ｈａｖｅ   ｓｏｍｅ   ｆａｉｔｈ

『 your p.o.v 』

          With my suitcase clicking behind me, I made my way down the long narrow hallway that leads off the plane and into the airport, Syo and Otoya talking to each other as our large group of students begin trickling out into the main terminal.

"We're finally home!" Otoya cheered, happily bouncing with ever step he takes beside me.

Tokiya sighed. "Must you always be so loud?"

"That's just his nature." Masato spoke up.

"I'm glad we're home too!" Natsuki chimed in. "I missed all my Piyo-Chan plushies!"

"Didn't you bring five of them to Okinawa?" Ren asked with a knowing smirk.

"Yup! I could have used more."

"Of course you could've."

I laughed as we made our way into the terminal now, my laptop resting against my hip in one hand while I dragged my suitcase along with the other, the rest of the airport slowly opening up as we do so. Though just as I was about to jump into the conversation, a deep voice called my name. My friends quieted down as a certain silver haired rocker walked up to us, hands in his leather jackets pockets and looking positively annoyed at the inconvenience of having to come to the airport in the first place. "Ranmaru?" I said in slight shock.

The silver haired idol stopped no more than two feet in front of myself who happened to be placed at the very front of our group that's standing off to the side, more and more students looking in our direction with confused expressions considering no one really knows who this guy is. "Oi, didn't that idiot call you?"

I tilted my head to the side some as his eyes narrowed. "No? Was Reiji supposed to?"

Ranmaru clicked his tongue. "Yeah, I'm driving you to our meeting. You have the songs done?"

Slowly, my eyes widened some. "Oh! Okay, yeah, I'm ready whenever you are-"

"Little lamb, what's the relationship between you and Ranmaru here?" Ren cut me off, voice having an ounce of playfulness to it, but mostly sounding skeptical if not a little dangerous as he places his hands on my shoulders from behind me. "And where would you go with him?"

Glancing up to the orangette, I couldn't help but notice the cynical smirk dancing across his lips as Masato just stares at the silver haired rocker with disdain. "Ranmaru and Rei-chan are friends." I answered with knitted brows. "Is there something wrong with that..?"

His hands on my shoulders tightened ever so slightly as I looked to Ranmaru confusedly as if he would have the answer. "No, I assume not." Ren murmured before leaning down to get close to my ear. "But I don't want you leaving with him, lady."

Otoya curiously peered up at the rocker idol as I tried to not let this deep voiced orangette get to me. "Hey, we saw you play live! You were amazing back then!" The red head happily complimented.

Ranmaru flicked his different colored eyes to my best friend, his expression looking ever so colder. "Thanks." He said dismissively before focusing his attention on me. "Can we go now? These idiots are annoying."

"What a commotion you boys are creating!" Ringo laughed, him and Ryuuya walking over from across the terminal at arguably the worst time considering how strained the atmosphere currently feels. Or maybe that's the whole reason they came at the time they did.

To at least try and defuse this peculiar situation at hand.

The silverette clicked his tongue in annoyance as the two teachers came to stand to the right of him. "Kurosaki." Ryuuya greeted, getting a head nod in return. "What's the big idea here?"

"The brat has a meeting and these idiots aren't letting her go." Ranmaru responded without hesitation as he shot a glare towards my friends, Natsuki and Otoya flinching at the harshness of it.

"We simply wanted to know his intentions is all." Ren spoke up with a nonchalant shrug as he smugly smiled to our teachers. "But someone got a little too angry for his own good."

Shaking Ren's hands off from my shoulders, I walked forward some to stand beside Ranmaru. "Guys, I'll be at the Academy later today so just head back with everyone else."

"Composing stuff?" Syo asked with a cute tilt of his head, hid fedora slipping some from the movement.

I nodded. "Yup, composing stuff." I confirmed, already beginning to walk away from our group that's gained quite a fair amount of attention, some of the other students even stopping to see if someone is going to throw a punch or not. "I'm ready to go Ranmaru."

Scoffing, the silverette moved to walk beside me, the two of us leaving my friends behind to watch as we disappear into the crowds. I vaguely heard Otoya asking why Ringo and Ryuuya would let me go like this, their responses only being that I'm old enough to make my own decisions. I'll be back later and I'm sure those six won't go burning the entire school down while I'm gone so they'll be fine... As long as Natsuki is kept out of the kitchen that is.

