I made a post on the IDOLiSH7 Amino about ナナツイロ REALiZE reminding me of the Arcobaleno from KHR which sparked a crossover discussion and this was the result. Please mind the tags.

Special thanks to Rinruri and Merrowku, who helped bring this project alive by motivating me and are the major reason I'm writing this.

The story follows canon and the chapters will correspond with in-game chapters. Therefore it will be rather slow moving in the beginning. Also, most of it will be from Riku's POV, so some scenes won't show up since they remain essentially the same. As the story progresses more non-canon elements and POV's from other characters will show up.

"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"English"
"Uchināguchi"

The sun filtered through the garnet lace curtains causing the sleeping figure on the bed to stir. A mop of red hair peeked out from beneath the blanket. A yawn reverberated through the bedroom. A moment later, the peaceful atmosphere was broken by the shrill sound of an alarm clock.
Grumbling, Nanase Riku rose from the comfortable warmth of his bed and turned off the offending device resisting the urge to throw it across the room. With the incident the previous day, he had maybe got around two or three hours of sleep. He couldn't really be sure. He would have preferred to sleep in today, but it was an important day.
With a short stretch, Riku made his way out of bed to start his morning routine. Shower, get dressed, have breakfast and check in with the others. By the time he was ready to leave the house, the redhead was awake enough that he didn't have to fear getting run over by a car due to sleep deprivation.
Standing in front of the building of Takanashi Productions, Riku took a moment to just take in everything. This was it. Once he stepped into the building, there would be no going back. He was a Nanase. They started something, they finished it. No matter what happened.

In the back of his mind, there were still some doubts about having made the right choice, but this was something he wanted to do. Something he craved. He had had lengthy discussions about becoming an idol with the others. In the end, they had convinced him that, if he wanted to do it, he should. Riku had agreed and contacted Takanashi Production to let them know that he would take their offer.
'I'll just have to be extremely careful', Riku thought to himself as he took a deep breath and made his way to the entrance. When he entered, he called out the customary greeting. At first there was no answer, so he called out again.
"Yo, Riku-kun, welcome", a man, who had come around the corner, greeted him. "To formally introduce myself again, I'm Ōgami Banri, a member of staff at Takanashi Productions."
"Banri-san, I look forward to working with you", Riku responded with slight excitement, which earned him a chuckle from the older man.
"Today I'll introduce you to the other members of your group, as well as your manager", Banri explained as he motioned for Riku to follow him.
"The members and our manager…. That's already been decided?" Riku questioned with an arched eyebrow. That was a bit of a surprise, though he didn't really mind. He wondered what kind of people they were. Were they like his brother? Or completely different?
"Of course! A number of them came earlier. Go to the training hall and meet up with them", Banri responded and pointed out in which direction he had to go. Riku thanked him and made his way down the corridor.

