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It was a lonely evening at home for Gaku.
Since they had a few days off, Ryuu had taken a short trip to Okinawa to visit his family. Gaku put in a message to Tenn to ask if he was busy, but unsurprisingly, he passed on the social call.
It wasn’t that he was expecting Tenn to come out with him. He wasn’t even sure what they’d do, since he was still under legal drinking age. But he felt it was important to try, and let Tenn know that he would welcome him if the time ever did come.
It was at times like this that he would often spend hours chatting back and forth with Tsumugi, but he knew that they had to refrain. Most of the danger had passed, but that incident had only served to remind him that what he was doing was kind of dumb. Even on private channels, it would be risky. Their enemies had tech skills, after all.
He laid on his bed still dressed, tired but not quite sleepy yet. The phone by his head buzzed.
The message read from Takanashi-san. He’d even changed her contact information to her family name and her company logo, rather than the cute picture of her smiling that he had before.
Before he could answer, it buzzed several more times.
Takanashi-san: Yaotome-san?
Takanashi-san: No, I want to call you Gaku-san.
Takanashi-san: No, actually, I just want to call you Gaku.
Takanashi-san: Is it ok?
Takanashi-san: No, no, forget I said so. I’m sorry to bother you!
The messages began to disappear, like she was hoping to delete them before he could see.
He felt both fondness and a tight pain in his chest.
Yaotome Gaku: It’s fine, Tsugumi. I want to call you Tsugumi, too.
Takanashi-san: Gaku-san! I’m sorry for bothering you so late.
Yaotome Gaku: It‘s only 8. Is something the matter?
Takanashi-san: I don’t know if I should say.
Yaotome Gaku: We’ve already broken our code, so you may as well go ahead.
There was a pause there. He couldn’t stand worrying. He didn’t have enough patience to wait for her response.
Yaotome Gaku: Just let me know if you are okay.
More silence. Then,
Takanashi-san: I miss you.
Takanashi-san: Gaku
A few months ago this would have sent his heart flying through the clouds, but given recent close calls, he only felt a pit in his stomach.
How should he respond? He knew very well that his heart would get them into trouble, but if she was hurting, he couldn’t allow that either.
Yaotome Gaku: Are you alone? If you are, I’ll call you. It’s all right if no one hears.
Takanashi-san: I am here alone, but I can’t call.
Takanashi-san: To tell the truth, I’m crying a little right now, and I’d be embarrassed for you to hear my voice.
Yaotome-Gaku: Crying? Why? Did something happen?
Takanashi-san: I know I shouldn’t bother you with this, especially now.
Takanashi-san: But if anyone else were to see me, it would bring down their morale even more.
Takanashi-san: I’m sorry to bother you. After we agreed it was better to stay apart.
His fingers were flying faster than his brain could catch up.
Yaotome Gaku: to hell with our agreement, if you’re unhappy, I’ll be right there!
Takanashi-san: No, I couldn’t possibly ask you to.
Takanashi-san: And if someone saw you?
Takanashi-san: I’ll be fine, I promise!
Yaotome Gaku: Don’t try to talk me out of it, I’m already leaving. I’ll stop in my car so no one will see. You can just get in, and we’ll drive wherever you want.
He grabbed his coat, his wallet, and his car keys, and ran to the elevator from his door.
Takanashi-san: I didn’t mean to trouble you.
Yaotome Gaku: You’re no trouble to me. Not ever.
Takanashi-san: I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.
Yaotome Gaku: I’m getting in the car, so I won’t be able to message you until I get there. Just wait for me.
The drive to Tsumugi’s office was short, but tense. He kept hearing his phone buzz, but couldn’t check it. To make matters worse, by the time he got there, it had started raining.
Takanashi-san: I feel ashamed now, won’t you turn back?
Takanashi-san: If you won’t, then I’ll wait for you.
He typed furiously while at a red light.
Yaotome Gaku: It’s raining! Wait inside! I’ll disguise myself as the soba man or something!
But when he pulled up, Tsumugi was standing on the corner near her offices in the pouring rain, without even an umbrella.
He jumped out of the car so fast that he left his door open and someone honked at him, but he didn’t care. “Tsumugi, what are you doing?” He took his coat off and threw it over her head, though it was futile, she was already drenched.
He opened the door for her.
“I’ll get your leather seats wet,” she whimpered. Was she still crying? It was impossible to tell in the rain.
“As if I care about that!” He tried not to yell at her, but the rain was loud and he was getting frustrated, not at her, but at whatever made her feel this way. “Please get in, I’ll beg if I have to.”
