Remedy

Chapter Nine

"Na No Da! Maddi-chan, we're going to see Shuichi and the others. Aren't you excited?" Ryuichi inquired with a playful grin as he pulled the timid girl down the hallway.

"A-Ano, I suppose," Maddi mumbled, surveying her surroundings. All of the hallways looked so similar that it seemed too easy to get lost. Maddi, although enjoying Ryuichi's company, was getting a little bit nervous. She could hear the distinct sound of K's steel toed boots emanating from behind, meaning the American producer was close. Whether out of fear or nerves, Maddi drew closer to Ryuichi. She pulled her hands out from his firm hold, instead opting to wrap an arm around the bottom portion of his waist, making the singer stop walking.

"Nani?" he looked down to see Maddi staring at him expectantly. With her small eyes glistening, Ryuichi couldn't help but frown. What was wrong with Maddi-chan? Determined to deduce the problem, he thrust Kuma forward, who had been conveniently sitting atop his head. "Maddi-chan, Kuma-chan wants to know what's wrong. Tell him, please!" Waving the pink bunny back and forth, Ryuichi patiently waited for Maddi to speak; however, Maddi chose not to answer his question, instead deciding to ask her own.

"Might I-I have another hug, Sak-Ryuichi-san?" Slightly disappointed by the use of honorifics, Ryuichi nonetheless complied.

"Hai, hai!" Without missing a beat, he knelt down and pulled the small girl into his arms, hugging her tight. Maddi exhaled softly, already beginning to feel better. Wrapping her arms around his lean frame, she leaned her head atop his shoulder—having to stand on the tips of her heels—and smiled softly. She felt safe and secure wrapped in Ryuichi's arms.

Ryuichi smirked when feeling Maddi holding onto him tightly. Then a thought came to mind. Briefly looking down to make sure the girl was okay, Ryuichi wrapped an arm around the lower portion of her waist to hold her tightly. Using the other arm to support the upper portion of her, Ryuichi slowly jumped to hit feet, bringing Maddi with him.

"Ah!" Without realizing it, a squeak escaped from her lips, making her blush. What was Ryuichi doing? "S-Sakuma-san?" she stuttered.

"Na, Maddi-chan, remember to call me Ryu!" The singer whined, slowly shifting her in his arms. Attempting to make her more comfortable, Ryuichi looked down and offered her a hearty grin, flashing his set of pearly white teeth. "Maddi-chan, you seemed sad. I don't like it when people are sad." His explanation seemed simple, but Maddi could faintly deduce there was more which he chose to leave out. "In order to help make you feel a bit more comfortable Maddi-chan, I think we should go and see Shuichi and the others. You'll like them, trust me."

Already in the midst of walking down the hall again, Maddi had no choice in the matter; Ryuichi was holding her tightly in his arms and would not budge. The only thing she could do was make herself comfortable… given her current situation.

By now her face was bright red, somewhat resembling the colour used to paint stop signs. Fidgeting, Maddi decided to seek comfort once again in Ryuichi's shoulder. Burrowing herself as close as possible him, she successfully managed to conceal a large portion of her face into the crook of his neck. Opting to wrap her arms around him, she pulled herself as close as possible to the singer, mumbling small words—which Ryuichi could not identity—under her breath.

Ryuichi chuckled softly and leaned his head down atop of Maddi's. Maddi partially stiffened making him laugh even more. Maddi-can is too cute! Enjoying the moment, Ryuichi attempted to lighten the mood.

"Ne, Maddi-chan, you like Bad Luck, no?"

This time, she replied quickly. "I prefer Nittle Grasper."

The comment made Ryuichi stop in his tracks. A sense of pride—and smugness, perhaps?—started to bubble from within the pits of his stomach. Unable to hold back a smirk, he merely shook his head and titled his head downwards, managing to make his nose touch the tip of hers. "Maddi-chan, you better keep quiet about that sort of stuff. We don't want Shuichi to hear, now do we?" Emphasizing the point by choosing to whisper, Ryuichi smiled knowingly at Maddi, his eyes glimmering with amusement and mischief.

Unable to look away, Maddi nodded, giggling softly, "Hai, hai." She even offered the singer a salute, much to his delight. When seeing the tips of her lips twisting upwards into a smile, Ryuichi couldn't help but laugh again. He liked seeing Maddi smile. She looked twice as cute then. With that notion in mind, Ryuichi continued to walk. Turning down another few sets of hallways, he stopped before Bad Luck's current recording studio… however, when hearing the sounds of yells and screams coming from inside the space, Maddi looked up, stunned. While saying nothing, her expression spoke for itself; she seemed to be asking 'is this normal?'

Merely nodding, Ryuichi twisted the handle, opened the door and yelled, "Shuichi!"

"Ahh, Sakuma-san!" Shuichi, who appeared to be arguing with Suguru, turned away from the youngster when seeing his idol standing beside the entrance. "Kya! What are you doing—who's this?" He stopped in mid-sentence when seeing a girl who looked to be no older than ten in his idol's arms. The girl had her arms wrapped securely around Ryuichi's neck, and seemed to be observing her surroundings with interest.

