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Kohaku crouched down to watch the baby crawl across the grounds of his family home. He was responsible for watching him for a few minutes while his second-oldest sister, the baby's mother, was arranging for her brother's visit.
He comes to his family home monthly to see his sisters, especially, and now his nephews. He's an uncle! Both of his sisters have had children: the oldest had a lovely daughter and the other a newborn son. Kohaku spends time with the children when his sisters are busy and doesn't mind it.
The baby rolled across the greenish ground, and Kohaku picked him up before he could move any further. The little boy grabbed the yukata Kohaku was wearing with his small hands, and the pink-haired man gently tickled the baby's belly, making him laugh.
The Oukawa family's situation has changed significantly since Tsukasa Suou assumed the position of village master. Although Tsukasa visited the house far less frequently than Kohaku, preferring to stay in the city, he had imposed certain rules of respect and cooperation between the Suous and the Oukawas. The Oukawa were still the subordinate family, but prejudice and violent discrimination against them were not permitted.
Kohaku finds these details interesting to note, since much of his youth was a consequence of the family feud. He is glad Tsukasa postponed something like this.
"Heey! Give him to me!" His sister called out.
Kohaku carried the baby in his arms into the compound. Upon seeing his sister, he handed her son back to her and sat down in front of her. The woman fed her son breast milk and soothed him to sleep, calming the two adults.
"He's very cute. He's a good child," Kohaku said, looking at the baby. "Ya still haven' told me who the father is, and you didn't even tell me ya were pregnant all this time."
"Of course, my little brother is totally popular in town. I don' want to mess up his business," she said sarcastically, laughing.
"You know it's been a while... A lot of my old fans don't recognize me, because, have I changed a lot? I must have." He looked thoughtful.
"You were still a kid when you left here, so there was a big difference in maturity and appearance, but ya still look like that cute kid from before."
"Kokoko." He laughed. "At my part-time jobs, some kids recognize me, which is a surprise."
"Maybe their parents were yer fans. Fans of what? Crazy:B? Double Face? Kohaku Oukawa?"
Kohaku laughed. It was nice to chat happily and calmly with his relatives, something he hadn't had much opportunity to do before.
"I always think... I notice the fact that my son was born a boy, and I think of ya," the woman said, stroking the baby's small hair. "I often wanted to hold you like this when you were younger, but I wasn't allowed. Our sister was crazy about ya, too, and we argued about who would hold sweet little Kohaku first."
He was silent for a while, but then gave a sincere smile.
"I'm glad ya can hold him like this now."
"Yes, I'm happy every day to hear that."
The two continued to talk about family and their thoughts for each other while the baby slept.
Kohaku turned on his phone because he had received a message from someone. He was buying some trinkets for Aira in a city abroad, as he had been reminded of him when he saw the little gifts. Kohaku wanted to enjoy life, explore, see new places, and have new experiences, so when he wasn't working, he was probably traveling elsewhere in Japan.
The message had been shared in the "Crazy:B" group, a group that wasn't very active, except for the selfies HiMERU sent to the group almost every day. Kohaku always responded with a "cool!" "wow!" "that's great!" face to ensure his friend didn't miss a reply, and it seemed these messages pleased HiMERU, as he responded with a smiley face as well.
The message wasn't from HiMERU, however, but from Rinne. Rinne still sent messages to the group, but not as often, especially since he retired as the most famous member of Crazy:B and still has a significant influence in both idol and reality TV media. Every now and then, Kohaku would see images and opinions about Rinne online, sometimes praising him and sometimes not.
Rinne told the four of them to meet at a restaurant near his house and set the time in the same message. Kohaku was upset that Rinne didn't ask if the others were available that day, but he sighed: Rinne was like that back then, too.
Kohaku texted him to let him know he was going, and Rinne replied with a GIF of a dancing person, probably trying to show how excited he was. It took a while, but HiMERU and Niki replied that they would too.
Having a conversation with the four of them together again wasn't something Kohaku would have imagined at that moment. It hadn't been that many years since Crazy:B had ceased to exist, but each of them had pursued completely different careers, keeping a large distance between them. He was happy to think about meeting them, truly.
