A/N: Usual disclaimers! I own nothing of the Uta Pri franchise except my own charries in this lil' story. Oh yes, if things seem off, I haven't seen the anime or played any of the games except Shining Live! so please bear with me if the charries seem a little ooc.

Chapter 4- Families are... complicated

It had been around 3 months since Sakura joined Shining Productions as FrEe SpIrIt and she was finally starting to get a handle on it, along with starting school after being predominately home-schooled for most of her life. And things at Shining Academy weren't as bad as she'd first assumed. She'd managed to make a friend, Naomi Whittle, and Masato had given her Mai's number, allowing Sakura to reconnect with her old childhood friend. And it was as if the two had never been apart. They were as close as they'd ever been, unlike their older brothers who had grown apart over the years and had only stopped their consistent squabbling fairly recently, according to those surrounding the two of them. And to top it all, Naomi and Mai got on like a house on fire, leading to the three of them being dubbed ' The Three Musketeers' whenever they were together (or 'The Three Nuisances' if your name was Camus or Ranmaru, although the latter didn't mean it nearly as resentfully as the former did).

Reiji was still performing the role as Sakura's mentor and was doing so with aplomb, making sure his junior knew all she needed to about Shining Productions, the Academy and music in general as well as proving Ai and Syo's misgivings well-founded as the two of them wasted almost no time in hatching schemes, laying traps and playing pranks on any and everyone- Sakura even going so far as to play a prank on Shining, who had the good grace to laugh it off, while both Reiji (trying not to bust a gut) and Sumumu (who was fuming and threatening Sakura to punish her with extreme practice sessions) apologised and promised him it wouldn't happen again (although Reiji did commend her on her guts and admitted the prank was pretty good).

And to add the cherry to this sundae that was her life, Sakura's debut as FrEe SpIrIt would be going live in just under three months, so, as far as she was concerned, things couldn't be going better. For the first time in her life, Sakura felt, well, free (for the lack of a better word). She had made new friends, reconnected with old ones and her relationship with Ren was almost as it had been when they were children. Life was good. And she was happy. Which was why nothing could have prepared her for the dark storm clouds which were gathering on the horizon.

On a balmy day in early June, Sakura and Naomi were walking back to the Shining Academy dormitories after school, laughing and chatting as usual, when Sakura came to a sudden stop. Naomi turned to her friend with a look of confused concern.

"Hey, Saki... what's wrong?" she asked her new best friend. "You're looking really pale all of a sudden..."

Sakura, who had been staring ahead at the disturbingly familiar black car parked in front of the dormitories, shook her head as if trying to dispel a fever dream. She smiled a strained smile at Naomi.

"I'm fine, Nao, really." she tried to reassure her friend. "I guess the heat's getting to me."

"Maybe you should go to the room and rest..." Naomi said.

Sakura shook her head.

"Nah, I'm okay." she tried smiling again. "It's passing already, honest. And besides, I thought you wanted to try that new shake they were serving at the Milk Cafe?"

"Well, yeah..." Naomi bit her lip. "But we can always go another time..."

"Don't be silly! We said we'd go today, so we're going today!" Sakura said, then handed her best friend her bag. "Could you take this upstairs for me and grab my purse? I need to just talk to Sumu about something, then we can go."

Naomi frowned slightly and grudgingly took the proffered bag.

"Well, if you're sure..." she said a little uncertainly.

"I am! I really, really am!" Sakura answered with a little too much enthusiasm. "If you don't hurry, we'll never get there before closing time!"

"Okay, Okay, I'm going!" Naomi rolled her eyes at Sakura's melodrama, but smiled ruefully and ran ahead towards the dorms, Sakura watching her with a smile plastered on her face.

A smile which faded the moment her best friend was out of sight. She turned back to the black car parked in front of the building, her face clouding over.

"What's he doing here...?"

The Starish boys were walking through the Shining Productions building after recording their new single.

"I'm just saying you came in a few seconds too late, Kurusu." Tokiya said. "And if you're late, then Shinomiya will be late for his part, which ultimately impacts the pacing of the whole song."

"Okay, I get it already!" Syo fumed. "Can you stop nagging now?"

"Come on, Syo, calm down. You know Tokiya doesn't mean it in a bad way!" Otoya said, trying to lift the mood.

"Yeah, I know... but he doesn't have to keep nagging..." Syo grumbled.

Tokiya frowned.

