Somehow, I was back at HQ. It felt like a normal day as I walked down the sidewalk and climbed the short stairs to the entrance.

Even though the reception area was already relatively empty, it was even emptier today. The sofa and plants were gone.

As confused as I was, I still headed to the main office, just to find out it was empty too.

Now worried, I stepped back and into the art department, just to find the same emptiness.

Where is everyone?

I turned around and jogged upstairs to check every room, to no avail. There was not a single object or soul to be seen.

Finally, I entered the dance studio. Weirdly enough, everything seemed normal inside, but neither Satō nor the girls were around.

Out of nowhere, Risa spoke behind me, "Kaito, I want to quit Blostars."

An arrow pierced my heart in that same instant.

"What? Why?"

I turned around to talk with her face to face, but the only thing I saw was emptiness. The room had become a void with no light, no mirrors, no floor, and no door, only the clothing rack with Blostars' costumes on it remained.

Sanae's voice came from my right, "I'm not good enough for this."

Once again, there was no one when I turned around.

"I always hated the idea of an idol group," Umi said.

"People think I'm a monster," Astra's voice echoed.

Dizziness whirled my head and pressure crushed my chest. I didn't even know where I was anymore. I wasn't even standing on a floor; I was floating.

"You're all wrong," I said to the void. "You are amazing and talented. Even when you struggle with something, you work hard to get better. You are indispensable for this to work, while I'm the one—"

"Kaito," Aki called me.

I raised my head and saw a white silhouette standing in front of me: it was Aki. I recognized her because of her ponytail, round glasses, and body.

About to answer, she interrupted me.

"We should move on with our lives."

She turned around and walked away, not giving me time to process what she meant.

"No, wait," I said.

She kept walking away from me. I tried to follow her, but it didn't matter how much I moved my legs; I was floating. She was too far away for me to reach her with my hand.

"Aki!" I shouted.

My eyes opened and I sat up in a jump. Sharp breaths almost made my chest explode, but they gradually calmed me down. It didn't take me long to realize everything had been a dream.

"Kaito!" Aya shouted at my side. She grabbed my shoulder and gently pushed me back. "Please stay lying down."

Although I didn't try to resist, my lack of strength wouldn't have allowed me to anyway. It also was disconcerting to see Aya this concerned.

"Why? What happened?" I asked.

A groan came out of my mouth when a sudden sharp pain stabbed the left side of my chest. The back of my head started aching, followed by a whistle ringing in my ears.

I looked down to see why my chest hurt so badly, just to see I was wearing a hospital gown. I lifted its neck enough to see gauzes taped under.

Flashbacks appeared in my head, making me remember everything that had happened.

That wasn't a dream, huh?

"Seems like you were having a nightmare," Aya smiled.

"Yeah." About to tell parts of it to Aya, remembering the girls awoke my brain. "The concert!"

I sat up in a jump again, causing pain to flare across my body and making me regret doing so instantly. I slowly lay back down.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"What time is it?" I asked Aya.

Even though she still smiled, the worry returned to her eyes.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

She sighed. "It's ten past eleven."

I let out a sigh of relief. "We can still make it if we…. Wait, I went out at one. Does that mean…?"

"The concert was last night. You've been asleep for almost a day."

Words disappeared from my head. It took several seconds for my brain to work again.

"Did the girls go on stage?" I wondered.

"They did."

Finally, there was some relief after hearing bad news after bad news, but it didn't last for long.

A news reporter appeared on the TV projected on the wall and said, "An explosion occurred yesterday in an alley in the middle of the marketplace. There were—"

The TV suddenly turned off. I looked at Aya, who held the remote controller.

"I was watching it," I said.

"I know, but I don't think it's a good idea. You just woke up, you should let your mind take it slow."

"Please, turn it on. I'll only be anxious if I don't know what happened."

We stared at each other for a moment until Aya sighed and turned the TV back on. The news reporter continued talking.

"Thankfully, the explosion was small and no civilians were hurt. However, a police agent was seriously injured with third-degree burns and is currently in a delicate state."

My heart sank. Although I didn't like how the police were working, I hoped they were alright. Moreover, I hoped it wasn't the same agent whose daughter was a fan of Blostars.

"As for the other two victims, they have been identified as Chiharu Bise and Kaito Miyahara, who are both stable in the hospital. Unfortunately, the police and their families refuse to give updates as of now."

Chiharu's name struck my brain. I couldn't believe they knew her real identity, but now I had to know if she had been caught. More importantly, I had to know if she was alive. The image of her jumping in front of me wouldn't leave my brain.

"You might have heard about Kaito Miyahara since he's the manager of the popular idol group, Blostars. They are currently on tour with the rock band Aeryx, whose managing company just held a short, online press conference."

The reporter disappeared from the frame to reveal Ms. Yoshida, who sat alone in the video. It only took a sentence for my chest to burn.

"Blostars won't continue to be on tour with us."

"What?!" I yelled. "They didn't even ask!"

"They did," Aya said. "And I agreed."

"What? Why? You should've waited for me to wake up."

"We can't afford to wait, Kaito. Who knows how this situation is going to develop, so it'll be better to be cautious and lay low for a while."

Her words froze my heart, but as blunt as they were, they were true.

Aya turned the TV off again and silence encompassed the room. It gave me time to process that I was in a hospital room, decorated by a few plants that created a nice contrast with the pure-white walls. A coffee table stood in front of the blue sofa, which was being lit by the sunlight coming through the window behind it.

A lump formed in my throat when I thought about the explosion.

"Was the explosion caused by…"

The words wouldn't come out of my mouth, but a man suddenly completed my sentence.

"It was caused by a robot," he said.

It was Mr. Mochizuki, the agent that had helped me before. He stood behind the slightly-open door. I hadn't even heard him open it.

He smiled, "I'm sorry for meddling. May I step in?"

"Sure," I replied.

He approached Aya and me. Knowing he was alright lifted some weight off my shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" I wondered.

"I tried to think of a better way of saying this, but I also need to be honest with you. Although from very far away, we've been watching you and your circle for a while now, including calls."

Expecting it to send shivers down my spine, it had the opposite effect. It was relieving to know they never abandoned us to our luck.

"Does that mean you heard the call and were following me in the marketplace?" I asked.

"Yes and yes. Bise had been ahead of us for years, but that changed some weeks ago. Our cybersecurity team found a way to bypass Bise's tricks, so we sent a silent update to your glasses. Being a few steps ahead, we didn't want to throw the advantage away that easily, so we had to be quiet and take it slow. I'm sorry for not telling you."

"Don't worry," I replied. "I was angry about it, but I'm better now that I know what was going on."

"I'm glad to hear that," he smiled.

"How is the agent that got injured? They said the explosion was small, meaning they must've been close to it."

"Yes. She was the closest to Bise and you when the attack happened. She shot the robot down as soon as it shot you. It seemed like it was about to shoot you again."

"Why?" I wondered.

He sighed, "We have no idea. It'll be great if you can give us more details when you feel better."

"Sure, I will."

"Thank you. So, the agent thought she had neutralized the robot, but four seconds later, it destroyed itself by exploding. She only had one second to run away."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, none of this is your fault. She's stable now. Aside from scars, it seems that she'll be fine."

"That's good to hear," I smiled, but the smile quickly disappeared. "What about Chiharu?"

After a couple of silent seconds, he replied, "About that, we have a favor to ask."