Chapter Text
A sterile hospital room, though not devoid of personal touches. It was nothing fancy, just the hospital bed, a small side table with a couple drawers, a sink, and room for two chairs. There was a bouquet of fresh flowers on the window sill, and a few family photos arranged on the side table. In the hospital bed lay a redheaded teen around nineteen years old, hooked up to several monitors and bags and wearing an oxygen mask. A boy of the same age was rinsing out a bucket and ringing out a washcloth in the sink.
“Now that your sponge bath is done, I suppose I should make my way back to Rouge Pirouette before Kujou-san notices I’ve been gone all day.” He spoke casually to the sleeping boy, as if he were talking to someone who was awake.
A knock came at the door, and upon permission a nurse entered. “Hello, Tenn-kun!” she brightly greeted him. “Sorry for the intrusion! Just wanted to check that he got his afternoon mobility exercises and lunch.”
Tenn brushed a dusty pink strand of hair away from his face and glanced at a bag of brown fluid hanging from the IV stand. “Yes, he’s about halfway through lunch now. I did his exercises with him around an hour ago. Just finished giving him a bath too.”
The nurse took the chart out from the slot at the foot of the bed and added a few notes. “Wonderfully on top of things as always, Tenn-kun! Your brother is lucky to have you.”
“Well,” Tenn chuckled plainly, with a hint of bitterness, “it’s the least I can do for him. I’ll be taking off now.” He reached over and gently smoothed down the redhead’s hair, then made his way to the door. Before closing the door, Tenn peeked his head back in. “See you tomorrow, Riku.”
As Tenn arrived home to change so he could go to work, his father Ensei had been putting his shoes on by the front door. “Ah, Tenn,” he said, stopping, “I was about to go fetch you from the hospital. Kujou-san was wondering where you were.”
“I just have to freshen up a little and then I’ll make my way over,” Tenn replied. “I had to do a few extra exercises with Riku today; his joints seemed more stiff.” He voice trailed off slightly as he watched his father’s face become terse.
“Please, Tenn, don’t make Kujou mad. You know it makes things worse on your mother and me.”
“Aside from Orikasa-san, I am his main source of cash flow,” Tenn retorted. “He will make a few allowances.” Before Ensei could fight more with him, he slipped off his shoes and coldly hurried to the bathroom.
After loudly closing the door in defiance, he paused a moment to look at himself in the mirror. He hadn’t slept much last night, and the gray circles under his eyes made that painfully obvious against his fair skin. He studied the shape of his face, noticing how his cheeks were thinner than a few weeks ago, and thought, if he continued to lose weight, at this rate he would really start to resemble Riku. Sometimes it was difficult to find time for food between taking care of Riku, dance or singing practice, and performing at his parents’—ah, Kujou’s—nightclub. Tenn splashed water into his face and began vigorously washing, trying to push out his thoughts. He just had to keep his head down and be the obedient child, put on a happy face and perform.
Tenn finished freshening himself up, putting on a little makeup to hide his sleep deprivation and lethargy, and changed into his performance costume. Striding to the front door, he saw that his father was still there. “Your shift starts soon, you shouldn’t have waited for me.”
“I thought I’d walk down with you.”
“Suit yourself,” Tenn pulled on a pair of boots and walked out the door his father had held open.
Rouge Pirouette was two floors down from the Nanase family’s apartment, so it wasn’t a long trip. The two walked down the stairs, and just as they were getting to street level, Ensei spoke up. “Riku’s doctor called me today. We scheduled a family appointment to discuss the next steps in his treatment. It’s on Thursday morning.”
Tenn sharply inhaled. These types of appointments always set him on edge, especially when they were scheduled so promptly. “Did she have anything else to say?”
“She said we would discuss everything in person.”
His heart dropped yet again. “Thank you for letting me know,” was all he could say before pulling open the door and briskly walking through.
“There you are, Kujou-kun!” A sixteen-year-old girl with short navy hair ran up to Tenn. “Kujou-san is over there waiting for you!”
