A/N: Well, I hope the first installment wasn't too boring and I hope the characters aren't too OOC, those who've had a chance to speak and interact properly... like I said before, I haven't played the games except for SL. All disclaimers to the proper owners and on with the show!

Chapter 2- Getting to know you...

Ren blinked in surprise as he leaned back to get a good look at the something- or, rather someone- now attached to his neck as those around him all stared, nonplussed, at the scene in front of them.

"Straw-" Shining began.

"-beary-" Otoya and Natsuki added.

"Renny?" Ai, Ranmaru and Camus continued.

"HUH!?" Reiji and Syo ended.

To say those who were watching (save Masato and Tokiya who seemed to have realized what was happening and were looking resigned) were dumbfounded was not an understatement and rather surprising, since even Ai and Camus couldn't hide their shock. Eventually the one who had Ren in a death-by-hug grip let up and moved back. As bright blue met aquamarine, a happy grin spread across Ren's face and he hugged the person back, causing their audience to be even more surprised.

"What's going on here, Ren?" Otoya was the first to gather his thoughts.

"She your girlfriend or something?" Syo cocked his head as he asked.

Ren, in the process of getting back onto his feet, almost ass-planted on the ground again as the girl in question whipped around to look at Syo so fast it was amazing she didn't give herself whiplash.

"His what!?" she hissed at Syo, her blue-green eyes snapping fire.

"No, genius, she's my little sister." Ren answered as he turned to those gathered.

"Little... sister...?" Natsuki and Otoya blinked their surprise while they, along with the rest, looked at the newcomer.

Looking at the young girl now, it was clear the two were related, with subtle differences apparent between them. Tall for a girl, she had the same lean frame Ren did, with legs that went on for years, clad in a tight-fitting pair of jeans offset with silver chains and a dark purple, off- one shoulder top with a black and silver butterfly motif, matching butterfly choker and a mismatched pair of black and silver butterflies in her ears. Her eyes were aquamarine, rather than Ren's bright blue and her strawberry blonde hair was paler and streaked with purple.

"Yes." Tokiya answered his confused band mates, a wry smile on his face. "That is generally what one calls a younger, female sibling."

Ranmaru narrowed his heterochromatic eyes.

"Wait a moment... is this-?" he began, to be interrupted by an irritated voice.

"Sakura Jinguji!" everyone turned to see a man in his late twenties, running up to them, his face set in a scowl, his dark eyes blazing and an angry aura preceding him. "How many times must I tell you- do not run off on your own! It makes things difficult for those of us who are assigned to protect you!"

"Hey, Sumu!" the girl, Sakura, said cheerfully.

"Don't 'Hey Sumu' me, Sakura!" the man said in an irritated tone. "Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you, only to find you making a scene in front of your new boss and peers."

Sakura placed her hands on her hips as she faced the man.

"You're the only one making a scene at the moment, Sumu!" she told him.

Ren chuckled wryly.

"Still giving you a hard time, I see, Susumu." he said with a wry grin.

Susumu gave a dry, longsuffering laugh in return.

"You could say that." he said as he grinned and shook Ren's hand. "Good to see you again, Ren. It's been a while."

"Wait." Ai suddenly interjected. "You said Sakura was making a scene in front of her new boss and peers. Is she...?"

Susumu nodded.

"I'm afraid so." he said ruefully. "My name's Susumu Fujisaki and this is Sakura Jinguji, AKA FrEe SpIrIt."

He bowed low to Shining and the gathered idols from QUARTET NIGHT and STARISH, his hand clasping the back of Sakura's head, forcing her into a bow as well.

"Anything to add, Sakura?" he growled softly as the girl winced.

"Err... n-nice to meet you?" she said sheepishly.

"And?" Susumu growled a little louder, forcing the girl's head down a little more.

"I'm sorry?"

Seemingly satisfied, Susumu released Sakura's head and she straightened up, rubbing her neck.

"Geez, Sumu..." she grumbled, scowling at her manager. "What're you trying to do, snap my neck?"

Susumu grinned wryly at her.

"If it would change anything and I wouldn't go to prison for assault, I would." he grumbled, shaking his head.

"Aaaw... come on, Sumu..." Sakura grinned cheekily at the man. "You know you love me!"

