19
The Water is Unsafe A Ten Hour Roadtrip Noah Cox
"Nagi! Time to wake up!" Mitsuki Izumi shook the shoulder of a sleeping Nagi Rokuya.
"Ten assholes," Nagi mumbled, before turning over and falling back asleep.
"What the-?" Mitsuki shook his shoulder again. "Nagi! Wake up! We need to leave soon!"
"Where are we going?" A half asleep reply came from Nagi.
"Re:Vale is taking us to Okinawa! You've known about this for months!" Mitsuki cried.
"Oh!" Nagi perked up. "Well, lets go!" Mitsuki groaned, and followed Nagi out to the living room, where seven suitcases lined up against the wall.
"It's too early," Tamaki Yotsuba grumbled, flopping onto the couch. He was still in his PJs, a matching set made to look like King Pudding.
"Don't go back to sleep, Tamaki-kun!" Sogo Osaka cried, attempting to pull the other boy up. Tamaki whined, and sat up, slumping against Sogo.
"Can I sleep in the car, Sou-chan?"
"Of course! But we need to get you in the car first."
"Well, then let's go," Tamaki stood up and made his way for the door.
"Not yet, Tama," Yamato Nikaido grabbed Tamaki by the collar of his King Pudding pajamas. "We need to wait for the rental van." Tamaki groaned and flopped back onto the couch.
"Yotsuba-san, please don't fall asleep. Re:Vale should be here soon," Iori Izumi entered the room, dragging a suitcase and a sleepy Riku Nanase behind him.
"Iooooori," Riku whined. "It's too early."
"Kujo-san will be joining us soon, so you should stay awake to greet him," Iori bribed.
"Tenn-nii!" Riku perked up. "Ok! I'm awake now!"
"You really do have a brother complex," Iori mumbled.
"Huh?" Riku cocked his head to the side.
"It was nothing important," Iori smiled. Riku just shrugged, and sat down on the couch next to Tamaki.
"I wonder where Re:Vale is taking us?" Mitsuki wondered out loud.
"Yeah, they've been pretty tight lipped about it," Yamato added. "But it must be far if we're getting up at two in the morning to get there." Everyone nodded in agreement.
Just then, the front door opened, revealing IDOLiSH7's managers, Tsumugi Takanashi and Banri Ogami.
"Good morning!" Tsumugi greeted the group. "Is everyone ready to go? Re:Vale is waiting outside with the van." Everyone yelled their confirmation, and grabbed their suitcases. All seven idols piled into a large van, meant to fit all fourteen people going on the road trip. Banri claimed the driver seat, with Tsumugi taking shotgun. Pythagoras Trio took up the back, with MEZZO" in the seats in front of them, Fly Away in the next set up, and Re:Vale right behind the driver seat.
"Sou-chan, can I sleep now?" Tamaki asked, clinging to his king pudding plushie he brought with him.
"Yes, please sleep Tamaki! Then you'll be well rested when we arrive at our destination," Momo, the youngest member of Re:Vale, smiled at the younger idol.
"Oh! Mister Momo! Where are you taking us?" Nagi asked, smoothing down the blanket Mitsuki had spread between the three members of Pythagoras Trio.
"It's a surprise!" Momo said with glee. "Now everyone buckle up, we have a long trip ahead!"
"We're going to pick up the members of TRIGGER now," Yuki, the other member of Re:Vale, explained. "After that, we have a ten hour car ride ahead of us. Please feel free to sleep on the way."
"Ten hours!?" Mitsuki exclaimed. "We better be stopping for bathroom breaks!"
"Don't worry, Mistuki-san, we'll make plenty of pit stops along the way. Please speak up if any of you need to use the restroom," Tsumugi piped up from the front seat. Mitsuki grumbled incoherently for a moment, before snuggling between Nagi and Yamato, and promptly falling asleep. Banri started the van, and drove to pick up TRIGGER.
