Hey guys! X3

Ok... yeah. I shouldn't be this happy cause it has been practically a MONTH since I updated. huhuhuhuhu...

I'm really sorry, I've been busy and all. And... hopefully you were expecting me to update this... late? ^-^?"

Maybe not... U_U

But anyway, nothing much happens here, I'll tell you that. (I know... I should have made at least two chapters already by this time. I'm so sorry...) This is just to let a few minor things cover, and let the main Haruka x a QN member bonding time be in the next chapter. :3 It would be kinda weird if I were to take Ai-chan out of the picture immediately in this chapter so... I made him to a little explaining first. ^_^

Though... I'm not sure it's the explanation you have in mind. o_o...

Well, anyway, please enjoyyyy! XD

Seira's POV

Everybody had met up inside one of the practice rooms in order to each give their reports on Haruka's whereabouts. But all of them said the same thing: HARUKA WAS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. The room was silent, and everybody looked extremely worried about the poor girl. Well, of course, some didn't look as worried as most, but I'm sure they all were in some way.

I, on the other hand, was not even close to having any concern for the lost woman. Though in order to convince everyone that I have changed, I had to put up an act. And so far, everybody believed it.

'Hah! These pathetic boys don't know what they're thinking. How naïve of them to assume that I really have changed despite all that I've done in the past.' I thought, inwardly smirking as I struggled to hide my real emotions. Hearing they're voices were starting to irritate me, so just when I thought everybody had forgotten how to speak, the so-called 'big brother' of the gang decided to express to the whole world what he felt.

"You guys! We can't give up now! We need to find Ruka-chan before this situation gets worse!"

"Rei-chan's right! We can't stop now, or else we'll never know where she is…" Otoya, the extremely cheerful and red headed childish brat responded, the rest agreeing with him with a bunch of nods and 'mm's. But then, the four-eyed big guy suddenly decided to put an addition of useless words to the even more useless speech made by no other than the happy-go-lucky idiots of the dorm.

"I think so too, because… although it's true that we don't have much of a relationship with Haru-chan, she is still a fellow member of this dorm and I'm worried about her. We all are. That's why, we'll have to keep looking, no matter what!"

With that said, everybody started to talk about another way to find Haruka. Well, obviously not all were speaking, but there was this pair of lazy bum guys that didn't even bother to help at all. One nagged on about the orange-haired woman's disappearance, and the other just stood there looking all sluggish. And to top it all, they were some of the girl's seniors.

'Hah! Talk about no interest. These two have tried to bare the sick face of that girl even when they don't give a damn about her… hm… I pity them.' I thought, staring at them while keeping up those innocent eyes. Though I immediately switched them back to the noisy group cause their faces were too much to take. But I admit, they look adorable… and fun to toy with.

'Haha… Imagine, if I were to steal the hearts of those two, it would be historical!'

Simply listening to whatever suggestions and ideas they had with little attention, I was starting to get bored when suddenly an interesting question ran through my ears. It was the clown.

"Say, Ai-Ai! What do you think we should do?"

No answer.

"Ai-Ai? Hey... where's Ai-Ai?"

Now that I thought about it, I didn't see that boy either. Meaning… he wasn't here. My guess was that he was still out looking for her. But then, he never told us if he had other places in mind, or the reason why he wanted to search alone. Hm…

'Haha aw man… now this is what I call interesting. Now the emo guy's missing too? How nice! Now all I have to do is find a way to trick them…' I thought, snickering inside as I was in the process of making up the perfect troll for this situation. Although I could think of many lies, I couldn't really think of good enough biases. Too excited, I was just going to go on ahead with the lying and go with the flow later on when I remembered something.

'A while ago, I noticed the main entrance close from the outside, so that means someone must have gone out. Ohoho you're in big trouble now, boy. I'm gonna bust you right there and then.' I exclaimed to myself, as I praised my own brilliant idea.

You might be wondering why I want to mess these guys up so much. Well, I'll tell you why; THEY'RE ALL RUINING MY CAREER. Ever since all these boy band, idol group whatevers started, only they have been the center of attention. At first, I was working as a model and an actress, nothing else… until my annoying but sassy secretary suggested that I become an idol in order to get more job offers. Thinking that it was a good idea, I decided to do it so I could get revenge on these good-for-nothing retards. Also… I needed to show Ren who's boss, and prove to him that breaking up with me was a mistake, a really BIG one. Though, I knew that in order to enter the agency with no suspicions against me whatsoever, I needed to prepare for my biggest act yet.

I needed to come out all cutesy and innocent.

So, facing out for a bit, I quit all my jobs, and started working as a waitress in a small restaurant. There, I practice being soft-spoken and polite… and all plastic and fake. At first, people and paparazzi groups were all over me. But then, there came a time where that all stop, and the whole world seemingly forgot about the famous devil beauty, Hoshikage Seira. And when it arrived, I knew it was time to make my surprising comeback, where I could convince people that I have 'realized my mistakes and wrong doings and changed for the better'. Though really, I was far from that state. I discussed things with Saotome, told him that I could work again but for his agency. Although instead of an idol as I planned at first, I went for composing instead, in order to possible get closer to those unimportant freaks. It wasn't easy, especially in the past. I had to do all that online posting and all that only unworthy peasants would do. And, he was especially a tough nut to crack, but after a few more tries and a little proof, he accepted me without sending me to the academy. And with that, all the fun had started to arise.