Susumu gave a dry bark of laughter as Ren, Tokiya and Masato chuckled.

"Sadly, yes." he quipped as he affectionately ruffled her hair.

"Well, it's reassuring to know that she never changes." Tokiya said with a wry smile.

Masato nodded.

"Indeed." he agreed with a small smile.

Batting away her manager's hand, Sakura turned to the speakers, her bluish-green eyes sparkling as she saw who it was.

"Toki-Toki!" she yelled, throwing herself at Tokiya in a bear hug, knocking him into Natsuki, who saved him from following Ren in ass-planting. "It's been forever! Hayato been!?"

Tokiya chuckled wryly as he returned the hug, rolling his eyes, but smiling, at Sakura's words.

"Ha ha, you know I've left that behind me." he said, releasing her. "And yes... it's been a long time."

"It has! And sorry, couldn't resist." Sakura grinned at her childhood friend and fellow actor as she stepped away, then turned to Masato. "And is that Masa!? I haven't seen you in a long time either!"

Leaving Tokiya to breath a sigh of relief, Sakura made a beeline for Masato, who seemed to be trying to hide, and enveloped him in a hug as well, causing the reserved young man to flush lightly.

"FrEe SpIrIt, eh?" Reiji chuckled as he and the others watched Masato awkwardly pat Sakura on the back, his cheeks still slightly red. "Aptly named."

"Quite." Shining agreed with a nod, an amused grin on his face as he watched Sakura interact with the members of Starish that she knew. "I think she'll fit in well here."

"Yeah." Otoya agreed with his father. "Although, she's kinda like a force of nature, isn't she?!"

The three remaining members of Quartet Night were watching the scene in front of them with the same disconcerted expression on their faces.

"Oh, jeezuz..." Ranmaru muttered, folding his arms across his chest and closing his eyes.

"It's a female Reiji." he, Camus and Ai said at the same time, Ai's arms crossed over his chest while Camus's one arm propped up the other, two fingers of which held up his head.

"Aw, come on, guys!" Reiji turned to his band mates. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

The same droll look came at him from three exasperated faces and Reiji merely grinned sheepishly. Shining clapped his hands twice, bringing everyone's attention to him.

"Alright, I think some official introductions are in order." he said, turning to Sakura and Susumu. "I'm Shining Saotome, CEO of Shining Productions and Headmaster of Saotome Academy."

He turned to the four men of Quartet Night, on his left.

"These are the members of QUARTET NIGHT- Reiji Kotobuki, Ai Mikage, Ranmaru Kurosaki and Camus." Shining introduced them, all except Camus giving some indication of greeting- Reiji grinning, while Ai and Ranmaru merely inclined their heads. "While Quartet Night and Starish will be your senior performers, Reiji here will be your senior in showing you the ropes."

"It's nice to meet you." he said with a grin and a wink. "It's not often we get to work with such a cute girl!"

"You're supposed to be working, not flirting, Reiji." Ranmaru's voice cut in.

"Just telling the truth, Ran-Ran." Reiji turned to his band mate. "Don't you think she's cute?"

"That's not the point, Reiji." Ai said matter-of-factly as Sakura turned to Ranmaru at the nickname, narrowing her eyes.

Ranmaru frowned as he noticed Sakura watching him with narrowed eyes.

"What?" he asked brusquely.

"Ran-Ran...?" she muttered. "Ranmaru... Kurosaki, was it? You're not... that... Ranmaru Kurosaki... are you?"

Ranmaru raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

"You remember me?" he asked. "I'm impressed. I haven't seen you since you were about 6..."

"Yeah... because you used to bully me by pulling my hair!" Sakura reminded him, causing Ranmaru to chuckle wryly.

"I don't recall that." he said. "Why would I pull a 6 year old's hair?"

"I dunno... because you were older than me and you could?" Sakura grinned as she taunted the older idol.

"Don't underestimate my sister's memory and recognition skills, Ran." Ren said with a chuckle.

"Yeah... she has the memory of an elephant." Tokiya added with his usual stoic expression.

"And she's just as loud as one." Camus observed causing Sakura to glare at him.

"Who died and crowned you Ice King?" she asked in Camus' native tongue. "Last I heard, Silk Palace had a Queen."

