Syo knew misfortune was running after him.
Not so long ago while watching a flash report about a sudden snowstorm engulfing a local mall, the short blond answered a call from an obviously distressed Masato. The pianist was seeking for help although it was hard to make out what he was saying due to the loud 'kyaas!' in the background. All Syo knew was that Masato was stuck in a café with Ren and Reiji, and a crowd of female apparently.
...
It didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening. Syo needed to get Masato and those two idiots away before things got even more out of hand.
He grabbed his fedora and headed towards the door when he stopped. He looked around for any sign of either his roommate or his senpai – well, current senpai. The violinist contemplated on bringing the duo along in order to keep a better eye on them, but then again, it was possible that his companions might brew trouble along the way. The only person freaking out was Ranmaru who was trapped in the body of an A.I idol. Among Starish and Quartet Night, they were the only ones left in the dorm which was a good thing considering the situation they were in – a situation caused by the idiocy and careless whispers of a certain magical male who Syo disliked to an extent and the blond believed that none of this would have ever happened if it weren't for Cecil. Okay, in a way, the rest of Starish were at fault too with their complaints about their respective senpai and in the process, dragging Haruka into this mess but hey, who's the guy with mystical powers here?
The blond sighed. He remembered last month's mayhem where Starish had the switch and their senpais almost killed them with baseball bats. It was certainly one hell of an experience and Syo hoped to never travel down that road again yet here he was, stuck in this shit because the universe loved to conspire against him and because Cecil was a careless magical being.
God he hated his life right now.
The teen grumbled before he finally calmed down and went back to his rational state of mind. He didn't really hate Cecil. Aside from openly proclaiming his love for the woman Syo has feelings for, switching the souls of Starish last month, switching the souls of Quartet Night AND Haruka this month, and drinking Syo's favourite beverage a few days ago (unintentional he says), Cecil was an okay guy and if it weren't for the things enumerated plus other minor complains, Syo might actually be good friends with Cecil. It was nice to have someone younger than him to hang-out with and to occasionally torment. It really was.
The blond arrived at his room. He opened the door and saw his ever bubbly roommate tangled in wires and his senpai frozen on the couch.
With much regret, the short male asked, "What is going on here?"
"Ah, Syo-chan! Great timing!" Natsuki exclaimed as he stuggled with the wires. "I was explaining to Maru-senpai about Ai-chan's charging routine when this happened."
"How on earth did you even get yourself into that?!" Syo asked and got a dopey grin from the other as response.
"He slipped on a rubber duck and crashed into the system where those wires are." Ranmaru deadpanned.
"Unbelievable..." Syo muttered. He noticed that Ranmaru still hadn't moved an inch. "Uh, are you alright, senpai?"
Ranmaru grimaced. "Hard to tell. Does Ai randomly stop whatever he's doing and sit on the couch for 10 minutes or so?"
'They've been this way for 10 minutes already?!' The manly munchkin thought in utter surprise. 'Again, unbelievable...'
Syo made his way towards Natsuki and helped him out of the evil wires. After a minute or so, the tall ball of sunshine was free ("You're the greatest, Syo-chan!!!") and Syo moved on to the next task which was to release Ranmaru from whatever A.I mishap the rocker was in. The fedora-wearing blond inspected the machine Natsuki tumbled into and sure enough, there was a device with a capitalized STAND-BY and a time limit for it. Syo switched it off and the Ranmaru became animated again.
"Thanks, kid." The rocker said as he stretched out of habit.
"I'm heading out. Masato called and, uh, he sounded like he really needed help, so..."
Syo's words trailed off as he witnessed steam coming out from a red-faced Ai/Ranmaru. It was amusing to see Ai in such a comical state, considering the android's usual demeanour.
"What did those morons do?" Ranmaru grumbled, obviously referring to Ren and Reiji.
Syo shrugged. "Beats me. I'm hightailing it once I get to Masato."
"You want us to accompany you, Syo-chan?" Natsuki asked.
"I was wondering about that. Are you coming, Ranmaru-senpai?"
"Yeah." The rocker got up and dusted imaginary dirt off his sides. "Let's stop by an eatery first. I haven't eaten anything since this morning because, you know, I blacked out upon discovering that my bandmate is an A.I."
Sarcasm aside, Ranmaru had a point. Also, Syo was surprised that the meat-loving senpai didn't have his fill yet.
"Wait, you can feel hunger?" Syo asked, remembering that Ai was a machine.
"No. But aren't you supposed to not miss breakfast?" Ranmaru replied.
