I do not own any of the songs. They belong to their respective artist(s).
Boys sing in BOLD
Girls sing in ITALICS
Both genders sing in BOTH
Hikari blew her bangs out with a sigh. It was that time of year again and Hikari was already tired. The Nami family usually celebrated Culture Day differently than anyone else in Japan. The middle two weeks of November were what they celebrated, mainly the second week while the first one was for preparations. But Hikari was at Shining Agency, the Ripplers were on tour, there had been an influx of patients at the hospital requiring her parents' help, and Teruki and Aiko were fully focused on the farm. Haruka was gone, too…
She patted her cheeks roughly. 'We'll make do, just like we've always done. Aunty wants me on the music selections for the kids' events. I wonder…'
Pulling her phone out of her bag, she quickly tapped at a contact and put the phone to her ear. "Hey, Yamato? What are your thoughts on kids? ... wha- no, I'm not propositioning you, dumbass, I want your help for a thing my family does! What is wrong with you?!"
-AA-
"Kari?" Jolting, Hikari looked up at Tomochika from her notes in mixed French and Korean.
"Sorry, what?"
Her friend tilted her head. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just lost in thought." She smiled sheepishly.
"Hikari." She glanced at Otoya. "We'll win. Believe in us."
"Always," she said.
Her eyes distractedly went over her notes, not noticing Tokiya's concerned stare.
Walking with STARISH from their recording session, Hikari went through her French/Korean notes again, wondering why Yamato wasn't answering her texts, the bum. She twitched at her name and looked around. "Sorry, what?"
"You okay, Kari?" Syo asked, looking at her. "You've been distracted a lot."
"Just got something on my mind." Shrugging sheepishly, she looked at Natsuki. "What was your question again?"
"Were you going to watch our dance lesson?" The tall blond repeated and she shook her head.
"As much as I would love to see Cecil fumble the dance routine-" "Hikari!" "- I've got something planned for today." Hikari glowered at her phone. "If the dumbass would just reply already."
They chuckled and Tokiya lightly patted her head. A noise from Otoya earned looks and they followed his eyes to see HEAVENS walking their way.
"Well, well, well. You're all here," Eiichi said, eyes moving over them.
"Is he a villain?" She mumbled, leaning into Ren and he shook slightly as Syo and Masato cleared their throats.
"I've been wanting to meet you."
"Definitely a villain," Tokiya muttered then sighed slightly, realizing she'd rubbed off on him. Her lips twitched violently.
"Uwah, we're meeting STARISH in person. I'm so moved!" Nagi cried cutely, hands beneath his chin. "It's nice to meet you!"
'He's so adorable,' Hikari thought as he promptly changed upon Natsuki coming closer. 'In a bratty way. I think I like him.'
Her thoughts snapped back into the conversation and blinked at the sudden proximity of Nagi. "Sorry, what?"
His eyes narrowed, but before he could say anything Syo bopped her on the head. "Stop dazing, Kari, you're gonna piss people off."
Rubbing her head, she smirked at him even as she edged away. "Like your face does? Anyway, you say somethin, Nagi-chan?"
Nagi tilted his head, eyeing her curiously. "You're that composer who was on "On The Flipside" with people from Raging. I take it you're the one who wrote the songs for us?"
"Yep," she popped out, then squinted. "Why? You jealous?"
"It is a very nice song," Kira said suddenly, voice still quiet and watched blankly as Syo pulled her in to ruffle her hair. She managed to smile at him despite Syo's manhandling
"Would you stop egging people on?!" He paused as Eiichi chuckled.
"Soon STARISH will be disbanded… at our hand," he said slowly, smugness radiating from him. "What will you do after?"
"STARISH won't disband," Hikari returned, Syo loosening his grip and she straightened, staring at Eiichi flatly.
His lips quirked up as he moved closer, her friends shifting but didn't act (they've all been on the receiving end of her wrestling, whether on accident or on purpose). "You've got a nice look in your eyes."
"And your brother is cuter than you," she deadpanned. "What's your point?"
Eiichi paused before continuing, smirking wider. His fingers moved to tip her chin up. "Become our composer."
