Chapter 7 - Truths
While Adryn slept, Reiji returned to the living room where everyone had been before he and Adryn left to eat food. However, it was empty with no one in sight. Well, there was someone, to be more specific, there was Serenity seated on one of the couches. This stopped Reiji in his tracks.
"Oh, hello there Serenity. Are you allowed to be on the couch?" Reiji questioned the cub as he walked over to her. Serenity's only response was to glare up at the man or at least that's what Reiji thought she was doing. "Is it alright if I sit with you?" Serenity just huffed but didn't do anything more, so Reiji took that as a good sign and sat down next to the cub. He hesitantly reached out and began to pet the cub's head. When Serenity leaned into his touch, he began to speak to her. "You know Serenity, it was shocking to hear all that from Adryn earlier, but I'm glad and I'm grateful for Adryn's trust. I'm grateful that she trusts me enough to talk about her personal life like that. I'm more shocked though that I told her about Aine." Reiji trailed off as he looked to the cub who was just soaking up his attention on her.
"What are you talking about?" Reiji jumped and looked to the doorway. There stood Nova looking confused.
"What do you mean?" Reiji wasn't sure which part of his conversation with Serenity Nova was meaning.
"What did Adryn tell you about herself?" Reiji was a little relived that Nova meant the Adryn part, not the Aine part.
"Adryn told me about you and hers relationship and the fact that she is pansexual." Hearing this from Reiji, Nova took a step back as she was reeling from the shock. She'd never expected Adryn to mention either of those things to Reiji, especially because she was in love with him and to Nova, any normal man would turn and run after hearing that.
"Not even Shiori knows about that stuff!" Nova was almost offended, but shook it off instantly. "I'm just surprised at this turn of events. I'm the open one about my sexuality as a lesbian. Though, I haven't been able to be as open because I'm an idol. Some fans know though and are keeping it quiet for my sake. However, Adryn on the other hand never wanted to talk about her sexuality or anything about it."
"How come?" Reiji's question to him didn't warrant laughter, but Nova began to laugh regardless.
"That's funny, acting like you don't understand." This left Reiji even more confused and it showed clearly on his face. "You. It's because Adryn was never sure of how you would react and she didn't want to scare you off."
"What?" More confusion for the man.
"Adryn has been infatuated with you for a while now and would be totally heartbroken if you rejected her for who she is. So, you see now why it was so surprising and truly amazing that she opened up with you so soon. It's probably not a good sign though, she most likely wanted you to push her away or something like that."
"I would never push someone away for who they are or who they love." Reiji wanted to address that immediately as he didn't want Nova to get the wrong idea about him. Then though, he realized that Nova had said something important that he didn't register at first. "What do you mean that she's been infatuated with me for awhile now?" To this, Nova laughed again like it was hilarious or something.
"Adryn is in love with you. Romantically. I thought my sister explained that to you?" Reiji thought back on the waiting room conversation he'd had with Eclipse and remembered that she did say something like that.
"I thought she meant that Adryn loved my music and me in a fan way."
"Nope. You dunce. She loves you like a woman loves a man. She is just good at hiding it. Surely you've noticed how she acts around you though, unless you really are an idiot." With those harsh words from the usually kind woman, Nova began to leave. She then paused and called Serenity to follow her, to which the cub jumped down and followed her, leaving Reiji all alone in the room.
Reiji was left to think about everything he was then told. Things began to make sense now. Adryn had told him that she needed to be nervous around him and had went red and panicked when they were close together. That had actually led to the accident that led to the episode she'd had. Then, guilt took over Reiji as he though that he could have been the reason Adryn had the episode.
"No, that's not right." Reiji muttered to himself as he shook his head, to clear the thoughts from him.
"Why are you talking to yourself and shaking your head like a dog?" Another jump from Reiji and a sharp turn to the doorway again, only to see Camus standing there.
"I had a thought that I needed to get out of my mind."
"You actually have real thoughts?" Reiji just smiled through Camus' harsh question.
"What are your thoughts about the women of PURGATORY?"
"I can't stand the woman I have been paired with. She is fake and annoying. Not to mention stuck up."
"You should be making friends with Shiori, not insulting her behind her back."
"You asked." Camus stated with an annoyed tone. "Besides, what about you and Adryn?"
"Huh?"
"How do you feel about how she feels about you?" Reiji then realized that Camus had heard the conversation between Reiji and Nova just moments ago.
"Honestly, I have no opinion. I haven't had the chance to think too much about it, but... I do feel honored that someone loves me like that."
"How do you feel towards her?"
"I like her as a friend and as an idol, but I haven't had time to really get to know her to like her anymore than that."
"Be careful with this situation. You both are idols, remember that. No romance allowed." Reiji just chuckled at Camus' words of warning.
"Don't worry. My job, being an idol is first in my life. Besides, Adryn's priorities should be staying alive, not romance."
"Hmm." Camus gave Reiji a suspicious look before leaving the room. This left Reiji alone again, so he decided to lean back against the couch. 'How do I feel about Adryn loving me, not just as a fan?' Reiji then closed his eyes in thought, and without fully realizing it himself, the man drifted off to sleep.
