Back at it with the first official chapter!
"Ittoki, we need to unpack, everything is still a mess. I'd like to clean this up before Reiji returns for our meeting."
Otoya woke to sunlight seeping through his eyelids, followed by the sound of his own name. Almost two weeks ago, they had moved into the master course dorms and Tokiya couldn't wait to finish settling in. The red head grumbled, rolling over to bury his face in his pillow, earning a half-sigh-half-snort from Tokiya.
"HEY GUYS!" Syo's voice came from the other side of the wall as he knocked rapidly. "They have a door, Syo." Natsuki's tone following.
However the smaller boy ignored him, only banging louder. "What is it?" Otoya called back, still muffled by the pillow, "can you hear that!?" Syo sounded confused as his voice lowered slightly.
Piano chords echoed faintly through the dorms, bringing an intense energy through the building. It was different, a rhythm that didn't match any of their styles, something entirely new. Otoya kicked the blankets from his torso, rolling off the bed and pushing himself up on his feet,
"it must be Nanami!" Otoya picked a stray pair of jeans from the ground, pulling them over his shorts before twisting the door handle and pulling it open.
He stopped dead in his tracks, coming face to face with Haruka. His face fell as he stared at the pink haired girl, confusion set on her face.
"If it's not Nanami-san, then who is it?" Tokiya questioned, making his way to where Otoya was standing as Natsuki and Syo exited their room. "That's exactly what we were wondering," Masato spoke softly as he and Ren approached them.
The group stood silent for a second as the piano grew more repetitive, a pattern almost, like the composing process of a song. But the only composer in the dorm was standing right infront of them,
"You don't think…" Syo stared up at Natsuki curiously. Unfortunately his question was answered as the door to Cecil's room swung open,
"Such a beautiful sound! The muses are at work!" The smaller boy, dropped his head, sighing as his hat slipped down, "nope, not him." Cecil came jonting down the hall towards them, his lips pulled into a genuine smile,
"we must find the creator of such art!" Syo let out an aggravated noise but he was too curious to decline.
The group of eight made their way to the main hall, it seemed to be the Piano in the practice room that was being occupied as the one they had passed in the main foyer was unused.
"You don't think it's another composer, do you? To replace Haru-chan?"
Natsuki muttered to Tokiya as they kept pace with the group. The stoic man shook his head,
"I highly doubt it."
Tokiya took the grand leap of opening the doors, peeking his head inside. "I had a funny feeling they would be here," He muttered to himself but Syo caught his words,
"Who? Let us in!" Syo nudged Tokiya inside silently as one by one they entered. The nervous silver haired boy from their debut sat at the grand piano on the opposite side of the room, eyes closed as he played the instrument. The overlay of drums and guitar sounded behind him, creating an eerie and unsettling carnival-like tune.
With their backs turned to the intruding group, two girls stood still in the center of the room, one crouched close to the ground and the other standing tall, back to back with both heads tilting down.
The standing girl, snapped her head up, looking at the piano player and throwing her hands forwards as she sang,
"Someone's scenario, dreaming future."
Her voice dripped like poison, a smooth rockeresque tone seeping through her words. She wore a mini skirted maroon dress with netted leggings and a pair of thick black heeled boots, obviously giving her a few extra inches of height. Two long low hanging violet pigtails swayed behind her as she returned to her starting position.
"Hey, isn't that-" Masato answered Otoya's question before he could ask it, "Umiko Tanaka,"
The crouched girl lifted from the ground slightly, swaying her body in front of Umiko, still keeping rather low as it was her turn to face the piano, "No more trick, no more trap." Her voice was deeper then expected, not matching the petite 4'11 state of her body as it sent shock waves through the room. High ashy brown twin tails moved out of place as she returned to her original placement, standing this time. She wore a flowy cream colored floral skirt with a baby pink blouse, flat white sneakers with same colored knee socks.
"So that must be Momo Ichijo. And the guy behind the piano, thats Yuichiro then,"
Ren put the pieces together aloud, as the girls continued their practice session, unaware of their unwanted viewers. Otoya turned to Ren as he was closest to him,
"If they're not here for the master course, maybe they're here to do the same thing as Quartet Night?"
Ren opened his mouth to answer but was caught off guard by the purple haired girl bumping into him in the midst of whatever dance move she had executed. Out of reflex, Ren grabbed her hand, pulling her up and into his chest.
