Chapter 2

Investigation

It had been three days since his last encounter with Ren. And in those three days alone, Masato had gone out of his way to try avoiding the flirt as much as he possibly could. Thankfully for most of the day they were in separate classes; leaving him only to worry about breaks, and when it was time to retreat back to his quarters.

It was at that time he started to act…strange.

Whenever Ren would look his way, Masato would turn his head in the complete opposite direction, not want to make one second's worth of eye contact with him. It was even as if the name "Ren" Was no longer in his vocabulary. He wouldn't dare utter it himself, or pay any mind to anyone who ever brought him up.

One would think this was simply Masato being…Masato; but no…he wasn't doing this out of spite this time…he was doing this out of embarrassment.

But it was until on the fourth day of his evasive behavior that his friends started to catch wind.


"See! I told you all he was acting weird!"

Syo, Otoya, and Natsuki sat a good two tables away from where Masato had decided to sit. It was lunch time, and Syo's talk of Masato acting strange called for an investigation. Plus, it was a good break away from the usual mundane routines the school had to offer as of late.

"Are you sure? Doesn't look like he's acting out of the ordinary to me…" Otoya replied. His elbows were resting on the table and his palms were supporting his cheeks as the three of them looked on, studying their friend. Masato was sitting at the table…and that was it. He was just…sitting. He didn't move a single muscle, and one could wonder whether he was even blinking or breathing. Natsuki cocked his head in confusion. "Poor thing must be stressed. You know Masato; he always has something on his mind." The blonde stated.

"Tch. That's what I thought at first. But look closely at him again…there's something wrong with that picture." Syo inched his head closer to Masato's area, leading Otoya and Natsuki to do the same…he was right! There was something indeed wrong!

There was Masato sitting down, deep in the trance-like thought like he had been, but by his side laid an open package of untouched Melon Bread.

"He's not eating his Melon Bread." Otoya pointed out. "Exactly." Syo nodded. "Knowing Masato, he could finish that thing in less than a minute if he tried; but this time he didn't even take one bite. If that isn't strange, I don't know what is." There was a moment of silence. The three of them were truly dumbfounded. Masato not eating his Melon Bread? Just what was this world coming to? "Well…" Natsuki stated openly. "We better go ask him why." The taller blonde stood up from his chair and proceeded to advance over to Masato's area, only to be halted by a hand grabbing onto his wrist and forcing him back into his seat. "Oh no you don't!" Syo scorned at Natsuki. "You know Masato. This is something that he's not eating his Melon Bread over, he's not gonna tell us a thing."

"So what should we do? We can't just let him keep acting like this…what if he takes it to work with him?" Otoya questioned. The red head had a valid point. If whatever was happening had this tight of a grip on Masato's thoughts and emotions, who knows how that would affect STARISH. The group simply wasn't complete unless all members gave their A-game. "We're gonna go to the one person I'm positive Masato would open up to." Said the smaller blonde, causing both Otoya and Natsuki to lean in close in curiosity and anticipation as to what plan the little guy was cooking up. "Who?" They both asked.

"…Haruka."


Author's note!: Heeeey you guys.

Well after ideas kept popping into my head, I decided to make this a series! So yes! The Million dollar Question is going to be a multi-chapter story! PLEASE stay with me folks! You guys are in for a wild ride! (or not...depends on what you're into) But just a disclaimer about my headcannons of the Utapri world!:

-Haruka will NOT be the main focus of my stories! They will focus on the members of STARISH. Haruka will make appearances from time to time, but don't expect her to steal the show.

-These stories will primarily be MasaRen stories, so I'm going to focus on them a lot. But I'll try to give all of the members of Starish some love!

And as for the rest...well...I guess we'll discover them in story now shall we?

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll TRY to make them longer for you guys! Let me know what you think, and have a glorious day!

~Luna