?” Glancing at the script book, she could see scrambles and notes all over the lines. She takes the book and reads through it. 

She could see how Rui wrote down “Scene done” and the crossed words above the finished scenes are clearly “Currently filming”. Mamashiro looks at Rui and gently pats his head, “You really work hard.” As she was about to close the book, Mamashiro noticed something… “Hm?” She reads the small note that has red lines under it. “Huh? ‘Tsukasa-kun's important scene’…? ‘How can I help him with this’…?” She glances at Rui before she reads through the script. “I see…” Mamashiro hums.

Stirring awake, Rui yawns and looks up, “Ah, mom.” He rubs his eyes and looks around. “What time is it now…?”

“It's dinner time.” She smiles. “Though your scenes are also hard because I can see how much your notes are in here, you really want to help Tsukasa-kun and the others huh?” 

“Ah.” Rui smiles, “Well, we help each other.”

“Is that so?” She hums, “Are you kids free tomorrow? Or you still have to go to the set?”

“Mhm, we're kinda busy lately. Why?”

“Oh, you don't have to worry about it.” Mamashiro shakes her head, “Come in. Let's go eat dinner.”

Rui tilts his head for a moment before he nods. “Mhm, let's go.” 

Before Rui could stand up, Len and Rin appear on Rui's phone. Rin smiles as she sees the older woman. “Ah! Mamashiro-san! It's been a while!”

“Hm? Oh, Rin-chan, Len-kun. It's been a while.” Mamashiro smiles, “How’s everyone in SEKAI doing?”

“We're doing great! But…” Len pauses, “The situation in SEKAI isn't that great to be honest…” He frowns slightly.

“Oh my? What's wrong with it?”

“Well, they told us some of the talking stuffed toys over there stopped moving.” Rui crosses his arms. “We already discussed this and we're doing our best to find the source of this problem.”

Mamashiro hums, “I'm sure you kids can do it. If anything, you know you can talk to me and your dad.” She ruffles Rui's hair. “Alright, let's go eat dinner.”

“Oh~? What did Mamashiro-san make for dinner today?” Rin tilts her head.

“Oh, just salad and more salad.”

“Urk?!”

“Uwa! Mamashiro-san wants to kill Rui-kun!”

Mamashiro laughs softly, “Just kidding. There's tempura, miso soup…” She starts to tell all the food she just cooked as she walks in with Rui behind her. 

‘Rin-kun and Len-kun really like talking to mom huh?’ He smiles. ‘If we can bring mom and dad into the SEKAI, I wonder how they'll react…’ 

Probably the same as his reaction when he first came to SEKAI…

“Didn’t I tell you not to go back there?” Tenmama frowns. “Tsukasa—”

“I did not.” The male shakes his head.

“You don't have to lie to me, young man.” She frowns and crosses her arms. “I saw you with your friends going to that place yesterday.”

“Huh? Tsukasa blinks, “Since when…?”

“I can't believe this… Rui-kun and the girls… They really—”

“Mom, please don't involve them in this.” Tsukasa frowns. “I'm sorry… I'll tell them that I can't go there anymore. I won't go there anymore, I promise… It's not their fault, it's mine… I was the one who wanted to go to SEKAI yesterday… I'm sorry…”

“Tsukasa…” Tenmama frowns. “Why? You know why I did that, right?”

“…” Tsukasa stays silent. “I'm sorry…”

She sighs, “Fine, I forgive you this time. But next time if I catch you going there again, I'm talking to those three.”

“…Yes, I will…” Then Tsukasa's phone rings. “Ah…” He looks at his phone on the table before looking at his mother, “I… I'll go to the set now.”

“Mhm, good luck with today's filming.” She smiles and hugs her oldest son. “Break a leg.”

“I will.” Tsukasa hugs her back before taking his bag and phone. “I'm off now.” He wears his shoes and puts on his mask before looking at Tenmama and waving his hand. He walks out of the house and sighs softly. Locking the gates, Tsukasa waves his hand as he sees Rui and the girls are already waiting for him. “Sorry, did I make you wait?”

“Nope, we just arrived.” Emu smiles. 

Rui hums as he notices something about Tsukasa, “Since we have two hours of free time…” The three looked at him, “Tsukasa-kun. You said Kazuki-san’s house is around here, right?”

“Yeah. That one is his house.” Tsukasa points at the said house before noticing the said male taking his food from the delivery man. “Ah, Kazuki-san!”

Looking up, Asahi blinks. “Oh? It's you kids.” He smiles as the group walks towards him. “Going somewhere?”

“We’re supposed to be at the set in two hours, so we wanna do something to kill some time before going to the set.” Rui smiles. “Kazuki-san is alone?”

“Mhm, I am. My partner is currently working right now. Well, you guys want to kill some time right? Do you want to play with the cats?” Asahi smiles.

“Ah, right. Tsukasa told us that Kazuki-san had cats in your house.” Nene smiles. “But is it okay?”

“Of course, it's okay. Plus I bought food for five people.”

“H-Huh…?” Tsukasa blinks, “W-Why…?”

“Hungry.” Asahi grins and winks at them, “Alright, let's go in.” Leading the way in, the older brunette opens the door as Rui helps him by holding the food. “Alright, come on in.” 

“Pardon our intrusion.” 

Almost immediately before Asahi could walk towards the kitchen, two cats ran towards him and rubbed themselves against his leg. “Nee, can you wait until I put down this food?” He sighs.

Emu and Nene were in awe and their eyes sparkled. “T-The cats…”

“So fluffy~!” Emu smiles widely.

Tsukasa smiles as he bent down, “Mochi, Choco.” As he calls out for the two cats, both cats immediately turn to Tsukasa and run towards him. 

Rui kneels down and gently pats the cat, “Their fur is so fluffy…”

Then Emu notices the other three cats walking towards them and staring at them. “There's a lot of them!”

Nene looks at Asahi, “Kazuki-san, how many cats do you have?”

“Five. It's not really mine, but they're my partner's babies.” Asahi smiles. 

“What's their name?”

“The black one is Kuro. The orange cat is Oyen and the white one is Mugi.” Asahi looks over at the two, “And the chunky ones… The one on Tenma-kun's lap is Mochi and the one with Kamishiro-kun is Choco. All of them are girls. My partner doesn't want them to breed.”

Rui looks up, “They're all domestic cats?”

“Yup. We never let them out other than the yard. But even if there's stray cats walking around, we'll just feed them.” Asahi chuckles softly before he places the tray of juice on the table. “So, how's filming?”

“It's doing well.” Nene smiles as she pats the cat on her lap. “Though our schedule is a little bit tighter than before and sometimes we didn't even go to school…”

The older male chuckles, “I mean, you kids are the main lead. So it's understandable if your schedule is way tighter than the other cast.” 

Emu hums, “Nee, Kazuki-san. We never really see your partner… What's his job?”

“Amatsuki-san is a singer. So he is usually busy with recordings and his tours.” 

“So he's famous?” Emu tilts her head.

“Well, I would say he's pretty famous.” Asahi chuckles softly. “Sometimes I follow him during his tours.” 

“Is that so?” Rui nods, “If I'm not wrong, Kazuki-san is also a model right? A few years back.”

“Eh?” The three look at him.

“Oh? Did Kamishiro-kun do homework on me?” Asahi chuckles. “But yes, I was also a model.”

“Was?”

“Yes. My workplace back then was a little bit toxic so I turned down every job offer that related to that field. Even if I have a job, usually it's for CM.”

“Um… Can I ask you something?” Asahi looks at Tsukasa, “How do you… handle your scandal case…?”

“Ah?” Asahi blinks, “Oh, right. Tenma-kun got caught with the paparazzi huh? Is that girl your friend?”

“Yeah, Shizuku's my friend.” Tsukasa nods, “And the thing is…” He starts to explain what happened on that night and the current situation he's in. “Though Kanzaki-san said he'll help us… But I feel like there's something I should do… on my own.”

Asahi hums. “Well, you can start by discussing this with her. She had her own fan base and now some of her fans are questioning her to talk about it. There will be two sides. One who will never accept it and the other side, is the one who accepts it.” 

“Kanzaki-san already explained to us about the ones that will never accept it…”

“That's good then. Though it seems easy, it's not when you have those kinds of people being a ‘fan’ of yours. They usually act like they know what's best for you.” Asahi pauses, unsure if he should talk about it. But… “But then, your friend also needs to be careful.”

“From what?” 

As if in cue, the doorbell rings. Asahi smiles, “Ah, they're here.” 

“They?” 

“Excuse me for a bit.” He stands up and walks towards the door.

The troupe look at each other and shrug. Tsukasa continues to pat and plays with the cat. “You're so fluffy.”

“Mhm! Mhm!” Emu smiles as she lifts the cat to her face. “Kuro-chan~” The cat purrs. 

Rui smiles softly as the cat rests on his lap. “They're so friendly even though this is the first time we come here.”

“Right?” Nene chuckles.

“Eh? Tsukasa-kun?” The group immediately looked up as they heard the voice.

Tsukasa blinks. “Shizuku?!”

Airi’s eyes widened, “Eh? WonderShow are also here?”

Haruka and Minori also come into view with Asahi. Haruka looks at the older brunette, “Asahi-san?”

“Well, the Tenma household is just two blocks away. So they come to visit.” He smiles. “But I'm really glad that both groups are here. Anyway, Haruka-chan, I'm so glad you reached out for me.”

“Well, I'm just trying to help a friend.” Haruka smiles. “Though, is Amatsuki-san around?”

“He's currently at the studio. He is recording for his new album.”

“Ah, I see.” 

“Eh? Haruka-chan knows Kazuki-san?” Emu blinks.

Haruka nods as she joins the group and sits down next to Minori, “Let's just say, Kazuki-san once helped me to get a job during my time with ASRUN.”

“I see…” Emu nods, “The rest of you?”

“I've worked with Asahi-san before.” Airi nods. 

“Me too.” Shizuku smiles.

Minori smiles slightly, “This is my first time meeting with Kazuki-san face to face…”

“It's okay, Minori-chan.” He chuckles softly, “Though, Airi-chan are you okay?” Asahi frowns slightly, knowing her cat allergies.

“Ah, I'm okay.” Airi nods, “I know we're going to your place, so I already come prepared.” She smiles.

“I see, that's good then.” Asahi claps his hands, “Well, then. Since WonderShow just started the topic earlier, why don't we just do straight to the point?” He smiles. 

“Ah.” Tsukasa and Shizuku look at each other. 

This… This shouldn't be that hard right?

Amamiya sighs, “You know it's really going to get even worse if Tsukasa-chan didn't say anything about it right? Even the idol's side hasn't said anything yet.” He crosses his arms. 

“I already reached out for them. Their manager said they're currently trying to discuss how to deliver it as peacefully as ever without pouring more fuel into the fire.” Akatsuki hums. “But I'm glad that it slows down for a bit since Tsukasa-kun and Hinomori Shizuku are really being careful with this.”

“Of course they're being careful. If not, those two will just make both sides even worse.” Amamiya shakes his head, “Tsukasa-chan at least needs to say something too.”

“A livestream?”

“Kinda?” 

“Excuse me!” A female walks towards them, wearing a guest pass, “N-Nice to meet you. I'm MORE MORE JUMP!’s manager, Saitou Ayaka.” Saitou bows at the two, “Please look after me.”

Akatsuki smiles as he stands up from his chair, “Saitou-san, nice to meet you too. I'm Kanzaki Amatsuki. I'm so glad you agreed to meet up like this.”

Saitou stands up properly and smiles, “I'm so glad Kanzaki-san reached out for us to discuss this properly. MORE MORE JUMP!’s members are currently busy with an important personal meeting with an old friend of theirs, so they couldn't join the discussion.”

“I see.” Akatsuki nods, “Is it with Tsukasa-kun and the others?”

Saitou shakes her head, “As much as I know, they only told me that it's someone they knew and they told me that it's not Tenma-san and his troupe.”

“Is that so?” 

“Well since we're all here… Is Kanzaki-san aware that this is just a misunderstanding…?” Saitou frowns slightly.

“Yes, I'm aware. Tsukasa-kun and the others had already explained to me about what truly happened and their history together.” He smiles.

“If that's so, then I'm glad.” She smiles.

“Though… Have you come out with a way to tell this to the fans?”

“Well, they're planning for a livestream and it's tomorrow.” Saitou nods. 

“Is it going to be a black screen livestream?” Amamiya tilts his head, “That is usually a way for an influencer or an internet artist to deliver their ‘serious’ announcement. No song and no backgrounds. Just black and all you can hear is them talking.”

“…” Saitou pauses as she stares at Amamiya, “Yes… It will be like that. But in the meantime, we're still investigating.”

“Investigating?”

“Yes. We're trying our best to find the culprit who spread these false rumors. The one who started all of this. I am aware of the people from the internet's concern… If this continues… Both sides' reputations will be slightly destroyed.”

“Agree…” Akatsuki sighs. 

“Well, the other way to slowly make people forget about this is to really apologize to the fans and both of them need to stay away from each other for a while.” The two look at Amamiya. “I'm pretty much sure that's the way they're both doing it right now. In order to protect each other.” He frowns. “Before the ‘fans’ would start attacking Tsukasa-chan physically, it's better if we show them that they're not as close as those people think.”

“But they're friends!”

“Saitou-san… As MMJ’s manager… I'm sure you want to protect the girls.” Amamiya uncrossed his arms. “And these rumors did start with Shizuku-chan’s side.” He merely hums.

“E-Eh…?”

“Tsukasa-chan’s side merely wants to protect him but Shizuku-chan's side was the one who wanted to start the war. I'm sure you already know that.”

“T-That—”

“Saitou-san… Is it true?”

Saitou looks at Akatsuki, “I…” She takes a really deep breath, “Yes. It is true. My deepest apologies to Tenma-san’s side.” She bows at the director. “But… This is not Shizuku-san’s fault. She… We did not mean to involve Tenma-san into our unit’s problem. And the truth is… Shizuku-san had a history with a stalker before but she already solved that problem.”

“So… It means that her stalker might be the one who took those pictures?”

“Yes. But we still aren't sure if it's the same person or not. That's what we're worried about now.” She frowns. “That's why… Please.” She bows at Akatsuki, “Please lend us a hand to find the culprit… After we find that person, we'll do anything to fix the situation for Tenma-san's side as well.”

“Well, since this issue is really affecting the drama's marketing and promotions… Well then, we'll help but with the knowledge that MORE MORE JUMP! is the one who is responsible for this to happen.”

“Thank you so much—”

“But don't push yourself too much, okay?” Akatsuki smiles. “Sure both of us want this to end as soon as possible but if you continue to push yourself, it won't bring you anywhere.” 

“Ah.” Saitou smiles and nods. “Thank you so much, Kanzaki-san.” The director nods at her.

“…” Amamiya stares at the two. ‘I wonder where this is going.’

“Thanks for the tea, Asamama-san.” Tenmama smiles. 

“Your welcome, dear.” She chuckles softly. “It's a surprise that you suddenly come here.” She sits next to the blonde. “Did something happen?”

“Well…” Tenmama sighs. “The thing is…”

Chapter Text

“So we're just going to apologize to them…?” Nene frowns.

Airi sighs softly, “Well, as much as we all are aware that this is neither Shizuku or Tenma-kun's fault, we need to do something that shows the fans or those kinds of fans that we are actually doing something instead of just staying silent. Some fans actually genuinely worried for us if we stayed quiet for too long.”

“Is that so…?” Emu nods slowly. 

“Don't worry, Ootori-san.” Haruka smiles, “We're already investigating who started this first.”

Rui hums, “Do you find who the culprit is?”

