A/N- Had a few people asking when the cast of UtaPri would appear. STARISH, Quartet Night and HEAVENS won't be main characters like Riku, Maki and Ryuya but I plan for them to make small appearances, such as Riku talking to his parents for advice or surprise visits/showing my interpretations on where they end up after they retire! Some may also play larger roles into their kids story lines further along the story as well. If anyone would like to see full colour art of the characters (plus some info about them I probably won't include in the story), check out my Deviantart page here- koalaoffandoms/gallery/59304213/Gijinka-and-2nd-gens.

Everyone walked out of the hall, wandering back to their classrooms. I lost Maki and Ryuya in the crowds, ending up walking by myself. I noticed people watching me again. There were many famous Ichinose's in the idol and music industries but only one was connected to STARISH. As I rounded a corner, a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me away. I squeaked as my back hit a wall and two hands hit the wall either side of my head. A tall guy stood to my right and a girl around my height stood to my left. The guy had short dull orange hair, tanned skin and dark blue eyes. The girl, on the other hand, had dark hair in a side ponytail and piercing green eyes. She must've been of Indian descent because of her skin tone, dark hair and the elaborate jewelry that hung around her neck and wrists.
"So," the boy's sultry voice began "you are the oldest Ichinose child?" He scanned my body.
"Y… Yeah. Weren't you… Weren't you listening to Mr. Saotome?" I replied.
"We were merely curious, dear prince. Seeing as we have never seen you before." The girl chuckled softly, scanning me again. This felt so violating. Instinctively, I covered myself.
"Me and Suzu here wanted to ask a small question, Ichinose. Are you hoping to go into composing?"
"Um… Yeah."
Her lips curled into a smile. Like the cat who got the cream.
"That settles it, then. You are going to compose songs for our group, Diamond Night."
"Excuse me? I think he'd much rather write for Clover. We're all guys, he'd probably feel more comfortable with us." Suzu grabbed my wrist, winking.
"Hahaha. Very funny, Suzu. But I think he'd much rather be with an all girls idol group." She grabbed my other wrist.
"Oh yeah, you girls will be the perfect distraction."
"And what does that mean?" Her eyes shifted to Suzu as her hands grabbed her hip.
"I'm saying, maybe a group of all girls, particularly Maki, Fumiko and yourself, would be a hindrance to his concentration. He is a young man, after all." He copied the girl's actions.
"Ha! As if!" She sneered. As they continued their bickering, I snuck around the corner before full on sprinting to class. I spotted Maki and Ryuya and caught up to them.
"I...I was just in an argument with people that want me to be their composer." I said between breaths.
"Oh, that's great, Riku! What're their names?" Maki asked. We took our seats at class as the other students filed in too.
"The guy was called Suzu and… I never got the girls name. She had a side ponytail. Really dark hair. A lot of jewelry."
"That's Suzu Jinguji and Harumi Aijima. They're the leaders of our idol groups!"
"Really?"
Maki and Ryuya nodded.
"Though you seem like a great guy, I'd prefer to see how you write first." Ryuya stated bluntly. I stared for a moment before nodding. The teacher came back in and began explaining the differences between the composers and idols. All I could think of was everything that had happened. Not two minutes in and I had the leaders of idol groups wanting me to write for them. Was I really good enough for them?
"Your first assignment will be fairly simple. Composers will pair up with an idol and compose a song for them to perform in the hall during next week's assembly. Seeing as there are more idols in this class than composers, each composer will be pairing with two idols and composing a duet. You only have a week, so choose your pair now and you can spend the rest of the day coming up with ideas and composing."
I glanced nervously at Maki and Ryuya.
"Failure to compose a song or perform at the assembly will result in immediate expulsion of the composers and idols." He continued. The class muttered amongst themselves, shocked at this. The teacher raised his hand, silencing them. "This is Saotome Academy and you lot are only in the A class. Thousands would do anything to get here and we only accept those who are talented and dedicated to becoming the best. You may leave the classroom but I expect evidence as to your work. Good luck." He smiled. As the students began to migrate to their friend groups, Maki and Ryuya linked arms and stood in front of me.
"Rikuuuuuuu!" They sang in chorus. I laughed slightly.
"I'd be happy to write for you."
"It's settled! Let's get to the library!" Ryuya grinned triumphantly, wandering out of class. I followed with Maki. We wandered around corridors until we came to the door labelled "Library". As I stepped through, the smell of books and ink hit me. The library was huge! High ceilings filled with books. Mostly empty desks, only sprinkles of students sitting around surrounded with literature. Odd, seeing as it was the first day of the year. There was a small help desk to the side with a short woman standing behind it, organising books. It was so quiet except the gentle turning of pages, scribbling in notebooks and the soft keys of the piano. A soft sunlight seeped its way into the room through large windows.
