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Chapter Text

Shit!

In a moment of carelessness, a wet cloth with some kind of disgusting-smelling liquid was pressed to Touma's mouth, and he began to feel weak. All the sirens in Touma’s head began to sound out, but it was too late.

He had been careless, never expecting that one day someone might go after him. In all his time as an idol, Touma never expected that he would get kidnapped one day.

Strong, muscled arms held him in a headlock that he couldn't get out of no matter how much he struggled. All the training he did at the gym amounted to nothing when faced with someone bigger and more experienced than himself.

Touma's last thoughts before he lost consciousness were about his precious group members. 

They were supposed to meet in a while to go out together…

Tora, Haru, Mina…I'm sorry. I guess this is payback for what we did to TRIGGER.

A tear rolled down his cheek, and he limply slumped into the kidnapper’s arms.

“We got the target. Now it's time to make Tsukumo bleed.”

* * *

“Inumaru-san is late.” Minami remarked, eyes fixated on the clock on his phone. 

It had been almost twenty minutes after their scheduled time.

“Touma was always scolding me for arriving late. If he's late to our outings, he usually sends me a message. What's going on here?” 

Impatiently, Torao grabbed his smartphone tighter, almost dangerously close to crushing it. Outwardly, he looked mostly composed, but his thoughts were a mess. 

Touma never let me down after that one time. Something had to have happened!

Frustrated, Torao paced a few steps back and forth until Haruka ran out of patience.

“You’re making me nervous, stop!”

ŹOOĻ’s youngest quickly typed something into his phone and clucked his tongue.

<<Touma, where are you??? We’ve been waiting for twenty minutes now!>>

Haruka waited a few seconds, because typically it didn't take more for Touma to answer, but nothing happened.

“Idiot!!!” The teen finally yelled out loud and threw his phone into his pockets.

“Calm down, Isumi-san. It's not worth getting your pretty face ruined by Inumaru-san’s thoughtlessness. Maybe he met another one of his friends on the way and lost track of time.” 

Minami walked over to the agitated teen and brushed his slender finger across Haruka's cheek. In response to the unexpected touch, the teen calmed down and blushed a little, his mouth drawn into a cute pout.

Torao was positively impressed with how well Minami managed to soothe Haruka's anger. The blonde had a real knack for dealing with Haruka's outbursts, though he didn't appreciate the way Minami phrased his argument.

Touma most definitely didn’t forget about them over something trivial like meeting another friend!

Something in Torao's stomach gave him a bad vibe. It wasn't like Touma at all to go radio silence on them if all of ŹOOĻ planned to go out together like this. 

This all didn't feel right…

Just as Torao was about to grab his phone to try calling Touma once more, Minami tapped him on the shoulder. 

“I know, Mido-san. Inumaru-san wouldn't leave us like this.” Minami whispered so Haruka, who had just calmed down a little, didn't hear what he said.

“I've got a bad feeling as well. Let's call Utsugi-san to hear if he knows something.”

With a trembling hand, Torao picked out Utsugi-san’s number from his contacts and called him. Within a few seconds he heard their manager’s voice.

“Ah, Mido-san! I …um just wanted to call you myself…!” 

The strain in Utsugi-san’s voice made Torao's heart drop. As always, he was a bad liar, and Torao’s stomach began to twist with anxiety. He almost had a premonition of what would be said next, which is why he subconsciously braced himself.

“There's an emergency. Please take Natsume-san and Isumi-san with you and come to the office immediately."

Without explaining anything else, the call ended, and Torao almost dropped his phone, his hands trembling even worse than before now.

He didn't need Utsugi-san to explain anything to them. Deep down Torao could feel it.

Something had happened to Touma.

* * *

After an indescribable time, Touma awoke from his forced slumber, and despite his first instinct to open his eyes, he kept them shut.

The moment his consciousness was back, Touma remembered what had happened to him.

He had been on his way to meet his precious group members when someone pulled him into a back alley. Without even being able to see who it was, that person had made him lose consciousness by some kind of drug.

It was a karmic twist of fate that something that he and ŹOOĻ had forced upon TRIGGER in the past had happened to him now.

Unsure of what to do, Touma tried to pretend to be asleep. Maybe his kidnapper– if it was even more than one person – would give away some information.

From the way his body felt, Touma knew he was unharmed. There was no pain in any part of his body. 

The only thing he noticed aside from that was that both his arms and legs were bound by a rope. The kidnapper even went so far as to put his arms behind his back to make moving harder. He was also sitting on some kind of standard chair that made it hard to gauge where exactly he was. 

If push came to shove, he could try to stand up, but since his legs were bound, he would probably fall down and hit the floor, which would amount to nothing.

“Now we wait to see how much money they'll give us for their golden goose.”

The ruff, voice of the kidnapper almost made Touma blow his sleeping disguise as he had to bite back the surprise that bubbled up in his chest. His heart beat so loud that he heard the blood rush through his ears.

So he was kidnapped for ransom money?

I hope Tora, Haru, and Mina are okay…!

His beloved groupmates were all Touma could think about. 

What if they were also dragged into whatever was happening to him?

He didn't want that!

“I hope Tsukumo grovels for what they did to us!” 

Another unknown voice spoke tone filled with a hatred that reminded Touma of his own old self. Hearing this, Touma couldn't help but think that maybe he was partly responsible. And even if he didn’t have anything to do with this personally, he knew that Tsukumo Productions had a lot of enemies because of Ryo-san.

Ryo-san’s revenge against the idol industry had left them with many people who resented the company for what they did.

“It's just too bad that we only managed to grab this one here. I don't give a shit about their music, but Blondie or the kid would've been more fun to mess with than the redhead.”

?!

Touma should've been happy at the implication that the other three were safe, but he couldn't be happy when his blood pressure had risen through the roof by the callous remark.

He knew he should've kept his mouth shut, but he couldn't.

“Don't you dare touch even one strand of hair of Haru or Mina, you assholes!” Touma growled like a wild dog ready to bite his kidnappers' heads off, and he opened his eyes to see who had pissed him off. He realized he was in some kind of warehouse that looked abandoned.

The sudden curse from him jolted the last third kidnapper awake, and a weird gasp went through the empty warehouse where Touma found himself.