He returned to reality and finally bought a plush toy of a current famous idol. He didn't know the name, but he'd seen several of Aira's posts online praising this idol. After leaving the store, he texted Aira saying he had a surprise for him, and Aira quickly responded with several loving hearts.
It took Kohaku a while to find a more or less formal and pleasant outfit to meet Crazy:B. He wanted to show off his grown-up look to the other three, who had always had the image of "annoying but important older brothers" in his mind. They were all responsible adults now, and he wanted to convey that in his introduction.
He put on a nice jacket and dress pants and felt satisfied as he looked in the mirror. He noticed the time and decided to walk to the restaurant. It wasn't that close, quite the opposite, but Kohaku wanted to give himself a workout.
After about half an hour, Kohaku found the restaurant Rinne had mentioned in their chat group. It was a huge place, beautifully decorated in yellow. He remembered that Rinne was a man with a great financial situation, unless he continued to gamble all that money in casinos. Perhaps it was a balance between the two.
Upon entering, he was stopped by the restaurant's security guard who asked his name. After answering, the security guard pointed to a more distant, private table. Kohaku walked toward that table for a few seconds and noticed two men sitting there talking. Rinne and Niki were already there.
Rinne had shaved off most of his hair shortly after he stopped being an idol, but he was still recognizable by the bandana he still wore on his head and his red hair. With his shaved head, Rinne's piercings, rings, and necklace were more exposed and prominent. He wore a sleeveless shirt and loose pants, drinking a glass of wine while listening to Niki talk about something.
Niki seemed a little taller and was wearing a white suit that covered his entire body. His hair had grown longer, but it was still tied back over his shoulders, so the change wasn't noticeable. Kohaku noticed Niki had facial hair that he hadn't cut, which would be unacceptable if they were still idols. And, of course, in front of him were several empty, dirty plates of food.
Kohaku smiled, noticing their differences. Not long after, Niki noticed he was being watched and looked around, noticing Kohaku and waving him over.
"Kohaku!" Niki stood up and hugged Kohaku as they approached. The pink-haired boy hugged him back. "You've grown a lot... you're just a little shorter than me." He smiled, exaggerating the comment.
"You've grown too, Niki. Ya were already tall before, anyway."
"There comes a time in your life when you can't grow taller, not even if you eat more." He pulled away from the hug and placed his hands on the younger man's shoulders. He looked a little closer at Kohaku and widened his eyes in surprise. "You cut your hair?!"
"Oh, yes! I let it grow to see if it looked good, but in the end I didn' like it and decided to cut it."
"It looks different. It makes you look more responsible and handsome."
"That's good, I wanted to look like that." He smiled.
"But I wish I could have seen what you looked like with long hair."
"If I find a picture, I'll show ya, Niki, don't worry."
"Okay! I'll be waiting."
Niki was still that friendly and observant person. Kohaku was pleased to hear that Niki also recognized the differences in his appearance.
Niki pulled out a chair for Kohaku to sit at the table. Rinne turned away from his wine glass to focus on the visitor. The two stared at each other for a while, but soon after, Rinne pulled Kohaku's cheek with his hand:
"Kohaku... Little Kohaku. You completely ignored me and went straight to Niki... I was the one who called you here." Rinne spoke in a strained voice, but soon released Kohaku's cheek with a laugh. "Gyahaha, you're still adorable!! It's been a while, seriously."
Kohaku would normally have reacted by cursing or lashing out at Rinne when they were still in a unit. Right now, he would have sounded a bit childish if he did the same, so he restrained himself:
"Ya haven't changed much?"
"What? I think I look really different. Aren't you looking closely, Kohaku?" Rinne was genuinely doubtful.
"I'm talking about yer annoying demeanor. I was surprised to find Niki more mature than before, but ya don't seem like you've changed that much." Kohaku wanted to verbally attack him.
Rinne seemed affected by the comment, while Niki hid his laughter and took a sip of wine.