Hikari smiled, softly, dangerously, but Eiichi didn't seem to notice nor did Nagi, but Kira did, the teen focusing on her. Her hand flew out but it was caught and she looked up to see Yamato standing between her and Eiichi, him facing her as he looked over his shoulder with a scowl at Eiichi.
"You tryin' to get in trouble, Eiichi? She's got more martial arts training than you do and if she puts you out of commission before the sing-off, your dad'll be royally pissed," Yamato snapped, releasing her hand and she let it fall. He looked at her boys. "I'm stealing the midget. You guys gotta curfew?"
They were startled, but Otoya was quick to respond. "If it isn't anything for work, Ringo-chan and Sayumi-shishou want us back at ten to eleven. The gates close at midnight."
Yamato nodded. "I'll make sure she gets back by then. C'mon, midget." She looked at Eiichi, stoic as he frowned at Yamato. Hikari fell into step with the blond as he walked out of the building and tossed something to her. It was a notebook and she looked at him strangely. His brow twitched slightly, face firmly facing forward. "My phone was dying, so I had to put my ideas on that."
She stopped and gaped at him, speechless. He stopped as well and scowled at her. "What?"
"You're a newbie!" Hikari blurted out and he twitched violently, grabbing her collar and snarling, "You wanna fight?"
"No, I wanna read your ideas! Leggo, newbie-Oi!" Sh flailed as he began noogying her. "Leggo, dammit!"
"Don't be such a shit!"
"Never! You want me to toss your ass?"
"Like a midg-ET-!" Hikari lurched forward hard, sending both of them in a tumble and he wheezed as she landed hard on him.
Kneeing him as she rolled off, she picked up the notebook from where it had dropped and scowled. "Dumbass. Get up so we can go."
Reaching down, she grabbed his arm and tugged him up, bracing herself to do so. Yamato grimaced as he rubbed his back. "I even warned Eiichi," he complained, staggering a bit as he caught up to her.
A hum left her as she flipped through the pages. "You really did your research. Different kinds of music for both ages and health problems."
"Well, yeah." Yamato froze for a moment and she looked at him curiously. He clicked his tongue. "Touma's got autism. S'why me and nii-san got into singing. Helps with the rhythm of speech for him."
"It does?" She wondered and paused, lifting her boot and pulling out a red pen before continuing. "I'll make note of that. Any other advice? There aren't many kids with autism or the like at the Osika Orphanage, so I've got no clue."
"..."
She looked over to see him surprised. "Yamato?"
Yamato blinked and shook his head. "Sorry. Just… people get funny when they hear Touma has autism. Mother sure does."
"Oh, well, Haruka had synesthesia and Dong-hae has it, too. We had to be careful when we were younger because certain things would have them crying." Hikari shrugged at his curious look. "There was a lot of tears before Haruka and I were twelve. Thankfully we adapted pretty quickly so less were shed… is that why Ryuya-sensei wears soothing textures?"
"Yeah, after mom left us three in his care, nii-san went through research crazily…" They spent the next few hours debating about what to do at a cafe, just barely managing to return to their respective dorms in time for curfew.
-AA-
Hikari paced back and forth on the bridge across from the gazebo, idly going through her notes and frowned in thought. 'Specialized people have already been asked for to help with the special needs, so Yamato can be with those who aren't, though we can still visit them. He mentioned his younger brothers would be attending as well as Ryuya-sensei, though I don't know how he got him involved. Ringo is assisting in the younger kids since Ryuya will be there. Of course, my little Polaris will stay with me…'
She stopped walking and stared blankly at the bridge planks. "I have to start practicing my instruments again," Hikari realized in horror. "Shit!"
Hikari scowled at Yamato half-heartedly through her webcam, Eiji and Shion on either side. "I've already got parts of STARISH's song. Leave off, worm."
"Worm?" he repeated, brow twitching. "You're one to talk, ant."
"Ants can carry heavy stuff," Eiji said absently, frowning slightly at his paper. "Worms can infect people."
Yamato's brow was twitching as he turned to look at him. "You want me to kick you?"
Shion bopped him lightly with a notebook and glanced at Hikari. "Nothing weird in the songs, right?"