"Damn idiots. We could have already been halfway to that idiot's apartment by now if they hadn't had made such a fucking scene." Ranmaru very nearly growled.

Giggling, I glanced up to him, those mix-matched eyes of his narrowing almost accusingly right back down at me. "Don't mind them so much, they're just protective is all." I mused.

He rolled his eyes. "They're idiots." He said as if it was a fact, looking forward once more as he maneuvers us through the crowds in order to leave the airport as quickly as possible.

"Anyways, were you waiting long?"

"No."

Another laugh slipped past my lips. "You're really standoffish, you know that?" I mused.

Ranmaru sighed. "You didn't talk this much the first time we met."

"Hm, well, now that I know you're not mean, I'm more comfortable talking to you." I said with an absentminded shrug of my shoulders as we stepped out of the airport, the cold winter wind smacking into me like a collapsing brick wall. "Snap, I forgot how freezing it is here."

With an annoyed click of his tongue, the idol beside me took off his leather jacket and draped it over my shoulders. "C'mon, my car is near the back of the parking lot." He said without sparing me a glance.

Without a word, I continued walking beside this seemingly cold idol. I'm surprised he even agreed to pick me up considering Reiji has a working car and could very well come to get me himself. The last thing I was expecting was to find this silverette impatiently waiting for me at my flights terminal. Though Ringo and Ryuuya didn't look all that surprised to see him there, more like they were standing by just waiting for all hell to break loose. If I had to take a guess, I'd say those two know more than they're letting on where Quartet Night is concerned.

The drive in Ranmaru's onyx black sports car with a crimson red and black interior was spent in silence that was neither comfortable nor strained, it was just, quiet. I stared out the window as the large city skyscrapers passed us by in a blur of colors, shapes, and plenty of people whizzing past even quicker. My mind wandered off and before I knew it, I'm zoning out while thinking about nothing in particular.

"Are you doing better?"

His deep voice snapped me out of my dazed state, slowly looking back to the silverette as my eyebrows knit together some. "What?"

He glanced to me for just a fraction of a second. "That idiot told us you ended up in the hospital because a bunch of dumbass punks decided to push you into the ocean." Ranmaru explained, zooming past a yellow light that was seconds away from turning red. "You look like you're doing okay at least."

"Um, yeah. I'm doing better..." I responded, my voice slowly trailing off as I refused to remember the night I woke up from that whole ordeal. "It feels like one bad nightmare so I'd rather not talk about it."

The silverette scoffed. "I get it. You should have seen your idiot brother," he mused, "I never saw him so damn serious before. Even Camus thought he was going to kill someone when he got off that plane."

I couldn't help but to laugh as Ranmaru looked to me with the silent question of 'did he actually kill a kid?'. "Don't worry, Ringo and Ryuuya took care of them before Reiji could I'm pretty sure." I said, still giggling as I shifted my attention back out the window. "Ringo can be pretty scary when he's angry and so can Ryuuya, but I think Reiji is even scarier so I'm not sure if those students should be happy or not they only had to deal with Ringo and Ryuuya. Last I heard, they were expelled."

"That's it? No punches thrown in their faces or anything?"

"Probably not considering I'm pretty sure that's illegal."

Ranmaru scoffed again. "Those idiot friends of yours would have been happy to punch them, I'm sure."

Shaking my head, I smiled some as I continued to look out the window. "I don't condone violence."

Our conversation died down once more, the atmosphere feeling much lighter than before as I absentmindedly run my index finger over the edges of the stickers practically glued on to the top of my laptop. I can't help but to glance to the heterochromatic idol sitting beside me every once in a while, one hand on the wheel while the other lazily rests on the little armrest just under the window, looking cool and uncaring as ever as we speed down street after street of early morning Tokyo.

Ranmaru is a very interesting guy with an air of mystery surrounding him completely. I want to ask him about his previous rock band, to understand what exactly led them to disband so suddenly the way they did. But something tells me that I would get coldly shut down at any mention of his band considering the dark scowl he got the second Otoya brought it up earlier. Even so, I can't help but want to get to know him and to uncover his past.

With a mental sigh, I resist the urge to lightly bang my head against the window. I need to stop getting into everyone's business like this. I have my hands full with my friends at school along with Reiji, the last thing I need to do is add Ranmaru and probably AI and Camus to the mix.