"Why am I getting nervous?" Riku mumbled to himself with a slight undertone of annoyance as he stood in front of the door leading to the training hall. He had been in far worse situations. This didn't really warrant getting nervous. Suddenly the door opened ripping Riku from his thoughts.
"How do you do?", the young man, who had opened the door, greeted. All Riku could to in that moment was blink at the blond in front of him.
'English? Is he Japanese? A foreigner? Or maybe mixed? His face is beautiful, like it's been crafted-…' Riku thought stunned. Before he could finish his thoughts or respond, the other started talking again.
"Oh! Nice to meet you! I am Rokuya Nagi. What's your name?", the blond introduced himself. Mixed was the most likely answer then, in Riku's opinion. Though, he could be wrong. Remembering, that he was supposed to respond in kind, he straightened slightly.
"Ah… N-Nanase Riku. Nice to meet you!" the redhead exclaimed mentally kicking himself for the slight stutter.
"Riku. It's an honour to meet you. Are you also here to be an idol… to be one of my members?" Nagi asked him obviously ignoring the stutter. This person was a bit odd, but that was all right. Odd, Riku could deal with and actually preferred it to 'normal' given his own situation.
"Yes! Probably!" Riku answered. What was wrong with him today? Had the medication he had taken yesterday messed with him more than it should? Or was he so out of it because of the injury? It wasn't that bad. He had had worse and he barely felt any pain thanks to his tolerance for it.
"Ok! I look forward to working with you", Nagi returned giving of a friendly aura.
'What a cool and stylish person…. He's probably very calm and composed', Riku pondered, but keeping in mind that first impressions weren't always correct. He would just have to see.
"Come this way. Two other members have come already. They are apparently brothers", the blond added and motioned for Riku to follow him into the room. As they entered the room, Nagi called out to two other people, who Riku assumed were the two aforementioned brothers, telling them they had a newcomer.
"I heard! You're Riku, right? Good to work with you", a young man with orange hair and short stature greeted him. Riku simply nodded.
"I'm Izumi Mitsuki, and this is Iori!" Mitsuki introduced him and his brother. Riku could see in their facial features that they were related despite their colour differing greatly. His first impression was that of a bright and cheerful younger brother, with a cold, older brother. But something didn't feel right with that. There was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind as he gazed at the pair of brothers, the assumed older brother having stayed silent.
"Iori. Don't just stay silent, say hello!" Mitsuki lightly scolded his brother.
"… I look forward to working with you", Iori stated after some hesitance. The nagging feeling got stronger, so Riku decided to feel out the brothers.
"Iori-kun, you seem pretty shy. Mitsuki-kun, you're a lot more dependable than your older brother, huh?" Riku stated. The moment he finished his sentence, he could see the reactions of the two brothers. There was an amused twitch to Mitsuki's mouth and an annoyed twitch to Iori's left eye.
'Well, that answers that question. Oops', Riku thought already sensing the one he had assumed to be older getting ready for a verbal lash out.
"Nanase-san, I see your observation skills are lacking", Iori said in a predictably steely tone.
'I doubt I would still be alive if that was the case', Riku thought dryly. Though he could admit, that his sometimes-blunt manner and type of trying to feel someone out, like he had just done with the brothers, had got him into trouble a couple of times.
"What do you mean? And just call me Riku!" the redhead exclaimed outwardly wondering if he should already be pushing buttons. If he went too far or something went wrong, he could potentially ruin any future good relationship with his group members.
"Iori, don't say something so uncalled for. Everyone makes that mistake at first", Mitsuki once again gently scolded his brother and directed the second part at Riku, "Riku, I'm the older brother. Iori's the younger one. I'm also older than you. I'm 21."
"Ah, I'm 18. What about him?" Riku responded jutting his thumb towards the younger brother. Since he focused on the older brother, he didn't pay attention to the younger one, but he thought he heard him mumbling about not pointing fingers.
"He's 17 and still in high school. Also, don't worry about honorifics, just Mitsuki and Iori is fine", Mitsuki pointed out with a chuckle.
"Then just call me Riku!" the redhead exclaimed deciding to keep silent about the nagging feeling he had had earlier. Just then, Nagi decided to rejoin the conversation.
"I made the mistake, too. It's difficult to grasp a Japanese's person's age", Nagi solemnly said. "I'm nineteen."
"Huh?" Riku blurted out in slight surprise. Granted, he wouldn't have estimated Nagi's age to be over 22, but it still surprised him slightly. If he had to guess, it was Nagi's foreign heritage. Seemed like difficulties of estimating a person's age went both ways.

Just then the door opened with a click. Two more young men joined them. Riku mentally told himself to keep his mouth shut this time. Though, he couldn't help the amused though of one of them looking like what the public would call a delinquent, while the other seemed very proper. He had to keep himself from snorting out loud.
"Nice to meet you, everyone. My name is Ōsaka Sōgo", the seemingly kind one introduced himself. For some reason, Riku's hair stood on end for a split second, though he had no idea why. He felt like he had just caught a glimpse of the future. Shaking it off, he decided to go ahead and introduce everyone.
"Sōgo-san, nice to meet you! I'm Nanase Riku, 18. Mitsuki is 21("Good to work with you!"), Iori is 17 ("Hello.") and Nagi is 19 ("Nice to meet you!")", Riku disclosed pointing out each person as he mentioned them ignoring the glare Iori sent him as he did so.
"Thank you for introducing everyone, Riku-kun. I'm 20 years old. Mitsuki-san, Iori-kun, Nagi-kun, I look forward to working with you", Sōgo beamed at the group. Why did Riku feel like this one was going to throw him off sometime in the future? He tuned back into the conversation in time to hear him tell the other one, whose name was apparently Tamaki, to introduce himself as well.
"Do you two know each other?" Riku wondered having though they just came at the same time. They didn't give off the air of being familiar with each other. The responded with a negative and explained that Sōgo had shown Tamaki the way.
"Yotsuba Tamaki. 17", Tamaki finally introduced himself. He reminded Riku of a sloth somewhat. Not in the sense that he lazy necessarily, but more in the sense of being laid back and taking his time. Lost in his thought he missed the arrival of the last member. Only when he felt stares on him, did he look up.
"Oh, hi. I mean. Eh. Sorry. My name is Nanase Riku, 18 years old. Umm…", Riku sputtered and wanted to drown himself in embarrassment right afterwards.
"Nikaidō Yamato- 22 years old. Nice working with you", the newcomer responded with a hint of amusement. Riku had a tough time fighting down the heat in his cheeks but managed to do so.
Chariot would probably be amused as it would remind him of his own younger years if had witnessed this. Some of Chariots circle would most likely give him the cold stare, like Officer and Einstein would most likely lecture him on being an embarrassment to Chariot. That is, if they even knew of his relationship with Chariot. As far as he knew, Chariot hadn't told any of his friends or family about him yet.