Ryuichi laughed. "Shu-chan, this is Maddi-chan!"

"Ah!" The pink haired singer shouted with glee. So this was the Maddi he had heard so much about. Growing more excited by the minute, he jumped forward in an attempt to see her better. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Maddi-chan. I'm Shuichi, a friend of Sakuma-san's. He's told me so much about you!" He would've kept talking if not for the hand someone had thrust forward.

"Shindou-san, we have to get back to recording!" Suguru, the practical one, hissed through his clenched teeth.

"But Suguru, its Maddi-chan!" whined Shuichi.

"Yeah Sugu-kun, its Maddi-chan!" agreed Ryuichi, whilst setting the girl onto her feet.

Suguru cocked a brow and eyed Ryuichi wearily. Whenever Bad Luck seemed to be on the verge of actually working, he always seemed to appear and ruin the working atmosphere. He had nearly gotten Shuichi back onto the topic of recording for once when the singing genius—who mostly acted like a little kid—came bursting into the room with an actual child in his arms! What the heck?!

"Uh!" he groaned. This didn't make much sense to him; after all, where on earth did Sakuma-san manage to locate this little girl. Suguru knew for a fact that K-san—or better yet, his older cousin Tohma—would not tolerate a child wandering around the building. And if the child was with Ryuichi… well, it would be like having two kids wreaking havoc instead of one.

This will not be good. He groaned again, shaking his head.

"Really, don't you two have any common sense?" His comment went ignored, as Ryuichi and Shuichi were already huddled up beside each other, whispering like there was tomorrow. Without them even realizing it, Madeline had walked past them and headed for Suguru, Hiro and Sakano, who seemed even more panic stricken than before… not that Suguru could blame the man.

"Ano…" the girl fumbled with her hands, seeming unsure of what to say.

Just then, Hiroshi got to his feet. "Why hello there, young lady," he greeted charmingly. The little girl looked up to see Hiro smiling warmly. "Aren't you just adorable?" She seemed embarrassed by his words, given the small blush that flourished across her cheeks.

"H-Hello," she gulped, offering a small wave.

"You're Madeline-san, correct?" Hiro inquired politely.

Madeline appeared partially stunned until he spoke again. "I overheard Sakuma-san telling your name to Shuichi before. Plus," he leaned in whispering, "From the way Sakuma-san was describing you, I knew it had to be you. There couldn't be another cute little girl that fit his description perfectly."

Madeline blushed profoundly and didn't seem sure of how to reply. "Um, a-arigato …" She nodded dumbly, looking down to her feet.

Suguru had to admit the girl was cute … and seemed to be behaving; unlike the two morons in the corner of the room, who still seemed to be lost in their own world planet nincompoop, whose population consisted of Shuichi Shindou and the constantly visiting neighbour, Ryuichi Sakuma, who resided on planet Kumagoro… which specialized in fabricating non-talking pink rabbits and matching human sized suits. Suguru shuddered at the thought before deciding to introduce himself.

"Hello there." He knelt down to reach her height. "It's nice to meet you, Madeline-san. I'm Suguru Fujisaki." He offered her a hand, which she politely shook.

"Its, um, nice to meet you too, Fujisaki-san," she gulped and pulled back her hand.

"And I'm Hiroshi Nakano," Hiro murmured, offering Madeline another hand to shake. Maddi nodded and once more shook another awaiting hand.

"It's nice to meet you too, N-Nakano-san."

With a smirk, Hiro rebutted, "Maddi-chan, you don't need to call me by my last name. Feel free to call me Hiro—if you want, of course." He added on the incentive. The girl already seemed overwhelmed, and he didn't want to make her feel anymore uneasy than she currently appeared.

Maddi bit her bottom lip. "I-is Hiro-kun, okay?"

Hiro ruffled her hair, smiling endearingly. "That's fine, sweetheart."

"Maddi-chan is cute, nee?" Ryuichi budded into the conversation, pushing past Suguru to jump down and wrap his arms around Maddi. With Kuma's head leaning over her left shoulder and Ryuichi's head leaning over her right, she was completely encased by the older singer and his stuffed pink bunny.

"Hai, Sakuma-san, Maddi-chan is very pretty." Hiro agreed, stroking her cheek with the back of his hand. Maddi shut one eye and slightly leaned back, stumbling into Ryuichi, who thankfully had one arm wrapped around her stomach to help keep her stable.

"Maddi-chan is quite talented too. She plays the violin!" Ryuichi boasted proudly.

"Really?" belted Shuichi, who ran forward. "Maddi-chan's a musician too?" He looked down hopefully into her eyes. "Would you play for something for us, Maddi-chan? Huh, how about it?"

"A-Ano …" Her heart rate started to accelerate. Maddi felt her hands quickly becoming sweaty, and her breathing growing heavy. "A-Ano …" She looked down to the ground again, feeling even more uncomfortable.

Suguru picked up on this instantly. "Shindou-san, give her some breathing room."

"Maybe you should back away too Sakuma-san," Hiro advised kindly. "Maddi-chan seems a little … nervous right now. How about we let her sit down for a while?"

