Chapter Text
“Mikejima-senpai!”
Madara jumped at the mention of his name right after the slam of the entry door, immediately looking up. Adonis stood there with a heavy breath, probably because he ran home, but he'd never seen him in such a panic.
He slowly stood up from his place, only to notice Tetora stopping right behind him. “Ado-senpai… slow down, please…” He panted, doubling over to regain his breath.
“No time for that, Nagumo.” He claimed as he looked at Madara, raising his phone for him to see. “The article is out.”
Of course. Obviously, it had to happen now, when half of them weren't even home.
“And Kuro-san is at university… I’ll call him, he has to get here.” He almost warned, taking out his phone.
Tetora slightly tilted his head in confusion. “Why?”
“If he stays there, he will be bombarded with questions and he will say something he shouldn’t.”
“He’s probably in class, though.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he smirked and put his finger in front of his lips, “I know how to get him to pick up.”
None of them reacted positively to that. In fact, Adonis looked at him with a concerned expression and Tetora huffed at him, almost annoyed by his behavior. He didn't really care, but it was interesting to note.
“Doesn’t he have his phone on mute?” Tetora asked at last, with an interested yet annoyed tone.
“Not for us, since all this started.” He calmly explained, tapping on his contact. “I noticed a couple of days ago, his phone would buzz only if one of us sent him a message. So, he will pick up eventually.”
Both of his juniors tried to recall those moments, only to let out a small sigh in acknowledgement. It was true, so they didn't have anything else to say about it.
Madara laid his phone against his ear as he waited for him to answer. As soon as he heard him picking up, he didn't even give him the time to say anything and he yelled, “Hi, Kuro-san!”
He only heard a heard a resigned sigh in response. “The fuck d’ya want?” Kuro asked, a little annoyed, most likely because he was enjoying his day.
“You need to get out of there.” Madara warned him, deepening his voice all of a sudden.
There was initial silence on the other end, before he excused himself to someone else and Kuro’s attention could come back to him. “What’re talkin’ ‘bout?”
“The article came out,” he quickly explained, “you need to come home, or you will get chased down for questions. We still don't know how the public and your own fans will react to it, so you need to hurry.”
“Can ya come pick me up half-way?”
“Sure! I’m coming.”
He put his phone in his pocket, then grabbed a jacket, his helmet and the bike keys, along with the ones of the house. “I’ll go pick him up,” he announced, opening the door. “Be ready for the backlash, and be careful when you go out for now.”
“Why?” Tetora asked, a little confused.
“Fans can be dangerous. Keep your distance.” Madara didn't even wait for an answer, as he immediately closed the door and ran towards his bike.
He didn't know where Kuro was, so he just sent him a message with the exact position he had to be, just to be sure they'd catch each other. When he saw Kuro answer affirmatively, he put on his helmet and switched on the engine, heading towards their meeting point.
His heart ran absurdly fast, but he tried to ignore it. Probably he was just worried, and it was getting to him. Weirdly enough, this happened only when Kuro was the center of his attention, and he was a little upset about it every single time.
He knew what it was, he noticed the way he looked at him since he had enough energy in his body to do more than breathing and talking. Lately, they've all been in a good place, and feelings tend to show and be noticed in those circumstances.
He bit his lower lip by just thinking about it. He thought he got over him when he got with Rinne, honestly. He noticed it back then as well, but he wasn't ready, and he pushed him away, hoping that he wouldn't ask anything about it.
Now, though, things were different. He doubted that he'd reject him if he made his feelings clear. Just thinking about it was exciting, simply because it was a side of Kuro that he'd never seen. Someone else did instead, and he hated it.
He remembered the rage he felt back then, even if he did nothing with it. It had to be him, he remembered thinking, but he knew that he'd just hurt him.
Maybe, now he wouldn't. It was Kuro who wanted to be with him, in the same group, and he obviously still liked him, even after all this time.
He enjoyed teasing him and seeing his reaction as he tried to not make it too obvious, horrendously failing. He was too cute, with his red face and pout on his lips.
Catching himself even just thinking about that made him take a deep breath, finally sinking in that it was more than just a crush, or someone he liked for the past five years.
