☆⇣epicentrism.

@epicentrism | cont from {x}

[♭♭] - Work comes at the usual pace it is meant to. This is how idols work. While sometimes the others in the group may be… loud, different. or otherwise disorderly, Iori has come to prefer the company with them than without. Kujou Tenn is an interesting case – far different on television and in lives than in actuality, and yet beloved nonetheless. That doesn’t stop Iori from being overtly critical when one – Nanase Riku especially – hazards a comment of misunderstanding. People can fake a personality fairly easily. Even so, there is genuine feeling in Tenn’s care for his fans. That’s another thing. Idols have to have it, or their act, if any, falls apart.

Sitting still and recognizing the stillness of the atmosphere does nothing to change who his actual company is. There’s no magic gimmick that would bring in Mitsuki from his work, having Riku in the same room would be a situation Iori didn’t want to play with yet, and the others - well, despite the friendship he supposes is there… Regardless, it had been a truthful, perhaps more loudly voiced comment than he had initially intended.

“Ah, right,” Iori nods, taking up to drinking a glass of water himself. No need to trouble the already hard-working staff, even if it’s simply a fitting. Problems could arise even from just that. He’s kept up-to-date on on-the-job accidents, if only to be well-informed on what needs to be done to prevent them, and take care of them. This is for the sake of IDOLiSH7 as a whole – it wouldn’t due to have their center unhealthy and unable. They need Riku to be at their finest.

At the very least, this is a mark of a job that they couldn’t waste. A feature on the same stage as TRIGGER, albeit at differing times of the show, makes them far more comparable.

“Perhaps,” he breathes, glancing around the room. Oridinary, the sort of place he would have preferred, but he’s used to sharing a dressing room with Riku – and the others are always coming in and out. It’s a mess, but that’s how IDOLiSH7 is. It’s odd to say that he misses then but…

…he does.

“Is that so?” Iori says, taking the last drink of his glass of water before returning to a seat. The brothers really are different, but neither are… weak by strength of spirit, at least. That’s what makes them centers. This happenstance of their schedule has to, Iori muses, befit the timing. Iori isn’t the leader of his group, like Yamato, nor the center, but he, playing his role in management, should be as apt to discuss matters as others. “…this is still a break. The others will likely do as they usually do when they’re being fitted and informed.” It’s partially Tenn’s words, but also personal reflection, that reminds him of how his comment, no matter how true it was, had not been what should have broken any silence. But it had been said.

「天」 ⋯ ★ ⊱  It's a little surprising how easily Izumi Iori takes his advice, without protest; and it doesn't show on Tenn's face, but he finds himself curious to study the fact. This is not what he's used to, with Ryuu who does as told but tends to fret and get stressed about being cautioned, or Gaku who likes to argue and often won't see common sense. Given their rather at-odds situation, one would expect Izumi Iori to resemble the latter a bit and talk back, even if Tenn has a point. They do begrudge each other somewhat, after all, neither is unaware. But unlike Gaku -- Tenn can almost hear the 'I'm not thirsty' he would have gotten -- he picks up the glass and drinks a good share of water, just as told.

Izumi Iori is reasonable; it feels almost like they could get along, and that's an odd thought.

/ "That's right," Tenn says as he places his elbow on the sofa's armrest, to lean his head on his hand and watch his companion. He's relaxed; but his gaze alone stays sharp. "It is a break, and as a professional you're duty-bound to use it to rest, no matter how off it feels." /

It's a little amusing, seeing how far the other has sat from him, though not unwelcome. Gaku and Ryuu have a habit of always sitting too close. More importantly, however, the advice he gives is genuine. Maybe not of such consequence right now, it nevertheless can make a difference at times when it really counts. As an idol, you can belong to a group, but that doesn't mean you'll never be apart from the other memebers. And it's your duty to keep up; it won't do to break and lose composure over the simple fact of getting separated, not when on the contrary that's where an idol should work ten times harder. The entire group's image hangs on one person, and Tenn won't let himself be what chips it.

【RIKU】:

Tenn-nii!! I see, so I didn’t wake you up? I’m glad...

【RIKU】:

And even though I told you to ignore my messages!!  

【RIKU】:

【RIKU】:

But... If, if Tenn-nii and I did have a swimming competition....