"I'm not nagging!" he grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, Shorty, lighten up. Icchi's just trying to help." Ren interjected. "You know how much he and Hijirikawa care about music... so what if they nitpick every now and then?"

Masato frowned.

"Excuse me?! When do I ever nitpick?!" he snapped at Ren. "And if I do, Jingujji, then it's because you're always trying to do your own thing!"

"Ever hear of improvisation?" Ren retorted.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you get to improvise in every song!"

"Come on guys, don't fight!" Natsuki interjected, clapping his hands together as Ren and Masato glared at each other.

"Yeah, I thought you two had moved past that by now..." Otoya agreed.

"Besides," Cecil added diplomatically. "if we still have nits to pick, that means there's still room for improvement, right?"

Tokiya shook his head at this.

"Aijima, do you have any idea how wrong that sounded?" he asked exasperatedly.

Cecil looked at him in confusion.

"Was that not correct?" he asked.

Otoya shook his head with a strange smile.

"Nitpicking and picking nits are not exactly the same thing, Cesshi." he told him, quickly explaining the difference.

Syo sighed as he watched Otoya talking to Cecil, who listened with a serious expression on his face.

"Well, disgusting connotations aside, Cesshi's right about one thing." he said. "There's a lot of room for improvement in my performance. I guess I've still got a ways to go..."

"Yeah, I guess I do too." Ren agreed with a shrug.

"I know I do." Tokiya agreed as Masato nodded in agreement.

"I do too!" Natsuki said enthusiastically. "I want us to keep improving to be the best we can be as Starish so that we can keep making our music shine brighter and brighter for our fans!"

"You know what, Shinomi, you're right." Ren said. "We need to keep improving our performances for the ladies."

"I'm glad to see you realise you're performances are still subpar, you peasants." a snobby voice sneered.

"Besides, I think you should focus on improving for all your fans, Ren, not just the ladies." a cold, detached voice added.

The Starish guys turned towards the voices to see the four Quartet Night guys standing behind them, having just finished a recording of their own in another studio. Reiji grinned ruefully.

"Ouch, Ai-Ai, Myu... you guys don't have to be so hard on them, you know...?" he said. "I think they've come a long way already."

Ranmaru grunted.

"Besides, as much as I hate to agree with Reiji, we all have room for improvement too." he said in his rough tone. "The day you stop pushing yourself to improve is the day your career as an idol ends."

"Ouch, Ran-Ran... do you really have to say that?" Reiji asked. "Besides, would it kill you to agree with me? I was being serious, you know?"

"Well, perhaps if you started acting your age people would take you more seriously, Reiji." Ai told him.

Camus gave a haughty sniff.

"Speak for yourself, Kurosaki." he said. "Although that last part has some measure of truth in it I suppose... I guess even you can say something intelligent once in a while."

Ranmaru frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean. Camus?" he growled. "You tryin' to pick a fight with me?"

Before Camus could answer, an amused voice interjected.

"Well, well... this looks lively."

The Starish and Quartet Night guys all turned to the speaker to see a tall, auburn-brown haired man standing there in a black pinstripe suit. The man smiled and nodded at Ren, who frowned.

"You're looking good, Ren." he said.

"Junya." Ren answered. "Why are you here?"

The middle Jinguji brother grimaced.

"It's nice to see you too, little brother." he said with a wry smile. "Is it really that difficult to believe I came to see how you and our sister were doing?"

"Cut the crap, Jun." Ren said as he walked over to his brother. "You could use your phone for that."

"Besides, if you're here, that means that Seiichiro can't be far behind."

The men gathered all turned to see Sakura in the doorway to the parking lot.

"Why are you here, Junya?." she asked him.

Junya met his sister's glower with a serious look of his own.

"I think you know, Sakura." Junya said. "Sei wants you to pull out. He wants you to focus on your Debut."

"You're joking." Sakura raised an incredulous eyebrow as she strode over to her older brothers.

"Do I look amused in any way?"

"That stupid son of a-"

"Sakura." Ren placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her tirade before turning to Junya. "Where's the...he...now?"

"With the President."

"Why didn't you stop this, Junya!?"

"And just what were you expecting me to be able to do, Ren? You know nothing stops Seiichiro once he gets an idea into his head..."

"Yeah, well he can take this idea and shove it up his rear end, along with his overly inflated head! There's no way I'm doing this!"

