Hello! Has it been forever or what? XD I wasn't going to post this chapter until i finished 21, but... Yeah, i read this chapter today and i really REALLY loved it XD Did i even write this myself? XD Ahem... So... This is a Tomochika centric chapter... with some Ren in it... But not exactly Tomo/Ren? It depends on what you think... Anyways... Here you go! OtoHaru comes back on the next chapter that may be published... not anytime soon XD But probably... Just probably: this year XD

Discaimer: I don't own Uta no Prince-sama or any of its characters.

Tomochika had been rehearsing like crazy for those last two days. Her concert was on Tuesday and all the last minute pressure had started to kick in. The worst part though, was that: it wasn't technically her concert. You see, on that particular Tuesday the Utapri music festival would start and she had been assigned as the opening act. Needless to say she was a nervous wreck; her debut concert didn't get her as much popularity as Starish's did so she was quite surprised when Shining told her she had been chosen to represent their agency. Nonetheless, she was trying her best; she practiced every song in her repertoire, coordinated her moves with her backup dancers and even helped Yajima to compose a couple new songs (she wanted to cooperate writing more melodies just so he wouldn't have to figure it out all on his own). But even with all that, she still didn't feel good enough… Why did Shining choose her? Somehow asking herself that question gave her a little more confidence, afterall: 'He must have a good reason, right? Maybe I'm better than I what I give myself credit for' she thought.

Tomo-chan was quite a strong lady. She didn't let other people's problems get to her and she always tried to help as much as she could. That's why when her family started to have some problems back when she was in high school, she didn't doubt for a second to quit it all together to help them. She wasn't really a saint though, if something was bothering her about someone she would straight up tell that person off, put them on their place. But she usually got the most angry when people close to her were affected by something (or someone) since she really didn't take any insult addressed towards her to heart and just laughed it off. When someone she cared about was upset because of something someone else did or said, her inner demon resurged and she would stop at nothing to make sure that whoever did that paid for their actions.

Her whole loyal and honest and straightforward personality was the thing that attracted people towards her the most. And that is why when the waters calmed down at her household, her family didn't even hesitate to push her to apply for Saotome Academy.

Since she was little she had sang everything and for everyone, making her own "shows" at every family gathering and charging everyone so that they would listen to her. She was quite a charming young lady and all the compliments she got from her loved ones both in her acting and singing skills got her pumped up enough so that her self-esteem rised through the roof. So with that in mind, she auditioned for every school play that was ever held, and given how shy other kids at her age were: she got every part she wanted. Tomochika really loved being the center of attention and counter to popular belief she was quite a respectful student, making every teacher love her and care really deeply for her, so much so that her music teacher agreed to give her private lessons without charge so that she could one day accomplish her dreams of becoming a true idol.

But the redhead didn't fully agree to return to her studies until she was positive that her family was in a stable position that enabled her to do so. When she did though, she started practicing like crazy once again, listening to a large variety of songs from different genres to test herself and see if she could identify the paces and the notes that she listened to.

By focusing on studying and dropping out of school, plus the time she spent with her family, she didn't really have time to maintain any sort of friendship. This was why she had set herself to make a friend the minute she stepped inside of the academy. And sure enough, right on the examination hall, she met Haruka.

"Haruka…" Tomochika said out loud to no one in particular as her thoughts drove her to worry about her best friend. All the conflict that had been going on with Starish and her friend dating a certain Smilieface was really distressing her as she reflected over and over again if there was something she could do to help… But she needed help too, all her rehearsing and nervousness on the concert were almost too much too handle on her own, but she didn't want to give Haruka more problems than the ones she already had… There was also Ringo, but he didn't have much free time with the work and all… And neither had she, so… She was back to square one.

'I really need to make more friends…' she thought. Just as she did, her phone started ringing. Checking her caller ID she saw that it was a number she couldn't recognize, but she picked up either way. This, of course, was after thinking: 'I really need to practice more… I'm spacing out too much!'

"Hello?" she answered hesitantly.

"Well, good afternoon, my lovely ruby-eyed princess" replied a velvety soft voice resembling a certain Casanova…

"Jinguji?! How the heck did you get my number?"

"Oh please, my lady, there is no need to fret, but a gentleman never reveals his secrets"

She was about to say: "Gentleman? Please" in a very sarcastic tone, but she thought better of it: 'Why do I get so mad at this guy? I should have the upper hand… I mean, he's hot and all… Maybe…' And instead she replied: "Oh, okay? Then would you be so kind to tell me the reason of this call?"

