A/N: So, after who knows how many starts, rewrites, and restarts here's the final product (I hope). I'm sorry if anyone's OOC and if any info's wrong, I'm going off of what I know from the anime. There is swearing in this so be warned. There won't be much STARISH at first but I promise it will get there. I own nothing other than my original characters and plot!
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Chapter 1: Starting Again…Kinda
A girl with lavender hair and gold eyes jogged down the hall, going towards the crowd surrounding billboards that held the names of first years and the classes they were in.
"Ko!" another girl called from the back of the crowd, waving. Her medium length brown hair framed her face, making her chocolate brown eyes seem bigger.
"Pori-chan!" Kohaku, the first girl, shouted. "What class are we in?"
"I can't see, the crowd is way too big," Pori answered as Kohaku caught up to her.
"That's an easy fix!" the petite girl said. she stepped forward and started pushing through the crowd, dragging Pori behind her. Almost immediately after they hit the wall of people a lane opened for the two small girls to walk to the front through. "Huh, being idolized from the start does have its advantages," she said as they approached the board.
"How'd you even manage it?" Pori asked.
"I tripped and fell on my face after the exam then yelled at everyone who laughed," Kohaku said while she scanned for her name, "'Kohaku-sama' they call me, the kitten with claws. It happened right before I met you actually."
"There!" Pori shouted, pointing at the top of the list.
"Minna!" A guy behind them shouted. "Kohaku-sama made it into S-Class!"
"Omedeto Kohaku-sama!" another guy shouted.
"Anyone know who Daisuke Imori is?" Kohaku asked, reading the third name under the S-Class label.
"E-eh, ore?" a guy with green hair was pushed forward.
"Let's go to class together," Kohaku said, beckoning to the boy, "since we're the only first years in S-class it would be best." He gave a bit of a nervous nod before turning stiffly down the hall. A lane opened up for the group as they approached the last door, a hum of voices coming from inside the classroom. "So, Daisuke-kun," Kohaku asked, "which course are you in?"
Imori gulped before answering, "Idol Course, you two?"
"I'm in Idol Course too," Kohaku said. "Pori is a Composer Course student."
"We should get into the classroom before the teacher gets here," Pori told the other two. As they all reached towards the door it opened from the inside, startling the group.
"Oh, first years," a girl said, staring wide eyed at the group of three. She pushed the door open wider to let the three in. "Well come in, you can't be waiting out here till Hyuuga-sensei comes."
"Anna?" another girl called from within the class. "What have you found?"
The first years hesitated at the door so Anna pulled Kohaku into the class, making the other two stumble in after.
"Waa!" a redhead stood up and started to rush towards Kohaku. "Kawaii!"
"Watch out!" another girl called, a blond this time, she rushed towards the group of first years and blocked the path of the redhead. As the girls collided another girl with bright pink hair pushed the first years out of the way to keep them from getting crushed and instead the blond and redhead landed on a desk.
"If Star Heart would stop destroying my classroom I'd like to start talking," a man in the door said as he stepped in.
"Star Heart?" Kohaku asked, looking at the four girls on the floor.
"Yup, we're Star Heart, most of it," the redhead said, "Saotome Academy's leading unit that can't graduate because we can't audition as a group."
"We don't even have a composer anymore, Maemi," a guy at the back of the class.
"It's only the beginning of the year, Keiji-kun," the pink haired girl responded.
"That's right Chiko!" the redhead, Maemi, said. "It's the beginning of the year again and we have the entirety of it to find a composer and make the headmaster let us audition." She threw her arm over Chiko's shoulder before adding, "Keiji's the fifth member of our group."
"Four girls and one guy?" Pori asked.
"We had a guy composer…last year," the blond said.
"Seijun something-or-other, I think," Maemi said.
"Sit…down!" Hyuuga was standing at the front of the class, glaring at the group with frustration.
"Gomen, Hyuuga-sensei," the blond said.
