Chapter 38: Please Smile until the Sun Goes Down

Author's Note: Shoutout to tsukikami02 for pointing out that I kept putting "Akira" instead of "Kira" in the recent update hahaha. I am so sorry guys! I always make a mistake on calling Kira as Akira :)))) I have fixed it~ I hope I didn't miss any.

Urgh…I feel terrible. My head is spinning and my body feels heavy—I want to go home but…

"Nakahara-san, we have two last jobs for the day and then you can rest. Will you be able to manage?"

"Yeah." I say in a tired tone. "I can go on. The last job is the radio show that ends around 12:30am, right? What's the other job again? The one before the radio show."

"You have an interview for a magazine. Don't you remember? The one that's in charge of giving an eight paged coverage of you."

"Oh right. It's Voice Moon, right? I almost forgot."

"Sigh. Can't be helped since your workload has been immense lately; it's not surprising if you can't remember everything on your schedule these days."

"How long will the interview be?"

"It would depend on how many questions they'll throw at you and how you'll answer them. Since it is an eight paged coverage, it might go on for more than an hour and a half."

"Can I get something to eat or drink before heading there?"

My temporary manager looks at his watch. "We won't be able to have you eat a meal before the interview but I can get you some take out via drive thru. I'm sorry."

"I'm fine with that. I can manage with a burger and a drink; let's go?"

My temporary manager bows a little to me; he's probably apologizing that I can't eat a full meal but it's okay since we're short on time.

"Nakahara-san, you've been working hard since you entered Raging Entertainment. Thank you always for your hard work. I know that the president is your original manager but thank you for having me manage you from time to time whenever he's unavailable just like today."

"Don't sweat it. I prefer having you around than that old geezer. Hell, at least you'd let me have drive thru food; if he was here, I would have gone to the interview with a completely empty stomach."

"That's terrible. Nakahara-san, is the president taking good care of you? I feel as though that he's just making you work at an unreasonable rate. You're no machine; if you tire out then for sure you will shut down."

"Well I could always just restart…somehow, I guess."

"Do you ever consider transferring to another agency that might be more considerate towards you?"

"If there was such an agency, I'd run into their arms haha. For now, I have no other place to go to but Raging Entertainment. I love what I do and my job but if things continue on like this, I dunno if I can't go on until the end; I might end up stopping unwillingly haha."

My temporary manager ends up buying me a large meal at a fast food drive thru; he's considerate. The interview started on time and it lasted for almost four hours because the interviewer's questions were really good and his follow up questions were very interesting that I just ended up talking and talking without noticing. The radio show starts in an hour so we left right after the interview and headed for the broadcast building. I've been doing a radio show for a month now and it is fun; this is one of my favorite jobs and I'm not willing to let it go haha. Plus it's the lightest hearted job I've got on my plate.

"Good evening to ya all, guys. Welcome to One More Night—your nightly radio talk show. Thanks again for tuning in to tonight's program; it's really fun to have you guys listening and sending messages throughout the show. Last week was such a blast since we talked about ramen and udon! I was able to try out some of your recommendations and I had no regrets; I liked the spicy beef udon suggestion from that one shop with the owner who's an old woman who always wears something with animal prints. Just like what you guys told me, I added more spice and added a little bit more soy sauce to balance the flavor—loved it. To start the night off, I'm gonna start by reading some of your messages online from our official Tweetcha and Instant account."

The radio show starts off on a good foot as usual and the number of people tuning in is increasing each time; good, good, good. I'm happy to know that this show is doing well. I receive comments and messages from the audience saying that the show helps them relax at night and just have something fun to listen to; they also like the songs we play in the show so that's good.

"So we have a good question sent by user food_is_life from Tweetcha. She asked, 'The show usually has a guest every other day. Is there a guest for today's broadcast?' That is a good question! Tonight though we sadly don't have a guest because he'll be coming next week! Our guest is gonna be loads of fun so I hope you guys can tune in on our broadcast on Wednesday next week. If you guys want a hint, he's in an action movie that's still in theatres and that movie is a huge hit! Do you guys have an idea already? Tune in on next week's episode then!"