The idols went silent before the three of them glanced at Shizuku as Shizuku herself stayed quiet. Not sure how to tell the others about their main suspect… Yet the oldest male hums softly, “You know, it's not your fault if it happens on your side first.” Asahi crosses his arms. “It's all that person's fault for not respecting your privacy. You are still humans that have normal and private lives. MORE MORE JUMP! knows it better than anyone.” He smiles softly.

“I'm sorry…” Shizuku frowns. “I know Tsukasa-kun and the others won't blame me or any of us… But to see those people hating Tsukasa-kun on the internet… It hurts me a lot…”

Tsukasa blinks, “Hate me on the internet?”

The idols and Asahi immediately look at Tsukasa. Haruka immediately shakes her head, “I-It's something you shouldn't be worried about, Tenma-san.”

“T-That’s right, Tenma-kun.” Airi smiles, “It's better for you to not step into the internet for the time being. That same goes for you, Shizuku. You should stop egosa before you're hurting yourself more.” Airi whispers softly.

“M-Mhm… I'll stop for now.” Shizuku nods.

Minori immediately nods, “You should. And Tsukasa-san, please don't worry about the internet, okay?” She smiles but the worry is obviously written all over her face.

“Huh? I guess so?”

Asahi smiles, “Good. Don't even think about the internet. Focus on your acting now.” It's for Tsukasa's own good…

Nene immediately frowns as she understands what they're trying to say. ‘Right… I didn't even think of searching about this…’

“…” Rui stuck in his thoughts before he noticed the time. “Ah, it's about time we go to the set now. Kazuki-san, I'm so sorry that we couldn't stay and discuss much longer.”

“Ah, no, it's fine. You can come to my place anytime you want.” Asahi smiles. “I’m always available for anyone. MORE MORE JUMP! too.”

“Thank you, Asahi-san.” Airi smiles.

“Then, we’ll be taking our leave now.” Rui smiles as the four of them stand up from their seats and bid their goodbyes before leaving.

“...” Haruka looks at the brunette, “Kazuki-san, there’s something else we actually want to discuss with you.”

Airi nods, “And it’s pretty important.”

The older male sighs softly, “Is it something that Tenma-kun shouldn’t be listening to?” The group stays silent. “I see. Then, let’s start the discussion shall we?”

As the group arrives at the set, they could already see the other casts arriving. Putting their stuff to the table, Tsukasa takes off his coat and puts it on the chair before pulling out his script book. 

“Ah, Tenma-kun. Right in time.” 

Tsukasa turns and smiles, “Ah, Riku-san.” He looks at his troupe, “Well, see you guys later then.”

“Mhm! See you later!” Emu waves her hand before the three of them also went to their side to prepare for today’s shooting.

Rui flips the page and hums, “I see… If I’m not mistaken, we’ll be shooting some heavy scenes again today.”

“Yeah… But I’m glad Ishikawa sensei’s session really helps us a lot.” Nene smiles. “Like a few days ago… Even after the director said cut, I couldn't even get out of my role and couldn’t stop crying…”

Emu nods, “Mhm! Me too. During the scene where Sakura-chan’s parents passed away… And she needs to hold back from crying because she needs to stay strong for her younger siblings… And then she let it all out when Natsume-chan hugged her.”

“Oh, that scene.” Nene smiles, “Emu really put all of your emotions during that scene. I panicked that you couldn't stop crying after we stopped.”

Rui chuckles, “We all give in everything we got for this. Kanzaki-san entrusted us with these roles.”

“Mhm, that's right.” Nene nods before she notices Akatsuki walking towards them. “Kanzaki-san.” 

The older male smiles at them, “Just arrived?” As the group nods, he looks around, “Where's Tsukasa-kun?”

“Tsukasa-kun is with Riku-san and the others.”

Rui tilts his head slightly, “Are you looking for him, Kanzaki-san?”

“Ah, no. Not at all.” He shakes his head, “But I do want to see all of you after today's shooting session ends.” 

“Then, we'll tell Tsukasa about this.”

Rui hums softly, “Kanzaki-san. If it's okay, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what is it, Kamishiro?”

“The truth is… Nene showed us a comment from the internet after the drama's teaser was out… I understand that we're almost finished with the shooting but… Can I know the reason why you chose us?”

“Oh?”

Nene nods, “Mhm, that comment… Kinda hurt us a little since we've never been in your dramas before… Or appearing on TV… We tried to ignore it but it kinda… Still there. Plus Kanzaki-san was the one who chose us and not the casting director. When the people asked who chose us…”

Akatsuki smiles softly. “So, that's what you kids are worried about huh?” 

Emu slowly nods, “So… Can we know why Kanzaki-san chose us…? W-Well, if it's okay with you…!”

“Of course. I noticed how I never really explained why I chose you…” He glances around, “Well, since they're still currently preparing the set, I guess we have some time.” Akatsuki hums, “Actually when I chose you kids, I had zero knowledge about your show troupe. I only know that you kids are freelancers through Tsukasa-kun's parents.”

“Eh…?” 

Nene blinks, “T-Then… If that's the case, shouldn't you be doing an audition or sort…? E-Especially when you hire some freelancers…” 

Don’t get this wrong, it’s a wonderful opportunity for them to grow but the comments made them worried about the world’s thoughts about them… Some are happy for them, saying this might be their major debut. But some of them are judging and questioning about it.

Akatsuki crosses his arms, “I did think about doing an audition for the four main leads… But before I can choose actors for Wataru, Sakura and Natsume. I need to find an actor for Sakata.”

“I’ve watched some of the dramas that have Riku-san as the main lead before… His performance is really amazing…” 

Akatsuki smiles at Rui, “Yup. He is. If he auditioned for Sakata. He's definitely the strongest candidate to get that role. However…”

“However?” Emu tilts her head.

“Now, I want to ask you three a question. What's Sakata's speciality in this drama and what he loves the most?”

Nene hums, “Piano. Even after his mom's pressure, he can't make himself hate piano and will always find himself ending up sitting in front of it. When he's sad, he'll play the piano. When he's stressed, he'll also play the piano.” She smiles.

“And Sakata-kun can't help but will always smile whenever he plays the piano.” Emu continues.

“Precisely.” The older male nods. “For Sakata, the piano is his life. It's his way to escape his reality by entering his own [world].” He smiles, “And Tachihara actually knows piano as well. Like one of the dramas he's in.”

Nene nods, “Then—”

“But when he plays the piano, I can't see Sakata in him when he's playing the piano.”

“Eh?” 

“Another question for you, have you seen Tsukasa-kun playing the piano before?”

Emu nods, “Mhm! We've done Torpe the Pianist before and a few shows that involve piano.” 

“That's for a show. But have you seen him playing the piano when it's not for your show?”

“I don't get it?” Emu tilts her head, “Isn't that the same?”

“Maybe? But to me it isn’t.” The man shakes his head. “Now, moving to why I chose you four.” He hums. “All four of you are in a troupe together. You came to the studio together and I could already see the chemistry between you. For Sakata and his friends, if I chose four complete strangers to be these four… Of course they will take their roles professionally but it will be missing something.”

“What is it?”

Akatsuki smiles, “A genuine bond between close friends.” He looks at the script book in their hands. “Everlasting Love… Is a story where four friends go through hardships together. Ups and downs, they will always be with each other no matter what. An everlasting love between each other and they will always look after each other. I want to see that genuine between my characters… The genuineness between my actors… At first I was worried that you four didn’t reach my expectations but…”

Feeling nervous now, Nene rubs her arm. “B-But…?”

“But after seeing how you four worked so hard to catch up with the other professional actors here and worried for each other during the filming session… Of course, the other actors are also worried for each other… But I have never seen the kind of bond you have with each other. Every time I see the four of you being together, all I can see is Sakata, Wataru, Natsume and Sakura.” He smiles. “And it made me think that I really picked the right actors for them.”

“Kanzaki-san…”

“Kanzaki-san! The set is ready!” 

Akatsuki turns and nods, “Alright!” He looks back at the three, “Okay, now. I want to show you the point why Tsukasa-kun fits Sakata more than Tachihara does. Come, follow me.” 

Confused, the three of them look at each other before following Akatsuki to one of the sets. Rui blinks as he sees the set is a music room with a piano in the middle of the room. “Piano…? Ah.”

“For Sakata, the piano is his life. It's his way to escape his reality by entering his own [world].” He smiled, “And Tachihara actually knows piano as well. Like one of the dramas he's in. But when he plays the piano, I can't see Sakata in him when he's playing the piano.”

“Kanzaki-san is going to show us Tsukasa-kun’s piano skill that made you believe Tsukasa-kun is perfect for that role?”

“Precisely.” Akatsuki smiles before he talks to the staff for a bit before he walks back to the trio. “The staff will call the two to come here.” He looks at the music sheets in his hand. “This is an original song that was composed by our team. In the drama, Sakata secretly composed a song from his mother and only composes and plays the song at school. This song is finished but during this scene, Sakata is still composing the song. Half way done.”

“I see…” Rui nods. He recalls that scene when he and Tsukasa were studying together about the future scenes they’re going to shoot.

Seeing the said two walk toward them, Akatsuki smiles. “Alright, Tsukasa-kun. Just as practice, here is your music sheet for that scene.”

“Thank you so much.” Tsukasa hums as he looks at the sheet. 

Tachihara peeks as well. “Somehow, it looks a little bit hard and kinda complicated, huh?”

Tsukasa nods, “Yeah, there's something complicated about this song…”

“Well, it conveyed Sakata's emotion perfectly during the time Sakata composed that song.” Akatsuki smiles. “Remember, Sakata composed that song out of stress and his mixed emotions towards his own mother… ‘Does mother really love and be proud of me?’, ‘Who am I to her?’, ‘Why can't I enjoy the thing I love the most?’, ‘I don't want to do this anymore.’, ‘I love piano but why is it making me suffocate?’ and most importantly… ‘I don't know who I am anymore.’. These emotions are all in that song.” He looks at Tachihara, “Why don’t you try it first? Maybe a demo for your junior?”

Tachihara blinks, “Uh… Sure, I guess?” He nods as Tsukasa hands him the music sheets. He walks towards the piano. ‘This is going to be scary… Kanzaki-san is scary when it comes to these kinds of scenes.’ He sits down in front of the piano and prepares himself before starts playing the piano.

“…!” Emu smiles, “Riku-san’s piano is so amazing.”

“Mhm, it sure is… But…” Nene glances at Akatsuki, Tsukasa and Rui. “I don't think they also think the same…”

“Huweh?” Emu tilts her head.

“…” Tsukasa crosses his arms. ‘Something’s missing…’

“…” Rui looks at Tsukasa, “Tsukasa-kun.”

“I know. Something is missing.”

Smiling as the two noticed it, Akatsuki clapped his hands. “Hai, stop!” Tachihara stops and looks at Akatsuki. “You're dismissed.”

“E-Eh…? How's my performance?” He stands up.

“It's shit.” Akatsuki bluntly said it as he crossed his arms. “You played the song like you've never played the piano before. Some notes are off and your performance is not even what I'm imagining in my head.”

The troupe immediately looks at Akatsuki, shocked at the sudden rude and cold comment while Tachihara sighs softly. “As I thought huh?” He nods. “Thank you so much.”

Akatsuki looks at Tsukasa and smiles, “Why don't you try it, Tsukasa-kun?”

“H-Huh?” Tsukasa blinks before nodding. “I'll do my best.”

Watching Tsukasa walk to the piano, Emu frowns slightly at Tachihara. “Riku-san, are you okay?”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“The comment Kanzaki-san gave you…”

“Ah, that.” The older male smiles and shakes his head, “I'm fine. Kanzaki-san is really a little bit harsh when it comes to this. This is probably the first time you see him being this harsh and rude.”

“I guess so. But during filming, he's not that harsh. Though there were sometimes he was yelling at us…” 

“That's because he cares about you and wants you guys to work as hard as everyone else. He always treats everyone equally. If he is being soft to you but harsh to everyone else, he's worried that you might be slacking off and not focusing on the set.” Tachihara smiles softly, “I mean, he's already working so hard to help you with your current situation.”

“Ah, Riku-san knows about it as well?”

“Well, everyone in the set knows. But Kanzaki-san told us not to get involved in this. But for me… I'm sure you guys can handle this misunderstanding. Even though the people on the internet are hard to convince, I'm sure you guys can find your way out of this. I'm surprised how no matter how harsh the comments on the internet are, Tenma-kun still focuses.” He hums.

“T-That… About that… We actually… Find out about Tsukasa on the internet today…” Nene rubs her arm. “But Kazuki-san and the others told us not to be bothered and not allow us to ego surfing for it.”

“Eh? Asa-kun did?” Tachihara blinks, “I'm glad he told you that.”

“Riku-san knows Kazuki-san?”

“Let’s just say, he's a friend of mine.” The male chuckles. “Anyway…” He looks at Tsukasa, “Seems like Tenma-kun is ready to play the song.”

The three of them look at Tsukasa, ‘Good luck, Tsukasa/-kun.’

Tsukasa takes a deep breath as he stares at the music sheet. ‘Stress… Mixed emotions…’

“Remember, Sakata composed that song out of stress and his mixed emotions towards his own mother… ‘Does mother really love and be proud of me?’, ‘Who am I to her?’, ‘Why can't I enjoy the thing I love the most?’, ‘I don't want to do this anymore.’, ‘I love piano but why is it making me suffocate?’ and most importantly… ‘I don't know who I am anymore.’. These emotions are all in that song.”

‘Akatsuki-san gave us the hints for this song… But when Riku-san plays it, there's something missing. Akatsuki-san said the notes are off… But he's right. There's a part in the song Riku-san played, the notes are off. There's something wrong with this song… But…’ Tsukasa frowns slightly, ‘What is it…?’

But one thing Tsukasa knows, that this might not take him one day to at least figure out what it is. 

Akatsuki had his arms crossed as he watched and listened as Tsukasa played. “…” 

Emu tilts her head slightly, “Somehow… It feels different this time…”

“Tsukasa's probably still figuring it out…” Nene frowns. “I know you can do it…”

Rui merely stares at Tsukasa before glancing at Akatsuki, ‘Kanzaki-san doesn't seem disappointed or satisfied with the play…’

Tsukasa frowns to himself, ‘No… The song already shows how complicated it is to actually understand it… There's nothing wrong with the song… But instead… There's something hidden in this song… A hidden message…’ He stops playing as he is done. ‘But… What is it…?’ Tsukasa stands up, “Thank you so much.”

“…” Akatsuki stares at Tsukasa before sighing and nodding, “Alright, that's all for now.”

“Eh?” Tsukasa blinks, “How was my performance?”

The older male hums, “Who knows? Well then, for today we're going to…” Akatsuki starts to explain the scenes they're going to shoot today.

Tsukasa lets out a sigh as he stares at the music sheet. ‘I might have to ask mom for her opinion… Maybe she can give me some more clues for this. Maybe KAITO and the others too.’ As if on cue, Tsukasa noticed KAITO peeking out. “Ah.”

“Tenma-kun? We're heading to the changing room now.”

“Ah! I will be right there!” Looking around, Tsukasa turns away and pulls out his phone, “KAITO? It's been a while since you came to visit me.” He smiles.

The virtual singer chuckles, “Just want to check on you. Is everything okay, over there?”

“Yeah. We're currently going to change outfits now. Oh and I think I'm going to SEKAI for a bit. There's something I need to ask you.”

Tilting his head, he smiles at Tsukasa and nods, “Of course. You're always welcome to come here. When will you come here?”

“Maybe before I arrive home. I still can't bring my phone upstairs…” He sighs. “Ah, right… KAITO, where have you been? It's actually really been a while since I saw you in SEKAI. Even Luka and the others are actually looking for you.”

