It's a flashback! I know it is not important and it will drag this story even longer but I have fun writing this filler and I hope you guys do as well.. Nevertheless, let's move on to Chapter 5!  

  CREDITS TO : UTA NO PRINCE SAMA 

CHAPTER 5

"Nowww, you guys are allowed to dateeeee and get marrieeedd."

Finally, those long-awaited words came out from Saotome's mouth, much to their relief. Back to their actual time zone which was before Tokiya married Haruka, as an idol, they were forced to accept the fact that they were not allowed to date for the sake of their fan base or to put in cheesier words, 'everything about them belongs to their fans so no girls deserves to make them as their own'.

Yes, it was awful and tortured those seven hearts that already aimed a certain girl in the first place..

The same girl that has composed them not merely amazing songs but she gave them hopes when they were still trapped in their dark pasts. She is the one that they needed to spend the rest of their life with.

That evening, after a random practice when they were supposed to enjoy their one-month vacation, Cecil brought up a topic; something that they knew, sooner or later, they needed to confront.

"Honestly, I already have someone that I am madly in love and want to go out with.."Cecil broke the silence among them.

"Nanami/Nanami-san/Little Lamb/Haru-chan," the other STARISH members responded, flatly and in unison.

"Ehhh? How did you guys know?" Cecil was taken aback dramatically, making him look stupider than usual.

"In second episode of the second season, anime version, you confessed and even wanted to kiss her right in front of us. How the hell can we forget about it easily?" Masato's deep voice always sounded creepier when the topic is about Haruka. He was no longer masked with his so-called collected face.

"But it's not my fault if I want to say I love her so much," Cecil snapped, especially when he noticed how strong the glares the other six gave to him. Much like six thunders with six different colours. "I am not like you, Masato. 'I am connected to her through the bond of music' my foot! That's the cheesiest line that I've heard in my entire life. Shame on you!"

"Oi, why did you give the game away, you fool!?"

"I don't remember about keeping your secret, Masato."

"So, that's what Aijima-san meant with 'Hijirikawa san hid a massive feeling on the verge of exploding within himself'," as expected from Tokiya who is an amazing actor, memorizing dialog is just a piece of cake for him.

"Ichinose, don't just leap to the conclusion like that!"

"But, it's true, right, Masa?" Otoya's red eyes met the blue one. "You love Nanami too."

"Wait, are we confessing our feelings right now?" Syo immediately felt high-strung as he could foresee where the heck this conversation would go.

"Honestly, I also like Nanami a lot. More than just a friend," Otoya, with his red face, decided to be honest with everyone. He could not hold back anymore.

But what he got back from his friends was...

A sudden and super awkward silence.

"Eh, guys, what's with the 'just kill yourself' aura!?"

"You and Cecil are basically the same, Otoya. You guys are way too expressive," Syo remarked and with the way he stared at the guitarist, it was obviously an insult.

"Eh? Me, expressive? What do you mean, Syo? I don't even confess.."

"But you blushed too often everytime you wanted to say something to her.That explains a lot, Ikki," Ren smirked, followed by a strong nod from others which was enough to make Otoya's face got redder than his hair.

"Ehhh? When did I..."

" Come to think of it, you are right, Ren-kun! Otoya-kun obviously has a huge crush on Haru-chan. Do you remember, Otoya-kun? In the second episode of the first season, anime version, you blushed when you met her eyes during the recording for our first assignment!"

"Yes, that one!" the other five heads automatically shouted while pointing right at Otoya.

"W..What? how did you guys..."

"It's broadcasted by our school tv station, Otoya. The whole school actually could see your red face," Tokiya sighed heavily, could not believe just how oblivious his roommate could be.

"So, Icchi, the Ice Prince at that time bothered to watch Ikki's recording too? Did you also feel jealouse about Ikki liking Little Lamb? I still remember how the sky became so dark on that day," Ren raised his eyebrow, much to the blue head's annoyance.

"I am not..."

"Well, I think the way Otoya-kun always supports Haru-chan is so cute!" Natsuki acted like a cheerleader for the couple, contrasted with the fact that he also loved Haruka.