I continue to read more comments and answer some questions posted by the listeners. I put down my phone on the table after answering and talking about all sorts of stuff.

"Alright! You guys had a lot of fun topics again tonight! You all never fail to amaze me haha. I got a lot of energy from you guys so I think this is a perfect time to play a song. So for tonight, our first song is going to be sung live by me! You guys requested this last week, I think. So the song I picked from the comments is Heavenly Breeze; it had the most number of votes haha."

I signal the staff members to set the music for the song. Heavenly Breeze is a really awesome song from a rock band that I like. They disbanded around two years ago but I heard that they still perform as a group from time to time on special occasions.

The song starts and I start to sing to it. My favorite part of the song is the chorus; it shows how talented one can be because the chorus requires skill and the ability to convey the feeling of the song.

The song is about to end and the last two words of the song's lyrics leave my mouth. I'm satisfied; I sang it pretty well. If the original band heard me thru the broadcast, I wonder if they liked it. Hehe. Please give me an autograph of the band especially the lead singer! Maybe they'll consider coming back to the industry and make new songs? I'd totally buy their music right away if they do get a comeback.

*THUD*

The social media accounts for the show started receiving an influx of messages and comments. The staff in the other side of the broadcast room, behind the glass, started to become flustered and rushed to my side of the room. The last thing I hear is the voice of my manager calling an ambulance on his cell phone...or was it the sound of something breaking?

Urgh. This smell…I ended up in the hospital again?! You've got to be kiddin' me. You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Meeee. I've had enough of this shit. Really!

Opening my eyes, I see the silhouettes of several people in the room. My vision starts to clear and I'm taken by surprise by the faces I see.

"Wha—what are you all doing here?"

Heavens, Ranmaru, Madoka, Ai, Kaori, and my temporary manager—They're all here. I'd understand my manager but everyone else came too?

Ai looks at Kaori for a moment before looking back at Emi. "Are you alright, Emi? Kaori and I were with Ranmaru in Shining Agency when he suddenly received a call from Eiichi regarding you."

"We offered Ranmaru a ride to here so that he could see you as soon as possible." Kaori says.

"I came here because Kurosaki sent me a message." Madoka says. "I was fortunate enough to have been free to come. When I came here, there was already a crowd of paparazzi inside and outside the hospital; I entered from the back with some help from the staff."

I slowly start to move my body up.

"Hold on there, don't get up. You're too weak to stand or walk." Ranmaru says. "You've been overworked again and you lacked sustenance! The doctor had to give you a drip just to make you get enough nutrients." He points at the drip hanging beside my hospital bed.

"Wait, the radio show! What happened to the radio show?!"

"You're thinking about work again?!"

"Settle down, Kurosaki!" Madoka says sternly. "Calm down!"

"Nakahara-san, you fainted during your radio show broadcast last night. You're currently at a hospital and according to the doctor—you fainted from exhaustion and malnutrition." My temporary manager tells me. "We'll be able to leave the hospital after your drip is finished so please just stay down and rest."

"But I have to get back to work."

"Tch! You stay on your bed and finish that drip, Emi! You hear me?! Rest!" Ranmaru is really mad. Something else must have happened.

I notice that everyone from Heavens is standing by the hospital room's door and windows and they look pretty tense.

"Oi, why are you guys so tense? You're all acting a little weird. Did something happen?" I ask them. "You're all making me feel tense. Like, for real."

"Yeah, we've got a problem." Yamato says. He's standing by the door and listening thru it from time to time.

"A biiig problem." Nagi says as he peeks outside thru the window of the room by moving the curtain a little.

Suddenly flashes of lights went on.

"Oi! Don't do that! You're just gonna give 'em more reasons to stay out there, waiting."

"Sorry! Sorry! I was just trying to see how things are out there. They're really persistent."

"Don't do that again!"

"Yes, yes, my mistake! Urgh."

"Why on earth did they give us a hospital room on the first floor and near the front area too?" Kira sighs.