"Do I really need a reason apart from wanting to hear the lovely sound of your voice?"

She hated herself for almost giggling like a little girl at that, but she pulled herself together and said: "Is that really the best you can come up with?" She didn't really want to be hurtful, but the guy was just being too ridiculous for her taste and by what she knew: he was in love with her best friend and she didn't want to be his rebound.

"Ouch, so cold" he said faking a sad tone.

She didn't really buy it, but she still felt sorry, so she replied: "I'm sorry, but I'm really busy right now, would you please tell me what you want so I can go back to work?"

"… Are you free for dinner?"

"Eh? Are you asking me out?"

He smiled so much that as he replied she could hear his cockiness through the phone: "Would you want me to?"

She scoffed and said: "In your dreams"

To which he replied: "Oh, you don't need to worry about that… Anyways, I'll cut to the point: I need to talk to you in private and I believe the only way I can do that is through some sort of… date, yes"

"So you are asking me out" she said (and against her better thinking) smiling like an idiot in the process.

Before replying he stayed silent for a little bit too long and then firmly said: "Yes. I'll pick you up at 8, be ready"

"… How do you know where I am? Shouldn't I tell you?"

"Oh, believe me, there's no need" and with that, he hanged up.

Listening to the beeping tone that signalizes the end of a call, she realized what had just happened, so after cursing inwardly for a moment, she looked at the clock on the wall and confirmed her worst fears: "IT'S SEVEN FRICKIN' THIRTY?!" she yelled. She took out her pocket mirror and noticed that she was still sweaty from rehearsal, so she quickly ran upstairs to her room to take a bath, change her clothes and put on make-up faster than she ever did before.

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Approximately thirty minutes later, Tomo-chan was finishing up the final touches on her make-up. She was really glad that she had an "emergency date" attire just in case this sort of situation happened 'cuz otherwise she'd have been doomed. Why did she have that, you ask? It was simply because she was quite fond of reading idol magazines… for research, of course… And one day she came upon the list of "Ten things you should have in case of an emergency" The list was quite useful actually, the other nine things involved having a fire extinguisher and the like, but… that one point in the list was so ridiculous she couldn't help herself and she just… she did it: One not so special day she walked up to her wardrobe and picked up a couple of outfits, just in case, a formal one and a casual one… Now, she didn't want her… friend? Was he her friend? She hadn't really talked to him much, but she decided to use the "Any friends of Haruka are friends of mine" rule. So with that in mind, she chose the casual attire to avoid any sort of confusion on his part. Because yes, he had asked her on a date, but partly the reason she said yes was just because she wanted to get out of the house and the other part… she really wanted to find out how things had been with Haruka for the last couple of days. Her friend was really nice and all, but sometimes she forgot to let her in on her life's happenings. Usually when Ringo wasn't around to share the gossips with her, she didn't find anything out until it was really late. And this one was one of those times. Tomo-chan didn't want to lose her friend, but with all the working and living apart from each other, her fear was becoming more of a reality and she couldn't let that happen. So she would interrogate the heck out of Ren and after her concert she would hang out like crazy with Haruka. Afterall: lately the master course had been quite light for her.

Suddenly she heard her doorbell ring. So instantly, she checked her watch: 8:15 pm. 'I can't believe it! The bastard is late!' she thought. Putting her shoes on, she walked towards the door and opened it without checking. Just as she thought, on the other side stood a suited Ren with a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a single red rose on the other.

He bowed and offered her the rose as he said: "I'm sorry for the delay, my lady"

She smacked the flower out of his hand and replied: "It's fine" But seeing as he still had the bouquet, she stood on her doorway at a loss for words. 'Is he going to offer it to me? Is it for someone else?' she thought.

When he noticed she was looking at his right hand, he said: "Ah, of course. No rose is enough for such a lovely lady. Here, you can have all of them" and handed her the flowers.

She carefully took them with an easy-to-read expression that could be quickly translated to: "Are you kidding me?" and ran back inside to put them in a vase.

Before he could put one leg inside of her house though, she ran towards him fast as lightening and pushed him outside closing the door behind her.

"So… who do you live with?" Ren asked suddenly.

"Eh? Why do you ask?"