"Masato also supported Haruka a lot. He even taught her how to play piano again with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star song.." Cecil also sounded like a cheerleader for Masato yet in fact, he just provoked the blue head, knowing how Masato would rather die than revealing the secret.

"Shut up!"Masato shouted, enough to make the others flinched before they could even react to the top secret of Masato (except Ren because he used to see another pissed off version of Masato a few times before). "More importantly, how the hell did you know that!?"

"I was a cat, you silly," Cecil made a proud face. "I sneaked into the music room before you know it."

"Omae!"

"Ma, ma, don't fight, Masa, Cecil... It's all in the past already. It's supposed to be something that we should cherish," Otoya patted the said boys' shoulders, trying to calm them down. "Well, speaking of supporters, Ren is also the good one. He helped Nanami to persuade the security guards on the entrance exam day."

"I think it's the other way around. Nanami has been a veeeeery good supporter for this doofus by breaking sweat, searching for the lyrics," Syo clicked his tongues, could not really hide his annoyance about how Ren used to be a troublemaker back then. "You should be grateful because there is a nice girl like her who wanted to help you like that, you playboy."

"Hai, hai," Ren rolled his eyes playfully. "I already planned to reward her with my love and passion... Just wait and see.." the long-haired boy directly challenged every single person in the training room to compete in winning Haruka's heart.

"Ren-kun is also cool!" Natsuki played his role again, being all upbeat when the others could not sit still. Not after they knew there were more of them loved the same girl.

"What's with your attitude, Natsuki? It's not like you don't have feeling to Nanami," Syo sighed while crossing his arms. "The fact that you always try to hug her makes me sick."

"I do love Haru-chan. She's just like my adorable Elizabeth," Natsuki grinned to the thought of both Haruka and his dog. "Syo-chan also loves Haru-chan, right? Waaaaa, the thought of having to compete with Syo-chan to win Haru-chan makes me thrilled already. Syo-chan, I'll never lose to you. Even you gave her your precious hat in season 2, anime version, saying that you wanted to protect her all the time, already tried to confess to her with your movie script in the first episode of season 3, anime version, I will definitely beat you."

"How the hell did you know all that, you creepy stalker!!?"

"But you still have to beat us, Natsuki. Including me, I will win Haruka. I want her to be mine," Cecil suddenly stood up when he clearly did not need to while clenching his fist.

"Yes, I am all fired up!" Syo also did exactly the same like Cecil.

"Then, if every single of us decided to go out with Little Lamb, I think we should spend our vacation wisely. Kaichou already gave us a month after those pile of work so I guess, good luck with your confession, you guys," Ren waved at his teammates, as a symbol that no matter how hard they tried to win Haruka, he would be the winner for sure.

"Then, if we are going to take a long break, why the hell did we practice like a lunatic just now? Aren't we supposed to rest and prepare for our vacation instead?" Syo finally pointed out something that they should realize from the start.

And suddenly, the huge room became downright silent.

"Ah, it's Tokiya! Tokiya forced us to practice!" Otoya answered while giving accusing look to his roommate.

"Excuse me?" Tokiya raised his eyebrow, enough to send chill down to his roommate's spine. "I didn't say anything about group practice. I just wanted to dance for my upcoming song when you guys suddenly tagged along and started dancing."

"You still think about work, Tokiya? You should get yourself a rest already," Syo expressed his concern, knowing just how workaholic the dark blue head could be.

"Or perhaps... you are thinking about Haruka as well," Cecil frowned. "Either we like it or not, Tokiya does have a very special place in her heart. She is his fan in the first place and she wants to be a composer because of him."

"So, if it was not because of Ichinose, we never met Nanami and STARISH would never be formed," Masato added, received nods from others except Tokiya.

"Haru-chan always had her eyes on Tokiya-kun when we still studied. But for some reasons, she still picked all of us," Natsuki brought up the question that should not be one anymore.

"It's because she thinks that we can be the best idols if we perform together. As simple as that," Tokiya answered flatly before preparing to leave. "I will leave first."

"How long do you intend to keep that cold attitude, Icchi?" Ren interrupted. They could feel a tension in the room again. "You pretend you don't care about this stuff when in fact, I can see how much you love Little Lamb. Why can't you just be honest with yourself?"

