CHAPTER X ~COME ON, LET'S SONG!~

"That's her."

"Top 1 in the composer course!"

Murmurs and loud whispers Erika's ears as she walked down the hallway that day but she paid them no heed. She walked in a graceful manner, her head held high and her usually large ocean blue eyes now thinned into a fixed, sharp deep sapphire, staring ahead of the hallway that was lined with huddles of students whispering to their group about her.

"I heard six people had signed up to be her partner."

"Eh? Seriously?"

"Gotta be the first time this had happened ever since the academy opened."

"Hey, who do you think will she choose?"

She inwardly scoffed at that. "Don't they have anything better to do?" she irritatedly asked to no one in particular as she walked faster down the hallway. When she reached the empty part of the building, she heavily sighed and leaned back against the wall beside the large window, bright sunlight glaring through the panes and lighting the long hallway. She bowed down her head just enough for her bangs to curtain her eyes. She must decide today on who would be her partner for the audition. But, it's so hard to choose just one and leave the rest to fail and it would crush her heart if that happened. She groaned as she slid down and sank to the floor then placed her arms above her folded knees.

But… that's only a sliver of her worries, she thought bitterly. There's more pressing matters she was needed to attend to. Like the contents of the package she received the other day. When she came back to their room -luckily, Haruka wasn't there at the time-, she opened the brown package only to find an ancient amulet with an emblem of their ancestor emblazoned inside a rose cut sapphire that contained her true form, currently sleeping inside it. Once she got a hold of it, her eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. It will only be a matter of time before they come here, to destroy this vessel. Haruka had long knew her secret, but Erika opted not to tell her the part about the amulet nor her true identity.

Erika clenched her fists and jaws tightly as she glared down her arms as she thought of the possible consequences if and only if, other than Haruka, her other friends were to find out about it. She didn't want to deal with another… No, she shook her head. She mustn't think of anything that hadn't happened and only hoped it won't happen anytime. She was in the very depths of her subconscious that she didn't even heard the tapping of heels clicking on the hard wood floor, lowly echoing down the deserted hallway.

Ringo was currently walking down a deserted hallway towards his class. Then he saw Erika crouching by the wall, her folded arms resting atop her knees, and from his view, he saw her pale hands clenched tightly and her lips shut in a thin line almost like a scowl but he couldn't see her eyes because they were curtained by her long bangs. He stopped a little by her side then promptly called her name. "Eri-chan," he called. His eyebrows furrowed in worry since he hadn't seen any response coming from the girl. He tried a few more times, this time yelling her name, until the salmon-haired girl seemed to hear him already, if the slight jerk of her body were any indication.

Hearing her name being yelled, she jerked out of her reverie and swiftly raised her head, her now wide ocean blue eyes stared at her sensei's inquiring gaze. She then stood up from her crouched form by the wall and greeted him as the pink-haired cross dressing idol stepped back a bit to give each other distance. "Ringo-sensei…" He leaned forward a bit with his hand on his hip as he questioned her, giving her his curious expression. "You seem to be in a daze, Eri-chan. Is something wrong?"

"Well, um.. nothing's wrong," Erika said with a somehow convincing smile, but upon seeing her sensei's eyebrow rose up at the obvious lie, she sighed dejectedly, her shoulders sagging. "Apparently, there is."

"Have you decided on who's going to be your partner? The deadline's tomorrow."

Erika just stood there, blinking stupidly at him, not even knowing what to answer that one and shifting her gaze from side to side, shifting her weight from one foot to another hands fumbling with each other. "About that… um…. I still haven't yet.. I…"

"I'm not going to let you drop out of this!" he quickly said and Erika seemed taken aback at the sudden and abrupt remark and he continued. "Don't run away from this trial. It's your duty to give them an answer as soon as possible."

"But-!" Ringo put a finger up to her face making her jerk backwards, and he gave her a stern look as if daring to say another word. Finally, she hung her head and answered numbly,"Hai, sensei.." She started to walk back where she came from but stopped when she heard her sensei talk, her back facing him. "Understand? If you don't submit your form by tomorrow, not only you, but also those six boys will be disqualified, too." After that, Erika jogged her way towards the library and settled on one of the tables there and plopped down on the seat heavily. She placed her head sideways on the table making a soft thud and sighed, closing her eyes in the process.