Once again, Riku-kun was brought out of his thoughts by the door opening. He turned in time to see Banri enter the room. He enquired if they all had introduced themselves, which they confirmed they had done.
"Well then, without any delay, why don't we have everyone here…", Banri began, but got cut off.
"Do a lesson?" Mitsuki asked. Riku could literally see the energy vibrating from him. That was interesting.
"Have a briefing?" Sōgo enquired. Riku still got that weird feeling when he looked at him.
"Play basketball", Banri simply stated. Riku almost wanted to laugh out loud at everyone's dumbfounded reaction having had the feeling that something like this would happen. He almost missed Yamato's murmur of questioning if had entered a strange agency. The redhead chuckled internally. He had done a bit of research on the agency beforehand, so for some people that impression might be correct. An interesting time would lie ahead of them. Riku was sure of it. He just hoped nothing went too wrong.

A while later, the seven of them were in the midst of a basketball game. Yamato had taken the role of the referee, while Riku, Sōgo and Nagi formed one team, and Iori, Mitsuki and Tamaki formed the other one. If Riku had been keeping track correctly, his team was a point behind the opposing team.
The match had been going on long enough that it was starting to take its toll on him. He hadn't even noticed the nicely dressed young women enter. It took all his concentration to keep going. From the short interaction, when she returned the ball to him after it had rolled towards her because he had failed to catch it, she seemed to be a bit of a shy one, but earnest given her cheering, which had slightly surprised him.
Coming back to the game with his thoughts, Riku readied himself to shoot the ball towards the hoop. His knees bent low, his muscles pulled tight and his single focus was on the hoop. Then his body shot into a straight position, his arms stretched towards the hoop and the ball shot out of his hands as if it was an arrow released from the bow.
Everyone watched with bated breath as the ball soared towards the hoop. It hit the edge, rolled half a circle along the bar and finally fell through the hoop. The whistle sounded, and Yamato announced that it was a tie between the two teams. Absentmindedly, Riku listened to the opposing team arguing with Yamato about overtime while catching his breath. When Banri interrupted calling for them to gather, the redhead let out a heavy sigh of relief. He really didn't know how much longer he would have managed to keep up.
"Riku-kun? Are you okay?", Banri asked when he noticed his heavy breathing and lagging behind the others in gathering around him.
"Yes, I'm fine", Riku breathed out, immediately straightening up. He really hoped he could get away soon for a short time to check himself over. If his suspicion was right, he was eternally grateful that his training outfit was black instead of white.