【RIKU】: N,never mind! I’m fine now, it might even have been a bit scary but — ... I’m glad it was just a dream so you are okay too!

【RIKU】: I never got to see if dream-Tenn-nii reached goal or not after all. So when I woke up, I felt a bit worried and before I realized what I was doing I had already opened your chat and started typing....

 【TENN】:  You don't really have to worry about me.  It's obvious that I'd reach goal.

 【TENN】:  Maybe that joke was a little mean.  I'll leave it to you to imagine.  Anyway, something like that wouldn't happen,  so don't worry.

「天」 ⋯ ★ ⊱  A cold draft gusted by as the two of them stood, stirring tiny crystals of snow around them from the piles where they slumbered and sending the tail ends of Tenn's coat and scarf aflutter. Instinctively, with delicate glove-covered fingers, his hands reached up to tug at the knit cap on his head and adjust it more soundly over his ears. A gesture, he thought as his gaze drifted once, he might have wished Riku would replicate -- if only there had been a way to make it magnetic enough, compelling enough, so that he wouldn't have to say a thing. But that was likely impossible; Tenn didn't think the similar item Riku wore was even something he'd thought to bring on his own -- much more rather, Takanashi Tsumugi or one of the Izumi brothers must have played a part. He noted, however, in the mask of interest he bestowed to his sweeping look around them, that none of those people seemed to be paying mind right now, still caught with the agitation of various photoshoot details.

— 'Riku, who doesn't bring his own hat and doesn't even adjust his scarf, doesn't belong out here.' —

By the state of things, it wouldn't be a long break. They didn't have luxuries like delicacy or being picky; those things that others could so easily afford, when only Riku couldn't. How unfair.

/ "That's right," Tenn said, and his voice came in an impossible note of soft, like torn out of a dream every trace as warm as the soothing smile on his lips. Even though in reality he felt cold, frozen enough that the myriad of crystals the wind had carried might just as well have settled right in his heart. After all, he knew, this was an empty trace of affection devoid of the right to exist anymore. But it wasn't his dream he was weaving -- it's Riku's. "It will be just the two of us." /

If any karma existed for such a thing as deceiving your brother, Tenn thought -- and he'd thought many times -- he was sure to receive its backlash a hundredfold. It felt like it might be harsh and last for the rest of his life; but even so...

/ "Here." As he took a step forward, gentle and careful hands found the edges of Riku's scarf, drawing it more securely over his shoulders to seal out the cold. The slight bit of snow that fell out was brushed quickly, dropping in tiny trails to the ground and hopefully out of Riku's thoughts. Over and over, a practiced gesture from—— "We can go inside. We'll get tea or hot cocoa, and you can tell me about everything there." /

                              L  o  a  d  i  n  g  … …conversation… … @epicentrism

【RIKU】: Are you asleep, Tenn-nii....?

【RIKU】 : Ah, it’s really late so you probably are.

【RIKU】: If Tenn-nii and I had a swimming competition, and you were close  to reaching goal but I was drowning, what would you do?

【RIKU】: I,I’m sorry, that sounds strange doesn’t it? Please ignore that!

【RIKU】: 

 【TENN】:  It's fine.  I'd just gotten out of bed for a glass of water.

 【TENN】:  That's a weird metaphor.  Do you really think I'd enter a swimming  contest with you?

re: @epicentrism continued from — x

His eyes widen when the umbrella is extended to cover him as well, more in wonder than disbelief as he remains dripping with rainwater. Soon enough, he meets ᴛʀɪɢɢᴇʀ’s beloved center with a laugh, unable to hold it in.

“ You’re a lifesaver, Tenn. ”

         Even off stage, you’re just too cool!

It’s hard for Ryuunosuke to not to fawn over the younger member ( and he understands their fans well in this regard, it’s hard to not fawn over the rest of ᴛʀɪɢɢᴇʀ at all ) but unlike his expressions, he manages to keep himself from blurting out anything embarrassing for the gesture. Instead, he cranes his head under the umbrella and tries to take what space he can that he’s offered without leaving space for Tenn.

Even with the way Tenn is, he is without a doubt, kinder than most would make him out to be with his amount of focus on professionalism.