“Aya-chan, why are you here today?” Tenn asked, looking at the frilly baby blue costume she was wearing.
“Kujou-san is letting me perform one song tonight!”
“Ah, Tenn,” a deep voice resonated from behind Aya. “Nanase, good, go clean the bar and get ready to open it,” he addressed Tenn’s father then approached Tenn, ushering him towards backstage. “Come along, Tenn, you’re running behind schedule.”
The man who spoke was Kujou Takamasa, a man perhaps in his forties, perhaps thirties, with a gaunt face and dark, oily-looking hair. He was the recent owner of Rouge Pirouette. Well, he was a bit more than that. Kujou was Tenn’s legal guardian.
Seven years ago, the Nanase family was quite different. Rouge Pirouette was in a slow period, but still doing well enough for the family to get by. Tenn and Riku were as close as twins could be. Ever since he could remember, Tenn was taking care of Riku. He was even more efficient at helping Riku make it through a severe breathing attack than either of their parents could. Any chance he could get, he would help his brother, and he always promised to do anything he could to make Riku happy.
On an especially warm summer day, not long after the boys’ thirteenth birthday, Riku desperately wanted to go to the nearby park, even if it was just for a few minutes. It had been a while since his last attack, so his parents agreed to take Tenn and Riku for no longer than an hour.
“Tenn-nii! Look at the grass!” an excited Riku exclaimed, running into the lush grass of the park. “It’s green!”
“Don’t run!” Tenn lectured, though a smile crept on his face as he watched his brother enjoy himself.
“It’s hard not to when everything is so alive!” Riku giggled as he peered into the pond to stare at the fish.
“Be careful not to fall in, I don’t want to have to fish you out and risk you catching a chill.”
“Why don’t you come sit on the blanket I put out for us. I made some onigiri to eat,” the boys’ mother Miyou called out to them.
“If only we could have brought omurice, then this would have been perfect!” Riku had commented as he sat down and grabbed one of the balls of rice.
“Always so demanding,” Tenn teased before taking a bite.
After the boys ate, Riku got up to start exploring. Tenn followed close behind, monitoring his brother’s breathing. “Hey, Tenn-nii,” Riku said as he looked up at a tall tree he was standing in front of, “Remember that tree I used to be able to climb back before my attacks got super bad?”
“I do, you were very good at climbing. Even better than me, maybe.” Tenn watched as his brother reached up and tested his weight on the lowest branch. “Riku, what are you planning?”
“Just a little climb, Tenn-nii!” Riku said in a pleading voice as he quickly pulled himself onto the branch.
“Riku, no!!” Tenn insisted, trying to grab at his ankle to stop him from getting any higher.
However, Riku escaped his grasp and kept climbing, his breathing starting to get ragged as he was laughing at the thrill. Tenn called out for his parents and started climbing after him. Their parents tried to yell for Riku to stop and come back down, but he refused to listen. Riku’s wheezing turned to coughing, until he could barely move. He tried to cling to the branches he was holding, but it was too much. His head was spinning and his body was heavy. Next thing Tenn saw was his brother tumbling down.
Next a hollow thump.
A mother’s scream.
A father’s yell.
His own voice calling out as he climbed back down.
An ambulance’s wail.
The doctor said the damage was not as bad as it could have been. Two cracked ribs, a cut on the side of his head, and swelling of the brain. Riku had not regained consciousness after the fall, but the professionals claimed he would probably wake up once the swelling went down in a few days and be back on his feet quickly. Children are supposed to be resilient.
A few days later, the swelling had indeed gone down, and Riku’s body was on the mend. But he still did not wake. The Nanases were doing everything they could to get Riku the treatment he needed, but a specialist would cost far more than they could handle with how business was doing. Tenn wracked his brain for what he could do to help, but not many people were willing to take on a thirteen-year-old to work high-paying jobs. That is, until Kujou Takamasa approached Tenn.