Announcing that I was going to be STARISH's composer, the president introduced me to them, and as well as to QUARTET NIGHT and Haruka. From there, my days began to take most of my attention and boredom away, and I was able to fool even the legendary Kurosaki Ranmaru, ex member to a faced out rock band. There were also a few intelligent minds in the group, ones with information about me. I was a little conscious about them for a second but really, I was confident that I was able to get them into believing that I have changed, and have became a woman the exact opposite of the me I was before. Though I have to admit, I was disgusted with myself; with what I wore, how I spoke, the tone of my voice, the expressions and reactions I used, everything. I didn't even believe such an angelic figure could exist until I met the one and only Nanami Haruka. And just like my fake self, I couldn't stand her. She was a weakling, someone unworthy of group attention, yet alone a man's. She was a pathetic, little girl who can't even do so much as to help herself. I pitied her, but only a bit. And going back to her situation now, I couldn't look down upon her more.

'Getting lost, on a night like this? Driving everybody crazy and stealing away their relax time? Hah… what a bad girl she is. I only look forward to seeing how her seniors will react to this when they hear that she did all this on purpose. Although… I probably won't be able to scam her right now because of the little made-up proof I have. How sad…'

'… And now that the little boy is missing in action as well, things could only get better in my opinion. Haha… let's where this tiny catastrophe leads.' I thought, a mischievous glint in my eyes. Well of course, I couldn't see myself, but I was sure I had one; one that no one, no one would be able to sense, or even notice the least bit. Oh how I wanted to praise myself for being so smart and diabolical, and say "Haha…! I am so good…"

Remembering my small plan, I softly cleared my throat, and politely started to tell of my findings. Despite everything sounding chaotic and whatnot, they managed to shut up in order to let me, the Queen, speak.

"Erm… I think I may have a clue to where Mikaze-san is." I stated, my head tilted down as I looked up, then down, and everywhere, to show that I was 'relatively nervous', my hand elegantly placed on my chest.

"What is it, Hoshi?" Otoya asked, being the first one to react, while everyone else looked like clueless dummies. He called me 'Hoshi', which was short for 'Hoshikage'. It ticked me off whenever he called me that, 'cause it was like he feels that we're 'close'. But, I had to control myself, or else my big plan to destroy these people will be a disaster.

"A while ago, while me, Ren-kun, Syo-kun, and Tokiya-kun were searching for Nanami-san by the corridors near the main entrance, I saw the door close from the outside. Meaning…"

"Someone went out." Masato said, finishing my sentence. I figured in order for me to look all bashful and clueless, I'd have to do stuff like this once in a while. I didn't really know it's exact purpose, but, like I always say; "Whatever fits the picture…"

Following a few moments of silence, Syo, or as I like to mentally call the 'upbeat shorty', went on with expressing what he thought about the situation and my recent announcement… in the lamest, most mindless way possible.

"So… you're saying that that's Ai who went out? But, why would he do that?"

Slowly, I nodded, my eyebrows bending upward, as if to show that I was a bit embarrassed and worried at the same time. He, together with most of the rest, were surprised. Normally I would've narrowed my eyes, but seeing as I had to continue playing this 'game', I raised both my shoulders instead, immediately returning them after. I figured it would show the shock I experienced when they all let out their synchronized "EHHHHH?!"s, then the concern I had for the situation after. "Patiently" waiting for actual words to come out of their mouths, I thought about what the hell was up with that boy.

'I wonder why he's so desperate in finding that useless girl. I mean, it was obvious that he didn't like her that much, and also, if I were him, I wouldn't go through so much as to kill myself just to find her. So… why?'

I tried to think of possible reasons, but soon concluded that it was impossible to. I had no idea how that boy thought went about with his life. He was a mysterious kind, and I was highly irritated by that. Paying attention to their discussions this time, I analyzed all that they've said so far. But, they got me nowhere. If you were to summarize all that they uselessly blurted out, it would be 'Ai wouldn't do such a thing.' Or 'Ai isn't the type to do something so rash.' Damn it, hearing the synonyms of the same sentence was seriously getting on my nerves. I was struggling not to cross my eyebrows.

'Geez… what a bunch of dumb men. Although, the people who still manage to stay cool do still look like they know such a thing called 'common sense'. Ren is one of them.'

'Although the ex-rock star does look kinda macho-ish and stuff, but an animal like him isn't really my type.'

'That count with the huge forehead would have been my type… if not for the way he acts. He's all too high and mighty in person, and too princely in front of the camera. I wouldn't last a day with either side of him. Also, he obviously looks like he thinks too much, and that, for me, is a major turn-off. That's also probably why his forehead is so big.'

'Tokiya, the Mr. Perfect kind of guy. He's quiet, formal, and stiff, too stiff.In short, he's boring. Meaning, he isn't my type either.'

'As for the 'missing body', well, aside from the fact that he's too young and lacks too much emotion, his voice bothers me a bit…

Okay maybe not just a bit, maybe a lot. His voice bothers me, and annoys me… a lot. I mean, if a stranger heard he from across a phone line, he or she would most probably mistaken him for a girl, and he even has feminine features to match. Hm… I feel bad for him, even if he is somehow a cutie. Though, he still isn't the one for me.'

