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 5- Old scars CAN heal

As Reiji headed towards the parking used by the staff and idols who had cars, he met Naomi, clutching two handbags and yelling Sakura's name. He quickly walked over to her.

"Naomi, right?" he asked her as he walked over and gently laid his hand on her shoulder. "You're one of Sakura's classmates, doing the composer's course?"

Naomi turned Reiji and nodded.

"H-how'd you know that?" she asked, her eyes a little wild. "And you're... Reiji Kotobuki, aren't you?"

Reiji nodded with a smile, his brown eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Yes, I am." he said. "And as to how I know who you are, Sakura talks about you constantly and I handed Sakura her phone when you were calling once, that's how I recognised you."

His expression grew more serious.

"And speaking of Sakura... where is she?"

Naomi sighed and looked towards the gates to the Academy.

"Gone."

"Gone?" Reiji frowned in confusion. "What do you mean 'gone'? Where'd she go? And with whom?"

Naomi turned her head back to the idol.

"I think you mean with what not whom..." she corrected him as his frown deepened. "She left by herself. On her motorbike."

Reiji couldn't hide his surprise.

"Sakura... has a motorbike...?"

Naomi nodded.

"Yeah, a Yamaha V-Star 250." she said, then raised her eyebrow in surprise. "You didn't know?"

Reiji mutely shook his head. Naomi shrugged.

"Not really surprised..." she said. "Apparently she was only allowed to keep it on the condition she keep it on the down-low and use it responsibly..."

Reiji shook his head slightly, then turned back to Naomi.

"Okay, well do you know where she went?"

"Nope. Not a clue." Naomi said as Reiji visibly deflated. "Although..."

"Although...?" Reiji asked, looking hopeful.

"I might have an idea where she could possibly be..."

Reiji nodded.

"Right. Final question." he said, pulling out his car keys. "You don't happen to know how to ride a motorbike by any chance... do you?"

Thirty minutes later and Naomi was staring out the window of the passenger seat of Reiji's emerald green 1969 Yenko/SC Camaro, gripping the seat slightly. Reiji had a bit of a lead foot and a nasty habit of speeding up to traffic lights, stop streets and pedestrian walkways. They had been driving around the parks Naomi thought Sakura might be at and they were just rounding the corner of the last one, when Naomi sat up straighter.

"She's here!"

Reiji hit the brakes, narrowly avoiding an accident as the car behind him swerved out of the way and into the opposite lane, blaring it's horn as it passed. Thankfully there had been no oncoming traffic. After sheepishly apologising to the other driver, Reiji turned to his passenger.

"How do you know that Sakura's here?" he asked her.

Rubbing her neck, which had been wrenched in the near-miss, the blonde pointed to a nearby black and chrome motorbike with the registration number-

"FR335P1R1T..." Reiji mumbled, frowning slightly, then widened his eyes. "...FrEe SpIrIt!"

Quickly finding a nearby parking, Reiji and Naomi got out of the car and walked to the park, both of them spotting Sakura almost at once by her distinctive strawberry blonde hair. They approached her as she lay on her back watching the clouds. Turing her head, she saw Reiji and sat up.

"How'd you find me?"

"I brought him." Naomi stepped out from behind Reiji. "Besides, you have a rather easily identifiable registration number, Saki."

Sakura snorted.

"I should've known." she grunted, getting to her feet and facing the two of them. "What now, you two here to drag me back?"

"Later." Reiji told his junior. "First there's somewhere I want to take you."

Sakura turned to her senior, placing a hand on her hip.

"And what? You expect me to leave my bike here?" she asked.

Reiji grinned.

"I expect you to trust me." he told her, turning to Naomi who grinned at her best friend.

"That's why he brought me!" she said brightly.

Sakura shook her head.

"Uh-uh, no way." she said stubbornly. "No offense Naomi, but I just don't let anyone ride my baby."

Naomi threw up her hands, rolling her eyes at her best friend.

"Oh come on, Sakura... it's not as if I've never ridden a motorbike before!" she reminded her friend sarcastically. "I mean, I only come from a motorbike crazy family, with 3 older brothers plus my dad, and have been riding bikes since I was 10 years old!"