"It was one of the few rooms available when Emi was brought to this hospital." Eiji says. "This was the nearest hospital from Emi's radio show; it's not a big hospital but reliable."

"What's going on?" I ask.

My temporary manager sighs. "The thing is that when you fainted during your radio show broadcast, the staff forgot to turn off the microphone that you use in the show and it basically broadcasted the panic that the staff had when they attended to you and it broadcasted the moment I called for the ambulance. Because of this, some of your fans and the paparazzi came to the radio broadcast building and others went ahead to the hospital that was mentioned in the call." Temporary manager sighs again. "So right now, outside and inside the hospital, some of your fans and the paparazzi are waiting for you or are trying to get to you." He bows his head to me. "I'm so sorry. This is the fruit of my carelessness and incompetence. Please forgive me."

"Whoa there, raise your head. It ain't your fault. You have nothing to be sorry abo—" I start to cough roughly.

"Are you alright? Would you like some water?" He asks worriedly.

"I'm alright. It's nothing. Just a dry throat."

Emi then hears loud voices coming from outside the hospital room.

"Koemi! Koemi! If you're not feeling well, I can take care of you! I'll care for you every single day!"
"Please, let me thru! I just want to see her up close just this once!"
"Look, I need to interview her for my company! I need to get this scoop out before another tabloid does!"
"Which room is she in?! I wanna know!"
"Kyaaaa! Nakahara Koemi is here! Oh my gosh I wonder what floor and room is she at?!"
"Do you think HEAVENS is here too? She's friends with them so maybe they're here to visit her?"
"She's close friends with Shining Agency's Kurosaki Ranmaru too right? Maybe he came too!"
"I just need to ask Nakahara-san a few questions! I found out some really interesting info about her! I need to verify them with her! C'mon, how much do you want? I'll pay your price just to let me in there and speak to her!"

Lots of chatter can be heard from the hallway; the increase and decrease of the volume of the voices can give you a good idea when and how much people pass by.

Temporary manager becomes sadder. "If only I was able to lessen your work load then you wouldn't have ended up like this…"

"Stop apologizing and make it up by coming up with a plan to get Emi out of here when she's done with her drip." Madoka says. "Every manager makes a mistake in the beginning and even later on in their career; mistakes aren't completely avoidable. If you make a mistake, then find a way to either fix the problem itself or whatever effect or event it brings."

"Yes, ma'am! Understood!"

"Where should we bring Emi after her drip is done?" Eiichi asks.

"What do you mean, Otori-san?" My temporary manager thinks for a moment. "Do you mean that we are not bringing her back to the agency dormitory?"

"Definitely not. The security team of the agency contacted me because there's a bunch of paparazzi waiting for Emi. We're not going back to the agency for sure."

"Then what about back at her real home—her apartment?" Ranmaru suggests.

"That seems like a good idea." Shion says.

"But if the paparazzi or one of the fans ends up following us, then Emi's home will be discovered." Eiji says. "She won't be able to go back there easily and the safety of her home will be compromised."

"Is there any other place we can take her to?" Van asks. "What about a hotel? Would it be fine for her to stay at a hotel?"

"The security at hotels may not be enough to hold off such a crowd and I do not trust them to be able to handle the situation well at the moment." Kira says. "It may also be inconvenient since the nearest hotel is quite a distance away from this hospital; she may need to return here for a follow up examination."

"Um, then can she stays with us?"

Everyone turns to Kaori upon hearing her suggestion.

"Our house is pretty unknown to paparazzi, fans, and to the industry. Ai and I won't mind having her over. We can also take her to the hospital if she has to get checked again."

"What she says is true. Our home is a good option." Ai nods. "I do not mind at all; we can let her use the spare room at our home."

"Is it far from my agency though? I have work tomorrow at—"

"No can do! You will not go back to work!" Kaori says abruptly. She approaches Emi and pinches her cheeks. "You are going to stay at our home and rest! No Work! No!"

I brush away her hand from my face. "Listen, if I don't keep my work up then I'm gonna lose my work. I have…to go…ba…ck…" Man, my energy is draining away quicker than ever. Talking is becoming a chore.