"So Ren really is… still the one, huh? How sad… and idiotic." I mumbled almost inaudibly. Though unfortunately, some nosy people couldn't help but invade my privacy. The more irritating thing was, the ones who heard me were by far the ones with the loudest mouths. I honestly wasn't expecting them to hear a voice as quiet as a mouse's.

"Did you say something, Hoshi?" the red-head asked. Oh and by the way, I was better off not mentioning his name, or any of their names. They were too impure for my tongue.

Coming up with a believable enough lie, I smiled sadly, as I hesitated before speaking. Although this was very much out of my actual character, I was an actress after all, so faking things like smiles and tears were no sweat for me. "Oh… It's nothing. I'm just a little worried… for Mikaze-san and Nanami-san, because, what if they're both out there, in the cold? They'll become baldy ill for sure! We have to do something! Maybe… call the police?"

Everybody then started to talk about how great my idea was, and that it would most probably help. So like the helpless, pathetic, little children they were, they had no other choice but to do exactly as I said. I was a bit on the downside though. Not only did I help the two 'lovebirds' out, but I also helped the mindless amateurs out. I felt quite disappointed.

'Well… it is for the sake of making the main event for successful. I guess you really can't achieve without sacrificing a few things.'

'Let us just watch and see where this all leads to…'

Reiji's POV

As Tokki began to call the police using his phone, I turned my attention to the two behind me. I wanted to ask them something I just couldn't figure out, something important.

"You guys… would Ai-Ai really just go out there and look for Ruka-chan? I mean, sure there's nothing wrong with being concerned for our poor kouhai but… it just doesn't seem to match with all of the previous behaviors he's shown us. Plus, if he really wanted to look for her, and if he had some sort of idea or clue to where she is, then he could've just told us. So… why? It just doesn't make any sense." I said, feeling worried as ever. It was bad enough that Ruka-chan was missing, but having Ai-Ai gone too just made things worse.

"Hmph. I obviously wouldn't know that. I dunno much about him you know. No one does." Ran-Ran explained briefly.

"Well, at least no one in this group. Plus, as much as Mikaze tends to share information that is especially necessary for us to know, he doesn't really say much, if you look at him clearly. He keeps what he wants to." Myu-chan added, letting out a short sigh as he mumbled a complaint for the current situation. Ran-Ran couldn't help but grunt as well.

"I know that. But still! Why would he need to hide something like a clue to where Ruka-chan might be at a time like this?! Surely he isn't that cold!" I reacted. As much as Ai-Ai never showed much interest in many things, he helps people whenever he can, and whenever he thinks they really need help. And at this point, I was sure he'd already sensed that Ruka-chan had to be found. Though I had to admit, it's pretty hard to predict what Ai-Ai's thoughts and ideas are. He's pretty much a genius, and thinks way better than any of us do, so if ever he had a reason for doing this, I wouldn't really be able to figure out why without so much as a hint. Remaining silent, I racked my brain for answers. I was so concentrated on my thoughts until Myu-chan said something out of the blue. And it just wasn't addressed to me, this message was for everybody. Ran-Ran also rode along with his line of thought.

"Fools! Shut your mouths. We don't even know whether the one who exited the building was Mikaze or not. This area has limited occupants, but anyone can do so much as to come in and out if they had access to the area, much more if they had a reason for doing so."

"And why should we believe anything she says? We don't know whether she's telling the truth or not."

'Okay… now that was unnecessary. Hai… really, Ran-Ran? At a time like this?'

"R-Ran-Ran! What are you saying? I'm sure she wouldn't just lie, you know."

"Yeah! Hoshikage isn't like that!"

"I also agree with Syo-chan. Sei-chan's a really nice person." Tsuki-chan said, following Syo-chan. Looking at the two opposite sides of the room, I sighed, feeling helpless at the moment. Otoyan and the others shot a few glares at Ran-Ran, while he shot glares that were probably as strong as missile. A sweat drop then appeared at the side of my forehead, the side of my mouth twitching as I waved my hands before me in hopes of calming them down a bit. I took a peek on Seira-chan as well, and she didn't look so good. She was worried, and scared at the same time, and if there was one thing I knew, it would be that gentlemen never make ladies scared or worried. It's supposed to be a natural thing for gents, though seeing as some guys forget how to be gents sometimes, I was just going to have to remind them that Seira-chan was still in the room, and that she was starting to get frightened.

"You guys! Geez… Calm down will you? You're scaring Seira-chan." I said, making my voice loud enough for everyone to hear. After everybody had settled down and stopped with the glaring contests, I sighed, before expressing the thing I really wanted to point out.

"Look, we're not here to argue. We're here to work together in order to find the two missing youngsters. If we want to be successful in doing so, then we'll have to control ourselves…" Pausing, I looked at Ran-Ran, before averting my eyes back to my view of everybody.

"… and cooperate. Ok?"

At first, I thought I'd still hear a few violent reactions but, thankfully everyone began to agree… including Ran-Ran. Satisfied, I grinned as my head nodded. Just when I was about to speak again, Myu-chan decided to steal the spotlight.

"Well, Kotobuki does have a point. There's no use arguing over a trivial matter compared to our real problem. You, what did the police say?"