Right in front of him stood two burly men in black suits. They looked like they were right out of a bad Yakuza movie, with sunglasses covering their faces (even in the dark) and slicked-back hair.

A little farther away sat the now awake third kidnapper, a smaller man that wore a gaudy brown suit with a strangely intricate pattern. Touma definitely knew that he had no idea who this was, but his gut told him that it was someone who Ryo-san had pissed off in one of his many revenge plans.

“What a foul mouth for an idol,” the man in the gaudy suit drawled, and goosebumps began to spread at the back of Touma's neck. 

This guy was bad news.

The man stood up from his chair and slowly walked towards Touma, giving the impression that he was amiable, but Touma had spent enough time with Ryo-san to see the insane glint in the man’s eyes. This man was what Ryo-san could’ve become if he didn’t start to change.

If he fucked up here, ŹOOĻ would be history, but he also wouldn't take threats against his beloved members without biting back.

“I wasn't really interested in you until now, little red, so tell me your name.”

The guy now stood right in front of Touma, glaring down at him with a friendly expression, but his smile never reached his eyes. He was like the wolf hiding his fangs from the naive Little Red Riding Hood.

It would be wise to do as he was told, but the way the guy talked to him made Touma want to resist.

In an impulsive moment, Touma almost let his anger win out and spat out a curse that he would’ve regretted, however, he held his breath at the last second, and stayed silent instead.

If he let his anger out, God knew what they'd try to do to ŹOOĻ. Just because the rest weren't here didn't completely negate the possibility that they were in danger.

“...”

Touma averted his eyes from the man to look around the room a little. Quickly he realized how bad the situation was. The crowbars and other weapons beside the burly men were silent threats against him.

If you make too much trouble, it’s over for you…

He had no chance to win. Even if he managed to somehow get his hands and legs freed, he couldn't do anything.

Frustrated about his current powerlessness, Touma bit his lower lip.

“I don't like being ignored by puppets!” The ringleader spat out with a dangerous edge in his voice, and before Touma could turn his head, a cold, bony hand tilted his chin into position. The cold touch brought more goosebumps to Touma’s body, and he had to fight against showing any weakness.

He was faced with cold, calculating eyes that seemed unreadable staring down on him with a hint of madness.

“If you don't want your pathetic little group to suffer worse consequences, you should do as I say.”

Each word was spoken with such venom that Touma's goosebumps multiplied until his whole skin was covered in them. 

For the first time in his life, he felt true, tangible terror, as he knew there was no easy way out.

He couldn't disobey now, even if he wanted to bite this lunatic’s hand, but for ŹOOĻ he had to stay calm and do as he was told.

Utterly defeated, Touma took a deep breath before introducing himself in a dejected voice, full of disdain.

“Inumaru Touma.”

Just as he finished, the gaudy man smiled, flashing his teeth dangerously, and Touma thought that this was it. 

Before he could do anything else,  something hard connected with his face, making him fall out of his chair and onto the floor.

With a loud noise and a pained groan, Touma fell to the floor, scraping his face and shoulder in the process. The radical motions made his jacket roll off his shoulders a bit, and a part of his shirt exposed his stomach. 

Fuck.

Not fully processing what had happened, Touma tried to calm himself down even if his cheek hurt like hell. He was sure there was a bloody scrape now, since he noticed a few blood drops right where he landed.

With his current position on the floor, he must’ve looked like the most pathetic leader there was, but he tried to endure it.

If he didn’t persevere, ŹOOĻ might be in danger!

“How about we discipline you a little, Inumaru-kun? It’ll teach you not to disobey me while you’re in my care.”

The lunatic smiled at Touma with a warm smile that hid the devious plans he probably had in store for him. All Touma could do was gulp and wait.

He was powerless all alone…

* * *

“I need you all to listen to me until the end and stay calm, ok?”

Utsugi-san stood in front of ŹOOĻ with a grim expression and a disheveled look that gave away a lot of information without any word being exchanged. Torao’s whole body was as taut as a rope at the following silence. 

In an attempt to calm himself, Torao picked up a glass of water and took a sip, too anxious to digest anything else. His hand gripped the glass tightly, knuckles white from the force that was used on the glass. Haruka and Minami looked equally pale and anxious, as Utsugi-san’s sudden instruction and Touma’s disappearance left little room for speculation.

And yet, as long as nothing was officially revealed, Torao still hoped that the sinking feeling in his stomach was just a wrong premonition and not what had actually transpired.

Touma, please be well…!

Utsugi-san took one last look at the three of them before he opened his mouth. What followed was Torao’s worst nightmare unfolding in real-time.

“Inumaru-san had been kidnapped by an anonymous group that called the agency for ransom. We have no clue where they brought him or what his status is.”

The glass in Torao’s hand dropped to the floor and shattered, spilling the contents on the carpet underneath him together with countless shards.

Time came to a crawl for Torao as he stared at Utsugi-san with wide eyes. Beside him, Haruka cried out in shock, followed by an anguished noise that was likely a desperate sob, but Torao wasn’t sure. He felt utterly frozen in place, having to accept that the worst possible outcome had happened. 

All he could do was stare at Utsugi-san for some kind of hope.

Touma wouldn’t go down so easily.

You promised us you’ll sing with us forever…!

Noticing ŹOOĻ’s growing panic about the incident caused by his own horrible news, Utsugi-san sighed deeply before he managed to find more words.

“We’re assuming that the kidnappers will get into contact with us soon. We didn’t contact the police officially yet, but I called a friend of mine who works for them to help behind the scenes. Inumaru-san will return to us in good health!”

Over the course of his explanation, Utsugi-san managed to kindle a small flame of hope in Torao’s heart, as he could tell that their manager was genuinely trying his best. 

Even if he felt like crying, it was no time to sit around. A true hero showed themself in dire times by keeping their cool. After taking a deep breath, Torao bent down and began to pick up the shards of broken glass underneath his feet, collecting them all in no time.

Once he threw them away, he finally took a look at Minami and Haruka and noticed that Haruka had calmed down again, even if his eyes were puffy from crying. Minami didn’t look better, his face paler than his usual milky complexion, but all three of them had one thing in common.