"You think I am?" Niki looked at Kohaku. "What's changed so much about me?"
"You're well-dressed, Niki. I had to look twice to realize it's really ya."
"...That's all?" Now Niki felt affected. "The suit is nice, and I didn't wear it often when we were at Crazy:B."
"That suit is so nice it doesn't suit you." Rinne scoffed, looking Niki up and down.
"You say it as if suits look better on you."
"Have you seen the online polls? 75.36% of people say I look hot in one."
Niki didn't respond, dropping the glass. He called a waiter to get a menu and handed it to Kohaku, explaining it to him.
"The waiter opened it right to the desserts page." Kohaku took the menu in his hands. "They look really good, each one... they have Japanese desserts too!"
Kohaku spoke normally, but his eyes were riveted to the names of the desserts.
"I didn't bring that much money today. I didn' think we'd eat at a place like this—"
"You can order whatever you want. I'll take care of this." Niki said, pouring more wine into his and Rinne's glasses.
"What do ya mean?"
"Why do you think Niki's dressed so formally, little one?" Rinne asked.
"No way."
"Yeah."
"Niki runs this place?!"
"You nailed it." Rinne downed a glass of wine in one gulp. "You can get as drunk as you want here! Best decision Niki ever made on his own."
Kohaku finally noticed the atmosphere of the restaurant: delicate, comfortable, luxurious, and with a yellow theme. Yellow always reminded him of bees, and perhaps Niki wanted to represent that.
Niki now owned his own restaurant, which was amazing.
While Rinne was giving Kohaku examples of drinks, who didn't seem to mind, a man dressed entirely in black entered the establishment and walked toward their table. The man wore a fedora, sunglasses, a mask covering his nose and mouth, a lab coat, and boots—all black, which stood out from the others.
The mysterious man sat in the only empty chair at the Crazy:B table without saying anything. Rinne stared at him as he had stared at Kohaku before, and the man noticed the stares on him. He took off his sunglasses and mask, revealing his golden eyes.
"HiMERU!" Niki and Kohaku spoke at the same time.
"Shiina, Oukawa, hello." HiMERU smiled at them both. "You've changed."
Niki had the waiter bring a cup of coffee while Kohaku waved to HiMERU. They were both quite surprised by his arrival.
Rinne hadn't said anything yet. HiMERU noticed the older man's silence and looked at him. They seemed to be communicating telepathically:
".....Merumeru."
"Ha." HiMERU laughed lightly. "HiMERU was worried you'd call him differently. If you didn't say 'Merumeru,' HiMERU wouldn't recognize you as 'Amagi.'
"Gyahah, I wish I could." Rinne's friendly expression returned. He loved talking to the enigmatic HiMERU. "You look just like Merumeru from years ago. What magic is this?"
It was true: HiMERU's face was impeccable and well-groomed. If it weren't for the dark circles under his eyes and the small signs of aging on his face, he could easily be mistaken for the HiMERU who participated in Crazy:B years ago.
"HiMERU has always taken very good care of himself, you know that."
"What kind of surgery did you have?"
HiMERU remained silent, which confirmed Rinne's suspicion. Niki touched HiMERU's face to confirm, which embarrassed him.
"Why did ya come all dressed in black? Ya looked like a secret agent, like someone from the mafia" Kohaku commented.
"HiMERU is a popular idol, so he can't just casually go places without being noticed," he replied. "We were comfortable at ES, since the place was usually reserved for idols, so we didn't have to worry about being seen. This is a common place, so HiMERU can't slip up."
"You were attracting a lot of attention, actually" Niki whispered, not wanting to be overheard. "By the way, I ordered you a coffee. Enjoy!"
"Thank you, Shiina." He brought the plate with the coffee cup closer to him.
Kohaku remembered that HiMERU was the only one who continued his idol activities, especially since his goal hadn't been achieved yet. ES doesn't open doors to solo idols so easily, so HiMERU joined several companies to achieve stability. Kohaku had genuinely forgotten about that.