Kaori holds both of Emi's hands together and with a gentle smile she says, "Emi, you don't have to worry about losing your work by taking some time to rest. If you truly cherish your work or your music, you will take care of yourself as much as you would care for your songs."

"But—" Emi looks at her with a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Don't worry at all. When everything becomes dark, just wait for the sun to shine and smile again. Okay?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Just remember—the sun will shine and smile again. Don't forget that. Give yourself at least five days. For five days, just rest and don't go back to work no matter what."

"If I do that I'll be fired from Raging Entertainment."

Eiichi turns his back from the windows and looks at Emi seriously. "I'd rather you get yourself fired from the agency than to go on like this!" He then faces back to the windows, making sure none of the paparazzi or fans could see thru the windows nor approach the windows.

"Even if that happens, even if you do get fired from Raging Entertainment, keep resting. Just give it at least five days. Please."

"What…?" Emi looks away from her and a noticeable frown of concern grows on her face.

"Trust me, Emi. Just trust me on this."

Emi thinks for a moment. She looks up at Kaori and in her eyes, she sees the same shine she once had in her; that touched a part of her heart and a bit of assurance forms.

"I'll…I'll trust you."

Kaori smiles brightly. "Thank you."

"So we're settled then?" Madoka looks at her watch and fixes her glasses. "Emi will stay in the Kisaragi household until further notice. Agreed?"

Everyone responds yes in their own way.

"Alright. Once the drip is done and the doctor checks her again and clears her, we'll have her ride with the Kisaragi household."

"How are we going to get Emi out of the hospital though?" Van asks. "I'm not too worried about ourselves since we got into this hospital thru our disguises and all but Emi has nothing to use to disguise herself outta here."

"You have a point. I didn't bring anything either since I came over in a panic." Madoka starts pacing back and forth as she thinks of a plan.

"I-If I may, I have one idea." Temporary manager says meekly.

"What do you have in mind? Let's hear it." Ranmaru says.

"First, I suggest having Mr. and Mrs. Kisaragi to leave first and head for their car; they'll wait for Emi and the moment we get her into the car, they'll leave immediately as discreetly as possible. We'll then have HEAVENS blend in with the crowd outside; their role is to distract the crowd when Emi is being transported out or in the event that she is discovered."

"How are we gonna distract the crowd?" Yamato asks.

"We'll have to charm they attention~" Nagi says.

"Yes, that's right. Ranmaru can also help with the distraction when needed." Temporary manager nods. "So now I think we should…"

*beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep*

"Noooo! Lydiaaaaa! Lydiaaaa!" Temporary manager is ugly crying beside my hospital bed while I have the whole white blanket covering me. "Why must you die so young?!"

Man, Temporary manager sure is good at gross sobbing; did he have acting classes or something? I'm pretty impressed. Where did he pull out that name from though hahaha.

"She's in a better place now. It just brings comfort to know that she's no longer suffering." Madoka says as she pretends to comfort Temporary manager.

A nurse then starts to push the hospital bed towards the hallway with Temporary manager and Madoka following as they continue to mourn for the deceased 'Lydia'.

"Just hold still for a little while longer, Emi. We'll get you out to the car soon." Madoka whispers.

"Lydiaaaa-sannnnnnnn, why must you leave us in this world so soonnnnn?!"

Damn, Temporary manager is killin' it. He's pretty good at this fake gross sobbing. He needs a bonus for this stellar performance!

Everything was good and all—until something happened and screwed us over. The white sheet covering me gets caught on something along the hallway and uncovers a part of my face.

"Over there! That's Nakahara Koemi!" A paparazzi reporter shouts.
"Oh my gosh! It really is her!" A fan says.

A tension from the crowd starts to give off the feeling of an invisible countdown.

"Emi, get up and come with me!" Madoka takes the white sheet and puts it over me. She then takes me with her and directs me as we dash down the hallway. Temporary manager follows us from behind.

"She's running away!" Someone from the crowd shouts.

Several people then go after Emi.

"Oh crap! Things went down too fast!" Eiichi says.