Tomorrow, she thought with a frown. Tomorrow's the deadline and if she didn't make her decision as soon as possible, not only was she a disappointment to herself and to those who chose her, she'll also be failure to her family and ancestors. She ran her hands through her now shoulder-length hair and later on gripped on it, slightly tugging on it to soothe her headache. "I can't believe it can be this hard to choose just ONE of them." She opened her eyes and stared at a lamp a few inches away from her. As she stared at it, she noticed something slightly different from it. Green? Why am I suddenly seeing green? She straightened up on her seat, scrunching her face in concentration. She blinked her eyes as the light once again suddenly emitted a green glow similar to a firefly. She perked up at the word. Firefly? Why did it..? She gasped lightly as she remembered a man she met in a dream back at the beach, his words echoed back in her mind.

"…the days of darkness has begun to wrap its wide cloak around the world in a slow, deliberate pace… Waiting to be shined upon by the blinding light, waiting for you to spin out something rich and beautiful. What you may create will likely bring a miracle…"

Miracle? She thought. Suddenly, she was struck with a brilliant idea and her lips lifted into a wide smile of glee. She stood up making the chair to creak across the floor then bolted out of the library back to the girls' dorms. Oh, Thank you, Cecil! She thought giddily as she hurriedly sprinted to her and Haruka's shared room and began to lay out some music sheets and started to write a series of notes on the sheets. Melodies kept springing in her mind as she wrote along the staff, each note holding every memory she had shared with her friends along the course, a determined expression present on her face. She stayed awake through the night just to write the music and also the letters she was going to send them.

Hope this works.

…..

"Are you going down the music room now, Eri-chan?" Haruka asked Erika who nodded as she hastily put the sheets of music in a folder. "Yeah. I must get there so that I can distribute these between the guys," she said and hurriedly said goodbye to her, sprinting down the dorms towards the school building. As she ran through the courtyard, she felt her phone vibrate on her skirt pocket so she stopped for a while. Fishing out her phone from the pocket, she flipped it open, not even reading who called her and put it on her ear and resumed on her run. "Hello?" she greeted.

"Hello, Erika-sama?"

"Ah, Kiyoshi, how's things holding there?" she asked with a rare serious and almost business-like tone she usually used when talking with her associates, or in her case, her personal servants.

"It's getting worse. I don't know if me and Seiichi will be able to hold them off any longer." Kiyoshi replied. She could make out sounds that seemed like a loud growl then the slashing of swords and thunder-like sounds. Erika narrowed her eyes. "Kiyoshi, bring Seiichi and three more people with you and meet with me here in Saotome Academy."

Kiyoshi looked taken aback and was about to protest but Erika's voice stopped him. "I know it's a critical time, but I don't want any more casualties. We need to meet up as soon as possible." The urgency in his lady's voice made him swallow his protests then nodded. "I understand. We'll be there in a few days' time."

"I'm counting on you. And be safe." Erika smiled wistfully then pocketed her phone back into the pocket. She heaved a deep sigh and continued on her way towards music room 3.

She already sensed six presences as she neared and almost yanked the door open making whatever conversation they had earlier died down. The guys stared at her with slight bewilderment and one of them was about to ask if she's all right when she raised the folder she was holding. "Sorry guys. I just finished it today," she said slightly out of breath. "Just finished..?" Masato asked curiously. Erika readily distributed the music sheets to each one of them then took her place in front of them, watching for their every reaction. The six guys looked over the sheet and in a few seconds, all wore different levels of surprise. Ren spoke first, looking up from the sheet to the girl in front of them with confusion and disbelief lacing his voice. "This is song is…"

