"A paper crown
And a heart made of glass
A tattered gown
And her kingdom of ash
She walks alone
She can never look back."
- "Paper Crown" by Alec Benjamin
"It's been about 9 months since your last comeback and there's been some speculation that everyone's taking on different jobs despite you being a relatively new group," a female reporter said from behind the cameraman. With her face done with light makeup, she was a pretty, young woman, and her purple suit made her stand out against the bright white walls and black floors. Other reporters backstage wore casual clothes since they weren't the ones the cameras were focusing on.
Ryohei laughed, with Yamamoto joining in beside him. The two idols were similar in height but Yamamoto was just an inch or two taller. His legs looked even longer with the finely-tailored suit he was wearing. The cameraman, Masashi, was quick to keep a respectable pace in front of them while the reporter's heels clacked hastily against the ground, drowned out by the constant activity and chatter in waiting rooms.
"Was that why your comeback has been delayed for so long?" the reporter, Sachiko, said.
"Oh no!" Ryohei said, grinning. "We've been working extremely hard on this comeback and it just took a little longer than the last one. Or, well, our debut."
Yamamoto nodded, his easy smile making Sachiko remember how handsome these idols were. It irked her more than pleased her. "Yup, and we hope our fans enjoy it as much as we worked on it!" He chuckled. "Actually, Gokudera had a hand in most of it. We just did what he told us to do."
"He's an extremely talented producer!" Ryohei said. "I don't know anyone else who loves music as much as he does. Really, I hope the fans appreciate all the work he does!"
"It must've been an experience," Sachiko said. "G from Primo has also been known to produce some tracks for his group, too, and it took him two years before Talbot-san let him."
Yamamoto laughed. "Gokudera's smart in his own way. Plus, he and G-san are different in a lot of ways even though they're brothers."
"Half-brothers." Sachiko ignored Masashi's scowl but didn't bother fixing her correction. She used to report for the evening news and was a journalist at heart. Didn't mean that she had to throw that away for entertainment news.
Ryohei maintained a friendly face but placed his hands elegantly in his pockets to hide his fists. Masashi smoothly panned the camera at a higher angle to hide the gesture.
"Family is family," Ryohei said. "Gokudera wrote a whole song about it, too."
Yamamoto beamed. "You know what my favorite part is?" He pumped an arm up and down in the air to an imaginary beat and belted out, "Mother, father, brother, sister, and all my friends, thank you for your love!"
A door slammed open down the hallway before three girls in gothic clothing peeked out with whoops and wolf-whistles. Their faces were white from makeup and their lips were coated with blue lipstick.
"Mother, father, brother, sister, and all my friends, I love you so much!" two sang back with some giggles. "Their warm voices have always gently pushed me forward!"
Ryohei and Yamamoto easily joined in to finish it off. "For meeting me…thank you!"
Yamamoto gave them a thumbs-up. "Perfect!"
The only girls group to ever grace the Varia Entertainment Company, E-Cho, raced down the hall and met Ryohei and Yamamoto quickly with grins, high-fives, and fist-bumps. Baffled, Sachiko could just stand awkwardly to the side while Masashi quickly caught the whole scene on camera.
The leader, Eri, who had short, side-swept blonde hair, jabbed Ryohei's shoulder playfully, standing at almost the same height even without heels. "Ryohei, did you switch gyms? I barely see you around anymore. Colonnello's running on tears with the treadmills, you know? And Knuckle—God help him."
Ryohei laughed. "It's comeback season, Eri-senpai! I'll go back after! Extreme promise!"
Eri rolled her eyes, which were electric blue from her contacts. "Yeah, same goes for me but I'm not missin' out. I better see you there. I miss a not-braindead sparring partner."
"Oh, sparring! How's your shoulder doing now?"
Eri shrugged. "It's fine. Nothing to worry about. Just a muscle strain."
"Take care of yourself, Eri-senpai! Your health is extremely important!"
"Look who's talking."