The shorter blond scratched his head, unsure of what to say. "It's just that...Ai's not human."
"Your point is?"
"What Syo-chan means to say is that Ai-chan doesn't really eat nor does he need to eat." Natsuki chimed in, effectively saving Syo from explaining, but definitely unable to save Ranmaru's mood from worsening.
"So what the hell does Ai eat?! Bolts and screws for cereal coupled with a warm glass of machine oil??"
"Wha – no!" Syo exclaimed. 'That's just exaggerating things!'
Natsuki saves the day once more. "Ai-chan eats, but only a little. And it's selective."
The frown on the rocker's face turned into a smirk.
"Kid doesn't have the appetite, huh? Let's see about that!"
It was common knowledge that among Quartet Night, Ranmaru has the biggest appetite especially when it came to meat, Reiji followed after him, and Camus only craved sweets. Ranmaru believed that even an android like Ai could stomach foodstuff when he was in control of the younger's body.
"What does Ai usually eat?" Ranmaru asked.
"I've seen him eating marine jelly on some occasions." Syo replied, unsure where this conversation was going.
"Heh, then you better keep those eyes open because you'll be seeing him eat the tastiest meat dishes I bet you've never even heard of!"
Ranmaru grabbed a leather jacket and smirked oh-so handsomely (okay fangirls, do your thing) before he headed towards the door, leaving two bemused kouhais.
"I've never seen Maru-senpai so pumped up!" Natsuki began.
Syo nodded in agreement. "You can say that again. Let's just hope that food lightens up his mood. Or you know, fill the void of not being human gives off."
~
"Nothing fills the void."
Two restaurants, a cafeteria, and a café later, the idols found themselves at a barbeque hut. Syo and Natsuki weren't ordering anything (Syo was stuffed back at the first restaurant they went to while Natsuki concluded his meal with a small cake back at the café) so it was obvious who dragged them here. Ranmaru had just finished 7 sticks of barbeque and had ordered two more batches. The silver-haired tsundere had been ordering dishes of big proportions ever since they got into the first restaurant and he continued the act until now. Syo wasn't entirely sure how an A.I digested food or how big its capacity for eating was, but it was obvious that Ranmaru wasn't slowing down any time soon with gobbling down meat. Also, his statement earlier might indicate that nothing satisfied the hunger that was never there in the first place.
(That ain't stopping Ranmaru though.)
Syo nudged his bandmate to say something to stop this madness.
"Ne, Ran-chan-senpai...you sure ate a lot." Natsuki began.
"Aren't you getting full?" Syo added.
Male in question swallowed the food before speaking. "No. I'm not hungry nor am I full. It's like there's no end to this."
Conversation was placed on hold when Tsunmaru resumed to devouring the next batch of barbeque. Syo let out a small sigh before drinking the remains of what seemed like his third glass of water. Perhaps he should've just went alone – this food-a-thon was getting in the way of Operation: Free the Blue Bird (fancier name for the Masato rescue mission) – and maybe during this time, he would already be back in the dormitory with the pianist and they'd be watching Ren and Reiji getting their ass whooped by Ranmaru. The fedora-wearing blond had to recheck his phone for any update from Masato but the last message he received was 30 minutes ago, and it was Masato stating that he was hiding in a toilet cubicle and that he considered flushing his self down the toilet because he just couldn't take it anymore. Frankly, Syo wouldn't be surprised if the calm blue-haired male broke out of character, went Satsuki-style crazy, and caused a report about two idol casualties.
Eyeing his tallest companion, Natsuki didn't seemed too bothered by Ranmaru's quest to 'fill the void.' In fact, the green-eyed idol was thrilled by the animated expressions Ranmaru showed as Ai, considering the android's usual stoic face, and just how many photos of Ranmaru-Ai was Natuski taking??
"Will you cut that out? He'll unleash his fury if he catches you!" Syo whispered over to Natsuki.
"But Syo-chan...Maru-senpai as Ai-chan is super cute! Have you seen how squishy his cheeks are when he chews?" Natsuki exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Shush! Keep your voice down!"
The blond sneaked a glance at their senpai. Luckily, Ranmaru was too busy stuffing his face and damn was Natsuki right about those squishy cheeks.
"Just how much meat can this guy stomach?!" Syo muttered. "Can an android even eat this much??"
"Should we call Ai-chan? " Natsuki asked to which the other disagreed.