Torao saw it clearly; they all hadn’t given up yet. Their old selves might’ve given up here, but not their current versions. Knowing what to say, Torao addressed their manager.

“What can we do to help? We won’t let anyone take Touma from us like that.”

“Yeah, let’s find those shitty kidnappers and kick their asses!” Haruka shouted with a combative expression in his young face. 

“The person foolish enough to steal Inumaru-san from us will pay their dues in blood. Fufufu.” With a dark expression on his face, Minami stood up from the couch as well.

Utsugi-san’s face brightened at the fighting spirit that was awakened. “Lovely ŹOOĻ became dangerous ŹOOĻ but that fits you guys as well. Let’s try to collect all the information that we have first.

With newfound strength Torao’s anxiety calmed down a little. Maybe if all of them worked together, they’d be able to find Touma, just like the others worked together to find TRIGGER back then.

* * *

It hurt so bad, Touma couldn’t hold back the tears that collected in his eyes.

After his earlier disobedience, the ringleader ordered the other two men to kick him in the stomach a few times, and of course the two meatheads were anything but gentle with their kicks.

When they were done, Touma bit back a broken sob. His insides felt like mush, but despite the pain, he knew he was still mostly okay.

Things could’ve been much worse…

Too weak and unable to sit up on his own since both his legs and arms were bound by thick ropes, the ringleader spoke up with a joyous voice to order his two henchmen once more.

“Now that Inumaru-kun learned to play nice, how about we make him sit up again properly.”

Very roughly, one of the henchmen, the bigger one of the two, grabbed Touma by the arms and pulled him up from the ground as if he weighed nothing. 

He was practically tossed to sit down on the chair, his jacket slipping from his shoulders in the process. When he noticed the eyes of the ringleader on himself, Touma tried to quell his anger.

If he angered that lunatic again, he wouldn’t be able to hold out.

There had to be some kind of way to contact the others, but his hands were literally tied.

If he were only able to reach his phone…!

“Inumaru-kun, do you know what Tsukumo did to us?” The lunatic asked, eyes growing hazier with each word spoken. Touma wasn’t sure whether to answer or not, so he shook his head truthfully.

He had no clue. Touma knew very little about Ryo-san’s actions outside ŹOOĻ, so how was he supposed to know.

Much to Touma’s relief, the kidnapper accepted his answer and continued to speak in the most hateful voice imaginable. This was a man who had witnessed the abyss.

“We were one of his adversaries. A small production company that miraculously managed to gain some fame and managed to make a name for themselves. When we didn’t want to bow our knees to him, our worst nightmares started.”

The man began to tell his tale, and Touma’s stomach dropped. 

It was a standard story that probably applied to many others that Ryo-san crushed out of spite or other low motives. The entertainment industry had many dark sides, and what Touma experienced in the short time when ŹOOĻ was led by Ryo-san was only the tip of the iceberg. As naive as it was, he didn’t even want to imagine what other heinous crimes were committed in the name of ‘competition’.

“Our stars were systematically targeted until one of them committed suicide one day. My fiancé died because of this ASSHOLE!” The man suddenly screamed, eyes wide as if he was experiencing the fateful day once more. 

Touma lowered his eyes, trying to fight back tears of frustration. He knew things like that had to have happened, and hearing such a tale now from a victim made it all the more tangible. 

“After that it was over for us. We were left with nothing but debt, and that was when I swore that I’d make Tsukumo bleed, which brings us to you, Inumaru-kun.”

…!?

Still caught up in the man’s dramatic reveal, Touma was caught off guard when he was pulled up by his hair. A strong hand was pulling up his head by his bangs alone.

More tears burst out of his eyes at the sudden pain on the top of his head.

The sound of a shutter went off, and Touma was blinded for a split second.

“If Tsukumo sees their new golden goose is in danger, they’ll listen to all of our demands.” 

The ringleader waved his smartphone around, and Touma was released from the painful grip on his head. He sank back to the chair with wide eyes, anxiety spreading in his whole body as he realized one painful truth.

Was the ringleader even aware that Ryo-san wasn’t the head of Tsukumo Productions anymore, or was he too far gone to even care?

With clacking steps, the man approached Touma until he stood only a few fingers away from him. A shadow fell over Touma’s entire body, and he had a bad premonition.

If this guy was off his rocker like this, there was probably no limit to his depravity. Fear slowly started spreading in Touma’s heart, and to distract himself, he thought about ŹOOĻ.

They were surely searching for him now or at least trying to find a way to find him. 

I’m sorry I’m making you worry about me, guys…

Touma imagined each of their faces to try to give himself the strength to stay strong, no matter what happened. 

Haruka was probably crying by now. The teen always tried to appear mature, but sometimes he still behaved like a normal kid, getting angry or happy about the most random things.

Haru…I hope Mina is comforting him, but he’ll be affected too.

Minami played tricks on all of them, and teased them but when something was amiss, he was usually the first one to notice.

I'll pay you back with delicious food!

Lastly, Touma’s thoughts wandered to Torao, and his heart ached deeply.

Tora finally agreed to go to the hot springs with me. I wish I told him how I felt earlier…

There was something Touma had recently noticed about his feelings towards Torao, but this incident had ripped his chance right out of his hands.

Tora…I wish I could see your face right now…!

Far from gentle, Touma was ripped out of his deep thoughts when his chin was touched once more. For a moment he was able to forget the horrible situation he was in, but the cold, bony hand made him remember his current situation.

The ringleader watched him with stern eyes tainted by madness. “I was thinking about only sending out one picture to Tsukumo as a present of goodwill, but I changed my mind.”

Touma’s alarm bells began to ring again, as goosebumps spread on his whole body again. The cold bony hand caressed his throat and trailed further down without a care in the world.

“How about we show them what’ll happen to their precious idol if they don’t do as we say? The old picture isn’t strong enough of an incentive, right, Inumaru-kun? Let’s go one step further.”

Without waiting for a response, the ringleader made some gestures, and both henchmen stepped closer to stand at each side of Touma. He was caged in from all sides now.

“Take his pants off. If a disgraced idol won’t make them act, then you’ve only got your callous employer to blame, Inumaru-kun.”

Chapter Text

ŹOOĻ and Utsugi just managed to exchange everything that they knew when Torao’s phone buzzed with a notification, which he ignored for a moment.

