“Ne, Ren?”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Why are we the ones asking???”

After their agreement of regrouping temporarily, two members of Starish – namely Otoya and Ren – were found walking towards their senoirs’ rooms. The group volunteered them to be the ones to ask permission from their seniors because,

‘You and Kotobuki-san get along better and he loves to spoil you. Plus, it would be unusual if I were to approach him since I rarely do that.’ Tokiya reasoned out.

‘Considering how Natsuki acted as me, I doubt Kurosaki-sempai would like to see my face.’ Masato stated. ‘So you go Jinguji.’

“They do have a point though.” Ren thought aloud as he recalled what Tokiya and Masato said.

“What about Syo and Natsuki? Aren’t they going to ask permission from Mikaze-sempai?” Otoya asked.

“According to Hijirikawa, Ai-chan gave them a day off from their schedule since they’ve accomplished everything precisely and without complaint.” Ren replied. “As expected of him and Ichi.”

“Heh, it was actually pretty funny how Syo reacted to that!” the guitarist exclaimed with a grin.

‘NANI!? What do you mean he gave you a day off!?’ Syo practically shouted this. ‘That’s….that’s IMPOSSIBLE! This must be some kind of trick! Dammit! S-Stop joking guys!’

‘But it’s true. Mikaze-sempai said we deserved it.’ Masato interjected.

‘And do you really think we’re the type to fool around?’ Tokiya added.

‘…..I never experienced getting a day off from him.’ Syo sulked.

‘And probably never will.’ Cecil murmured, which did not go unnoticed by the shorter blonde.

‘Bastard! I heard that!’

“Ah yes. Ochibi-san’s face was priceless!” Ren chuckled at the memory.

The two stopped their tracks upon arriving at Otoya, Tokiya, and Reiji’s room.

“Well we’re here! I hope Rei-chan will agree to this…” Otoya said, slightly concerned.

“Didn’t Ichi say that Rei-chan loves to spoil you? I’m sure your sempai will agree without batting an eye.” The saxophonist assured with a wink as he grabbed the door knob. “If that doesn’t work, I can always charm him. Good luck with Ran-chan though.”

Ren entered his temporary room and was surprised to find the usually hyper sempai whimpering under the covers of his bed.

“Hmm? Rei-chan, are you alright?” Ren asked as he approached the bed.

“Otoyan? Thank goodness! Yes~ I’m okay! Just a little cold.” Reiji exclaimed.

The real reason why the brunet was hiding under the covers was because he thought Ai wasn’t satisfied with his revenge and came back to torture him some more. Therefore Reiji was relieved to know that it was just his Otoya – who was acting strangely the other day but at least the red-head didn’t beat him up, right?

“Is there anything you need?” the clown sempai asked, peeking at his kouhai who sat at his bed.

“Well, I just wanted to ask if Starish can regroup? I mean, it’s just for a short while…maybe even just for the day. We just want to get to know each other better.” Ren replied, trying his best to sound Otoya-ish.

“Sure! I don’t mind! You have to ask RanRan and AiAi though.” Reiji said in his normal happy voice.

“Really? Thanks so much Rei-chan!” the saxophonist exclaimed gleefully. “You’re the best!”

With one senior’s permission granted, Ren left the room to find Otoya. He hoped that his sempai wasn’t being rough on the sweet red-head (Ranmaru seemed to have little tolerance when it came to Ren). From afar, he could see his own self approaching him.

“So how’d it go?” the saxophonist asked.

“Kurosaki-sempai said ‘Tch. Whatever!’ which I guess could be translated into a yes!” Otoya exclaimed with a grin.

“So Ran-chan…Okay, good. I’ll inform the others.” Ren said as he took out his phone.

“Ne, where do you wanna stay?” the guitarist asked.

“Hmm…the day looks wonderful. Let’s go outside.”

~

Minutes later, the two idols could be found discussing at the terrace. The duo was giving each other a rundown on how he should act based on the body they were currently residing in.

“Make sure you treat them equally otherwise it could get really ugly.” Ren explained, referring to his harem. Otoya awkwardly blew a kiss at the group of girls from afar which, of course, caused said group to clutch their kokoros before fainting dramatically.

“Ren, why do you have a lot of girls that follow you around?” Otoya questioned.

“Have you looked at your current self in the mirror?” Ren shot back. “I’m the idol equivalent of Adonis so of course it’s normal to be followed around and occasionally being fought over.”

“But can’t you love just one?” insisted the other.

“Of course I can. No matter how many girls throw theirselves at my feet, my heart will always be for the little lamb.” The saxophonist exclaimed. “You like her too, don’t you?”

Otoya blushed. It wasn’t a first but Ren found it a tad weird since he would never do such.

‘So that’s how I look like blushing.’ He thought before going back to the topic. “You get really flustered whenever she’s being brought up.”