“…”

“KAITO?”

The other male smiles at him, “You don't have to worry about that, Tsukasa-kun. Don't worry. I will be there if you need help. I will always be here, waiting for you.”

Blinking in confusion, Tsukasa nods. “Is… That so?”

“Tsukasa-kun!”

“Ah, everyone's calling me now. Well, I should go now, KAITO. Talk to you later.” Tsukasa smiles before putting back his phone in his pocket.

“...” 

“He's not here…”

“Kamishiro senpai too…”

“I mean, Kusanagi senpai is also not in her class. I think they didn't come to school again today.” A sigh, “Well, maybe we can try our luck again tomorrow.”

“But what if they are still absent tomorrow?”

“There's always an option to look for them around here.”

“Ah, you're right…!” 

“…” Akito frowns as he has his arms crossed and quietly listens to the three girls whispering to each other in front of the 3-C classroom. “These first year students…” But before Akito could walk toward them, he blinks as he sees Toya walk past him, “T-Toya…?”

Approaching the three girls, Toya crosses his arms. “I’m so sorry to bother you girls but if you’re here just to look for Tsukasa senpai, he’s not here. And please stop bothering to look for him and I’m politely asking you girls to not attack both sides. If you’re a fan of Tsukasa senpai or Hinomori-san, you have no rights to continue on like this. Right now, you’re at Kamiyama High School and Tsukasa senpai is your senior and I have no memory of you three being his close friends. I appreciate it if you come here to ask how he’s doing but if you’re here to attack him with meaningless questions, please stop bothering senpai and do not stalk any of them, including Kusanagi and Kamishiro senpai. Please have respect for people's lives and don’t attack them without knowing what’s going on behind the scenes. I suggest you three go back to your class if you don’t have any business coming here.”

Overwhelmed by Toya’s words as he didn’t even let them speak up, the girls only whispered to each other as they retreated to their class. 

Toya sighs softly before he turns around and sees Akito walking towards him. The other male chuckles softly. “Since when you were here?”

“I actually noticed those girls were looking inside the classroom, looking for Tsukasa senpai. At first I let them be but they kept on coming here everyday, I guess I just moved on my own…” Toya sighs.

Akito smiles weakly, “Well, at least you managed to shoo those girls away. If paisen was here, he would probably be proud of you.” He slings his arm around Toya’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s go buy something to cheer you up.” He grins.

“I guess I do need some refreshment.” Toya smiles. 

“Then, let’s go.”

“Mhm.” 

As the two of them arrive at the cafeteria and buy their food and drink, Mizuki is the first one to notice them and immediately waves her hand. “Otouto-kun~! Toya-kun~! Over here!” She smiles, gesturing to them to join her and An. When the two sit down, Mizuki smiles. “Hey, hey~ Have you guys watched the teaser for the drama senpai is in?”

Akito blinks, “Eh? The teaser is out already?”

An nods, “It dropped like around three days ago and this is the second teaser, Akito.” She drinks her juice. “Have you not watched it yet? I know how amazing WonderShow is with their shows but this feels like another whole level.” She smiles.

“I know~ I know~!” Mizuki’s eyes sparkled. “I really can’t wait to watch it and record it so I can watch it over and over again.” She smiles, ‘And we can watch it at the SEKAI as well. I’m sure Len, Rin and Miku are excited to watch the drama.’

Toya hums, “That’s not a bad idea, Akiyama. Maybe I’ll record it as well.” He smiles, ‘Maybe we can watch it with MEIKO-san and the others too.’

Akito hums, “Well, since Ena—My sis is already close with Tsukasa senpai and Kamishiro senpai, I’m sure she’s going to watch it too… So yeah, I think I’ll be watching it.”

“Don’t ‘think’, Akito. Our classmate, Kusanagi-san, is in the drama! How dare you not want to support your own classmate!” An crosses her arms.

“Kh…”

“Ah right… Kusanagi-san told me earlier that they’re going to school tomorrow.”

Mizuki looks at her, “Eh, really? Then, time to get their signs first before they get famous~” She smiles playfully.

“Come to school tomorrow huh…?” Toya mumbles softly. “...”

An looks at Toya and tilts her head, “Toya? Is something wrong?”

“Huh? No. It's just…” He frowns before starting explaining to the two what happened earlier. “I’m just a little worried…”

“Ah… I see…” Mizuki frowns. 

“Should we do something about this…?”

Akito sighs and shrugs, “I’m not sure. But I do want to warn Kusanagi and those two about what happened while they were absent…”

Mizuki hums, “Then, why don’t we become their school bodyguard?” A smile on her face.

“Ha?”

Chapter Text

Ena walks out of the bathroom as she just finished refreshing herself up. She sighs softly and walks straight towards her room before slamming herself on the bed. She lazily reaches out for her phone and rolls on the bed as she scrolls through her SNS. Smiling and liking a few arts from the artists she followed, Ena’s smile turns into a frown as she comes across another hate comment towards her friends. “Geez, can’t they stop spouting lies about those two already?” Yet as she scrolls away, she comes across another hate comment. “…” 

Miso soup @missooo

[ This is why female idols and male entertainers can’t interact. They both betrayed their fan’s feelings. They should know better. So both of them are horrible people. I can't believe they did this to all of us. ]

“…” Ena grips her phone. “You gotta be kidding me… Tenma-san and Shizuku aren't your friends… You guys are merely strangers to them… Whatever they do, they don't have to think about you guys all the time… Their private life has nothing to do with you…” 

Ena then stops herself as she's already ready to fight for her friends… But… She sighs and puts away her phone, staring at the ceiling. “…It's better to ignore those kinds of people…” She frowns slightly. “I hope Shizuku and Tenma-san are okay…” She grabs her pillow and hugs it. ‘Right… I haven't messaged them for a while too… If I want to hang out with them both… It would be bad since people might see them together even though I'm there with them…’ Ena sighs again, ‘Why do people love to butt in people's lives like this…?’

Then she remembers the fragment of feeling in Empty Sekai she saw before with KAITO… And apparently according to KAITO, she couldn’t tell the others yet… But she's curious… ‘’I wonder if Mafuyu actually knows about this…” She looks at the clock, ‘Mafuyu’s still at school… I’ll ask her later.’ She sits up and reaches out for her phone before going to SEKAI. 

Looking around the lake, she hums. “As expected, there's no one huh? Miku and the others are probably at the stage…” She glances at the lake and walks closer. Mafuyu and Mizuki told her that they saw something like an image and Mafuyu said it's probably Wonderland Sekai… “I wonder why…?”

“Ena-chan?”

She turns around and smiles, “Len-kun.” The virtual singer walks towards her. “Is there anything I can help with?”

Len shakes his head and smiles softly, “Nothing, Ena-chan on your own?” He tilts his head.

“Ah, mhm.” Ena nods, “Just want to clear up my mind before I go to school.”

Frowning slightly, Len walks closer to her. “Is everything okay? Maybe I can help you?”

Ena stares at the other male for a bit, “Well…” 

After Ena tells him what happened earlier, Len frowns even more. “Is that so…? So, did they tell you any updates on their side?”

The artist hums softly, “Not yet but I do hear from Mizuki that Tenma-san do have a little bit of a hard time…” She sighs, “I wish I can help but…”

“But?” 

“…” Ena lowers her head before smiling weakly, “There is not much I can do to help… Other than continuing on supporting them as a friend…”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“Well… I mean, I can still help them by looking for the original post before the rumor went viral… But Airi-chan already told me that her group and her manager are already on it… Plus she told me that it's better not to have any fight with these people because in the end they will never listen.”

“Is that so?” Len nods slowly. 

Ena stares at Len for a bit, “Nee, Len-kun…” The said male looks at her. “Do you know anything about the fragment that appears here in this SEKAI?”

“…Eh?”

“Everyone~ Bye bye~” Emu waves her hand as she and Nene walk in the opposite direction, deciding to have some desserts together before heading home. 

Rui looks at Tsukasa, “Do you want to go somewhere or go straight home?”

The older male pulls out his phone and stares at it for a bit, “I'm heading to SEKAI for a bit. I promised KAITO that I'll come to SEKAI later to ask him something.”

Rui blinks, “KAITO-san…?” 

“Yeah? Why?”

“Haven't Luka-san and the others been looking for him for a while?” Rui tilts his head. “Did he tell you where he went?”

“Well, I did ask him… But he didn't say anything… It's just…” Tsukasa pauses, thinking of something.

“Tsukasa-kun?”

“…” Tsukasa frowns slightly and crosses his arms. That look on KAITO earlier… ‘I’ve never seen KAITO looking like that before…’ He looks at Rui, “Why don't we go to SEKAI together? Since the thing I wanna ask him was about the piano.”

“Ah? For the piano scene soon?”

“Yeah.”

Rui smiles and nods, “Sure then.” He looks around, making sure no one's looking at them… Especially Tenmama… “Let's go to SEKAI.”

“Let's.” With Tsukasa pressing the song, the two of them head to SEKAI. As expected, the SEKAI is getting duller for some reason and the two of them are seeing less of the plushies now, after knowing what happened to the plushies. “…” 

Rui looks at the male, “Tsukasa-kun…” He rubs his back, “Let's go look for KAITO-san.”

Staring at Rui, Tsukasa smiles weakly, “Mhm, let's go.” The two of them walk around the now quiet and eerily peaceful SEKAI. Compared to before, the place used to be much more colorful and lively with the plushies running around, with the music played really loud. Now, all you can barely hear is soft piano playing in the background. “Somehow, I feel like we're walking in someone else's SEKAI right now…”

Rui lets out a soft chuckle and smiles weakly, agreeing with Tsukasa. “Yeah…” But none of what happened is Tsukasa's fault… It happened out of his own control… And SEKAI now looks like it's at the edge of collapsing. “Seems like the SEKAI is really a mysterious place huh?”

“It has always been.”

“This SEKAI exists because of Tsukasa-kun's strong feeling of wanting to make Saki-kun smile…” Rui hums, “And now you also want to make everyone else smile… Tsukasa-kun is really a wonderful person.” He chuckles.

“Thanks, I guess?” Tsukasa looks at him before looking ahead, “Ah…” The two of them stop in front of a familiar black door. “Uwa… I never recalled that this door would actually be visible like this…”

Rui stares at the door and glances at the floor, the black thing is spreading even wider now. When Rui looks back at the door, he notices something. “Say, Tsukasa-kun… Didn't Luka-san and MEIKO-san say they covered the door with the keep out tape?”

Tsukasa blinks, now realizing it. “Wait, you're right…! They did say that we aren't allowed to go in there since it's too dangerous…” He frowns and looks around, “I wonder where that tape is?” 

“But, aren't you a little bit curious what will happen if we open the door?”

“Are you serious?” Tsukasa looks at Rui, “Do you want the same thing to happen again?”

“Of course not.” Rui shakes his head and turns to Tsukasa, “Well, maybe we should looking for the tape—”

“Tsukasa-kun… Rui-kun… Help me…”

“Eh?” The two of them look at the door after hearing their names being called. Blinking, they both look at each other. “You… Heard that… Right?”

Rui nods, “I do…” He frowns deeply, now looking at the door. Yet again, the two of them hear a voice calling out for them from behind the door. “This voice… That bunny plush…?” 

“Tsukasa-kun…”

Tsukasa frowns, “Why…? Shouldn't she's with Miku and the others?” They did recall that MEIKO and Luka being the ones to make sure the plushies won't go around the door and Miku and the Kagamines help the two by distracting the plushies. 

“She should… And that bunny plushie will be in danger if we don't do anything.” 

“We should look for them.” Tsukasa and Rui were about to turn around when the two of them could hear a door being creak open. When they turn back to the door, the door is slightly open. “Huh?”

“It opened…” Rui looks at Tsukasa and nods, carefully walking towards the door. As Tsukasa is about to push the door open…

“Tsukasa-kun? Rui-kun? What are you doing?”

The two turn around and see the chairman walking towards them. “K-KAITO…!” 

“The door—” When Rui turns back to the door… It wasn't there. “Eh…?” He blinks.

“The… The door… Disappeared?!” Tsukasa's eyes widened.

“What door?”

Rui turns to the male, “KAITO-san, there is a door here, earlier. It's the black door that leads to the black room…” He frowns. But somehow it disappears… Or… It isn't there in the first place.

The chairman hums, “I'll make sure to check on the door after this.” He nods before smiling softly, “What can I do for you two?”

“Ah… Right…” Tsukasa pulls out the music sheet from his bag, “Here. Akatsuki-san gave me three days to properly practice this song. So, other than my mom, maybe KAITO can lend me some help? But it's okay if you can't.” He smiles weakly.

The male hums, “I see…” He nods, “Well, I think I can help you with everything I know.” He smiles.

“Thanks, KAITO!” 

Rui smiles, “Thank you so much, KAITO-san.” Then something came across his head, “Say, KAITO-san.” The said male looks at him, “Lately, we barely see KAITO-san anywhere and Luka-san and the others are looking for you.”

“…”

“Ah, yeah! I was asking him the same question earlier.” Tsukasa nods before looking back at the chairman, “Seriously KAITO, where have you been? Everyone is worried for you.”

“…” 

“KAITO-san?”

Yet the chairman is still staring at them with his ‘usual’ smile. Usual…? No… It's not his usual smile… It's a whole different smile… A really… different one… That they both never saw it before. The more they stare at him, or most likely he is staring at them, chill runs through their spine. Rui and Tsukasa look at each other for a bit before backing away a little, not having a good feeling about this. 

“K-KAITO…?” 

“…”

“KAITO-san…? Is everything okay…? Did I… Ask something wrong?”

Finally, the chairman responded with a chuckle. “No, of course not. It's just…” That smile widened. “I've been around all the time. Probably it's just them who can't find me. Plus… ——” 

“Huh?” Rui blinks as he sees the chairman start glitching.

“—————un.” 

“K-KAITO?!” 

“———r—n!!!”

Rui doesn't wait any longer as he grabs Tsukasa's arm and pulls out his phone, however as he's about to stop the song… “E-Eh…?” He couldn't press stop… Why…?

“R——T———kun! ———un!!”

Gritting his teeth, Rui quickly runs away, pulling Tsukasa with him. 

“R-Rui?!!!”

“We need to get away as far as we can!” Rui lets go of Tsukasa's arm as the two of them are running away from the chairman. “Tsukasa-kun, try stopping the song from your phone now!”

Without questioning any further, Tsukasa tried to stop the song yet he couldn't stop the song as well. “Wha… I can't stop it…?!”

Making sure the two of them are far enough, they both stop and they show each other the song that is playing right now. Both of them repeatedly press the stop button. “Why…?” Rui frowns. 

“Should we try to contact Emu and Nene?” Tsukasa frowns before rethinking his idea, “Wait no, if we stuck here right now, we might just make those two stuck with us as well…”

Rui nods, “If we wait for our battery to run out…” The two of them glanced at each other's phone. 

64% for Rui.

75% for Tsukasa.

Tsukasa shakes his head, “It will take a long time to eventually run out.” He frowns even more. Plus they barely even have their phone around them since they're busy with today's shooting. “We probably should look for Miku and the others. Maybe they can help us.”

Rui nods, “Agree, let's go, Tsukasa-kun.”

“Mhm. Let's—” Then the ground starts to shake causing the two of them to almost lose their balance. “E-Earthquake?!” Before they knew it, a hand on their shoulders. They turn around and see Miku. “Mi—”

“Remember… If you ever come to SEKAI… Never ever bump into KAITO-kun.”

“Huh?” Rui stares at her.