Through his police friend, Utsugi-san learned the place where Touma was last seen – around a street close to ŹOOĻ’s initial meeting point. One witness even said they watched a strange black van stand close to Touma, but they didn’t properly remember the number plate, making the information not helpful enough.

They didn’t even know where he was brought, which left them with nothing at the moment.

Frustrated about their stalemate, Torao took a moment to see who wrote him a message. Maybe Touma managed to get a moment where he was able to use his phone, and he contacted them. 

With a sweat building up, Torao turned on his phone, and a surprised yelp left his throat. 

He got a message from Touma!

“I-it’s from Touma!” He voiced nervously, and the rest huddled around him like excited chickens, all hoping that there was some kind of clue in his message.

Torao clicked on the message, expecting a message from Touma, and the moment he laid eyes upon the message, all color left his face. Haruka and Minami gasped, shocked at the image in front of their eyes.

Embedded in a message that read “Hand over the money or your golden goose will be a fragment of the past…” was an image of Touma. Almost immediately noticeable was that he had scrapes and injuries on his face, but that wasn’t even the worst part. Touma's hands were bound behind his back, and he was kneeling on a dirty floor with one disgusting detail that made Torao's blood seethe.

“Isumi-san, you shouldn’t look at this.” In an alarmed voice, Minami pulled Haruka to the side.

The kidnappers had stripped the pants off of Touma so only his boxer shorts were covering his lower body. He still wore his jacket and shirt, meaning that they had deliberately set him up like this to get a rise out of the person receiving the photo, in this case Torao. 

Torao's heart broke seeing Touma this abused, and the worst scenarios started playing in his head.

What if these fuckers touched Touma after they took the photo? They were already ruthless enough to strip him and hurt him.

“Mido-san, please calm down.” Minami's voice rang out to Torao, but he was anything but calm. Plus, with the current situation, he didn't want to calm down either.

Not when all he could think about was Touma's current state. 

If they could only make out where this cursed picture was taken!

“Utsugi-san, isn't there something we can do with this image?”

Minami suggested, but his voice did not have much confidence behind it. 

The kidnapper already took a risk with sending this image from Touma's phone; they probably made sure to make the picture as untraceable as possible by not showing off any details of the surroundings.

“Mido-san, can you send me the picture? I'll send it to my friend from the poli-”

Utsugi-san began to speak, and something in Torao's head clicked. He remembered something so obvious that they all forgot about it! 

Not even Minami, who was so pedantic about it back then, remembered it!

“The tracking app! Minami, Haruka! We all put the same tracking app on our phones. It should show Touma's last location. Let me check on mine real quick!”

“Gah! You're right. It completely slipped my mind.”

“Mido-san!”

Furiously, Torao opened up the shared tracking app on his phone and prayed to the gods that it would show Touma's last location with a fresh timestamp.

The app booted up and loaded very slowly, making Torao lose his mind. Any second that the app needed was a second too much.

Minami and Haruka positioned themselves on both of Torao's sides with expectant eyes. 

All three of them, and Utsugi-san, who didn't quite understand what they talked about, hoped that everything went well.

After torturous seconds, the app finally refreshed properly, and Torao was shown a map with three markers at the same spot and a single lonely marker away from them.

The marker’s timestamp was just a few minutes ago. Torao's heart almost jumped out of his chest, exploding from relief. He looked at Minami and Haruka, and they nodded in understanding.

“Utsugi-san. We know where Touma is. Let's go save him.”

***

Touma hated everything about this.

For a few minutes, he felt ashamed and humiliated about being stripped like this, but when he thought about ŹOOĻ seeing him like this, his heart sank.

He didn't want to cause them any more worry than he already did, but he also realized that this was a chance. The kidnappers were so caught up in their egotistical trip that they didn't notice the tracking app on his phone.

When they sent the image of him to Torao in their arrogance, they also gave him a chance to be tracked. For better or worse, they shut his phone off after this, but in his heart Touma had all the hope that ŹOOĻ would save him now.

It was only a matter of time until they arrived. He had to stay vigilant to react when the time came.

When the ringleader ordered the henchmen to strip him, they had made the mistake of untying his legs, which meant he could move freely in theory.

“I don't like the defiant face you're showing us.”

The biting voice of the ringleader drew Touma's attention, and he bit his lower lip in uneasiness. 

Again, the ringleader grabbed him by the hair without a care in the world.

“I think we were too nice to you, Inumaru-kun.”

Another bad feeling settled in Touma's body. He might be done now. The madness in the ringleader’s eyes was at its pinnacle. His face was reflecting pure malice unlike anything Touma had seen that night. 

“I've noticed that one of us seems pretty fond of you, Inumaru-kun…,” the lunatic drawled, slowly pronouncing his words, and goosebumps spread over Touma's naked legs. 

There was a burning gaze directed at him from the back, and disgust welled up in Touma's stomach.

He felt like a piece of meat suddenly.

“You proved you have a big mouth earlier. How about you make some use out of it…”

The ringleader gestured towards one of his henchmen, and Touma heard heavy steps. Someone grabbed his shoulders from behind to keep him in place. 

Henchman no. 2 passed him and stood right in front of him now, his crotch right at the level of Touma's face.

A panic Touma never felt before broke out of him, and he yelled out loud.

“Get the fuck away from me!”

Adrenaline started pumping through his veins. 

I don't want this…!

The only one I want to be intimate with is Tora!

Henchman no. 2 started to fiddle with the metal of his belt. Amidst the metallic clank, Touma thought he heard a strange sound, but it didn't repeat, making him think it was a figment of his desperate mind.

Noticing Touma's desperation, henchman no. 2 leered at him with a perverted expression, licking his lips disgustingly. His grimy, cold hand groped his chin once and that was enough to set Touma off.

The last piece of Touma's fighting spirit and survival instincts kicked in. He didn't want to surrender himself, so he started to struggle against the grip on his shoulders, flailing around like a wild, bound animal.

The henchman that held his shoulders gripped them tighter, but Touma didn't care. 

His knees hurt from trying to break free out of the grip, and yet she still continued to fight back.

During his struggle, the other henchman finished opening his belt, and together with his pants, the belt hit the floor.