"Hey, wake up Reiji." This was all the man heard as he felt himself being shook by someone. Slowly, Reiji opened up his eyes and visible confusion was written on his face when he saw who was waking him up. It was Adryn. "Hey, there sleepyhead. It's time for dinner. You fell asleep so Eclipse woke me up and told me to come wake you up." Adryn informed the man, as his confusion drifted away and sleepy mind slowly woke up.
"Oh... I'm sorry for not waking you up." Adryn just laughed at him and shook her head.
"No problem. It seemed like you needed a nap like I did, but why did you decide to sleep on the couch. It can't be comfortable."
"I didn't intend to sleep at all. I was talking with Serenity, then Nova and then Camus, but then everything went blank." Reiji explained causing Adryn to be curious.
"What did you talk about with them all?"
"You."
"Why?" Adryn was instantly concerned.
"Nova set some things straight with me." With that, Reiji stood up causing Adryn to be more confused. "Let's go get some food." Reiji began to leave the room, but paused for Adryn since she wasn't following him. When she realized he was waiting for her, she hurried up and caught up with him. The two then began to walk to the kitchen.
"While I slept, I had a weird dream. It was about cats taking over the world and murdering the humans or keeping them as slaves for the cats. It freaked me out a little bit."
"Ran-Ran would have a problem with that. He loves cats and are weak to them." Reiji laughed as he spoke which caused Adryn to join in and laugh as well.
"Same here." Adryn admitted through her laughter. The two were then at the kitchen and entered it, only to be met with an angry Nova.
"Hey! You two took so long and were holding up dinner! What are you laughing about?!" Nova scolded the two of them causing their laughter to die.
"Sorry." Both Reiji and Adryn responded simply before heading to their seats. Now that everyone was there, everyone began to eat. During eating, Adryn told the rest of the group about her dream.
"I wonder how all of you would react in that world with cats ruling over us." Adryn wondered out loud to the group.
"I'd probably die trying to pet their cat leader or something like that." Nova admitted with a chuckle.
"I'd be terrified of all of them and probably try to hide or try to at least." Shiori spoke up next.
"I'd befriend them and have an army of my own." Eclipse simply stated causing Nova and Adryn to laugh.
"Cats cannot outsmart humans and rule over them at any point." Ai said, causing frowns to appear on Nova and Shiori's faces.
"It's a stupid, meaningless dream. I wouldn't do anything." Camus' harsh words caused the two women's frowns to deepen.
"You'd be murdered by the cats first because you give off dog lover vibes." Adryn informed the man who glared at her in return.
"I don't know how I'd end up in that world." Ranmaru stated, ignoring the tension in the room now.
"Ran-Ran, you'd be their human leader. You love cats and they love you. So they'd never be able to hurt you." Reiji said with a laugh. Ranmaru secretly agreed with that but didn't outwardly said anything. "I'd probably be killed by going up against their cat overlord." Adryn, Nova and Shiori laughed at Reiji's statement making the man smile. He then realized that Adryn went back to eating, without telling how she'd exist in that world. "How about you, Adryn? How would you live in that world?"
"I wouldn't. I wouldn't be around for it." Adryn simply stated.
"Stop being so negative. It's going to bring everyone down." Eclipse told the redhead harshly.
"I can't help but be negative when that's all I know! There are hardly any reasons to be positive, especially with death looming over me at all times!" Adryn responded by snapping at her best friend.
"Go get help then!"
"I don't want or need help! I want to die on my own terms!"
"Meaning what?!"
"I will kill myself when I feel ready to!"
"You have a lot to live for! A lot of people love you!"
"It's selfish to make someone stay in this world when they clearly don't want to and aren't meant to survive!"
"Killing yourself would be even more selfish!"
"Then maybe I'm a selfish person, because nothing is going to stop that day, when I leave this world, from coming!" Adryn then stood up and grabbed her food. "Excuse me. I'm going to eat elsewhere." With that, Adryn was out of the kitchen before anyone could say anything more. Everyone was left in shock and stunned silence. Nothing happened for a few moments before Nova burst out into tears causing Eclipse to just get more angry.
"I'm really sorry for Adryn making a scene." Eclipse spoke up as she tried to calm her sister down.
"It isn't her fault. There is a lot going on in her head. Not that anyone could understand that, unless they were in her shoes." Reiji spoke up as he stood up from his seat. He grabbed his food and followed after Adryn. This left them all in more shock than before. Reiji hurried after the woman who ended up outside on the back deck. She was in a lounge chair, nibbling on her food. "Hey Adryn." She just looked up at him with a frown on her face. "Can I join you?"
"Sure." Adryn responded simply as she looked back to her food. Reiji decided to sit in the lounge chair next to her.
"Are you okay?"
"I don't know what came over me back there, but I do know that I feel a lot better now." Adryn then looked to Reiji and he could see that she did feel a little better. "I'm really sorry for snapping at her, I didn't mean to do that in front of everyone."