"Wow…" I breathed. This was gonna be my heaven. Ryuya made his way to a table big enough for three chairs and took the seat nearest the corner of the room.
"So what's the plan for this performance?" Ryuya asked. Maki sat down, resting her head in her palm. She shrugged. I sat beside the two.
"Maybe a song about friendship? Seeing as the two of you are so close." I suggested. Ryuya nodded, pondering. I brought out a notebook and wrote it down.
"We could do a cute pop song? About reaching the stars or something."
"That'll be popular though. We need something different. Something unique."
We stared in different directions and hummed in thought.
"Let's start with what kind of song you guys want to do."
"Cute pop! That's a staple of idol culture." Maki chimed. I noted it down.
"No, no, no. We need to do a ballad or metal or something."
"Well, I'm certainly not doing screamo." She crossed her arms.
"I never said screamo was an option."
"I know you, Ryuya. You always wanna be unique and special."
"To help us stand out, Maki! You wanna succeed, don't you?" He began to shout at this point. The lady behind the desk did the classic "shush" librarian routine. Maki frowned, disappointed. Ryuya huffed, putting his feet on the table.
"Get your feet off!" Maki whispered in an annoyed tone. Ryuya scowled and did as he was told.
"So, you want something pop but with a twist? Like maybe a more prominent guitar solo or a deeper bass line? That wouldn't be a problem, you know? Keep the tempo fast but upbeat to match the tone of the lyrics." I interjected.
They nodded in agreement.
"Perfect." I scrawled down some notes in the notebook and began humming.
"Oh that might be a good chorus!" Maki said, a sparkle of hope in her eyes. Ryuya nodded.
"Great, we've got a start." I wrote some musical notes and a thought passed my mind. "About the theme… Maybe we can do lyrics based on love?"
They both looked at me as if I had just spoken in Spanish. I raised an eyebrow. Maki looked to the side.
"Love stories would be common amongst opposite gender pairs." She states bluntly.
"Ye… Yeah. Besides, there's no reason doing a love story if we're only friends."
I blinked. They thought I meant romantic love?
"I mean friendly love. The whole concept of Philia."
"Huh?" They looked confused.
"Philia is the Greek concept of love between friends. Like Eros is romantic or sexual love and Storge is familial love."
They made noises of understanding.
"That'd be great!" Maki grinned, intertwining her fingers and leaning towards me. I wrote down some ideas but jolted at the sound of the bell.
"Oh, that's lunch! I'mma grab something from the cafeteria. Maki, are you coming?" Ryuya stood up, gathering his bag.
"I'm gonna stay here for a while! I wanna continue researching ideas! But would you mind picking up a sandwich for me?" She smiled. Ryuya nodded and asked me if I wanted anything. Something told me that Maki wanted me to stay for a bit.
"Mum made me lunch, so I'll eat it as we work."
"Can you eat here?" Ryuya asked.
"No, but we can always sit outside for a bit for a lunch break." I smiled. Ryuya shrugged and wandered off. When he was out of sight, Maki let out a heavy sigh. As if she had been holding her breath for a while.
"Are you ok?" I asked. Maki looked down but nodded. I could sense she wasn't telling me the truth. "Did I hit a nerve with the love comment?"
"No… It's just… Ryuya always has such big plans and always wants to stand out. He may not look like it because of his appearance but his ideas and plans are always too ambitious."
"Well, have you explained that to him?"
She shook her head.
"I've… Always admired his determination." Her face flushed a pale pink hue.
"He does seem to have a strong drive, quite an ambitious guy."
She nodded.
"That's what I like about Ryuya."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Like as in friends?"
She contemplated an answer, staring at a small stain on the table.
"Please don't tell him. I… Don't want to ruin what we have."
"I promise." I pretended to zip up my lips. She sighed. I knew what she was going to say.
"I think… I love Ryuya. You see, we've known each other since we were babies. Papa and Uncle Syo have always been childhood friends so, of course, I was always friends with Ryuya and his brothers. But Ryuya was my first friend. He was super supportive of me and was there during some... tough times. We'd go to the same schools, share similar hobbies and would sing duets in talent shows. He'd always say he wanted to marry me and become a famous idol couple. At least… We have half of that dream coming true." She smiled at the stain again. It was as if she was apologising to it, her eyes full of sadness. I stared at her.
"Why can't you tell him?"
"Weren't you listening, Riku? I don't want to ruin what we have! Even just being his friend would-"
"Sweetie, would you keep it down?" a male's voice asked.
I turned and looked behind Maki. An older man stood behind her. He was a good foot taller than me. His hair was the same shade as Maki's but his eyes were a piercing green. He looked down at her through his square glasses.
"I'm sorry, Papa." She said in a hushed tone. He strolled closer, patting her shoulder.
"Who's your little friend, sweetie?" He looked over at me.
"I'm Riku Ichinose." I said sheepishly.