Touma's heart sank.

It was over. 

All hope left his body. In desperation, Touma closed his eyes as tears began to run down his cheeks.

He braced himself, expecting the worst, when another strange noise, of what sounded like glass breaking, reached his ears.

Touma opened his eyes again, catching something he didn't expect.

All hell broke loose from one moment to the next.

A myriad of loud noises broke through the rather calm warehouse as the front gate was forcibly opened and a bunch of men entered it. Somewhere Touma also heard the shattering of glass.

Time as a concept broke down for Touma when too many things started happening at once. 

The ringleader turned around and began to scream, shocked at the arriving men, while the henchman that held him, removed his grip to move towards the stash of weapons.

Caught with his pants down, henchman no. 2 scrambled to pull them upwards again.

Taking his chance, Touma tried to stand up and duck to the side, away from the kidnappers, but the ringleader grabbed him by the jacket at the last moment.

“Where are you g-”

“Get your dirty hands off of Touma, you bastard!”

A familiar voice rang out towards Touma, and before he could turn his head, someone bodychecked the kidnapper, which made him lose his hold on Touma's jacket.

Something cut through the rope keeping his hands bound, finally freeing them. 

He was being rescued! Thank God!

Without wasting a beat, strong arms pulled Touma towards them, and he was suddenly pulled into a bridal carry, with the person taking him away from the kidnappers.

He smelled a scent he missed so much over the past hours. Touma didn't even need to look at the person that was carrying him with such care and warmth. 

He knew it by heart. He'd always recognize him anywhere.

“Tora…!”

When he noticed his name being called, Torao smiled softly at Touma. His strained expression morphed into one of relief.

“You're safe now, Touma. I'll get you away from these assholes. Sorry for taking so long.”

In a few seconds Torao ran out of the warehouse with Touma cradled in his arms, and Touma felt himself come down from the adrenaline.

In the distance, Touma saw Haruka, Minami, and Utsugi going towards him, and tears of relief began to spill from his eyes.

He was so happy to see them all.

The horror was over now.

“Haru, Mina!” Touma exclaimed and reached his hands towards them even though they were still a few steps away.

“Touma! Thank God!”

“Inumaru-san, we were so worried! Are you okay?”

Haruka wiped some tears out of his face while Minami patted his back with a relieved smile on his face.

Torao came to a stop, but he hesitated to put Touma down on the ground again for a moment. 

“Tora?” 

“...”

With an unreadable expression, Torao finally put him down again. His ruby red eyes quickly went over Touma's naked legs, and Touma started to feel ashamed about his current state. 

They shouldn’t see him like that.

As if he was reading his mind, Torao removed his own coat and quickly slipped it over Touma’s body. Probably not satisfied with the open coat and the way Touma looked so vulnerable and exposed, Torao even went so far as to close it up tightly so Touma's lower body was mostly covered now. 

Torao's coat looked too big on his smaller frame, but at least he didn't feel so exposed anymore. Touma turned towards Torao and smiled at him awkwardly. “Thanks Tora.”

For a moment, Touma didn't know what else to say now, but the others beat him to a reaction to the current situation.

“Touma…”

“Inumaru-san…!

“Idiot!”

All three members spoke and acted at the same time.

Suddenly Touma was comfortably hugged from all sides, with Torao hugging his smaller body from behind, swinging his arms possessively around his body, while Minami and Haruka wrapped their arms around him from the front. 

Touma was enveloped by so much warmth that the tension in his body slowly faded. They were one big pile of limbs now, with one common factor. All tried to make Touma feel welcome and loved. 

Not realizing how badly the whole incident had scared him, Touma couldn't hold back a sob now that he was faced with his precious groupmates' affection. He was so happy to be safe again and with the people he cared about.

“Guys, I love you! I’m so relieved you saved me.” 

The more Touma spoke, the messier his voice got. By the end of his sentence, it was tinged with tears of relief, love, and acceptance.

ŹOOĻ only hugged him tighter. 

It was a silent vow.

Never would they allow for something like this to happen again. 

***

After he was checked by an emergency doctor and gave a detailed statement to Utsugi-san’s police friend, Touma was finally free to go.

ŹOOĻ stayed with him for the whole duration of it, never leaving his side. All three of them did their best to make him know that they were there for him. Were it Torao gently grasping his hand a few times to squeeze it to reassure him, Haruka clinging to his arm, or Minami wiping the dirt and blood off his face.

With ŹOOĻ at his side, Touma felt safe.

It was way beyond midnight when the four of them were released to go home. 

Being a responsible manager, Utsugi-san brought the car closer to drive them all home. Luckily, they all had a free day tomorrow, so at least it didn’t matter that it was the middle of the night. They could laze around the next day and process the horrible events that transpired.

A strange feeling settled in Touma's chest, thinking about going back to his flat all alone.

It didn't feel right, probably from the scary experience he had. If ŹOOĻ didn't save him then, he didn't even want to think about what would've happened to him.

The disgusting face from the henchman came into his mind, and reflexively Touma clasped a hand in front of his mouth, feeling bile rise up his throat.

Trying to calm himself down, Touma began to look at the other three, but it didn't work. His shoulders began to tremble against his will. 

He didn’t want to make them worry even more!

Immediately, Torao placed his hand on Touma's upper arm, and the trembling stopped. Torao’s big palm was a reassuring weight that Touma didn’t dislike.

“Let's all sleep at my place. You shouldn't be alone now, Touma. I'll make sure that you sleep in peace.”

The anxiety in his stomach was gone, and Touma slowly breathed out loud. This made him feel better. He really didn’t want to be alone tonight.

“Thank you, Tora. I think that would be for the best.”

With a small smile, Torao brought his other hand to Touma’s back and gestured towards the car. Haruka and Minami stopped right in front of it, waiting for him and Torao. 

Utsugi-san seemed surprised initially, but he didn’t object. In fact, he was in favor of them staying over at Torao’s apartment. 

“I’ll take you there. It was a long day, and you need some rest.”

Chapter Text

When they entered Torao’s home and the lights were turned on, a bit of normalcy returned. 

The moment they stood in Torao’s living room, it was as if all fatigue and stress from the horrible situation unloaded at once. 