"Wait, what? To...Tokiya also loves Nanami?" Otoya flinched when the others gave him 'what? you dont know about it and you call yourself his roommate?' look. "But.. but guys, everytime I ask him about it, he would either ignore or ask me to shut up instead. Moreover, this is Tokiya we are talking about. It's hard to tell when he shows his poker face all the time."

"Yeah, Otoya kinda got a point there," Syo rubbed his chin as a sign of agreement.

"You love Haruka as much as we love her, right, Tokiya?" Cecil still insisted to know after realizing that Tokiya was the only one who remained mysterious about his feeling.

"Does it change anything if I do love her? I don't think it matters," with a question that made them speechless, Tokiya left the room.

"Did he decide to go to Australia because he wants to take a break from thinking about Nanami?" Otoya's question shocked the others.

"Probably," Masato agreed.

"Ichinose-san, to tell you the truth, since we worked together, I cannot take my eyes off you. I want you to know what I feel about you all this time. Ichinose-san, I love you. Will you go out with me?"

The confession that he got from his co-star after he had done his work still fulfilled his mind as he walked alone along the corridor.Unexpectedly,Yuma Risa, a gorgeous actress that was said to be the match from heaven of him by their fans loves him. Yet, when Haruka's image appeared in his eyes as Risa slowly leaned to kiss him, he realized something.

No matter how hard he denied, no matter how far he ran away, his love to Nanami Haruka grew stronger day by day. He just could not live without her...

Which led him to stop Risa before gently rejecting her. He did not want to give her a fake hope when he himself already chose which girl that won his heart all this time.

The answer is still Nanami Haruka.

But the question was, did he really have to confess to her when Haruka has made it clear that she only admired his singing? So, it was obvious that she would reject his feeling. So far, he could tell that the girl is someone who would rather focus on her career since she loves music so much. Music is the only thing that made him attractive to her. His song, Nanairo no Compass is the single factor why she became a hard-core fan of Hayato in the first place.

It's all about songs.... every single time...

Not to mention, compared to the other six, he was cold and insolent to her back in school. He even told Haruka that she was a nuisance right in her face when she genuinely cared about him.

According to her, he is the reason why she wants to start composing songs but the real bunch of people who were always there beside her, supported her...

The other STARISH members. They loved her before he loves her...

And maybe way deeper and stronger than him...

One of them deserved to get her love. Anyone but him...

So, he decided to keep his feeling by himself. He did not want the others to treat him as other rival.

As long as he knew how great they would be as her future partner, that was enough for him to breathe a sigh of relief.

Out of the blue, his eyes served the sight of a petite girl walked along the corridor by herself from his opposite direction.

Haruka walked slowly as her mind could not pay attention to her surrounding.

Not after she already received six confessions since three days ago.

That was too much for her. It managed to make her sleepless just like when all of them (except Cecil) chose her as their partner for graduation but this time, it got worse. At least, back then, she could choose all of them even it took a lot efforts for them to convince Saotome. But now..

There was no way for her to choose all of them. She needed to choose only one. In front of them, she said she needed time to think yet in fact...

She was not sure about herself. All this time, she has been a cheerleader and good friend of STARISH. If she chose one of them, did that mean she would ruin their friendship?

But, all of them said that...

"It doesn't matter who you will choose. We already swear that there will be no offence."

When she was about to hit her head to the wall out of dilemma, her golden eyes caught a tall figure with a midnight blue hair, walking from opposite direction.

And unexpectedly, it made her heart beating faster.

"Ichi.. Ichinose san..." she gasped as the said boy smiled chummily at her.

"Good evening, Nanami-san," his greet alone was enough to make her heart flattered.

"Good... good evening."

The sight of Tokiya pulling a luggage caught her attention.

"Do you still have to work, Ichinose-san? I though that president gave you guys a long break."

"I already finished with my work. I am on the way to take a vacation to Australia."

"Owhh... I don't know that," her eyes widened as the news hit her. "For how long?"

"For the whole break."

Ehhh, it's weird. Why do I feel like I don't want him to go? Why do I feel like begging him to stay here instead?