"Good Morning!" Ryuunosuke Tsunashi, eldest member of TRIGGER, greeted the group as the door to the van slid open. "I look forward to this trip with you." He sat down next to Sogo, who immediately turned red.
"Morning," Gaku Yaotome, the leader, yawned. "Is it ok if I sleep in the car?"
"Of course! Don't forget to say goodbye to Papa Yaotome for me," Momo joked. Gaku just glared, and took the seat next to Yuki.
"Good morning, everyone," Tenn Kujo, TRIGGER's center, climbed into the van, sitting next to his twin brother.
"Tenn-nii! Good morning!" Riku smiled at his brother, happy he chose to sit next to him.
"Riku, you need to be quieter, it's too early in the morning to be loud," Tenn scolded.
"Sorry, Tenn-nii," Riku pouted, then yawned.
"Go to sleep, Nanase-san," Iori whispered. Riku mumbled something incoherent, and fell asleep, his head leaning on Iori's shoulder. Tenn raised an eyebrow when he saw the slight blush on Iori's cheeks.
They drove for another five hours, the only sounds the soft snoring of the various sleeping idols. Pythagoras Trio seemed to make one form in the backseat, Tsumugi couldn't tell where one stopped and another began. Tamaki had sprawled himself out, with one leg hanging over Sougo's. Sougo didn't seem to mind, he sat peacefully with his headphones in and his head slightly tilted. Ryuunosuke's own head was tilted towards Sougo, their heads almost touching as both slept. In the next seat up, Riku's head was still on Iori's shoulder, and he had sprawled out a little more, his legs wrapped around one of Tenn's. Tenn was leaning his back against Riku, his arms crossed. Iori had placed his head on Riku's at one point, and one of them had grabbed the other's hand, their fingers now laced together. Gaku also slept on, leaning against the window in the seat directly behind Tsumugi, who was also asleep.
Yuki and Momo were the only two besides Banri who was awake. They were cuddling up to each other, not a single part of them was left not touching the other. They were in their own blissful world.
"By the way, congratulations you two," Banri spoke quietly, loud enough for Re:Vale to hear them, but quiet enough as to not wake the rest of the van.
"Thank you, Ban-san," Momo smiled, and looked up at Yuki. "I couldn't be happier." Yuki smiled back at him, and placed a soft kiss to the other's hair.
"Banri," a voice whined from the back of the van. "I gotta pee."
"There is a rest stop just ahead," Banri responded, putting on his blinker to take the exit. He chose a parking spot close to the entrance, and turned off the engine.
"Are we there?" Tamaki asked, slowly waking up.
"No, we're stopped so you can go to the bathroom and stretch your legs," Momo explained. "There's a shop inside and some fast food places if you're hungry." Tamaki nodded, and opened the van door, stepping out and stretching.
"Hey, Sou-chan," Tamaki shook the other boy slightly. "Come with me to get food."
"Ok, I need to also use the restroom," Sogo said, wrapping up his headphones, and climbing out of the van.
Mitsuki ran out the door, Nagi closely behind him.
"Mituski! Please, slow down!" Nagi cried.
"No! You hurry up! I gotta pee!" Mitsuki yelled back, sprinting for the bathroom. Nagi cried out again, and picked up the pace. Yamato followed behind them leisurely.
The rest of the boys filtered out of the van. Most headed straight to the bathrooms. Gaku and Yamato waited in line together for Starbucks, Momo and Yuki went to grab food, and Tsumugi looked around the little shop in the corner of the rest stop.
After about twenty minutes, everyone piled back into the car, drinks and food in laps, hands, and cupholders, and the bus was lively with chatter.
"Hey, Yaotome, did they spell your name wrong?" Yamato asked, staring at his own Starbucks cup.
"Huh, yeah. I wonder how they screwed up that bad," Gaku shrugged, then took a sip of his triple expresso shot latte.
"How can you even drink that, Gaku?" Tenn asked, a look of disgust on his face. Gaku just looked Tenn in the eye as he took another sip. Tenn shivered, and took a drink of his own juice drink.
