A3! × IDOLiSH7 Crossover

Chapter 8

"I'll go."

Iori stared at Riku, bewildered at what his sub-unit partner had responded with. "Nanase-san! Why would you agree?!"

Riku's gaze, previously fixed on Tamaki, shifted to Iori. The moment they made eye contact, the black-haired male's heart filled with sorrow at Riku's expression. His normally bright eyes were tear-filled; it was obvious the center was trying extremely hard not to cry, but to no avail. He was shaking slightly; not as badly as that day, yet still bad enough that Nagi had to embrace the younger boy beside him.

"Everyone keeps getting hurt because of me!" Riku whimpered, his voice breaking with every word. The tears started to slip down his cheeks, and his shaking worsened. "Mitsuki, Taichi, and now even Tamaki! I can't let more people get hurt!"

Iori was at a loss on how to respond. He knew absolutely none of the injuries caused in the past few days had been Riku's fault; the redhead just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and miraculously came out uninjured. But with all the time he had spent with his partner, it was no surprise that he knew Riku's train of thought. As much as Iori himself hated the idea, he knew his sub-unit partner would rather burden himself than anyone else.

Again, Iori hated that idea. "That is completely illogical! And I doubt that they'd want you going with her after what she just did," Iori retorted, glaring sharply at Riku in an attempt to get the redhead to rethink his decision without Iori having to move (lest he possibly get shot by a shaking Aya).

To no avail, it would seem. Riku shook his head, his tears slowing down. "If I can stop future injuries, it's worth the risk!"

The rest of IDOLiSH7 did not like the way this was going. When Riku had an idea set in his head, it was hard to shake off. And normally, Riku could easily convince the others to listen to him. Nonetheless, they practically begged him not to go, not to disappear with someone who had shot her own brother.

"Riku, you have no idea what they could do to you!" Yamato responded, shaking his head. "We don't even know where you'll end up going!"

Sogo nodded frantically, agreeing with Yamato. "Riku-kun, please, you can't leave."

"I'm sorry," is the redhead's only response as he gently tugged himself away from Nagi's grip. "But I have to do this. I can't let anyone else get hurt anymore."

As Riku stepped away, Nagi moved forward, probably in an attempt to pull Riku back to the group, but when Aya raised her gun toward him, the blond froze. IDOLiSH7 could only watch helplessly as Riku walked towards Aya, their hearts dropping with every step the redhead took. Once he was close enough, Aya roughly grabbed him by the wrist, a soft whimper from the center audible in the dead silence. She dragged him towards the front door, Riku turning around with an apologetic look on his face as the young girl shut the door.

For a few moments, it was still silent after the two had left. Everyone in the room was struggling to take in what had just happened. Sogo's steps as he rushed to a bleeding Tamaki's side was what brought everyone back to reality, his worried calls of the teen's name echoing in their ears.

Everything after that happened in a blur. Yamato had quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialling the ambulance. Several people crowded around Tamaki as Sogo reached down and checked his pulse. Upon feeling the blue-haired male's heartbeat, Sogo let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Tamaki was still alive. Sogo almost rolled the teen over to check on the wound, but stopped himself. That may only worsen it, and Sogo definitely did not want that.

Omi was one of the people checking on Tamaki, when he somehow heard the door swing open over all the panic. He turned, only to see Sakuya slipping on his shoes. "Sakuya, what are you doing?"

The pinkette froze at the sound of his name, before swiftly turning to look at Omi. The teen had a determined look on his face, which only sent worried thoughts through Omi's head. "Sakuya?"

Sakuya smiled. "I'm sorry, Omi. But I can't sit still and watch this happen." The teen swiftly turned, his face even more determined. "I'll be right back."

Also watching the scene, Sakyo stood up from his place at the dining table. "Sakuma, don't–!" Too late, it would seem, as Sakuya sped away from the door.

Sakyo cursed under his breath, turning to the other adults. "Can someone go after him?"

Tasuku almost immediately raised his hand. "I'll go, I can catch up to him."

Nodding, Sakyo pushed his glasses up. "Go, and make it quick. Although if you run into trouble, you are to come back, understand?" Sakyo ordered, his usual glare even more intense now. He watched Tasuku nod, before the black-haired male ran out of the room and after Sakuya.

As Tasuku left, the sirens of the ambulance rang out and slowly got louder as the vehicle drove closer, the nurses and doctors barging into the building. Everyone could only watch worriedly as they laid Tamaki carefully onto a stretcher and carried him away, the sirens dying out as it disappeared down the road.