「Angel's Voice」Nanase Riku [DISCONTINUED]

1 - The Path He Chose

Why did Tenn-nii leave? Where did he go?

These questions replayed in his head, over and over. And whenever he asked his mother or father, they would reply that it was for the good of everyone. 

Everyone?

It sure didn't feel like that to Riku. Since Tenn-nii had left with the strange man, Riku had only suffered. The house became more silent. He started to played outside by himself. He walked to school by himself. He ate dinner, got dressed in the morning, did his homework, and watched TV all alone. He had no one to consult his problems to. He had no one to cry to. He had no one to look up to.

Riku spoke less since the disappearance of his twin brother. He raised his hand less in school and became distant from his friends. When his parents asked him what had happened at school, he would reply with a shrug. He lost his motivation to do his homework and study for tests. There was no one to ask for help or to work on the problems with. His parents were always at work. Or when they were home they would drink away their stress. He heard that their shop was having troubles financially, whatever that meant. One day, the teacher held him back from recess and told him, "You can't keep this up. You'll fall behind in school early."

He only nodded and went to the school library instead of joining the other kids in their game of tag. Upon doing this, he found great escapes called books. They brought him into someone else's world, someone else's life. He could read about the character's problems and how they conquered over it. Sometimes, they used their wit and outsmarted the villain. Sometimes, they held a sword and simply cut through the barrier.

Riku wanted to overcome his villain. He became motivated. Instead of sitting around and moping, he could be the hero of the story. In many of the stories, the characters had lost their siblings too. Sometimes, they would search after their brother or sister with clues and would piece them together. Sometimes, they didn't search. Instead, they would build themselves up and bump into them years later. 

Riku wasn't sure which way his path would lead him to Tenn-nii.

One day, he heard someone crying in the hallway. He put down his book and took a look for himself out of curiosity. A young girl with light hair was rubbing her face, wiping away the tears, with the back of her hands. No one else was in the hallway since they were all out for recess. Riku stepped out into the hallway and stopped in front of her. "Uhm... Hello."

The girl stopped in her tracks. She managed to squeak out through the soft pitch of her shaking voice, "My hand... It hurts. H-He pushed me and..."

Riku didn't ask who did it. He gently grabbed her arm and lifted it up to get a look at it. At first glance, nothing seemed wrong with it. In fact, she appeared in perfectly fine shape.

Riku winced and let out a slight whimper as he suddenly felt a pang of rippling pain in his own wrist. But it only lasted for a split second. It was then he knew what was going on. "Hold on," he said and led her to the wall where they sat down side by side against it. 

With her arm in his hand, he used his other hand which hovered over her injured one. He let out a quiet, light note past his lips. A lime green glow formed around her hand and his. After a quick moment, the girl stopped crying. A smile of astonishment appeared on her face as she let out a gasp. The green glow diminished. 

Riku smiled at her. He let go of her hand and wiped the last of her tears from her cheek. "Feel better?"

"Yeah!" The girl responded. She felt her own wrist and moved her fingers, testing it. "Thank you!"

Riku let out a small laugh. He felt a warmness flood through his chest. A feeling he hadn't had since the day Tenn-nii had left. It didn't matter how he had healed her or if he was special. It was at this moment, Riku had made the decision which path to choose. 

He would be the hero who would work his hardest to become the person Tenn-nii would be proud of after years when they'll finally meet again.

- - -

"Rikkun! Dinner's ready..." Tamaki's lazed voice sounded through the hallway of the shared house.

"Coming!" Riku called. Without taking a final look at the photo of him and Tenn-nii when they were younger, he shut the photo album and shoved it in his bookshelf which was located right next to his bed. He stood up and made his way out of his room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. There, he was greeted by his fellow idols.

"Oi Riku!" Yamato, the planned leader of the group, greeted him. He had a white apron on and was holding a sizzling frypan in his hand. He stood between the counter and the stove. "We're having omurice tonight. That's your favorite, right?"

Riku smiled. He hopped onto an elevated stool, the last one open of the four, and propped his elbows up onto the cold counter. "Yup!"

Sougo already had his omurice in front of him. He grabbed the hot sauce from the middle of the counter and dumped a series of drops on top, flooding it. He then took a scoop into his mouth. "Delicious! You're quite the chef, Yamato."

Yamato set the omurice from the frypan onto a plate which was set out in front of Riku. "Here you are." Somehow, magically, this omurice was made perfectly with no burnt edges. Not even a single grain of rice was out of place. 

Riku thanked him and took a bite. "It's delicious, as always!"

As he enjoyed his dinner, he could hear his friends behind him in front of the TV. Mitsuki flipped through the channels while taking a sip of his wine. He took a stop at a music show in which three idols preformed on stage to electronic music.

Riku knew this song very well. In fact, he knew all of TRIGGER's songs from heart. And it wasn't like he was a diehard fan. He took a particular interest in this idol because of Tenn-nii. He recalled the first time he heard news of TRIGGER and it's members just a couple of years ago. His heart had come to a stop upon hearing Tenn's name. Except, it wasn't the Nanase Tenn he knew. It was Kujo Tenn now. However, Riku could recognize the face anywhere. In fact, his hair hadn't changed at all since they last saw each other.

"Damn, their music is great!" Mitsuki hollered.

"Big brother, do not throw your cup in the air." Iori said. He sat on the same couch with Mitsuki.

"NO! How about we watch some Magical Kokona instead?!" Nagi announced.

"SHUSH!" Mitsuki shouted back, "I want to hear what they have to say!"

The song had ended, it seems they tuned in a bit late. Tenn Kujo stood in the center with the mic in his hand. He waved at the audience, smiling like an angel. "Thank you everyone! To our fans, to music bank, to the people just leaving their TV on! We will work hard to satisfy you. For with each show, we're only working harder!" The audience then cheered in the background.

"A cute young man blabbing out sweet words of thanks." Mitsuki huffed. "That's all every idol group needs to succeed." 

"Right. Then you take that role." Tamaki said from the side. He had a King Pudding in his hands instead of omurice.

"That's Riku's job! He's going to be our center!" Mitsuki spat back. It wasn't that he wanted the role, but his insecurities got to the best of his anger sometimes.

Riku laughed. Being with his friends drained him of his worries, even when Tenn-nii was right on the TV. He wondered when he'll tell them the truth of his brother and how they would react. But it didn't bother him at the moment. That would be for later. Now, he lived in the moment with his best friends. The friends he bonded with in such a few days after meeting each other upon receiving information that they were accepted into the new idol group. One that they promised to put their best into and exceed the manager's expectations. One that looked up to TRIGGER and Re:Vale. Though they weren't fully sure if they could surpass the legends, they sure secretly hoped so.

And Riku knew he was one step closer to reuniting with his twin brother. To save him from the secrets in which he wasn't supposed to know.

「note」

words : 1460

It's here! This story can be read separately from Devil's Voice but it is by no means, a sequel. This's simply the same storyline, from Riku's perspective.

hope you enjoy!