“Tell this to the girls as well…” Miku forces herself to smile, “We'll see you again, Tsukasa-kun. Rui-kun.” Without letting the two say anything, she forces the two out of the SEKAI before collapsing to her knees, crying out of relief. “Miku is so glad… Those two are safe…” She chuckles dryly, “Rui-kun… Nene-chan… Emu-chan…” She pauses, “Tsukasa-kun… Miku is so sorry…” She wipes away her tears before standing up, “But Miku has to do this… Miku will try her best… To save KAITO-kun before it's too late…”

Miku frowns before shaking her head, looking up to the night sky. “That's why… Emu-chan, Nene-chan, Rui-kun… Miku is trusting you guys to save Tsukasa-kun… Before he does something unexpected…” 

“Tsukasa-kun, wake up.” Rui gently shakes Tsukasa as he wakes up to find himself sitting on the bench at the park. “Tsukasa-kun.”

Stirring awake, Tsukasa opens his eyes before realizing that they're back in the real world. “Wha…? We're back?”

“Yes and it seems like Miku-kun found us first and helped us go back to the real world…” Rui crosses his arms. “But I still don't understand why we can't stop the song and…”

“KAITO…” Tsukasa frowns. “Why did Miku suddenly tell us to stay away from him?” 

“I don't know but it certainly has to do with the door we saw earlier.”

“You mean the black door and the black thing that's coming out from that door?”

Rui nods, “Not to mention how the plushies still stop moving and the SEKAI is much more… How do I say this…?” He hums, “Not as lively as it used to be.”

“…I know.” Tsukasa crosses his arms, “But how do these things even connect? I thought everything in that room was destroyed and nothing was left in that room.”

“I'm still trying to guess that one. There must be something else… Or…” He pauses before shaking his head, “I'll try to figure this one out.”

“Please tell me if you think you got the answer.” Tsukasa nods before he notices his phone light up. “Ah, it's mom. I should go back home now.” He unzips his bag and sighs in relief that the music sheet is still in his bag. “And tomorrow we might have to talk about this to the girls.”

Rui nods, “Agree. Then, see you tomorrow, Tsukasa-kun.” He smiles. “Do you want to go to school together?”

“Sure, why not.” Tsukasa nods, “See you tomorrow.” He stands up before walking away.

Rui watches Tsukasa walk away before he hums to himself… “Miku-kun’s words earlier…”

“That's why… Emu-chan, Nene-chan, Rui-kun… Miku is trusting you guys to save Tsukasa-kun… Before he does something unexpected…”

Rui frowned to himself, ‘Do something unexpected? What does she mean by that and… Does Tsukasa-kun not hear this message from her?’

Chapter Text

Emu hums happily as she eats her cake, “So good~ It's been a while we go here~”

Nene chuckles and nods, “Mhm. It sure does.” She takes another bite of her cake.

“Maybe tomorrow we can go here again with Rui-kun and Tsukasa-kun after school!” Emu smiles, “Though I really wish they could join us today…”

“Well, Rui did say he had plans with his family tonight and Tsukasa can no longer come home too late…” Nene smiles weakly.

“Right… Tsukasa-kun's mom found out about SEKAI…” Emu puffed her cheeks. “Say, Nene-chan. How do you think your parents will react if they find out about SEKAI as well?” 

“E-Eh…? So suddenly…” Though, Nene hums, trying to think of her parents’ possible reaction. “Maybe a little bit shocked and thinks it's one of Rui’s inventions again.” She chuckles, “And… Maybe find out who I talked with in my room because sometimes my mom just comes in to see who I talked to.”

Emu nods. “I see…”

“What about you, Emu? What will your family think?”

“Hm~ Maybe Hinata onee-chan will be shocked as well but accept it well like Mamashiro-san and Papashiro-san did.” She smiles, “For onii-chan… Maybe they'll be shocked to see that Miku-chan and the others are actually real since we told them that they're just through projection…”

“R-Right… Miku and the rest also joined us for the night show…” Nene chuckles, “Somehow… Thinking about that… It feels so nostalgic…” She smiles softly.

Emu nods, “Mhm! Our Halloween and Christmas shows that we did at the Wonder Stage as well… Time flies so fast…” Then an idea comes into mind, “Say! Since we've been given a day off tomorrow, why don't we go to PhennyLand together after school tomorrow?” 

“PhennyLand?” Nene blinks before nodding, “Sure. Maybe we can give Wonder Stage a visit as well.”

“Agree!” Then an idea comes into her mind, “Nee, nee, let's go visit SEKAI for a bit after this.”

“Mhm, let's. It's also been a while since we went there too.” Nene hums before she continues her conversation with Emu while eating their cakes. 

After they are both done, they head to a small park where no one's there. Emu looks around, “Alright, line clear! Let's go!” 

“Mhm.” Nene nods before she presses play and the two of them arrive at SEKAI. Immediately greeted by Rin and Len. 

“Oh!! It's Nene-chan and Emu-chan!” Rin smiles as she skips towards them, “How’s today shooting?”

Emu smiles, “It's doing great! But Tsukasa-kun…”

“What's wrong with him?” Len frowns. “Did something happen?”

“Ah, no. He struggled a little with this one song he needs to play. But our director gives him three days to practice.” Nene smiles. “Though, we really hope that we can somehow help him. But we barely know anything about piano.”

“Mhm, mhm.” Emu nods.

Rin and Len look at each other, “Well… Other than KAITO… Maybe you can ask Luka to help you guys.” 

“Luka? She can play the piano?” 

“She can.” Rin nods, “But she rarely plays because Luka will end up sleeping on the piano because everyone enjoyed her performance.” She giggles. “So when it comes to piano play, KAITO will do it instead.”

“Is that so?” Emu nods, “Speaking of KAITO onii-chan… Have you guys found him yet?” 

Len shakes his head and frowns. “Not yet… But we do feel his presence around.”

“Is that so?” Then the four of them could hear someone entering SEKAI. “Ah, could it be Tsukasa or Rui?” 

“Well, they are together.” 

“Then! Let's go!” Rin hooked her arm with Emu as the two of them led the way to look for the older two. 

Nene shakes her head and chuckles softly as she and Len follow the two from behind. However… They've been walking around for 30 minutes but no sight of the two. Len hums, “Weird. We hear them entering SEKAI but…”

“Their presence is still around.” Rin looks around. 

“Ara? Emu-chan, Nene-chan. Rin and Len too.” The four of them turn around and see MEIKO walk towards them. “Looking for something?”

“MEIKO, have you seen Tsukasa-kun and Rui-kun around?” Len tilts his head, “We hear them coming over.”

“But it's already been half an hour. We can't find them anywhere.”

“Oh?” MEIKO hums softly as she crosses her arms, not having any good feeling about this. Truth is, she also hears them coming over and when she looks over, she could see glitches instead before it disappears. Should she just tell them? 

“MEIKO onee-chan?” Emu tilts her head, “What’s wrong?”

“Well… The thing is…” She sighs, “I was actually looking for Tsukasa-kun and Rui-kun as well.”

“What?” 

MEIKO tells the group what she saw earlier. “However, I could feel their presence around here.” She frowns. “I'm worried now.”

“Ah! We feel their presence too!” Rin nods before frowning as well, “What should we do now…?”

Nene looks at MEIKO, “Do you know exactly what happened…?”

All three of the virtual singers look at each other. “Do you girls remember the black room?”

“You mean the room that has Tsukasa-kun's memories and the room is also already a mess… And also something black spreading out from there?” Emu tilts her head.

Len nods, “Yeah that one.”

“What's wrong with it?”

“The black thing already spread wider than the last you guys saw it. We suspect everything that happened related to that.” MEIKO sighs. 

“Will it affected Tsukasa-kun as well…?” Emu frowns, “SEKAI is created by his feelings…”

“It may and it may not.” The group turn and see Luka walking towards them. “Usually, if there's any change in Tsukasa-kun's feelings, the SEKAI will change as well. Either it's a positive or negative one. However, due to what happened back then, it caused Tsukasa-kun's feelings to change a little and back then it wasn't a good time for him as well. So his feelings were mostly negative.”

“Ah…” Emu and Nene frown. 

“But, he was able to get back on track because of all of you. The show and the surprise party.” Luka smiles softly before her smile is immediately replaced with a frown. “But the thing is… The black orb has already been destroyed, alongside the other orbs. We were able to hold it back from completely corrupting the whole SEKAI.”

“Though, it is just slowly spreading now.” MEIKO crosses her arms. “First Miku disappeared for no reason and then we couldn't find KAITO anywhere…” 

“Nee, MEIKO onee-chan, Luka onee-chan. Can we visit the door…?” Emu looks at them. But as soon as the two of them look at her, she quickly shakes her head. “I-It's okay if we can't.”

“Ah, no, it's fine. We both usually visit it sometimes to keep it in check.” The brunette shakes her head. “As long as we don't open the door, it's fine~”

“Are you sure?” Nene looks at the others.

“Well, if MEIKO and Luka said so… then sure! Let's all go together.” Len smiles.

“Mhm! Mhm! Let's go~!” Both Rin and Emu cheer together.

Chuckling softly, Nene smiles. “Mhm, let's—” Before she could even finish her sentence, the next thing they know is that both she and Emu suddenly return to the real world. “E-Eh…?” She looks around. “W-We’re back…?”

Emu looks around as well, “Huh? Did you stop the song, Nene-chan?” She turns to the other. 

Nene shakes her head, “I'm not… My phone is in my bag this whole time…”

“Mine as well…” Emu pulls out her phone, “Maybe an error? Let's try to go back to SEKAI. MEIKO onee-chan and the others might be worried about us.”

“Mhm.” Nene presses play… And nothing happened. “Eh?” She repeatedly presses the play button but still they're still here in the park. “Why…?”

“Nene-chan?”

“It's like when I press play, someone stops the song…” She frowns.

“Oh no…” Emu frowns as she also tries to press play but to no avail. “Maybe we should stop pressing play for probably a minute or two… Then we'll try to play the song again.”

Nene nods, “Mhm, I hope it will work.” The two of them wait for a bit before trying to press the play button. Yet no reaction. The second the song starts, the song immediately stops. “Why…?”

“This never happened before…” Emu frowns. “Maybe we should contact Rui-kun and Tsukasa-kun…”

“But, they're both at SEKAI… I think?” Nene hums before typing out her text in their group chat. Waiting, only Emu received and read the text but the older two didn't even receive it. “No use… Somehow my text didn't even reach them.”

“Let me try!” Emu presses Tsukasa's number and waits for the chairman to answer. Only to have the call go straight to voicemail.

“So?” Nene frowns when Emu shakes her head. “What should we do now—” A flash came from their phones. “E-Eh? Just now…”

“It's SEKAI…!” Emu presses play one more time before smiling when she notices the song didn't stop and the two of them return to SEKAI. “We finally made it!” She hugs Nene.

Nene sighs in relief and nods. “Mhm… We finally—”

“That's why… Emu-chan, Nene-chan, Rui-kun… Miku is trusting you guys to save Tsukasa-kun… Before he does something unexpected…”

“Huh?” Nene blinks, looking around. “Just now…”

“That's… Miku-chan… Right?” Emu tilts her head. 

“Mhm…” Nene nods. 

“Ah! There they are!” The two of them turn and see MEIKO, Rin and Len running towards them. “Emu-chan! Nene-chan! Are you two okay?” Len frowns. 

“Len…” Nene nods, “Mhm, we're okay. We just suddenly got kicked out for a bit.”

Rin sighs in relief before tilting her head, “Kicked out? But we didn't do anything?”

MEIKO hums as she crosses her arms. “Can you tell us what happened?” As the two tell them their story, MEIKO frowns. “Is that so…?”

“MEIKO onee-chan?”

“It's probably an error by SEKAI…” She looks up, staring at the train that's already stopped moving. “I'm not exactly sure what happened on why you girls can't enter SEKAI for a moment but… It must have something to do with Rui-kun and Tsukasa-kun's side.”

“Come to think of it…” Nene hums, “We actually hear Miku's voice.”

“Miku-chan? But she isn't here.”

Emu nods, “Mhm, true. But we really do hear her voice. She said something like me, Nene-chan and Rui-kun need to save Tsukasa-kun before it's too late.” She frowns. “And… do something stupid… Tsukasa-kun won't do something stupid… Right?” 

“…I can't say for sure, Emu.” Nene frowns as well, “But we just need to make sure he won't do anything stupid.”

“Mhm.” Emu nods. 

MEIKO stares at the two, “…”

Rui hums to himself as he's doing his homework that his classmates just gave him earlier. His mind couldn't stop thinking about Miku's words earlier…

“Remember… If you ever come to SEKAI… Never ever bump into KAITO-kun.”

“That's why… Emu-chan, Nene-chan, Rui-kun… Miku is trusting you guys to save Tsukasa-kun… Before he does something unexpected…” 

‘What does she mean by never bumping into KAITO-san and saving Tsukasa-kun before he does something unexpected…?’ He sighs and leans to his chair.

A knock on the door and Mamashiro peeks in, “Am I disturbing you?”

“Ah, mom.” He shakes his head, “Just doing my homework since tomorrow we're going back to school.”

“Is that so?” The woman nods before humming, “I actually found your old swimming pool while cleaning the attic. Do you want me to prepare the pool for you?”

“Eh?” 

‘As I thought, it shrunk.’ Rui drinks his juice as he's currently sitting in his old swimming pool. Staring at the night sky, Rui drinks his juice peacefully before noticing Nene looking out of the window. 

Nene stares at him, “What are you doing?”

Rui waves his hands, “Want to join me?” He smiles. 

“Hardly pass.”

Soon enough, Nene eventually sits down as Mamashiro prepares a chair for her and drinks her juice while Rui is still in his pool. Rui hums softly, “Say, Nene.” The singer hums in reply, “I actually have something to tell you.”

“Surprisingly, me too.” Nene looks at him, “Do you want to say it first?”

“No, you go.”

Nene looks at Rui, “Is it true that you and Tsukasa went to SEKAI earlier?”

Rui blinks and looks at Nene before nodding, “Yeah, we do. Why?”

“…Somehow, for some reason me and Emu were kicked out from SEKAI and couldn't get it.”

“Huh?” He sits up, “What do you mean?”

“Well, after we've been kicked out, we tried to go back to SEKAI but can't.” She leans to the chair. “When we tried to play the song, it automatically stopped.”

“…” Rui frowns and crosses his arms. “Actually… Me and Tsukasa-kun couldn't leave the SEKAI…”

“Eh?”

“When we tried to stop the song, the song continued to play…” The two of them stare at each other. 

“Do you think that it might be connected…?” Nene frowns. 

“It might be.”

“Also…” She throws a towel at him, “Can you at least cover yourself up? I can't take you seriously with you being half naked like this. Have some shame.”

Rui chuckles softly, “My bad.”

“Anyway… How do you even get out of the SEKAI?”

“Miku-kun.” Nene stares at him. “Miku-kun is the reason why we're out of the SEKAI…” He starts to tell Nene everything that happened while they're in SEKAI.

“T-That’s… Scary…” Nene frowns. “And we also hear Miku's words about saving Tsukasa…”

“You did?”

“Mhm, we heard it after we finally got back to SEKAI… We told this to Rin, Len and MEIKO-san, and then we went to look for Miku.” Nene hums, “But we couldn't find her… but now hearing your story…”

“Tsukasa-kun is the only one who didn't hear it huh?”

“Eh? He didn't?” Rui shakes his head, “Why?”

“I'm not sure. I heard Miku-kun when we were out of the SEKAI and Tsukasa-kun didn't say anything about it.” Rui leans back to the pool, “But… It could probably be because of the past events that's been happening and the black room is now corrupting the SEKAI.”

“But… the unexpected thing… Tsukasa won't do it… right?”

“…” Rui shakes his head, “I can't promise you that, Nene.”

“What…?”