"Your last song is amazing." Rinne coughed, adjusting his voice. "When I hold you... Again, in the moonlight... with a tight hug, not letting go~..." He forced a comical voice.
"Stop singing," HiMERU threatened.
"Why? I'm copying you. I love the song." It was unclear if he was being sarcastic or not.
"The song was made for HiMERU and only HiMERU. We can sing some other song that was made for us."
"A song like Crazy Anthem."
"HiMERU prefers Utakata Dance Floor."
"Do ya follow HiMERU?" Kohaku looked at Rinne.
"We follow each other on social media. I'm one of the first to comment on his posts, you know?"
"HiMERU had to explain to a news report that Crazy:B wouldn't be reuniting just because Amagi commented a lot on his photos and started rumors about the so-called reunion." He snorted. "Oukawa, you follow HiMERU?"
Kohaku shook his head.
"HiMERU swore you supported him." He looked a little sad.
"I can start following ya now, I just don't know yer account name." He forced a smile.
"HiMERU can help you with that."
Kohaku took out his phone and listened as HiMERU told him the name to write in the search tab. While they were both busy doing this, Niki received a call on his phone and answered, having to move away to hear better. Not long after, he whispered something in Rinne's ear and handed him the phone, running toward the kitchen.
Since HiMERU and Kohaku had already finished the process, they wondered about Niki's absence. Rinne had started using Niki's phone while he was away, which created a suspicious atmosphere.
"Where's Niki?"
"He has some things to take care of. He's pretty busy most of the time, but he took some time to spend with us today. I'm pretty sure he'll come back if he can." He kept looking at the phone.
"Hm." HiMERU strained his eyes. "How are you using Shiina's phone?"
"Oh." Rinne paused for a few seconds. "Boyfriends know each other's passwords, it's common."
The other two were surprised. Rinne stared at them after he spoke and started laughing:
"Why are you surprised? Weren't you the ones who said he was my wife or something?"
It took a while for them both to open their mouths.
"You guys made things awkward, damn it." Rinne complained, turning off Niki's phone and placing it on the table.
"HiMERU shouldn't be that surprised, but it's pretty important news for him not to react."
"I think so too. You guys could have warned us in our group chat so it wouldn' be as big a revelation as it was." Kohaku crossed his arms. "Why do people have a habit of telling things long after they actually happen?"
"Because the one who should have told you was actually Niki. He asked me over and over again not to tell you, because he wanted to tell."
HiMERU looked at him disdainfully.
"Why did you tell us, then, if he asked you not to?"
"You left me with no choice, Merumeru!" He made an innocent face. "Besides, Niki had every opportunity to tell you at some point and didn't even say a word, so why can't I help him?"
"You two are still a mess together." Kohaku sighed, wondering about the situation. "Are you two getting married or something?"
"I don't know. It's his decision." Rinne refilled his glass with wine.
"It's hard for HiMERU to imagine Shiina and Amagi not fighting each other." He fixed his blue hair.
"Hey. I love him. And that doesn't mean just because I love him there won't be disagreements." Rinne spoke around his mouth full of wine. "That time he got mad at me because I ate some fish he left in my fridge, and he got pissed because apparently he was going to cook that fish for a neighbor as a thank you, but he didn't even tell me!? Does he want me to be psychic?"
"How did ya fix the situation?"
"I had sex with him as an apology, and he was like, oooh, all thirsty for me... It didn't even seem like the same guy who was cursing me so much." He swallowed the wine and wiped his mouth, pausing. "He wasn't right from the start, but in the end, he gave in and stopped bothering me. He bought another, much better fish and gave it to the neighbor the next day."
"...We don't need to know about your and Shiina's private life," HiMERU said for him and Kohaku, rolling his eyes.
"Huh? Merumeru, you never—?"
"HiMERU accepted similar jobs, but he didn't actually perform any acts." He took a sip of coffee.
"'Similar jobs'? Gyahah, I don't even want to imagine!"
"The magazine sold well, you know that. It pleased both the female and male audiences, who are asking HiMERU if he wants to participate in another one again."