"Is everyone all set?" Banri asked the van, sliding on a pair of sunglasses. At the unison sound of agreement, he started the car, and drove towards the exit.
"Um, Banri-san," Tsumugi said, pointing out the window.
"Shit," Banri cursed. "I should've gone left. It's ok, I'm sure we can turn around somewhere…" He trailed off as they pulled up to a toll gate.
"Oh no, it's one of those pay to park places," Ryuu said, looking out the window. "People park their cars here to take the train."
"It costs ¥1000," Banri said, staring at the toll booth.
"There's a button for help, press that," Yuki suggested. Banri reached over and pushed the button. After a few minutes, a man came out, rapping his knuckles against the window.
"Hello, sir, we didn't mean to come here, is there any way we can just go through without paying the ¥1000 fee?" Banri asked, smiling softly.
"Yeah, just go through and drive around until you see a security officer, then tell him your situation," The man said. "He'll open up the gate for you."
"Thank you," Banri rolled his window up, and the gate lifted.
They did three loops around the parking lot, looking for any sign of a security officer.
"This is it," Mitsuki said, staring out the window. "We're stuck here."
"Welcome to your new home, everyone," Yamato continued. "We're never leaving this damn parking lot."
"It'll be fine, we just need to find a security officer," Banri tried to reassure everyone, taking their fourth loop.
"We have been in this parking lot for 10 minutes, Ban-san," Momo said.
"Look, that guy from before is coming back towards us," Tsumugi pointed out. Banri slowed the car down to a stop, and rolled the window down.
"Have you guys not found the officer yet?" The man asked. Banri shook his head no. "Give me a minute, I'll go grab him." He walked back into the bus station, and came out two minutes later, security officer in tow.
"I hear you guys accidentally got stuck in here," The officer said, smile on his face. Banri chuckled.
"Yeah, we meant to get back onto the highway. Is there anyway we can just pass through?" Momo asked, leaning up to look through the window.
"Sure thing, drive up to the gate and I'll lift it for you," The officer said, taking a step back so Banri could drive off. They drove up to the gate, and sat for another minute.
"I thought he said he was gonna open the gate up," Tamaki said, leaning forward to look out the windshield. "Hello? Open up, please."
"Tamaki-kun, give him some time. Maybe he doesn't know we're over here yet," Sogo said, grabbing Tamaki's shoulder.
"But Sou-chan, I don't want to be stuck here forever!" Tamaki cried.
"We won't be, just be patient." Just as Sogo said that, the gate to the exit lifted. The van erupted in cheers, and they were back off on their journey.
"Oi, Iorin," Tamaki called out about another hour into their drive. "You're smart. Is laundry a soup?" Iori lifted his head from where it rested on Riku's, turned around and just stared at Tamaki.
"I'm sorry?" He said after a moment. "Is laundry a what?"
"Soup. Isumin says its not, but I say it is 'coz you got all the stuff you need. Water and somethin' to put in it," Tamaki explained, extremely serious.
"You're not wrong, Tamaki," Mitsuki spoke up, looking up from the game he was watching Nagi play. "Technically, for something to be a soup, you need stock or water, and some sort of additional ingredients. So, in the case of laundry, the clothing would be the additional ingredients, and they're in water."
"See!" Tamaki exclaimed, then typed out what Mitsuki said to Isumi Haruka, a classmate of his and member of ZOOL. "If Mikki says it's a soup, then it is 'coz he's the best cook ever."
"Aww, Tamaki," Mitsuki placed his hand on his chest. "Thank you."
"No, I'm sorry," Iori interrupted. "Yes, Nii-chan is a very good cook, but that doesn't mean he's right. Don't you need meat for soup?"
"Sometimes soups are made with vegetables," Yuki, the resident vegetarian, supplied helpfully.
"Yes, but clothes are neither meat nor vegetable," Iori argued. "You can't eat laundry."
