As her hiatus were coming to an end, Rise believed she would be able to come back as if she had never left, even better than ever in fact. Her flame may have been snuffed out for a short amount of time, but she had been doing this for years and all it would take would be a single performance to have that light shining brighter than ever now. So why was she suddenly starting to become so nervous? The facts were difficult to ignore the closer and closer the big day came, expectations were going to be high for the return of Risette, fans starved to see her perform again would move onto someone else if she just missed the mark. Maybe Rise was only being paranoid, but that didn't stop what felt like a whirlwind of butterflies from forming in her stomach as she thought about what could go wrong.
Going through every advice strategy in the book, from breathing exercises, to tea, to even listening to relaxing music which had only worked against her, the last thing Rise wanted to do was listen to someone else's work, it only made her think about the possible shortcomings of her own. So when the usual remedies didn't work Rise decided to swallow her pride and watch a few interviews with various idols to try and figure out how they managed to chase away stage fright, one claimed to have a good luck charm, a ring around her finger that she just needed to touch. Rise wasn't someone who stubbornly denied the existence of good or bad luck, she just never saw it being tethered to material objects, having a lucky ring or hairpin to find comfort in just felt too good to be true. Rise was a social person, what she found comfort in were things like praise from fans, her grandmother's love, interaction with her friends. Her friends...that was something that stuck with Rise, maybe it wasn't that good luck charms were pointless, she was just restricting herself in how she saw them.
Her decision to invest in a good luck charm had lead her to calling Naoto, Inaba could handle itself just fine without the Detective Prince, but Rise's own dilemma left her in need of a friend. When Naoto arrived, she explained her predicament - the stage fright she had felt - and asked if Naoto was free for just today, after all there was no better distraction than an evening with friends. As the hours passed, Rise was easily able to ignore the butterflies she had felt; Naoto really was someone she had needed, for much longer than a single day. Which is why when the two of them called it a night, Rise pretended to fall asleep, laying awake in bed for an hour just to play it safe before crawling over to Naoto's sleeping bag and giving her a little nudge.
Overnight, Naoto had been bound, gagged, and hidden away in a suitcase like a valuable secret - a secret that Rise had to keep from everyone all the way until early morning. It was a good thing her team excelled at being fast and efficient; she would have felt guilty if Naoto had had to spend a lot of time in such a small space. The train and limo ride afterwards only took about three hours, and Rise even made sure to keep up a quick pace when walking to her hotel room, tempted as she was to stop and wave at fans who were there waiting both in and outside of the building.
With her room being just an elevator ride and a short walk down the hall, Rise took a breath when she made it inside without any issues. "Now let's get you out of here," she said, pulling the suitcase into the middle of the room and laying it on her floor before undoing the zipper and gently lifting Naoto out. "I hope the trip didn't feel too long, Naoto-kun. Now you can stretch a little." A sweet smile spread across Rise's face as she placed her hands beneath Naoto's arms to sit her up.<|im_end|>
Everyone had heard about Rise's plan to return to the stage, and the excitement of her fans was building every day. All of her friends had known for some time that she desired to step back into the spotlight. However, none of them - fans or friends - would have suspected that the bubbly, positive, and all-around confident idol would be feeling any kind of pressure to perform. It was certainly a surprise when Naoto received a call from her close friend, but the detective prince was more than happy to help however she could, albeit she wasn't entirely sure how she could be of assistance. She considered taking some books for guidance from her grandfather's library, but in the end decided against it after all it sounded like Rise just needed the support of a friend, and she was capable of doing that, right?
Arriving in the afternoon, time flew while the two were together. The pair reminisced about old times and did the usual stuff that girls do when they hung out together - it was one of those rare times where Naoto did anything truly feminine, which made her feel slightly uncomfortable but she was happy to help Rise and felt a little happy about doing something feminine for a change. Naoto had drifted off feeling quite happy about being able to help calm Rise's nerves, and she knew that her idol friend would shine in the spotlight much like she had always done - maybe even brighter than ever before. However, while the detective was deep in her slumber, it seemed Rise had something else in mind.
Upon waking up, Naoto shifted and found herself unable to move and in an extremely tight space. Panic struck, and she began struggling, mind racing with the possibilities of what could have happened. The tight confines of the suitcase made it difficult for the detective prince to move around at all but eventually she felt the rope that was keeping her so tightly bound, her fingertips rubbing against the suitcase as she tried to scream. Then suddenly she remembered that she was Rise, and a new wave of terror washed over her as the idea of the idol being similarly trapped gave her a renewed strength to continue struggling against her binds, although it turned out to be rather fruitless - whoever had tied her up was experienced at doing so.
Her container was knocked around a bit, and her muscles ached from being locked in the awkward position. The detective prince ran all manner of scenarios through her head, but the first and foremost thought was to find some way to confirm Rise's safety. However when the suitcase stopped and was laid against the floor, a faint, familiar voice could be heard, and as the zipper opened Naoto squeezed her eyes shut while the light blinded her. At first she felt wave of relief, but it turned to icy horror as it slowly dawned on the prodigy that Rise had been the one who had tied her up and put her through the harrowing event. Terrified eyes gazed up at the sweet, smilingly idol who was acting as though nothing was out of the ordinary. Naoto flung herself away from Rise and tried to crawl away from her 'friend', shrieking a muffled scream into the gag before curling up into a ball - her muscles burning with agony from the three-hour trip. All she could do now was lay there entirely exposed to Rise's twisted whim.<|im_end|>