He, by all means, was in love with the guy.
He was good at hiding it from everyone, himself included, but he knew there were feelings there and he knew that Kuro was so busy thinking about his own that he wouldn't have noticed.
Maybe he could tell him someday. However, now they had other issues to deal with, so his little realization would have to wait a few days.
Kuro was on the side of the road, panting, sign that he probably just arrived there. He saw him as well and immediately hopped on the bike, behind him, with his own helmet on as well. He made it a habit to take it with him ever since Madara started picking him up and, luckily, it was a habit that stuck with him.
“There already are a few people with cameras,” he notified him, “it might be better to take another road, just in case.”
Madara nodded in acknowledgement, trying to ignore his weight on his back and his arms around his waist.
He took a deep breath, before sprinting home as fast as possible. Kuro would probably throw up as soon as he got off, but it was worth it for him to be able to think properly.
He was losing his mind, so much so that he could feel his body leaning back into him. Now he couldn't tell him, but he'd do it soon, in a way or another, simply because at that point, his sanity was on the line.
Knowing that he had a pretty big chance of ending up being his romantic partner now that he knew he still liked him and that they were both in a better place was frying every neuron in his brain.
Luckily, they arrived soon, and Kuro slowly got up from him, yawning. Madara fondly laughed at that, as he put the bike back where it should have stayed. He got up and undid his own helmet, holding it in his hand.
Slowly, he did the same for Kuro, and the helmet revealed a sleepy face and messy hair, as if he'd just woken up. Madara's hand traveled on his cheek on its own, almost mesmerized by the view.
Kuro, on his part, didn't have anything to say against it. Quite the contrary, in fact, since he leaned into the touch and let out a weak, pleasures whine.
He was going to be his downfall.
He needed him to stop existing for a few seconds so he could avoid falling into insanity.
Madara took a deep breath, almost forcing himself to forget about what he just saw, locking it in a safe box in the back of his brain for the moment. He could remember and indulge in that later.
“Kuro,” he gently shook him by the shoulder, “Kuro, wake up. We have important things to discuss with the others.”
He shook his head violently, suddenly slamming his eyes open. “Wait a sec.” He blinked, then turned towards him. “I need a coffee.” He declared, before yawning, as if to prove a point.
An amused laugh escaped Madara’s lips, resounding in the small space outside. “I’ll make one, c'mon.” He just said, as he took out the keys. “Sure you don't need to throw up?”
“Dunno… Gimme some time to sit down and I'll come back to that.” He groaned and puffed his cheek, moving a hand on his stomach to try and feel something that would tell him anything certain.
Madara giggled at that, just nodding as he opened the door. “‘Kay.”
As soon as they walked in, Tetora let out a relieved sigh and fell on a chair behind him, while Adonis just gave them a grateful smile.
Kuro didn't care much at all, and just watched as Madara walked over the coffee machine. “Where’s Sazanami?” He asked, still a little dizzy from the bike ride.
“Photoshoot.” Madara answered instead, then looked at Adonis and Tetora while he waited for the coffee to get ready. “Updates?”
Adonis nodded at the question. “I called Tenshouin-senpai to hear what they’re doing on their side. They called for a press conference and it should start in half an hour, we should reach them there to answer eventual questions.”
“And I think you should go.” Tetora added, crossing his arms. ”If you don’t, they’re going to make up lies about you, and it’s gonna be worse for all of us.”
Both nodded in acknowledgement, but only Madara spoke. “Tetora-san’s right. We either give ourselves to the vultures, or they’ll find another way to get to us. In this way, it will be on our terms, at least.” He pointed out, looking over to his juniors again.
“There’s going to be a crowd too, so control is of the essence. There might be our fans as well.” Adonis sighed, clearly disliking the situation.
Of course, none of them enjoyed it, but it was the first time since they left that Adonis was upset at something, even if he had plenty of occasions to be mad at several of them.
All of them sighed in response, almost to let him know that they understood him, even if it was a completely accidental gesture that ended up being huffed in the same fraction of seconds.