Because he didn't mention the name, I tried to process in my mind who it was he was referring to exactly when I suddenly remembered that Tokki was the one who contacted the police. I looked at him, tilting my head a bit as I waited for him to reply. He had just finished speaking on the phone a while ago, and was now putting back the phone into his pocket before he made eye contact with Myu-chan. He said, "I told the police all the important details, except for where we last saw Nanami-san and Mikaze-san, because I don't know. Though, I did tell the officer that Mikaze-san was supposedly at the dorm last. After, he said him and his team would look around the area within reach. If they cannot be found, then they planned to gather up more men. But, surely they aren't that far out so, there won't be much to worry about."

Sighing in relief, I relaxed for a bit, until I realized that it wasn't over. Just because we already had the police covering the outside, doesn't mean we can just go back to doing whatever we were supposed to at this time. Straightening myself up, I began to listen to what Myu-chan had to say.

"Hmph. I see. Then, I guess we have no other choice than to simply wait for them to inform us on any of their findings."

'Okay… that wasn't exactly what I planned on doing. It's kinda late, but we at least had to stay up in one place altogether and wait. I mean, what if they call us at the middle of the night?!' I thought, as Myu-chan and Ran-Ran prepared to leave. Hurriedly, I ran over to them in order to stop them from going back to their dorms. Of course, I knew they would question why, so I had a good enough explanation prepared.

"Wait! Ran-Ran, Myu-chan! You can't leave now…"

Turning back to face me, both shot glares that were thankfully not so intense. Though Myu-chan, as usual, had his eyebrow raised. They looked like the typical irritated but not mad Ran-Ran and Myu-chan. But even with that, they still scared me. I was a little pushed back, though I knew I could manage. I always do.

When no words came out of their mouths, I knew I was allowed to further elaborate my said statement. I was actually relieved that they didn't say anything, because that would've been a very bad sign; a sign that they were already tired out. Though, clearly I knew that they were as exhausted as everyone of us in this room. But, I had to say it. In this case, we needed all the help and support we could get, and I wasn't planning on leaving these two out.

"Look, what if the police suddenly call in the middle of the night? You gotta wait at least until 12 midnight or something! We can't just leave them be."

Pausing for a moment, I tried to observe their reactions. And, well, as expected, they weren't impressed. That was unfortunately and unsurprisingly not enough to get them to stay. Sighing, I asked the final question, the question that would reveal every meaning behind their actions… or if they had any meaning at all.

"C'mon you guys, aren't you at least a little bit worried about Ruka-chan?"

A moment had passed before either one of them answered. Myu-chan was the first one. For starters, he let out an equally loud 'hmph' as he looked away to the direction of the exit as he said, "Well, if that's how you feel then why don't you stay up and wait? No one is stopping you from doing so."

Knitting my eyebrows together, I planned to protest, but Ran-Ran ended up going first. Oh and by the way, he also spoke to me while avoiding eye contact. "We've already done enough. The cops are on it already, so we don't need to go on and wait for them all night. We need our sleep. But you, I don't know. Just… go on ahead and do whatever you want. But…"

He paused, turning his head so as half of it is facing me.

"… you don't have to drag us into it."

And with that, they walked away, not uttering another word. At first I thought of making them change their minds about, but instead I just decided to let it slide. They did help, and that's what's important. Although…

'… they weren't able to answer my question.'

I sighed.

Turning my attention back to my previous juniors and one current junior, I smiled, and laughed awkwardly, apologizing for the unnecessary quarrel. I figured since the two had decided to hit the hay, I might as well let them get some shut-eye too.

"Reiji-senpai… Are you… okay?" Sei-chan suddenly asked. Looking at her, I smiled, nodding in reply. Following her show of concern were other supportive statements said by the rest of them. One of them was Otoyan.

"Don't worry Rei-chan!" he said, continuing with a sentence I knew he would say. "We'll stay and wait with you! Right you guys?"

All of them agreed with nods and "Yup!"s audible enough for me to hear. Though I was thankful and touch by their show of concern for me, Ruka-chan, and Ai-Ai, I figured it wouldn't be fair if Ran-Ran and Myu-chan went on with relaxing while they didn't. So, I told them to go on ahead, and that I would catch up a little later. Of course, they weren't that easy to talk to. They hesitated at first, but in the end did as told after a few more "words of encouragement". I knew I wouldn't stay true to my words, because I wasn't going to relax as soon as a little later. I planned to wait, in hopes of getting any news from the police or something better.

And no one and nothing was going to stop me… not even sleep.

Ai's POV

Not even an hour has passed before I was able to give my system a break. And now, I am "awake" yet again because of some sort of hindrance that kept me from temporarily stopping the usage of my database and whatnot. It was as if I somehow "missed" something regarding me and Haruka's current situation. Although the time of my rest wasn't much, that 44 minutes and 51 seconds was enough for me to for me to carry her back to the dorms.

'Well… it would have been enough… if it wasn't for the rain.' I thought as I looked up, narrowing my eyes at the endless raindrops that fell from the clouds, slowly but surely making its landfall. I noticed that the lightning and thunder had ceased, meaning that this storm would be over by tomorrow morning, or midday at the least. Sighing, I placed my forehead upon her head, failing to realize at the first moment. And when half a minute passed, I abruptly raised my head, parting mine from hers due to the heat that was slowly evolving within my chest. So instead, I rested my head against the tree trunk, its bark cold and damp from the rain. Comfortable enough, I then resumed my thinking.