"It's a song meant for six people," Erika started off with slight hesitance then made eye contact to every one of them, a beaming smile forming on her bright face. "I want to make a group song!" All of them stared quietly at her with magnified confusion as she continued to speak, her voice toning down softly. "All of you had chosen me as your partner… and I'm quite glad for that. But… there comes the decision that I have to choose only one of you, yet I just can't find it in myself to pick one from all of you. For that, I'm sorry." She bowed slightly in apology, the guys still staring not even grasping to what the girl who made their passion become vibrant and noticeable wanted to imply. Erika straightened up and spoke again. "These past few days, I still haven't come up with the answer you all seek… but an idea came to me. I asked myself, 'What if all six of you come together?'. So-,"

Masato suddenly spoke before she could speak further. "You came up with a group song just because you can't choose one of us?" Although calm, there's slight accusation accompanying Masato's voice and Erika responded, a little bit startled at the question. "That's not true, Masato-san!" She gazed at them one by one with slight pleading in her eyes, her voice slightly cracking but not very noticeable. "Otoya-kun… Ren-san… Masato-san… Natsuki-san… Syo… and Tokiya-san.. This is also strange to me. Once you all came into my life, it's like the void in it was now filled with the warmth and longing I've always searched for… A dream I'd never attained on my own…" The guys all noticed the abrupt change in her demeanor as she spoke. "Even though Haru-chan and my brother were always by my side, I've never felt this warm before, and meeting you all was the best part.. so I- I just thought that if you all came together as a group…," She now looked with newfound happiness in her eyes and determination was clearly written on her face.

"… then maybe, a miraculous harmony will be born." The guys now had different expressions plastered on their faces. Erika could read confusion, disbelief, and a blank one, each one contemplating on what to answer the salmon-haired girl. Otoya spoke up after a moment's silence, lifting the music sheet a bit higher, his voice holding one with an affirmative tone. "I…I'll do it! After all, I want to sing Takahashi's song!" "Otoya-kun.." she sighed and felt small smile of relief tug at the corners of her mouth.

"I'm kinda…," Closing his eyes, Syo lowered the sheet, his voice in a low tone. "…embarrassed to admit this, but when I received your letter, I felt like I'm like the king of the world. That you chose me to be your partner," he opened his eyes with a sad and dejected look. "But it's not just me…" Erika once again bowed down her head in shame, her eyes downcast but once again rose her head when Syo spoke again with a small grin and what he said made her smile a little, a hopeful expression back in her face. "But it's okay. If I can sing your song, I guess I can go along with it." She was about to break into a full out grin but Natsuki had spoken, his once warm green orbs downcast with a dull glow. "To be honest, I was surprised. I never imagined a group number.."

"Out with it!" Syo took a step forward, turning around towards the tall blond with slight irritation. "Are you gonna do it or not?!" Natsuki opened his eyes that was once closed and gave his answer that dampened Erika's spirits. "Please let me think about it." "Natsuki-san…" Masato seemed to think the same way as Natsuki as he strode towards the other side of the room. "I agree." He stated then took a seat, crossing his arms across his chest, closing his eyes in the process. "I can't give you an answer right away." Otoya immediately went to him, trying to talk him out of it, seemingly shocked about his answer. "What are you talking about?! Takahashi made this song for us to sing together!"

"I decline." Tokiya stated, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "I've never heard of a graduation audition like this." "But, Tokiya-san.." Tokiya turned to Erika, his brows furrowed in utter disbelief. "Tell me, how is it that you came up with a plan like this? Everyone in this room wanted to be the sole person to be chosen, and that's because each of us thinks that we can sing your songs the best."

"But! I'm pretty certain that this could-," Erika tried to talk to them, trying to change their views but to no avail. "Should I lie to my feelings?" He asked her, effectively shutting her mouth and made her bow her head down in defeat. "No…," she quietly muttered. Pausing to close his eyes, he said. "I can't… lie anymore."

"I agree with Ichi," Ren spoke out. ""I hate turning down a request from you, my lady, but when it comes to choosing, I want to be chosen alone." Before anyone could speak, a loud slam of the closed door was heard as if someone had kicked them open followed by a loud guffaw and Erika sweatdropped as she saw Shining, the headmaster, standing by the entrance with his hands on his hips as he stopped laughing. "Headmaster?!" Syo yelled in shock.