         It would be nice if Gaku could remember that as well…

“ Ah… well about that, how about- ” Jokingly, he fiddles with the thought of treating Tenn out to drinks with him and Gaku when Tenn would be old enough for it – but with how he’s acted on certain occasions while inebriated, it sounded like he didn’t give a good impression. “ How about some kind of IOU, ‘business partner’? A favor from yours truly! ”

Or, maybe he could just surprise him with the next batch of baked goods recipes that ɪᴅᴏʟisʜ7′s manager has been sharing with him.

「天」 ⋯ ★ ⊱  He can see Ryuu looking at him the way he is, and it would be a lie to say it doesn't make Tenn squirm a little, no matter how well he hides it. That face is too friendly, with too much gratitude for an insignificant gesture; it buys too easily into his teasing and it's disarming. There are a million things he'd criticize about it, even as he fights back the trace of uncalled-for color that threatens to tint his cheeks. He's not a fan of close contact like this; it's pushing too far through his personal bubble. And so, he focuses instead on the droplets coursing from Ryuu's hair, his surefire guide back to blank-faced, imperturbable calm. There's a fleeting frown; though it's not his companion that Tenn disapproves of.

/ "I don't need it," he says -- delivers that answer like the matter of fact it is. The things TRIGGER does are never favors; the three of them belong together on a level which doesn't suit that. Tenn's thoughts are racing -- what would be appropriate then, where does he draw the line, hasn't it been blurring a little lately -- he's thinking too much. To break that, he shifts the umbrella instead, tilting it slightly to offer the handle. "You're too tall, so how about you hold this? I'd still like some feeling left in my hand." /

A small tired sigh leaves his lips, though he dares Ryuu to bring it up; there are hundreds of practiced ways he can turn it around. Tenn wastes no time, phone already retrieved from his pocket and answering to the flick of his thumb. 15:27. It's been eight minutes, exactly, since the call from their manager.

/ "If the taxi's not here at the half hour mark, I'll call to check up on it." It's just caught in the rainy day traffic, most likely, he knows that. "We wouldn't need this in the first place if Gaku could work to his schedule." /

「天」 ⋯ ★ ⊱  He doesn't want to break that sound -- he thinks even as he does it -- so instinct-driven and free, stemming from nothing but the most raw and personal impulse to raise one's voice into song. It's so unlike everything a stage performance stands for, so parallel to the very concept of an idol, that this in itself is enough to give meaning to it. And that's why Tenn loves it, and how he's drawn to it, in a way that has nothing to do with the professional world, out here where there's no one particularly intended to hear. Not that he doesn't love the audience too, and the heat of the stage, and the reassuring presence of his companions beside him in perfect sync as the three of them drive each other forward. On the contrary; it's exhilarating, and perhaps his most beloved thing the world. But maybe he thinks that an idol who's never known this off-stage, has never experienced this sort of overflowing inner melody too, is an incomplete image which will unfailingly ring false.

It's fine, though. He doesn't regret the fading notes for more than a second, because this tells him Yotsuba Tamaki too, is an idol. One such real idol, whose song may be interrupted on Tenn's account now, but would come back again -- and again, and again, to never truly come to an end. Or at least, if IDOLiSH7's song never did, that would be nice. Tenn doesn't dislike them at all.

/ "I see," he says curtly, and his tone gains an edge he doesn't want it to from that mention of Riku. He's quick to correct it, though, erasing it as if it never existed. He has no idea what 'being like Riku' amounts to in this sort of context. "I'm not sure what you mean, but anyway it likely isn't the case." /

This guy is interesting, to him. Tenn is sure he was present during the conversation he's referenced, but Yotsuba Tamaki seems completely detached. It's not something he's forgotten, he thinks, but more rather something he never heard. And yet there's more beyond this out-of-it appearance, distant and irresponsibly uncaring; that image is never what Tenn really feels when they talk.

/ "Come to think of it," he concedes, "maybe you were distracted this morning. I talked to Ousaka Sougo about giving you these." He holds out a firm hand to offer of a large, non-descript paper envelope that seems to house several square-shaped objects. Unusually large record discs, in their individual cases. "I told him I listen to them sometimes, since the different audio quality helps with some observations. He seemed to have an interest in things like these too, so would you mind passing them over for me? I like to follow up on my promises." /

❁ -- ;; ( x )

「天」 ⋯ ★ ⊱  Pausing but once for a quiet breath, Tenn continued to calmly drink the water from the glass he had poured for himself a few moments ago, despite the fact that he'd heard the offhand comment. They were in the middle of a job here, albeit on a short break, and staying hydrated numbered itself among the utmost basics in their line of work, even if they weren't performig right now. Though, he did have to admit it surprised him a little that Izumi Iori would go and start that sort of conversation with him; or maybe it had been only a reflection voiced aloud to himself? Only after the glass was empty and back on the table did he move over to take a seat, at one end of a bland leather-cushioned sofa right next to it. There was a tray on the table, with an assortment of drinks and snacks they'd been offered by the staff on location.