“We just need to make sure he won't do it… We will continue to look after him.” Rui doesn't want to tell her about that… They still didn't know about that… ‘If Tsukasa-kun had tried to kill himself back then…’ He frowns.

“Rui…” She has a feeling that Rui is hiding something important from them… “If you say so… Then we'll continue to look after Tsukasa together.” She smiles, “Well, I'm going back inside, I still have homeworks to do.”

“Did Shiraishi-kun and Shinonome-kun give you their notes?”

“Mhm, and a few other classmates of mine too.” She stands up, “See you tomorrow.”

“Do you want to walk to school together with me and Tsukasa-kun?” Rui smiles. “It's been a while since we walked to school together.”

“Mhm, sure.” Nene nods before she takes her leave. 

Rui leans back to the pool and hums. ‘I’m sorry, Nene… If you really want to know about it… It's best for Tsukasa-kun himself to tell you girls… not me…’ 

Finishing his homework, Tsukasa stretches out his arms and puts his book away before heading downstairs to grab something to eat and drink some water. Though he notices his mother sitting in the living room, watching TV alone. Smiling softly, after he grabs a snack and pour the juice into the two mugs, he walks towards the older woman and sets the mug down. 

“Watching TV alone?” He sits down next to her, leaning to her shoulder.

Thanking Tsukasa for the juice, Tenmama chuckles softly. “Mhm, I'm waiting for your dad to come home. He said he'll be pretty late today. Have you eaten anything yet?”

“Already have with Rui and the girls.” He nods before sitting up straight and eats his snack. “Is Saki home yet?” And just as he mentioned her, the said younger Tenma opens the door. 

“I'm home…” She sighs softly, a little bit tired with band practice and her work today. 

“Just in time.” Tenmama chuckles, “Welcome back, Saki.”

“Welcome back, Saki!”

Looking up, Saki smiles as she sees Tsukasa and her mother on the couch. She immediately puts down her bag and joins the two, “Mou, you two bonding here without waiting for me.” She pouts, immediately snuggles between Tsukasa and Tenmama and tells them everything she did today.

“Is that so?” Tenmama smiles softly and pats her head, “Saki did so well today. I'm so proud of you.” 

“Really?”

“Yup! I'm also proud of you, Saki.” 

Saki smiles and leans to her mother's hand. “Ehehe~ Thank you~”

“Have you eaten yet? If not, I can cook something for you.” 

Saki shakes her head, “It's okay, mom! I already eat with Icchan and the others.” As well as with her SEKAI friends as today they decide to eat together with Miku and the others.

“Is that so? You should rest now. Go soak yourself if you want. But don't sleep.” Tenmama gently flicks her head. “You almost drowned last time.”

“Mou! I promise that I won't fall asleep this time.” Saki smiles before she stands up, “I'm heading upstairs now~” She runs upstairs.

“Saki! Don't run on the stairs!” Tsukasa scolded her and shook his head. “Well, I'm going to bed too.” He kisses his mother's cheek. “Good night, mom.”

“Mhm, good night. Oh, did you put your phone here already?”

“They're in the drawers.” Tsukasa nods before walking back upstairs to rest. 

Tenmama quietly watches Tsukasa head upstairs before she lets out a sigh. She leans to the couch and puts her arm over her eyes, ‘I'm so glad I managed to hold back asking him something…’ 

“You have to fix your relationship with Tsukasa-kun first. Slowly approach him first, having a quiet bonding moment with him will definitely help. Don't ask any questions, except for how his day went. Once he warms up with you again, then you can slowly talk to him about that.” 

“…” Tenmama sits up straight, ‘Mamashiro-san… I really hope this will work…’ She has so many to ask… especially… 

“I wonder what this SEKAI is…” She whispers to herself. 

Akito sighs, “Why am I here…?” 

Mizuki looks at Akito with a grin, “Waiting!” She looks around before she spots the certain three familiar looks walking to school together. “Tsukasa senpai~! Kusanagi-san~! Rui~!” She waves her hand.

The three approach the group and Rui smiles at them, “Mizuki, Shinonome-kun, Aoyagi-kun, Shiraishi-kun. Good morning.”

“Morning, Kamishiro senpai.” An smiles.

“What are you guys doing here at the gate?” Nene tilts her head.

“We're waiting for the three of you.” Toya smiles at them. 

“Waiting for us?” Tsukasa blinks.

“Mhm!” Mizuki pulls out her sunglasses, making the trio look at her in total confusion. 

Akito sighs as he pulls out his own sunglasses, “I feel like I'm going to regret this so so much.” He wears it, alongside An and Toya. 

“W-What… What are you guys doing…?” Nene already feels embarrassed by her peers' actions. 

“Now, Tsukasa senpai, Rui, Kusanagi-san. We're going to escort you three to your classes!” Mizuki smiles widely.

“...ha?”

With Mizuki leading the way, An and Toya at the sides while Akito is at the back and lastly Tsukasa, Rui and Nene in the middle… Toya actually notices how this really works when he sees some people are trying to approach the trio but stop when they see them. Especially the ones that want to ask about the scandal thing…

Nene is hiding her face in her muffler the whole time, embarrassed. “S-Shiraishi-san… is this really necessary…?”

“Mhm! Many things happen when you're gone. Don't worry, we can explain everything during lunch.” An smiles, “And I will do my best to protect you, Kusanagi-san!” 

“I-Is… is that so…?” To be honest… For Nene… These four can just walk with them like normal… And not wearing sunglasses like this…!

Rui chuckles softly, “What an interesting first day of school after a while.”

“Right?” Tsukasa laughs.

“M-Mou…! How can you two not feel embarrassed by this…?!”

Akito mutters softly to himself, “…Maybe they already lost their sense of shame…”

Chapter Text

The usual routine as a mother. Wake up early, wash herself, make breakfast, clean up the house, do laundry and wake everyone up before they go to school and work. Tenmama hums softly as she washes the dishes after Tsukasa and Saki already head to school and her husband heads to work. She's glad that her husband is going back to work again after the accident before. Even he has his memories back and it's still unclear how the car accident truly happened. Her husband already told her to stop thinking about it as it already happened… yet for her, knowing SEKAI’s existence now… She had a feeling that this SEKAI thingy and the car accident may be related somehow. 

“If Tsukasa-kun finally… If he finally told you what truly happened that day… Will you actually believe it?”

“…don't tell me that it's really related to it…” And Mamashiro already knows about it…?

Tenmama puts the plate to the side to let it dry as she wipes her hands with a clean towel. Well since she doesn't have any class today, maybe it's not wrong to visit Mamashiro… Maybe Asamama as well. ‘It's been a while since I had a cup of tea with her…’ She hums softly. ‘I hope she's doing well.’

Putting down her hair, Tenmama sits in the living room and reaches for her phone to text Mamashiro about her going to her house. She waits for a bit and gets a reply from the other, instead, Mamashiro tells her that she already planned to go to her house and will arrive in 30 minutes. “Well, that's a nice coincidence.” She smiles before replying back, telling Mamashiro to come over. Once she gets an okay from the other, she puts down her phone and looks around. The house is already clean… 

“Maybe I should prepare some tea… Do I even have some snacks…?” Like cake or something… As she stands up, she hears someone press the bell. She takes a look from her intercom and sees a brunette standing there. ‘Eh? Who?’

“Hello? Sorry for bothering you but I'm Kazuki Asahi, who moved in like a few days ago.”

“Ah! The neighbor that Tsukasa told me about before.” She smiles as she tells the brunette to wait for a bit as she wears her shoes and heads down to the gate. She smiles. “Um, Kazuki-san, isn't it?” She opens the gate, to let Asahi in. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Ah, no. I just want to say hi to Tenma-san since I haven't greeted you yet.” Asahi smiles softly. “I accidentally bought two extra slices of strawberry cake, so I thought it might be a good greeting gift for Tenma-san.” 

“Is that so?” She takes the plastic bag, “Thank you so much, Kazuki-san. Um… if I'm not wrong, you're the neighbor Tsukasa told me before…?”

“Probably.” Asahi nods. “But he did come by my house with his friends before.”

Tenmama nods, “I see. Thank you so much for the previous day.” Seeing Asahi's confused look, Tenmama quickly explains to the male about the cat therapy thingy.

“Ah, you're welcome.” He chuckles softly, “I'm glad that I can help Tenma-kun and his friends.” He smiles, “Well, I'm taking my leave now.”

“Of course, thank you for the cake, Kazuki-san.”

“Mhm.”

Watching the brunette leave, Tenmama smiles softly as she looks at the cake in her hand. “Well, I guess I can serve Mamashiro-san with this cake instead.” She closes the gate and heads back to her house.

Tsukasa let out a sigh as he rested his head on the table. “There's so many things to catch up on…”

Rui chuckles softly, “Well, we were absent from school for a while now.” He smiles. “But hey, we have kind classmates that offer us their notes.” 

“Yeah, I'm thankful for that.” Tsukasa nods. 

“Hm? Oh?!! If it isn't Tenma and Kamishiro-kun?!” The two of them look up and see a familiar trio. “It's been a while!” 

Tsukasa smiles, “Taniyama!! Miyake and Hayashi are here as well!”

“Fufu, it's been a while you three.” Rui smiles.

“It's been a while.” Hayashi nods. “Are you two done with the filming or it's your day off?” 

“Kanzaki-san actually gives us two days off. Plus an assignment for Tsukasa-kun.” Rui smiles. 

“An assignment?” Miyake tilts his head, “What kind?” 

Trying to avoid spoilers, Rui and Tsukasa take turns to explain to the trio about Tsukasa's assignment. “Wait… Tenma actually plays the piano?!”

“Yeah? My mom is a piano teacher.”

Taniyama awes, “Amazing… I never knew the infamous loud Tenma actually is really good at piano.” 

“I don't think people really know that Tenma is good with piano. He never bragged about it.”

“Ahaha…” True… He did notice how the moment he entered high school, he never bragged about him being a young piano prodigy. Heck, he even got bullied when he was in middle school. “Well, now you know.”

“Say Tenma. Can you play us one song?”

“Huh? I don't mind it.” Tsukasa hums, ‘And maybe it's a good way to practice as well… I still need people's opinions on how I should play the song…’ He nods, “Then, I'll play a song for you guys, special for you guys, during lunch.”

“Yeay! We'll be waiting then!” Taniyama grins.

“Well, if Tenma offers it, I'm looking forward to it.” Hayashi smiles.

“See you during lunch, you two.” Miyake smiles and waves at the duo as the three of them leave.

Rui hums, “So you're going to ask their opinion on the song?” He smiles, already seeing through Tsukasa. 

“Yeah… I don't really expect them to react like a professional.” Tsukasa leans to his chair. “I'll probably just ask for mom's help.”

“If there's anything that we can help you with, please let us know.” Rui smiles.

“Mhm, I know I can count on you guys.”

“Oh? So your neighbor is the one who gave you these cakes? How kind of him.” Mamashiro smiles. 

“Well, he did help Tsukasa and the others.” Tenmama chuckles softly. “He told me that Kazuki-san helped them relieve their stress with his cats.”

“Oh, what an interesting way.” She nods, “I heard cat therapy did help people relieve their stress… Not to mention, I think Rui did mention this to me.”

“I'm not surprised.” Tenma smiles softly. “So, is there anything you want to see me? I'm kinda surprised that you said you want to come over.” Especially when she's the one who wants to see Mamashiro…

“Ah, that.” Mamashiro reaches out for her bag and pulls out the phone, “My husband already fixed the phone for you. But…”

“But?”

“Isn't this… Tsukasa-kun's old phone…?”

Clearly there's hesitation in her face yet she nods, “...mhm, it is.” 

A frown on her face, “Tenmama-san…”

Sighing softly, Tenmama stares at the phone. “I know… But… I just can't help it but feel that something bad will happen…” She clenched her hand, “No matter how I tried to tell myself that everything will be okay… That feeling won't go away…”

“...” Mamashiro frowns before moving closer to the other, “Then, what do you want to do with the phone?”

“There's something… I want to know…” Tenmama sighs softly, “Say, Mamashiro-san… Have you ever heard about this… SEKAI… Things…?”

Mamashiro blinks, “What's wrong with it?”

“I have a feeling… a bad feeling… That something will happen… and partially it's mine and this SEKAI’s fault…”

“Huh?” She glances at the phone. ‘As I know about these virtual singer friends… They aren't even a threat… They help these kids so much…’ Mamashiro glances back at Tenmama, “Why do you think like that?”

“It’s just a mere bad feeling…”

“Say, what do you know about this SEKAI?” Mamashiro smiles softly, she really needs to know how Tenmama finds out. Remembering what happened before to Tsukasa… It's definitely a bad first impression huh?

“Well… When I first discovered it…” Tenmama hums softly before telling Mamashiro everything. How she wanted to do laundry but found Tsukasa coming back from SEKAI out of nowhere… Where it leads them to the oldest son running away from the house and spending a night at the Kamishiro household… How she banned Tsukasa for bringing his phone upstairs because she doesn't want him to go to SEKAI… And more…

Mamashiro hums to herself, ‘No wonder he's such in misery back then…’ She rubs Tenmama’s back. “But, you can get to know them, you know?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” She immediately turns to Mamashiro. “Do you know about these people from Tsukasa's phone?”

“Have you ever heard about Hatsune Miku?”

Tenmama nods, “I do… But I rarely listen to her songs… Most of the time I listen to classical music… or play by myself.” She frowns, “What's wrong? Don't tell me… The ones in his phone…”

Mamashiro only smiles. 

And Tenmama frowns. “I… Don't get it… but… how…?” She glances at the phone. 

“Who knows? I wonder about that as well.” Mamashiro hums softly, glancing at the phone. “A world where it is born from one's true feelings… Isn't that interesting?” She chuckles.

“B-But…! It sounded dangerous… Especially when we don't know what's in—”

“Tenmama-san.” Mamashiro puts a hand over her hand. “Remember what I told you before?”

“What you told me before…? Ah…”

“If Tsukasa-kun finally… If he finally told you what truly happened that day… Will you actually believe it?”

“Eh?”

“The only reason why he never tells you is because he's scared.”

“S-Scared? Why should he? I'm his mother…”

“I know. I know. But… If I tell you that Rui and the girls already know what truly happened… Will you believe me?”

“The one… You hinted that you and the kids knew what happened during the car crash… Right?” Mamashiro nods at her, “What does that have to do with this thing…?”

“Well, they don't directly tell me what happened, I just guess what happened.” She hums. “It might or might have to do with it.” Mamashiro glances at the phone. 

“Ah…” Tenmama frowns.

“Then, why don't the two of us go on a date?” She smiles.

“Eh?”

Walking around the lake, Len frowns. ‘Where is he…?’ He asked Miku earlier and she told him that the taller male is at the lake… A small smile as he finally spots the other. “K-KAITO…”

Turning around as he heard his name, KAITO crossed his arms. “Oh, it's you.” He merely hums, “What do you want from me?”

“Ena-chan asked me something before—”

KAITO immediately cuts him off, “If it's something useless, I'm not hearing it.” 

Len panicked slightly and shook his head, “I don't think it is useless… It's about the fragment of feeling that appeared here before.”

“...” KAITO sighs heavily, “I told her not to be bothered by it…” Yet. “So, what did she ask?”

“She just asked me if I knew anything about it… And what will happen if she touches it because you don't want to tell her.”

“Tch, curious too much. Does she ever have something more not useless to do?”

“Ha? What did you say about me?” Ena frowns as she crosses her arms.

“E-Ena…” Kanade immediately tries to calm the artist down.

“Ena-chan… Kanade-chan… Welcome. Where's Mizuki-chan and Mafuyu-chan…?” Len looks around.