"Eavesdropping again?" Otoya sweatdropped. Behind Shining, Ringo appeared with a not-so sorry expression on his face." Gomen ne, I was so worried about Eri-chan that I reported it to the headmaster!" he stated in an innocent tone. "Sensei… I-,"

"I heard everything.." Shining stated as he skidded down the floor towards the front of the room, striking a weird pose then stood up. "You want to audition as a group." He walked a few steps, twirling around and moving around non-stop. "It's a very interesting idea! But…" he had his face directly in front of Erika making her sweatdrop again. "I can't allow it!"

"Wh-why not?!" Otoya asked.

"Do you know the meaning of 'pair'? It's one on one!" The headmaster stated. "But-!" Erika shut her mouth when the headmaster came up on her again. "Choosing six people is too greedy, Miss Takahashi!" "No! I have a good explanation about this! Just let me explain!" She tried to gain his attention but the headmaster put his index finger in front of her lips. "Shh. Please follow the rules. You can only choose one out of many. It may seem cruel but it's a given… that's how you survive in this industry, nay in life!" Spinning a few times on the spot, he announced, "Therefore… break up this group right now and choose a partner properly… please." He stopped spinning and continued, "If you don't, you'll all fail! Just like that!" He raised his finger up in the air, laughing as he always did.

…..

Erika wandered to the woods leading to her favorite place in the academy in a daze, her eyes staring down the ground. Maybe he's right, she thought sadly. She's being selfish. Selfish enough to think only of her own happiness, bringing down those around her. At this point, she didn't know what to do anymore and all she could think of now is to… fail. It's the only obvious possibility. As she arrived by the lake, she sat down near its edge and looked beyond the lake, not really seeing anything but the precious memories of warmth and happiness she finally obtained after years of pointless daydreaming. She sighed heavily. Just what is she going to do from now on?

After hours of mindless thoughts, she decided to go back to the room where she gathered the six guys who had chosen her. She dragged her feet sluggishly towards it but she perked her head up when she sensed a familiar presence and absentmindedly rushed inside the room, yanking the door open with a shimmer of hope blossoming inside her chest.

Otoya quickly turned around when he heard the door open and saw Erika wearing a bewildered expression. "Otoya-kun! Why are you here?" She couldn't help but asked the redhead who shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Well, I just wanted to assure you that… I really like your music! And this is a perfect chance for me to sing your song." He held out his sheet of music to her when she walked up to him and she saw some words written under the staff. Erika stared at it wide eyed. "These are—" Otoya rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile and said, "I wrote what had entered my mind when I reread the notes." "Otoya-kun…" Erika smiled at him and he smiled back. Before one of the two was about to speak, a slam of the door startled them and Erika couldn't believe her eyes and her lips broke into a wide grin. "Syo! Natsuki-san!"

Syo marched up to them with slight irritation followed by a calm Natsuki. "Hold it, Otoya!" he shouted. "A guy can't be too careful with you!" He then turned to Erika.

"We want everyone to hear your song, Takahashi." Syo stated. "And I don't want a certain someone to be the only one that looks cool!" Otoya, as always, had an innocent look on his face when he looked at him which made Erika laugh. "Don't worry, Syo. You're cool, too." The atmosphere in the room became warmer and lighter, a voice broke in, steady and almost inaudible footsteps sounded on the floor. "You can't choose… That's what you said, right?" They all looked towards the door and saw Masato walking towards them and Erika's grin got wider. "Masato-san! You're here, too!"

"I want to bet in that dream you mentioned, Takahashi," Masato stated still with a stoic and calm composure. Erika was so happy right now she could break down in tears but she held it in. "Huh?!" Syo exclaimed, examining the music sheet he snatched from Erika's hand. "What the hell?! These lyrics aren't done!" Otoya pouted cutely and said in a sad tone. "I did my best…" A hand placed itself on Otoya's shoulder and he looked over his shoulder to see who it was. "Let's all continue working on them together, then!" Natsuki said cheerfully. "Thank you, everyone…" she thanked them, receiving smiles in return.

…..