"Erm, excuse me for interrupting, but I'm a tad bit confused..." Reiji's voice broke through the Jinguji siblings' bickering. "What's this about Sakura leaving the company to focus on her debut... I thought that's what she was already doing..."

Silence followed for a while, the three Jinguji seeming to remember they had an audience, until the silence was broken by none other than Ranmaru.

"That ain't the type of debut they're talking about, Reiji." he grunted in his usual gruff tone, although it seemed to gentle as he looked at Sakura. "I guess this is the year you turn 16, yeah?"

Sakura nodded.

"In... 3 months."

"Ah."

A look of understanding seemed to cross Camus, Cecil and Masato's faces.

"That makes you a Debutante, correct?" Camus turned to Sakura, raising a well-trimmed eyebrow in question.

"Not if I refuse to do it!" she snapped back.

"You don't have a choice, Sakura." Junya's voice was strained.

"Like HELL I don't!"

"Excuse me!" Syo raised his voice. "Sorry for interrupting, but some of us are still out of the loop here... What the hell is this debut... thing... about, exactly?"

"It's a ceremony, Kurusu." Masato answered him after a moment of silence in which several of the group seemed to wonder how to answer that. "A... Coming-of-Age ceremony. "

"Coming-of Age ceremony?" Natsuki tilted his head slightly to the side in confusion.

"Yes, Natsuki." Cecil took up the explanation. "It's an important time in the life of a Debutant or Debutante, when they are presented to those in their society as 'of age'... in other words... an adult."

"It's an archaic custom." Tokiya's voice snapped with irritation, and Sakura smiled at her childhood friend for his support.

"That it is." Junya sighed his agreement. "However, it is still performed by... and expected of... the members of the families of the nobility and prominent corporations here in Japan."

"Not just Japan."

Cecil's expression told them all just what he thought of the custom, while Camus' was as cold and expressionless as usual, although his icy blue orbs seemed even more chilling than normal. Junya nodded his acknowledgement at the two foreign nobles, then continued.

"It's an elaborate party. One focused on networking and exhibiting one's heirs to one's peers and society in general."

"It's a farce." Sakura said. "One I will not be part of!"

"I think you'll find you will, Sakura Jinguji." a cold voice spoke and the gathered all turned to the elevator where three men had just exited, Seiichiro Jinguji between Shining Saotome and Susumu. "Since that is your duty to your family."

"To hell with duty, Seiichiro!" Sakura yelled at her eldest brother. "Grandfather took me away so I wouldn't be forced to be a part of all that!"

"Yes, and where is grandfather now?" Seiichiro asked caustically. "Dead. Along with father. And since I am the head of this family, you will do as you're told!"

"Seiichiro!"

"You bastard!"

Sakura merely stared at her eldest brother in shocked silence, her mouth working wordlessly. A cold silence descended on the gathered group as Sakura's face, flushed with anger as it had been, lost all colour as she glared in anger at her eldest brother. Her fists, clenched at her side, shook with her suppressed rage.

"Well, in that case..." Sakura said in a voice barely concealing her anger. "I no longer want to-!"

"Sakura! Not now!" Susumu's voice was severely strained and he shook his head at her.

Sakura bit her lip in frustration as she glared at her agent. Without another word, Sakura spun on her heel and stormed out through the front doors.

"Sakura!" Seiichiro yelled after her. "Get back here!"

"Leave her be, Seiichiro!" Junya told his older brother as Ren turned to glare at him.

"You stupid, slimy sonofa-"

"Ren!"

Ren glared at his second eldest brother, who merely shook his head. He then clicked his tongue in irritation. Seiichiro frowned at his youngest brother.

"If you want to say something, Ren, I suggest you say it." he said tersely. "You may not get the opportunity to later."

"I've got nothing to say to you." Ren snarled, before storming out the doors in the opposite direction to his sister.

"I, on the other hand, have a great deal to say." Junya told his older brother coldly. "However, it'll have to wait until we're in the car and you cannot escape me."

"As you wish." Seiichiro said heavily as an awkward silence descended, finally broken by Ranmaru.

"Reiji-"

"Already on it, Ran-Ran." Reiji said in a strained attempt at his usual levity.

He then turned to Susumu, raising his hand in a 'I've got this' gesture. As he left, Reiji gave Junya a stiff smile which didn't reach his eyes and which slipped off his face entirely as his eyes met Seiichiro's. Shaking his head slightly, Reiji walked through the front doors, heading in the direction Sakura had gone.