“Yaotome-san...”
The sound of his formal name hit him in the gut.
She got in, and he closed her door. By the time he was back in the driver’s seat, he was pretty wet, himself.
“Why did you wait in the rain, Tsugumi? I would have come to the door for you.”
“I didn’t want to cause you any more trouble by having you seen,” she said. “And you wouldn’t turn back, so…”
“I’m sorry for putting you in that spot. I could have handled this better, but I just get really worried when you’re sad, okay?”
“It’s my fault for worrying you, I shouldn’t have contacted you at all.”
Worry, worry. Too much of them worrying over each other.
“What’s done is done, and you’re here now.” He turned the car heater on. The night was getting chilly with the rain, and she was soaked to the bone. He found a clean towel in the back where he kept his gym bag and handed it to her.
She smiled weakly. “Thank you.”
“Where to, my lady?” He put on his biggest smile. The important thing was to cheer her up, whether she wanted to share what was wrong or not. Although, if he found out that someone made her cry, whoever it was would end up begging for their life.
“I…”
She was still too shaken to communicate. “Have you had dinner?”
“Yes, I ate a nice bento while I was at work.”
“Then maybe you’re in need of dessert?”
Tsugumi clenched the tail of her skirt that was wrinkled on the rain. “Gaku-san? I mean, Yaotome-san!”
“You said earlier that you wanted to call me Gaku, so, since it’s just the two of us, please do that.”
“Okay, Gaku…” She still fidgeted uncomfortably. Maybe it had been easier to type it. “Since I’m already in your car, and in this situation…”
“I’ll take you anywhere, just name it.”
“This is selfish, but—”. She took a deep breath. “Is there any place we could go to where no one would see or hear us? Where we could talk like we used to? That’s all I want to do.”
Gaku sighed. “Well, I do know a place that specializes in discretion, but, we definitely can’t tell anyone we’re there.”
“That’s fine. No one will be missing me until the morning.”
Gaku tried to laugh it off. “That’s good, because it’s a hotel.”
—-
It took a lot of reassuring to get Tsugumi to even step out of the car at the hotel, but he promised that the suite he was reserving had a common area, the bed was in another section. And he wouldn’t stay any longer than she wanted him to. So there was absolutely nothing indecent going on, it was just that hotels tended to be very private for obvious reasons and even though those weren’t the reasons they needed privacy, hotels did offer privacy. For those reasons.
He checked in before ushering her from the car, so that she’d have to spend as little time in the lobby as possible.
“This hotel is owned by Ryuu’s stepfather, so the staff absolutely won’t spread any rumors about us, unless they want to be fired.”
“Gaku-sa— Gaku? This place seems awfully expensive.”
“Don’t let that enter your head at all, okay? I get a family and friends discount, after all.”
They reached their room, and Tsumugi was already shivering.
Gaku shook his head. “You know, this will sound even worse, but maybe you should take a shower.”
She was prone to blushing, but this time she got so red and so fast that he worried she might be getting sick. “G-Gaku, I can’t!”
“You’re soaked with rain water and you’re shivering! Please go. I’ll even go down to the lounge until you’re finished if that makes you more comfortable.”
“No, you don’t need to do that.” She shook her head and rain drops flew off even despite her toweling off. “I know that you’re a trustworthy person and that you wouldn’t just be using this all
as a ruse or anything. I’m just embarrassed.”
Gaku laughed. “You know that if I did anything indecent to you, all of Idolish7 would be beating down my door to kick my ass, and Tenn and Ryuu too, probably. Maybe Re:vale will join in.”
That got her to laugh too, and he felt better.
“Okay, I’ll just take a shower to warm up.”
She left for the bathroom. Soon as he heard the water running, he sat down and took his shoes off. They were wet from helping Tsumugi into the car. He didn’t bring a change of clothes, though.
That gave him an idea, and he called the desk from the room’s phone.
“Mister Yaotome, what can I do for you?”
“You could start by not saying my name so loud,” he grumbled. “Do you sell pajamas and things?”
“Why yes, the department store across the street is open until ten, and we can have a courier deliver whatever you need.”
“Good! Can I get a set of ladies pajamas sent up here?”
“Do you have a preference of style or color for this lingerie sir?”
“Not lingerie! What do you think I’m doing up here?” He really shouldn’t have asked, and thankfully didn’t get an answer. “I would like a set of warm, fuzzy, modest pajamas, in a women’s small size. And slippers too if they have those. Preferably rabbit ones!”