"Yeah. We've got things for the special needs, but the 5-8 and 9-12 age groups need their songs. Also, the baa-chan from the other orphanage said they are allowed naps if they want so nothing too loud and energetic," she replied after looking at her notes.
"You guys do this every year?" Yamato asked curiously, anger disappearing for the moment.
"Mhm, a way to give back to the community. The Minamis and Nanamis have always been one for charity things." She made a face. "I had to ask Saotome to push my concert back again."
Eiji gave her a sympathetic smile. "Just think, you can leave bits of your songs on the agency website. Rile up the fans."
"Maybe." Hikari scribbled out a few notes, then erased them after going over it. "I just know that I won't be able to focus on that until the festival is over."
She got noises of agreement.
"By the way," Yamato began. "Did you know there's going to be another festival here for the UtaPri awards?" They collectively looked at him in surprise and he twitched. "What?"
"I didn't know you listened to gossip," Shion said, blinking at Yamato's sputter.
"I don't gossip!" He barked. "Makato mentioned it this morning."
Hikari cooed at him. "You're such a sweet big brother."
"Stuff it!"
The two began squabbling, Shion totally blase about it even as Yamato twitched violently. Eiji and Hikari watched in distant amusement as Yamato lunged at Shion, earning a startled cry and flail. A slap rang out and Hikari snorted. "Is this a romance drama?" She asked Eiji, cupping her chin with a wide smile and a teasing light in her eyes.
His lips twitched. "Maybe. They do spend an odd amount of time togeth-ER!" He flailed as he was tugged back by Shion and Yamato, the larger pinning him down and the other tickling him.
"Who's in a romance drama?!" Yamato snapped. "Better be you and the midget!"
She cracked up at his bad attempt to fluster her failed and Eiji began trying to choke out protests, flailing on the floor from what she could tell. The arrangement for STARISH bugged at her, yet she couldn't figure it out just yet. Hikari would have to ask Ringo when she found him.
-AA-
"Better… the first time?" She repeated, starting at Ringo (she'd done a double take when she first met up with him, thinking he'd actually been a woman for a split second then he spoke).
"It…" Ringo paused, pursing his lips and tapping a finger to his chin. "I play it through my head… and it doesn't sound right. Does that make sense?"
"Huh." She looked through the arrangements and hummed the melody, Ringo nodding at a part and she groaned, crouching. "Ahhh, this is such a pain. Why does November have to be so busy?"
Ringo patted her head. "Don't worry, you'll get it. If you need help the kids' stuff, you can ask me and Ryuya."
Hikari smiled up at him and stood straight. "I know." Her lips shifted into a sheepish smile. "Might want to expect late night messages, then."
He laughed as she began to head off, putting away the arrangement. "See you later!" She waved back at him and headed outside, relieved they were only on the first floor. Moving to the outside corridor, Hikari eyed the puddles longingly, wanting to splash in them, but didn't want her back to get wet. A sigh left her and she swung the umbrella dangling from her wrist, humming absently. Hikari smiled slightly when she saw Tokiya.
"Yo, Doki-Doki! Welcome back! Where's everyone else?"
He glanced up at her from the ground. "They still have work to do," he answered.
"Really?" She blinked then made a face at her bag. "Yeah, I get that."
"Hikari."
"Hmm?" Hikari blinked as he passed her a paper with an address on it.
"If you can, will you come here tonight?" Tokiya asked. "I will sing the song you gave me."
Hikari blinked and thought. "Yeah… Yeah, I can. I've nothing else tonight and the arrangement is kicking my butt." She looked at the paper. "Do I need to wear anything special or can I drown myself in layers?"
Tokiya chuckled and smiled. "Don't wear too many layers."
Blinking a the rather cryptic answer, she watched him leave and shrugged, putting the paper away. 'What to wear, what to wear…'
-AA-
Hikari smoothed down her black and yellow windbreaker, tugging her green beanie lower as she looked around. Black framed fake glasses adorned her face, giving her eyes some protection from the wind. Dark blue jeans with black, knee length boots (her wallet hiding in it) and her white scarf (looped twice because the wind kept hitting her neck and making her shiver) finished it off, her necklace underneath the scarf and pressing against her skin. Glancing around, Hikari slid over to a light pole and leaned against it. 'Tokiya mentioned an ad, so one of the big screens…'
Her lips twitched at the memory. 'So cheesy, the way he asked.'