Kujou had been hanging out at the Rouge Pirouette every few nights for the past two weeks, watching Tenn’s singing and dancing performances he would do to keep interest and keep business flowing. He was very interested in Tenn’s talent, though Tenn would insist he had no time to keep honing this talent, since he had a hospitalized brother to take care of. One night after Tenn had finished performing, Kujou came backstage.
“Tenn-kun,” he started with a toothy grin, “I have a...proposition for you. Now before you say no, I promise, this is a way for everyone to get what they want.”
“Tell me.”
Kujou smiled once again. “Tell your parents to surrender their parental rights to you and give them to me.”
“ What? ” the incredulous thirteen-year-old almost staggered back. “How would that help anything?”
“Become my son, in name only, and let me make you the greatest idol this world has ever known. And in return, I will pay your parents enough money to fund your brother’s hospital bills. Your brother would get the care that he needs to survive, you get to train your talent I can see you love to use, and I get to make you even better than the great idol Zero. Everyone wins! Think it over, tell your parents. I’ll be here tomorrow night for your answer.” With that, he turned and whisked himself away, leaving Tenn stunned, yet pensive.
That night, his parents outright refused him and rejected any more discussion of Kujou’s offer. However, the doctor’s appointment the next day sent them reeling. Another test revealed a small abscess on Riku’s brain. He needed surgery to have it taken care of, else risk it getting worse and potentially killing their son. Pouring over their finances revealed no form of lasting hope, and after much discussion, tears, and heartbreak, the Nanase parents decided to accept Kujou’s terms. In return for legally surrendering Tenn to Kujou, Kujou would pay for Riku’s medical costs from now until a year’s time.
Kujou took Tenn away once the legal proceedings were through and put him through vigorous idol training. Tenn had forced Kujou to write up an official contract outlining the terms of this deal and made him include permissions to visit his brother when he felt the need to, as long as he did not neglect his duties to Kujou. When Tenn was out-of-country, he had the hospital staff update him at least every other day. When Tenn turned sixteen and returned to Japan, Kujou tried to have Tenn debut. However, no agency was willing to take a gamble on a solo idol, and no groups accepting members met Kujou’s incredibly high standards. Since he was stuck in place in his career, Tenn made Kujou take him home so he could visit Riku.
The first place Tenn went when they arrived in his hometown was the hospital. He was taken aback when he saw Riku. It was like looking at an entirely new person. Although Riku was still in a similar condition than he had last seen him, Riku was now so much bigger, and yet, so much more frail. Tenn demanded to get a thorough update from the doctor, who informed him that there was next to nothing more they could do but keep him comfortable. Riku’s body was in good health, but he just would not rouse from the coma. Their suggestion was that he be moved to a nearby clinic that was better suited to taking care of long-term coma patients, but the Nanases had refused to move him.
Angered to learn this, Tenn went to find his parents at the Rouge Pirouette, only to see that it was closed. He immediately went up to his old home and rang the doorbell.
“Tenn!” Miyou was shocked as her son walked right in as if he had never left four years previous.
“Why are you closed?” she asked her straightforwardly.
“Ah...sit down, Tenn,” his mother gently pulled a chair at the table out and sat down across from him. “We just can’t afford to stay open every night now. All of our good performers left not too long ago, and we haven’t been able to afford renovations due to your brother’s medical costs. We’ve even been thinking of selling the place…” her voice trailed off ashamedly.
Tenn’s lips tightened, his eyes were burning. He stood up abruptly, and made for the door. “I’ll get this handled.”
Another deal with Kujou later—Kujou bought Rouge Pirouette for the sake of furthering the careers of the idols he was grooming. He allowed the Nanases to stay on as employees and even allowed Tenn to live back at home, though he was still a Kujou by name. With the money from selling the club, Riku was able to be transferred to the clinic that could keep him comfortable while they hoped for a miracle.
Six years, eleven months, and twenty-two days since the last time Riku was awake, and no miracle in sight. Another night of performances, another night of fake smiles. Tenn did his performances, enrapturing his audience in his skilled singing and dancing. Once he got home, he collapsed on his bed, and slipped into sleep.