"Nobody said the soup had to be edible," Yamato added. "Some soups aren't. Like ones made with just vegetables." Yuki sent him a silent glare.
"This argument is stupid," Tenn sighed. "No, laundry is not a soup."
"Yes it is," Gaku said. "It's just as Izumi-ani said. It's water and added ingredients. Therefor, soup."
"You're just saying that to disagree with me," Tenn crossed his arms.
"No, I'm saying it because it's facts. Technically, laundry is an inedible soup," Gaku argued.
"Can we please have a nice vacation without you two arguing?" Ryuu sighed.
"With him? Of course not," Tenn huffed. "He has to argue with everything I say." Gaku chose to ignore him.
"Ok, but back to the topic at hand," Iori said. "Laundry does not consist of the prime ingredients used for soup. Clothes are not food, therefor not ingredients."
"Who ever said clothes weren't food?" Tamaki asked. "You can eat clothes if you really wanna." Iori looked like he was about to have a stroke.
"Ok, so if what you guys are saying is true, and you just need to add ingredients to water to make soup, then doesn't that mean I can add a lemon to my water and have lemon soup?" Sogo asked.
"Yeah, but you're not gonna call it that," Tamaki replied. "You just have water with lemon in it."
"So why would you call laundry a soup?"
"To piss people off."
"You're doing a great job at that, Yotsuba-san."
"Thank you, Iorin. Can I have some Osama Pudding for a prize?"
"No."
Tamaki huffed and crossed his arms. Sogo sighed and reached into the cooler at their feet, pulling out a cup of pudding and handing it to Tamaki. The other boy perked up in an instant, immediately tearing off the cover and diving in.
"You're the best, Sou-chan," Tamaki smiled.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Tamaki-kun."
"Sorry," Tamaki smiled softly. "Hey, Ban-san are we almost there?"
"We still have another three hours," Tsumugi answered for him, looking at the GPS. Tamaki groaned loudly, hitting his head against the back of the seat.
"The van has a screen to watch DVDs," Momo suggested. "We can put something on."
"MAGICAL KOKONA!" Nagi screamed, his eyes lighting up. "I brought all the DVDs of the anime with me!"
"Why am I not surprised?" Yamato chuckled. Nagi handed up the DVDs, and they watched anime until they arrived at their destination.
"Wow, it's so big!" Riku exclaimed, leaning over Iori took look out the window.
"I'll go grab a staff member to help us with our luggage," Banri said, getting out of the car. "Tsumugi, can you move the van if need be?" Tsumugi nodded her head in agreement.
"They'll be over here soon, so lets make it easier and start unloading," Banri said as soon as he came back. Everyone climbed out of the car and started pulling suitcases out of the trunk. Soon, the van was unpacked, and everyone was mindlessly scrolling through their phones.
"Laundry is not a soup!" A voice yelled from another car pulling up behind them.
"Yes it is, Isumin!" Tamaki yelled back. In the car was ZOOL, another idol unit that included Isumi Haruka, who Tamaki has been arguing with this entire time.
"Give it up, Haru," Toma Inumaru lightly hit Haruka on the back of the head.
"Toma-san!" Riku smiled and ran over to Toma, still holding Iori's hand. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Torao's dad owns this hotel, so he got us rooms. Apparently there's a private event happening this weekend, too," Toma said.
"Private event?" Iori tilted his head slightly. "What private event?" Momo laughed and threw his arms around Iori.
"That's a surprise for later!" The older man said, giant smile on his face.
"Momo and I will tell you when we get up to our rooms," Yuki said, running a hand down Momo's back, stopping to wrap his arm around his waist. Iori studied them carefully, before turning back to Riku and Toma.
"Is it ok for us to be here?" Torao Mido, whose father is the owner of the resort, asked.
"Of course! Who do you think it was to suggest to your dad you guys stay this weekend?" Momo grinned.
"Everyone, come help load the luggage onto the trolly," Yamato called. Riku dragged Iori back over, after saying a quick goodbye to the members of ZOOL.