"Just sit down Tsukiko-san," Hyuuga rubbed his forehead, "you three too."
Kohaku, Pori, and Imori took the three seats at the front of the class and the other four moved to sit around their group member. As everyone sat Hyuuga cleared his throat.
"There are a few rules I have to cover for our first years plus new announcements for everyone," the orange haired teacher started, "At this academy you work full year towards the goal of the graduation audition, learning new skills and bettering the ones you already have. You must partner up with a composer to be able to qualify for the audition and you must work as a pair only. The rule for the audition is one of two important rules, the other is the no-love rule."
Kohaku zoned out as Hyuuga continued to talk about the rules and didn't start listening again till the intercom squealed.
"Minna!" a group of voices called, "it's STARISH!"
"Minna, we have a big announcement," came the voice of Natsuki.
Tokiya's voice came on next, "Big enough that the President wanted us to announce it."
"You've all wanted group auditions, nee~?" Cecil asked. A gasp could be heard from the back of the class.
"Ladies, you've been busily petitioning since we graduated three years ago," Ren said, A few sighs could be heard from some of the girls.
"And now we are super excited to say…" Otoya left the sentence and the school hanging.
Syo picked up where he left off, "First, the presidents sick and tired of his desk being full of paper."
Masato finished the announcement off, "And second, he's given in and allowed groups to enter the Graduation Auditions."
"Omedeto, minna!" the full group shouted.
The squeal of the com turning off was covered by loud cheers from the class that echoed down the hall and throughout the school. The three first years leaned together as the class exploded into chaos. Hyuuga yelled at them to settle down but it didn't get through to the cheering students.
"Oi! Everyone sit down and shut up," another voice shouted over the intercom. The class immediately quieted, recognizing the voice of Ranmaru from Quartet Night.
A muffled voice approached the intercom mic, "Ran-ran, you're scaring them! Yo, minna. Quartet Night here adding to our Kohai-chan's announcement."
"Peasants," another muffled voice came from the intercom, "who forgets the most important piece?"
"Myu-myu!" Reiji shouted. "They didn't know about this part!"
Some muffled voices followed by some pops were heard as the mic changed hands then Ai's voice came through, "They've started fighting so I'll finish the announcement; groups can have up to seven people performing and one composer."
"Now sit down and settle down!" Hyuuga shouted as the intercom turned off, taking advantage of the moment of silence.
The class chattered as they took their seats and started to settle down. It took another minute before everyone was quietly waiting for the tall teacher to continue.
"Alright, now for my announcements," Hyuuga started, "during the year there will be four opportunities for the S-Class to perform as opening acts for STARISH and Quartet Night. Also, the opening acts will be decided based on performances done with Aikatsu Machines. These machines involve…"
"W-why?" Kohaku whispered as the sound of Hyuuga's instructions faded away.
"Ko?" Pori leaned over, trying to catch what her friend was whispering. "Kohaku?" she asked, waving her hand in front of Kohaku's eyes.
"Ittoki-san," Hyuuga said. "I do not appreciate people interrupting my class."
"Gomen, Hyuuga-sensei," Pori responded, "I want permission to take Kohaku to the nurse's office; she doesn't seem to be feeling well."
"Do you know anything about using Aikatsu Machines?" the teacher asked. Pori shook her head. "Then I can't give you permission, everyone including composers need to know the basics in case one of you forgets."
"Sensei!" Anna called from the back of the class, "I've used the Aikatsu System before; I can take Hitomi-san to the nurse's office." The teacher nodded his head and the brunette grabbed her kohai's hand and started pulling the petite girl down the hall. Kohaku followed the older girl down the hall in silence, barely reacting to the movement. The two stopped outside of a door at the other end of the school and Anna started talking to Kohaku.