Nagi then suddenly says loudly, "Awwww! That's not good, Yamato! Why did you step on my cute shoes?! You should clean them for me!"

"W-What?! I didn't step on them!" Yamato loudly replies.

Some of the people in the crowd recognized their voices and turned their heads.

"Kyaaaa! It's HEAVENS' Nagi and Yamato!"
"Oh my gosh! It's really them!"
"If they're here then that means the rest of HEAVENS should be here too, right?!"

Eiichi, who was at the other end, then takes the opportunity to speak too. "Oi! You two never stop fighting, yeah? Can't you two just get along like good puppies?"

"Nii-san, you speak really loud!" Eiji says as he plays along.

"How about we go grab something to eat? Food never fails to stop Nagi-chan and Yamato-kun. Hehe." Van says.

"I want to eat some meat…" Shion says.

"Meat sounds good, indeed." Kira says.

"Kyaaa! They're all here!"
"Whoa! HEAVENS really is here?! Can I interview you please for our magazine?!"
"Eiichi-sama, can I please have your picture?!"
"Raging Entertainment talents are here! So does this confirm that that woman just now was really Nakahara-san?!"
"HEAVENS came? Excuse me, but are you all here to visit Nakahara-san whose health has declined?!"
"Is it true that one of you is dating Nakahara-san?"
"Nagi is so cute! He's even cuter in person!"
"Van-sama! So handsome! Whaaa!"
"Excuse me but I have some questions I'd like to ask!"
"Please look over here at my camera!"
"Eiji, please marry me!"
"Kira-sama, I love you!"

"Oh! Seems like there are a lot of our angels here! What're you all doing here? I hope you're all not here because of sickness or injury!" Eiichi says.

"Fools! They're only distractions as Nakahara-san flees!" One reporter says.

"Madoka, I'm…I can run any further. I'm still not okay. I'm pretty tired already."

"Can't you hold on for a little longer? The car is in the basement parking. We just need to go a little further to get to the elevator at the other side of that hallway."

"Sorry Madoka, I can't." I start to feel weaker and slowly stop moving.

"Can't be helped then. I'm going to carry you, okay? Hold on tight and make sure you keep that sheet covering your face."

"Wha—!" She suddenly lifts me and puts me over her shoulder like a piece of baggage. "Amazing. You're really strong as ever, Madoka."

"Just tell me if you think you're falling."

Madoka continues down the hallway with me just hanging over her shoulder. I probably look like a big cocoon being carried off or something.

When she turns to the next hallway, Madoka spots a cart containing extra sheets for hospital beds. She takes one with her and suddenly puts me down when we reach a stairway. She then puts the sheet over Temporary manager. "Listen here, pretend that you just got here and when the paparazzi or fans catch up, you head up this stairway, okay?! Make them think that you're Emi; keep yourself covered well with the sheet.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Madoka then immediately carries me over her shoulder again and runs further down the hallway as fast as she can. We then reach the elevator and then the car.

"We made it." Madoka says as she tries to catch her breath. "Emi, get in the car and just lie down at the backseat area; keep yourself covered with the sheet until you all reach the Kisaragi residence. Stay low." She looks at Ai and Kaori. "I leave her to you two."

"Don't worry! We got this!" Kaori says.

"We'll message you once we reach our home." Ai says. "Good luck with everything else."

The car then leaves the basement parking at a moderate speed so that it doesn't catch anyone's attention.

"You alright, Emi-chan?" Kaori asks.

"I'm okay. Just feeling tired again."

"You can take a nap if you'd like. We'll wake you up once we arrive at our home." Ai says.

"Alright. I'll just nap…for…a moment."

Emi falls asleep once she closes her eyes.

HEAVENS keeps quiet as they sit in a room on front of Raging Otori back in the agency.

"So, is no one going to talk?" Raging Otori asks in a passive tone. "Well? Care to explain the noise you all made in that hospital?"

"…" No one says anything.

Raging Otori sighs and crosses his arms. "Since none of you are willing to explain yourselves, I'll keep my words as short as possible." He clears his throat. "You will do some rigorous special training to retrain your discipline. Your retraining will start immediately and will continue on as much as I see fit. You all will do this training even when you have work; your free time will be dedicated to training."

