Hello everyone~ It's my first fanfic so I hope you all enjoy it!
*Disclaimer: I don't own anything regarding Uta-Pri other than this particular plot.*
Ishida Nao stood right in front of the Shining Agency building. The door was right in front of her, but she didn't know what to do. Was she supposed to knock, or just walk in? She imagined how they would react when they saw her. Would they be shocked that there was a complete stranger and kick her out? Or would they recognize her and let her in? She took a deep breath and just opened the door. She took a step inside with her faded orange Converse. Both her imaginations were wrong. Everybody was working on a computer or talking on the phone and didn't notice her existence. She tugged on her side braid like she always does when she's nervous and brushed her bangs out of her face. She looked down at her outfit; Slightly baggy jeans with a plain yellow tank top. She hoped she didn't look strange. While she was daydreaming, a man actually approached her.
"Go there." He said and pointed to a spot on a drawn map. Now this map looked as if it was drawn by a five-year-old.
"Oh, okay, thank you." She smiled anyway. She walked out the door and saw a trail. According to the so-called map, she figured to just follow the trail. Nao realized she was actually becoming what she's always strived to be. She was becoming a dancer and choreographer. Now that was a dream she's had since she was in her mother's womb, but she was told she would be training with the new group STARISH. Her past close friend, Nanami Haruka, had written to her and said that she was their composer. She regained the memories of being together and smiled to herself. There were more to come. While daydreaming, she reached the place she was told to go. It was a repeat of what happened at the other building. She was about to reach for the door, but it opened on its own. A tall guy with dark blue hair appeared and looked at her. Nao recognized him. He was Hayato, or now, Ichinose Tokiya, a member of STARISH.
"Who are you?" he flat-out asked her. Nao's shyness kicked in.
"I'm Ishida Nao, I was told to come here…" she said very quietly. She didn't make any eye contact with him, but stared at the door.
"Hm? I didn't hear you well." He said.
"Oh, um… I'm Ishida Nao." She repeated a little louder.
"Why are you at this building? Fans are strictly prohibited from entering here." He strictly said. Nao blinked. A fan? She was seen as a fan? She could feel her face turn red and she tugged on her braid again.
"I'm, um, I was told to come here. A man from the agency building told me to." She tried to explain.
"Ah! She's here!" she heard a man's voice. But instead of a man, the ever-so-famous Tsukimiya Ringo jumped out the door.
"You're Nao-chan!" he shouted. Nao nodded, not knowing how to respond.
"Everyone, come down here!" Ringo yelled to the building.
"Wait just a few seconds. I can't wait to introduce you!" he zoomed close to her face. The first one to come out the door was Haruka.
"Nao-chan?!" she softly yelled.
"Haruka-chan!" Nao's quiet-self disappeared. Haruka approached her and smiled.
"I knew you were supposed to be in an idol agency, but why didn't you ever tell me you were coming here?" she asked.
"I honestly just forgot~." Nao shrugged. The two looked at the door again and a red haired boy came walking out.
"Why are we gathering all of a sudden?" he asked.
"Hm, I wonder too." A tan boy followed.
"Is this more important than rehearsing something?" a guy with long hair said.
"We were called out by our teacher, it's obvious that it is important." A blue haired boy answered him.
"Syo-chan! I wonder what this could be about!" a nice boy asked a shorter boy.
"I don't even care." The shorter boy said. He actually wasn't that short though. He was a few centimeters taller than Nao.
"Okay, everybody's here!" Ringo exclaimed. It was so sudden that Nao jumped.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I'm just so excited! Boys, you have a new member to your group!" she exclaimed. Nao tilted her head.
"A-a new member!? I thought Cecil was the final addition!" the short boy shouted and pointed to the tan boy. Nao made a mental note that his name was Cecil.
"Okay, maybe I phrased that wrong. You have a new choreographer!" Ringo said.
"Choreographer, eh? Who?" the long haired guy asked.
"Um, do you not notice the girl right here?" Ringo set his hands on Nao's shoulders. She felt all eyes on her, but she couldn't look at them. She stared at the door again.
"Well, go on, introduce yourself." Ringo encouraged her. Nao gave a single nod and looked a little higher.
"I'm Ishida Nao, um… nice to meet all of you." She smiled. They all seemed un-amused. Then, she heard the nice boy gasp.
"I remember who you are now!" he shouted and ran to her.
"Um, I'm sorry, I'm not sure about what you're talking about…" Nao admitted.
"Syo-chan, do you remember about three years ago?" the boy with the hat stared at her for a while. Suddenly, he widened his eyes.
"That ballet… uh… Don Quixote! You were the role of Dulcinea!"