That would just be hell to maneuver...

"We're here." Ranmaru spoke up, once again dragging me from my thoughts as we turn into the parking garage of Reiji's apartment building. "You know how to get to his place from here? That idiot only gave me the address of the building." He said, finding a parking spot near the elevator I pointed off in the distance to and putting the car in park, turning the key so the ignition turns off with a dull hum.

"Yeah, sixth floor, room six-zero-eight is his apartment." I responded as I climbed out of the nice car with my laptop held protectively in front of me with both of my hands, resting against my stomach as I turn to look at the silverette as he locks his car with a loud beep ringing out and bouncing off the walls of the parking garage. "I guess AI and Camus are already here?"

The rocker simply shrugged in response, not saying a word as he spares me a glance and then starts walking towards the elevator. Shrinking back some at the coldness his eyes hold, I went ahead and followed quietly behind him, not caring as he takes his jacket off from my shoulders and slips that piece of clothing back on himself.

We rode up the elevator without uttering a single word as well. Ranmaru doesn't look particularly upset, more like he's just annoyed at having to do this whole thing. I still don't get this band idea of Shinings in all honesty. If they're so done with one another, what's the point in trying to force them to work together? The fans will surely be able to tell if they're fighting. Sure, you can fake being friends for cameras, but hiding behind masks can only get you so far before a crack forms and the real you begins to show.

How am I supposed to support a band that doesn't even want to support themselves?

Testing the doorknob, I sighed when the knob didn't turn. "Locked," I muttered as I crouched down, grabbed the spare key under the doormat, and unlocked the front door. "Geez, he should really hide this better before someone random just robs him." I then giggled, replacing the key and walking inside, Ranmaru standing outside for a moment longer before following me in and locking the door behind us.

"How much longer must we wait for this peasant."

"She'll be here soon- and stop calling my special girl a peasant Camyu!"

"Ranmaru should be arriving shortly. Traffic isn't horrible and there shouldn't have been any issues at the airport."

I vaguely heard Reiji chuckle from the living room as the silver haired rocker and I made our way towards the medium sized room. "Her friends are something else so I wouldn't be surprised if they put up a bit of a fight. Hopefully RanRan didn't tear into them too badly."

"He didn't," I said as walked into the room, "Ringo and Ryuuya came over and kept them back while we left. Ah, it's nice to see you two again." I greeted AI and Camus with a warm smile gracing my features, sitting down beside Reiji on the couch while Ranmaru walked over to the kitchens bar counter and plopped himself down on a stool.

Camus sat in a chair near the window that overlooks much of the cityscape, a cup of tea in hand while glancing over to me with a slightly pointed glare as Reiji wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me flush against his side, nearly toppling me in the process as AI watches on from the chair placed beside the couch and facing the coffee table. "Peasant, have you completed any possible chorus options for us like we asked of you?"

Struggling to open my laptop up on my lap as this happy brunette continued to squeeze me in his arms, I nodded some. "Yeah. I created four trial tracks essentially." I managed to say while trying to pry Reiji's arms from around myself. "They're pretty different from one another so whichever song you all decide you like the most, I'll finish and hand over to you four for writing lyrics." I said as I began opening up the four projects in my composing program, my idol only crushing me further as he smothers me with all his love and affection. "Reiji, you have to let me go."

"No! I missed my special girl!" The brunette yelled out dramatically as he continued to smother me in a bone-crushing hug, nearly making me drop my new laptop in the process.

I heard Ranmaru click his tongue from behind the couch where he sits at the kitchen counter. "Oi idiot, you're going to kill her."

"I would advise against killing off our future composer, Reiji." AI then spoke up.

"It would be troublesome if you caused us more problems." Camus tacked on.

Slowly, Reiji's arms unwound themselves from around my smaller frame as he leaned back in the couch, a content smile dancing across his lips despite his bandmates coldness. "Sorry, I just can't help myself."

"Well, learn some self-restraint you fool." The platinum blonde said with a dismissive sigh. "Play the trial songs for us, peasant. We don't have all day to sit around waiting."

Staying quiet, I started the first song, my nerves beginning to grow as I realized that I'm officially working with professionals and truly have the opportunity to have a song I write for them be put out as their debut track.

