Uta no☆Prince-sama: EMPIRE!

Chapter 3: Pushing Limits

Haruka lets out a yelp as she shuts her eyes in response as STARISH members try to call her attention and warn her. "NANAMI!" they yell, before Shining throws a smoke bomb into the room making the three of them disappear into the fog.

♬

"AHH! WHERE DID NANAMI GO?" Otoya calls out frantically, a look of concern on his face. The other group members quickly respond to his call, and they all look around the room with confusion and worry.

Just as the boys begins to panic, Camus speaks up sternly, "Stop acting like fools," his tone annoyed.

"Just because Saotome decided to speak with Haruka privately in his office is no reason to panic. It is obvious where she went, and that it does not warrant any panic or concern," he adds, sighing.

"Which is, unfortunate. I was looking forward to speaking with her." Eiichi comments with a shrug, his tone betraying a hint of mischief, causing STARISH to collectively cringe for a moment.

Van chuckles gleefully and places a firm hand on Eiichi's shoulder, giving him a light squeeze, "Haha, don't be such a weirdo, Eiichi. You're scaring 'em!"

Eiichi laughs softly under his breath, seeming to enjoy the effect his words had on the other members of STARISH. Looking around at them with a devious smirk, he replies, "Hahaha, no, don't worry. I'm certainly not trying to scare them."

He pauses for a second before adding, "At least, for now..."

The room, like a pin-drop, falls into a stony silence.

Natsuki breaks this silence with a chuckle and a playful tone "Hahaha, you guys certainly did make a grand entrance!" He says, laughter in his voice.

"Seriously! Man, I thought we were being attacked..." Syo exclaims with a dramatic facepalm.

"It's only natural~ We're all about making a big entrance~" Nagi replies, "It simply wouldn't be HEAVENS if it wasn't grand." he says, smirking.

Syo rolls his eyes and throws up his hands, muttering "Whatever, just knock normally this time..." A quiet, but playful laughter fills the air.

Ranmaru clicked his tongue in a tone dripping with irritation, as he couldn't hide his displeasure from his expression. "A grand entrance? Pft, what a way to be annoying," he muttered to himself, never even glancing at HEAVENS.

Yamato's eyebrows twitched and looked at Ranmaru with a hint of irritation on his face. "Oi, what did you just say?" His harsh tone demanded an explanation for Ranmaru's comment.

Seeing the rising tension, Reiji quickly steps in and tries to defuse the situation. "GAN, GAN! Ran-Ran... Even if you feel that way, don't say it like that!"

Ranmaru sternly tells Reiji to back off, leaving Reiji surprised at his shift in attitude, slumping his shoulders in acceptance.

Yamato's expression fills with anger and it is evident he is about to take issue with Ranmaru in a way that will undoubtedly cause trouble, but Eiichi cuts him off swiftly. "Yamato... we're not here to cause trouble." His commanding tone diffuses the rising tension.

Yamato's angry gaze is broken by Eiichi's command, and the tension that is building within him seems to disappear, at least for the time being. "Tsk, Whatever," he crosses his arms and turns away from the group.

Kira's voice breaks the current tension, sounding sincere and apologetic, "We apologize for... Yamato's reaction..." His tone is serious and genuine as he bows his head to QUARTET NIGHT.

"Yes!" Eiji backs him up with a slight smile on his face, "We would like to say sorry for barging in without warning..." his tone sounding sheepish and light.