No one commented, but Madara turned towards Kuro as he gave him his coffee, and frowned at him with doubt written all over his face.
“Didn’t you say that they'd tell you when they'd publish the article?” He asked with newfound curiosity. He legitimately wanted to know why he didn't notify them, or seemingly didn't know that the article got posted.
They could have not called him, or he just kept it a secret and had a plan. Normally, he wouldn't assume something like that, but he wouldn't put it above him now. He's done something like that once or twice in the past couple of months, and it may be the case again.
Kuro takes a sip of coffee, before shrugging. “Maybe that's what yesterday's missed call was about…”
Of course. He simply missed the call.
“Kuro-san, really…” Madara lightly scolded him, smiling at him in an almost embarrassed way.
“Would ya pick up an anonymous number?”
“If you know that a shady website has to call you…”
“Well, I think it's fine.” Tetora chimed in, both of their heads turning towards him. “They didn't talk to him and they didn't find this house, so it's fine.”
Adonis nodded in agreement. “Those two are the important things.”
“Talking about that, we have to go, or we’ll miss the conference.” Madara announced, grabbing keys and jacket again, waiting for the other two to do the same.
Adonis did it right away, while Kuro finished his coffee first, since he already was dressed to go outside, and pointed a finger at Tetora.
“Tetsu… eat out, or you'll burn down the house.” He just said, before putting down the cup on the counter and walking away.
Tetora’s mouth hung open in horror, before he could yell out, “Kuro-san! I wouldn't do that…”
As a response, Adonis slowly raised his hand, palm turned towards Tetora, and just said, “I agree with Kiryu-senpai.”
“How do you even see me…” He whined, before they could greet him again and leave the house.
After a quick search for cameras or mics– that Madara insisted on doing in their backyard, external walls of the house and car– they all decided it was safer and overall better if they would walk over there instead. The less details they gave about their personal lives and location, the better it would have been for everyone, after all.
The walk over there took a little bit over twenty minutes and, sure enough, there was a bit of a crowd in front of the building. Luckily, on the way there Madara suggested changing the path to end up on the opposite side of the building. There were a few guards, but a quick call to Eichi solved matters pretty quickly.
As they came in, they noticed the sheer amount of journalists in the room while Eichi started to talk. There were some whispers pronounced between them, several cameras flashing and way too many hungry stares.
Madara sighed at that sight, then turned towards the two people with him. “They’ll just ask questions. If they're uncomfortable, I’ll divert attention. Don’t worry about it.”
Both of them nodded quietly, patiently waiting for the moment when they would get called on the stage, after Eichi stops answering questions on their end, before they eventually explain why they took the decision to leave ES. It was the easiest and fastest way to solve everything and try to close that chapter of their lives, but Kuro was right; it would have been a pain.
As soon as Eichi presented them, Madara walked on the stage, quickly followed by the other two. They just greeted the audience with a slight bow, before sitting next to each other.
“It's better if we separate ourselves from Eichi-san,” Madara had suggested before arriving at the building.
Kuro had nodded at that, then had turned to Adonis. “ Sorry Otogari, I know you're friends, but there's something about him that doesn't convince me. I'm with Madara on this one.”
Adonis, despite everything, just had shaken his head, then agreed with them. “He just calls me because I don't despise him,” he had explained , “but I don't believe in what he told us when we met that day. Not fully, at least.”
So, at least it was a decision they were all agreeing to. It had to be jarring to their audience, but none of them cared enough to change their minds about it. At that moment, they needed to stay together and be wary of Eichi, no matter what.
In no way they were accusing him of being a liar, the documents that he showed them were real without a doubt, but, after a few weeks sitting on it, they weren't sure if those decisions were truly taken by other people or if he facilitated them in some way. Given his past decisions and actions, it wouldn't be too uncommon for him.
Then, a few hands started raising, and a microphone was passed around to grant some sense of order for the questions. They didn't need it, really, the room wasn't that big, but it served as an object to identify who could speak first.
“Kiryu-san, why did you leave ES? And why did you have that interview?” A journalist asked, looking directly at the subject of the question.
It was something they anticipated. The easiest question they could answer, in fact.
