Sold
Prompt: HCs for each team as a group wondering why MC isn’t showing up to watch their rehearsal or show suddenly only to find out that Haseyama found a way to get her to stop coming to Starless.
Gender: fem!Reader
Warning: Angst, Spoilers.
A/N: If you don’t know the base story of Starless, these HCs might now make sense.
- Ginsei met Kei’s eyes and shook his head, “She’s still not picking up.”
- All the members tried calling and messaging her every few minutes for the past hour but to no avail. “Maybe she forgot?” Yoshino suggested, but even he didn’t believe MC would forget to come to their special rehearsal.
- “Kei…is it just me or…” Sotetsu started but trailed off, knowing their leader would understand.
- “I agree. Something is not right.” As Kei picked up his phone to call his private investigator, the owner strolled into the room with his hands hidden in his pant pockets and a slimy smirk.
- “Looking for something…or should I say, someone?” Haseyama didn’t give any of them a chance to speak and got straight to the point. “Remember what I said about her high price? Well, her price just got too high, and I couldn’t resist.”
- Sotetsu furrowed his brows while Yoshino, Ginsei, Yakou, and Gui stared at the older man cluelessly. Kei, on the other hand, tightened his grip on the phone and growled Haseyama’s name. Within moments, the owner had his back to the wall as he struggled to free his neck from the leader’s grip.
- As Ginsei was about to say, “Kei, don’t,” Sotetsu stopped him and walked closer to the owner. “Are you saying you…handed MC to the markets?”
- Yoshino gasped, covered his mouth, and stepped back; Ginsei’s lip parted and eyes widened; Yakou’s shoulders tensed up, but his face remained blank; Gui tilted his head, wondering what the market meant.
- “Kei,” Sotetsu rested a hand on his shoulder, “let him go. If you don’t, I will pry you off him.”
- Kei was not threatened by his teammate’s words but released Haseyama, knowing what Sotetsu wanted to do. The older man coughed for a couple of seconds before laughing. “I knew I could count on you. You like drama, don’t you, or are you scare-”
- Sotetsu didn’t give him a chance to finish and decked him with full force on the nose and knocked him to the ground. Kei would have enjoyed the sight, but now was not the time for that, they had to find MC and fast. “Ginsei and Yoshino, info the other team leaders about MC. Yakou and Gui, see to it that Haseyama doesn’t leave the room, use any means necessary. Sotetsu, you will accompany me…we will find MC no matter the consequence.”
- What is taking MC so long?” Taiga slumped in his chair and glanced at his equally impatient teammates. “She said she would come in five minutes, and that was thirty minutes ago, and now, she’s not answering my calls or messages.”
- Kokuyou incoherently mumbled while Akira assured Taiga that she might be running late, but Sin and Takami exchanged an apprehensive look. Out of his peripheral eyes, the leader noticed his two teammates and was about to question them when Haseyama pushed open the rehearsal room door and strolled in. “I’m not payin’ all of you to sit around and chat.”
- “Haseyama,” Sin’s deep voice rung through the room and startled everyone. Much to everyone’s surprise, he didn’t use Singo and got straight to the point, “where is MC?”
- “The price in the market was too tempting, and I couldn’t resist.”
- Taiga jolted up from his chair, his face pallid; Akira’s lips curled into a deep frown as he balled his fists; Takami gazed at the owner with a lack of expressions; Kokuyou looked like he wanted to pull a Mortal Kombat fatality and rip Haseyama’s spine out. Sin was not surprised as he was expecting the answer, but he was still furious.
- “The hell did you say?” Kokuyou asked, stepping closer to the older man. “You…did what to MC?”
- “Man, I knew you were a lowdown man, but I didn’t think you would take it this far.” Akira gritted his teeth as he held back his urge to pounce on the owner and rip him to pieces. While Akira and Kokuyou cornered Haseyama, Sin and Takami headed towards the room’s exit with Taiga behind them, hoping to provide his hacking skills to help track MC.
- “Taiga, stay in Starless and keep your laptop close. Also, would you go inform Kei about this?” Takami politely ordered before leaving the restaurant with Sin. It would take a lot of effort to track MC, but with everyone working together, Sin and Takami had faith they would find her.
- “If MC doesn’t hurry, the ice cream will melt,” Sinju pouted as he stared at the thawing scoop of ice cream on MC’s reserved rehearsal room chair. “I thought she would already be here, so I brought it from the kitchen on my way to rehearsals.”
- “I’m sure she will be here soon,” Nekome chuckled and patted his back. “Time to focus on your script, or Maica might give you an earful.”
- “I heard that,” the singer glared from the other side of the room, “but Nekome is right. Focus on your lines, Sinju.”
- “Okay…,” the sulking boy turned his attention back to the papers in hand but quickly looked to the door when he heard the wood creaking. “MC, you…oh, owner…”
- “MC? Do I look like a girl to you?” Haseyama frowned. “Ice cream? So, that good-for-nothing wrestler is serving out dessert to the cast members now?”
- “N-No, it’s for MC,” Sinju chimed in, not wanting to get Kongou into trouble.
- “Is that so?” The owner snatched the cup from the chair, took the small spoon, and began eating the frozen treat. “Why are you lookin’ at me like that? This ice cream came from my money, and since MC will never come to Starless again, I won’t let my money go to waste. Though…this ice cream tastes high quality…he better not be wasting my money on quality ingredients.”
- “Wait, owner…did you say MC will never come to Starless?” Rindou asked in a panic.
- “Yeah, that’s what I said. I got rid of MC for good…got some good money, and now, she’s the problem of the market.”