Rina, the youngest in the group, squealed and spun on her platform boots with ease as she walked around Yamamoto, her blonde pigtails bouncing with the movement. "Yama-chan, you're so adorable! Look at you, all grown-up with your suit and everything. Isn't he cute, Aiko-nee?"
Nodding her approval, Aiko looked up at Yamamoto like he was the tastiest lollipop in the world. She twirled her curly blonde hair around a gloved finger and sighed. "We should start getting nice, fresh trainees like you. That would be the dream. Instead we're stuck with Vindice-wannabes."
Rina pouted. "It would be nice to have a cute boy group but no." She looked down at her short black skirt with a huff. "We're all stuck with this. Oh, did you know Luss-chan made this for me?" She showed off a silver charm bracelet around her delicate wrist. "Isn't it so pretty?"
"You're also really cute, Rina-senpai!" Yamamoto said, grinning. "Don't forget that."
Squealing, Rina hugged Yamamoto's arm, only reaching his chest with her shorter height. "Come join Varia, Yama-chan! It'll be fun! And call me Nee-chan!"
Sachiko didn't think that was that uncensored compared to other girl groups. Was it because of their company or just how they were?
"Decimo, standby 5 minutes!" someone shouted.
"Oh, already?" Rina sniffled as she pulled away from Yamamoto. "Good luck, Ryo-chan, Yama-chan! We'll be watching!"
"Break a leg," Eri said, squeezing their shoulders.
She leaned forward, turning their backs to the camera, and whispered something in their ears. Sachiko pursed her lips when she saw the idol glance at her from the corner of her eye. Ryohei and Yamamoto snorted, trying to hold back their laughter, when Eri finally pulled away, her lips quirked into a slight smirk.
"Go knock some girls up," she said, waving over her shoulder. "Ciao."
Rina and Aiko cackled at the young men's red faces while they followed their leader back to their waiting room. "Go! Go! Go!" they said in perfect unison.
Masashi mentally made a note to tell the editors to cut Eri's out comment at the end. Sachiko finally stepped forward, trying to save face. "You seem very close with them," she said.
Ryohei nodded, chuckling sheepishly. "They're like our big sisters. Oh, right. Excuse us, we're going onstage soon."
"Thank you for the interview," Sachiko said almost blandly as the two men passed her by. Yamamoto gave her an easy grin before disappearing behind a door some feet away.
Masashi turned off the camera, but kept it steady on his broad shoulder. "Alright, I don't know why you transferred here or if you don't know what the hell's going on, but if you hate it so much, go back to that crappy evening news show you were in, whatever it's called."
Sachiko narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Look, you might think that these idols are just here to look pretty but they're sure as hell working hard for it." Sachiko bristled when Masashi looked her up and down. She was tempted to whack him with her mic. "At least, pretend that you're trying, Christ. This isn't any easier than what you do with the evening news."
When Decimo trailed out of their waiting room, all clad in sleek black suits and different-colored dress shirts, Sachiko decided that this wasn't a world she could just blend in so easily. She responded to their polite greetings with a small nod and decided that she went in way over her head with this one.
The fans agreed.
gINgerz_9 tweeted: ok whoever this reporter is like who would just say things like that? ryoheis a champ for handling her so well #LoveDecimo #LoveRyohei
HAYATOLUVERR3 tweeted: ryohei and yamamoto being hayato's knights is soooo satisfying #LoveDecimo
Kayif11 tweeted: famiglia power #LoveDecimo #famiglia
69_pines tweeted: bruh who else wanted to know what eri told her precious boyz? like theyre in different companies but theyve always been there for decimo still? #LoveDecimo #eriismahqueen #queeneri
Smiling was only slightly easier when fans were around, and Takeshi had to constantly remind himself that he was here in the moment because of them, that their love and attention were because he made it big, just like his brother. So he smiled and grinned at every face that greeted him, that looked at him with moony eyes, but never truly see. He guessed it was better that way.
"I—I'm such a big fan, Yamamoto-kun!" a fan said, probably no older than 15.
Her eyes lit up when he signed her album and squeaked when he handed it back to her with a grin. "Thanks!" he said. "It was great meeting you, Yuki-chan! Your support means a lot!"