"Why do you have to go there for that long?" she could not help but asking him for the sake of her own curiosity.

"Eh, why?"

"Ah, it's okay. You don't need to answer that. I am sorry for being such a busybody when you clearly want to spend your private time by yourself," Haruka spoke too fast, much to Tokiya's amazement.

"It's okay, Nanami-san. Honestly, rather than spending my private time on my own, I want to spend it with her instead. If only she reciprocates my feeling..." He mumbled.

"Eh?"

"Well, I think you also should take a break like going overseas or something. You look worn out," he pointed out randomly in order to hide the fact that he was this close in confessing his feeling to Haruka but it was enough for her to give full vent to her dilemma.

"Is it that obvious? Do I look that worn out, Ichinose-san?"

Tokiya's smile faded away. "So, you do have problem. Saw that coming."

She nodded helplessly.

"What's wrong, Nanami-san? Is it about your work again?" his voice totally expressed his concern, making her feel something that was so hard to describe.

More than a warmness. There was this strange feeling which kept crawling across her spine everytime she talked to Tokiya about her problem.

What is that called again?

"No. I... actually I..." she could feel the need of relying on Tokiya grew faster than ever. "The other STARISH members asked me to go out with them."

Tokiya's eyes widened a bit. The usual expression that would be formed over his calm face everytime there is something triggers him.

So, they already made a move on Nanami-san, didn't they? He smiled bitterly when his heart shattered into pieces.

Well, serves you right, Tokiya. You can just confess to her like they did, you dimwit!

"Really? Wow, that was fast. So..what did you say to them?"

"I want to do some thinking..." her beautiful-shoujo-female-lead face suddenly turned into a cute chibi face with tears strolled down her cheeks. "But I feel confused right now, Ichinose-san. If I choose only one, I will automatically make the others upset. What should I do, Ichinose san!? Please help me!!"

How about... choosing me instead? Yes, it still broke their hearts but at least, it will solve your dilemma, he mentally threw a joke before cursing himself to be that cruel.

Again, he did not deserve a nice girl like Haruka when she already had six nice guys who would lover her unconditionally.

Out of the blue, his brain suddenly came up with a strategy to help Haruka. A strategy that would hurt his heart more but at least, at the end, he could help Haruka from keeping herself on the horns of dilemma.

"I will try to help you. Now, first and foremost, put your hand on your chest."

"Eh? Why?" she placed her delicate hand to her chest baffledly but she decided to rely on him as her last resort.

"I want you to answer my questions while monitoring your heartbeat. Maybe.. Just maybe I can help you solving your predicament. Do you want to give it a shot, Nanami-san?"

"Hm.. Yeah, I guess."

"Em.. you don't have to answer me. Just do it in your mind, okay?"

Or to be more exact, I really don't want to hear from your own mouth, whoever he is...

"Okay."

"Good. Now, first question.. out of those guys, do you have someone that you can't help but particularly have your eyes on him?"

Yes. Out of those guys... No, she meant... out of those guys and Tokiya, when they were still the students of Saotome Academy, she had her eyers on Tokiya since their first encounter where she mistook him for Hayato. Since then, even the used-to-be-remote guy kept insisting that he was Hayato's twin brother, she still could sense the same aura emitting from him. Her attention to him got more obvious after she learned the truth and why Tokiya decided to stop becoming Hayato. At that time, she really concerned about the guy who introduced her with the beautiful side of music.

That was all the reasons.

Or.. not?

"When you bump into him, do you feel like... ah, it is not about his charm or look that makes you feel warm but his presence alone is enough to make you think that no matter how hard the problems you will go through, you are positive that you can surpass it?"

Her golden orbs suddenly stared blankly at Tokiya. It was not because she did not get the question. In fact, the answer registered so fast that she began to feel dubious about her brain and heart welfare.

What's wrong with my brain? Why did it only serve the image of Ichinose-san? Is it because Ichinose-san is standing right in front of me? And.. what's wrong with my heart? It beat.. faster. No, it can't be. Dear my brain, you are supposed to imagine the guy whose presence is enough to make me feel warm! Not Ichinose-san!