Otoya fidgeted in his seat. “O-Of course! Nanami’s such an amazing person! She’s wonderful and she gives her all in composing songs. She’s very supportive and she can be counted on. Even if things are difficult, she always smiles and…and I want to protect her smile no matter what!”

Ren was astounded. The younger male’s confession was innocent yet very sincere. He never thought that this was how Otoya would feel towards their lovely composer. Somewhere deep in his heart, Ren couldn’t help but feel jealous on how his companion could express his true feelings without any act or cover-up.

“I see.” was all Ren could say for the moment before continuing. “I am challenged by you.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Otoya asked.

Ren chuckled. “It’s nothing. Forget it. Where were we again?”

The two continued their discussion – Otoya explaining what guitar chords were and Ren teaching him how to expertly twirl a rose – before the younger suggested eating some snacks. The duo bought some sandwiches and while eating, Ren observed his companion (who was happily munching on his snack with a small smile).

“It’s nice to hang out with someone other than Hijirikawa. The two of you are really different.” The saxophonist commented.

“Oh yeah, there’s something I wanted to ask you.” Otoya exclaimed.

“What is it?”

“Eh, do you and Masa really hate each other?”

Ren thought for a while and smiled. “We look as if we do, huh?”

“Yeah for most of the time.” The other replied as he took a bite of his sandwich.

“That’s understandable. Hijirikawa and I do have a strange relationship.”

Ren recalled the times he and Masato had during their childhood. Those were fun memories – sneaking out of parties to play somewhere was so worth the scolding – and it meant a lot to the saxophonist.

“When we knew that our companies were rivals, we became distant. In addition, Masa is the heir to the Hijirikawa Company so it served as a surprise for me to find him here in Saotome academy.”

Otoya nodded for the older male to continue. This was the first time he had seen Ren so chatty, so he made sure to listen to his every word.

“We still didn’t see eye to eye until the formation of Starish. I guess being roommates with him somehow rekindled what was left of our friendship. He would scold me every now and then, and I would tease him every now and then as well.” The Casanova continued.

“The two of you are worlds apart.” Otoya commented.

“Heh, speak for yourself. Strangely enough our differences were the reasons why we even bother each other. It’s funny in an ironic sense.” Ren chuckled. “Anyway, I don’t hate Hijirikawa. We might be rivals in the business world but I could never hate him.”

“If you don’t hate him, then what do you really feel about Masa?” the guitarist asked.

Ren looked at him. He might be looking at his own self but Otoya made anything – and apparently anyone – look and sound innocent. In addition he found Otoya a trustworthy person capable of keeping secrets.

“What I feel about him huh?” the older of the two seemed to be in deep thought. “I guess I could say I’m thankful for him.”

Otoya cocked his head. “Thankful?”

“Masato….he can see right through me.” Ren replied.

He remembered the time he was to model for Japan Boys Collection sponsored by the Jinguji Company. Back then Ren still had ill feelings towards his family but for the sake of Starish and the UtaPri award, he had to do it. Masato was able to tell that it bothered him a lot and the blunette tried to encourage him in his own cold way. Furthermore, Masato could see right through Ren’s Casanova act.

‘He’s full of surprises.’ Ren thought as a smile found its way to his lips. ‘He appears not to care, but the truth is that he does.’

“Hey Ren! You still there?” came the voice of Otoya thus snapping the other out of his thoughts.

“Yeah. Hey Otoya, tell me about you and Ichi.” Ren began. He was curious about the red-head’s relationship with his roommate since they were opposites too.

“Eh? Me and Tokiya? Well, we’re not alike but we get along pretty well.” Otoya replied as his face lit up with the thought of his roommate. “He’s strict and a perfectionist and a workaholic. He would always correct me and not always in a nice way either, but I know that Tokiya only wants me to improve. I could say that I’m thankful for my roommate too!”

Ren couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps he and Otoya weren’t so different afterall.

~

While making their way back to the dorm, Ren gave his companion a pat on the shoulder.

“Huh? What it is?” Otoya asked.

“What I said about Hijirikawa…let’s keep it our secret okay?” said Ren. ‘Masa would never treat me the same if he knew.’

Otoya grinned. “My lips are sealed!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY MY DEAR READERS~!!! Of course, a happy happy birthday to our dear Ren Jinguji! I hope I did his character justice in chapter 6 :3 And no - I absolutely did not wait for Feb 14 to upload this. Pfft. Anyway, how's your day my lovelies? I hope you had a great day because Valentines isn't just for lovers ya know? It's for everyone to spend time with the PEOPLE they love :) Speaking of people, thank you so much to everyone who supported this story^^ You guys are pretty much the reason why I can't wait to update this fanfic so thank you very much <3 Until the next chapter~!