"Good evening, everyone," Tokiya's voice came through the speakers and she looked around, shifting to look at it. Hikari held back a giggle at the formal wear he was in, cheeks slightly puffed out. "I am Ichinose Tokiya."
Whispers began in the crowd, fangirls she noticed.
"Tonight, I want only you to listen to my song." Hikari almost let out a cackle at the sheer mush from the sentence. She pressed a hand to her mouth, not wanting to be stared at for laughing.
"Do you remember, my princess?
The day we first met
You were all alone,
Staring at the sky…
In the depths of your own heart,
There's a jewel just for you
You probably just haven't found it yet…
The wings on your back are resting,
Just waiting for a breeze
Surrender yourself and close your eyes
And you will feel their warmth
Still waiting on that shining hill,
Spreading the wings of your dreams
Now, take my hand and believe
And we'll fly away together
I remember (Feel my heart)
Your smile (Feel my love)
This endless music, (Music)
This rainbow's melody, (Melody)
Sparkling for eternity, this stardust song
Do you remember, my princess? (sparkling)
That rainbow-colored compass (sparkling)
See, it still shines like a crystal in the future
Without the crying heart of a lost child,
I will always be by your side
The dream I give to you, we'll carve it out together
Feel it, crystal time
In the rush of everyday,
Time will pass you by before you even realize it
Tearing off the pages daily from the calendar
Sighing for your tiny dreams
Somehow, I want you to never forget
That in those hands of yours,
As long as God smiles,
Only one slumbers
Close by, (Feel my heart)
I want to watch over you (Feel my love)
This music we create together, (Music)
This melody we sing, (Melody)
This starlight song colors the sky
Do you remember, my princess? (sparkling)
In the footprints where you've trod, (sparkling)
There are flowers colored like you blooming
Even now, even just one of those flowers
Continues to believe in you
In the name of this love, I want to swear this to you
The time I've spent with you
Has become my everything
See, like a crystal,
It's shining, this crystal time…
Without the crying heart of a lost child,
I will always be by your side
The dream I give to you, we'll carve it out together
Feel it, crystal time."
Hikari was trembling as she buried her face in her palms. It wasn't the song that was funny… okay, it was, but only because Hikari found cheesy things hilarious. The wink at the end had her wheezing and she slumped against the pole, helpless as she shook. A hand on her shoulder caught her attention and she lifted her head up to see Tokiya tilting his head in a puzzled manner. Like her, he was disguised and seeing him so unlike himself had her giggling weakly, restraining her giggles.
Tokiya shook his head, pulled his cap down a bit further, and lead her away, letting her lean against him. "I take it you liked it?"
"Ye-yes." She coughed, forcing the giggles away and straightened, following and blinking as he lead her to the festival Yamato had mentioned. Hikari opened her mouth to say something when her stomach rumbled, making them both freeze. Face burning, she coughed. "So, uh, food. Yeah, let's get some food, Doki."
"Have you been eating properly?" Tokiya asked suspiciously.
Letting out a hmph, she grumbled, "Not today." Shion had called with questions and she had rushed, managing to get to the spot a few moments before. Hikari ordered a strawberry ramune and karaage, ignoring Tokiya's face at the fried chicken kabobs (her greasy food would be taken from her cold, dead hands (and even then they'd have to remove her fingers)). "Arigato!"
She nibbled obnoxiously on the chicken, delighting in the way Tokiya's composure slowly cracked even when he tried to force it down her throat, giggling hysterically.
"You're such a pain," he sighed, but he was smiling and she let out a maniacal cackle, earning startled looks from passerby.
"You find it funny," she retorted. "We're gonna play games, right?" Hikari eyed him dangerously. "You didn't just bring me here to watch them?"
Another chuckle left him and Tokiya nodded. "Yes, we'll play games. WE'll go when you're done."