Kuro sighed, before speaking clearly into the microphone in front of him. “I left ES ‘cause my life was on the line. I gave the interview to help others that I knew were suffering already under ES so that they'd have a chance at getting out of it as well.”
“So your objective was to destroy ES?” Another journalist yelled, way in the back, for a reason that escaped Madara's comprehension.
Were they truly this desperate for news? He knew many people hated ES for a variety of reasons, but he certainly didn't expect this level of disrespect.
Despite that, though, Kuro kept his neutral expression.
“I never said anythin' of the sort. Avoid makin’ assumptions based on what ya think I meant.” He answered, with a little bit of acidity in his tone.
Madara kept in a soft laugh at the thought that Kuro just wasn't able to lie.
“A little aggressive?” Adonis whispered to him, coming closer to minimize any kind of sound.
“Yeah,” Madara nodded, “but that'll shut them up on the matter.”
They immediately composed themselves again, looking at the journalist asking a third question.
“Is the life-threatening situation you mentioned linked to AKATSUKI? Should we be worried?”
“No. It was entirely at fault of the managers and higher-ups in the ES portion of RhyLink.” Kuro explained, taking the time for a small pause as he looked at the journalist in question. “As I explained very clearly in the article too.”
“Do you intend on redebuting in a group or will you focus on your soloist activities?”
“Both, for the moment.”
Adonis sighed in relief, probably at the prospect of there being questions like those, way easier to answer to. Madara didn't notice, but he had to be anxious. He just gave him a quick pat on the back, rubbing it for a few seconds, immediately getting a grateful smile in return.
“Will Mikejima-san and Otogari-san be part of it?” Another person asked, this time looking at Madara.
As a response, he nodded excitedly. “Yes, we will! The formation will have soloist Tetora Nagumo-san and Eden’s Jun Sazanami-san as well. We will update you in the following days.”
“Mikejima-san,” another yell from the other side of the room makes its way to his ears, “what about MaM?”
“MaM will continue the schedule as per usual after I sign with an agency!” He calmly answered, smiling at them. “Being in a group won't halt my solo unit, don't worry.”
A few more hands were raised, clearly about to change topic. Madara gave a quick glance at Adonis, just to check on him. He looked calm enough, even if he could feel that the anxiety didn't leave completely.
“Otogari-san,” a journalist finally spoke up, “many fans have been asking about UNDEAD’s situation, could you explain it to us?”
He nodded, then answered almost immediately. “UNDEAD is currently disbanded. Oogami will take a different path than mine, and so will Sakuma-senpai and Hakaze-senpai.”
Another person who previously raised his hand added a few questions, as it happened several times before as well. “Did you fight? Did something happen for the members to hate each other? Was the friendship you displayed all these years just a play for the cameras?”
Ah, there they were. These were the questions that he was fearing. Accusatory questions that don't give the other person enough time to think.
“Oi,” Kuro whispered to him, “isn't that a little too much?”
“Adonis-san can answer this. Have faith in him.” Madara quickly answered, confident in his tone.
He didn't seem completely sold, but he'll have to be, at this point. It was all on Adonis's hands anyway.
“UNDEAD will always be important to me, as it is to the other members. But the same higher-ups that Kiryu-senpai talked about didn't see us as worthy of being an idol unit.” Adonis explained, with eyes full of sorrow. “Oogami and I haven't stepped on a stage as members of UNDEAD for a long time. We discussed it with Sakuma-senpai and Hakaze-senpai, and we all agreed to disband the unit. There was no fight, and our friendship is still strong.”
It was a good answer, as Madara expected. Adonis isn't too good at starting conversations, but he had a way with words, especially if it meant communicating something as clearly as possible.
“Does someone else have other questions?” Eichi spoke up, standing up to catch everyone's attention.
A hand hesitantly rose up, from a woman not too far off in the back of the room. “Who will be the leader of the group?” She asked, then added another question. “And do you have an accomodation?”
Madara nodded, then proceeded to answer. “Kuro-san will be the official leader, and I will help him where I can. About our accomodation, we ask you to respect our privacy. We have a roof above our heads, if that's what you wanted to know, but we have lawyers too, if someone happens to ignore this request.”