"All right, I'm going to introduce your manager. This is Takanashi Tsumugi-san", Banri announced motioning to the young women next to him. Riku recognised her as the one who had cheered him on earlier.
"I'm Takanashi Tsumugi. I know I may be a rookie who doesn't know much yet, but I look forward to working with you. I was deeply moved by your game! You were all very serious and determined, I couldn't take my eyes off of anyone…", the blonde woman, or perhaps girl was a better fit, continued her introduction. Nagi didn't waste any time starting to flirt with her.
'So much for first impressions', Riku mentally snorted. Nagi seemed to be opposite of calm and composed at this very moment. Riku had a feeling he did have serious side to him, though. Nagi's flirting prompted a small squabble between him and Mitsuki.
"Manager, huh? Is it all right for it to be such a young girl?" Yamato interjected questioningly.
"She also said she was a rookie, didn't she", Iori added his two cents. The comments made Riku want to break out into hysterical laughter. If only they knew. He was about to retort after noticing Tsumugi's stuttering when someone else beat him to the punch.
"Age has nothing to do with it. She seems like a reliable kid. I look forward to working with you, Manager", Sōgo commented kindly. Riku had a tough time keeping himself from giving the older boy a hug, while mentally grinned like a Cheshire cat. Age, indeed, had hardly ever anything to do with such things.
"I look forward to working with you! Thanks for cheering me on earlier!" Riku chirped enthusiastically. Their future manager seemed to slightly fluster at the sudden change in tune. Just then Tamaki commented on being hungry directing it at the manager, which sparked another small argument.
"Everyone gets along very well. Did you know each other from before?", Tsumugi wondered, effectively cutting off the discussion about bento.
"No, most of us just met today", Riku admitted. He did, however, agree that the seven of them worked well with each other considering all of them, with the exception of the two brothers, had only met today.
"Is that so. You all worked together so smoothly…", Tsumugi noted expressing her surprise. Before the conversation could carry on, Banri mentioned that the President wanted to see her. She excused herself, as did Banri, who let them know they would be back shortly, leaving the seven boys alone.

Not too long after Banri and Tsumugi had left, everyone settled down apart from each other aside from the brothers. No one really talked as most of them were still winded from the basketball game. Riku considered grabbing his bag and go to the bathroom but decided against it in the end. Banri did say shortly, so he had no way of telling how much time he would have.
Instead he decided to observe his future group members. They all seemed so different from each other simply looking at their appearances. The small bits and pieces that could be gathered from their short interactions seemed to further drive that point home. Riku did not doubt that they could splendidly work together as proved by their basketball game. However, he also knew that not everything was going to go smoothly. There would be challenges.
The redhead shifted slightly to accommodate the dull pain in his side as he continued to contemplate the future he was heading towards. Arguments and disagreements were a natural part of any relationship, no matter what kind. The challenge was going to be how to work through them. Especially with the added stress of the entertainment industry. How they handled those situations was either going to make or break them. How far would the seven of them be able to go?

Riku was about to gather himself to start a conversation, but the door opened causing him to halt his plans and take a look. Their future manager had returned. She closed the door behind herself and motioned for everyone to gather. Riku had to bite back a wince as he stood up and realised that sitting down had been an unwise decision, which he really should have known. As he made his way over he got a better view of the woman and frown made its way onto his face.
Something was wrong. Riku slowed his pace and began studying her features. At first, he couldn't discern anything aside from his intuition telling him that something was not right. As he got closer, however, he started to notice miniscule tell-tale signs. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her skin seemed a shade paler than when she had left earlier. Not sickly pale, but not her natural shade of skin colour either. It was only when he came to stop next to everyone else that the puzzle pieces clicked together in his mind. She was distressed. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling they were about to find out.