"Nah. He'll probably reprimand us for not taking care of his body while he's in Tokyo as Reiji-senpai." Syo replied. "Besides, we shouldn't bother them much. They could be in the middle of work right now."
"You're right, Syo-chan! Otoya and Tokiya are there with Ai-chan so we have nothing to worry about!"
Meanwhile in Tokyo, a certain red-head found himself sitting face-to-face with his senior who, by the way, was barely seen due to the growing stack of plates on the table. It was brilliant of Tokiya to take Ai to a buffet but the level-headed male had to go arrange their work schedule thus leaving Otoya to deal with his eating machine for a senpai.
'Tokiya... why'd you have to leave me??' Otoya thought helplessly as he watched his senior finish the remains of the sweet and sour fish. The guitarist was well aware that Ai was the youngest out of everyone hence making him a growing boy so it was acceptable for him to eat a lot, but Rei-chan was... well, aging so the brunet should take care of his diet and health at least. It was difficult to do since Reiji loved to eat and it didn't help that his family owned the famous Kotobuki bento. This situation was a recipe for disaster and Otoya could already taste it.
Ai had just cleaned his 18th plate but he looked sort of crest fallen.
"What's wrong, Mikaze-senpai?" Otoya asked out of concern.
"Nothing fills the void..." Ai muttered.
"Yeah, I'm sure they're fine." Syo said, trying his best to convince himself.
The shorter blond leaned towards his friend. "Say Natsuki, you think you can check up on Masato?"
"Sure thing! Where is Masa-chan at?"
Syo told Natsuki the directions and even had the taller male repeat what he said.
"Just get him out of there and come back here. I think Ranmaru-senpai will be the one to deal with the other two."
"Roger that, Syo-chan!"
With that, the bubbly blond bounced out of the barbecue hut to retrieve the blue bird. Syo leaned back and glanced at his senior.
'Ranmaru-senpai sure is passionate about eating meat.' The violinist thought. The happy look on his senpai's face was almost enough to nudge Syo to take a pic.
"You know, I've been wondering," Ranmaru said after finishing his meal. "how the hell do you guys withstand Ai's detailed schedule? It looked like a machine created it."
"Well,technically Ai is a machine." Syo responded and got a glare as a reply. "Okay don't look at me like that! I wasn't on board with it! I didn't like the schedule and I still don't, but Ai is my mentor so I respect him...even though he acts more like a slave-driver than a senpai." Syo muttered the last parts to himself. "What made you ask?"
Ranmaru played it cool. "Tch. No reason. Ai's students usually quit even before the day ends."
"A man doesn't quit so easily!" Syo exclaimed triumphantly. Masato once told him to read between the lines when it came to Ranmaru and boy this was the closest thing Syo would ever get as a compliment from the tsundere.
The silver-haired male shrugged and continued to eat his barbecue. Unbeknownst to Syo, Ranmaru had sworn to himself to try and treat Ai's slaves a little kinder after the unfortunate computer mishap last month. (Ranmaru still got nightmares from the experience. Reiji too.) Having to endure such rigorous punishment every time the blond duo screwed up should be rewarded, so Tsunmaru treated them kindly in his own tsundere way. Hey - better this than nothing.
"Where's your pal?" The rocker asked.
"Natsuki? I sent him out to retrieve the blue bird."
"What?"
"I sent him out to get Masato."
"Hn....why do you keep hanging out with him?"
"Huh?"
Ranmaru tch'ed. "Do I have to repeat myself? Why do you keep on hanging out with him?"
Syo shrugged. "I guess it's because we're friends?"
"Dressing up the other in frilly dresses sounds like a lot of fun, kid."
"Oi! I don't like it anymore than the next guy!" Syo said, much to his chagrin. "It's annoying, but Natsuki is a good person and I trust him.... most of the time. Just, uh, don't tell him I said that!"
Ranmaru stared at the munchkin before he resumed to eating the last stick of barbecue. Personally, he would rather drop off the face of the world than to have an over-the-top schedule AND a monster roommate. God, Ranmaru could still remember what a menace Natsuki was (read: the blond jamming to Piyo-chan commercials and occasionally wearing onesie to bed) but the rocker would rather have the earth swallow him whole than to let anyone discover this secret fear.
Playing it cool, the QN member said, "Whatever you say, kid."
Minutes passed and Natsuki hasn't returned. Syo was beginning to worry.
"Your friend isn't back yet." Ranmaru began.
"Clearly." Syo said in annoyance before he dialed Natsuki's number. A cheerful tune rang next to him.
Syo felt his blood pressure rise. "Seriously?! This big doof forgot his phone??"