"But father! Our current work schedule is tight enough! This is—"

"Silence, Eiichi. No excuses." Raging Otori then turns to him. "I expected more from you as the leader of HEAVENS. What kind of leadership is this? Throwing your whole group into doing such a thing; I'm quite disappointed."

"…"

Raging Otori then tells them to leave the room to which HEAVENS does ever so quietly.

"Sigh. I don't care what he says. It was worth it. Hmph." Nagi says with a pout.

"This sucks though. Urgh. Our bodies are gonna be so worn out for the next weeks, huh? I should eat more." Yamato says.

"Did Emi make it to the Kisaragi residence?" Kira asks.

Eiichi nods. "Yes, they all made it to the house safely. No one followed them so it's all good."

"Thank goodness." Shion says in relief.

"We won't be seeing Emi-chan for a while then, huh?" Van says. "That's kind of sad."

"That's true. But at least I can eat the food in her fridge." Yamato says. "Pretty sure she wouldn't like the food go to waste after all."

"Whaaa. Share the food with me, Yamato!" Nagi says.

"Oh hell no."

"Brother, is it really alright that we didn't tell father or the agency where Emi is staying at?"

"It's alright, Eiji. They don't need to know."

"…What you said back at the hospital to Emi, I agree with it. I'd rather have her get fired too if she'll be like this."

"Yeah…"

"Is that why you're not going to tell father where Emi is staying?"

Eiichi didn't say anything and walked on with them.

"How is she?" Ai asks.

"Sleeping like a cute cat. I hope that she'll sleep well."

"I wish the same, Kaori."

Two little dogs then come over to my feet; they're looking up at me with their tails happily swinging left and right.

"You two, stay quiet okay? Be good boys and don't disturb Emi's sleep."

Obi, the little black dog, stands on his hind legs and leans on Kaori's leg. She in turn picks him up and carries him.

"You wanted to be carried, huh? You're so clingy, Obi! Hehe."

Tabi then goes over to Ai and looks up at him.

"Do you want to be carried too?" Ai asks him.

Tabi says and does nothing; he's simply just looking up at Ai.

"…?" Ai is unsure what Tabi is trying to tell him and decides to try picking him up too.

When his hands were near Tabi, he gets dumbfounded by Tabi's actions—Tabi uses one his paws to push one of Ai's hands down to the floor.

"….?"

Ai attempts to pick him up again only to have his hands pushed down to the floor again.

Kaori chuckles. "He's bullying you again."

"…Why does he enjoy picking on me so much?" Ai pouts at him.

Tabi just happily sits on the floor, keeping his eyes on Ai.

"You told Emi to wait for five days. It's about 'that', isn't it?"

"My last project with Shining Agency has finished so the announcement will be done five days from now."

"I see." Ai sulks a bit.

"What's wrong?"

"…It's nothing."

Kaori thinks for a moment. "Wait, don't tell me you're sulking because I'm leaving Shining Agency. I thought you were okay with it?"

"I am." He looks away with a little pout.

"Are you sulking because we won't be going to work and back home together as often as before and that we won't be seeing each other during work?"

"…"

"Ai."

"…"

"You're so adorable." Kaori chuckles. "You don't have to be sad; we're always together every day."

"But…" Ai sulks more. "Hmph."

Kaori chuckles and hugs him. Obi, who was still in Kaori's arms, then proceeds to lean on Ai and lick his cheek.

"At least one of the dogs likes me."

Kaori then hands Obi over to him and picks up Tabi who happily rests his head on Kaori as he gets carried.

"Do you think Emi will be able to eat some dinner tonight?"

"I don't know but I'll still prepare some for her. I could always put her portion in the fridge."

"What will you be making for dinner?"

"I'm going to make some curry."

"I can help you prepare the food, Kaori."

"Okay, if you'd like to."

Ai nods.

"I appreciate the help but I'm not going to lessen the vegetables that I'll put in it."

"…Okay."