Torao looked at each one of the other three, and all looked similarly tired. The day had clearly left its marks on them all.

Yawning, Haruka checked to see if anyone else seemed eager to use the bathroom first, and when no one made any motions, he took his chances. 

“I’ll go brush my teeth. Torao, is our stuff from the sleepover still in the guest room?” The teen wiped a sleepy tear out of his face after he yawned once more. Ever since they began to do more regular sleepovers at Torao’s place, there was always a change of clothes for everyone stored in the guest room closet. 

“Yeah, take what you need.”

Torao nodded, eyes still fixated on Touma, who tried his best to feign normalcy, but he still looked out of it. Minami noticed this as well and took a step towards Haruka with a sympathetic smile.

“Inumaru-san, Mido-san…I’ll join Isumi-san and clean up a little. We won’t take long. Take care of Inumaru-san for us.” 

The mention of his name snapped Touma out of his thoughts, and he nodded. Torao hummed an affirmation and once again wrapped his arm around Touma silently while he waited for Minami and Haruka to leave towards the bathroom. Minami was, as usual, very perceptive about what brought the best results, or so Torao assumed.

“Let’s grab some fresh clothes, Touma.”

It hurt Torao to see Touma so lost, and he began to feel pathetic. 

If he had decided to meet Touma and go with him to their meeting place, none of this would’ve happened. For someone who valued heroes, he was a pathetic excuse for letting his loved one be taken like this.

Torao looked at Touma again, and when he saw Touma’s face with a sad scowl, he realized his selfishness. As much as it frustrated him and as much as he wanted to wallow in self-pity, Torao knew he had to focus on the present. 

He had to be there for Touma now.

There had to be something he could do…!

Over the course of the drive, Touma had gained a semblance of his usual self, but he was still a little too quiet.

“Sorry, Tora. I spaced out.” Touma scratched his cheek apologetically and took Torao out of his own thoughts. 

“I didn’t mean to make you worry. It’s just that my mind keeps going back to that warehouse…” 

“Don’t worry about it.”

With a sad smile on his lips, Touma began to move and Torao made sure to walk beside him at least.

In the guestroom, Torao took the initiative and picked out some comfy clothes for the both of them, making sure to grab fresh underwear, too.

Touma, meanwhile, untangled the complicated loop that Torao did for him to keep his coat closed tightly, and he seemed to struggle a little. Noticing his plight, Torao turned around and grasped the cloth to untangle it.

“Let me help you real quick.” It didn’t take Torao long to open the knot he made, and the robe on Touma’s body flew open, showing once again that he wasn't wearing any pants at the moment. His lower body was only covered by his boxer shorts. 

Back in the chaotic situation, Torao’s focus was on taking Touma with him, so he had no time to look for anything else.

Unable to look Torao in the eyes, Touma averted his gaze towards the floor.

On Touma’s legs and knees were a few patches from the emergency doctor treating him. When Touma was treated by the doctor, he didn’t seem as if he paid attention to what was done, probably a self-protection mechanism to avoid thinking too deeply. At the end, before the doctor let them leave with Touma, he advised Torao to make sure that Touma properly cleaned up later and got the ointment applied again. Luckily, he had no severe injuries, but some of his scrapes and wounds needed the medicine to heal better.

Torao realized again how lucky they were to find Touma so quickly. If he thought about what Touma could’ve looked like if they arrived later, his stomach began to churn. 

All the horror images Torao had concocted in his head when they got the image sent to them came flushing back. 

He had to remind himself that Touma was here now and mostly unharmed physically. Mentally, Torao was sure that Touma was still traumatized, though.

“Tora…?” Touma’s uncharacteristically small voice made Torao act.

What Touma needed now was understanding and love. To know that what happened wasn’t in his hands.

Silently, Torao wrapped his arms around Touma’s body, hugging him tightly. Touma was the one who had the right to cry, and yet Torao couldn’t stop his eyes from growing wetter with every second that passed, until everything broke out of him at once.

“Touma, I was so worried about you. I thought I’d lose a part of my heart if something would have happened to you. I’m so sorry for not helping you earlier.”

Touma gasped noticeably before reciprocating the hug. Torao felt the smaller body in his arms tremble a little, making him feel even more pathetic. 

He was supposed to comfort Touma, not make it worse by talking about his own troubles!

Choked out sobs began to spill from Touma’s throat.

No matter what he did, he’d never be able to understand what Touma went through, but he could try to shoulder a part of his pain and be there for him if he needed it.

“You should’ve never had this experience. This wasn’t your fault. We are all atoning for what we did back then, but even then we didn’t have anything to do with what happened to them.” 

He heard Touma breathing out shakily, and with more courage than before, Torao pulled back a little so he was able to look at Touma properly. His eyes were swollen and wet, fresh tears spilling continuously.

Seeing his beloved so broken, Torao decided to do what he should’ve done a long time ago. 

Slowly, he kissed both corners of Touma’s eyes softly, taking the tears with him. Touma visibly calmed down when he realized what was happening. Once he noticed Touma’s tears subsiding, Torao kissed his closed eyelids gently before pulling back.

“I’ll never let something like that happen to you again for as long as I live. You are my everything, Touma.”

When he finished speaking, he removed one of his hands from Touma’s back to brush a loving finger across Touma’s cheek.

It didn’t matter that this was a confession of love. 

Torao only wanted Touma to understand that he had nothing to fear. 

Touma’s safety and mental well-being were more important than his own feelings. He didn’t need an answer or any reaction. Even if he was pushed away, it would be fine as long as Touma was feeling more comfortable.

“T-Tora…! I-” Touma’s face began to flush, indicating that he did understand what just happened even though he wasn’t usually perceptive when it came to matters of the heart.

“Don’t worry about this for today. We can talk tomorrow. For now let’s just get you cleaned up.” 

Just as Torao tried to pull back a little, Touma stubbornly grabbed him by the shirt.

“Tora, wait!” For the first time this evening, Touma actually sounded like himself.

Without any warning, Touma stood on his tiptoes and pressed a short kiss on Torao's lips. He pulled back with an embarrassed expression, his face practically burning up.

“I don't want you to take your words back tomorrow, Tora. You gave me a promise.”