The girl blushed hard, mumbled the same under her breath, and quickly moved down the table. Yamamoto forgot her name after going through several more fans, their faces and names blurring together in a misshaped blob in his head. He made some laugh and some cry, but he mostly made them blush and look at him as if he handed them the world. His hand ached by the time the umpteenth fan passed by.
Well, things became a little different when a young man carrying a boy on his back arrived at the signing table. Takeshi noted the blank look on his face, which was more from confusion than indifference, and couldn't help but internally smile at how controlled the brunet was on keeping a polite façade, even if he most likely didn't know Takeshi's name. It wasn't often that fans brought kids with them, and they were rarely the fans themselves; however, the brunet didn't look older than 20 at most and the kids didn't look related.
"Hey, there!" Takeshi said with a wave.
The young man jumped a bit in surprise before quickly realizing where he was. He didn't respond right away. Takeshi smoothly re-directed his gaze to the little girl by the man's side. The man knew. He saw through him. Takeshi grinned at the wide-eyed girl. "What's your name?" he said cheerfully.
The girl blinked and composed herself quite admirably despite her young age and meeting face-to-face with a celebrity. There was a small fire burning in her bright eyes, something that Takeshi found himself missing. "My name is I-pin!" she said, smiling cutely.
"Wow, that's a pretty name for a pretty girl!" And Takeshi really meant it. It was probably the most genuine thing he said all day. I-pin blushed. "Want me to sign that for you?"
"Yes, please," I-pin said, handing him her album. "I—I really like your singing, Yamamoto-san. You make me feel better when I'm sad, too."
A million thoughts raced in Takeshi's mind at once before he had the chance to bat them away. Then, without much resistance, his lips curled into a soft smile, the motion easier now. He saw a brief flash of approval in her guardian's eyes, which shone like amber under the lights, a startling but unique color.
"Thanks, I-pin," Takeshi said, signing her album with a tiny heart at the end. "And I really like your braids!"
That seemed to make I-pin preen. "Big Brother did them for me! Big Brother, this is Yamamoto-san! Remember?"
When the attention was directed at the young man, Takeshi finally looked up, curious to hear what he had to say. He was greeted with a kind smile.
"Hello, I'm I-pin's brother, Tsuna. I heard a lot about you."
Takeshi smiled back. "Not a big fan?"
Tsuna shook his head quickly, careful not to wake the sleeping boy on his back. "Oh, no! I'm just too old. That's what I-pin says anyway." He smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry if I offended you, Yamamoto-san."
Laughing, Takeshi handed I-pin back her album and twirled his black marker in his hand. "Nah, I understand. I can respect guys like you. You look like you have it all together." It was kind of true. Tsuna seemed pretty set, what with having two younger siblings. Takeshi couldn't help but find it admirable and almost envious.
Tsuna grinned as he relaxed a bit. "Yeah, let's go with that."
Takeshi beamed before pointing at the album Tsuna was holding. "Wanna get that signed?"
"Oh, yes. It's not for me though. It's for a friend. Her name's Haru. She's a big fan."
"No problem!" Takeshi wrote a small message for Haru and signed the album with big loops. He paused for a second, pretending to check over his signature, before taking out an extra CD from underneath the table and signing that, too. Tsuna widened his eyes when he handed them both to him. "Here. That one's on me." Takeshi winked. "Hope you become a fan." He leaned in to whisper, "World domination's on our to-do list at the moment."
Tsuna laughed. "Good luck with that, Yamamoto-san."
Takeshi smiled easily. "Call me Takeshi. Yamamoto-san's my dad."
Tsuna nodded. "Okay, Takeshi." Takeshi couldn't deny that he just felt comfortable talking to Tsuna. It was both a weird and warm feeling. "Take care of yourself. I don't think anyone would be happy if you push yourself too hard."
Blinking, Takeshi could feel his composure wane a bit, though managed to bring it back up again. "Thanks, Tsuna. Take care of the kid, too!"
