You Said You Wouldn't Leave Me. . .

3: Showtime: A Luminescent Knight

Ritsu yawned behind the curtains of his next live. This whole entire plan to forget Mao had left him more tired than anything but at the same time, he didn't feel that exhausted?  It was strange.  Maybe Knight's energy was finally rubbing off on him.  He was tackled by Leo, "Ritsu!  You've been doing so well these past few weeks!  Keep it up!"  He yelled.

Ritsu smiled and clung onto Leo like a koala, "Right, right, I'll keep it up.  But, right now, I'm so tired. . . Be my pillow for me!"  With that, he immediately fell asleep as a joke.  Izumi loomed over the pair,

"Hold on!  Ritsu, you can't sleep right now!  The curtain's about to rise so the show's about to begin!  Also, get off of Leo. . . Who knows what will happen if fans see us behaving like this!"

Ritsu smirked, "Awwwww, are you feeling jealous?  Well, there's no need because I'll hug you instead!"  With that, Ritsu flopped onto Izumi who fell to the ground.

"Ritsu!  You can't just do that!"  Izumi scolded, struggling to get up.  

"Ritsu, hurry!  The curtains are rising, places!"  Tsukasa yelled.

Ritsu sighed, "Fine. . ."  He got off Izumi and stepped into his position for Voice of Sword.

The lights flashed on for the dance as Ritsu looked into the crowd.  His eyes locked with Mao's.  'So, he did actually show up. . . well then, let's give him the best show I can!  Maybe then he'll come back to me. Nono, I can't be thinking about that, I have my guys at Knights now who don't betray me and use meaningless words!'  He thought.  With that, Ritsu picked up his energy, his position held firmly yet still relaxed as that's what fans have grown accustomed to seeing from him.  Alright, now was his time for his solo.  He grabbed his mic with more force than usual, hand crossing in front of himself in a motion that was smooth and filled of warmth to the audience as he even added a little wink. He wanted to show Mao what he missed, how he refused to look at the journey to get to this point and how his unit mates. . .  Meant so much more to him than Mao.

He had transferred from Sir-Sleep's Alot to a full-fledged noble knight of the round table.  One that glows or is luminous, just like fireflies in the middle of the night.  He also shifted his focus.  If fireflies were awake at night, gathering lost travelers onto the right path, then Ritsu hoped to do that for all his fans.  Ritsu extended his hand to the audience during the chorus, making eye-contact with everyone but Mao.  That guiding hand wasn't meant for scum like him or his brother.  He couldn't believe he had fell for the same words, the same meaningless promise twice.  Well, never again as he found new people to cling onto: Knights.

Mao had observed Ritsu's performance carefully and was absolutely awestruck.  This wasn't the Ritsu he knew.  The Ritsu he knew would be casually running through the dance moves, eyes barely open and constantly falling asleep on his unit member's shoulders.  Why all of the sudden was he suddenly wide-awake.  His dance moves were more rigid and knight-esque.  His years of experience on stage has finally settled into this moment.  Mao had always wanted to see Ritsu wake up and perform with his whole heart and now he finally has. . . Except now, his heart was the one getting stabbed by Ritsu's sword.  All because of Ritsu's malice and  a promise he stupidly broke.

Mao hoped this was just a one-song thing and maybe Ritsu would notice the regret filling his eyes.  The next song, Fight For Judge started playing and Mao quickly realized by Ritsu's solo line that his wishes were just dreams. However, once again, Ritsu still seemed different.  As if the radiance never seeped out of him since the first song.  Normally, he would sulk in the background, preferring to take smaller roles so his teammates could shine better and so he could sleep more.  So why in his solo line was he confidently stepping into the spotlight so easily?  His dance moves were also free from the restraints of tiredness as Ritsu smoothly moved his arm from one side to another, never letting it sag from tiredness as per usual.

It was evident that Ritsu was spending a large portion of time near Knights.  Mao couldn't be even more happy that his childhood friend had gone out to create new memories with friends that weren't. . . him. Why did he feel this overwhelming sense of jealousy now.  Almost like he wanted to be there always to make Ritsu smile, or to be used as a pillow by Ritsu, not the others.  He sighed, well, that chance was thrown out the window and the best thing he could do was at least attempt to make amends.

As soon as the show was over, Mao raced over to the backstage only to see Ritsu once again talking with his unit members.  "Hey, Ritsu!  Do you maybe want to go get some fizzy drinks together?  I know this really good old ice cream parlour that sells amazing sodas. . . The old fashioned way!"  He offered.

Mao's heart shattered as he saw Leo jump onto Ritsu's back, "Ritsu!  You're coming to celebrate another successful live with us, right?"

Ritsu nodded, "Same spot as usual, right?"  He asked.  Leo nodded, 

"For sure!  After all, we're here to celebrate you!  Not only do we love you, but, you're also becoming more solid in terms of your ability!  You have many more fans now, look!"  Leo shouted, shoving a phone into Ritsu's face.

Ritsu smiled, "I'll keep up the good work. . . Just don't go bursting down my door and interrupting my sleep schedule for any sort of work!  I'm out of commission then!"

"Well, you never know!  What if I do?"  Leo teased.

Ritsu sighed, "You don't want to know. . ."  He finally decided to acknowledge Mao's presence in the room, "What?  Do you need something?"  He asked coldly.

"No, I just wanted to congratulate you all on your performance!"  Mao lied.  Ritsu gave him an even colder glare and that was Mao's cue to leave.

So. . . Ritsu really had moved on without him.