'Seeing as its already past nine, I would say that knowing them, or specifically Reiji, they would have noticed my absence, and will therefore try to look for me inside of dorm premises. After not being able to find me and Haruka, their most probable move is them calling the police. If the police were to find both of us here, new casters would come swarming here as well, making up stories that would damage both mine and Haruka's reputations. On worst case scenarios, the public will be able to find out about my true being, that I am not human. Of course, that wouldn't only take its toll on me, but on the rest of QUARTET NIGHT, or even the whole agency as well.'

'Going to the more positive side, there is a chance Saotome would use his helicopter to come and get us, though the line is still quite thin. He would probably even try to present us with a problem on purpose, like he always does with many others in order to test their strength and other abilities. He commonly calls those "tests", and those so-called "tests" are given in order for him to know if they are worthy, or still worthy of working under his agency's name. Most probably if Haruka were still conscious, she would tell me to look at the brighter side, and hope for the best. But right now wasn't the time for waiting for a instant miracle. I had to get moving. Now.'

"Hm… no wonder I wasn't able to shut down properly. This would have been a lot worse if the police were to come here and find us." I whispered to no one but myself. Although I knew Haruka's safety had to come first, I couldn't afford the world to simply know and believe things about us that aren't even true. So, taking a deep breath, I slowly and carefully placed one arm under her knees, and adjusting my position for me to enable myself to stand up and place the other arm just behind her shoulders, her head resting on the side of my chest. Steadily, I pushed my body up, and into a standing position, struggling to attain proper balance for a few moments. And just when I was about to take the first step, I noticed a bright light coming from above, as strong wind began to blow towards the ground. It was a helicopter.

Saotome's helicopter.

As always, he began his entrance with his signature laugh.

"Mwuhahahaha… mwuhahahahaha… BWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

With an umbrella in hand and a raincoat to shield him from the rain, he leaped down from his helicopter, soon landing with a splash as he let go of the rope he hang on to in order to safely get to the surface. Following him were Tsukimiya Ringo and Hyuga Ryuya. "Ohayo puuuu!" Ringo exclaimed, making his entrance with his famous "ohayo puu" which he would use even during the afternoon and night. Ryuya remained silent until he and Ringo were able to touch the ground similar to the way Saotome did. Both also had raincoats to prevent them from getting wet. A moment later, the helicopter was just 5 meters off the ground, and was ready to set foot on the wet ground. In addition to the wind coming from the storm, strong wind was coming from the propellers too, making my grip around Haruka tighten. I also couldn't help but look at her to see if she was still sleeping comfortably. Thankfully, despite all the noise, she still was.

'She must be extremely tired to be sleeping this heavily. Well… I'm not surprised.' I thought, as I found a small smile making its way up to my face. I've noticed that I was starting to become a little used to smiling at times, and also with the small stings that would occur while I did. But I knew now was not the time for reflecting on those matters.

Switching my attention to Saotome, who walked over to me, saying, "Mr. Mikaze, we finally found you, and with Ms. Nanami as well."

Nodding, I replied, "Mm. I found her here not too long ago, about an hour and a half or so. It was already raining by then. I wasn't able to bring an umbrella so I ended up getting wet, damaging my whole system a bit. Luckily I had enough strength to carry us both to shelter under this tree, and she wasn't so bad either."

"Hmmmm…" was his only reply, until the two others approached the same spot to check how we were. Ryuya was the first to speak.

"Mikaze, are you ok?" he asked. Mumbling a small 'yes', I turned to Ringo, who looked equally worried as well, especially for Haruka.

"Jeez! You two had me worried, you know! What were you two doing out here?!"

For a moment, I thought of how I was going to explain things, and made it quick. I needed a simple answer, which was unfortunately not possible, unless no other questions were to be asked, which I highly doubt would happen. Still, I was able to come up with a good enough answer. And just when I was about to speak, Saotome cut me off and said, "Now, what are we waiting forrrr? Let's go go go! The rrain had yet to stop itself from pouuuurrrringggg, you know?"

"He's right! We should get you two back immediately." Ringo agreed, hopping on to the vehicle first. I was just behind him when Ryuya stopped me. He offered me help.

"I'll get her, Mikaze. You've done enough already anyway."

I blinked, then from him to Haruka, I looked. This process repeated two more times before I said, "No, its fine. I can handle this." before passing by him and walking towards the helicopter. Switching my view to Haruka, I fixed my hold on her, before boarding the chopper. And when everybody was in, all the questions were too. Ringo was first in line.

"So, what were you guys up to at this time of night, and in this kind of weather no less?"

Letting out a brief sigh, I answered, "I wasn't actually here with her the whole time she was. I found her here, and judging from her current situation, I would say she's been out here for more than an hour, causing her to go down with a high fever."

"Then, how did you even know she was here? Or somewhere out of agency premises for that matter? Did she call you or something?" Ryuya said, adding up to the questions being asked.

Shaking my head, I replied, "No, she didn't. I simply came to the conclusion that there was no way she could be anywhere else besides the dorm, and that she wouldn't have any reason to still be out of the building but inside of the agency's territory. So I figured that she may still be out, just coming home from work, or she got lost, which is of course, not entirely impossible, knowing her."