Tsuna smiled. "Thank you, Takeshi."
It was almost strange seeing Tsuna and his siblings go, but their presence settled in the back of Takeshi's mind, present and still warm to the touch when he remembered them again on the way to Kyoto. He had a feeling that they would meet again and found himself hoping it would come sooner than later.
Even though Nagi had managed to negotiate a less rigorous schedule with the higher-ups, Mukuro could feel the end of his wits waning. He smiled pleasantly at each fan, pulled a simple parlor trick on their albums to keep himself from personally signing it, and spoke whatever each fan wanted to hear without them asking him. The last thing he needed was someone telling him what to do.
"Mukuro-sama, you're so handsome in person!" a fan said. "And your eyes—Gosh, they're just so beautiful!"
"Thank you, dear," Mukuro said, already forgetting her name. His brow slightly twitched when she reached out to hold his hands. Thankfully, he wore his customary black gloves, preventing much unwanted skin-ship. "Oya, is there something else you need? Perhaps"—he patted her hand—"this?"
The fan gasped, immediately retreating her hand and opening it to see a cute pig keychain on her palm. "Oh my God! How did you do that?"
Mukuro smiled, which didn't quite reach his eyes. "A lovely secret of many, my dear."
When the fan moved onto Ryohei, Mukuro thought that he deserved a pat on the back for handling that oh so admirably. His head slightly ached while he conversed briefly with another fan who was clearly here for someone else, which was fine. While Mukuro liked attention, he'd rather have it in small increments, not thrown in his face all at once. He stifled a chuckle when he stole a glance at the skylark, who greeted each fan with barely a twitch. Maybe he could poke at him a bit. It would please the fans and entertain Mukuro, like killing two birds with one stone or in this case, killing a large bird with two extra markers Mukuro was conveniently carrying.
A familiar hand brushed his shoulder before he could even grab the markers. "Don't, Onii-san," Nagi whispered in his ear. "We have half an hour left. Please be patient until then."
Mukuro huffed. "Spoiling the fun as usual, Nagi-chan?"
His sister smiled at him briefly. "Preventing collateral damage, Onii-san."
"You're becoming more and more perfect at your job every day."
Nagi flushed, then shook her head. "Half an hour."
Mukuro smiled and clasped his hands together like a good little boy would. "Of course. Anything for you, my sweet Nagi."
His sister retreated to the back and resumed texting on her phone, leaving Mukuro alone. He maintained his pleasant smile for the next fan, who was politer than most and was compensated with a pink carnation, eliciting coos and squeals of encouragement from other fans in line.
"I love you, Mukuro-sama!" someone yelled.
Mukuro winked towards the direction of the voice, making the girls scream. Ah yes, small increments. He glanced at Hibari, who looked like he was going to suffer from an aneurism. Before Mukuro could do more to make the fans go crazy, he caught a small voice saying, "That's Rokudo-san. Don't call him a pineapple, okay? He doesn't like it."
Rather than getting irked at the mention of the…unsavory fruit, Mukuro was more amused. He took in the odd trio: a young man who barely looked old enough to have children, a small girl, and a boy sleeping on the man's back. He was briefly struck by the image of Daemon carrying Nagi on his back and holding Mukuro's hand when they were younger, much younger. The memory was fleeting and disappeared when Mukuro smoothly regained his composure. "Kufufu, and who is the pretty little lady?"
The girl squeaked, reminding Mukuro of sweet Nagi when she was a child, all shy and prone to being vulnerable. "M—My name is I-pin."
Smiling, Mukuro snapped his fingers before a rose appeared in his hand. He handed the flower to the stunned girl with a wink. "A beautiful rose for a beautiful girl," he said.
"T—Thank you, Rokudo-san," I-pin said, taking the rose tenderly in her hands. It was very much like how Nagi handled the flowers in the garden. "C—Can you please sign this for me?"
Mukuro chuckled. "Already done, dear."
The girl's guardian peeked over her shoulder to see Mukuro's signature in her album and looked up in amazement. "That's incredible."