At a shooting game, she got a STARISH DVD. When they went for goldfish scooping, she had to brace her hand on the ground at his sulky look after she got four and him zero. Tokiya played a few Karuta games while she watched and at the mask stand, Hikari fell in love with a white and blue kitsune half mask, knowing someone who would treasure it. It rested on the side of her head, beanie in her pocket, as she trailed after Tokiya, her hand holding onto his belt carefully so she didn't accidentally strip him (she did tease him about it, though). Her eyes were aimed up at the sky.
"Thank you, Doki," she said quietly, tracing Taurus. "I had fun. And your song was brilliant, though I noticed it was different?"
He smiled, noticing her questioning lilt. "You brought out my potential, and I thought I needed to change something in order to sing the song. The truth is, I've always been curious about HAYATO. It may have been work, but HAYATO was born inside of me."
"So the song…" her eyes widened as she lowered her face to look at him. "That's really amazing. Is that why you've been so busy?"
She moved to hug him, pressing her head to his shoulder and he moved his arms around her shoulders. "I'll do anything to sing your songs," he murmured into her hair.
Hikari squeezed him lightly. "After this week is over, I'll give my full attention and my best for the arrangement. I won't let the festival week stop me."
"Festival week?" He asked and she pulled away, seeing the confusion on his face.
"Un. My family does Culture Day differently. The two middle weeks in the month are spent dragging in cultures around the world to orphanages in Japan. I've got the Osika and Todoroki orphanages to cover." Hikari frowned at his stunned expression. "Tokiya?"
"We thought you were upset by HEAVENS."
"HEAVENS? I know you guys can give them a butt whooping, no matter the arrangement." Hikari poked his forehead, making him go cross eyed. "I've got Ringo-sensei and Ryuya-sensei helping, along with Yamato, Eiji, and Shion since I know you lot are busy…" She trailed off, squinting at his yukata. "I should ask Camus-senpai… Ack."
Squeezed against him, she awkwardly patted his back. "We can still help you, Hikari. And make sure you're taking care of yourself."
"I know," she mumbled, wincing as she nearly touched her tongue against his shirt. "Can you stop acting like Natsuki and squeezing me?"
-AA-
Playing with the mask and darting around in excitement (she'd gotten a huge crepe earlier - so much sugar!), Hikari grinned at Tokiya. "Again, thank you for this."
"You know, I wasn't the only one worried, right?" She paused, staring at him in bewilderment then followed his gaze, blinking at the sight of her boys, all in yukata.
"I want you to try placing your hand on my chest for a bit
You can feel it, right? A warm sound
This gentle sound is a melody just for you
This underlying rhythm…please believe in it
Both joy
And courage,
And the tomorrow that comes after this,
Are woven together
With music
And even tears,
Let me
shoulder half
Of the entire burden
I'll always
Be by your side!
We love your song… We need you!
You are who you are!
As you are now,
We'll paint our dreams
We love your song… We feel you!
Let's go together on this star road
So then,
This symphony
We'll dedicate it to you
You can cry whenever you want to cry
I'll still hold you and all your tears close!
After the rain, the sun will always rise
Illuminating the map to the future
Though we
May not know
What kind of story
Awaits us
At the end
Of the this road,
No matter
The darkness,
It can
Never erase
The light of hope
We love your song… We miss you!
We'll never let you go!
Everything about you,
Ah, we love you so much!
We love your song… We kiss you!
We'll protect your for eternity!
Resounding,
This symphony,
We'll deliver it to you
We love your song… We believe you!
You are who you are!
As you are now,
We'll paint our dreams
We hold you… We want you!
Let's go together on this star road!
So then,
This symphony,
We'll dedicate it to you
No matter the walls that stand between us,
Without forgetting
Your smiling face,
Under the seven-colored names of love and the stars,
To you who are chasing your dreams,
This song will shine…"
Hikari didn't hesitate, throwing herself at the nearest boy and Syo hugged her back. "Don't act so distant, Kari. We couldn't just ignore you when we knew you were worried."
A laugh left her and she hugged him tighter. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. I'll be better off after next week, promise." They wheezed as Otoya squeezed them into a hug, Natsuki on the opposite side.
Otoya blew a raspberry on her cheek and she squealed, reeling away into Natsuki as much as she could. "We thought of what we could do for you together."
"Ah. The only thing we could do was give you our greatest vocals," Ren said, huffing as Otoya dragged him into the hug.