"I wonder what the event could be," Minami Natsume, the final member of ZOOL, wondered aloud, placing his hand on his chin.
"We'll find out soon enough," Torao said. "I'll go grab a bellhop."
20 minutes later, IDOLiSH7 was getting settled in their room, with TRIGGER in the room next to them, and ZOOL down the hall.
"Re:Vale would like for us to meet them in their suite soon," Banri said, coming into their room. Him and Tsumugi had separate rooms down the hall.
"Ok!" IDOLiSH7 collectively yelled. Everyone put down what they were doing, and followed Banri to Re:Vale's room.
"Tenn-nii!" Riku called out when he saw his brother. Tenn smiled back at him.
"Ok!" Momo smiled brightly and clapped his hands. "Now that everyone is here, we have a special announcement to make!" Momo lifted his left hand to his face, and Yuki wrapped his arms around him, resting his head on his shoulder.
"We're getting married," Yuki smiled softly. "That's why we brought you all here."
"What?!" Everyone yelled.
"But, you're idols!" Tenn said. "Idols can't have romantic relationships, let alone get married!"
"That's why we rented out this resort," Momo explained. "That way we can have a small ceremony with our friends and family, and not have the public find out about it."
"Even if it does get out, I don't really mind," Yuki said. "Momo means more to me than being an idol does."
"Yuki," Momo smiled, a lovey-dovey smile on his face. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Yuki kissed him lightly.
"So the married couple act wasn't really an act," Yamato chuckled. "Congratulations, Senpai."
Everyone gathered around Re:Vale, giving their congratulations. The ceremony was to be held on Saturday, down on the beach. Banri had already packed suits for everyone, having been warned ahead of time.
"We should go down and celebrate tonight," Ryuu suggested. "I'm sure we could find somewhere."
"I heard there's a party happening tonight," Torao said, waving his phone. "It's theme is based off that American novel, The Great Gatsby."
Everyone agreed, and decided a time and place to meet.
Everyone grabbed a shirt, tie, vest and slacks, dressing their best for the party.
"Alright!" Nagi cheered, looking at everyone. Each of them had a different color shirt on, a white tie, and a black vest. "Let's get ready to party!"
"I just need to use the bathroom first," Riku said. Tamaki started looking for a snack, and everyone else just waited patiently on their phones, or talking between themselves.
A few minutes later, Mitsuki looked up from his phone.
"Is he ok? He's been in there a while," He muttered to himself. Iori frowned, and walked over to the bathroom.
"Nanase-san, are you alright?" He asked, knocking lightly. His only answer was the sound of Riku vomiting. "Nanase-san!"
"Um, we might need to call room service," Riku yelled through the door.
"I'm coming in," Iori opened the door. Riku was standing in the middle of the bathroom, covered in his own sick. There was also some on the floor.
"Iori," Riku's eyes started to well up with tears. "I'm sorry."
"It's ok, Riku," Iori whispered. "Let's just get you changed and in bed."
"But the party…"
"You're not going, you're sick."
"I'm fine. I don't even have a fever," Riku pouted. Iori placed his forehead on Riku's. He was burning up.
"You have a fever, you're throwing up, you're staying in bed," Iori demanded. "Now wait here and I'll grab you a change of clothes." Riku pouted even more, then nodded his head. Iori came back a few minutes later with clothes, and sighed at the sight of Riku throwing up into the toilet. Iori set the clothes down on the sink, then started rubbing Riku's back.
"You'll be ok, Riku," Iori whispered. Riku had tears rolling down his face.
"It hurts," He whimpered. Iori just hushed him, and continued rubbing his back. After a few minutes, when Riku seemed to have calmed down, Iori smiled at him.
"You think you can get up and get changed?" Iori asked softly. Riku nodded, and Iori helped him to stand up and change his clothes. Once Riku was in bed, Mitsuki poured him a glass of water, placing it on his bedside.