Mukuro smirked. Such compliments were always welcomed. "I live to please."
The brunet chuckled. "Well, you're living up to it well."
Mukuro blinked, faintly surprised. Most fans didn't respond to his purposely flirty one-liners, too incoherent from meeting him personally or stuttering out incomprehensible words to really engage in conversation. The ones who do were mostly fun, though they didn't linger for too long after taking pictures and receiving signatures. Mukuro smiled. "But of course. I believe I didn't catch your name…?"
The girl's guardian smiled sheepishly for forgetting his decorum. How endearing. "Tsuna. I'm I-pin's brother. Thank you for the rose, Rokudo-san. You're very talented."
Mukuro was very pleased at the compliment. "Of course. I expect nothing less of myself."
Tsuna laughed, which was a lovely sound. Mukuro hid a smile behind his clasped hands. The brunet's reactions were quite charming.
"Are my albums signed, too?" Tsuna said.
Mukuro could feel Nagi's questioning eyes on the back of his skull. It wouldn't hurt to have some sort of fun for a minute or two. "Oh? Seems like I missed one." He held out his hand. "I'd like to do it properly, if I may?"
When Tsuna blinked and handed over his album, clearly oblivious to the implications of the gesture, Mukuro took it all in stride, signing the copy with a flourish. He lightly huffed when he saw I-pin gaping at his brother as if he was the most dense person in the universe. Quite right, Mukuro thought in amusement, handing Tsuna his album back.
The idol took a daring step forward by letting their fingers brush briefly with each other and was rewarded with another reaction. Tsuna stared at his hand for a moment before dismissing it as a clear invention of the imagination. Mukuro smiled at him charmingly, feigning innocence. "Kufufu, it was a pleasure to meet you, Tsuna."
Tsuna smiled back, assuming his polite visage again. "Thank you, Rokudo-san."
"Please, call me Mukuro."
"Ah, Mukuro-san then." Tsuna broke eye-contact for a second with a sweet blush tinting his cheeks. "I know you might hear this all the time, but you have very beautiful eyes."
No, Mukuro thought, fascinated with the way Tsuna's own eyes seem to glow a gorgeous amber under the lights. Not mine, but yours.
"Thank you, Tsuna. And you look lovely as well." Mukuro never handed out compliments himself. He'd rather be on the receiving end, but this time, he'd make an exception. And, he was rewarded again with another beautiful blush.
After quickly saying his goodbye, Tsuna left, making Mukuro chuckle. To think that he met an adorable bunny in such a drab town was enough to keep him in a better mood the whole day. If Nagi noticed, she didn't ask. Mukuro was certain though that she was just more grateful that no one was sent to the hospital this time.
Being a leader was something that Ryohei never thought he'd be able to accomplish, but helping people was a natural inclination in his blood. His whole family didn't hesitate in doing the same whenever they could and Ryohei wasn't any different from them. Saying his customary greetings over and over again to each and every fan only pumped him up more than wear him out. Their bright eyes and smiles were what mattered, and Ryohei refused to see anyone sad while he was around.
"Hello to the extreme!"
The two fans laughed, and the more outgoing one raised her hand for a fist bump that Ryohei enthusiastically returned. They exchanged a thumbs-up before Ryohei signed their albums.
"Ah, Ryohei," the shy fan said, fixing her glasses. "I just wanted to say that you're really cool a—and that it was so nice of you to stand up for Gokudera like that. In the music bank, I mean."
Her friend nodded. "Yeah. It was seriously crazy how the lady just said those things."
"We're on your side," the shy one said, tucking her black hair behind her ear. "So don't be too sad, you know?"
Ryohei grinned, really touched by their words. "I'm not! Not when I have you and all the fans with me. We can do a lot of extreme things together! Thanks, Megumi-chan!"
Megumi blushed and jumped when Ryohei raised his hand for a fist bump, but managed to return the gesture timidly. He waved when the friends left and glanced down the table to check on Gokudera and Hibari. They were doing fine so far. Well, if no one was killing each other, Ryohei marked it as a good day. Seriously, his friends could get too extreme sometimes. Nagi was a saint for even bothering to deal with their shenanigans.