"Wait… You saw that?" Nao was shocked.
"Yes! Syo-chan slept in the day we were supposed to watch an orchestra performance and missed it, but we decided to watch a ballet because the tickets could be used for both! It was a beautiful performance! The program had your name too. I'm Shinomiya Natsuki, pleasure to meet you." He smiled very nicely. The short boy's eyebrow twitched.
"That's not what happened," he gritted between his teeth, "We were on our way but you said you just had to try that new parfait across the train station and you bought every single flavor."Nao could've sworn there was steam coming out of his ears.
"But I have to admit, it was worth watching. I'm Kurusu Syo." He fixed his hat. He didn't seem angry anymore, but pretty nice. Nao relaxed her shoulders.
"After that one show, I watched more ballets… weren't you also in Giselle?" Natsuki asked as if he didn't hear anything.
"How do you recognize me? I was pretty much painted white…" Nao quietly said to herself.
"Wait, if she's a ballerina, how is she supposed to choreograph us?" the long haired boy asked.
"You'll see! I'm going to let you get settled for a bit, I'll see you tomorrow!" Ringo skipped off. The red haired boy jumped in front of Nao.
"Hi, I'm Ittoki Otoya. Welcome here!" he gave a friendly smile.
"Nice to meet you." Nao said. She didn't know what to say after that. She tugged on her braid again. All of the other boys were kind of just looking around, uninterested.
"Ah, all of you are such cold people. Sorry about that, Ishida-chan. Here, I'll introduce you to all the people." Natsuki stood next to her. He pointed to the strict, blue haired boy.
"That's Hijirikawa Masato. He's very quiet, but he's very polite."Nao could tell he was quiet through his expression he was giving. He seemed annoyed by the commotion.
"The man next to him is-,"
"I think I know how to introduce myself to a lady." The long haired boy said. He took a stride to be a bit closer to Nao than she expected. He softly took her hand and locked his eyes to hers.
"Jinguji Ren. Nice to know there's a little lamb and now a young kitten." He gave a smile. Nao wondered what color her face was at that moment. Hijirikawa pulled Jinguji's collar and he stepped back.
"Please excuse his rudeness." Hijirikawa bowed to Nao.
"I wasn't being rude." Jinguji brushed his hair back.
"And that's Ichinose Tokiya, in case you didn't know." Natsuki continued. Nao nodded.
"And lastly, that's Aijima Cecil. Cecil-kun! Read her!" Natsuki pulled Cecil in front of Nao. Cecil calmly smiled and looked deeply in her eyes.
"You have big dreams and hopes. Have a big love for romance stories and very imaginative. You treasure every friend you have, and you would do anything to show them that. You feel limited about being able to do things, but I believe that will change soon."
"Hmm… well, I hope we can become good friends then, Ishida-chan." Natsuki said to her.
"Um, Nao is fine… Ishida is what my schoolmates called me. I don't want to go back to that." She softly chuckled to herself.
"Nao-chan then. Let's welcome you inside." Ittoki said and took her wrist to lead her. Nao didn't know how to respond so she just followed.
"Nao-chan, I think you're sharing a room with me." Haruka said happily. Nao was pretty happy too. She'd need someone to be with for the time of being there.
"Well, if you are staying with Nanami, then this is the room." Ittoki said. Nao stared at it. The room was almost the size of her past house. Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was a big room. The view past the window was amazing too.
"Well, I guess we should leave you alone for a while." Ittoki said and waved goodbye.
"If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to let us know." Natsuki said and walked away. Nao nodded and her eyes went to Syo, who was behind Natsuki. He gave a quick wave by his waist and followed Natsuki.
"I know they were a little hard to understand, but they're all really nice people, I promise." Haruka said.
"Okay~ hey Haruka, do you like any of them?" Nao immediately asked.
"No, I don't have the time to!" Haruka giggled. Nao rolled her eyes. She set her backpack on the floor, but pulled her laptop and notebook out.
"Oh, how is your story writing?" she asked. Nao shrugged.
"It's just a hobby, nothing big."
"I see. So, how did you get here?"
"Um… I sent an audition tape to be a dancer, but I guess they wanted a choreographer. There was no way I could say no, so I came here!" Nao said excitedly.
"Amazing as always." Haruka lay on her bed.
"Hey, is it okay if I go look around? I must get adapted to this place." Nao said and pulled her purse out of her bag. She knew it was weird to do that, but she didn't want to carry two bags separately.
"Sure. Do you want me to come along?" Haruka offered.
"Uhh, I think I'll be okay, I'm not going anywhere crazy." Nao headed toward the door.
"Okay, have fun on your next adventure."