"Make sure to slowly sip this, ok? Throwing up water is better than dry heaving," Mitsuki smiled softly, running a hand through Riku's hair. Just then, someone knocked on the door.
"Where is he?" A voice said when the door was open, and Tenn pushed through to see his brother. "Riku, are you ok? Do you need your inhaler?"
"I'm ok Tenn-nii, it wasn't my asthma," Riku said.
"Well, it might start acting up now that you're sick," Tenn said. "You have your inhaler here, right?"
"Of course I do," Riku sighed. "Tenn-nii, I'm fine."
"You're not fine, you're sick!" Tenn snapped.
"It's just a stomach bug!"
"You're throwing up and have a fever!"
"Yeah, and that's it! I'm not dying!"
"Gaku, Ryuu, go down without me. I'm staying up here with my brother."
"You don't have to do that, Kujou-san, I was already planning on staying with him," Iori interrupted. He had already changed into a pair of sweatpants and a tee-shirt.
"He's my brother," Tenn argued.
"You haven't acted like his brother in years," Iori snapped. "So please, leave us alone, you're only going to work him up and make it worse." Tenn glared at Iori for a hot second, before storming off.
"Would you guys be ok with us going down?" Mitsuki asked. Iori nodded, climbing into the bed next to Riku. Everyone left, leaving just Iori and Riku together.
"You were a bit harsh on him, Iori," Riku whispered, cuddling up to the other man.
"I'm sorry, Nanase-san," Iori whispered back, wrapping his arms around Riku.
"You called me Riku earlier," The redhead looked up at Iori. "Please keep calling me that."
"Ok, Riku," Iori smiled, then placed a small kiss on his forehead. "Now drink some water and go to sleep ok?" Riku nodded, and did as he was told.
Meanwhile, in the elevator, Mitsuki was about to throw hands.
"I mean, Zero wasn't even that great of an Idol, y'know?" This random girl was saying. "What did he do to become 'Legendary,' huh? Sing a few songs? Please. Maybe he disappeared because he knew he wasn't that great."
"Let me hit her," Mitsuki gritted out.
"No." Yamato and Nagi said simultaneously, each holding one of Mituski's hands.
"I mean, Idols in general aren't even great. TRIGGER really sucks," The girl continued. Tamaki held Sogo back. Luckily, TRIGGER had ended up on a different elevator. "Especially that Ryuu guy. Everyone says he's so sexy, but I don't see it. He looks ugly to me." Tamaki tightened his grip on Sogo.
"There's nothing sharp in here, right?" Tamaki asked out loud. Finally, the elevator dinged, and she got off. Once the doors closed, Nagi, Yamato, and Tamaki all let out sighs of relief.
"You should've let me at her," Mitsuki huffed.
"Tamaki-kun, why did you hold me back," Sogo glared at Tamaki.
"You're scary, Sou-chan," Tamaki said.
"She was being rude to Tsuanshi-san," Sogo yelped.
"You still can't murder someone just because they're being rude, Sou," Yamato said, chuckling slightly. "You too, Mitsu."
"Well, she has no taste in music at all," Mitsuki declared. "I mean, I can get if you don't like his music, but saying he's not worthy of being called Legendary? And that he deserved to disappear?! Who says that kinda stuff?"
"Some people are just rude, but you need to get over that," Yamato told him wisely. "Now come on, I'm pretty sure they have alcohol."
Yamato, Mitsuki, Nagi, Sogo, and Tamaki partied until late that night with the members of TRIGGER and ZOOL, and when they came back, Iori and Riku were both asleep, cuddling, the TV playing an old anime in the background. Mitsuki smiled at the sight, turned off the TV, and climbed into bed with Nagi.
"I'm happy for them," Mitsuki whispered. "Re:Vale. They get to be happy together."
"Yeah," Nagi whispered. "I envy them."
"Why?" Mitsuki asked.
"Because I could never have that," Nagi replied, before drifting off to sleep.