Rolling his shoulders, Ryohei tossed his dried-out marker in the trash bin underneath the table and grabbed a new one. He immediately brightened up when he saw a little girl appear. "Hello to the extreme!"
The girl giggled and didn't hesitate to shake his bandaged hand, making Ryohei's grin widen. He reached out to shake her guardian's hand when he saw the boy in his back. The brunet smiled apologetically. "Sorry, my hands are full. But I'd still shake your hand if I could."
Ryohei laughed and waved it off. "Not an extreme problem!" He remembered when Kyoko would climb on his back whenever she was tired and always took pride in the fact that she mostly sought him out instead of Knuckle when they were younger. A small pang dug in his chest. He missed his siblings.
"What's your name, kid?" he said to the little girl.
"I-pin!"
"Are they your brothers?"
"Yes, that's Big Brother and Lambo!"
I-pin was just quaking with tons of energy and Ryohei wondered if she could practice boxing. She definitely had an extreme amount of potential inside that small body of hers. He accepted her album and signed it with his new marker. "And what's Big Brother's name?"
"Tsuna-nii!" I-pin said, her eyes sparkling with clear love. "Big Brother is the best brother in the world!"
Tsuna blushed. "I try."
Ryohei wondered if Tsuna truly knew that his sister loved him that much. There was nothing to be modest about when it came to family. Grinning, he gestured for Tsuna's two albums. "Let me sign those! You look like an extremely good brother, Tsuna!" He signed them both, almost snapping off the marker's tip. His voice softened, fond. "I get it. I have a little sister too, and I'd do anything for her. Sometimes you feel like you're not doing enough but their happiness is extremely worth it, right?"
Tsuna's eyes widened at the unexpected but resonating sentiment. Ryohei considered it a huge win when Tsuna smiled at him; it was brighter than a thousand suns. "Yeah, it is. Thank you."
I-pin nodded, catching onto Ryohei's drift. Smart girl. "Yes, thank you, Sasagawa-san!"
Ryohei laughed. "Call me Ryohei! I'm not that extremely old yet!"
He gave I-pin a fist bump before they left and waved until they reached Gokudera. Yeah, today was an extremely good day. It was even better when he called Kyoko on the way to Kyoto and no one tried to kill each other in the car.
Hayato didn't hate people. He just didn't like pointless conversations. The inanity drove him nuts. He knew he had anger issues but when his body was practically at 20% most days, he thought it was justified to be cranky. Nagi just told him to endure and made sure he slept plenty in-between events, which he was grateful for. He honestly didn't know how she was related to the pineapple-freak or the creepy melon-head. Family was weird that way, he guessed.
Time dragged on in the fan-signing. He engaged in short conversations with the fans, shaking some hands when they asked politely enough, and kept his distance. It was the politest façade he could muster without being ticked off much. The fans thought of it as his bad-boy thing, which he supposed was fine as long as it didn't affect the group negatively. It was a miracle that Hibari even lasted this long. At least he had an outlet with that action movie deal he just snagged. It would probably take a few days until Hayato could sit down at a piano again.
"Thanks," he said to another fan, smiling slightly out of decorum. It did the trick, sending the girl squealing.
As a casual distraction, Hayato uncapped his water bottle and took some sips. The cool liquid soothed his throat, sending him to a place of short calm, before the next fan arrived. He almost cursed when he saw a little girl no older than 8 or 9 bound towards him. Kids just weren't his forte. Also, the guy with her was way too young to be her dad.
"Hey," he said, trying to pose as non-threatening as possible. "How are ya?" He mentally cringed. Fuck, where was Ryohei when you needed him? The justifiably-called kid magnet?
"I'm good!" the girl said with a bright smile. "How is Gokudera-san?"
Hayato forced on a smile. At least the kid was polite. He guessed that her guardian deserved some brownie points for that. Ah shit, he really didn't know what to do. Somehow maintaining a professional front, Hayato accepted her album, which was handed to him with two hands, and signed it quickly. The faster this was over with, the better. For the sake of the kid's sanity, he thought with an internal grimace. "I'm doing good."