“I uh,” he sounded so perplexed. Was it really a weird request? “I’ll get that for you, sir. Anything else?”
“Oh, shoot…. she’ll probably need a toothbrush and a hair brush and maybe some things girls use that I don’t know about. You know what, could you just pretend your shopping for your sister’s day trip or something? Get everything she needs, but nothing too sexy!” He racked his brain for anything else. “And have room service bring up a sweet cake!”
The desk clerk laughed. “Okay, we’ll do everything we can, sir.”
“Thank you thank you thank you!” With that, flustered, he hung up.
“Who was that, Gaku?”
He really wasn’t used to hearing himself just called “Gaku” and it flustered him. “Just the front desk, Tsumugi. Don’t worry about—”
He turned and found Tsumugi had gotten out of the shower and was wearing just the plush hotel bath robe. He could not remember the next word in that sentence. “Ts—Tsumugi what are you doing out in just that?”
She looked back at him, wide eyed. “Ah! I didn’t think it would be so bad, since it’s such a long robe. It covers more than my kimono does actually, so I don’t mind.”
It was more the fact he knew she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. And not only that, but she was really cute with that oversized fluffy robe swallowing her up. He averted his eyes and hoped that he didn’t sprout a nose bleed.
“I hung my clothes up to dry over the curtain rod, although I don’t know how fast that sort of fabric would dry out.”
Gaku sat on the couch and turned on the television to give himself an excuse to look at something else other than her. “You’ve never stayed at a hotel this fancy huh?” He had to admit that he liked the idea of treating Tsugumi to her first luxury hotel. “Just put it in that bag that’s hanging in the closet and they’ll dry clean it for you.”
“Oh, I see.” She took her clothes from the bathroom and put them in the bag. After that, she began to explore the hotel room. It was cute to watch, if he could stand to watch her for very long in only a robe. All of Idolish7, Re:vale, and ⅔ of Trigger will kick my ass!
“A little refrigerator with only small alcohol bottles in it?”
“Yeah, if you were only a year older, I’d let you drink all you wanted.”
She shut the mini bar’s door and smiled. “I want to go drinking with you first before anyone else, next year!” Then her face fell and she played with the tie of her robe. “I mean… if we’re able to be seen together.”
“Ah! Well, I’ll invite Kaoru too, so you won’t be the only woman there. Then it won’t look inappropriate at all! And Tenn and Nanase-kun will both be the same age as you, so we can all go together.”
“That sounds like so much fun. I can’t wait.”
Tsumugi had taken a bottle of water instead, and sat on the couch next to him—a good few feet away, thankfully.
“So, Tsumugi,” he tried to approach it gently. “Is it okay if you tell me what made you cry earlier?”
Tsumugi blushed again and covered her face with her hands. “It’s so embarrassing!”
“Did someone insult you? I’ll teach them a lesson!”
“No, no, nothing like that. Just…” She turned towards him, but looked down, unable to look him in the eyes. “Things have been even more stressful than usual lately with all of the recent turmoil. When I used to talk to you every night, and you’d tell me to keep doing my best—when you told me such kind things, and that you admired me, I could always face the next day with a smile. But lately, since we’re unable to talk to each other, it doesn’t feel the same.”
“What about your members? Don’t they cheer you on?”
“Of course they do, but I’m the one who’s supposed to be supporting them. So I don’t talk about work too much with them, unless it’s pertinent. They’re always worried about me. They’re all very kind boys.”
“Yeah, and they love you so much. Everyone does.”
“Ah! I suppose that’s true, and I appreciate it from everyone. I can’t bear to let them down.” Her blush was so cute, but her expression was troubled. “And then to make matters worse, they started to notice that I wasn’t my smiling self. So then I had to push it down and smile anyway. And then it all built up over time, and I couldn’t let them see me—”
Her hands were wringing the loose ends of her robe’s sash.
“Tsumugi…” he wasn’t sure what to do. He really wanted to put his arm around her and hold her, but that was definitely too far. “Is it because I am a third party, from another agency, that you’re able to open up to me?”
“I suppose that’s part of it.”
There was a knock at the door. Gaku wanted to hear more, but preferably once Tsumugi was dressed and had some cake in her hands.
“I’ll get it,” he said. At the door, the service was very kind. “I’ll take the tray,” he said, “and the shopping bags as well.”
“What did you do?” Tsumugi called after him, but was too timid to approach the door in her robe.