Kohaku was embarrassed by the two's normality in discussing their private life. Kohaku hadn't started dating, even though he had kissed (on the cheek) his best friend before, so that topic was something he wasn't very knowledgeable about yet and had to catch up.
"How did Niki become the owner of this place?" He chimed in, changing the subject.
"It's a long story." Rinne realized the bottle of wine was running low and asked the waiter for another. "Soon after Crazy:B disbanded, he had to look for another place to continue his work as a chef, and he was easily accepted at this establishment. Thanks to the reputation he gained in Crazy:B, many fans came to see him cook for them, and the restaurant's reputation soared. The former manager wanted to leverage Niki's image even more than he could afford, so Niki made some kind of deal with him. What I know after that is that he only rose through the ranks until he reached the top of the pyramid. The restaurant you see here wasn't like that: he renovated almost everything with the money he saved as an idol. It was his own project that took many months."
"This is admirable work." Kohaku rested his head on his arms on the table.
"I think so too. Even though he's the owner, he's usually preparing dishes in the kitchen, even if it's not his job." Rinne sounded a little upset in his final sentence. "The surname 'Shiina' had finally been brought back into the spotlight in a positive way, which caught his parents' attention, and they returned to see their son. Apparently, they had a small argument, but Niki didn't seem sad when he returned from the reunion trip."
Rinne picked up Niki's phone from the table and browsed his gallery:
"Normally, Niki puts on an old Crazy:B concert on TV. He listens to some of our music every day, too." He showed a photo confirming this: Niki mixing with a pan and a frame from Honeycomb Summer on the TV in the living room behind him. "We don't live together yet, but my house is closer to his restaurant than his apartment, so he often comes to sleep with me at my place."
Niki walked slowly toward Crazy:B's table, tying up his loose hair. He looked a little tired, but he sat back in the chair with a smile on his face again. He didn't understand HiMERU and Kohaku's eyes on him.
"Hmm? Are you guys hungry? You really haven't ordered anything yet."
"Everything okay, Niki?" Rinne asked after the other two.
"Oh, yes, there was just a problem with one order. The cooks had too many dishes to prepare, and in the end they got confused and gave someone the one they hadn't chosen. I got the call about the complaint, so I decided to help with the preparation so it would be delivered faster."
"HiMERU glads everything's okay." HiMERU sounded a little sarcastic, but that wasn't his intention.
"It's not that hard to fix something like this, sorry for the delay." He forced a worried smile. "I'm getting worried about you guys now. Don't you want anything? I'll order new dishes for our table."
"Oh, I'll take some strawberry mochi." Kohaku pointed at the menu. "Dorayaki looks really good too."
"You can order any dish from HiMERU; he trusts your judgment."
Niki smiled, making some happy sounds, and called the waiter back to place their orders. Not long after, Kohaku and HiMERU's dishes arrived. Apparently, Niki had also ordered five dishes for himself, which arrived alongside the other two.
Niki had ordered pudding for HiMERU, and the idol appreciated the recommendation.
"Shiina, apparently you and Amagi are together" he said, picking up a spoon and dipping it into the pudding.
"Ooh..." Niki was a little embarrassed by the statement, avoiding looking at Rinne. "...What else did he tell you?"
"How you became the owner here, and other things."
"...All that?" He looked startled, upset, and hurt.
"I gave you a hand?" Rinne chimed in. "You didn't even ask for a dish to give me, and you think I wouldn't notice? Give me that one of yours, my love."
"You're such a bastard!" He slapped Rinne's hand away as he was about to take one of his dishes. "Shoo, shoo! Stay away."
Their relationship hasn't changed much: it's hard to change such strong, long-standing feelings.
"As revenge, Niki, why don't ya talk about Rinne?" Kohaku stopped eating his mochi.
"It's a little harder, I think" he replied. "Rinne still gets called out publicly several times to talk about the MDM accidents, or just to be a clown on some TV show."
"Clown?" HiMERU laughed.