I wanted to say more, but that was all I could do for now. I was starting to feel dizzy again, and I had to sit down or else I'll end up collapsing a few minutes from now. My vision started to blur, and my arms began weakening as well. Though, I was still sure about the fact that I'm still able to carry Haruka long enough until we get back to the dorms and to her room. The ride, of course, was brief, seeing as the park was not a long way away, especially by air. The pilot made sure to fly low, as it wouldn't be much of a problem even if he did. Also, it was still raining to it obviously couldn't be helped.

Though really, if only I had enough energy, I would say aloud this thought of mine. But frankly, I was just too tired.

'It would have been easier if they just used a car instead of a helicopter. And yet… they still used one instead of a simple four-wheeled vehicle.'

I sighed.

Apparently Saotome noticed me do so and decided to cut deeper into the case of why I did something as meaningless as a sigh.

"What's wrong, Mr. Mikaazzeeee?" he asked in his usual goofy tone. Looking at him with absolutely no trace of emotion whatsoever, I answered, "Nothing. I simply sighed because of exhaustion."

Replying with a long 'Hmm', the short flight home had become silent once again, with only the heavy raindrops violating it. From the window, I shifted my eyes down to the sleeping, orange head beside me, leaning against the side of my chest. And for a moment, her eyelids pressed tightly, seemingly making her look uncomfortable. Suddenly, I remembered the research I conducted about humans and their emotions a few weeks ago. And in that one paragraph, it said that most humans would find soft pats on the head or gentle strokes on the hair comforting, and a soothing, making them fall asleep easily because of it. So, I decided to do that to Haruka, hoping that it would work on her.

Slowly, I lifted my arm, until my hand was on top of her head. As I gently placed my hand on the surface, I made sure not to put too much weight on it, so that my strokes would stay gentle. Up then down, up then down, my fingers glided in between the thick strands of her soft, silk hair. And as time passed, she began to relax, and was back to sleeping soundly a moment later.

The next thing I knew, the helicopter had already landed, and everybody was ready to go. Shining was the first to get down, followed by me, then the two other idols. Upon exiting the rooftop on where we were dropped, they asked me if I needed assistance in bringing Haruka back to her dorm. And once again, I declined, and said that I wasn't that tired, and could handle carrying a girl as light weighted as this for five minutes more.

The president had gone back to his office using the way only we knew, while we passed the staircase, then to the main entrance of the dorm. Though, Ringo and Ryuya had gone their own ways as they apparently still had work to do. As for me, I went straight inside the dorm, making sure that no one had seen me come in. Arriving at the staircase, I stopped for a bit to catch my breath, as I was starting to get a little tired from all the walking. But nevertheless, I've already calculated a few minutes go that I still had enough energy to bring her back. It was quite an unusual situation, though I decided not to question this one for now, since that would just tire me out even more.

Through a hallway, then another flight of stairs, I walked, until I reached the door with the words 'Nanami Haruka' engraved above it in gold letters. Slowly reaching for the knob, I made sure to be careful and not move too much, so as Haruka wouldn't wake up. Once the door opened, I pushed it forward with an elbow, then entered her room, closing it immediately after.

Going further into her dorm, I came across another door, which I remembered led to her bedroom. And so, I did the same thing as last time, moving as carefully as possible. Stopping at the edge of a pink-colored bed, I gently placed her down on top of the neat sheets, tucking her in while I was at it. At first, I planned on leaving the moment my work was done, but when I spent a few moments looking at her peaceful sleeping face, I suddenly had the thought of staying by her side for a bit. I figured it wouldn't hurt to look after her for a little while, since there was a possibility she would wake up. And if she did, I would be here to attend to whatever she needed, especially because she was sick.

'Ah, speaking of that… I have to put a warm towel on her forehead.'

And so I did just that. I went in her bathroom and looked for a towel big enough, and fortunately found one immediately. It was folded and placed on a rack, together with a bath towel. Guessing that it was the towel she used for her face, I shrugged, knowing that I had no choice. Now wasn't the time to be picky.

After, I went out of her bedroom and into the kitchen where I heated water using the kettle lying on top of the stove. Filling it up until it was half full; I placed it on the stove again, and turned on the fire. I waited a little, though didn't wait long enough for it to boil, since I didn't want it to be too hot. When exactly five minutes was over, I turned it off, and poured a little water onto the towel, rinsing the excess after doing so. Finishing the task, I headed back to the room where she was, and found her still sleeping in the same position as I left her. This told me that she was still in deep sleep, which was good, because she needed all the rest she could get in order to recover from her fever.

Gently putting the towel on her forehead, I examined her for a moment, before placing a hand on the side of her neck, checking whether her temperature had increased. Unfortunately, it has over the last few minutes. Taking a seat on the floor beside her bed, I looked at her sleeping face once again, soon finding myself in some sort of trance. And seeing her so calm and peaceful like that, it made me want to rest as well. Though, I knew I couldn't fall asleep now.

'Just… a few minutes more.' I thought, trying to stop my eyes from closing. But, unlike humans, it wasn't that easy. Normally I would shut down in a blink of an eye, not ever having the need to fight it since I would always sleep on time. This was different. With a temperature like hers, she could either wake up from slight pain or dehydration. Of course, those were inevitable in this case. And, I knew that I was at fault with what has happened to her, so the least I could do was take care of her until she got better.

I sighed, clutching both my fists as I my sight got blurry. Resting my arm on the narrow part of the bed in which Haruka did not occupy, I laid down my head, softly grunting before everything slowly turned to darkness.

'If only I could bear a few more moments… I would.'