Camus narrowed his eyes at the girl and stalked closer to her.

"And how did you know I was from Silk Palace?" he asked her in Japanese.

"There's the fact you have no last name, your accent and your holier-than-thou bearing." she answered him in kind, a mischievous grin flitting across her face. "After all, Silk Palace's permafrost is world renown and second only to the frostiness of her people."

Camus opened his mouth to respond, but Ai beat him to it.

"We're getting off track." the youngest member of Quartet Night looked at Shining. "You were busy introducing us?"

Shining nodded, turning to the group on his right.

"These are the original six of Starish. The seventh is away in his home country at the moment, although he should be returning sometime today. You'll meet him then." Shining turned to his son, next to him. "This is Otoya Ittoki, Natsuki Shinomiya and Syo Kurusu."

Otoya, Natsuki and Syo all grinned at her as Shining introduced them.

"You already seem acquainted with Tokiya and Masato." Shining concluded. "And you obviously already know Ren."

Sakura looked around at the men she'd be working with and smiled at them all.

"Well, as mentioned before, I'm Sakura Jinguji... AKA FrEe SpIrIt. Please feel free to call me Sakura, since I'm the newest and youngest here." she smiled at them. "It's nice to meet all of you. I'm looking forward to working with and learning from you all!"

Reiji and the boys from Starish all smiled and grinned back at her, while Ranmaru and Ai nodded, small smiles playing on their lips and Camus scoffed, folding his arms.

"If you can say that so exuberantly, you clearly have no idea what this industry is like." he said coldly, causing Sakura to turn to him with a bright smile, her bluish green eyes blazing in anger.

"You're right, I have no idea..." Sakura answered, her honeyed voice dripping in sarcasm. "I've only been involved in the entertainment industry since I was scouted as a child model at the age of three."

"Don't start looking for a fight with the Baron right out the gate, Saki..." Ren said with a wry smile.

"Don't worry Ren, Count Cool's not about to let his feathers be ruffled by a pup's barking." Ranmaru spoke before Camus could, causing Sakura to glare at them.

"Don't you think reprimanding only me is a little unfair, Renny?" Sakura pouted at her brother, before turning on Ranmaru. "And who are you calling a pup, Ran-Ran."

"You. By your own admission, you're the youngest here." Ranmaru answered her, then frowned. "And don't call me Ran-Ran. I get enough of that from Reiji."

"Camus should be glad that all she's doing at the moment is barking." Tokiya interjected before Sakura could. "Trust me, once she starts 'biting', her practical jokes will make Reiji's seem like child's play."

"Oh really...?" Sakura glanced over at the eldest member of Quartet Night, a smile creeping over her lips, the same shit-eating grin appearing on Reiji's face, his chocolate brown eyes sparkling.

"That's interesting..." they said together.

"Well done, Tokki..." Ren said, clapping slowly as Tokiya's stoic expression slipped and he widened his eyes in understanding.

"Oh no..." he muttered, clasping a hand to his brow. "What have I done...?"

"I think you've just dug all of us a giant pit, Ichinose." Masato told him, to which Tokiya merely nodded dumbly.

"Wait..." Syo spoke up. "You mean now we've not only got to look out for Reiji but Sakura as well!?"

"Now I'm doubly concerned to pairing Sakura and Reiji up." Ai spoke, folding his arms.

"I assure you that Sakura will be focused on her work as an idol and will have no time for pranks." Susumu told the gathered men. "I'll ensure that myself."

"And I'm always 100% serious when it comes to work, Ai-Ai... you know that." Reiji told the youngest member of the group, clutching his chest dramatically.

Before anymore could be said Shining spoke.

"Well, if that's all, Sakura, Susumu, perhaps we can go up to my office?" he spoke to the new idol and her manager. "We have a few more things to discu-"

"He's here!" a voice interrupted Shining and a red blur was all warning anyone got before Otoya was running towards the parking area and a limo with flags that was just stopping at the curb.

"About time he arrived." Camus muttered.

Turning to look, Sakura frowned.

"A diplomatic vehicle...?" she asked, confused.

"That's right." Came Ren's voice as a valet got out of the car and opened the back door, bowing to whomever was inside as they started to get out. "The seventh member of Starish... is the Crown prince of Agnapolis."