Not a minute later, Riku was proven right. An audition would happen. The announcement caused a bit of an uproar with the other members. Riku couldn't really blame them. They had all been under the impression that they would debut together as a group of seven. He still felt Iori's comment was a bit uncalled for.
"Saying that so coldly… I'm sure there were unavoidable circumstances. Isn't that right, Manager?" Riku commented and he meant it. He could clearly see that Tsumugi was distressed and it had to do with what she had just told them. That alone was enough for him to assume that she wasn't happy with how things were going either but had no choice.
That left the option that the president most likely told her to hold the audition, which made the redhead's frown deepen. He had met the President Takanashi. The man hadn't seemed like someone who would deceive others like this. Something was going on, but Riku had no idea what.
"Did you come here to play? This is a business. She's a business partner. If they aren't someone I can feel safe with watching my back while I'm on stage, then I won't entrust my face or my name to them", Iori shot back bringing Riku out of his musings. In another situation, Riku might have fully agreed with the younger one. He was well aware of the trust needed for certain things. He could agree with the sentiment of them needing to be able to trust their manager, but they had no knowledge of the entire situation. Jumping to conclusions was not something that they should do, especially if they did not know each other that well.
"Saying things like "business" …. Iori, you're a high school student, right? You don't have to try so hard to act like an adult…", Riku responded deciding to keep his real thoughts to himself for the time being. Well, not that those weren't his real thoughts either. Iori wasn't completely wrong with this being a business and it was good that he understood that, but at his age, he shouldn't feel the need to put on a front.
'Unless…?" Riku thought as an idea made its way into his brain. But he mentally shook his head a moment later. If that had been the case, he would have known about it. Perhaps Iori was just shy or wanted to impress his older brother or family with his mature behaviour. Though, not all of it seemed a front. Still, Riku could see that Iori wasn't being entirely true to himself. He was the same after all, just for very different reasons. Most likely. Hopefully.
"You're like a pre-schooler, aren't you", Iori stated more than questioned. Riku dryly thought that that statement wasn't entirely incorrect if someone, who had not gone to school yet, was meant by pre-schooler. After all, he had never gone to school before. At least not to an official educational institution. He had been mostly home-schooled or attended special lessons during his extended hospital stays. The actual implication Iori aimed for, however, kind of pissed him off and made that clear by exclaiming an offended "What!?".
"Would you be happy with holding hands while smiling, taking an afternoon nap after playing, and receiving a gold star from the teacher?" Iori went on, which agitated Riku to no end. He really had no patience for such antics. If not for the snide tone of his voice, Riku would have called it childish, which it still was in a sense. His lack of sleep was probably partially to blame for how easily his buttons were being pushed today. Or Iori just had a talent for pissing people off. Or both.
"You should watch how you talk to people older than you", Riku shot back with a serious tone and dropped the politeness of his speech. He did manage to keep the anger he felt out of his voice, though. Even if the younger pissed him off, that was no reason to scare the hell out of everyone. He really wanted to go back to bed right now.
"Did you just try to intimidate me?" Iori questioned. Riku could detect a hint of astonishment and indignation, which caused a tiny mental smirk to form. The accusation made him want to roll his eyes. He had meant it more as a warning than intimidation despite being pissed off. Some people didn't take kindly to being talked to by younger people than them the way Iori had been talking to him. No matter how mature Iori was or believed himself to be, he needed to be aware of who he could talk to that way without endangering himself. Regardless of the setting. The most Riku would do would be scaring the hell out of Iori, but some people were pretty trigger happy. Like Chariot's former adversary.
Before the bickering could grow into something more serious, Mitsuki and Sōgo stepped in. Mitsuki told Iori off and apologised for his younger brother's rude behaviour, while Sōgo kindly suggested to Riku to calm down causing the two bickering boys to turn their heads away from each other.
Riku's gaze landed on Tsumugi as he did so. He could easily see that the situation was adding to her distress causing her to become insecure and not know what to do. Another sign that she had nothing to do with organising the audition. The redhead heaved a mental sigh trying to figure out how to fix the situation and find a possible solution to ease the girl's distress.
"All right then. I'm pulling", the eldest announced breaking the uncomfortable silence that had formed after Iori and Riku's bickering had stopped. The announcement shocked most of the other, though only Tsumugi gave a verbal reaction by stammering Yamato's name in surprise.
"I don't intend to push anyone here out. The reason I'm here is something like revenge anyway. I'll give up my place to someone with a more honest dream", Yamato continued causing some raised eyebrows and Riku's case a slight frown. Something about what Yamato had said caused a nagging feeling at the back of his mind. He felt like he had heard something similar a while ago, but he couldn't put his finger on it. That and revenge had quite the negative connotation. Riku didn't get the feeling that Yamato was a bad person, which was further accentuated by his willingness to pull out of the competition before it began.
"Well, thanks for today", Yamato said turning away and began to make his way towards the door. Only Tsumugi's exclamation for him to wait made him stop in his track and slightly turn his body back.
"Even if it's only the audition, please do it. This could just be my own selfish wish, but…. I want to see more…. I want to see everyone dance and sing even more. Please!" Tsumugi begged bowing to add meaning to her words. The bespectacled man remained silent staring, in what Riku assumed to be mild astonishment, at the girl.
"Oh…. I can't let a lady lower her head alone. Do this for me as well", Nagi added making Riku smile gently not hiding it this time.
"And for me, too!" Riku urged giving the older man an imploring gaze.
"And me, too", Sōgo pressed gently, but with determination.
"… you're a bunch of idiots. You're losing a rival, you know", Yamato sighed after a moment of hesitation.
"Even so, I'm not happy losing one like this", Mitsuki declared echoing Riku's, and most likely everyone else's, feelings on the matter. Yamato stared at them for a moment, the astonishment clear as daylight on his face this time. Under the combined imploring gazes of Mitsuki, Nagi, Tsumugi, Sōgo and Riku, it didn't take long for him to cave and Riku could see the exact moment it happened.
"… all right, all right! I'll do the audition", Yamato conceded raising his hands in the universal 'I surrender? Gesture which caused the five of them to grin happily.