Gaku tipped the runner very well and handed him Tsumugi’s bag of wet clothes to clean, too. Then the door closed and he turned into the room with a fancy cake balanced on one hand, and bags of things for Tsugumi hanging from the other.
“It’s like Christmas, isn’t it?” He laughed and set the cake down on the coffee table in front of the couch. It was chocolate and strawberry.
“Ah, you didn’t need to—”
“I think I did.” He grinned as he unwrapped the silverware. “I don’t know a lady anywhere who doesn’t smile a little bit when cake is involved.”
“Gaku…”
“And let’s see how well the staff has done.” He opened the bags. “Ah! There’s pajamas, undergarments, slippers, a travel kit, and what is this?” He held up a lacquered black box. “It looks fancy.”
Tsumugi took it and opened it. “It’s a makeup set,” she said. “What is all this for?”
“So that you can stay here tonight, and just pretend like you’re on vacation until tomorrow.”
“I couldn’t do that! I have work in the morning!”
“You have work every morning. Come on, you can get a good night’s rest, get up early, and go to work with a big smile on your face. It’ll make everyone happy to see your cheery face.”
Tsumugi’s lips quivered. She looked like she might cry again.
“Ah! Tsumugi, I’m so sorry, did I upset you? I didn’t mean to overstep anything, I just wanted to cheer you up, and—”
Before he knew it, Tsumugi had crossed the couch, and her arms were around his neck. It wasn’t the first time she’d given him a hug. In fact, there was a time when exchanges between them like this had been normal. But that had been several months ago.
He hesitated, but in the end allowed himself to run his hand down her back.
“Thank you, Gaku,” she said, with a little sniffle. “You didn’t need to do this at all. I just wanted to see you. That’s what I wanted most of all.”
“Tsumugi…” He closed his arms around her. He didn’t care if it was against his better judgement. This was all he wanted, holding her close for just a moment.
But pretty soon, his better judgement did catch up to his heart. “Ah, maybe you should put these clothes on?”
Tsumugi jumped out of his arms, laughing nervously, same as he was. “Ah, yeah! I’ll be right back!” She scurried into the bathroom with her new pajamas.
When she came out again, she was wearing the cutest pink cotton pajamas decorated with strawberries all over. Gaku’s heart melted to see her dressed like that. He realized that this might be more dangerous than the robe.
“How will I ever return this favor?” She said, a serious fretting tone in her voice. “These are so soft, I love them.”
“You don’t need to worry about that,” he said. “And if you really need to pay me back, I’d call it even if you’d let me sit here and eat this cake with you.”
She sat on the couch, with a healthy space between them again this time. “But you don’t like sweets, right?”
“I do love strawberries.”
“Is that why you picked strawberry pajamas?”
“I didn’t pick them, it was by complete random accident, I swear!”
She hid a small laugh behind her floppy sleeve. “Gaku?”
“Yeah?”
She shuffled over on the couch, erasing the space she had just left. “You didn’t get yourself any clothes.”
“Because,” he started, knowing that she must already understand this, and had to be pointing this obvious fact out for some reason. “I’m not staying overnight.”
“But uh, it is still raining.”
“I’m not allergic to water.”
She nibbled a bite of cake at the end of her fork. Her eyes stayed focused somewhere else as she leaned in, just an inch or two, until her shoulder touched his.
He lifted his arm and placed it around her shoulders. He never would have done it, except for that right now it seemed like that’s what she wanted. She needed to be reassured. He wanted to let her know that she wasn’t selfish for wanting this, and that he wanted it too. They both knew it couldn’t be, but it was okay to want it.
She let her head fall onto his shoulder.
“Someday,” Gaku said, “Takanashi productions will be a huge business, and you’ll have so many assistants you’ll get to work a regular week and take vacations, too. No more late nights at the office or days without sleep. Just a regular working life. Would you like that?”
“Yes, but…”
“And someday, I won’t be an idol anymore. Even Trigger won’t last forever. Someday, I’ll be too old. Sometimes I wonder what I’ll do when that day comes.”
Tsumugi lifted her head. “Trigger won’t end any time soon, and neither will Idolish7! Let’s keep being rivals towards each other for years to come.”
Gaku laughed. “Yeah. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
He let a silent moment pass between them before he spoke again.
“But, after that…”
She looked up at him.
“After that, maybe we could meet here again. You know, someday.”
Tsumugi looked down, her cheeks turning red. “Someday.”
Gaku stood. “Until then, let’s continue the way we were before. Let me make you smile now and then, and I’ll be happy.”
“Okay. I think I can do that. Thank you.”
“Good night, Tsumugi.”