Praying that Natsuki was with Masato, the violinist called the latter.
"Hello?"
"Hey blue bird."
"I...I beg your pardon?"
Realising his mistake, Syo turned red. "Masato! Sorry about that! Uh, I sent Natsuki to come and get you. Is he with you?"
Masato's reply made the other turn pale.
"No. Not at all."
The munchkin gulped. He thought of the worst case scenarios such as his tall companion lost, mugged, or both.
'Or worse....he turned into Satsuki!' Syo thought in panic.
"Uh, thanks. Hang in there!"
A faint "don't go" was heard from the other line before Syo hung-up. He wasn't going anywhere if he remained where he was, so the blond decided to go look for his bubbly companion AND rescue Masato in the process.
"I'll be right back, senpai." The violinist began. "Natsuki probably got lost."
Ranmaru raised an eyebrow. "Probably?"
Syo grunted. "I'll be back."
With that, the tough munchkin started his quest to find the missing Natsuki. He roamed around the city, asking passers-by if they've seen a freakishly tall and bubbly male. He couldn't describe who Natsuki was in detail, otherwise a horde of fans might go after them.
Thirty minutes late and Syo found himself in the park with no idea of Natsuki's whereabouts.
'Where could that moron be?' Syo thought. The idol paced around and contemplated on calling either Masato or Ranmaru when he stepped on something.
'Glass? Ah shit!'
On the ground was a pair of lenses and broken glass scattered. Immediately, Syo looked for any sign of destruction aka Satsuki. There wasn't any, so the alter ego might be in his better moods, although that wasn't something to be entirely joyful about if it didn't give Syo clues on where the other was.
The blond sighed. 'This calls for desperate measures.'
A few minutes later, some guy holding a megaphone and wearing protective gear was seen standing in the middle of the street. The guy cleared his throat and shouted unto the megaphone.
"NATSUKI SHINOMIYA IS THE WORST! I WILL BEAT HIM UP AND STEAL HIS WORKS! HE IS NOT WORTHY!"
Those around the area were silent. It was like the calm before the storm – and hell, from a building was Signal No. 5 and he was fast approaching.
Meanwhile, the unsuspecting man leaned towards Syo. "Uh, did I say it right? I know you paid me to do this, but I honestly disapprove of beating others up and of theft, ya know? Plus, I think that Natsuki's a pretty good fella. He's friendly-looking and a great idol. Plus...."
As the guys rambled, Syo got into strategic position and readied himself for an incoming attack.
"...my point is, why would I say that to someone who couldn't hurt a fly?"
The stranger's question was left unanswered as he was sent flying ten feet up the air by a force only Satsuki could muster. He looked around maniacally, as if daring anyone stupid enough to talk shit about his bubbly alterego.
'Here's my chance!' Syo thought and took advantage of the distracted man. However, the munchkin was a second too late as the taller blond took notice of him and jumped away.
"Too slow, shrimp!" Satsuki hollered as he continued to dodge Syo.
It was a cat-and-mouse chase until Syo miscalculated his landing thus giving Satsuki the upperhand.
"You annoy me, shrimp." The intimidating blond muttered darkly.
Scared to the core yet refusing to back down, the smaller violinist glared right back at the other.
"Oi."
The two blonds shifted their attention to the source of the irritated sound and lo and behold – making his entrance stand-off style, it was no other than their senpai clad in leather while spitting out the toothpick he had in his mouth.
"R-Ranmaru-senpai! Get away from here!"
(You should have known better than to tell that to Ranmaru, Syo).
"The hell is going on here?! You blokes had one job, yet messed-up shit happens!" The angry rocker barked as he leered at the two. "Well?"
Well, Ranmaru's question was answered by technological mayhem which analysed the scenario for him.
"High levels of aggression present. High levels of anxiety detected. Fight response active." Ranmaru said robotically before he reverted back to his tsundere self. "...the hell?"
"Hello there, senpai. Enjoying the A.I's body?" Sastuki mocked. "Never thought you'd panic over something trivial like being non-human."
It was funny because Ranmaru was TERRIFIED of the Piyo-loving ball of sunshine, but he was hell-bent ready to fight the fuck out the almost superhuman alterego.
"Look, kid... I don't know what the fuck is going on or what happened between you two, but no one gets away from me using that attitude." Ranmaru exclaimed. "Ya better shut that trap of yours or I'm shutting it with my fist!"
Satsuki could only smirk. "Then come hither."