When all seven had gone through their audition, Tsumugi thanked them and requested they wait in the room until they announced the results. Riku had to hide a wince. He had hoped to be able to slip away for a while after the auditions were done in order to check himself over. Now that he had been requested to wait in the room not knowing how long it would take them to announce the results, he decided it would be best to just sit down and rest for the time being. He chose one of the corners furthest away from the door and slumped down drawing his knees up to rest his head on them, while his arms hung loosely around his legs.
Riku took a deep breath before starting to actively focus on his breathing. Slow and measured breaths. It would help to dull the pain in his side for the time being. Once Riku had found the desired rhythm, he let his mind wander wondering if he would pass the audition. A part of him wished, hoped, prayed that he did. Another part of him wanted to panic in fear of that happening. The part that feared for the consequences should he mess up at some point. His thoughts were interrupted when he picked up on footsteps drawing closer until they came to halt in front him. Glancing up, he saw Sōgo standing in front him. He seemed to hesitate for a moment as if he was unsure how to approach Riku.
"… Riku-kun, are you all right? Do you want me to buy you something to drink?" Sōgo enquired with a worried undertone that made Riku wince internally. He hadn't meant to worry anyone, but he had needed a bit of space earlier.
"Ah… It's fine…", Riku responded vaguely. He hated lying even if he knew it was sometimes unavoidable given certain circumstances. So, he tended to give vague answers to avoid outright lying of he didn't want to tell the truth. He wasn't exactly fine, but he wasn't thirsty.
"Don't hold back. What would everyone else like?" Sōgo encouraged directing the second part to everyone else in the room.
"I'll go with you? What do you all want?", Yamato added stretching with a short yawn.
"A sports drink, if they have one", Mitsuki piped up with a sudden energy startling Riku a bit. He may not have paid any attention earlier, but one didn't have with how depressed and tense the atmosphere had been earlier.
"I'll have the same", Iori added.
"Some kinda juice", Tamaki drawled.
"Mineral water, please", was Nagi's answer.
"Got it. We'll be leaving then", Sōgo said with a nod. He and the eldest of their group left leaving the others in a slightly less tense atmosphere.