"Ah, Tokiya's eldest! The pleasure is mine. I'm Natsuki Shinomiya. Maki's father." He walked over to me and held out his hand. I took his hand and he shook it enthusiastically. Natsuki Shinomiya. The name brought up memories of watching the old concerts of Starish. He seemed so much calmer. Much more reserved and quiet than the Natsuki I remembered.
"What are you doing here, Papa?" Maki turned to look up at her father.
"I have a shift today and thought I'd come say hi."
"A shift, sir?" I questioned.
"Oh, I work here at the library part time. The rest of my time is spent either raising Maki or working down at the animal shelter."
"That must be very fulfilling." I smiled. He nodded.
"It is. Seeing both happy faces and happy animals really warms my heart." He smiled brightly. Like the young Natsuki I'd seen before. "Please send your parents my regards, Riku, I better head off back to work." He waved and walked off. We sat there for a moment in silence.
"So, about the performance…" Maki began. We continued discussing ideas until Ryuya came back. By that point, we were all hungry so we wandered to a small bench outside. We continued chatting about this and that. Mainly the performance and our lives before Saotome. Turns out, I've missed a lot. After I finished my lunch, the bell rang and we went back to the library.

That afternoon, we figured out that we might as well do a song full of cliches and focusing on friendship and the like. Not a problem, I thought. Me and Ryuya wandered back to the boys dorms.
"I'm so hyped for the first performance! Singing your songs with Maki will be awesome!"
"Yeah." I chuckled nervously. I began feeling the pressure. Our teacher's voice rang in my head "Failure to compose a song or perform at the assembly will result in immediate expulsion of the composers and idols." I felt a wave of nausea hit me. What would mum and dad say if I failed? If I had to leave Saotome, what would my siblings think? I didn't want Hayato or Akira to think badly of me. Then again…
"Riku? Yo, you okay?" Syo's voice asked as I snapped back into reality.
"Huh, what?"
"I asked which dorm room you were in."
"Oh, I'm in room seventeen. You?"
"What are the odds! I'm staying in eighteen!"
"Oh cool! We can discuss the performance more tomorrow, than!" I smiled. We parted and I entered my dorm. The room was kind of a shock to me as I realised that the other half of the room had become occupied. When I first moved in, there were two beds but no sign anyone was going to stay in the bed opposite. Now, the bed was covered in magazines and DVDs and a bass guitar and microphone hung off the bed frame. The opposite closet and chest of draws had clothes spewing from the doors. The thing that most caught my eye though was a corkboard. On it were tickets from concerts, random receipts, notes and three photos. The leftmost picture showed a small family of four. A father, mother, older sister and a young boy. The dad looked oddly familiar. Ginger hair tied back, piercing blue gaze and a smart suit. The middle picture showed a ginger haired boy with shorter hair in a selfie with another boy who, once again, looked familiar. The final photo was taken from the final concert of STARISH. My eyes widened as I wandered over, gently touching the picture. The young men in the photo crowded around a petite woman with peach coloured hair and bright greeny yellow eyes.
"Mum…" I whispered out loud. The man with the ponytail was in the photo, grinning with tears in his eyes and an arm around one of the others. Dad and Natsuki stood beside him, smiling just as wide and with tears streaming out of Natsuki's eyes. I stared at the ponytail man harder, trying to remember his name. Ren, was it?
"Can I ask why you're touching my stuff?" A voice asked from behind me. I yelped, turning around. Suzu, the boy from earlier, stood in the doorway. At first, he looked angry but when he saw my face, he blinked and smiled.
"Ah, Riku, it's you."
"Sorry Suzu… I didn't realise you were staying here too."
"No sweat. I figured we would meet again."
I laughed nervously.
"The pictures you… have are really… really…. sweet. You must…. Must really love your family." I sputtered.
"I guess you could say that." He took a seat on his bed and patted a seat beside him. I sat down. "Why haven't I seen you around before, Ichinose?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, whenever my parents meet up with their friends, I sometimes join. I've known Harumi, Kentaro, Deedee, Alexander and Syo for years and I'm acquaintances with Maki and the others. But you have always been out of the picture. I've seen your siblings but I always assumed you were in your twenties like my sister. Busy with work or whatever. Why haven't I seen you?"
I bit my lip. "I just don't like large gatherings." I lied. He scanned my face, eyebrow raised before shrugging.
"I understand. Well, roommate, can I persuade you to write some songs for Clover?"
I laughed slightly. "After the first assignment, I'd be happy to."
"Oh yeah. More than happy to wait. Hey, you should meet the other guys! I'm sure they'd love to see you."
"I'd like to just get on with my homework for now, thanks."
Suzu shrugged, laying back on the bed. I sat at my desk, beginning to compose. I grabbed some books and wrote down the notes, humming to myself as I went. Maki and Ryuya wanted upbeat, something to go with their lyrics of friendship. I got to work.