Each of the short minute and a half trial songs were drastically different from one another, though they still held similar elements that I thought matched these four well. I tried to make each of the songs keep a certain aspect of the four voices who will eventually be singing along with the track in mind.

Camus and his deep voice with a heavenly vibrato. AI and his higher pitched and angelic voice. Ranmaru with his low rock vibe that gives off a sense of wildness when he sings. And Reiji's more playful yet wholesome voice, always sounding warm and rich no matter what he's singing.

With the four trial songs, I kept these four main aspects in mind, making sure the compositions held something each of them could at the very least harmonize and possibly identify themselves with within the pieces. It's important for composers to keep their idols in mind when creating their songs. Even if I don't know each of these men nearly as well as I know Reiji or my friends at school, I can still try and at least fit their singing styles until I learn what it is they connect most to when singing. If I didn't try to do at least that, then, I wouldn't be comfortable calling myself a composer.

The four idols remained quiet as I played each of the compositions, Reiji the only one looking at the music as he peers down at my laptop and watches as the digital music sheet slowly scrolls itself down while the notes light up with each one played almost like something you'd see on a karaoke machine. Though I did purposefully color code some of the notes during the beginning solo parts, making it easier to imagine who would be singing what and where. Camus got the pale blue, AI a pastel lilac purple, Reiji and his forest green, and Ranmaru with a deep crimson red. Those were the first colors that popped into my head for them so I just rolled with it throughout each of the pieces.

As the fourth song came to an end, I went ahead and leaned over to place my laptop down onto the coffee table, not caring all that much as Reiji wraps a protective arm around my shoulders and pulls me close to his side once more, though this time being careful to not squeeze me to death upon his bandmates request of course. "So, did you guys like any of them?" I asked, looking to the handsome brunette expectantly.

The smile Reiji flashed me put all my nerves at ease. "They each sound great ___!" He said, leaning down and placing a soft kiss to the very top of my head. "You worked hard and it shows."

AI watched us with a blank expression before looking to the back of my laptop. "The third song, that one fits us the best."

"Yeah." Ranmaru spoke up. "Sounds like something I would sing."

"The same could be said for me." Camus tacked on.

I looked from each of the three idols, trying to gauge their reactions despite none of them really wearing anything other than bored or emotionless expressions. "The third song," I murmured as I pulled that one up once more and looked at it, "you guys really like it?"

"What would we get out of lying to you?" The platinum blonde sitting in the chair a little ways away asked with a cold tone. "Use that brain of yours and don't waste time by asking stupid questions."

Reiji laughed as he looked over to his foreign bandmate. "C'mon Camyu, she just wants to hear you praise her a little. That wouldn't kill you, would it?"

"Pompous bastard would probably give himself an aneurysm if he gave out a compliment." Ranmaru scoffed, no one missing the glare Camus directed at the silverette immediately after that comment.

AI looked to me with just a ghost of a smile gracing his lips. "___, could you continue composing that song for us? I think it's safe to say that's the song we want as our debut track."

"Of course." I responded, picking my laptop back up off the coffee table and renaming this specific project to "QN".

My brown haired idol glanced between his bandmates as he kept an arm wrapped around my shoulders, crossing one long leg over the other as I absentmindedly begin working on the next half of their song. "What should we name this?"

"Eh? We don't even know what the finished thing will sound like so why name it now?" Ranmaru asked.

"It would be wise to wait until she finishes composing the song for us before we go about naming it." Camus agreed.

AI once again looked at me as I continued arranging notes on my laptop, Reiji curiously watching me work without saying a word himself. "How long would it take for you to have this song finished for us, ___?"

Snapping out of my thoughts concerning this composition, I tried to think up an answer to give. "When is the Soatome Academy Music Festival?" I decided on asking.

"In two weeks time." The platinum blonde responded as he got up and wandered into the kitchen, ignoring Ranmaru's obvious glare as he goes about trying to locate something in the cabinets. He probably wants more tea since that's all he drank the morning we first met at that restuarant for our initial meeting about me potentially becoming their composer.

"In two weeks time..." I repeated softly.