"Big Brother is a fan of you, Gokudera-san!"
Okay, the Gokudera-san thing might be a bit much. Hayato looked up to meet the brunet's gaze; his finger slightly twitched when the kid's brother widened his eyes. Damn it, did he slip?
"Thanks," Hayato said, trying to ease the awkwardness. "Do you want those signed, too?"
That seemed to snap the brother out of it. "Ah, yes." He handed Hayato his two copies. "One of them is for a friend. Her name's Haru. The other one's mine. Yamamoto-san gave it to me."
Hayato felt a brow quirk up despite himself. The baseball idiot did what? Album copies were mostly there as a raffle prize or if somehow the fans broke theirs, which happened quite often. "He did?"
The brunet tilted his head, oblivious to the implications. "Is that a bad thing?"
Hayato pursed his lips. Depends really. He was pretty sure Nagi wouldn't like it if Yamamoto just gave away albums like pieces of candies. Something about revenue sales; it always had to do with money. Then again, she apparently didn't stop him. "No. Just, he doesn't do that often."
"Oh, I see."
After signing the two albums, Hayato could almost see the light at the end of the tunnel when he handed them back. He probably fucked up with this fan interaction. He didn't even ask for their names, just wrote down whatever Yamamoto had written before. Ryohei had the worst handwriting out of all of them. Hopefully he didn't crush the kid's dreams or anything.
"Gokudera-san, what's your favorite song in the new album?" the girl, I-pin, suddenly said.
"Famiglia." Hayato paused for a second. If he fucked up here, then he was done. "How about you?"
I-pin grinned. "That's one of my favorites, too! I like Kokou no Pride."
Oh thank God—not his fan. Hayato smiled slightly. "You're a Hibari fan?"
The girl blushed, clearly at a loss. "Ah, well, I—"
Her brother laughed warmly and patted her head, quickly stepping in to save her the embarrassment. Hayato was seriously grateful for that. "She is. She never stops talking about him."
Nodding, Hayato handed him the albums back. "Here."
He was close to the goddamn light and almost sighed when the brother's mouth opened again. "You know, I'm actually a big fan of one of your singles. Angel in Lavender?"
Hayato blinked, then looked up at the brunet—Tsuna, his mind corrected—with some surprise. Not many fans so far told him that, but it really humbled him if they did. It was his personal favorite. "Really? That's a pretty old song. I wrote it before my debut." And it had been hell to convince the producers to include it in the new album. If Nagi hadn't been there as a necessary mediator, Hayato would've blown the place up and left for elsewhere.
Tsuna nodded. "I really liked your piano composition in that one. It had some nice blend of Chopin and Beethoven."
Hayato quirked a brow, barely containing a smile from spreading on his face. "You're a classical fan?"
Tsuna laughed softly. Hayato's breath nearly hitched. It sounded…precious. He mentally whacked himself in the head. Where the hell did precious even come from? "I guess you can say that. I played the violin when I was younger and my mother loved it. Your song reminded me of her. So, really, what I wanted to say was thank you for making that song. It means a lot to me."
It didn't take any brain cells to figure out that Tsuna's mother had passed away, and the loss still lingered. Hayato was the same. Angel in Lavender was a piece he had written in memory of his own mother, the most precious person in his life. He had struggled to move on and get past the grief, but it stuck to him like a leech.
Hayato smiled gently, capping his marker. "No, thanks for listening. That means a lot more to me."
The fleeting kinship was momentarily broken when Nagi suddenly appeared behind him. She leaned down to whisper, "We have about 15 minutes left, Gokudera-kun. I don't want to rush you but…"
"Sorry, we're holding up the line," Tsuna said, catching on to what Nagi was saying. "It was nice to meet you, Gokudera-san."
Hayato nodded, a bit irked at losing probably the most sensible conversationalist around; however, he was more relieved at the thought of leaving soon. "Yeah, sorry about that. It was nice meeting you, Tsuna, I-pin."