The woman nodded, silently thanking him for the precise answer. He was glad there were journalists like her too, genuinely curious about them, but respecting them as people. He was sure she was most likely the only one there, but it was simply nice to know there were people who didn't see them as delicious corpses that they could ravage on.
“Please,” Adonis added, “to anyone watching right now, listen to Mikejima-senpai. We will take some time to offer you an even better version of ourselves, so patiently wait for us.”
Both Kuro and Madara smiled at him, fully supporting him. At first, Adonis didn't look like the one to speak up like this, taking the decision to stand by them. Maybe, he let go of UNDEAD, or maybe he actually wanted to be with them, accepting all consequences coming with it. He was sure that, eventually, he would talk to them about it, but even just taking a clear position on this mattered a lot to him, and to Kuro as well.
He smiled brightly as he was looking at him, reaching out with a hand and ruffling his hair. His bun got slightly messy and he closed his eyes in response, due to the sheer force that the hand on his head was using, but he hinted at a smile as well.
It was fine if he didn't want to say out loud his feelings in a direct way, really, all he needed was knowing that he was happy where he was.
“Kiryu-san,” another question arrived, and both of them turned their eyes to the source of the voice, midway into the room, “as the leader, do you agree with this mentality?”
A follow-up question to that statement was to be expected, after the thinly veiled menace that Madara slided in it.
His head turned towards Kuro, waiting a few moments before speaking to gather his thoughts.
“Yeah,” he simply confirmed in the end, raising his head, “we’re askin’ first, ‘cause we wanna have faith that no one will stalk us and disrupt our life in a delicate moment, but don't think that we’ll just take it if someone decides to overstep that line.”
“So would you harm your own fans?” The same journalist asked again, with a worrying urgency in his voice.
Madara knew what was going on, but he didn't say anything. Partially, he wanted to trust Kuro, but he also knew that he couldn't intervene now. If he did, they'd have become even angrier, and they would have paid the consequences.
At the same time, though, he knew that Kuro wasn't able to tell a lie. He was honest to a fault, and he would have said what he actually thought about it.
There truly wasn't a good outcome in this situation.
Kuro, on his part, took a deep breath and talked into the microphone again. “A stalker is a criminal. Someone that causes hurt to others on purpose for their own kick of dopamine shouldn't call themselves a fan.”
That just kick-started a wave of yells, questions and pushing and pulling between staff and journalists in front of them.
Adonis's eyes widened in surprise, while Kuro frowned in confusion at that reaction, and it had to be Madara who had to stop matters from worsening even more. He knew perfectly that they asked this question to incite such a reaction, because there was no real right answer.
“We will announce everything about our journey when we reach an agreement with the agency that will manage us, so look forward to it!” He yelled into the microphone, watching as everyone froze to look at him.
He smiled excitedly waving at the audience and putting a hand on his friends' shoulders, pushing them to do the same. They luckily did, and they left the stage with a few apologies.
They slided out of the room, and stopped in a storage room without cameras. They barely fit, but it was enough space for all of them.
Adonis let out an anxious, shaky sigh almost immediately, then looked up. “Let’s hope that what Kiryu-senpai said won't inconvenience us.” He wished, whispering it like a prayer.
“I don't know… We’ll have to be careful now.” Madara agreed, waiting a few moments before leaving, in case Kuro had something to say. He made a gesture to mean that he didn't, and they all just opened the door and quietly got out of the building, this time from the main entrance.
It was important, for all of them, to at least let their fans see them after their statements were broadcasted; they didn’t say anything about it yet, especially to the people who had been supporting them for so long, despite a few months passing by since making that fateful decision, and a lot of the ones present were underage or on the older side, with some type of merch of AKATSUKI or UNDEAD on them. There were a few with MaM’s as well, but they seemed to be in support of one or both of the two other units as well. They came there to show support and because they were worried, and that was something none of them could really ignore.
If they were there with merch to cheer them on, then they deserved to at least get a genuine and sincere ‘thank you’ directly from them.