“Mizuki and Mafuyu are still at school.” Kanade smiles softly, “Did we come at the wrong time?” Especially when she notices the duo are in a serious conversation.

KAITO stares at the two before walking away without saying anything. 

“A-Ah, K-KAITO…!” Before Len could even stop him, the other male already disappeared from their sight. ‘I guess I'll talk to him later…’

“Oi! Don't just walk away like that!!” Ena huffed, “Geez, that guy is so annoying.” She mutters softly. 

Kanade turns to Len, “We bothered your conversation… Right?” She smiles weakly, “Sorry about that…”

“It's fine…! Do you need anything, Kanade-chan, Ena-chan?” Len tilts his head.

“Ah, I actually have a new demo I just finished, so I want to let Miku and the others listen to it first and give me an early feedback before I show this to Mafuyu.” She smiles. “And—”

“Ah! It's that fragment again…!!” 

“Hm?” Kanade immediately looks away from Len and looks at where Ena is looking. A bright yellow fragment floating around the sprout. “Eh? What is this…?”

“A-Ah…!” Len panics when he sees Kanade reaching out for it, “D-Don't…!”

Before Len could even stop Kanade, the composer already touched the fragment, causing a bright light to cover both Kanade and Ena. “U-Uwah!!” 

“You idiots!!!”

Opening her eyes, Kanade's eyes widened. “W-Where…?” She looks around and sees Ena also looking around.

“I-Isn’t… Isn't this Wonderland SEKAI…?” Ena awes as she looks around. The bright and colorful buildings… No, castle?! And this is really a huge theme park. Ena looks at Kanade, “Tenma-san’s SEKAI…”

Kanade immediately frowns. “What is going on right now…?”

Chapter Text

As Tsukasa's done with the piano, he turns to his friends. “What do you think?”

The trio stare at Tsukasa before Taniyama immediately stands up and starts clapping like crazy. “Tenma! You're so amazing!!” He smiles. 

“Uwa… Who would have thought the loud Tenma is really good with piano…” Miyake awes. 

Hayashi hums and smiles, “Should we consider this as your hidden talent?” 

Rui chuckles, “Well, as someone who is in the same troupe as Tsukasa-kun, I don't think we can call this a hidden talent.” He smiles. “It's one of Tsukasa-kun's specialties.”

Taniyama nods, “Tenma did say that his mom is a piano teacher…”

“Right?” Miyake nods in agreement. 

Tsukasa looks at Rui, “Rui, did you record it?”

“All of it.” Rui nods, handing Tsukasa his phone. 

Hayashi tilts his head, “What's the recording for?”

“To the director.” Rui answers it for Tsukasa, “It's one of Tsukasa-kun's assignments. One, he had to practice the piano for three days and two, he had to send at least two videos of him playing the same song to Kanzaki-san.” He smiles. 

Tsukasa nods at the video before looking up, “It's kinda like for Akatsuki-san to see if it's the right way to play.”

“There's a right way to play…? But I think it sounds practically normal and amazing?” Taniyama tilts his head. “Or it's kinda like… you know, musician to musician thing?”

“Basically that.” Tsukasa smiles. 

“Uwa… That's so complicated…” Miyake awes. “Well, good luck, Tenma! We'll be rooting for you!” He grins. 

“Yeah!”

Tsukasa chuckles, “Thank you, everyone!” Then the bell rings. “Ah, lunch break is over. Time to head back to class.”

Taniyama sighs, “It's home economics after this…”

“I have biology…” Miyake also sighs, “Nee, Tenma… Let's skip class.” 

Tsukasa stares at the four. “Ha?”

Hayashi hums, “One class won't hurt.” He smiles.

“Oi… You—”

“Sure then.” Rui smiles.

“Rui—”

“Yeay~! Let's all skip class!”

“Let's!”

“You guys realize that I'm on the disciplinary committee right?!!”

“How scary~ We don't care~ Right, Kamishiro?”

Rui chuckles, “It's just Tsukasa-kun, we'll be fine.”

“Oi!!!” 

Ena and Kanade look around at the Wonderland SEKAI. It's a lot… Duller than the one they see from the pictures WonderShow gave them… Ena frowns. “Could it be the fragment you touched earlier, Kanade?”

Kanade hums before looking around and looks back at Ena. “I think it is…” 

“But how do we even get back to Empty SEKAI…? Or even our own world…?” 

The composer crosses her arms, thinking before something comes across her mind. “Ena, do you remember when we first arrived at Mafuyu's SEKAI?”

“Uh… Yeah? The one that we end up getting kicked out—” Ena's eyes widened in realization. “W-Wait…!! Don't tell me…”

Kanade nods, “Let's try to find the Miku for this SEKAI… Maybe she can help us get out of here…”

“M-Mhm…”

The two of them wander around the SEKAI mindlessly as they have no idea where they went. For some reason with the buildings around them, it feels a lot like a town… But Ena could see some cracks on the buildings, flowers withering around and some plushies leaning to each other. 

“Emu-chan told me that the nuis usually move around… But…” She frowns, “Why do the ones we see… All of them are unmoving…” As if they're just toys being put there by a child…

Kanade shrugs, “I wonder what happened here…” She doesn't have any good feelings walking around here either… In Mafuyu's SEKAI, it's much more colorless than here but it is comfortable… But this place? It gives them an eerie feeling. 

“Hm?” Ena blinks before pointing at a sprout, “Kanade…! Look!”

“Huh?” She turns and the two of them walk towards the sprout. “So, they also have the same looking sprouts…” She looks up and sees the vast sea with a huge ship. “U-Uwa… Tenma-san's SEKAI is also big…”

Ena squinted her eyes, “There's even an island over there…” She was amazed. But seeing how the island is a bit far away and how foggy it is… Ena looks at the ship, “I wonder if that island is almost like the door in SEKAI…”

“That island is called Star Island. Tsukasa-kun still needs to find a certain feeling one day to reach that island.” Both Kanade and Ena turn around and see MEIKO smiling at them. 

“M-MEIKO?!!”

MEIKO chuckles, “Who wouldn't have guessed that we have a special (unwelcoming) guest.” She smiles, “Welcome to Wonderland SEKAI, where our speciality here is to do shows and make you smile!” She bows like a performer would do to their guests. “What may I help you with, dear guests?” 

Kanade tilts her head, “You don't recognize us…?” If she's not wrong, they've met each other before… But that's from one of WonderShow’s phones… “During the picnic… We met each other once.”

MEIKO tilts her head before staring at the two for a while before gasping a little. “...Ena-chan…? Kanade-chan…?” Her eyes widened. “What are you two doing…?” 

“We don't know—”

MEIKO holds her head, “Don't tell me… It's cracking already…” 

“Huh? Cracking?” Ena frowns. 

“First Miku… Then KAITO… And now you two are here…” MEIKO frowns, “Come with me. Quick. We need to find Miku and send you back.” She runs. 

“W-Wait…!” Ena and Kanade look at each other before quickly following the virtual singer. “She's so fast…” Ena pants as she sees MEIKO is ahead of them. 

Kanade also pants, “B-But… She… She said something cracking… We need to know that as well…” 

Running at their fastest pace, the two of them eventually finally catch up to MEIKO, who's standing and looking around. Noticing the bench, Ena quickly sits down and catches her breath. “You… You ran too fast…” Even Kanade sits next to her. 

Kanade takes a few deep breaths and looks at MEIKO. “M-MEIKO… You said… something crack… What is it…?”

“…” MEIKO stays silent as she looks around, trying to look for Miku.

“MEI—”

“Ah…? Kanade-chan? Ena-chan?” Both humans turn around and see Luka walk towards them. She frowns, “What are you doing here… No… How do you even get here?”

“Luka…” Ena blinks. “Uh, we suddenly came here when Kanade touched a fragment from our SEKAI… So it brings us here.”

“…” Luka frowns even more and looks at MEIKO. “Miku is at the tent with Rin and Len. They're currently doing a show with the (remaining) plushies to cheer up.”

“Cheer up…?” Kanade tilts her head. 

MEIKO nods, “Then, I'll go get her.” 

Once MEIKO left, Kanade looked at Luka. “Luka…san? What do you mean to cheer up? Did something happen?”

“...I'm sure you girls have seen a bit of this SEKAI from Tsukasa-kun and the others, right?”

Ena nods, “Mhm. It's much more colorful than here…”

“The SEKAI will change if the host's feelings change. Whether it's good or bad… it will still change.” Luka explained slightly, “And right now, the SEKAI is having a bad change as you can see here…” She frowns. 

Kanade hums, “Is it because of what happened to Tenma-san before?” The whole car accident and with his mother…

“Mhm.” Luka nods, “There has been a drastic change of his feelings for a little while and it somehow affected the SEKAI now.” She starts walking. Ena and Kanade look at each other before deciding to follow her. “Just like you girls and Tsukasa-kun and the others, there are actually lots of SEKAIs in this world. As long as there are feelings, a SEKAI will be born.”

Kanade blinks, “There are more SEKAIs…?”

“T-Then you mean… People around us… Could possibly have a SEKAI as well…?!” What if Akito has a SEKAI…?

Luka turns to them and smiles softly, “Mhm. Like I said. As long as there are feelings in this world… A SEKAI will be born. A world where it is created by someone's true feelings… Either they will discover it or abandon it.”

“Has a SEKAI been abandoned before?” Ena asked softly and only gasped when Luka nodded. “No way…”

“Some people give up on their dream, thus the SEKAI will be abandoned… They will never find their Untitled.” Luka hums softly. 

“Say, Luka-san… When you said there will be a lot of SEKAI…”

Luka stops walking and smiles at Kanade, “Different people, different feelings. Means different SEKAI as well. For example;

There is a SEKAI where it is created by childhood friends.

There is a SEKAI where it is created by idols.

There is a SEKAI where it is created by two pairs of partners.

There is also a SEKAI that is created by lots and lots of people's feelings.

And yours and this SEKAI are created by Mafuyu-chan and Tsukasa-kun.”

Ena hums, “So some SEKAIs are actually created by lots of people too? And not just one person?”

Luka nods, “Mhm. However, as for the changes in SEKAI… A SEKAI that is created by an individual is much more obvious than the group or lots of people… You can use Wonderland SEKAI as an example. Before the car accident, the SEKAI was much brighter, colorful and loud. But now, it's much duller and quieter. You can also hear soft piano playing now.” 

Now Luka mentioned it… both Kanade and Ena heard the song. “You're right…”

“And that song… it feels sad…” Kanade frowns. “There's so much sorrow in it…”

“That's actually one of the songs Tsukasa-kun once composed back when he was in middle school.” Luka continues to walk. “This SEKAI hides something that isn't supposed to be shown to the residents here. Don't get me wrong. Tsukasa-kun is really a bright and hopeful person. He always does his best to cheer up his little sister no matter what, even if it costs him a little pain but to him it is never the same with what his sister had to endure. Even for the smiles of people around him. There's a bit of complexity in him that makes it hard to understand what kind of person he is. To some people, he's just a loud person, who proudly exclaimed himself as the future star. To some people, he is seen to be someone who is weak and easy to bully. There are also people who think Tsukasa-kun is really a good brother that always think about his sister. This kind of situation often happens to people, and it also depends on someone's perspective of you.” 

Luka hums before continuing, “No one knows which one is the ‘real’ you. Sometimes all of your personality can be the ‘real’ you. But sometimes, it just isn't. In front of someone, you become someone else. But in front of another person, you completely become another whole person.”

Kanade frowns, ‘Just like Mafuyu…’

“However, some of this doesn't mean they're depressed or having any mental problems. It is just them taking their roles and responsibilities. As for Tsukasa-kun… It is his responsibility to become his sister's older brother. To his parents it is his responsibility to become their eldest son… To his friends, he is your friend. To his troupe, he is their chairman. He bears all of these roles not because he's depressed… It is his way to grasp all of his responsibility towards different people. It's like when you see someone who is so cheery and jumpy but when they interact with a certain person, they become a completely different person and it's normal to see.”

“Somehow, it sounds so complex but it's the reality of everyone huh?” Ena hums as she in fact understands what Luka is trying to say. “But… Why do you tell us this?”

“Just a clarification that no one in this world will always feel happy all the time. There will be a time when you feel sad. Feeling stressed. Anxiety… Maybe they even hide away their pain from people to not make people worry about them.” Luka hums. “And that's the same as Tsukasa-kun and the others in WonderShow. Their pain and everything they go through, only they know each other.” She turns to the two and smiles. “I'm sure it's the same case as your circle.”

Kanade nods in agreement, “...mhm.”

“And we're here.” Luka looks ahead of them. “I have a strong guess that this is the reason why this SEKAI's fragment appears in your SEKAI.”

The two looked ahead and froze. Ena shakes and backs away slightly, “W-What… What is that…?!” Her eyes widened when she saw the black door, that's now threatening to explode. 

“A door that leads to the deepest darkest part of a SEKAI.” Luka explained. 

“I-It looks like it's about to explode…?! How can you be so calm?!” 

Kanade frowns when Luka only stares at the door. “Luka-san?”

Luka hums softly, “It's a matter of time before it eventually explodes and corrupts the whole SEKAI.” She looks at the buildings around them, the plushies that sat there, unmoving… “There's something else stirring in him… And we can only hope it won't be as bad as before…”

“Does the others know about this?”

The taller woman stares at them before shaking her head, “Not yet…” She pauses, “We didn't allow them to get near this door. Not after what happened here… And…” Luka frowns. “What happened to Miku and KAITO… We also don't want anything else to happen to the kids…”

“Huh?” 

“Luka!!” The trio turns and sees MEIKO running towards her with Miku. 

“Ah! It's Ena-chan and Kanade-chan!” Miku smiles. “Hello~!”

“Mi—”

“Miku, I think it's time for them to go home.” Luka smiles. “We appreciate you coming by the SEKAI today. But please…” There's something off about her smile… “Never come back again.”

“E-Eh…?”

“Bye bye~ We'll see you two around~” 

“W-Wait…!!”

“Hm?” Emu turns around and stares at her bag, “Weird…”

“Emu-chan?” Saki tilts her head. “What's wrong?” 

“A-Ah, nothing. I thought I just heard my phone ring.” She smiles. “So, where were we?” 

As she continued her talk with Saki, Emu still couldn't let go of the feeling that something happened… Like… It's not even a wonderhoy thing. She'll probably discuss this later with Tsukasa and the others. 

Once the school ends, Emu hums softly before she notices Mafuyu up ahead. “Ah! Asahina senpai~!” She runs towards the lyricist.

Mafuyu pulls out her smile before realizing it's Emu as she immediately drops her mask. “Ootori-san. Do you need anything?”

Emu shakes her head, “Nuh uh. You're going somewhere, senpai?”

Mafuyu hums, “Going to buy some food for me and Kanade. What's wrong? Do you want to come?”

The younger one smiled, “Mhm! Let's go! Let's buy some taiyaki too!”

“Let's.” Mafuyu nods as she lets Emu drag her. She stares at the pinkette before noticing something. Mafuyu didn't say a word as she continued to observe the younger one. “Is there something bothering you, Ootori-san?” She finally asked Emu when she's paying for her food.

“Eh?” Emu immediately looks up. “What do you mean?” 

“You have a look that obviously shows you're thinking about something. What's wrong?” Mafuyu tilts her head, “Is it your SEKAI? Or Tenma-kun?”

“I really can't hide anything from you huh, senpai? Senpai is so amazing~” Emu chuckles before her smile turns into a frown. “I don't know to be honest… Lately, because of the drama… We worked so hard for it, even our director said that our acting skills improved a lot. But…” 

“But?”