Touma let the words linger before letting go of Torao's shirt. His face was flushed, but his expression had significantly brightened to the point where he looked like his usual self again. 

Torao’s heart began to beat pathetically in his chest. Even though he tried to convince himself that he would accept whatever Touma’s choice was, faced with what were clearly affirmations, he almost fell apart. 

Maybe it was time to stop thinking. Touma’s well-being was more important…!

Again, Touma averted his eyes; this time Torao realized that it was out of shyness when he heard Touma’s question. 

“Will you help me clean up? I don't want to be alone.”

Torao only nodded.

I'd move the world for you if I could.

***

Not wasting any more time as they still wanted to go to bed, Torao and Touma entered Torao's huge bathroom and quickly undressed. Not that Touma had it hard since he already took off his jacket earlier and was only wearing a plain black shirt and his boxers now.

Were this any other situation, Torao would've had naughty thoughts about being alone in a shower with Touma, but this was not the case right now. 

They were both tired, but despite his mood improving, Touma still seemed apprehensive and a little sluggish. His body probably hurt from those bastard’s kicks.

If it wasn’t illegal, Torao would’ve repaid the violence the kidnappers inflicted on Touma tenfold. …But that would probably spell the end of ŹOOĻ and was something Torao wanted to avoid.

Frustrated, Torao rid himself of his last piece of clothing when he noticed that Touma still needed some time to fully undress.

A little slowly, Touma slipped out of his boxer shorts, before casually throwing them into the dirty laundry basket. 

“I’m done, Tora.” Touma’s voice resounded through the big bathroom. He seemed a little too hesitant to turn around to face Torao and instead walked towards the shower cabin. Like everything in this huge bathroom, the shower cabin had enough space for two people or more people, so sharing the space was no issue.

Torao couldn’t stop watching Touma walk to the cabin, his eyes glued onto Touma’s upper back. Naked like this, his beloved leader looked a lot smaller than he usually appeared.

On stage, Touma’s presence was unlike anything else: dazzling, energetic, and inspiring. He appeared like he was on top of the world, but standing in the shower naked, he looked like a vulnerable young man. Touma trained hard each day, and his body still didn’t look that much different from Haruka’s or Minami’s, with two small exceptions: his waist was oddly thin, and he had a few more defined back muscles than the other two. These were all things you wouldn’t regularly notice since Touma always wore more baggy clothes.

Not wanting to let him wait any longer, Torao grabbed one of the new, softer sponges, shampoo, and body wash before joining Touma in the cabin. With them both in the same space, the shower seemed oddly small suddenly.

Discreetly, Touma made some space before turning more towards him until he was facing him completely.

For a moment there was an awkward silence, and Torao noticed Touma checking him out shyly, pink eyes wandering over his whole body.

Being under Touma’s scrutinizing gaze like this, Torao’s heart began to torment him more with erratic beating. He knew he had to focus, but it was getting a little hard with Touma watching him with curious eyes.

Worst of all, it would be in poor taste to do anything with Touma after he was almost violated.

Trying to get the situation under control again, Torao turned on the water, and a warm, steady spray of water rained down upon them from the showerhead. The warm drops of water slowly warmed their bodies, and steam started spreading in the shower.

In a few seconds both of them started to relax a little, and Touma shyly averted his gaze again with a flushed face. His eyes were glued to Torao’s crotch before he averted them.

Maybe this was a bad idea, after all..! 

To Torao, Touma being this shy was just too cute. Part of him wanted to tease him a little, but he knew now wasn’t the right time for it.

Even if it was ridiculously hard, Torao decided to stay rational. Fighting off his own dirty thoughts, he opened up the bottle of shampoo and poured some onto his hands. 

“Turn around for me, okay, Touma? I’ll wash your hair for you.” The words came out on their own, and Torao regretted his initial choice because it sounded too lewd for something that wasn’t intended to sound lewd. If Touma hesitated now, it was on himself for choosing his words so poorly.

After almost being violated, perhaps it wasn’t the smartest thing to ask him to turn around. Torao felt like a pervert, for good reason, too. 

He wanted Touma badly, but he’d never force himself on him.

Without objections, Touma turned around, giving Torao way too much of his trust. Focusing on his task, Torao began to spread the shampoo into Touma’s hair, massaging his scalp gently in the process. 

It came in handy that Touma was smaller than Torao, as that made washing his hair easier. 

Quickly, small, satisfied noises spilled from Touma’s throat, making Torao understand that he was doing a good job, and he almost forgot about the fact that a naked Touma was standing right in front of him. 

Almost.

For a split second, Torao’s eyes wandered lower to look at Touma’s small but cute butt that was pretty close to his own body, and he scolded himself for letting his eyes wander. Nervously, he cleared his throat and tried to focus. 

Next, Torao washed out the soap from Touma’s beautiful red hair, carefully going through the strands of hair with his fingers until everything was washed out of it. In a wet state like this, Touma’s hair looked a little longer than usual, hiding his nape completely, which was kind of a shame.

Impulsively, Torao gently brushed the hair to the side and pressed a sweet kiss to Touma’s nape.

“T-Tora…!” 

He heard Touma whisper his name weakly. Only then did he realize what he did. 

Holding back completely was hard when the target of his affections was so close…

“Sorry, it just came over me, Touma.”

A weak apology, but what else was he supposed to say?

Trying to compose himself, Torao turned to the side to grab the body wash to pour some on his fingers with the intention of washing the rest of Touma’s body, excluding his privates, of course. Doing those felt too intimate for their current situation.

“I’ll wash your back next. Is that okay with you, Touma?” 

“Yeah, keep going, Tora.”

Torao breathed in calmly before applying a generous amount of body wash to Touma’s back. The light blue liquid was thoroughly spread across Touma’s back and arms, drawing more satisfied sighs out of Touma. The redhead reacted very positively to any of Torao’s touches in general, which soothed Torao’s nerves. It would’ve been tragic if Touma was scared of other men touching him now.

“Should I do the rest, too?” Unsure whether to continue as he was reaching Touma’s lower back and buttocks, Torao stopped. 

For Touma he’d do anything, if Touma wanted him too…!