"Listen, Hitomi-san," she said, "I don't know what happened, which one you went to, but just because it's the Aikatsu Machines again doesn't mean it's gonna be the same. Look at me!" she pushed Kohaku's chin up, "It's not the same, you're at a different school with different people, it's not going to be the same!"
Kohaku snapped out of her trance, her gold eyes focusing on the older girls dark brown ones. "You went to one before?" her voice was small when she spoke.
"Yeah, I was at Dreaca," Anna answered, "Started at the top then fell in my third year of middle school. What happened to you, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Something kinda the same," Kohaku's voice grew stronger. "I was a Starlight girl, top of the class all through middle school. My first audition of high school involved a major mess up and I struggled through the first two years then got expelled. I came here to try and get better." Anna hugged the smaller girl as she started crying, the door beside the two opened at the same moment.
"I thought I heard voices," a plump woman said, "might as well come in." Anna led Kohaku into the room and the nurse pulled the door closed behind them. "Panic attack?"
"Something like that, I think she just need some time to let it set in," Anna responded.
"You're an S-Class student aren't you? A member of that big group?"
"Yeah, Star Heart."
"No wonder she's panicking," the nurse brought a glass of water over to the girls and Kohaku took it, quietly thanking her. "Such a small girl too." The lavender haired girl shrunk into the arms of Anna causing the older lady to laugh. "I'll tell Hyuuga that you're both dismissed from classes for the afternoon, she's the one out of the five so far that actually looks like she needs to rest. I'm sure that you can fill her in on anything she needs to know."
"Is it alright for me to take her to the dorms?" Anna asked. The nurse nodded her head and Anna led the smaller girl out of the school building and towards the dorms.
"Anna Hiori," Kohaku whispered as they entered the dorm building, "Dreaca's prodigal flop."
Anna winced at her use of words, "Yup, that's me, the girl that was supposed to be great but failed most of the time. Turns out I just needed more time to learn instead of being forced straight into auditions. I like being able to write the lyrics my songs more too."
"Sorry I called you that, you seem better than how the Dreaca girls make you sound," Kohaku said, looking down at the ground.
"It is who I was," Anna shrugged.
"Wait, I want to grab something from my room," Kohaku said, pulling Anna over to another door. She opened it and grabbed a binder from one of the boxes before letting the brunette lead her to another door further down the hall.
"Here we go," Anna said as she pulled a binder similar to Kohaku's off a desk. "I didn't get many cards thanks to my flop bit I got a few from hopeful designers. Maybe we'll get to use these this year; the agency can't have a major designer group yet."
Kohaku opened her own book of cards, flipping to the last page. "This one's from my last major audition, the one that got messed up." She said, pointing at a set of cards that looked like an ice cream sundae.
"My very first audition involved a set from the same designer, see?" Anna pointed at a constellation coord from Lucky Love, the same brand that Kohaku had the Sundae coord from. The girls chat was interrupted by a loud bang at the other end of the hall. "Ah, F-Class must have found out about the audition thing we got."
"F-Class?" Kohaku asked. She winced at the sound of another door banging closed.
"See, once you're done your first year in either A-Class or S-Class you can be sorted into the other classes," Anna said. "They go through the alphabet from B to F, F-Class being the worst one to be in. Usually if you're part of F-Class you don't last till the next year."
"How do you know F-Class found out?"
"One of the rooms up here has a couple of girls in F-Class, they're a unit together, and one of them has a rather horrible temper. That was probably her charging into her room."
"Fucking hell!" someone shouted. "It's not fair! It's her first year and she's in S-Class already!"
"Or she could be mad about something else," Anna said. "Just give things a sec…" A quieter set of footsteps came from the end of the hall, going to the same room as before. There was a moment of silence where the second girl spoke before the first started yelling again.
"Of course I'm pissed Kameko! She's here now!" another bit of quiet talk from the second girl, Kameko. "That girl I told you about when we first started! The one that got away with messing me up!"
"Suzu!" Kameko shouted, startling Kohaku, "Would you chill out! How do you know it's her?"