"Ne, ne, is that true, Maddi-chan?" Ryuichi whined, tears lining his eyes. "Are you getting scared?" His bottom lip trembling, the singer was sad by the thought of Madeline being nervous around his friends. He didn't want her to feel frightened on her visit to NG … he wanted her to smile and have loads of fun.

"I-Iie," she whispered, frowning. "I'm fine."

Ryuichi didn't seem convinced. "Are you sure?"

She nodded fervently. "Might I sit down for a bit… and watch?" When asking the question, she directed her attention straight towards Sakano, who had surprisingly remained quite calm throughout Ryuichi's unplanned visit.

Sakano adjusted his glasses, which seemed to be sliding down from his nose. "Well, I suppose if you're quiet, it should be fine."

"I can be quiet," she beamed politely, flashing Sakano a small, timid smile.

"Alright then," he murmured. "Also, in case you are wondering, Madeline-san, my name is Sakano, and I am the producer of Bad Luck."

Maddi watched him adjust his necktie when he began to instruct the others. For once, Shuichi actually seemed to be listening to Sakano. To say the least, both Suguru and Hiro were surprised… and how about, Ryuichi? Well, to be honest, not so much… he was too busy talking with Maddi who was now seated in the plush leather sofa that faced directly across from the small recording studio. Ryuichi sat beside her, and was talking animatedly while watching Shuichi and the others enter the room from the corner of his eye.

"And let's get back to rehearsal!" Sakano shouted gleefully, extending his arms out wide with happiness. The sight caused Maddi to stifle her laughter by clasping her hands overtop of her mouth. Ryuichi also laughed, smiling more so at the sight of Maddi finally loosening up.

For sometime, things had been progressing quite smoothly during Maddi's visit. She and Ryuichi were having a fun time watching Bad Luck recording—or attempting to be the key word—a new song for their latest album. Though things seemed to be going well, at times it was evident that Suguru was becoming annoyed by Shuichi… well, being Shuichi. Thus, there was no arguments lacking today, but both boys—okay, more so Suguru—seemed to be paying attention to their language when articulating their thoughts. Hiro, as usual, merely watched the two argue on in silence or attempt to be the pacifist and resolve the issue by compromising, which again, never really worked out. And lastly, there was Sakano, who was spazzing out—as usual—whenever Suguru groaned or Shuichi yelled at the keyboardist.

Maddi soaked in the band's interactions like a wet sponge, finding their antics amusing and their comments just plain silly. It wasn't until another thirty minutes later during one of her conversations with Ryuichi, that she realized she had go somewhere.

Fidgeting in her seat, she leaned over and whispered, "Ryuichi-san, where are the washrooms?"

Ryuichi looked away from watching Bad Luck to answer her question. "It's just down the hallway Maddi-chan. It's the second door on the left."

"Ah." With that information in mind, the girl slipped off the couch and headed for the door. Telling Ryuichi that she would be back shortly, the singer waved her off and jumped off the couch too, deciding to go speak with Shuichi until she returned.

Now outside of the studio, Maddi turned left down the corridor and started to slowly walk, eyeing each door slowly. Within seconds she passed the "second door on the left" Ryuichi told her about, which happened to not be the restroom… but a broom closet. No surprise there, Ryuichi was horrid with directions, but poor Maddi-chan didn't know that.

Growing more annoyed by the minute, she turned down another hallway only to be met with another set of doors and another set of hallways. She raised a brow, perplexed. Just how many rooms were on this floor? From the outside, NG seemed like a small building… but on the inside, it was a whole other story.

Maybe I should go back and ask Sakano-san, he might know better than Ryuichi. With that thought in mind, Maddi turned herself around prepared to return to the studio, only to realize one thing: she did not remember the studio's room number.

Oh no.

Eyes widening, she looked around the hallway in a daze, unsure of where to go.

Should she head left or right?

She had completely forgotten the way she came.

Her mouth dropped open. This was not good.

"Hey, sweetheart, is something wrong? What's a little thing like you doing wandering these halls, anyway?" A chipper voice snapped Maddi from her thoughts, making her look upwards, and lock eyes with her personal favourite musician and idol, Noriko Ukai.

Author's Note: So sorry for the delay! But I finally updated, so yay me! XD Also, this story has finally reached 50+ reviews, so thank you! I hope this small chapter was okay... even though I know it should be longer. In the next chapter, Maddi finally gets her chance to talk and interact with her idol, Noriko! I'm super excited for that. :D I also have some other ideas for the upcoming chapters ... want some hints? Well, here's one that'll make you smile or laugh (or both, like me) imagine Shuichi telling Tatsuha Uesugi about Ryuichi's growing relationship with Maddi... now forget the fact that she's only seven ... and add in Tatsuha's overactive imagination... which espeically flourishes with anything concerning Ryuichi. XDD I also haven't forgotten about Mika or Kagome - those two will be sure to butt heads soon... hopefully in a good way. :) Yuki will also be making an appearance soon, as will Tohma again. But for the next chapter, it's Noriko's time to shine! :D

If you want to know what happens next, you know what to do. ;)

All the best,

TFSA

(October 26, 14)