Haruka's POV

Feeling myself gain consciousness, I suddenly found it hard to breathe, as heat rose up to my head and to my chest. I was panting, seeking water and more warmth. It was so cold, freezing actually. It was like I couldn't even bear an inch of movement. It was like I was in a frozen lake, and at the same time, it was like I was also burning in that lake… literally. There was only one word that could properly define my situation…

Fever.

I had a fever.

My eyes were starting to go blurry and sore, as I tried to cover myself up. I wanted to stand in order to get some medicine, but my body wouldn't let me. It couldn't handle all the weight I have, especially now that I feel so heavy. Turning to the side, I noticed a figure I couldn't quite comply on. And as my heavy breathing continued, I struggled to move a little in order to get close enough to see who, or what it was. And when I saw the light blue color in sight, I knew there could only be one answer to who it could me.

"M-Mikaze… senpai?" I mumbled, having no energy in me to further increase the volume. Having a peek at the rest of the surroundings, I saw that everything was still dark, so I guessed that it was still either night time or early in the morning. And for a moment, I stopped whatever I was doing to catch a little breath. I felt so tired, and the memory of how I got into this situation was blurry. Though… I did remember Mikaze-senpai, which was why I wasn't so surprised when I saw him sleeping on the floor beside my bed.

'W-wait…'

"E… eh? M-Mikaze… senpai. W-why… why are y-you… here?" I whispered, attempting to push myself up in order to take a look. But, as expected, it was no use. I was frail, and understood that my body was weaker than most. I knew I couldn't be of use or any help, though I had to try and wake him up. He needed to go back to his room and sleep properly there. I needed to tell him that I was okay and that he can go on and rest. Though, I knew…

'… he would never believe me.. if I said that. I-it's obvious that… I am currently… having a hard time breathing and all, and yet… I'm trying to act strong l-like it's ever g-going to… help.'

Lying on my bed, I could slowly feel my body becoming more and more in pain, as everything started to become a blur. My head was spinning, and my ears started to ring. It hurt. Everything hurt. Although, if I knew that Mikaze-senpai was here with me, and was alright, then I didn't really have much to worry about.

Experiencing things like this were almost normal to me anyway.

Ai's POV

As I opened my eyes, I lifted my head, and hurriedly checked the time. '5 o'clock' it read, meaning I fortunately woke up on the usual time without fail. Averting my head to the sound of a quiet voice, I saw Haruka, her chest moving up and down in a rapid pace. I stood up, taking a look at her without thinking of anything else.

"Haruka…" I said, lifting the towel off her forehead and replacing it with my hand. She was hot, her temperature was high, and heat was practically oozing from her body. Knitting my eyes together, I ran to the kitchen and got the kettle, leaving the used towel on the counter. Going back, I entered her bathroom to look for another towel. There was none. For a minute, I paused to think of the most likely place she would keep her towels.

'Her cabinet.' I thought, rushing to the brown wardrobe close to her side table. Starting with the doors, I checked if there were any towels to be found. Then, I rummaged to the three drawers below, and thankfully found a stack of face towels of the last one. Going back to the bathroom, I poured some water, then rinsed, before returning to her side and placing it on her head.

"You need medicine." I whispered. "But you can't drink any yet because of your empty stomach."

My eyes narrowed, as they looked at the ill girl before them. And somehow, during that quick moment, a mild pain in my chest began to lift itself for me to feel. The longer I looked at her, the more it hurt. Immediately I started wondering why. Why does my chest always throb when I see her, or when I think about her, or the few things we've done together.

Why?

That one word, one question, ringed in my head for several times. It was actually enough to make me "space out" for a bit, which in my case, was very rare. I knew nothing about how pain could just suddenly appear with just looking at a person or thinking about him or her. Of course, I wasn't expecting myself to because that is supposedly impossible, or is illogical at least. A mere coincidence could be if it occurred only once. But… it didn't. It happened not once, not twice, and not thrice, but a lot of times. And not too long ago there was a whole series of those kinds of events, were it would only happen whenever my mindset was on her.

Her.

The girl in front of me, currently lying on her bed sick and with a fever, Nanami Haruka… the one who has far by been in my thoughts for the longest time. I have never been bothered by any other situation more than this, all because it was about something I just couldn't tell myself to process. And that something ,was called 'feelings'. Being a robot, it was natural to know almost everything, except for one thing. One would know most things an average human wouldn't, but at a price: He had to bare with many other things, and some of the most important things, left not understood. I was simply like a machine, at its highest peak, the most advanced one, or intelligent. I was merely built for a group of humans to witness the creation of something impossible, something they themselves cannot achieve. So instead, they made me, in order to still get the credit for whatever I have done or achieved. And, these words of mine come from no other than from the data I've gathered, and stored into by data bank. It may seem 'sad', as people may see it, though really, they were nothing more than conclusions based on certain observations and findings.

'But… I'm sure Haruka would be able to explain how sad she would think my words are, and would most probably succeed in making me realize that there is a hint of… sadness.' I thought, snatching a short glimpse of her before resuming whatever I was doing just a moment ago. She was still asleep. So I checked the time, and it was already 6:15, and the sun had finally risen. My shoot was going to start in one hour and ten minutes, meaning I would have to be going soon. 'Soon… but not now.' I thought, still having about ten minutes to spare. I needed to stay just in case, since many things could happen in ten minutes.