"The names exactly the same! Hitomi Kohaku!"
Anna gasped and looked at her classmate. The petite girl was going into a shock fit again, staring at the door. "Hitomi, get a hold of yourself!" she whispered, shaking Kohaku's shoulders. "Hitomi! I don't care if she's your worst nightmare; you need to keep a hold on reality!" Kohaku's eyes became focused again and Anna sighed. "Good, now sit here quietly, don't make a sound."
Kohaku nodded and Anna got up, leaving the room and crossing to the room the voices were coming from. She knocked and another girl opened the door, one with light blue hair down to her waist.
"Hiori-senpai," she said, almost whispering.
"Yuuki-san, is everything alright?" Anna said. "Kimori-san seems angry and it's disturbing the girl I'm trying to calm down."
"Gomen, Hiori-senpai," Kameko said, "Suzu's just feeling a bit off."
"Please try to calm down, Kimori-san, and return to class when you have settled down," Anna called before returning to her room, closing the door behind her. Kohaku was quietly flipping through her Aikatsu Cards. "Come on, they'll stay in their room for the rest of the day no matter what I say, I've got a great place to avoid things." Kohaku nodded but gestured for Anna to wait.
The lavender haired girl grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a note to her roommate, slipping it under the door to their room as they passed. Anna lead her out of the dorms and down a path to a pond. Kohaku gasped as the sunlight hit the water, causing it to sparkle like diamonds.
"Hitomi-san!" a boy shouted from a gazebo beside the pond. They looked over to see Imori, Pori and the rest of Star Heart coming out. "Thank god you're alright!" Imori said as he ran over.
"I was told to give you these, Ko," Pori said as she handed her a set of cards.
"Of course, they wouldn't have to work hard to get a designer," Anna said, accepting the cards Sara held out to her. "Shining Stars huh? Guess they just made their own brand."
"Anna?" Maemi said.
"Remember what I told you about my last school?" Anna asked. The rest of her group nodded. "Well, the machines that we used just got described to you."
"You need a catch up on Aikatsu Machines?" Imori asked, turning to Kohaku.
"No," she answered quietly, "I've used them before."
"Wow, you got a story to you, don't you?" Maemi said, looking at Kohaku. "Anyway, Hyuuga-sensei says that we'll all have the same-ish outfits for a bit. Shining Stars has got a top designer thanks to the brand they bought but they won't have any…um, what was the thing he called special coords?"
"Premium Rare Coords," Kohaku said.
"Yeah, those," Maemi said, "Also, the first audition is next month, opening for STARISH."
"Kohaku, these guys are gonna have to go through some intense training, aren't they," Anna said, winking at the smaller girl.
"Yes, Anna-senpai," Kohaku had a grin on her face that scared the rest. "And it's gonna have to be the Starlight way, pushing to the limits and beyond."
"Composers are exempted from the torture, right?" Pori said, stepping away from the grinning pair.
"No-way," Maemi said, "if you become Star Heart's composer you get to do this stuff with us!"
"Star Heart's composer?" Kohaku asked, the dark aura around her disappearing. "I was hoping you'd be my composer!"
"We were thinking of adding you, Imori-kun, and Pori-san to our group," Chiko said. "If Anna agreed that is, she is the leader."
"I thought we agreed that there is no leader?" Anna said. "And of course they can join, if they want to."
"Eh, me in a group with you guys?" Kohaku said. "But…"
"Why not?" Keiji asked, "From what I've heard, you're a pretty good singer and already popular with most of the first years. Not to mention any first years that get into S-Class like you three have are worth adding to the team."
Kohaku gave a slight nod and Maemi smiled, "That's settled then! The new Star Heart is about to take Shining Agency to a new level!" The rest of the group cheered as they all gathered into a group hug, some being pulled in reluctantly.
A/N: Please review, follow, and favourite on your way out!
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