The girl brightened up when he mentioned her name and waved at him shyly before she left. Hayato felt like that was one less fuck-up in his life so far.
Each and every herbivore that came by to get his signature—it was probably one of the most tasteless things Kyoya ever had to do—was just that: an herbivore. He didn't speak more than four words with them and rarely shook their hands, a habit that the pineapple's sister told him to try to get out of. Kyoya didn't bother to try. The herbivores didn't seem to have a problem with it, chalking it up to his stage persona, and mostly squealed when they were rejected. Kyoya found it odd but what did he know about them? He was a carnivore.
So when the next set of herbivores arrived, Kyoya merely stared. He remembered the herbivore from Namimori Middle, but since Namimori was a small city to begin with, he thought it was merely a coincidence. And it seemed that the herbivore didn't recognize him in return, which was…strange. Still, Kyoya didn't think that the herbivore would subject himself to this sort of fanfare. Then, Kyoya lowered his gaze to meet a small animal's terribly red face. Everything clicked into place.
The man stared impassively when the fluffy herbivore placed a bento on the table. "This is for you, Hibari-san," he said carefully. "My sister, I-pin, made it for you."
Kyoya accepted it with a small nod and placed it aside where there were piles of different offerings the herbivores gave him. The small animal bashfully handed him her album copy. She seemed to have studied him well. Kyoya signed it, paused briefly, and then wrote a small note next to her name in Mandarin: Prosper, little animal.
After handing it back, Kyoya held out his hands, silently urging the herbivore to hand him his copies. "Ah, sorry," the herbivore said. "Here."
Kyoya signed them silently and handed them back. He read the herbivore's name in the others' handwritings—Tsuna. Did the herbivore not remember him at all? Kyoya was certain that he had left a dominating presence in Namimori. His pride seemed to waver slightly. No one forgot the Hibari name and no one ever forgot a Hibari. He was snapped out of his internal musings when I-pin placed a stuffed bird on the table and pushed it gently towards him. It greatly reminded him of Hibird.
"For me?" he said.
I-pin nodded before hiding behind the herbivore's legs. Kyoya's lips slightly twitched at the gesture. "Xièxiè." [Thank you.]
The little animal squeaked then tugged the herbivore away to leave. Kyoya didn't miss the grateful smile the brunet gave him. "Thank you, Hibari-san. Take care."
Kyoya didn't offer him a glance. He suppressed a scowl when the new herbivore squealed and went off on how handsome he was. Nodding and feigning interest, Kyoya took her album and signed it quickly so she could leave. She spent another two minutes babbling about him and Alaude of all people. The pineapple's sister swiftly intervened to move the line along, which Kyoya appreciated (though he would never say it).
When the signing finally ended, Kyoya only took two things from the herbivores' gifts: the stuffed bird and the fluffy herbivore's bento. In his private car, he placed the toy on his lap and opened the bento, which was still warm. The warm scent of miso soup wafted in his nose. If Kusakabe, his driver and personal manager, saw Kyoya smiling faintly through the rearview mirror, he never brought it up.
A/N So, a lot of you peeps have been asking about what the idols are thinking about when they meet Tsuna in "Starstruck", so I present to you—"Lovestruck"! :^D
Here, I suppose it'll delve in deeper on the idols' reactions to certain events that happened in "Starstruck", but not everything will be about Tsuna. There might be extra scenes before and after meeting him to provide more context and just to show how the characters are while he's not around. I won't cover every single one of their POV's because lord help my hand (and flimsy brain) if I do, but I'll try to cover as much grounds as I can while also showing more of the idols' worlds (seriously, Tsuna, maybe you should probably try checking the entertainment section sometimes, lol).
I covered most of Decimo here since a fan-signing is fairly fast to get through. I tried to make them as accurate as I could to their characters in this AU.
Much love to my beta, nico~
Thank you so much for reading! And I know y'all are waiting for "Starstruck" to be updated soon so take this as an apology. :'^)
Have a lovely day~
Little Miss Bunny