“For some reason… I feel like something's missing… Like it's so much different than when we're just performing on stage… I wonder if this is what the ‘next step to the future’ is all about… This feeling… I can't help myself to tell them but…” Emu looks at Mafuyu, “Sometimes I kinda get overwhelmed with it…”

“Ah…” Mafuyu blinks. “You're overwhelmed? Why? Isn't this a good opportunity to grow?”

“I-It is! But…” Emu lowers her head when Mafuyu thanks and takes the food before looking back at her. “It's just… It feels much more… How do you say… Pressured…” The two of them start walking, “TV acting and theatre… It's a whole different level… And the way Kanzaki-san has so many expectations for us, it's kinda… A little bit stressful…”

Mafuyu nods in understanding, “Are you the only one thinking about this or…?” 

“Well, we already have a mental doctor to help us with venting our stress and not to get too overwhelmed with our roles and the new environment. Kanzaki-san is really kind and he always makes sure we have enough rest.” Emu smiles, trying to reassure the older one. “Just… You know, how when we're venting, not all of what's in our head will be spit out…”

Mafuyu nods, “Mhm, I get that a lot…” The two of them sit down at the park. “But, Ootori-san, I'm glad to hear that the director really took care of you four.”

“Mhm, I know.” Emu smiles. 

“Is there anything else you want to vent? I can listen to you.”

“Ah…” Emu blinks before humming. “I think that's all. I just feel a little overwhelmed with it. But I'm really excited for it too! It's airing this week!” She smiles. 

“Mhm, I heard. Mizuki can't stop talking about how excited she is.” Mafuyu nods. “We already planned to have a watch along with Miku and the others. So Mizuki will record it and we'll watch it together at SEKAI.” 

“I see!” Emu smiles, “I hope you'll enjoy it, Asahina senpai!”

“I hope so too…” Mafuyu smiles softly at her. 

Kanade gasped as she opened her eyes, she sat up and looked around. “I'm… home…?” She blinks before she glances at her PC. Seeing Ena online, she immediately grabs her headphones and wears them. “Enanan, are you there?”

“K…! Mhm, I'm right here.” Ena nods, “Just now… It's not a dream… Right?”

“…no.” Kanade frowns. “That door…”

“Their Luka said it's about to explode…” Ena frowns. “Do you think Mafuyu's SEKAI also has that? But then, I'm sure KAITO and the others hid it from us…” She mumbles to herself. 

Kanade only frowns as she remembers Luka's words. 

“We didn't allow them to get near this door. Not after what happened here… And… What happened to Miku and KAITO…”

“…” She glances at her phone, ‘What happened to them?’

More importantly… What happened to Tsukasa?

“———die.”

Chapter Text

Emu hums as she walks back to her house while eating the taiyaki. She was supposed to have a driver to drive her home but today, Emu told her driver that she wants to walk back home on her own, a part of a reason where she wants to clear her thoughts for a bit. Sitting alone on the swing at the park near her house as Mafuyu already heads back to Kanade's place, Emu takes another bite of her taiyaki and looks around before noticing a certain male, despite him wearing a mask and a cap.

“Eh? Jun-san!” Emu waves her hand, trying to get the male's attention.

Turning, Amamiya waves at her and walks towards her. He puts down his mask and smiles, “Ootori-chan. You're alone?” He sits next to her on the swing. 

“Mhm, just want to clear my mind for a bit before heading home.” Emu smiles, “What are you doing here? Is the filming for today already finished?”

“It just finished.” Amamiya nods. “What about you?”

“School just ended~” Emu smiles. 

“I see.” Amamiya nods, “How's your practice?”

“Mhm! We're doing great. Tsukasa-kun is also currently practicing the piano.”

Amamiya hums, “Is that so?” He nods. 

“Is there anything Jun-san wants to do or go to right now?” Emu tilts her head. 

“Well, I'm just walking around and maybe have a run around the neighborhood once I get home and rest.” Amamiya smiles, “Say, Ootori-chan… How's the scandal going with your friend? Did you guys find a way to help Tsukasa-chan get out of it?”

“Ah… well… We're…”

“If anything, don't tell anyone other than us about what we're doing. Some people, we cannot blindly trust them.” Asahi smiled, “All the people you need to trust are each other.”

“We're currently on it.” Emu nods, “But we're also kinda wanna focus on finishing filming this drama. Then we're planning to take a break for a bit.”

Amamiya nods, “That's good.” He hums, “I noticed how you all really grow a lot from the first day of the filming.”

Emu smiles, “Really—”

“But to me it's not enough.”

“...eh?” Emu blinks. “Not enough…?” She frowns before shaking her head, “I-It's fine, this is our first—”

“And that's why you need to push yourself even more.” Amamiya smiles. “Ootori-chan. Let's have a battle.”

“B-Battle?!”

Amamiya nods, “If the three of you improved so much and made that scene cause me no words with your performance, I won't take Tsukasa-chan from you.” He smiles.

Emu blinks, “Huh? Take? What do you mean?”

“Oh? Did Tsukasa-chan not tell you guys?” He chuckles, “I want him to join my agency.”

“T-Then—”

“But he has to leave your little group for good.” 

Emu's eyes widened, this thing…!! Tsukasa had told them before!! “I'm sorry but Tsukasa-kun already says no to you. So please respect Tsukasa-kun's choices.” She frowns, a much more serious and mature tone. 

“If I didn't? Would you use your power as an Ootori against me?” Amamiya hums.

Emu shakes her head, “I'm sorry but I'm not going to use my family's name or power to go against someone as talented as Jun-san. Me and my friends, all of us respect Jun-san as our senior in this industry.” She stands up, “But, if Jun-san still refuses to respect Tsukasa-kun's feelings… Then me, Rui-kun and Nene-chan will not let you easily take him…” She shakes her head, “No… We won't let you take him.”

Amamiya smiles, “Then, I'm not giving up on Tsukasa-chan.” 

“And we won't let you take Tsukasa-kun.” Emu is firm with her words. She's going to protect Tsukasa!

“And… May I know why you are dressing up like a bodyguard…?” Tsukasa stares at Emu as the pinkette walks with him to go to Nene and Rui's place. Emu is wearing a black suit and a black sunglasses, looking around.

“I'm protecting Tsukasa-kun from bad people!” She smiles.

“I don't think I have people trying to attack me for now…” Tsukasa sighs as he adjusts his mask and hoodie. “But why do you suddenly wear this cosplay…?”

Emu huffed, “This is not a cosplay!” 

“Then?”

“I told you. I'm protecting you right now.” She smiles proudly. “I'm not letting anyone take you so easily.”

“Ha?” 

‘I'm not letting Jun-san take Tsukasa-kun.’ She frowns to herself. She just doesn't understand why Amamiya refuses to listen to Tsukasa's decision not to join his agency. 

“Emu?” Tsukasa waves his hand in front of the younger girl's face. “Emu? Earth to Emu?” Especially how she's suddenly frowned… 

“Nee, Tsukasa-kun…” Emu looks at him, “No matter what, you won't leave us… Right?”

“Huh? Of course I won't.” He shakes his head. “What's wrong?” 

“Well…” Emu rubs her arm, “I think it's best if Rui-kun and Nene-chan also know about this.” She smiles weakly. “But I really genuinely want to protect Tsukasa-kun. Tsukasa-kun is my friend. My first friend understands my feelings of wanting to protect something that my grandpa treasure so much.” A much brighter smile on her face. “So, thank you for being my friend, Tsukasa-kun.”

Tsukasa blinks before chuckling, “Geez, you're making me worried, Emu.” He pats her head, “Don't worry, you'll always be my friend, Emu.”

Emu stares at him before she smiles widely and nods. “Mhm!” She jumps on him, “You'll always be the best, Tsukasa-kun!!”

“Don't just suddenly jump onto me like that!!”

“Ehehe~” 

Once they both arrived at Rui and Nene's place, the two could see Nene walking out of her house. She smiles as she sees the two, “Ah, Tsukasa, Emu—” She blinks when she finally notices Emu's clothing. “Should I question what you are wearing…?”

“I'm Tsukasa-kun's bodyguard right now!” Emu smiles, almost proudly. 

“Ha?” She looks at Tsukasa.

“Don't look at me like that…” 

“Oya? Is Emu-kun becoming someone's bodyguard right now?” Rui smiles, “Hello there, everyone.”

Emu nods, “Mhm! Mhm! I'm Tsukasa-kun’s most wonderhoy bodyguard right now! No one is going to take him away from us. Not on my watch.”

“Emu, I told you—”

“And not even him.”

“Huh?” The three stare at her.

“...and that's what happened…” Emu frowns slightly as the four of them are now at SEKAI. “He was so disrespectful of Tsukasa-kun's feelings.”

Nene frowns as well, “But didn't Tsukasa already deny the offer?”

Rui glances at Tsukasa, “Tsukasa-kun?”

“...” The male stares at the floor before snapping out of his thoughts when he realises the three are looking at him, “Y-Yes?”

“What’s wrong, Tsukasa-kun?” Emu frowns. “You told us you deny it right?”

Tsukasa nods but hesitates before sighing. “...the thing is…” He looks away, “He actually… kept on pestering me about the offer… and I told him… I'll think about it…”

“...huh?”

Tsukasa looks at the sky, “I actually don't mind it at all if he really wants to recruit me because this might be a chance for me to catch up with my dream… But the fact he looks down on you guys is something I can't accept…” He frowns. “So I told him that if he really wants me to be in his agency, he must stop looking down at you guys… And acknowledge your talents and skills as an actor as well.” 

“B-But… What he told me…” 

“Now hearing your story… I'm not sure as well.” Tsukasa frowns. “But, just like Kazuki-san said. Whatever Jun-san said to us… we shouldn't get them into our heads.”

“But… Tsukasa already denied his offer. What does he want with Tsukasa now?” Nene sighs. 

“A battle huh?” Rui crosses his arms. 

“Does this mean we have to fight him in a battle? With swords and stuff?” She tilts her head. 

“Not like that, Emu.” Tsukasa sighs. 

Rui chuckles, “I’m guessing that what he meant by a battle is that we have to compete with him. As Emu-kun just told us and Tsukasa-kun's story before.” His face turned serious, “Jun-san actually looked down on us and he thinks that we're not going anywhere. So we have to prove to him that we've grown so much from before.”

Nene nods, “Mhm, Kagura-san and the others did tell us that we improved so much since the first day.” She frowns, “We're not letting his words get in our way.”

“So we need to continue to practice.” Emu nods in determination. “So we can continue to be together with Tsukasa-kun!” 

“Agree.” 

Tsukasa looks at the trio and chuckles, “Geez you guys.” He yelps when Miku suddenly throws herself at him.

“Miku wants to help too!”

“Miku—” 

“Rin too! Rin too!!” Rin also jumps onto Tsukasa, causing the male to fall forward, hitting the ground with his face. 

Rui chuckles as Miku and Rin hug Tsukasa, almost crushing the male, “Could it be Rin-kun and Miku-kun heard us?”

Rin gets off Tsukasa and starts fidgeting, “Well, Rin accidentally heard you guys want to help Tsukasa-kun practice… I mean, it's been a while since we've ever done shows together… You know, ever since KAITO…” Went missing… Rin frowns. 

Tsukasa tilts his head, “Did something happen to him?”

“KAITO went missing.” Miku answered him as she gets off Tsukasa. 

Tsukasa stares at the vocaloid, “You're kidding?” The two shake their heads. “Huh?!”

“Well… MEIKO and Luka are trying to look for him now. Miku, Rin and Len are trying our best to make sure we don't cause any panic while he's gone.” Miku nods. 

“Wait Rui… We bumped into KAITO right…? Before?” 

Rui nods, “Yes, we did. But something is off about KAITO-san…” He glances at Miku. “...”

“Remember… If you ever come to SEKAI… Never ever bump into KAITO-kun.”

“Miku-kun.” Miku turns to Rui, “If it's okay for me to ask… what do you mean by staying away from KAITO-san if you guys are looking for him?”

“Ah…” 

“Huh?” Emu looks at Rui in confusion. “What do you mean, Rui-kun?”

“You told me… No.” Rui frowns, “You warned me about this…”

“…”

“Miku-chan?” Emu frowns. 

“A-Aha… Ahahaha~ Miku's just kidding~” Miku giggles. “Why would Miku even say that~? Mou, Rui-kun, don't say scary stuff—”

“Miku, you helped us get out of SEKAI that time…” This time, Tsukasa speaks up. “You must mean something about it… You guys just said that KAITO went missing… When we bumped into him like… I think yesterday? And you also told us to stay away from him… which one?”

“Miku-chan…” Rin looks at Miku, knowing exactly what Miku meant by that phrase… She looks at the group, “It's—Uwa!!” Rin immediately lost her balance when the place shook. 

“Earthquake?!” Tsukasa immediately stands up together with the others. 

Rui frowns when Emu and Nene hold onto him as they're about to lose their balance. “We need to get somewhere much safer.” He tries his best to not fall as the ground shocks even more.

Miku and Rin nod before looking at the group, “Follow us!! The tent is the safest place now!” 

Rui nods, “Mhm, let's go.” Letting the girls run ahead of him, Rui stops when he notices Tsukasa isn't running with them, yet the male is looking around. “Tsukasa-kun?”

“...there's someone calling for me…” 

“Tsuka—” Rui's eyes widened, “Tsukasa-kun!!!” He quickly grabs the male and pulls him backwards when the building collapses in front of them. “That was so close…” He sighs. “Come—”

“H—lp.”

“...!!!” Rui's eyes widened as he's now the one who looks around. ‘This voice…’ It's the voice that always comes to his dream… 

“S—K—I —n d—ng—”

Rui frowns, he'll investigate this voice properly later. Right now he needs to bring Tsukasa to safety. “Tsukasa-kun let's go!”

“Rui!!” Tsukasa pointed at the sky and the director's eyes immediately widened when they both saw a huge tear in the sky, glitching, and a strong wind coming from the tear.

“What the…?!” 

Due to the huge tear in the sky, the two of them freeze at the spot… Unknowingly something black is heading straight towards them from behind…

“Rui-kun!!! Tsukasa-kun!!!”

The two turned around… and everything went black. 

Airi let out the biggest gasp ever as she stood up from the couch, “Guys!!!” Everyone in the shared house looked at her, “I think I finally figured out who did this!”

“Huh?” Minori blinks, “Who?!”

“Who did it, Airi?” Haruka frowns.

“Shizuku, do you remember your old stalker? The one harassed you during one of your live back when you're in Cheerful*Days?”

Shizuku hums before nodding, “Mhm, I remembered him… What's wrong?”

Airi showed them the screen of her phone. “I stalked his SNS account and found one tweet about his heartbreak, saying the nonsense about his oshi betrayed his feelings. So it's really him.” She frowns.

Minori’s eyes widened, “Wait really?” 

Haruka tilts her head, “How do you even find his SNS account…?”

“I helped her deal with this guy before. Well on how I found it… it's a secret.” Airi chuckles. “But that's not important now. We finally found our main suspect and if he's really the one who spread the rumors, we'll fight to make sure he won't bother Shizuku again.” She huffed. 

“Agree!”

“Let's do this in a professional way, okay?” Haruka smiles. “There's no need to be a keyboard warrior if you want to defend someone, just like Kazuki-san told us before.”

“But… 

“Haruka's right…” Airi sighs and nods, “Alright then, let's do this in a professional way.” She nods again, “Shizuku? Are you okay?”

Taking a deep breath, Shizuku nods. “Mhm, I'm okay… Let's do this.”

“Let's.”

Chapter Text

“SEKAI is born from one's true feelings. And if that feeling disappears, SEKAI will reach its end. Unless…”

Rui looks around and blinks, “This place…” 

A familiar clear vast field that touched the ‘sky’ of the SEKAI. He had been here once… Right? A soundless place and there's no breeze yet the grass slowly sways as if there's wind. Not even trees, buildings or flowers. This familiar feeling… a deja vu… He looks around the area and that same faith voice calling out for him. But then…

How did he even get here…?