"Yes. I can send you all the videos of him being humiliated, HiMERU." Niki laughed mischievously. "I don't use social media much, you probably know, so I don't really know the extent of his current popularity. I just know he's remembered as a revolutionary idol, the whole of Crazy:B, in fact, and he serves as inspiration to some new idols. He receives fan letters with pictures of him from when he was still an idol and gets all emotional, especially when there's a picture of the four of us together."
"I'm still an artist" Rinne added, stopping Niki from continuing. "I model for a few magazines and have been approached for acting even outside of Crazy:B, but I only accept jobs that are fun and appealing to me, you know? I can't just take any boring job out there. Gyahaha, the casino I frequent even wanted to use me as a poster boy!"
"And ya accepted?"
"You'll only know if you go to the casino with me, kid."
"Give it up." Kohaku shook his head.
"It was worth a try."
"And your brother, Amagi?"
"Hiiro? Hm..." Rinne paused for a moment to think about what he was going to say. "Lil bro's doing whatever the hell he wants regardless, and I think he's even more famous than me." He smiled, thinking of his brother. "When ALKALOID ended, he came to me asking about career recommendations: 'What can I use my popularity and idol experience for?' He didn't ask me about my current jobs, much less what I think is good for him, but he wanted me to help him find options and choose for himself."
"I've gone on outings with him and Mayo, and he always said: 'Thank you for taking care of my brother all this time,' and he's still very polite." Niki put food on his fork and shoved it into his mouth.
"Okay, okay... Hiiro this, Hiiro that... where are the questions about me?" Rinne pointed to himself.
"I think I already know everything else, Rinne." Kohaku scoffed. "It's not hard to find articles about ya online."
"Um, well, I'm living my life the way I want, and I'm happy like this." He finally finished his glass of wine. "I have no regrets, and I don't even want to hear what you read against me, Kohaku. I keep doing what I want, and it couldn't get any better than that."
Good for him. He can enjoy life and encourage others to do the same, which is why he's become an important figure among idols. In fact, not only among idols, but among the people around him as well.
Rinne turned to HiMERU with a peculiar look:
"And your brother, Merumeru?"
HiMERU almost choked on the pudding he was eating:
"...What do you want to know about him?" He wiped his mouth, startled.
"If he's okay. I haven't been to that hospital in a while."
"...He's okay."
In the past, HiMERU had avoided talking about his half-brother. In reality, the Crazy:Bs didn't learn of the existence of a brother from HiMERU's mouth, but from third parties, as he always tried to hide him, or you could interpret it as protecting him.
It wasn't the first time they'd talked about Kaname. Not only Rinne, but Niki and Kohaku knew about him too, but they weren't so intrusive as to ask HiMERU about him and his hospital condition.
"He actually came out of his coma about three years ago." HiMERU looked up, adjusting his black fedora.
The three of them gave a genuine smile as he finished, and they went to hug or support HiMERU soon after. HiMERU asked them to lower the volume, but he was buoyed by the warm welcome.
"Wow! That's really good!!" Niki shook off that responsible look of his, almost shouting. "I'm so happy for you!"
"It took a while, but ya did it, HiMERU!" Kohaku playfully punched HiMERU on the shoulder. "Kokoko, ya should have told me earlier too! What good news!"
"These two have already said everything I could say..." Rinne sighed, but he was happy.
"Thank you." HiMERU smiled gently. "'I' took him to my apartment, which was close to the hospital, so if anything went wrong, 'I' could take him back to the doctors, but he rarely felt ill."
HiMERU stepped away from his plate, concentrating on what he was about to say.
"'I' don't usually talk about him, but...." He looked at the other three. "The first year after his discharge, 'I' was... nervous about how well 'I' could take care of him and accommodate his needs, but he spent almost half the year just lying around the room 'I' decorated for him. That year, 'I' also asked my superiors to reduce my idol activities so 'I' could focus solely on him."
Unlike Rinne or Niki's tales, HiMERU had to stop and reflect on the events with his brother, so everyone knew they had to give him time to rest.
"When he started to regain consciousness, he asked me how things were with Crazy:B by pointing out pictures of us that 'I' had given him."