As soon as they stepped out of the building, they heard various gasps and confused noises, but no one was really pushing, pulling or yelling. Everyone was looking at them, many just holding their breath. They must have been confused, but that wasn’t what Madara was expecting, honestly. Confused, entitled and hesitant, sure, that was something that tended to happen in a situation like that, but worried and supportive? Calm to that extent? Absolutely not.
Maybe, he then thought, it was because of their respective fanbases. Most children below the middle school age and people on the older side probably didn’t care about the petty disputes in the industry and what their idols should have done for them. Children of that age are just happy to see Adonis perform and, likewise, people older than twenty-five years old had their brain fully developed and most of them were mature enough to simply not care about Kuro’s supposed loyalty to them and just showed support for him.
Probably, if it was any other idol, this wouldn't have worked out. Kuro's heart-on-your-sleeve behavior and honesty to a fault most likely helped as well to filter out everyone else who would have reacted like that. He was in so-called scandals every other week for calling out some of his fans’ behaviour, but that also helped him to nurture this kind of fanbase.
About Adonis, he wasn't sure. He wasn't someone that stood for bullying and fake obligations, so he assumed that a similar thing happened. Either way, a grand majority of his fans were children, so he wouldn't have had many problems with that.
As they passed by them, a little girl gave herself strength, and decided to speak first. “Otogari-san,” she said, with puffy cheeks and a plushie of Adonis hugged close to her tiny chest, “we'll wait for you!“
He was about to respond, but a man that had to be in his fifties spoke up as well, effectively anticipating him.
“Kiryu-kun, thank you for staying alive.” He politely smiled, nodding at him, content. “I'll keep supporting you in the future!”
Right after him, a lot of other voices rose, asking for forgiveness and expressing gratitude at the same time. They were both men and women, most of them older than forty years old, almost desperate to communicate just that. Basic gratitude.
“Kuro-san, Kuro-san!” A younger voice raised too, closer to them. It was a woman in her late twenties or early thirties, with an AKATSUKI themed necklace, a plushie of Kuro sticking out from her purse and earrings in the form of crescent moons. She bowed as she yelled out, “We're sorry we couldn't do anything!”
She didn't stand up for quite a long period of time, so Kuro rested a hand on her shoulder, smiling at her. “It’s not yer fault. I knew ya were worried, and I didn't do anythin' ‘bout it. 'm sorry fer that.” He confessed, in a slightly lower tone.
She suddenly stood up and shook her head, obviously embarrassed now. “It’s- it's not necessary… I'm sure everyone is just glad to know that you're doing better.” She settled for, awkwardly looking to the side.
Kuro brightly smiled at her, slightly tilting his head. “What’s yer name?”
“Tsukimi.” She answered after a few moments, probably taking them to compose herself.
“Ah, I understand now.” Kuro smiled, a little amused by someone with that name being an AKATSUKI fan. He then turned to look at her again, offering a hand that she took with a little hesitation. “Tsukimi-san, I promise ya I'm gonna come back and gift ya with better memories to make it back to ya fer these sad moments, alright? Don't feel sorry fer somethin' that had never to do with ya and don't cry fer me. I'm not dyin' or anythin', jus’ workin' hard like I've always done.”
Her cheeks were red from the embarrassment, but she didn't take her eyes away from him. Instead, she simply let out a breath of surprise and nodded, before giving him a content smile.
That seemed to be enough of an answer for him and he let her hand go, taking a few steps back. She stroked that hand a few times, before silently smiling and politely stepping back as well, asking sorry to the people around her for possibly causing problems.
Madara smiled at that, glad to know that Kuro had the opportunity of being supported by people like that. The woman seemed respectful enough, like everyone else there.
At the very least, he thought, no one ever laid their hands on him for his body. It was an inopportune thought, really, but he had that fear since he started to get admitted to the hospital with a worrying frequency. It was common, it would happen especially to younger idols, and AKATSUKI debuted when he was just sixteen years old. He feared that something like that would have made him spiral even more, but, luckily, it didn't seem to have happened to him.
