Chapter 25

Ren gritted his teeth as he stared at the photo of him and Misaki at the cafe on the big screen behind them, wondering when they'd finally leave it be. He glanced at Misaki in the audience to see her looking around before heading over to Daichi.

As much as he wanted her to stay for the rest of the show, he couldn't help but be glad she went to him. Daichi would keep her safe.

Ren's leg bounced as he crossed his arms and plastered on a fake smile. "It's a friend of mine, and they'd rather stay away from the spotlight, so if you don't mind, can we move on?"

Shun nudged him with his elbow, hoping he'd tone it down a bit.

"But you've stated you have your eyes on a beautiful girl, and everyone wants to know if it's the one in the picture."

Shun held Ren back before he could snap at them. "But it's a secret who he has his eye on." Shun shrugged. "If something happens in the future, maybe you'll know then, maybe you won't, but it's important to him that it be kept private. I'm sorry, but we have no information to give you about this photo, other than it's a mutual friend of ours."

"Oh, so you know her, too?" Nagase's eyes widened.

"Naturally, since we share a lot of friends. I know who she is, and that she doesn't want her photo taken. This was against her will, and we'd prefer to respect our friend's wishes, lest we lose her over it."

Nagase sat back, her mouth agape as she struggled to respond. "I see. I'm sorry for pushing too far and invading your privacy." She cleared her throat. "If there's no relationship news to share yet, how about we move on?"

Shun nodded. "Thank you."

"Right. Ahem..." She turned and smiled at the camera. "I think now would be a good time for a commercial break."

They cut to commercial, and Ren was on his feet before Nagase could turn back to them.

"Daichi." Ren rushed up to him. "Where's—"

Daichi held up his hand. "I sent her to your dressing room so she could stay away from the crowd."

"Alone? You didn't escort her?"

"Well, no... I thought she just wanted to get away from the crowd; I didn't think she was in danger. Hey, where are you going?" Daichi grabbed at Ren's elbow, and his jacket slipped through his grasp as Ren took off down the back. "Ren!" he hissed, afraid of grabbing their attention. Lucky for them, Shun took centre stage to distract the host and audience while they were on break.

"Misa..." Ren whispered her name under his breath. "Please be safe."

The man walked Misa deeper into the room, his arms secure around her.

There's no way I can get out of this grasp. What do I do? Ren...

"I'm going to release your mouth. If you scream, I'll make it so you can never sing again, got it?"

Misaki nodded, and he pulled his hand away. She gasped, tears streaming down her face. "What do you want, Aki?" she spat his name out.

"For you to suffer as I have. You ruined my life, Misa—"

"You did that to yourself. All the lies, the stealing, the stalking— Ah!" she yelped as Akihiro yanked her back and shoved her into a chair, ripping her mask off.

He gripped both the armrests and leaned in close, staring into her shaking eyes. "If you had listened to me in the first place, I wouldn't have taken your song elsewhere. I wouldn't have had to lie or steal if only you had listened! We could've been on top of the world right now. Instead, I can't even get a job in the industry since getting out!"

"Stop trying to put it on me. You made your choices, so you have to deal with the consequences. Ack—"

Akihiro gripped her throat, and she clawed at his hand. "I made those choices because of you, Misa, and now I'm screwed for life while you spend your days getting cozy with Eclipse's top stars."

Beep. The door behind them opened.

Before Akihiro could turn around, Ren grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to turn, and punched him in the jaw, sending him skidding across the ground. "Misa!" Ren knelt down in front of her.

She coughed, gasping for breath as she rubbed her neck.

He gently touched her cheeks with both hands. "Are you okay?" Ren asked and glanced at Akihiro on the ground. "Wait, is that who I think it is?"

"Yes," her voice came out hoarse.

Akihiro groaned on the ground, still unsure of what had happened. Before he could get up, Ren wrenched his arm behind his back and kept him on the ground, digging into him with his knee.

"Misa, call Daichi and tell him to send security."

Misaki's hands shook as she pulled out her phone. "D-Daichi, security, please..."

"Misaki?" Daichi answered his phone. "They're on their way."

"Argh, get off me!" Akihiro yelled, wriggling around in his grasp.

"No way, not after what you've done." Ren shoved his knee harder into Akihiro's back.

"It's not fair! She's mine! She should've listened to me." Akihiro growled and pounded his free hand on the ground. "We could've lived in luxury together if she had just followed my directions like usual!"

"Tch. Stop trying to blame her for your behaviour, you disgusting pig."

Security guards rushed down the hall to their dressing room alongside Daichi and found Ren holding Akihiro down.

"We'll take it from here, Mr. Hayase." The lead guard instructed the others to grab Akihiro.

"This isn't over!" Akihiro yelled as they dragged him away.

Daichi stood in the doorway afterwards, wide-eyed as he ran his hand through his hair. "What just happened? Are you okay?" He rushed into the room to check on Ren first, then Misaki. "That looked like your old... manager..."

Misaki looked away, hugging herself as she stayed seated, her legs shaking too much for her to stand. Aki...

"It was her old manager," Ren said as he knelt down in front of Misaki again. "Misa... I'm so sorry. I didn't think your stalker would be able to get into the studio... I was careless."

She shook her head and stared at her hands in her lap. "It's not your fault."

He rested a hand on top of hers and gently touched her cheek with his thumb, brushing away her tears.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"For what?"

"He was here because of me, and you should still be on stage right now."

Daichi, watching from the side, noticed her trembling, and his expression softened. "She's right." Daichi slowly approached them. "I can stay with her this time. We can watch the show from right here."

Ren let out a low growl and pulled Misaki into a tight hug, his arms shaking.

She hugged him back, clutching his jacket as her tears wet his shirt.

"I'm so sorry, Misa." He kissed the top of her head.

"Ren, you have to go back; you can't leave Shun out there alone for too long. I'm sure he could handle it, but it might spark rumours," Daichi warned. "I will be right here with her until you return, okay?"

"I don't want to..." Ren mumbled.

"I..." Misaki took a deep breath and pulled away. "I'll be okay. You have work to do, like the professional you are."

Ren gritted his teeth as he pulled away and grazed his thumb against the bruise forming on her neck. "How could he do something so horrendous?"

"Ren," Daichi called out to him again.

"Go," she whispered.

"Fine," he huffed. He kissed her forehead and turned to Daichi. "Make sure she's safe."

"Of course." Daichi nodded to him, and he took off. "I'm sorry, Misaki; I should've come back with you." He pulled a chair over to sit beside her. "Don't worry about the cops when they show up; I'll help you talk to them."

Misaki nodded. "Thank you."

Daichi took a deep breath and turned on the TV to watch the show.

As she stared at Ren, forcing a smile on screen, she couldn't help but think about the look on his face as he came to save her. How terrified he was. The rage towards Akihiro. And the extreme worry for her. Ren...