Prompt: 013 ~ Freak Out                                                                                                                                                        May 2011©
Fandom: Alice Nine
Focus: Tora x Namie
Word Count: 1,260

            Alice Nine had been in intensive rehearsals for two weeks now and Namie had collapsed.

            Again.

            This made four times in the past month, twice in the last ten days alone.

            Needless to say, Tora was freaking out about it all. It was an impressive freak out, to be sure, but the members of Alice Nine had heard this tiger roar before and they were handling it admirably as Namie lay unconscious on the couch in the practice room.

            “We should reschedule the music video shoot,” Tora was demanding firmly. “We need to get this figured out before it gets worse.”

            “We can’t reschedule,” Nao replied as gently as he could. “We’ve had this arranged for months, if we try to reschedule now the release could be delayed as long as half a year! We can’t make the fans wait that long.”

            “It would be cruel to ask them to stay faithful like that,” Shou added.

            “And making Namie work herself to death isn’t cruel?” Tora snarled.

            “I’m sure Namie-chan is fine, she’s just tired from her own album promotions,” Nao said. “She knows what she can handle and she’s assured us repeatedly that she can handle this.”

            “She’s unconscious at the moment, how exactly is that ‘handling’ this?”

            Saga chimed in, saying, “She did mention that things would be getting much easier at the end of next week when she finished up her last music show performance.”

            Glaring daggers at him like he’d joined the enemy at the height of battle, Tora retorted violently, “So you want me to just sit here hoping that she doesn’t end up killing herself before then? At this rate she’ll need to be hospitalized before the end of next week!”

            “No one was suggesting—”

            Nao was cut off by Saga leaping to defend himself. “You know, I care about Namie’s health too! She doesn’t just exclusively concern you. She’s the one that didn’t want to give up her career and I’m just trying to respect that decision. She didn’t want to let anything slide because she joined up with us, or don’t you remember that part?”

            “Okay, we all care about Namie-chan,” Shou cooed, stepping in to physically keep Tora and Saga from tearing each other apart. The guitarist looked ready to inflict some serious harm on his friend for having brought up the part in Namie’s contract that he’s always admired and protested to in equal parts.

            “Um, guys?”

            “What?”

            The others winced on Hiroto’s behalf as Tora turned his glare on their youngest member.

            “Namie just left.”

            Tora looked immediately to the couch. The now vacant couch. “When did she get up?” he groaned, worried and exasperated.

            “About a minute and a half ago,” Hiroto replied.

            “It may have had something to do with all the yelling,” Nao pointed out, adding, “Grab and umbrella on your way out! It’s going to start raining soon!”

            The door was slamming before even half of Nao’s warning had been voiced. The leader sighed as Shou snickered. “He’s not going to take an umbrella with him, is he?” the vocalist mentioned with amusement.

            “The words ‘not likely’ imply that there is, in fact, some chance,” Saga pointed out, silencing Nao before he’d managed to play the optimistic card. The drummer shut his mouth in resignation.

            Hiroto shrugged. “Getting sick might be good for them, it would force them to take a day off.”

            “We can skip a practice or two, the shoot isn’t so close so as to need the extra rehearsals,” Nao agreed. “And Namie doesn’t have filming for another two days for her music show appearances.”

            The others agreed with him, unbeknownst to Tora, who had indeed forgotten to grab an umbrella. Rather, the thought to do so had never occurred to him as he tried to determine which direction Namie would have most likely gone in. He presumed that she was heading home and fortunately from the practice studio, both his and her apartments were in the same general direction.

            He caught up to her before she was swept away by the train, but not quite quickly enough to manage pulling her off of it. He wouldn't have anyway. She needed to go home and get some decent rest for once this week. He did however have to comment on the fact that her exit had been abrupt and utterly unmentioned.

            “Where are you going?”

            “Home, I’m tired.”

            “Obviously.”

            Namie sighed. “You need to stop freaking out about this. Pop stars collapse all the time, it’s just a part of the job.”

            “Popstars aren’t my girlfriend,” Tora grumbled sitting down beside Namie and putting his arm securely around her shoulders. “My girlfriend is not allowed to collapse.”

            “You girlfriend can do whatever she damn well feels like doing,” Namie retorted in good humor as she leaned into his shoulder. Tora was a bother at times, but there was no one else on earth she’d rather have beside her.

            “Except for collapsing.”

            “Including collapsing.”

            “I’m taking you to the hospital if it happens again.”

            “Stop freaking out. I’m overworked, dehydrated, and I haven’t been able to eat or sleep properly all month,” Namie explained. “If I didn’t collapse now and again under that I would be concerned.”

            “You’re being ridiculous.”

            “So are you.”

            “I’m being a good boyfriend.”

            “You’re freaking out over nothing.”

            “I’m not freaking out.”

            Namie huffed and swatted at Tora’s hand as it brushed a strand of hair back from her face. “Then stop trying to check my temperature. I’m not sick, I’m just tired.”

            Tora refused to react to the accusation.

            “And quit it with that worried leg tapping thing,” Namie added. “And don’t yell at Nao for not rescheduling the shoot.”

            “Quit nagging,” Tora countered. “And the shoot should be rescheduled until you can stand for an hour on your own.”

            “I’m fine. And we’ve already got things set up so that I won’t be working for more than twenty minutes at a time without a break,” Namie pointed out.

            “That’s not good enough.”

            “That’s me being extraordinarily lazy.”

            “Be lazier.”

            “That’s boring. I like excitement.”

            “I don’t. I like it when my girlfriend gets enough food and sleep to stay healthy.”

           “Well, that’s unfortunate for you,” Namie replied, snuggling in to fall asleep against Tora. She sighed and added, “You really are just freaking out over nothing. It’s not the end of the world if I forget to eat lunch or sit down for a few minutes on the odd occasion.”

            Tora merely grumbled in response. “It’s not nothing; and since you won’t freak out over it, then I have to do it for the both of us.”

            “That doesn’t make any sense.”

            “Just go to sleep,” Tora instructed, petting her hair softly as he looked out the window at the cityscape blurring by. “And maybe I’ll be able to stop freaking out for a few minutes.”

            “You should apologize to everyone tomorrow.”

            Tora merely grumbled and continued petting Namie’s hair, tucking her more securely into the crook of his arm so that she could fall asleep comfortably. He wasn’t freaking out, not really, not as much as he felt the situation warranted. It was his bandmates’ own fault for provoking him if they’d gotten shouted at earlier; it had been totally justifiable to yell given the circumstances. He wasn’t freaking out over nothing, because nothing about Namie was nothing.

            Her repeated collapses were most certainly not nothing.

            It was a matter well worth a little bit of a freak out, no matter what she had to say about it.


                                                                        ♡♥Finite♥♡