He knew other people who had that experience, and he wouldn't wish that on anyone, much less on Kuro of all people. He simply prayed to know him enough and being able to tell something like that, and hoped for that grim thought to soon leave his mind. It absolutely wasn't something that he wanted to think about more than he had already done.
As he was thinking, just that, Kuro's voice resounded in front of him, almost like a guide out of his insistently uncomfortable thoughts.
“To everyone too, don’t feel sorry! I'm fine, and I'll come back even stronger.” He raised his voice just to be heard by everyone, sure to look at everyone present. He then bowed, both to show gratitude and respect. “I'll show you a better Kuro Kiryu, thanks for supportin' me!”
A few, calm claps rose, along with a few words of encouragement from various people. As a response, Kuro smiled brightly, inadvertently causing even louder clapping. It was akin to a parent or an older sibling hyping up their respective son or little sibling more than anything else, and Madara was glad to know that was the case. It was cute, and he deserved every bit of it after everything that he went through.
Of course, though, not everyone was here for him.
“Adonis-san, Adonis-san!” A little girl called, making way in the crowd and holding out a letter. “Can you accept this?” She asked, with her eyes red from crying.
Adonis smiled at her and got closer, crouching down to be able to look at her in her eyes. He calmly pushed her hand away, in a gesture meaning he still wanted her to keep it. “No reason for me to do such a thing.” He said, in the end, with a smile on his face. “You'll give it to me when we meet again, after I debut. Hold onto it for me, please.”
She nodded excitedly, understanding that it wasn't a flat-out refusal. “Okay! I'm really happy you're coming back, I miss you.”
He smiled at her again, and affectionately ruffled her hair, before greeting who had to be her mother, given how fast she ran back to the woman.
After that, they smiled at them and left, taking a road that didn't take to their house at first, just to be sure no one would be following them.
“Are ya really alright with this?” Kuro asked all of a sudden, looking at Madara.
“Me?” Madara asked, pointing his finger towards himself. He laughed softly, nodding. “My fans have been begging me to ditch ES for years now, and my work was never impacted. They'll just see me more often now.”
“Otogari,” he turned towards Adonis, slightly slowing down to talk to him, “yer very loved, aren't ya?”
“You too, for that matter, Kiryu-senpai.” He smiled at him, politely pointing out that there wasn't really someone between them who was loved more than the other, especially in this situation.
Kuro stopped in his tracks, taking a deep breath. Adonis stopped as well, puzzled by what the problem was. Despite that, he didn't ask anything, and waited for him to say something.
“I think it’s jus’ ‘cause I was in AKATSUKI.” He confesses, looking towards the ground, as if he was embarrassed or let down by that sentence.
Madara finally turned too, with his arms crossed, and got close enough to almost breathe on his skin. “They weren’t calling out for AKATSUKI, though. They were here for you.” He said, laying a finger on his chest.
Kuro didn't even kept the conversation going, he simply let out out a big sigh and affirmed, “I jus’ wasn't expecting this amount of support.”
“Some fans genuinely just want to see us happy.” Adonis stated, smiling. “I think it's lovely.”
He didn't even know how right he was. Fans can make or break a group as much as its members and music. Having a fanbase like that to start from is a blessing for everyone involved.
Everyone wanted simply to be happy and content. What they did for the press meant nothing, at the end of the day. As long as they had their supportive and respectful fans and each other they could go on.
“C'mon, let's go home.” He said as he smiled, pushing them to keep walking.
They followed him, chatting away with each other about dinner even if it was barely past lunch time, Madara putting in some opinions when he had any. Despite that, he enjoyed even just hearing them in the background, knowing that this was something he was fighting to keep in his life, and something he enjoyed being a part of.
He wouldn't let them be taken away from him like other people have been in the past. He was content there, at the very least, and he wished to be able to feel like this for as long as he could, no matter what happened. He wanted to have these friends of his by his side, at any cost.
Searching for a place to belong took him so long that he wouldn't settle for anything else. Even if he'd have to turn into a monster again to protect them, then so be it. He experienced loss numerous times, he was used to it, but this time, just this once, he wanted to keep them as close as possible.
Those friends of his were way too important to be lost, and he won't allow it. Not again.