HiMERU looked weak and sad after speaking. He took a moment to speak again:
"He understood what happened, and he also understood that 'HiMERU' is still active in the spotlight. Since then, 'I' have been helping him recover as if 'I' were his legal guardian. 'I' plan to give him everything 'HiMERU' did when he's ready, but it will be a while yet." He tapped the table with his fingers. "It doesn't matter—'I'll be there for him and wait as long as possible. Instead of starting dance and singing training, which are difficult tasks for his fragile body, 'I' decided to teach him everything he missed in school. That's how we are now."
HiMERU sipped his coffee.
"We've watched Crazy:B's old concerts over and over again because he loves them all. He loves watching 'HiMERU,' which makes me regret nothing."
It took a while for the other three to react, as the mood was tense. HiMERU smiled slightly.
"HiMERU is a solo idol, as Amagi said, and he received great support from Crazy:B's fans and his new fans who are interested in him. Solo work wasn't something new for HiMERU, so he got used to it easily. His life hasn't changed much compared to when he was in ES, so 'I' think 'I' said it all."
"Your story is quite beautiful," Niki said, looking at HiMERU with a friendly face. He stopped eating his third plate of food. "The path you took isn't that common, but if you feel good about it, that's what matters. We were the 'crazy ones,' after all."
They laughed.
"When Kaname gets fully recovered, you'll give him your job, won't you?" Rinne mentioned his name for the first time.
"'I' will."
"So you'll be able to meet us more often?"
"You can assume so, Amagi."
"Really, HiMERU has a lot of followers these days," Kohaku remembered. "Coming here must have been harder for ya than the three of us."
"It's okay. In a way, 'I' wanted to meet you again."
The atmosphere became comfortable again. HiMERU went back to eating his pudding in peace.
"We talked about a lot of things, which surprises HiMERU. It's good to know we're all reasonable about our lives."
"I didn't give my opinion on anything." Niki shook his head.
"What, you don't love me?" Rinne made a sad, intimidating face. "I already know you love this shitty restaurant and your job. So you don't love me, is it?!"
"I didn't say anything! You've already put too many words in my mouth today! I'm fine with my life, I'm doing everything I've always loved to do, I just wanted it to come out of my mouth this time."
Niki placed his hand on Rinne's hand resting on the table, which made the older man feel embarrassed, infatuated. He finally got his answer.
Kohaku finished his Japanese sweets and was feeling full. He took out his phone to check the notifications he had received.
"...HiMERU doesn't remember Oukawa talking about himself." He startled Kohaku with his words.
"Ooooh, that's right. I still want to see your old photos" Niki commented, remembering.
"He kept asking us and asking us, and in the end, he didn't even talk about himself." Rinne was disappointed.
The three eyes were staring at Kohaku, which pressured him to turn off his phone. They seemed excited and ready to give him their full attention:
"Ah, a lot of things have happened. I don't know exactly what ya want to know about me."
"What did you feel when Crazy:B ended, your current work, what your leisure activities are, if you're with anyone..." Rinne began to rattle off several examples as if he were his nosy dad.
Kohaku looked at him with some anger, since now he would have to answer all these questions, and Rinne knew it.
"...Crazy:B's disban was surprising, but it was to be expected: we'd been active for a long time and were also getting older, which wouldn' be as appealing to the fans. It wasn't the first time I'd been through this, and we didn't break up because the four of us misunderstood or anything like that, so it was peaceful."
The other three looked at themselves and nodded.
"I'm doing well financially and I accept some community work too, mainly artistic ones that use music and dance. I once sang at a public concert where I was invited, and several Crazy:B fans showed up and talked to me, offering support for my future." Kohaku turned his head to the side, thoughtful. "Madara was an inspiration for me to accept this kind of work."
"Do you still talk to him?" Niki asked.
"Rarely, but he always responds quickly to my messages. He's my friend, after all."
"Does Oukawa feel happy doing this kind of work?"
"Yes. I can choose what I want to do, and most importantly, I can help someone as a result." He smiled. "Ah! I have nephews too."