It was at that moment that Ranmaru truly hoped Ai could shoot missiles out of his fingers or could fire laser beams out of his eyes. Ranmaru charged towards the condescending blond to attack, but was dodged. Satsuki swung his leg at the rocker, but Ranmaru was quick enough to block it. Satsuki jumped away and lifted a street light ("Holy shit!!!" – Ranmaru) off the ground and chucked it towards the other. The silver-haired idol leaped out of danger and once again had to block a punch from Satsuki. Ranmaru threw punches of his own, all of which Satsuki evaded.
Syo, who was dazed for a while upon witnessing his senior and partner fight, snapped out of it and went to a safer location.
'Damn it!' Syo thought, listening to the sound of blows being exchanged. 'What the hell should I do??'
"Had enough, kid?" Ranmaru sneered.
"Heh, I could do this all day." Satsuki retorted.
As the two continued to engage in combat (and Syo considering an early resignation from being an idol), a mixture of sounds (electric guitar, drums, and viola to be specific) blared from an area. The duo momentarily stopped their match while Syo went out of his hiding place.
'A rock concert?' The smaller blond thought. He briefly recalled passing-by a poster of an open concert while looking for Natsuki.
"Tch. How mediocre." Satsuki said with distaste.
"You saying you can play better?" Ranmaru asked haughtily.
"I know I can. Can you?" The other shot back.
The rocker smirked. "You're on."
From nearly killing each other, the duo went sprinting towards the venue of the concert and hijacked the place. The crowd were sent into a frenzy but soon jammed to the awesome beat of Ranmaru's guitar solo and Satsuki's viola solo. The crowd cheered during the duet of the two instruments and even threw some cash at the hijackers. Syo was astonished.
"Unbelievable." Syo said, dumbfounded. It took him a few seconds to realize his opportunity and called Masato.
"Hello?"
"Masato! You still at the café?"
"Yes."
"I'll be right there. Natsuki turned into Satsuki, but I don't think he'll cause any trouble for the next hour or so. Same with Ranmaru-senpai."
"...I think I get what you mean."
The chibi scanned his environment and saw a chic café overcrowded by a gaggle of females. At the corner, was a male who, despite the shaggy black hair and glasses and looking like a butler, was Masato.
'Operation Free the Blue Bird is a go!'
Syo dived into action and squeezed himself inside the crowded café until he reached his fellow idol in incognito.
"Masato!"
Aforementioned make turned his attention to the short teen with messy brown hair. "Kurusu?"
"The one and only! Now let's get outta here!"
Syo pulled Masato away from the packed café when the blue-haired pianist halted.
"Wait," he said. "What about Jinguji and Kotobuki-senpai?"
The duo spared a glance at the flirts and immediately regretted it. The girls were absolutely smitten by Ren's plucking-rose-out-of-air party trick while Reiji was winning their hearts with his 'ah-my-kokoro' wink and grin. The two seemed like they were having the time of their lives (although Syo and Masato were certain that their senior and group mate's happiness AND lives were going to be short-lived if Ranmaru were to witness everything).
"Nah, let's bail." Syo exclaimed.
Tired of everything they had to go through for almost all day everyday, the two idols exited the café – only to be greeted by a roar of applause and cheers from the audience of the open concert where Ranmaru and Satsuki stole the actual performers' thunder. The crowd even asked for an encore.
Masato looked at his companion. "And them?"
"Leave them." Syo said, exasperated. "If they burn this city to the ground, might as well leave while we still have the chance."
Masato conceded without hesitation. They had a rough day and they both deserved a break. They stayed at a quaint, little tea shop Masato found and while they were beginning to relax, Syo's phone rang.
It was Otoya. Syo answered the call.
"Hey what's up?" The blond asked. His attention momentarily shifted to the program on the TV and his jaw dropped, while Masato nearly spitted out his oolong tea.
Otoya had only two words to say. "Help us."
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Hey hey hey! Guess who's back!
Hello dear readers! Chapter 10 is finally up! The long wait is over!!
Wow, this had been the longest chapter I've written so far. And this had been the longest hiatus I've been on. Thank you for your patience ^_^
Anyway, how have you been? From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank everyone who continued to love this fanfic and to those who followed me. I wish I could thank each one of you for your support. Whether you had followed this account since the start or just recently, I hope you find some sort of joy out of reading my works :) I'm quite occupied with work and grad school, so I'll try to find time to update this fic (rest assure, this ain't getting discontinued).
The next chapter is going to be a blast! Until then, dear readers~