/ "You should have some too," Tenn said instead of answering, without bothering to hide his critical tone. Izumi Iori needed to get his priorities in proper order, and Tenn's extra mile of strictness with him had nothing to do with the fact that he acted as Riku's caretaker of sorts now. The beverages and other cofmorts weren't given out of the kindness of anyone's heart; they served a purpose, first and foremost. "You'll cause trouble for the staff if you get dizzy and pass out in mid-session." /

That said, though, they were actually only taking measurements for their costumes today. TRIGGER's next upcoming concert would be held at the end of a high-class fashion show -- which happened to feature IDOLiSH7 in the opening as well; so the organizer had imposed an adamant condition for both idol groups to wear the attire they dictated. To Tenn, it made sense. As for why himself and Izumi Iori together, they'd just had the same availability in their schedules by chance.

/ "Isn't it just your imagination?" He took a brief, unimpressed look through the space around them, which held nothing different or particularly noteworthy; it was just a regular combination of dressing room and waiting area. "IDOLiSH7 tends to get noisy and all over the place." /

So this average room just like any other only felt quiet because they weren't here right now, his continued critical tone seemed to imply. Although it was actually not a reproachful comment; he himself did acknowledge that many things felt different without Gaku and Ryuu around, even with the more professional relationship between TRIGGER's members -- he just didn't really want that to show. And, if anything, Tenn found it interesting to note even someone like Izumi Iori received some influence from that atmosphere.

/ "I've revised my opinion of you just a little," he quietly mused. "Maybe." /

Anyway, she noted how this also explains why Gaku, despite how much they fight, is actually good for Tenn because he’s pushy and makes many demands, and secretly that works well with Tenn’s trait of /needing/ to do things for others. He fights Gaku but when it comes down to it he gives him what he wants (and that's his absolute contribution to the TRG that Gaku wants). And then I kept thinking about it bc it’s true and... well, doesn’t this always explain why it... ‘irks’ isn’t the right word, but it seems to bother Tenn that Ryuu /doesn’t/ -- since he’s always telling Ryuu to be more selfish or ask for more things, too. So as a result he can easily meet Gaku on equal grounds, but maybe Tenn feels vulnerable with Ryuu in a way, because if Ryuu asks for nothing then Tenn is limited in what he can do for him. And Tenn doesn’t know how to live, or to relate to others, other than by answering their needs.

❁ -- ;; ( x )

「天」 ⋯ ★ ⊱  With a quizzical look, Tenn turned his head towards his fellow unit member, stance tense and sharp as if ready to give quite the drilling comment. At the sight of the rain pattering against the tips of Ryuu's hair and coat shoulders in a myriad of tiny droplets, though, only a wordless breath ended up escaping his parted lips. Just how was he supposed to respond to that face, too? This overgrown man really was hopeless. Taking no more than a single step, he shifted the umbrella to stand higher -- betraying no sign of the discomfort of that position -- and to include Ryuu under the limited circle of cover it offered.

/ "What's with 'for a minute', Ryuu?" he asked, never once ceasing his critical, sideways study of their situation. /

The umbrella he had was hardly large enough to cover both of them well, at least not unless they got even closer; and Tenn was already closer than he should. This sort of thing felt more like stuff friends did together. He and Ryuu were business partners. ...Although he wasn't exactly warm either, and the taller, much more well-toned man beside him easily blocked out the cold wind from that side. Besides, Ryuu's reactions were always really...

/ "What are you planning to do when the minute ends, then?" It took all of Tenn's self-control not to bite down on his lips to suppress the trace of mirth that threatened to surface and curl them into a smile. His face stayed expressionless as his fingers moved, and the umbrella seemed to twirl suggestively above their heads; it could certainly be quite quick to leave, it said. "I'm counting, just so you know." /