"I'm curious… It is a really big house, I'm sure it has more than three rooms"

"Yeah, it does… I live with my composer and a couple of senpais, just so you know"

"Oh… I see" he said staring at his shoes awkwardly. Seconds later, he remembered why he was there so offering his arm for her to hold, he said: "My lady, your carriage awaits"

Even though she wanted to walk past him to the car and ignore his "proposition" she thought it would be quite rude to leave him hanging like that, so she just slipped her arm in his and together they got to the car. As they reached it, a couple of uniformed men opened the door for them.

Once inside, Tomochika couldn't help but ask: "Are they your servants?"

Startled by the sudden question, he replied: "Oh, yes… I guess you could say that"

The ride felt like the longest thing ever, but it was quite smooth, so much so that she couldn't tell when the car was stopping and when it was actually moving. But as she felt a certain emptiness from the soft driving of the car and the comfortable seats, she started thinking about a thousand questions like: 'Why did he ask me out? Isn't he in love with Haruka? What does he want? Where are we going? Does he want to be with me? What the heck is going on? Would I be able to ask him my questions? Should I say something? What is he looking at?' As she asked herself the last one, she noticed that he was staring at his cellphone screen, but she couldn't see what he was looking at… She was too far from him… Talking about that: If he wanted to be in a romantic date with her then why were they sitting at opposite sides of the car? This clearly confirmed her "he loves Haruka" theory. But she still didn't have a clue as to why he had asked her out…

Snapping her out of her thoughts, he suddenly looked up from his phone and straight into her eyes and said: "Is there anything bothering you, my princess?"

"Eh? I…" she was so surprised that she forgot everything she wanted to ask and instead she just looked down at her hands intertwined in her lap and stayed silent. Unfortunately for her, he could feel her discomfort so he quickly slid through the seats until he was as close to her as he could. Feeling the warmth of his body next to her, she lifted her head just in time for him to pull her chin up as if he was about to kiss her. She was so shocked she pushed him away as strong as she could with both hands making him fall to the floor of the car as he clutched his chest in pain.

Realizing what she had done, 'Holy…! I forgot he was hurt!' she kneeled down next to him and helped him sit back on the comfortable leather. "Oh my God! I am so so so sorry! You… You really surprised me there and I just… It was my natural reaction; I didn't mean to hurt you!"

He was still clinging to his chest, but he took the effort to move one hand from it and put it as a sign of "stop" before saying through clenched teeth: "I… It's okay… It's not your fault"

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After much more heavy breathing and the most awkward silence of their lives, the couple arrived to their destination. Ren seemed to be in much better shape by then, so he escorted Tomo-chan inside the building.

As they sat at their table, and he moved her chair to help her sit properly, she couldn't help but say: "This is a really expensive place!"

"It is, my lady"

With that, he brought her attention back to himself. Her previous questions started popping again and this time she wasn't going to let them go, so she took a deep breath and asked: "Why did you wanted to see me?"

"I could give you thousands of flirtatious answers, but I really lost all patience. I'll cut to the point: I need your help"

"Eh? Why do you need my help?"

"Well, I am sure you are aware of your friend's relationship with a certain member of Starish and I'm not going to ask you to break them up or anything, don't get me wrong. But this situation has made an impact in our group dynamic like no other thing could, and to fix that: I need you to help me"

She stared at him confused and then said: "I still don't understand… what could I possibly do?"

"… How shall I put this? Ummm… You see, as far as I know every member of Starish is either in love or has a gigantic crush on the poor Little Lamb. And that is the heart of the problem, how could we possibly not fight when we are all interested in the same girl? Especially now that said girl chose one of us… Do you get where I'm going with this?"

Tomochika poured herself some water and as she drank from her glass, not even once she averted her gaze from his. When she finished she cleared her throat and replied: "So… Let me get this straight, you want me to make you all fall in love with me?"

"Exactly"

"Are you crazy?! Did you come up with this yourself? I don't know what you think, but Haruka told me that her dating Otoya was an exception Shining made. I can't date anyone and-" She was raising her voice more and more, but as she mentioned dating, Ren cut her off.

"Now now, nobody mentioned anything about dating. I just need you to take their minds of the Little Lamb. Afterall, they've never been heartbroken before"

"… Then what do you expect me to do?"