- The script in Sinju’s hand dropped to the ground with a loud thud, but he stayed frozen; Maica looked appalled as if he heard the most disturbing thing; Nekome’s eyes shot open, but his face remained blank; Rindou felt sick to the stomach, and Ginsei looked like he saw a ghost.
- “Yet you have not but an ounce of remorse,” Menou chuckled coldly. “You are a heartless man. Rindou, I’m going to pay Kokuyou a visit. I still remember how powerful his punches are. Excuse me.”
- Ginsei quietly followed Menou and made his way to the management office, hoping to find Kei there. Meanwhile, Maica cracked his knuckles and approached the owner with Nekome right behind him, but before they could do anything, Sinju said, “How could…you? How could any human do that to another human!?” His voice cracked, and tears sprang from his eyes, but that didn’t stop him. “She didn’t hurt anyone here, not even you! Then how could you…just for money? You are…you are a monster!”
- Maica felt even more riled and threw a punch under the ice cream bowl and smashed the bowl along with his fist in Haseyama’s face. Nekome applauded the singer for his powerful punch and landed one of his own, giving the owner a black eye. Though Rindou didn’t condone violence, he wasn’t planning to stop his teammates from teaching the owner a lesson. He quietly slipped out of the room and headed to inform all the cast members of Starless – maybe, if they all tried to search, they would find MC faster.
- Kasumi impatiently tapped his foot and silently watched his teammates shuffle around the rehearsal room. As soon as his phone’s screen turned on, he quickly opened his text messages and read the words, “you were right,” and gripped his phone tighter.
- “Has anyone heard from MC? She said she was on her way to Starless, but she’s still not here. I tried calling her, but no reply,” Hari asked with a hint of concern and panic.
- “No, I have not heard back from her either,” Qu replied, adding to his team member’s panic. “Could it be possible she is inside Starless but with another team?”
- Kasumi pushed his back off the wall and took a few steps towards the door but stopped when he saw the owner walking in with a sly, victorious smile on his lips. Before Haseyama could taunt any of his teammates, Kasumi inhaled and exhaled to temporarily release the anger building up inside him and spoke in his usual chilly and chirpy voice, “Owner, would you happen to know where MC is?”
- “Who? Do you mean the miss that used to come to Starless? Best that you forget about her – it’s not like you will be seeing her again.”
- “Not…seeing her again?” Mokuren narrowed their eyes and questioned, “What could you possibly mean by that statement? Last I checked, Starless was designed for MC, so why would we forget about her?”
- “Starless was meant for her, but she’s finally out of the picture. Let’s just say I made good money.” Haseyama’s words caught everyone off guard; Hari’s eyebrows climbed to the midpoint of his forehead as his eyes grew into disks; Mokuren looked as if someone had forced him to smell rotten eggs; Qu was speechless with an equally blank expression; Zakuro’s face was deprived of emotions.
- “Owner,” Kasumi appeared right behind Haseyama and whispered lowly in his ear, “are you saying you left MC at the market? I know you lacked a brain, but I didn’t think you were this dumb.”
- “G-Get away from me!” The older man turned around and hurriedly backed away from him. “Dumb? I can fire you from this job and easily get you fired from your other job.”
- “But owner,” a thin, soulless smile appeared on Kasumi’s lips, “you can only fire me if you remain the owner of Starless. Did you forget the people in Starless that are protecting MC? What do you think they will do when they learn of this? What do you think Kei will do? I must say it’s hilarious that you think you will live another day.”
- While Hari ran out to tell Kei about Haseyama’s sickening deed, Qu hurried to let the other teams know. Zakuro and Mokuren joined Kasumi and cornered the owner, ready to teach him an unforgettable lesson.
- Heath paced around the room as his teammates watched him in concern. Kongou finally spoke up and asked the rapper to sit down, “You will wear yourself out, Heath. Please, sit down.”
- “No…no…she said she would be here on time, and if she was running late, she would message me. So, where is she? Why isn’t she here?” Heath gasped for oxygen between every word but still refused to sit down.
- “Heath…,” Rico sighed, got up from his chair, and blocked Heath’s path, “will you stop? Do you want to go back to the hospital? Listen, nothing is going to change by worrying…what I mean to say is…”
- “Those are some harsh words,” Haseyama snickered as he invited himself into the rehearsal room. Seeing Heath get more restless by his presence made the owner smirk, “If you’re wonderin’ where MC is, let me tell you, she’ll never come to Starless again.”
- Before the rapper could react aggressively and hinder his breathing more, Kongou quickly asked, “O-Owner, what do you mean?”
- “I mean, she was a hassle around here, so I got rid of her. The price in the market was higher than I thought.” He replied without a single ounce of guilt in his voice.
- Ran’s lips drew into a flat line as his bright eyes grew dim; Rico froze in place with his mouth parted; Mizuki clutched his fists as his body shook in anger; Heath felt his heart stop, and all he could think about was MC’s bright smile, and the smile grew darker and darker by the second. Why was this happening? Kei said he would protect her, and he too was protecting her, then how did they both fail?
- After a moment of silence, Kongou walked closer to Haseyama until he was towering over him. “Owner, I believe I misheard you. Would you kindly repeat what you said?”
- “W-Why are you standin’ so close? If you forgot, let me remind you that you have signed a contract.” Though the older man attempted to threaten Kongou, the ex-wrestler pressed him again to repeat his word, this time with a bit more force in his voice. “I-I said I handed her to-”
- Before he could finish his words, Kongou grabbed Haseyama by the collar with one hand and lifted him off the ground. He ignored the owner’s protests to release him and glance at his teammates. “Rico, stay by Heath’s side. Ran, inform Kei about this, and Mizuki, inform Kokuyou. Go. Heath, we will find MC and bring her back.”