Masato moved willingly, eyeing Natsuki as he stoically dropped his chin on Syo and she snickered at the small blond's scowl. "At the very least, we wanted you to know how much we care for you." He cringed as she and Otoya pressed obnoxious kisses to his cheeks, horror in his eyes as he tried to rub his face, but Syo stopped him.
"You guys are so sweet!" She wailed slightly, giggling helplessly.
"The song the president brought from when we camped, we wrote lyrics for it," Natsuki said, rubbing his cheek against her hair.
Cecil and Tokiya stepped up behind her, easily adding to the group hug. "Our hearts will always connect to yours," Cecil said quietly.
"Sorry again, for making you all worry," Hikari said sheepishly as she shifted and the group hug released. Seeing Syo slightly shiver, she removed her scarf and looped it around his neck like a child as she continued (Hikari ignored his flailing and muttering about being a man). "Don't give me that, why aren't you wearing sleeves, you maniac?"
Syo sputtered. "This was the only yukata I had!" He squawked in offense, wilting beneath their flat stares. "A-Anyway, let's go watch the fireworks!"
"Fireworks?" She repeated, tugging the mask to hang around her neck as she pulled out her beanie. Masato was quick to help her and she promptly linked their arms.
"We planned to invite you to watch with us," he answered.
"Icchi surprised us, saying he'd invite you, so we left him to it," Ren began, a telltale twinkle in his eye that said he was setting something up. She'd have to make sure to ruin it. "He was late, wasn't he?"
Natsuki peered over at said teen. "What were you doing, Tokiya-kun?"
Tokiya opened his mouth, but Hikari beat him to it and threw him under the fake bus. "He wanted dating advice!" She chirped and he nearly fell over.
"What?!" They all chorused, Tokiya stared at her speechlessly.
"Yeah! … Oops, was I not supposed to say that, Tokiya?" She gave him her best sheepish look. "Sorry…"
"You're a little demon," he said dazedly and Masato sighed, flicking her forehead.
"Stop it, Hikari. The only people you can break are those not close to you." Masato was trying not to smile though as Otoya and Natsuki lead Tokiya carefully forward to the river.
"But it's fun." She fell silent at a loud boom, lifting her eyes up to the sky in awe along with her friends. 'I'll treasure this. I will.'
-AA-
Making their way back inside, the boys paused and looked back at Hikari as she paused by the gates, bouncing in place in excitement. "Kari?" Syo called, looking at her in confusion.
"You guys go on in, I'm waiting for someone," Hikari waved a hand, smiling distractedly and squealed as a silver car pulled up.
Syo watched as she practically teleported to a rear door, swinging it open and leaning in. Two women stepped from the front seats, the driver heading to the trunk while the other peered over the door by Hikari, saying something. Hikari stood back up, now carrying a kid and accepted the bag the driver passed to her. She flapped a hand before the two women got back into the car and she headed over, a bright, beaming smile on her lips.
Ren moved closer, head tilting as he fell into step with her, the rest behind them as Otoya got on her other side. "Who is this little beauty?"
"Hoshiko Tachibana," Hikari answered. "I usually take care of her on the last weekend of the month when her moms have a date weekend. She'll be staying with me until Culture Week is over."
They nodded in understanding and Syo bit his lip, seeing Cecil and Natsuki staring at her in a dazed way as she cuddled Hoshiko, bantering quietly with Otoya. Nudging Masato and Tokiya, he nodded to Cecil and Natsuki. The two smirked with him, shaking their heads when Cecil almost ran into Ren when the taller teen stopped and Syo coughed on a laugh when Natsuki tripped over a stand in the hall.
"Are you two okay?" Otoya asked, eyeing Cecil who made the sound of a dying animal and bolted, Natsuki nodding silently and Syo couldn't help cackling, holding onto Tokiya so he wouldn't fall over. The trio gave him, Tokiya and Masato weird looks before they continued walking.
First song is "Crystal Time." Second is "Yumeoibito he no Symphony" and both were in S2E11 (why were they so hard to find? Don't answer that, please). Notes… I can't think of anything. Any concerns or questions about something, leave in the comments or PM me.
See you next time!