Electric green eyes met his own blue as she stared up at him, a pink blush falling on her cheeks as she panted. The music stopped. Ren plastered a smug expression on his face at the girls shock,
"it's almost like you fell for me." The idols lips changed from an O shape to a sort of scowl, a look of malice and disgust crossing over her face, "who even ARE you?" She hissed angrily, pushing Ren's grip off of her, standing straight and brushing off her clothes in an attempt to remove any trace of the strangers touch. A muffled chortle was heard from Masato soon after, though one pensive glare from Ren told him to can it.
The boy at the piano's bench, Yui, stood quickly, "Umiko be nice! Oh, Momo!" He switched his focus to the petrified girl in the center of the room, standing still with a look of horror in her eyes. Each member of Starish glanced to her, unsure of why Yui called her name. At this reaction, Momo let out a shrill squeal and made a run for Umiko, squatting into a ball behind her friend.
"Starish! Aijima! Miss Nanami! It's my pleasure, again." Yuichiro made a clumsy effort to reach the opposing forces, bowing his head respectfully. "This is starish?" Umiko only spoke three words but each one struck a new sense of terror in Otoya. Yui nodded before returning his gaze back to Starish,
"Wings has been assigned to help you with your performances-"
He paused briefly as he watched Umiko begin to examine the members, passing in front of him as she walked by them one by one. Momo hung onto the long haired girls skirt, walking with her. A sense of fear stayed with her but curiosity and excitement filled her eyes. Yui decided to ignore their behaviour and continue explaining, "
-things like choreography, keeping your energy levels high, appropriate stage personalities-as you can see they each have separate attitudes on and off stage."
Umi sent a half-hearted glare at the nervous composer's sly remark before turning to the last of the group's members. Umi scrunched her nose as she looked down slightly to see Syo. Although he was only a few centimeters shorter as a result of the idols stiletto's, Umi's face highlighted with a grin, "HAH," she sneered before turning back to Yuichiro.
Momo's eyes stayed fixed on Syo, for some reason she couldn't bring herself to look away as her grip on Umi's skirt loosened. Syo caught her stare at the last second, staring back, curiously, at Momo. She was unsure of what to do, frozen in place as the hatted boy presented her with a weak smile.
"I can't do it. It's impossible, they aren't fit for the stage,"
Umi's obnoxious tone snapped the life back into Momo, closing her grip on the taller girls dress and averting her gaze to Yui. The composer was perfectly prepared to argue but he hadn't quite gotten there as the following voice shook both Umi and Momo from the inside out,
"OTOYAN!" Reiji Kotobuki entered the room, a full smile on his face with a look of concern in his eyes, "you missed our meeting!"
Following him in, Ai Mikaze and Camus stood on either side of him silently. "Ah, I'm sorry I lost track of time!" Otoya's words became white noise as Reiji analysed the situation, realizing who the distraction had been.
"Aha! Momorin!" Momo's face gleamed as she let go of her taller counterpart, running quickly to Kotobuki and stopping just inches from him, "Reiji you're here!" She cheered back, soft spoken and ecstatic. Umiko however did not seem to be so, eyes dimming like broken Christmas lights as she turned harshly from the new guests to Yuichiro,
"You said they wouldn't be here." The composer's first instinct was to throw Momo under the bus, "She told me not to tell you!" A rather distraught looking Umi returned her gaze to Momo as the smaller idol threw her hands up in defense.
Reiji stepped closer to Umiko slowly, "I know you missed us Ko', We're going to be here with you, mentoring Starish!" Umi's lips parted but nothing came out, a sense of competition rising in her chest as she made a split second decision to accept her new role. She turned back to the upcoming idol group, "Momo and I are going to be the best damn senpai's you've ever had, got that?" Yui's felt a form of relief, Umi's overly-competitive nature was good for some things.
The last member of quartet night entered, "what's all this noise, you're so loud I can't hear myself think," Ranmaru Kurosaki trudged inside, stopping dead in his tracks as Wings came into view. He and Umiko made eye contact, staring at each other roughly, bringing a new kind of uncomfortable energy over the room. Momo reached out to grab Umi's arm in an attempt to comforting her but she was seconds to late. Both Umiko and Ranmaru had turned their backs to one another, Kurosaki leaving quickly through the front entrance as Umi stormed through the room and to the back exit, slamming the door viciously behind her.
The room fell silent, Starish stood in a confused jumble as Reiji rubbed the back of his neck,
"I told you this would happen." Ai, clearly not aiming to help the situation, made a harsh comment. No one had anything left to say while a burning sensation sat uncomfortably in Momo's chest. Something told her they wouldn't be staying very long.