Sakura sighed, then reluctantly handed over her helmet, in which were her driving gloves and keys. She glared at her best friend.

"You better not get a scratch on her..."she growled as Naomi took the helmet, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, ma'm!" she saluted, then winked. "You kids have fun, now!"

With that she walked back towards the parked motorbike as Reiji laughed.

"Thanks Nao-chan!" Reiji called after her. "I owe you one!"

Naomi turned around with a grin.

"You two can buy me a shake at the Milk Cafe!" she called back, then continued on her way.

Sakura shook her head with a smile. She then turned to her senior idol.

"So, where are you taking me, exactly?"

Reiji grinned, his brown eyes sparkling.

"That, my girl..." he said. "... is a surprise."

Reiji's 'surprise' ended up with the two of them driving a couple of hours until they were travelling on a road along the coast. They had barely spoken, with Reiji merely asking Sakura whether she wanted the radio on and what she wanted to listen to. They finally came to a stop and Sakura gasped, sitting up straight as she looked ahead. They were at a lookout point, looking over the ocean with the sun just beginning to set.

"Wow, Reiji..." Sakura gaped and Reiji chuckled gleefully.

"Let's get out and have a proper look, shall we?" he asked, opening his door and clambering out, Sakura following suit.

She walked to the railing and leaned against it, watching the sunset as Reiji walked over and stood next to her.

"It's beautiful..." Sakura breathed softly, then turned to the man beside her with a happy smile. "Thanks for bringing me here, Reiji."

"Seeing your smiling face is thanks enough." he grinned, seemingly relieved. "Besides, you really want to thank someone, it should be my brother-in-law. He told me about this place. Thought it might cheer you up..."

"So that's why you took so long..." Sakura mused.

Before they left, Reiji had insisted they stop at his family's bento place, Kotobuki Bento, for some supplies, and had been a while. Reiji grinned.

"And speaking of... why don't you grab a seat and I'll grab the grub!" he said, pointing at a picnic table nearby. "You must be hungry..."

A few minutes later they were eating chatting and watching the sun dip lower over the ocean. After a short lull in their conversation, Sakura turned to Reiji with a barely suppressed grin.

"You know, Reiji... anyone looking at the two of us here..." she said playfully. "They might get the wrong idea and think this is a date!"

Reiji choked on his fried chicken and Sakura laughed.

"Relax, Reiji, I know that isn't what this is." she grinned at him.

Reiji managed to unplug his throat, then grinned at Sakura.

"And who says this isn't a date, my girl?"he winked at her, causing Sakura to laugh again.

"You sounded almost like my brother, Ren, just then!" she chuckled as Reiji clutched his heart dramatically.

"Are you saying you'd rather date someone like Ren?" he teased her.

Sakura smirked.

"Come on, who wouldn't want to be swept off their feet by a smooth talker like Ren?"

Reiji clutched dramatically at his heart and pouted, causing Sakura's smirk to slip as she snorted with laughter. The two of them continued in this vein for a while, until the sun had almost set entirely. Reiji, instead of getting ready to go, pulled out a couple of blankets and handed one to Sakura, wrapping the other around himself as he leaned the driver's seat back so he could see the night sky through the windshield. Sakura followed suit and the two spent a few moments speaking about the stars and their favourite constellations before falling into a comfortable silence, which Sakura finally broke.

"Thanks for today, Reiji."she said softly.

"Family's are.. complicated things, Sakura." Reiji said, staring out of the windshield. "Sometimes they can hurt you."

He was quiet for a while and Sakura turned to look at the man beside her. What she could see of Reiji's face was a mask, hiding whatever he was thinking of. However, the pale moonlight showed Reiji's eyes, devoid of their usual light, were dark and somber.

"However..." he continued. "Scars can heal, if you let them. Sure, you'll never be completely whole again, but the hurt doesn't have to remain an open wound, fresh and bleeding, forever."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, sitting up to get a better look at Reiji. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking" Reiji said slowly. "about my father."

A/N: In SL, Reiji says his car is sleek, green and a classic. This doesn't really narrow it down that much, but he strikes me as a Camaro man. Here is the car I based Reiji's car on: stories/article/1969-yenko-sc-427-camaro