Riku sighed gently as he came back to himself after his meditating. Glancing around the room, he noticed that Mitsuki and Tamaki had migrated to another part of the room. His gaze landed on Iori, who seemed to be troubled. Given their interactions so far, Riku hesitated for a moment. In the end, though, his need to cheer up people when they felt down won out. He would probably still get told off.
"… Are you okay?" Riku enquired softly when he was in front of Iori.
"… What? I'm not nervous at all. If you want someone to talk to, look somewhere else", Iori snapped causing Riku mentally facepalm. He really should have known. Well, he had. He just had ignored it in favour of the need to try to cheer the other up.
"It's not that. It's just, you were making a really scary face", Riku countered holding up his hands in an attempt to placate the other- He really didn't want another bickering session to start. He normally would have enjoyed the bickering, but the sleep deprivation made it difficult. When it didn't look like Iori would reply, he decided to try some small talk also known as subtle information gathering.
"So, you're aiming for the same thing with your brother", Riku stated trying to avoid making it sound like a question.
"Is that a problem?" Iori bristled. Riku was starting to think that bickering would be their default mode of communication at this rate.
"Not at all! Jeez! It's your mouth that's the problem! You're always so crabby", Riku exclaimed in a temporary loss of self-control. While he didn't exactly regret it, he really hadn't meant be that blunt.
"… I'm sorry", the other apologised in a barely audible volume. For a moment, Riku was stunned by surprise, before he allowed a small, gentle smile to grace his lips.
"… I just thought, it was really nice…. You're walking towards your dream with Mitsuki…. You look like you get along…. I bet it's a lot of fun to work alongside your brother. Ahaha. I'm just a bit envious", Riku babbled in attempt to make Iori feel better. Inwardly, he winced as soon as he finished talking. He hadn't meant to let that much slip. He really needed a bed right now. Or, heck, even a couch would do. He just hoped the younger hadn't picked up on the slight wistfulness he hadn't been able to keep out of his voice. Before any more could be said, the door slammed open causing everyone's attention to snap towards it.
"We're back. Yamato-san is treating us", Sōgo announced as he entered followed by the eldest member of the group.
"it's fine, you don't have to tell them. Buying something like juice doesn't' really count as treating anyway", Yamato responded. Was that a hint of embarrassment Riku detected? The pair, that had gone to buy the drinks, started handing them out and received thanks in return.
"All right, here you are. The mineral water was for, umm…", Yamato trailed off as he tried to remember for whom the mineral water was.
"Thanks. It's for me", Nagi beamed suddenly getting into the green-haired man's face making him flinch back in surprise.
"Whoa, don't suddenly bring your face so close! You're so beautiful my heart almost stopped", Yamato yelped. Riku had to hide a chortle behind his hand. He had seen Nagi move and had expected a surprised reaction, but that was just priceless. He wished he had had a camera with him. If their future fans ever found out about this, of both Yamato and Nagi made it, which he didn't doubt, they would start, what was the word again, shipping them together.
"I understand that feeling…. You really are beautiful, Nagi-kun. It's like nothing I've seen on TV or in movies before…", Sōgo concurred. Nagi's momentarily confused face was sort of adorable in Riku's opinion, but he could sense there was more behind the confusion.
"You are all very interesting", Nagi stated after a moment of silence.
"Our faces?" Sōgo said perplexed. Riku doubted that was what the blond had meant. He was more likely talking about their reactions since beauty such as Nagi's was often met with jealousy or flattery by others. He had seen it before.
"Our faces? Since you're so handsome, do our faces look funny to you?" Yamato joked good-naturedly.
"No, no! Everyone here is very beautiful", Nagi protested seriously, the sentiments of Yamato's joke seemingly having gone unnoticed.
Riku was about to the add his two Yen but halted and looked towards the door. Only seconds later, the door opened to reveal Tsumugi.
"Ah…. Manager…", Riku voiced drawing everyone else's attention to the young woman. A moment of silence reigned as everyone steeled themselves.
"…, I've prepared myself. Give it to us straight!" Mitsuki huffed.
"Did I pass?" Tamaki immediately questioned.
"You're too greedy", Yamato commented exasperated, but there was a hint of fondness in his voice.
"Three of us will be chosen, right?" Sōgo recalled.
"Please tell us. Depending on the result, I'll need to talk with the president", Iori stated. Riku arched an eyebrow at that.
"Please, my girl", Nagi encouraged her. Tsumugi took a deep breath to steady herself before she dropped the bomb. Riku wanted to break into hysterical laughter when she told them that the whole audition thing had been a test for both her and them. He somehow managed to keep himself from doing so and instead whooped loudly. It was a close call, though. He really needed to catch up on some sleep.