I finished Ren and Masato's duet meaning my end of the project has been completed, the most I'll be having to do from this point forward being any minor corrections to their songs that they might want and that won't take much to any time at all to complete. Syo's song was finished before we left Okinawa and he already has it so that's another song finished and off my to-do list. I'm currently finishing up Tokiya's song, though something feels off about it so I can't exactly go completing it right this instant so the status of that song has been changed to put on hold until I can work with Tokiya one-on-one.

So, to put it simply, I'm essentially free to work on this song until I have it completed. The quickest I've composed a song was for Natsuki when I wrote his song in a little under three days. It was difficult, and I had to talk to him a lot to get all the minor details worked out over the following four days, but I finished the bulk of the composition in those first three days meaning I could do it again. But, I don't have the privilege of talking to these idols whenever I need to unlike my friends at school.

These four are professionals; they have their own individual schedules, their own lives, and not exactly all that much time to be placing aside for me to talk to them about this song no matter how badly I wish I could just steal them for little conferences. I'll have to take a little longer than three days then to try and get this song right on the first try so all that will be left is for them to write the lyrics and figure out choreography to the song.

"I can have this done in four days by Thursday." I finally answered. "That leaves you guys with about a week and a half to write the lyrics, make up a dance, and practice and record the finished song all before the festival."

Reiji laughed nervously. "You can take a little longer if you need to kiddo. If you rush this, it might not be all that good-"

"If she says she can have it done by Thursday, then let her work herself to the bone." Camus cut the brunette off with ease, something he's clearly done a handful of times already since they were forced into becoming a band. "If she can't have this song done by then, then she would have learned to not make promises for the impossible."

"No composer I've worked with has been able to make something that quick," Ranmaru then said, "you think you can pull this off, brat?"

I nodded. "If I say I'll have something done by a certain time, then I'll have it done. I can focus solely on this one composition and if I pull an all-nighter or two to complete it, then it should be up to your standards once I hand it over to you four."

AI actually smiled at that. "Email me the completed song and I'll gather everyone's feedback when you have the first draft finished. That will make the composing process go by quicker if you can hear quickly what we do and don't like."

Letting out a small sigh, I couldn't help but smile back at the tealette. "Thank you, AI."

It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders that I didn't even know existed in the first place. I guess just knowing I had to compose for these four was stressing me out far more than I had originally thought. But now that I know they do like my composition and have at least some faith in me composing a great song for them, I feel much more confident going into this project than I previously did.

Even if this is their debut track, them believing in me is enough to give me the strength to push away my own fears for their sake. I can't fail, not when Reiji's and these three other idol's careers are on the line. My song won't make or break them, but it would definitely injure their reputations if their band doesn't start off with an impressive first impression on each of their individual fanbases.

It's up to me to compose them a great song and I'm determined to do just that.

"Think you can handle this, kiddo?" Reiji asked softly, tightening his arm around my shoulders some as he protectively holds me close to him as we continue to sit side by side on the couch.

Looking up to meet those warm hazel eyes of his, I offer him a reassuring smile. "More than okay. I'll be just fine!"

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Jelly starfishies + ranran and renmasa stand-off let's goooooooo (cuz we all know I'm going to have those three be the childhood friends they are just so more hell breaks loose :'))))

Question of the Chapter: How do you think the soon-to-be ST☆RISH boys are going to react to the protagonist suddenly composing for Quartet Night when they inevitably find out (as if Ranmaru showing up at the airport wasn't a big enough hint for them lmao)? tbh the rivalry they're going to have with QN is going to be amazing and then all hell is going to break out once HE☆VENS is introduced lul the more boys in this fic, the more jellybean bois we get xD everyone will get cute jealousy moments so that'll be fun to look forward to.~ (especially natsuki's >:3)

It feels weird to have the Okinawa trip completed, now allowing us to see just how the starfish bois plan on becoming a band as well as growing closer to the protagonist all while Ryuuya, Ringo, and Quartet Night are slowly introduced into the mix as true potential love interests the closer graduation comes. Like, guys, this is practically a straight shot to graduation now and then we'll get some hella pushy Ringo and Ryuuya and actual flirty Quartet Night omgomgomgomgomg I'm so excited for my true bois to get real screen time xD (camus shall be loved by all or so help me god I will start having characters get taken out by stage lights and no one can stop me cuz I'm the writer :3)

As always, I love each and every last one of you lovely cuties and thanks so much for taking the time to read this chapter <3

~ ｋａｔ ♡