"Sure thing!" Nao cheered to herself. She walked down the stairs and looked up at the ceiling. It was crazy high.
"Are you enjoying the view of the room?" a boy said. She turned her head to where it came from and saw Jinguji.
"Oh, um, I guess… I was just looking at the ceiling and thinking how high it was." Nao explained.
"Hm, well that's the first time I saw someone do that." He said. Nao shrugged.
"I guess there's a first to everything." She said. Jinguji smirked to himself and brushed his hair again. There was a silence that filled the big room and Nao didn't know if she was supposed to start a conversation or not. She wondered if Jinguji was thinking the same thing. He walked towards her and gave a smile. When he reached her, he lifted Nao's chin.
"I look forward to seeing you dance." He said and walked away.
'What in the world is that supposed to mean?' Nao thought to herself. Was he just playing with her? Or was he being serious? She was more confused than a panda in Antarctica.
"Don't believe anything he says." Hijirikawa came by, but only walked by her. Nao began to believe the room was made to confuse people so she swiftly walked out the door. The view was amazing. The air had a sweet smell and there were so many trees and beautiful flowers. There were two butterflies chasing each other and they circled around her. Nao's eyes followed them and soon led to Ittoki standing by tree. He smiled and waved to her.
"Hey, are you enjoying the place so far?" he asked. Nao smiled back to him.
"I think I do, I'm still looking around. How long did it take you to get used to the place?" she said.
"Eh, I'm used to moving around. It's a nice area though, so I'm sure you'll enjoy it." He told her.
"Okay~. I'm getting pretty excited about it."
"That's good. I'll see you later then." He skipped away. Nao sighed, a little disappointed for not being able to continue a conversation. She sat down and pulled a bottle of bubbles out of her purse. She took the wand out and started blowing. The wind was perfect for this improvised occasion and it calmed Nao down. The bubbles were floating and reflected the ground.
"ADORABLE BUBBLES!" she heard someone yell and run to her. The person suddenly slid in front of her and looked up.
"Nao-chan, it's you!" he said. It was Natsuki, and Nao had to comprehend what happened.
"Um, yes it is…" she said and closed the bubbles bottle. Natsuki sat up and faced her.
"You seem very pure like these bubbles." He randomly said.
"I do?" Nao said.
"Yes. But I do have a question. Are you Japanese?" he asked. Nao thought she should have mentioned this before.
"I am, but I'm half. The other half is American. My mom is white, but she was born and raised here, so she knows how to speak Japanese. But she can speak English too. I'm the same." Nao hoped she explained herself well.
"Oh, that sounds wonderful." He said. Nao shrugged. Again, she didn't know how to respond. She wanted to start a new conversation, but didn't know what to say.
"So, I know I'm supposed to find out tomorrow, but how do you plan to teach us tomorrow?" he asked. Nao had a big relief when he brought something up.
"Well, ballet's not the only dance I've done. I've taken almost every single dance including jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, clogging… yeah, most dances." Nao counted in her head.
"That's interesting! I've only learned to play the Viola!" he exclaimed.
"That's something amazing though! I would never be able to do that."
"Thank you. But you shouldn't put yourself down like that, Nao-chan." He said and looked straight at her.
"Oh, I'm not. But how long have you been playing?" Nao asked.
"I don't remember… I think almost all my life." He put his hand on his chin.
"I believe you. Dancing is my life." Nao laughed.
"I know exactly what you mean! It's not a bad thing, but I feel like I've missed a lot of other things."
"Me too. I went to a ballet school, so dance was most of the day, and then I'd go take school classes. But I'm not regretting anything, you know?" Nao said.
"Yes, I understand that. What's something you feel you have missed?" Natsuki asked.
"Oh, goodness… I guess eating ice cream. I've never been allowed to." Nao admitted. Natsuki gave her a shocked expression.
"You've never had ice cream before!? Why is that?"
"It was forbidden because it was unhealthy and ballet dancers have to stay as thin as possible."
"Well, that is something you have been missing out on. I should take you some day."
"Maybe, but it's not like I've never had desserts or anything. I've baked all my sweets so I could save money."
"You bake also!? I'd love to try some of yours. I enjoy cooking and baking as well."
"Really? Wow, I'd like to try yours too, then." Nao said.
"It's a very fun thing to do!" he said and sweetly looked at Nao. He tilted his head.
"Nao-chan, do you have green eyes?"
"The very bottom of them are in the sunlight. The rest is just a light brown."
"Ah, I see. Mine are green too." He said and reached for his glasses. Before he could take them off, Syo came running and stopped his hand. Nao jumped in surprise.
"I-I think she can see your eyes with your glasses on, Natsuki." He said breathless.