Or is he the guy? Is he the answer that I am looking for?

"Do you feel like... this guy.. I want to make him mine. I don't want to lose him to somebody else."

Well, come to think of it, when I came across a big poster of Ichinose-san and Yuma Risa-san for their upcoming movie...

The endearing face of hers suddenly turned red to the point of you do not need to be a genius to guess what she was thinking.

Why it kept generating Ichinose-san's image? Why is it thumping so fast? Why? Why? It would be embarrassing if he knew who the heck was she thinking about!

When she tried to make an eye contact with Tokiya, the gorgeous blue eyes of his gave the sign that he could guess what was she thinking.

She never knew that beneath the cool face, Tokiya was struggling to control himself from being dissappointed as he could guess that she was this close to solve her dilemma.

"But at the same time, you feel like, this wonderful guy.. I don't deserve him. He deserves somebody better than me.. I am nothing compared to him.."

Yes, I did think about that. Compared to Ichinose-san, I am just...

Wait... why is it Tokiya again?

"These days, you think that his happiness is your happiness. And to make him smiles, you will do anything for him. Am I right?"

As she listened to that question, Tokiya knew that Haruka already found the answer, enough from the way she looked at him.

The golden eyes suddenly looked full of love.

Guys, Nanami-san already chose someone in her mind. Whoever you are, congratulations.

"Ichi.. Ichinose-san, for all those questions that you asked me, all the answers are still the same. There is this particular person who suddenly keeps appearing in my mind."

"Well, most probably you have already fallen in love with him without you know it."

"You think so?" she asked nervously.

He smiled softly before placing his big hand onto her orange head. He stroked it slowly as an attempt to comfort her.

Yet, he never knew that the comfort from him meant something else for the composer. She just could not describe it with words, especially when her heart continued to pound like crazy.

"No worries," again, with a sweet smile, he assured her even the thought of her actually could determine who she has truly loved all this time was like a stab in his heart. "Just follow your heart because your heart always knows the best choice for you. Don't make it hard to yourself. After all..."

He inhaled deeply, mentally convinced himself to be calm and ready to move on from the girl who he was madly in love with.

"It doesn't matter who will you choose, we will accept it willingly. Trust me."

Haruka's eyes widened. Why did Ichinose san include himself when he said they would accept her choice from the bottom of their hearts? Could it be...

No, Haruka. You are not such a hot chick that all STARISH members will love you. It must be at least one or two members that feels indifferent towards you and the indifferent one is...

Ichinose Tokiya.

But for some reasons, it felt hurt.

"I am sorry. I have to go. I am already late for my flight. See you soon, Nanami-san."

"See you soon."

As he left her in the middle of the corridor, she felt the urge to see the smile of him again.

A cold breeze suddenly blew towards her. She sneezed, stopping him from leaving her.

"I need to go back to my room. This is too cold," Haruka mumbled as she was about to head to her room.

Out of the blue, she felt a soft fabric wrapped around her slim body. She turned around, a bit shocked when Tokiya's stunning face was just an inch from hers.

"Take this or you will catch a cold," he smiled chummily.

"Ichinose-san.."

Their faces were just too close, which maybe led Tokiya to hug her tightly.

"I love you, Nanami-san. See you next month," his mouth suddenly let out something that his heart has felt and really wanted to confess before he walked away from her.

Haruka remained stiff on her spot while her eyes continued looking at Tokiya until he was no longer in her sight.

She felt his warmth from the black jacket he gave her. She felt insanely thrilled when she was embraced. Not to mention...

I love him! The answer for all those questions is him!

  How is it, guys? Is it cheesy? I purposely posted this chapter this soon because I want to complete with this story as soon as possible (considering that I want to start with my next story, also as soon as possible). I will post the next chapter veeery soon. And about the characters, I am sorry if Tokiya and Haruka looked out of character. First, because in anime,Tokiya didn't even try to confess his feeling to Haruka and I don't play any utapri games yet so I don't know what will be the suitable way for a stoic like him to confess. Second, Haruka is suddenly bold with Tokiya considering that's her attitude when it comes to music.. she will strive so hard until she achieves her goal. I hope what I wrote about her does make sense.. So, review?