A/N: Okay... I know I've got several other stories all drifting along going nowhere at the moment... but this one just came to me and won't leave me alone! Oh yes, I'm going to adjust a couple of character's ages here... most notably Reiji and Masato's sister, Mai, as my idea won't work if I don't. Call it artistic license- you don't like it, please don't bash! Also, if the characters seem OC, I apologise as I've never seen the anime... this story came to me after reading up on the various characters after playing Shining Live!. Likewise, if I forget who refers to whom by name/nickname etc, please don't kill me! :P And now disclaimers- I don't have any ownership rights etc... except for my OC... all characters etc belong to their creators.

Chapter 1: A new idol arrives

"Man what a day..." Syo griped as he and the rest of Starish, sans Otoya and Cecil, left the studio on a short break. "I'm beat..."

"Quit complaining, Kurusu." Tokiya said with a slight frown. "We've been doing this for almost 3 years, you should be used to it by now."

Syo stopped to glare at the taller man.

"What did you say?!" he snapped. "Well, sorry, but we can't all be perfect, you know!"

Tokiya frowned and turned back to the shortest member of STARISH, opening his mouth to retort, but Natsuki beat him to it.

"Now, now, guys, don't fight." the bespeckled member of the band stood between the bickering duo.

"Besides, there are other things we could be doing." Ren added with a small shrug and a sly smirk. "I heard we're getting a new performer soon."

Masato, watching the whole spectacle in silence, frowned slightly and turned to Ren.

"I heard that as well, but put it down to a rumour." he said in his quiet voice.

"Well, Ikki has been holed up in his father's office the whole morning..." Ren answered, his smirk widening. "I think it's a little more than just a spin of the rumour mill based on that alone."

Masato frowned more, folding his arms to his chest.

"And how, pray tell, did you come to that conclusion based on that alone, Jinguji?" he asked the strawberry blonde.

"Simple." Ren answered, turning to face his childhood friend. "Why else would Ikki be meeting with Shining so regularly?"

"I don't know." Tokiya interjected, a healthy amount of causticity in his tone. "I guess he has a lot to learn about the business and Shining Productions in general."

Masato nodded.

"Indeed." he agreed. "He is Saotome's heir, after all."

Ren merely shrugged.

"While I expected Hijirikawa to be a stick-in-the-mud, I didn't expect you to join him, Tokki." he told Tokiya, the younger man frowning slightly.

"I'm not being a stick-in-the-mud, Jinguji." he told his band mate a little pompously. "I'm merely trying to deter you from spinning the rumour mill out of control."

"Well, I for one, hope it's true and that it's a new girl." Syo added his two cents.

"Oh, it'll be wonderful to have a cute girl around!" Natsuki added, clapping his hands together, a big smile on his face.

Ren grinned.

"Well, at least I have Syo and Shinomi on my side." he quipped.

Tokiya frowned at Ren.

"It's not a matter of sides." he told the three of them.

"You do realize that the rule forbidding romance still stands, correct?" Masato added, causing Ren to scowl slightly.

"Why do I feel like that little barb was aimed squarely at me, Hijirikawa?"

Masato turned to him with a dead-straight face.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, Jinguji." he answered him.

Before a real argument could begin, a cheerful voice rang out.

"What's this, Ren-Ren, Masa? Fighting over the new girl already?"

The five members of STARISH turned towards the voice to see Reiji Kotobuki (the owner of the voice), walking towards them with his usual grin on his face, Shining Saotome and Otoya Ittoki beside him and the rest of QUARTET NIGHT trailing behind them.

Masato frowned as the Starish boys all turned to the newcomers.

"We're not fighting over anyone, Kotobuki." he told the older idol, while Ren wore a triumphant smile.

"So, it is a girl then?" he asked Shining Saotome, who nodded.

"Yes. She goes by the name of FrEe SpIrIt... and from what I hear, she can be quite a handful." he said. "That's why I've asked Reiji here to be the one responsible for her since he's the one with the most experience as he's been in the industry the longest."

Camus folded his arms across his chest.

"By the stage name alone I can already tell she'll be trouble." he sniffed. "I can only hope she won't pick up any bad habits from Kotobuki."

"While it's true Kotobuki is more than a little flakey, he's completely devoted to being an idol." Tokiya stood up for his senior and trainer. "He'll do a good job of licking the new girl into shape."

"I agree with Tokiya." Ranmaru Kurosaki spoke up. "While he acts the clown, he's 100% serious when it comes to music."

He turned to Camus, one of his hands on his hip as he regarded the cold aristocrat.

"You're one of those who should know better then most, Count Cool."

While Camus glared at Ranmaru, Reiji gave a grateful smile to Tokiya.

"Thanks, Toki, Ran-Ran." he said. "I can't wait for the new girl to get here to 'lick her into shape' as Ran-Ran said."

Ren's lips curled into a lascivious smile as he arched an eyebrow at the older man, his bright blues shining with mirth and mischief.

"Let's hope your 'licking' is not meant in the literal sense, Kotobuki." he teased.

"Now, now, Ren-Ren." Reiji grinned back. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to make me out to be a bit of a pervert."

"Then it's a good thing I'm not trying to make you out to be a bit of anything." Ren answered, his arms folding across his chest, his expression smug.

"Ouch." Reiji's expression winced as his smile grew wry. "I'm hurt."

"Reiji, stop pouting." the calm voice of Ai Mikage, the youngest member of QUARTET NIGHT finally spoke. "If you acted your age more, people wouldn't arrive at the wrong conclusion about you."

"Ouch, as cold as ever, Ai-Ai." Reiji turned to the android with a wry smile. "You and Myu make a pair."

"Speaking of arrivals." Syo turned to Otoya and Shining as Ai pointedly ignored Reiji causing the older man to pout more. "When is Cecil coming back?"

"Some time today." Otoya answered, his red eyes shining with excitement at the thought of seeing his younger half-brother again. "I hope he gets here before the new gir-"

The sound of running feet, a flash of pale red, a blur of purple and a shrill voice was the only warning any of them had before something plowed energetically into Ren, knocking the tall idol onto his ass.

"STRAWBEARY-RENNY!"

A/N: Okay, so here's my retake on the character's ages...

Masato is only 2 years older than Mai for the purpose of this fanfic. Ren is 3 years older than Sakura. Masato, Tokiya, Syo, Otoya and Haruka are all the same age, Natsuki and Ren a year older than them and Cecil is the same age as Sakura and Mai. Reiji is 5 years and Ranmaru is 4 years older than Masato and them, Camus 2 years younger than Ranmaru and Ai a year younger than him, so the same age as Ren and Natsuki. To put it in simpler terms... at the start of the chapter:

Sayuri, Tsubaki, Sakura (my OCs), Mai and Cecil- 16 years old
Masato, Tokiya, Syo, Otoya, and Haruka- 18 years old
Ren, Natsuki and Ai- 19 years old
Camus- 20 years old
Ranmaru - 22 years old
Reiji- 23 years old

Hopefully that clears things up.
Tani