My Crown [IDOLiSH7]

16: Mixed Emotions

"And the winner is..."

The people in the BLACK or WHITE venue, the people in front of their home TV screens, and the people watching from live viewing screens in the busy cities were focusing on the number of votes on stage on top of each idol that was going up rapidly.

Once the numbers came to a stop, Mr Shimooka excitedly announced the winner right away.

"IDOLiSH6!!!!"

The main spotlight went to IDOLiSH6. The group was stunned for 3 seconds before the members started looking at each other's faces as a reality check. They then jumped and screamed in happiness. Everyone gathered around their young centre, Izumi Iori, and gave him a caring head pat. "We did it! We WON!" Nagi shouted. Mitsuki could not stop his tears.

"Thank you, everyone. Really, thank you!" Iori grabbed the mic and spoke before the 6 of them joined hands and together bowed to the fans.

The second place went to Kujou Riku, followed by TRIGGER. The votes were very close. Riku bit his lip in frustration. At the same time, the boy was happy for I6. The fans had proven it. I6 were the best to convey their feelings through their song and those reached the fans' hearts. TRIGGER felt bitter that they lost. Still, they gave everything they had during the performance and they had no regrets. Tenn would probably cry in Gaku's and Ryuu's arms as soon as he exited the stage.

~~

"That rat..."

Kujou Takamasa shut down the TV and smashed his remote control. He was obviously pissed seeing IDOLiSH6 won and not his son. Not his precious product.

The pale-faced man raged. "You have crossed the line, Nezumi Iori. You leave me no choice." [A/N: Nezumi means rat Japanese]

"You will regret starting a war with me!"

~~

"Kujou!!"

The cold female manager pulled Riku's shirt on the chest violently with both hands as soon as they got to their prep room. Then she pushed the boy away, making his back hit the hard wall. Riku yelped on impact and he started coughing. Riku leaned on the wall, put his hand on his chest and drew in deep, loud breaths. Not only he was tired from dancing on stage, but the pressure from his manager was also crushing him. That woman was probably scared. Scared about what Takamasa would do to her. She just had to take it out on Riku. It was truly an ugly cycle.

Riku wanted to cry. The sadness grew as he felt he had given everything he had on stage. He deserved some praise regardless of the outcome. He wanted them. The boy could only imagine that Iori and Tenn would hug him. Riku tried so hard to hold back his tears. He let himself flop to the floor and fought the pain of not being able to take the air into his lungs fully.

The manager went to grab Riku's bag, which had his medications and threw it to the boy. It nearly hit him. The opened bag landed on the floor next to Riku and the contents were scattered everywhere. "Ugh, I'm outta here. Deal with your annoying illness yourself!" The manager slammed the door loudly and stormed off.

Riku searched for his inhaler, which was luckily nearby. Annoying illness. That really hurt. It was not his fault that he was ill. Once his attack calmed down, Riku put his arm on his forehead and sobbed quietly.

~~

Tenn's head was buried in his hands. He said he needed a moment to cry so Gaku and Ryuu also used this opportunity to process their thoughts. Anesagi being their manager could not help shedding some tears. She knew her boys worked really hard and they at least deserved to hear that she was proud of them. She was hoping the president will not be too harsh on them when they face him.