"What's happening?" Nao asked. Syo turned to face her.
"If he's ever about to take his glasses off, stop him. It's hard to explain, but just don't let him."
"O-okay…" Nao said. Natsuki sat up and smiled.
"Syo-chan, it's nice to have you join us."
"Yeah… I made it just in time." He sighed. Nao was still confused about what he meant about the glasses, but she decided not to ask about it.
"He didn't scare you too much, did he?" Syo asked.
"What? No, not at all." She smiled.
"That's good."
"Ah, Syo-chan, you're so cute when you care about somebody else." Natsuki said.
"I'M NOT CUTE!" he yelled.
"Why, yes you are. You're just as cute when you're angry also."
"NOI'MNOT." Syo gritted between his teeth. Nao couldn't help but laugh to herself about their relationship. She believed they were good friends.
"I'm sorry he's like this." Syo apologized.
"I don't mind at all. It's nice to see a happy friendship." Nao said.
"It's not that happy." Syo mumbled.
"Nao-chan, let's go inside, the wind is kicking in and I don't want you getting sick." Natsuki said.
"Oh that's true. It was nice talking to you, Shinomiya-san." Nao said.
"No, no, please, just Natsuki. We're friends already!" he said. Nao smiled. She felt secure and happy to know that she already made a friend. She didn't know if she'd be able to trust him, but she felt like he was a very nice person.
"So what happens now?" Nao asked.
"Anything we want. We can eat, hang out, or sleep." Syo said.
"I see~. I guess I'll figure something out then." Nao said and entered the building.
"Okay. We'll see you soon, then, Nao-chan." Natsuki smiled and left her.
"Bye, Nao." Syo said and followed Natsuki.
"Bye guys." She waved and head towards her room. On her way, she saw Cecil. She didn't know how to greet him.
"Hello, Nao-san. I'm looking forward to tomorrow." He said as he passed by. She wondered what he meant.
"Um, thank you?" she said. She heard him chuckle. Nao got to her room, but just stood there. She suddenly felt really tired and sighed. The door was opened, but Haruka wasn't there. She sat in her not-yet-made bed and opened her laptop. Her Microsoft word was still opened. She skimmed through it and laughed to herself. What Cecil said was right: she loved romance stories. She even had dreams of having those anime/ manga moments of bumping into the perfect man on a random street, or being caught while she was about to fall. She sighed, realizing those moments were meant for the books, not real life. She still imagined them happening though. Nao looked at her bag and suitcase that was delivered there.
"Time to do this." She said out loud. She put her head phones in and began to unpack her things. Nao was humming to herself and finished in about half an hour. To finish off her room, she put several rocks by her window sill and put a poster of her favorite group of all.
"U-KISS, I shall do my best!" she said to the poster. She worshipped this Korean group and hoped to someday, dance with them. Her heart began feeling kindled. Nao decided to leave her room again and find the kitchen. Surprisingly, she found it faster than she thought she would. No one was in there, and within a minute, the place became her sanctuary. Everything she needed was in there, and she began baking. She knew she needed to thank the boys in one way or another.
"Huh? Who are you?" a boy walked in. Nao tried to remember if she'd met him, but couldn't recognize him.
"I'm… Ishida Nao…" she said, trying to not shake her voice. This man seemed older, and she was a little scared. He had long hair and silver eyes. About the same height as Ittoki.
"Hmmm. Why are you in here?" he asked.
"I… I'm baking cookies for the members of STARISH to thank them."
"Why?" he continued to ask.
"Because I'm going to be working with them now."
"That's interesting. What instrument do you play?" he began walking close to her.
"None… I'm a dancer." Nao said. The guy leaned over the counter and looked at her dough. Without even asking, he stuck his finger in and tasted it.
"Wow, these taste good unbaked! And what, you're a dancer? Cool~." He said. Nao was a little offended that he tried some without asking and shared all the germs he had on his hands.
"You should be a dancer for my group too. You seem pretty enough." He blabbered. Nao stopped what she was doing in confusion.
"Reiji. Make food for me." A tall, silver haired man came in. This guy looked even scarier to Nao.
"But the kitchen is being used right now." The brown haired boy said.
"Fine, then come rehearse." He said and grabbed his collar to pull him out.
"O-o-okay, bye… Nana-chan! I'm Reiji! Bring me a cookie when you're done!" he yelled.
"My name's not Nana…" Nao meant to mumble to herself.
"I know; it's just a nickname. I'll see you later!" he said as he was dragged out. Nao was about to go crazy. All of this happening at once was a little too much. She stirred her dough a few more times, and it calmed her down. It was going to take her longer than she expected to get used to this.
So, how was that? I hope you all enjoyed the story :D