"Ringo-sensei, wait up!" Erika called and the pink-haired idol/teacher stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Huh? What's up, everyone?" he asked confused to them. They stopped him on the staircase to ask for help. "Where's the headmaster?" she asked panting. They have to see the headmaster and persuade him to at least hear their song. Ringo answered, still confused. "At the heliport. But… he said he had a meeting about a festival." With that, the group dashed past him and quickly went down the stairs. "Ahh, everyone, what's going on?"

"Just come to the heliport to find it out!" Erika yelled to the teacher as they disappeared around the corner. As they arrived at the heliport, they saw the headmaster ready to climb in the helicopter. "Headmaster! Please wait a minute!" Erika shouted against the loud whirring of the helicopter blades and the headmaster turned to just before he stepped a foot inside the vehicle. "Listen to our song just this once!" She shouted again, her shoulder length hair whipping violently in the strong wind caused by the blades that she had to shield her face from that.

"Miss Takahashi, you're not giving up on that yet?"

"I'm not and never will be giving it up!"

"We finished it!" Natsuki butted in.

"Headmaster!" Otoya yelled.

"Just listen to our song!" Syo persuaded. Shining looked not at all pleased at the commotion. He faced them with an unhappy expression. "You've already heard from me that if you break the rules, you fail! It's unfortunate, but.."

"Fail us or not, do it after you hear the song!" The small group turned to the side and saw Ren and Tokiya striding to them. "Ren-san!" Erika ran to them, a bit glad that they appeared but Ren stated. "Don't get me wrong, my lady. I still want you to choose me, though." Erika didn't care. As long as they're here, it's okay.

"Headmaster! You've already known her talent, do you?" Tokiya stated. "If you don't hear this, you're going to regret this your whole life!" Ren persuaded, letting the flower he was holding fly off with the wind.

Erika started to play the prelude and immediately the boys sang the first verse.

Saa, Let's song! Yume wo utaou! (Let's shout!) Sora ni utaou! (Let's go!)

(Come on, let's song! Let's sing to your dream! (Let's shout!) Let's sing into the sky! (Let's go!))

Hajikeru monogatari ni shichaimashou

(Lte's make our story burst forth!)

MIrai no chizu wo (Yes! Yes!) kimi to egakou

(The map of the future (Yes!Yes!) Let's draw it out together!)

Kono REBORYUUSHON! Ikimashou! Ai wo Change the star

(This revolution! Let's go! Love will change the star)

Check it out!

O: GIRIGIRI na mune no kodou

(O: My barely beating heart)

T: Uh baby gouin ni naru koi no shoudou

(T: Uh baby, It becomes a coercive love's impulse)

OxT: Docchi wo erabu? Princess

(Who will you choose, my princess?)

All: KURAKURA shichau kurai 1000% LOVE!

(All: It's enough to make me dizzy! 1000% LOVE!)

R: Naze ka? M: Kimi de

(R: Why is it) (M: That I am)

R: Afureteru

(R: Overflowing with you?)

M: Kokoro R: Sawagu

(M: My heart) (R: Is excited!)

RxM: Fushigi na RAVE!

(RxM: It's a mysterious RAVE!)

N: Mada minu seiza wo

(N: With the two of us)

S: Futari de tsumuide

(S: Making a constellation like nobody's ever seen)

N: Kisu yori S: Sugoi

(N: More amazing) (S: than a kiss)

NxS: Uta de sekai wo tsukurou!

(NxS: Let's create a world made of songs!)

Saa, Let's dance! Yume wo odorou (Let's shout!) Sora ni odorou (Let's go!)

(Come on, let's dance! Let's dance to our dreams (Let's shout!) Let's sing into the sky (Let's go!)

Yarisugi na kurai ga ii sa junbi ha OK?

(Just a bit much is fine! Are you ready? OK?)

Ikkai kiri no (Yes! Yes!) SUPESHARU jinsei

(This is a one time (Yes! Yes!) SPECIAL life!)

Kyoukasho ni ha nottenai Ai wo Change the star

(This isn't in any textbook. Love will change the star)

Check it out! Koyoi ha hora futari de 1000% LOVE!