Riku let out a weary sigh as he dropped his bag to the floor and leaned against the entrance door of his home after having closed it. The day had been a roller coaster. IDOLiSH7, huh? He liked the name. A giddy feeling bloomed deep inside him. He was looking forward to working with everyone.
"You look like you had a rough, but pleasant day", a voice chuckled startling Riku into alertness. He frankly looked around until his gaze landed on a figure leaning leisurely against the wall not too far from him.
"Chariot", Riku breathed in relieve. Chariot was one of the few people who had a spare key for his house, but he rarely dropped by without giving him the heads up.
"Sorry for startling you. I was in the area for a meeting and dropping by was a very spontaneous decision", Chariot admitted with an apologetic smile as he stepped towards Riku.
"It's fine. I'm just suffering from sleep deprivation and exhaustion, so I'm not as alert as I would usually be", Riku grunted as he started to slide down the door. Chariot was next to him in an instant wrapping an arm around Riku's waist while using his other hand to sling Riku's arm over his shoulders.
"That bad?" Chariot asked after making sure Riku wouldn't topple over and slowly started walking towards the living room.
"Not really, but I got a nasty cut in my side. The basketball game might have reopened it. I hadn't really had the opportunity to slip away to look at it", Riku groaned out between gritted teeth. He normally had an absurdly high tolerance for pain, but that seemed to fly out of the window whenever he reached a certain point of exhaustion.
"Let me take look at it?" Chariot asked as he set down the redhead on one of the couches. Riku merely nodded his assent. Too exhausted to form words. Besides, Chariot knew where he kept the first aid stuff. True to that, it only took Chariot four minutes to return with Riku's first aid kit. He set them down on the coffee table before beginning to free Riku's upper body from the clothing.
Chariot hissed in sympathy and worry when the bandages beneath were revealed. The wound had opened up indeed. The amount of blood would normally have him scrambling to call an ambulance. But the discoloured patches made it clear that the only reason it looked so bad, was because the wound had been bleeding for hours which had allowed the blood to soak the bandages. Like if a part of a fabric item was submerged into a glass of water while the rest remained dry. Given enough time the water would spread through the fabric and moisten parts that weren't directly in contact with it.
"How do you feel?" Chariot enquired as he unwrapped the bandages. Most would have thought that to be a stupid question, but Riku knew was his friend was actually asking.
"Tired and exhausted. A bit of a headache, but no nausea or dizziness", Riku responded. Chariot hummed in acknowledgment. Riku's breathing was slow but steady and strong. Same with his pulse. While he was slightly paler than Chariot would like, he felt warm to the touch and the skin wasn't clammy. No blue lips of fingernails either.
"We can rule out hypovolemic shock, but I'm still staying the night", Chariot asserted as he removed the last bandages. Normally, Riku would have argued not wanting to be a burden to anyone, but he was too exhausted. Instead, he just nodded.
The next few minutes were spent in a comfortable silence as Chariot worked. He cleaned the cut gently and rewrapped the injury taking care to make the bandages tight enough to act as a compressor, but loose enough to still be comfortable for Riku.
Afterwards, Chariot cleaned everything up and then helped Riku to his bedroom, where he helped him change into his nightwear. Riku was already dozing off by the time Chariot pulled up the covers mumbling a thanks and good night. The last he was aware of was Chariot kissing his forehead and wishing him a restful night.

The next morning, Riku woke to the smell of pancakes permeating the house. He felt a lot better having got a couple of hours of sleep. His side was a bit sore, though, which really didn't surprise him after yesterday's event. Slowly, he made his way to the kitchen, where he found Chariot humming in front of the stove. He made sure to make some noise to avoid giving the other a heart attack.
"Good morning, Riku! How did you sleep?" Chariot asked brightly while flipping a pancake over.
"Morning. Quite good actually", Riku responded while he made himself some tea eyeing the pancakes. Chariot, who noticed that, chuckled in amusement.
"Don't worry. They are edible, though they can't compare to my mom's cooking", Chariot reassured the redhead making him smile. It wasn't that Chariot was a bad cook, he just hardly bothered with cooking, which led to him only being able to safely cook simple meals. The one time he tried to cook something special for Riku's birthday, he ended up blasting Riku's kitchen to pieces. Not that Riku could really talk. If it wasn't for the fact that he had to cook for himself on a daily basis, he would be in the same situation as Chariot regarding cooking skills.
A few minutes later found the two boys sitting at the table with a stack of freshly cooked pancakes, a pot of tea and various syrups. Not exactly a traditional Japanese breakfast, but both of them liked to switch it up occasionally.
"So, how are the members of your group?" Chariot asked curiously while cutting a piece of his pancake off. Riku swallowed the mouthful he was chewing on.
"They are an interesting bunch. Four of them are older than me and two are younger. One of the two younger ones really pushed my buttons yesterday. Either the sleep deprivation made it so easy or he has a talent for pissing people off. Or both", Riku chattered away and recounted the events of the previous day.
"Sounds like a chaotic bunch", Chariot commented with amusement clear in his voice.
"As if your group is any better", Riku teased, which made Chariot groan in exasperation.
"Please, don't remind me", Chariot begged with faux desperation. Riku couldn't hold it anymore and howled with laughter. Though, he had to stop when the cut in his side started to protest. The rest of the breakfast was spent comparing their groups.
After breakfast, Chariot checked Riku's injury again and was pleased to see that there were only a couple of fresh blood drops. Once Riku was bandaged up again and dressed for the day. Chariot bid him goodbye letting him know he would be by sometime soon again.
Following Chariot's departure, Riku retreated to the library to get some reading done. He had no plans for the day and IDOLiSH7 wouldn't meet until tomorrow. They had been given the day to sort anything that needed to be sorted out in light of their new futures as idols. As he didn't really need to sort out anything, he was content to spend the day lazing around after the last few hectic days. With the intention of getting his current book finished by the day, he made himself comfortable on one of the library couches and immersed himself into the story of an ancient land.

Hope you enjoyed!