"Wow!" Rinne and Niki said together. "You're an uncle?!"
"Kokoko, yes! Wait a minute..." Kohaku took out his phone again and opened his gallery, showing his pictures.
One of the pictures showed him, with longer hair and wearing his yukata, feeding a baby, but the girl didn't seem to want it and was fighting him, which made his face look nervous.
"That's my older sister's daughter. She's not a baby anymore and is a very strong and brave child!"
"How cute." Rinne was impressed.
"You look really different in traditional clothes too, Kohaku," Niki noticed. "She doesn't like you? She seems to be avoiding you..."
"...I think she likes me." He forced an awkward smile. "She was my first niece, and I was never very good with children, but I've improved a lot and she always hugs me when we see each other."
HiMERU didn't say anything, but he was smiling.
Kohaku switched pictures and showed one of just him near a work of art in a luxurious and refined museum. He wore sunglasses and a cap, truly looking like an idol in disguise.
"What a beautiful museum!" Niki admired.
"Isn't it?!" Kohaku smiled excitedly. "I had to make a trip to see it, but I don't regret a thing! Besides the beautiful pieces, all the history in this museum is incredible. Thinking about the world itself and how it has so many interesting places also makes me want to visit them all."
He switched to another image: him tearing up in a movie theater with some dog filters on his face, looking like a social media post. He was embarrassed and quickly changed it:
"...Sometimes Love invites me and his friends to hang out together... Rinne's brother took this photo, if I'm not mistaken, without my permission. Love added these filters and sent it to me... the movie in the theater was a little... scary." He tried his best to quickly change the image, blushing.
The last image he showed was a photo of him with a woman holding his old merch. This woman had a husband and two children by her side. They probably didn't seem to know Kohaku, but they were in the photo too. He genuinely smiled when he saw the photo:
"This woman was an old fan of mine who was very happy to learn that I was helping her children dance at one of my projects. She brought several things with my face on them and even a piece of paper, which scared me since it had been a long time since I had signed autographs for fans. She was a nice person."
"You seem to be feeling good, Oukawa. Just seeing your reactions to the photos, HiMERU can tell." He smiled too.
"Hey, talking to all of you after so long is really nice" Rinne blurted happily. "Why didn't I invite you guys sooner?"
"That's a good question," Niki scoffed. "Seeing that we're all doing well makes my stomach feel good, and it's a really comforting feeling for me."
"We could meet up every week, what do you think?"
The three of them made negative faces, like they were saying 'we don't have that much time' or 'you're moving too fast,' which made Rinne go back on his word.
"Let's be spontaneous. We'll meet up when we can, but we don' need to rush it too quickly," Kohaku suggested. "We can talk about new things this way, which makes everything more fun."
The other three agreed. Niki happily kissed Rinne on the side of his face, and HiMERU leaned closer to Kohaku to whisper something in his ear.
"Oh? Kokoko." He laughed at the request. "HiMERU asked us to take a picture for him to send to our group as a souvenir."
"That's a great idea!" Rinne got up from his chair and walked over to Kohaku. "Can I use your phone?"
"Why are ya going to take the picture?" He didn't understand.
"I'm still the tallest one here, and a selfie looks best when it's taken by the tallest person. You should know that, Kohaku."
"I can ask a waiter to take the picture—"
Rinne shush-shhed his finger so Niki wouldn't finish his sentence. Niki just rolled his eyes, chuckling softly, giving in.
Kohaku sighed and handed Rinne the phone. The three of them got up from their chairs and posed, looking at the phone Rinne was holding.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. The picture was taken.
"What took you so long?" HiMERU crossed his arms. "HiMERU had to hold the pose flawlessly for the longest time, which is difficult."
He just chuckled at HiMERU, which made the blue-haired man sigh.
Rinne handed the phone back to Kohaku and sat back down. Kohaku sent the photo to the group, tagging HiMERU, who received the message and gave the 'ok' sign. Niki ordered more dishes for the four of them again, and they continued chatting for a while longer.