"It's understandable. You've got a lot going on."
"Why are you being so kind to me? It doesn't make sense to be kind to someone you hardly know."
"I know you enough to know that you deserve kindness." Reiji sounded genuine, but it was hard for Adryn to fully believe him.
"Do you pity me?"
"No. I do not pity you." Adryn believed that even less. Apparently, Reiji could see that on her face, so he had a question to ask. "How can I get you to believe in my words?"
"I... I do believe you, but it's just my mental illnesses that tell me that I don't. After all, I trust you more than I trust myself at this point." Hearing Adryn's words, Reiji frowned.
"I'm sorry. I... I know how it feels to have a voice in your head going against everything that you want to believe in."
"Hey Reiji? Why aren't you being the funny, loud-mouthed person you normally are? You haven't been that way too much around me yet."
"I guess that its because you bring out the realness within me. Not just the person that I am for my fans and friends or family."
"Oh, I'm sorry for that." To Adryn's words, Reiji had to laugh, which confused the woman.
"No, don't be sorry. It's nice to be my real self around someone. Not that the 'funny, loud-mouthed' self isn't real as well."
"It seems like you bring out the real self within me as well. Which sucks a little bit, because I don't like showing that side of me to people. Not even Eclipse and Nova anymore."
"Nice isn't it? Being your true self for once in awhile, instead of pretending to be something you're not."
"Admittedly, it is nice to just talk without being judged or ridiculed for my true emotions and beliefs towards my situation. It's been awhile since I felt like myself, but right now, in this moment, I feel more real than ever. So thank you Reiji. I can't be like this around Nova or Eclipse any longer." With that, Adryn set aside her food and leaned back in the lounge chair. Reiji noticed that she'd hardly eaten anything, but didn't want to ruin the moment by bothering her. So instead, he set his plate aside as well and followed suit by leaning back in his own chair.
"Ah, the sun is setting." Reiji pointed out, causing Adryn to turn her attention to it. The two then remained silent and watched the sunset together.
Within the mansion, Eclipse and Nova had been there watching and listening to the two talk. They'd heard every word said between Reiji and Adryn. Eclipse felt immensely saddened by their conversation. She was sad, but not as sad as Nova, who was now crying again. Deep inside though, Nova was furious. So, a plan began to come together in Nova's head.
A few hours later, after everyone parted and headed to their own rooms for the night, Nova decided to follow through with her plan. Well, at least try to get it started. So she headed to Reiji's room silently and knocked on his door.
"Hey there Reiji." Nova whispered after the man opened his door, with a confused look on his face.
"Hey, is something wrong with Adryn?" Reiji responded, worried for his friend.
"No, no. Nothing like that, but can I come in and talk for a few minutes?" Reiji just nodded his head and moved aside for the lilac-haired woman to enter. Once inside, Nova shut his door and began to speak. "Look, I would like to ask you to help Adryn in ways that my sister an I can no longer help in."
"What do you mean?"
"There was a certain time limit for how long Adryn can go without getting treatment for her tumor and the cancer. So, if you can get Adryn to go through with the treatments before time runs out, she'll survive. However, if you can't, then she dies a slow and agonizing death. If you think you can't even help, then there isn't any point in you getting any closer with Adryn because she'll just leave and you'll lose someone close to you again."
"I want to help, but not if I have to lie to her or hurt her in any mental or physical way."
"The only way to get her to live, is if you give her a reason to live yourself. Adryn has had many people come in and out of her life, but she's never cared for anyone like she cares for you. So, you should know where I'm leading to."
"No?"
"You should start showing interest in her, like in a romantic way so that Adryn would be more likely to want to keep living through life to be there with you."
"No. I don't want to hurt Adryn in that way. It'd be a lie, because currently I don't have those feelings for her. Even if those feelings did develop, there is still the rule that idols can't have romantic relationships with others."
"I've got that covered. I talked to my father, and he talked to Shining. Both parties agreed that a relationship between their companies would be great. If you two did things right, then you guys could be a power couple! You could rule over the idol world together and both my president and your president decided they liked the sound of that."
"I don't want to lie to Adryn." Reiji was firm on that, but Nova just ignored him and kept talking.
"Do you want her to die?"
"Of course not!" With those words from Reiji, Nova began to smile.
"Good." Nova then opened the door, but didn't walk through it. "You know, you have one choice. Plus, if you tell Adryn about what I told you, then she'd never trust anyone again because she wouldn't know who to trust. If you speak a word of this, I'll tell everyone you made it up and make you out to be a liar." With those threatening words, Nova walked out of Reiji's room and closed the door behind her, leaving a very worried and creeped out Reiji.
"What am I supposed to do...?" Reiji muttered to himself. "Maybe it'd be okay if I deceived her, if it meant she'd live on... but one she found out about the lies, she'd probably go downhill." Reiji was at a standstill in his mind and heart, so he decided to just sleep on it. The man got ready for bed and then collapsed into his comfy bed. He just laid there, dwelling on his choices and the possible futures and life that lies in his hands. Reiji fell asleep that night, feeling very distressed.