(Check it out! Tonight, It's just the two of us, 1000% LOVE!)

After the song, they were surprised to see the headmaster kneeling on the ground, slightly gasping for air as if something had hit him hard. "Headmaster! Are you okay?" The headmaster held a palm to them, halting them to their actions. "What's the title of this song?" he asked them. "Title?" Erika mumbled then they all looked to another.

Then the helicopter started up again and Shining stepped up the vehicle with not even a word. "W-wait, Shining-san!" She called. What he next to them made them look at each other with proud and satisfied smiles. "I love the song very much, I want to hear it again and again. I love it not just hundred percent but thousand percent! That's right! The title is "Maji LOVE 1000%"! If you think of any more title other than that, well too bad, because that's what it is!" Then the helicopter took off with Shining laughing his head off.

" MAji LOVE 1000%, " she mumbled then faced her friends with a full blown grin. "WE did it!" She yelled and hugged them all and broke away from them. "You did it, Takahashi!" Otoya cheered.

"With this, we can perform in the graduation audition." Syo said.

"All right! Let's push it to 1000%!"

"Indeed. 1000%."

"Ok!"

Somewhere in the countryside…

Four shadowy figures dashed through the dark and quiet meadows as quick as the speed of light, the only light illuminating them was the dim moonlight hiding behind the clouds. Or as quiet as it could until the male with silver messy hair sensed something. "Kiyoshi." He called to the male with wavy dark chocolate brown hair named Kiyoshi and the male understood. The small group skidded to a stop and looked behind them to find a small group of winged demons flying towards them. "Everyone, fall in to position." Releasing their weapons, they took a fighting stance, ready to pounce on every demon that will attack on them. Right now, the demons had already surrounded them in a full circle, hovering above the ground and gazing hungrily on the humans in front of them. Kiyoshi and Seiichi took a guarded gaze on them, their eyes hardened in full alert while the others were itching to kick some demons' ass but they're waiting on the superiors' orders.

Kiyoshi noticed a slight movement from the corner of his eyes as a demon let out a distorted cry and the horde started on speeding towards them. "Go!" With the signal, the group split from each other, slashing and piercing through every demon on their sides. One by one, the demons fell onto the ground with a loud thud and horrifying screams filled the air around them, quickly turning the once green field into a sea of black blood and ashes. Despite being outnumbered, the group had the agility, speed and power to defeat the pitiful demons and reduce them into nothing but a pile of ash. With a slash from Kiyoshi's Crimson Moon sword, the last demon slumped to the ground and he resheathed his sword with a sigh.

"Man, what a mess," a guy with fiery orange hair and rusty brown eyes said, lazily scratching the back of his head. "Don't complain, Kurosaki. If you have time to do it, start on cleaning this mess up," stated by a younger male with icy blue eyes and spiky maroon red hair in a monotone voice, morphing his armored iron hand back into a normal one. "Yes, yes." The male named 'Kurosaki' started chanting spells to clean up the mess they made to return the whole place back to its original state. Kiyoshi walked to Seiichi who was standing by the side with the only female in the group. She had shoulder length pale violet hair paired with emotionless silvery eyes watching the two argue over nothing with vague amusement. The sliver haired male turned to the tall brunette male with a scowl on his face as he was hugged by the smiling brunette around the shoulders.

"What are you smiling at, baka?" he asked him. "Nothing…," Kiyoshi continued to nuzzle his partner's shoulder blades and Seiichi just sighed. "Oi, you two lovebirds! Stop coddling with each other," Kurosaki butted in with a playful grin, interrupting Kiyoshi's snuggling with Seiichi which made him glare halfheartedly at him, making Seiichi look flustered and hastily pushed the brunette away from him. "We're not like that, Kuro!" he yelled at him, still blushing, making the fiery haired male laugh wholeheartedly at them. Seiichi then coughed into his fist, willing the blush to go away and proceeded to walk ahead of them while stating, "Come on, we need to reach Erika-sama as soon as possible." With that, the group had disappeared from the place, leaving no trace behind them as if they vanished into thin air.