"It's simple, you just need hang around our dormitories more often, flirt a little (smoothly, of course; we don't want them to realize what's going on), compliment them on stuff they do… That sort of thing"

"And you think it'll work?"

"Of course it will, they like you already and are pretty desperate to get over the heartbreak (at least some of them are)"

"Huh… And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Do you want me to make you fall in love with me, too?"

"Oh, no… Honey, I don't need help to move on, believe me, this is not my first time"

"Sorry to hear that"

"No, it's okay, life happens"

After that, they stayed in silence. When the waiter arrived, they picked their food without even looking at each other.

The dishes only took fifteen minutes to arrive, but they didn't make small talk during that time, it seemed as if everything they could talk about had been already said.

As they ate, Tomochika peeked now and then to see if he was okay. She had stayed silent for fear of hurting him, afterall, she had mostly done that all night… both physically and mentally. But he wasn't paying her any sort of attention; he was much more focused in his thoughts. This made her even more intrigued. So when she finished her meal, she asked: "Are you okay?"

He was taken aback at the question, but quickly regained his cool and said: "Of course I am, why wouldn't I?"

"Well… I don't know… I just found it weird you didn't flirt with the waitress that brought the champagne and that you haven't said anything much all night"

He intertwined his fingers on the table, resting his elbows at the sides of his empty plate so that his arms would make an angle that would let him both lay his head on his hands and stare at her intently. This made her instantly nervous which he found amusing enough so that he said: "My dear, I know you may have had the wrong impression when I asked you on a 'date' but I arranged this meeting in a complete business fashion. I am not interested in you, at least not romantically. So you don't need to worry about me, I am perfectly stable"

She was left so shocked by his statement; she forgot to close her mouth and just stared at him with a confused look on her face. By the time she recovered though, she replied: "Is it because you can't get over Haruka?"

He sighed and said: "No, I'm fine… Let's just order dessert and get the hell out of here"

"Why are you in such a hurry all of the sudden?"

"I'm not…" he sighed and then continued: "I believe we already said everything that needed to be spoken, so there is no need to waste more time in silence"

"Huh…" she said in a surprising manner, instantly calling his attention.

"What?"

"No, nothing…" she replied smirking.

He grunted and said: "You know what? I don't have time for this" Having said this, he proceeded to call over the waiter. When the man in question arrived, Ren handled him a large quantity of bills, and winking, he said: "Keep the change" After that, he got up without even looking at Tomochika and walked rapidly outside.

What he didn't notice was her running behind him. But when his "servants" opened the door to his car (which apparently had stayed there all dinner long or something) he didn't doubt for a second to stand to the side just so she could get in first. This dubbed the question 'did he know I was here? I thought I didn't even make a sound…' coming from his date.

When they were both inside the vehicle, Tomochika asked: "You know I didn't say I'm gonna do it, right?"

Hearing that, he turned towards her and with a blank expression, replied: "Oh, please. Like you would want to miss the chance of making five handsome fellas fall head over heels for you"

This struck a chord with her, so angrily, she said: "I have a life, you know. I don't need 'five handsome fellas' falling for me! Besides, the rule states that I can't fall in love and I don't want to get expelled, I'm pretty happy living my dream here. Is it really that hard to get?"

"Well, you may not need it, but you sure as hell want it. And who cares about the rules, do you really think they are gonna interrogate you about whether you are in love with someone or not? Please"

"I care! I don't give a damn what you think, but I'm not taking any risks in this. And you know what? This ridiculous idea you have? It's not gonna happen"

"Oh, yeah? And why is that?" he replied cockily.

"Are you even listening to me? I'm not gonna do it!"

"Indeed, I heard you, but I really think you are a terrible liar. Give me an actual reason and we'll go our separate ways"

"Wha- I… I hate you" she said getting more upset every second that passed. She moved closer to him and pulling him by his tie so that they would be face to face, she added in a bitter tone: "Read my lips: I am not one of your servants, and I'm not as nice as Haruka. I won't try not to hurt your feelings. So listen well, pretty boy: I. Am. Not. Doing. It. Got it?"

His eyes sparkled with mischief as he heard her little speech, but as he replied: "Loud and clear" Tomochika felt the need to let go of his tie and jump out of the –possibly- moving car. And just as she feared, the moment he stopped talking, his moved his hands in a certain way so that she couldn't move from her place, and next thing she knew: his lips were tightly pressed against hers.