“Yeah…”

Touma turned around with an expression that was almost illegal, his pink eyes half-lidded and lips drawn into a strangely shy, seductive smile, or so Torao viewed it. It definitely wasn’t an expression that he had ever seen on Touma’s face before.

For a moment, Torao felt his self-control wane, and he squeezed the bottle of body wash tightly to ground himself.

Touma probably noticed his hesitation and felt the need to explain himself. 

“I trust you, Tora.” His voice was clear and echoed through the room with a certainty that Torao needed to hear. 

“Sorry for making you do everything, but I feel so tired. I can barely move. I’m glad you’re here helping me.” When he ended, Touma weakly grasped Torao’s dominant hand, a silent plea to continue.

Torao’s heart was almost leaping out of his chest with all the love and affection he was feeling for Touma. For the first time in his life, he truly understood what it meant to love someone unconditionally.

Gently, Torao lifted Touma’s hand and kissed it softly in hopes of conveying how much Touma’s trust meant to him.

Touma smiled brightly at him and nodded again, eyes filled with a warmth that Torao knew was mutual.

That was all Torao needed to keep going. He slowly let go of Touma’s hand with the resolve to finish what he was asked for.

“Lean back and try to relax. I’ll take care of everything.”

It no longer mattered to him that they were both naked. He’d clean Touma’s body with the love and care that it needed after his horrible experience.

Slowly and carefully, Torao spread the body wash to every part of Touma’s body that could take it, of course, leaving out all the patches and his wounds. Once that was done, he took a sponge and cleaned off the thicker dirt, especially on Touma’s legs. 

Touma completely surrendered himself, and with each wipe of the sponge, he seemed a little more relaxed, as if all the bad memories were wiped away together with the old skin and dirt. 

Satisfied with the state of Touma’s body, Torao quickly took care of himself before he put the sponge away and let the water wash over them both.

They stood very closely and intimately beside each other, and it was okay. Wordlessly, Touma hugged him underneath the running shower, and he reciprocated it. 

Their bodies were pressed together, but Torao didn’t feel any desire at this moment. He held Touma’s back and caressed it softly.

All that mattered was that Touma was safe and felt better now.

***

When Touma and Torao came out of the bath into Torao’s bedroom with damp hair and fresh new pajamas, Haruka smiled at them knowingly but otherwise didn't say anything else.

Even though he still looked incredibly tired, the light had returned to Touma’s eyes, and both Minami and Haruka had noticed it with relieved expressions.

“Inumaru-san, you look a lot better now.”

“It’s all thanks to Tora and you guys.”

With a yawn, Touma let himself fall into Torao’s soft bed. He looked ready to pass out any minute. Slowly he crawled more into the middle of the bed and lay down on his back, so he was still facing the rest.

Similarly tired, Torao dimmed the lights to a low brightness before climbing into the bed himself. 

Minami and Haruka had already occupied some space at the right side of the bed, while Touma was lying in the middle now, which meant Torao would take the left side like usual.

During their sleepovers they had already experienced sleeping together in the massive bed, and it worked a lot better than expected. Sure, sometimes they would fight over the blanket, or Haruka would fall out of bed since he was a bit of a restless sleeper, but otherwise it usually went well.

Touma yawned again, looking as if he’d fall asleep for real now.

A little alarmed and clingy, Haruka grabbed one of Touma's arms.  “Hmph! Don't just go to sleep by yourself, Touma. I'm tired, too.”

Minami, beside Haruka, giggled and poked the teen. “Isumi-san, we should let Inumaru-san rest, if he's tired. Until a minute ago you were happily snoring beside me.”

Haruka's eyes widened, betrayed by Minami's words. “You were not supposed to tell them, idiot!” 

“Haruka, don't yell like that! It's late.” Torao scolded the teen, and he grew adorably frustrated in response.

At that, Touma began to laugh out loud wholeheartedly, even if he was barely awake. All eyes were on him now, and Touma flashed them a genuinely happy smile.

“You guys are the best! I love you guys so much!”

Like usual, Touma managed to fluster them all into silence. 

Maybe it was because he took a shower with Touma earlier or his romantic feelings for him, but Torao quickly regained his balance and simply laa down beside Touma on his side with his arm slung around him. 

“I love you, too, Touma.”

Touma smiled at him brightly, fangs cutely on display. 

“We love you too, Touma. Isn't that right, Minami?” Haruka pouted cutely, and Minami nodded. 

“Of course. Inumaru-san, you're important to us. Without you, we wouldn't be who we are today.”

Everyone knew it was true. 

Without Touma, ŹOOĻ wouldn't have lasted long. After their scare today, they all swore to look out for each other more than before. No one ever should be ripped from their hands like Touma almost was.

Silence befell them all, and they realized it was finally time to sleep. 

Torao slung the blanket around them all, and they all huddled together, mostly surrounding Touma from all sides. When everyone was in position, Torao shut the lights off.

Haruka had held Touma's hand, but he loosened his grip after a few minutes when he fell asleep. Minami was the farthest away which is why he mostly held onto Haruka to make sure the teen didn't fall out of bed again.

Torao looked at Touma beside him in the darkness. Through his balcony curtains a bit of moonlight entered the room and lit up Touma's face. Touma turned his head to reciprocate the eye contact, clearly not asleep yet, despite looking incredibly tired.

“Thank you, Tora. I appreciate all that you did for me today. Without you, I think I wouldn't be able to lie in bed like this now.” Touma whispered in hopes of not waking Minami or Haruka up.

Flustered, Torao didn't know what to answer. Saving Touma was a team effort, but it was true that he tried everything after Touma's rescue to make him feel at ease.

“It's like I said, Touma…you're my everything, and I would do anything for you. We're all here for you.” 

Feeling as if it was the right moment for this, Torao searched for Touma's free hand and intertwined their fingers. Touma let it happen and squeezed his hand tightly, as if making sure that Torao truly was here.

Haruka's light snoring was fading out in the background. 

“Good night, Tora.”

Touma's voice was light, and directly after he said it, he fell asleep. His body had reached its limit after this stressful day.

Torao watched his beloved leader sleep with affectionate eyes.

“Good night, Touma.” 

He snuggled a little closer and fell asleep as well. 

Tomorrow they'd try to make sense of what happened today, but for now they would rest together.