Rui's head starts to pound. He holds his head and the whispers start to get louder in his ears. He turns around and sees the mainland of SEKAI is far behind him… Rui glanced back at the horizon, he had to see what's beyond there… Other than the other side where it's only the sea and Star Island… He needs to know what's beyond that horizon. 

He takes a deep breath and starts walking towards the horizon. Rui could feel the grass getting sharper, his steps were much heavier… He needs to cover his nose and mouth with his arm as it's getting harder to breathe. ‘Just… a little more…’ The moment Rui blinks, the whole scenery changes and causes the male to blink in surprise. The scenery where the grass and ‘sky’ touched each other, now it seems like he's floating in the darkness. He can't see the sky, he can't see the ground. He looks around, yet again this place is suffocating. The voices already disappear and it's pure silent. It's…

Creepy.

But he had to keep on going… He needs to look for whoever that calls for help… Rui frowns to himself. ‘Please… If you see me… Call out for me…’ 

“Is anybody here?” He half-yelled. “I know you're here! You called out for me…!” Hearing no response and how his voice doesn't echo… “How strange…”

“Saki!!”

Rui froze. That voice… “Tsukasa-kun?” He turns around and sees a familiar light grey orb next to his feet. ‘Since when…’ He picks it up and he stares at the memory being played in the orb… “This looks familiar…” He frowns but continues to watch… However…

"Not to mention, she even wished me luck and good health!" Saki smiled, then she flashed him a sad one. "Onii-chan…"

"Yeah?" Tsukasa sat down.

"Do you think I'll ever recover…?" 

"Eh…”

The orb exploded, shocking Rui. Out of instinct, he covers his eyes with his other arm, making sure no shards hit his eyes, though his hand that holds the orb is bleeding a little. He soon looks around and sees more orbs around him, one by one starting to explode. Rui's eyes widened as he started running away when more and more orbs around him started to explode. Shards flying everywhere. 

Using his cardigan, Rui quickly takes it off and covers his head. ‘I need to find a way out…’ Yet the more he runs, he still couldn't find the exit and the orbs behind him are keeping up. He frowns, ‘I just need to make sure I won't get hurt that badly…’ Just as he thinks this, everything went silent once more. Confused, Rui stops running and turns around before freezing at the sight of shards all over the floor. He walks back towards the shard, picking up one. The small triangle shard glows pink for a moment before it dies down to black and fades away. Rui looks around and all the shards are the same. Glowing bright colors for a second or two and it turns grey and black before it fades. 

Yet it still doesn't really explain why he's here or why the orbs suddenly explode like this…

Rui sighs again and stands up, looking at his body that is full of cuts that are caused by the shards. “This is surely something huh?” 

“...Rui-kun?”

Rui turned around and his eyes widened. “KAITO-san!!” He runs up to the male. 

“Rui-kun, what are you doing here?” He frowns, “You shouldn't be here.”

“I don't even remember how I got here…” Rui frowns. 

“You need to leave.”

“But—”

“This place is starting to get unstable. Same goes for Tsukasa-kun's SEKAI.”

Rui blinks, “Huh…? What do you mean?” He frowns even more, “Everyone's been looking for you, KAITO-san. Come on, let's head—”

“I can't…” 

“What?”

“Not yet…” The male shakes his head. “It got me, Rui-kun… And I can't let it get you too.”

“What do you mean…?” Rui's head starts to pound again. 

“The longer you stay here, you might risk yourself to disappear from your world.” KAITO frowns. “So it's not safe for you to be in this unstable (world).”

Rui froze, “...what?” 

KAITO puts a hand over Rui's shoulder, “I'm sorry, Rui-kun but… You shouldn't be here.”

“You shouldn't be here.”

“You just don't belong here… and it's for your safety.”

“You don't belong here.”

‘...huh?’ Why there's two voices overlap with one another…? Or is it just him? But before he could do anything, he was, almost harshly, suddenly pushed back by the virtual singer. “...?!!” Not even noticing how he's standing on an edge, Rui falls down and watches KAITO smiling weakly at him… And starts… Glitching…? “KAITO-san!!”

He reaches out his arms but he only falls deeper, away from KAITO… As he hears a splash, Rui immediately holds his breath and looks around. ‘...water…?’ He looks up and sees the light before he quickly swims upward. Rui gasps and quickly gets out of the water, coughing. He wipes his face with his hands and looks around. “...this place… A lake?” He had… seen this place before…

A lake that has a door in the middle of it and a path that leads to the door. Weird looking structures that look broken and the place is really… Vast and grey…? He could hear an eerie noise from the lake but it was weirdly comfortable enough if you listen to it… “Is this… Someone's SEKAI…?” Rui stood up and turned around as he could hear footsteps walking towards him.

“Rin~? Are you here—” The figure froze when she saw the male. “...Rui?”

Rui's eyes widened, “Mizuki?” 

“Mizuki? Did you find Rin—Eh?!! K-Kamishiro-san?!” Ena's eyes widened as well when she saw the tall male. “How do you even get here?! And why are you so wet?!”

Rui blinks and looks around, “I… don't know…” He frowns. “I came from the lake…” He glances at the eerily calm lake.

“I'll go back to grab some clean towels for you.” Mizuki nods, “Ena, you should tell Mafuyu and Kanade about this.”

“Mhm.” She nods as Mizuki heads back to her room. Ena turns back to Rui as the male takes off his wet cardigan. “Kamishiro-san… what happened?”

Rui turns to her and hums, “We're only discussing some stuff about work and then suddenly a huge earthquake happens.”

“Earthquake?!” Ena frowns. “Even SEKAI had an earthquake…? I thought only Japan had it…” Of course she knew other countries also had earthquakes but she's talking about their daily life that they had such a normal reaction to it if it's only a small one and just continued on with their life… “Is it big or small…?”

“A big one… And it caused a rip in our SEKAI.” He frowns. “There's a huge tear in the sky and it was glitching… I don't know what happened next but I remembered KAITO-san, our KAITO-san, telling me that the place is now unstable…”

“...Did something happen to Tenma-san lately?”

“Well, work related, not really… But personal… I'm not sure. He didn't update anything other than his mother continues to monitor him.” Rui shakes his head as Mizuki returns with Mafuyu and Kanade. When Mizuki puts the towel over him, Rui smiles. “Thank you, Mizuki.”

“Anytime.” 

Ena hums, “So the tear might bring you here?”

Rui nods, “Possibly.” Seeing the confused look on the other three, he starts to explain the same thing to them.

“That's… worrying.” Kanade frowns. 

Mizuki hums, “So… It glitches and might have brought you here…” She frowns. “I wonder if you just follow us back and you'll go back home…” 

“I'm not sure but it doesn't hurt to try.* Rui pulls out his phone and frowns even more when the song is somewhat glitching. “KAITO-san, our KAITO-san, warned me… The longer I stayed at that unstable place… I might disappear in real life…”

Mafuyu blinks, “...disappear?”

Mizuki's eyes widened, “Wait! That's scary!!” 

Rui nods, “It is…”

“But you said Tenma-san is with you before you suddenly blacked out after you saw the tear…” Ena frowns. 

“...!!” Rui looks at her in realization. Right… Tsukasa hasn't been with him from the moment he was at that place… 

“Then where's Tsukasa senpai right now?!”

“I hope he—”

“That kid is here with us.” The group turns and sees Luka smiling at them while KAITO has an unsatisfied look on him as he carries Tsukasa on his back. Luka crosses her arms, “We never expected two visitors today.” She chuckles. 

Rui's eyes widened when he saw the unconscious Tsukasa. “Tsukasa-kun…!”

“Shut up, he's just sleeping.” KAITO rolls his eyes. “It seems like this situation is getting worse.”

Luka nods, “Well, those two girls already ‘accidentally' went to the kid's SEKAI.” She hums.

“What?”

“Uh…” Kanade and Ena look at each other before they both explain it to Rui. “I wonder… if the time we accidentally entered your SEKAI is the reason that caused the rip to happen…” Kanade frowns.

“It is not impossible.” Luka shakes her head. “Worst case possible is that both SEKAI will be in danger.”

“It’s already in danger.” KAITO sighs. “You kids, going to each other's SEKAIs through these… unwanted gateways, will be the gateway for the corruption to spread. If you don't find the main cause for this, sooner or later both SEKAIs will be gone for good. And since your SEKAIs have one thing in common, the SEKAI creators will have the risk of losing the ‘feelings’ that created the SEKAI.”

“H-Huh?!” 

Mizuki immediately looks at Mafuyu, “T-Then…! Mafuyu's feeling…?!”

“I don't know…” Mafuyu shakes her head before she puts it on hand over her chest. “But… The feeling that created the SEKAI…” She looks at KAITO and Luka before frowning. “Will it disappear…?”

“I think you don't realize the ‘true feeling’ of why this place exists.” Luka smiles softly. “And I'm sure… You know about it, right Miku?” The group turns and sees Miku walking out from her hiding spot.

“Miku…?” Kanade blinks, “How long have you been there?”

“Since KAITO told you that this SEKAI is at risk.” She nods. “But for Luka's point… Yes, I do know why this SEKAI existed other than Mafuyu's suicidal feelings.” 

“What is it?” 

“This place is called ‘Daremo inai SEKAI/Empty SEKAI’ because she doesn't know who she truly is. That empty feeling yet her desire to learn and find out about herself is the actual reason why Mafuyu's SEKAI is born. ‘I want to find the real me’ is the feeling that created this place.”

Ena frowns, “Then if this place really disappears and the risk KAITO said earlier…”

“Yes.” KAITO nods, “That feeling will disappear and her mind state will be much worse than her usual ones.”

“…” Mafuyu frowns even more. Isn't that mean… Her wish to disappear… It might happen? But her time with Niigo… She treasures it a lot… She loves her friends… Niigo gave her the warmth she craved for years… “...I don't want that…” She doesn't want to leave her friends… Not yet… She already came this far…

“Asahina-san…” Rui frowns. He glances at Tsukasa. If Mafuyu's feeling is her desire to look for her true self… Then, what about Tsukasa? He recalls it before that the virtual singers told them about Tsukasa's wish to make his sister smile… Is that all…? That's really… A big feeling when he remembers how crowded their SEKAI is… Come to think about it… “Say, Miku-kun.” Miku looks at him, “When does this place exist?”

“Ever since Mafuyu is in junior high.” Miku nods.

“Eh?? That long?!” Ena and Mizuki look at Mafuyu.

“I discovered her when I'm in my first year of high school and I was already in Niigo with Kanade.” 

“But how long does Tsukasa senpai’s SEKAI exist?” Mizuki tilts her head. 

“I'm not sure, we never really asked our Miku-kun or KAITO-san about this…” But wait… “If I'm not wrong… They mentioned before that they've been looking after Tsukasa-kun for years…” He asked the virtual singers questions before… Maybe when he gets back, he'll ask Miku… But then… “How do I even get back…?”

Kanade hums, “Last time, we had your Miku sending us back… So…” She looks at Miku.

“Mhm, I can. But, you can't return here…” Miku frowns, “I'm worried that there might be a collision between two SEKAI if this continues… and I think it's slowly happening now.” She glances at the lake. “That lake has been showing us visions of your SEKAI… We're not sure if this is a good thing or not but it clearly hurts both SEKAIs.” She looks at Rui, “As much as I really want more people to help Mafuyu… But your presence here will hurt this place… And I want to protect Mafuyu's feelings as well.” 

Rui frowns before nodding, “I understand.” He takes Tsukasa from KAITO. “Then, please send us back… Emu-kun and Nene might be worried about us by now.” 

Kanade looks up at Rui, “Kamishiro-san… If anything, please update us. We'll help you as much as we can since we all want to save our SEKAIs and their feelings.”

“Mhm, I will. Thank you, Yoisaki-san.” Rui smiles. “Mizuki, Shinonome-san, Asahina-san… We're sorry for bothering you. We'll leave now.”

Miku puts her hand on Rui's arm as she sends him and Tsukasa back to their world. “…”

“Nee, KAITO…” The male only hums, “Why Tsukasa senpai doesn't even wake up…?” 

“Because his consciousness isn't here.” He crosses his arms. 

“...eh?” 

“Only his body came here but not his consciousness.” KAITO crosses his arms. “Whatever that sends them here… Is getting closer to that kid's SEKAI core.”

Ena frowns, “Why didn't you tell Kamishiro-san about this?!!”

“Because no one asks.” He shrugs. “It's not my problem. I'm only here because I was born from Mafuyu's feeling. Not that kid.”

“What will happen if it gets him?” Kanade looks at KAITO. 

Luka hums, “Well, like KAITO said earlier. The SEKAI will disappear.”

“But it won't easily just destroy the core.” Miku shakes her head, “If the corruption is already ‘eating’ the core, as long as Tenma-san still didn't give up on himself, it will be a little less worrying. Because he still has the chance to fix it. However, if things continue to go downhill for him… Both SEKAI are at risk.”

“But I don't understand… Why here too…?” Ena frowns.

“Did you not listen to what I said?” KAITO immediately scolded her. “You kids going to each other's SEKAIs have caused a rip to happen and it becomes the ‘gateway’ for the corruption from that kid's SEKAI to leak here. Those kids from that colorful and loud SEKAI need to look for the ‘source’ of the corruption in order to save both SEKAIs. A collision of two SEKAI will happen and this is not a good sign. If we're too late—”

The whole place starts to shake. 

“Uwa?!”

“E-Earthquake?!” Ena panicked before she froze. “Wait…”

“We're only discussing some stuff about work and then suddenly a huge earthquake happens.”

She pales up, “Kamishiro-san said something about their SEKAI having an earthquake…”

“This is not an earthquake.” KAITO clicked his tongue before he looked upward and the others also looked up. A similar tear as the one from Wonderland SEKAI. 

“What the heck is that?!!” 

KAITO turns around and quickly dashes towards Mafuyu. “Oi!! Behind you!!” 

Mafuyu turns around and sees a shadow head straight towards her. “…!!”

It grabs her leg and wraps around her body before immediately pulling her backwards. “E-Everyone…!!” She reached out for them. 

“MAFUYU!!” The three run towards her. 

KAITO grits his teeth, quickly running towards Mafuyu. He reaches his arm out to grab her hand and once he holds her hand, he immediately grips it. “Don't let go!” He grits his teeth when it continues to pull Mafuyu.

“K-KAITO…!” Mafuyu's hand is slipping as she desperately holds onto his hand… Before she accidentally let go of KAITO’s hand. 

“Damnit!!” KAITO immediately cursed, trying to reach for her again. 

“Mizuki!! Ena!!” Tears coming out from her eyes, genuine fear in her eyes. “...Kanade!!!” 

“Mafuyu!!!”

The last thing they all saw from Mafuyu was her scared look before the shadow consumed her completely and disappeared. 

Ena pales up, “E-Eh?” No way… They… They just…

Mizuki shakes, “Y-You… You gotta be kidding me…”

Kanade falls to her knees. “M-Mafuyu…?”

Luka frowns. “This is bad… It's already here…” She looks at the tear before glancing at Miku, who froze in place. “Miku.”

“…Mafuyu…?” Miku shakes. 

And even when Rin and Len run towards them to tell the group about the tear… No one moved or said anything as they're all in shock or just unable to give the two the answers as they didn't know what happened to Mafuyu… Or where is she right now…

MEIKO frowns as she's been watching the whole time. “…How did things escalate to this…?” She looks at the tear in the sky. “I hope you're okay, Mafuyu…”