While seated on the carpeted floor, I looked around the comfortable-looking room. It was quite spacious, though it had a simple style to it, and not much furniture was displayed. Her table where all her papers and compositions were was here, in her bedroom, while her upright piano was in the other room, which seemed like the living room, outside of this one. Both areas were connected by one door, like most of the other dorms' rooms were. The aroma wasn't so bad as well. It wasn't as strong as typical perfume for women were. This one was mild, and almost natural. It was like that scent really was her natural scent. With my head faced to the right, I averted my eyes, then turned my head to Haruka's place, my eyes locking in on the view of her sleeping face. Thinking about how the smell of her room resembled her made me want to look at her for a second… or maybe more than.

I began looking at her, until I started staring for a minute, then two, until my whole ten minutes was up. Looking at the clock, I decided that I had to get going. Though, before I left the room, I tried skimming through my records for anyone available in order for Haruka to have someone look after her while I went to work. I scanned my data for a few seconds until I found someone's rest day was scheduled today.

"Camus."

Taking out my phone that remained dry despite the rain from last night, I searched for his number. I was going to go on ahead and start the call when I figured one last look of her wouldn't hurt. And so I went closer to hear, and put a hand gently on her head, before saying goodbye silently, and leaving the room. I made the call outside so I wouldn't wake her up.

Tapping the 'call' icon, I held up the phone against my ear, not caring whether he'd be surprised in some way or another. As the ringing began, I waited for exactly eighteen seconds before he answered his phone. Camus was the first one to speak.

"So you've finally come back, Mikaze." he said, without even a simple greeting. Though somehow, he had his relaxed tone of voice today. Well, not that I was confused or anything. It was his rest day after all.

Ignoring his statement, I decided to go straight to the point. "I need you to come here to Haruka's dorm." I said, expecting him to ask more about how I found Haruka than why I was asking him to suddenly come to her dormitory. And of course, my expectations were correct.

"I see… so the police found the two of you then. What happened? Where was she, and why was she out for so long?"

I sighed. 'This is going to take us nowhere.' I thought, telling Camus that I would explain everything briefly once he got here. At first, he refused, saying that he wouldn't go up to her room without a reason. So, in the end, I told him, "Haruka's sick at the moment, and I need someone in my place to stay and keep an eye on her since I need to go to work."

"So why does it have to be me?" he asked, his tone changing a bit.

"Because…" I answered. "You're the only one available at the moment. Reiji has his TV show to attend to, and Ranmaru has his photo shoot."

Sighing once, he said, "Then go find somebody else in this dorm that's available. I still have things to do despite from being on break."

Narrowing my eyes, I crossed my eyebrows, monotonously replying, "I don't have enough time for that."

"Plus, as I said, no one, and I mean NO ONE has time right now, except you. She needs someone to look after her, or else she'll only get worse. And if that happens, the time of her not working will extend, and she might not be able to practice our song with us."

Figuring that what I said was enough, I waited for his reply. But the silence lasted longer than I thought it would. From there, I heard a soft thump coming from the other line. It seemed like he was reading a book at that time, and had just closed it that very moment. Following that was another sigh, then a few shuffles before he finally spoke and said, "Alright, fine. I'll be on my way there."

After he hang up, I thought of checking up on Haruka for the last time, seeing as our conversation lasted for two minutes and twenty-four seconds, which was obviously more time than I wanted it to be. Then again, I did see this coming, considering the fact that the person on the line just now was Camus. Though, I simply pushed all that aside and went in her room again. She was still sleeping soundly, which was good. And I hoped that she would remain that way until I get back, or at least until she wakes up, so that she would be able to eat, then take her medicine.

'Hm… surely Camus knows how to cook something as simple as soup.' I thought, leaving that taken care of. The only problem I had was the medicine. I wasn't able to find any, so I just had to pick some up from my dorm, before leaving Camus to look after her.

Walking out the door, I saw Camus there standing by the wall. Approaching me, he raised both eyebrows, as he let out a loud, "Mm?" I pointed to the inside of the dorm, and said, "She's in her room, sleeping. In case she wakes up, you'll have to tell her to drink her medicine after eating. I'll give it to you after getting it from my dorm. And, surely you know how to cook soup…"

"Why would I want to do that?" he asked, knitting his eyebrows as he put his arms over his chest and crossed them.

"You'll need to, just in case she wakes up so you can give her something to eat. Only then will you be able to give her medicine. Also, I suggest you start cooking while she's still asleep, so you won't have to make her wait if ever she wakes up later on."

Closing his eyes, he sighed yet again, then replied, "Guess I have no choice. I'll do it."

Nodding, I turned to the opposite direction and made my way to the men's dormitories, as he entered Haruka's. for now, I had not much to think of, since I would be able to see if Camus did as told later on when I give him the medicine for Haruka's cold and fever.

'I hope she'll be alright with him. Well, I wouldn't question his abilities… though I would when it comes to thing like this...'

'… especially when he didn't favor doing this in the first place.'

Okayy! That's all for this chapter. :3

Honestly I hope I can update faster... I'm sorry. U_U

Anyways, I'm sorry for any typos and for the pretty boring chapter. ^-^""

And don't worry... next one will be a bit nicer. I think... Well, it will be Camus' and Haruka's so... hihi...^_^""

Well, see ya soon! Bai bai! ^_