I'm not slacking off, I swear! This idea just came to me while I was listening to one of Scandal's songs. The age gaps here will be different from the original story. Ryoma and Meisha are 16 years old, Momo and Kaidou are 19 years old, and Tezuka, Fuji, Oishi, Eiji, Taka, and Inui are 22 years old. There might be some difference in personalities if you compare this one shot to Dame dame jan but it's just because they have all aged. This is just how I imagine them at this age. Well, anyway, hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of their characters as well as their tennis moves. I get my reference from wiki/Prince_of_Tennis_Wikia so if you think there is something wrong with the information here, let me know and I shall review it! Thank you and hope you enjoy!
Band Wars
The crowd went wild when the next band, Tenipuri, got on stage. Their lead singer and guitarist (plus the leader of the band), Ryoma Echizen, smirks at the crowd's energy and enthusiasm. Their drummer, Takeshi Momoshiro, shared the crowd's enthusiasm as he waves at them with both hands in the air while holding his drumsticks in his right hand. Their bass player, Kaoru Kaidou, ignores the crowd—as usual—with a permanent frown on his face. Their second lead guitarist, Eiji Kikumaru, grins and waves at the crowd energetically.
It was that time of the year again when rookie bands around Tokyo gather together to proclaim war with each other—Band Wars. The winning band gets to sign a contract with any of the sponsoring music productions companies for a whole year. This gives the winning band the opportunity to prove that they are worth the investment; thus worth having a permanent contract with. There have already been several bands skilled enough to earn the interest of their chosen companies and eventually were offered permanent contracts with them. But most bands were usually kicked out after the one-year contract period. It wasn't even unusual for bands to leave their respective companies before the end of their one-year contract. In fact, Tenipuri is known for doing just that. Ryoma would eventually get tired of all the rules and regulations that constrict their freedom so after a few months, he takes his band members with him to leave the company and go back to playing gigs in various establishments. His band members don't mind it because all of them just love to play music and they trust their leader's judgment. They just simply play together because they like the music they make together as a band. Their manager though, Shuichiro Oishi, constantly sighs at their lack of desire to stick to a company but nonetheless respects the band's decisions. The band has no financial problems after all. They earn more than enough with their gigs so Oishi can't really complain but he knows that Tenipuri can be even more popular if the right company takes them in—especially one where Ryoma will commit to long enough.
Momo slaps the drumsticks together as a cue that they are about to start playing. The crowd immediately quiets down as the anticipation in their eyes becomes more evident. When the band starts to play, the crowd starts to bang their heads up and down to the beat. Their band falls under the punk-rock genre and they decided to compete using their new song: "Fake Saints". The crowd sings along when Ryoma sings the chorus for the second time.
"Just stop pretending,
I wasn't born yesterday,
You can keep trying,
But that smile's a giveaway.
You're not fooling me,
You can't erase that taint,
So just let me be,
Get away you fake saint!"
Ryoma grins cheekily. It was the first time they played this song in public so he is very pleased at the fact that the crowd already got parts of the song memorized; Nothing less from the 16-year old genius composer. He's very well-known for composing very memorable songs, which is part of the reason why a lot of companies are keeping their eyes set on the band. Another reason is because they all play so well with each other. Momoshiro (aka Momo) and Kaidou are known to be childhood friends and they used to fight often but now they are civil to each other. You wouldn't even think they were friends until you hear them play together. They're always in sync with each other; keeping the pace and the rhythm of their songs. They can manage to read and understand each other without talking to one another. Eiji and Ryoma are both very flexible and able to adapt to various playing styles. When Momo or Kaidou plays too fast or too slow, they can immediately adjust their pace with them so nothing sounds out of tune. A lot of companies have asked each member if they can leave the Tenipuri to form a new band under them but the members always refuse. They are loyal to each other as a band and they also don't want anyone other than Oishi to be their manager.
"Thanks everybody!" Eiji exclaims while waving to the crowd and walking towards the side and off the stage with the other members.
The crowd continues to cheer for them and call out their names.
"Be sure to vote for us!" Momo yells out and winks at the crowd.
"Encore! Encore! Encore!" the crowd starts to chant. They just couldn't get enough of the new song.
Ryoma and Kaidou don't acknowledge the crowd—like always—while casually walking off the stage and into the backstage. They could still hear the crowd asking for a repeat performance.
"I told the organizers that you don't do encores, is that alright with you?" Oishi asks Ryoma once he was sure that all the members were hidden from the crowd outside.
Ryoma nods, "Thanks", he says in a monotonous voice.
Oishi smiles at him and hands him a towel and a water bottle, "Good work", he looks at the others and offers them towels and water bottles as well, "You guys did a great job. You can go back to the dressing room and rest. There are refreshments near the organizers' booth so feel free to take whatever you want or you can always ask me to get them for you", his smile widens.
"Thanks, Oishi!" Eiji says before wiping the sweat off his forehead.
"Yeah, thanks, Oishi-san", Momo says before drinking from his water bottle.
"Thank you", Kaidou says politely with a slight nod before wiping the back of his neck.
Oishi nods and smiles warmly in response, "I need to arrange some things with the organizers. So just call me when you need something", he says before lightly waving at them and walking towards the organizers' booth.
It's been a few hours since their performance. The organizers announced that they will be taking a quick break to recheck the lights and speakers. The Tenipuri members decided to stay in their room to check their equipment. Their room was fairly near the stage so they could still hear the other bands performing. So far, none of the bands have caught their interest. They are sure to win again this year.
Ryoma gets up from the sofa and walks towards the door.
"Oi Echizen, where are you going?" Momo asks while looking up from the magazine he was reading.
"Getting more donuts", he says as he turns the door knob.
"Chocolate icing for me!" Eiji says cheerfully while lightly strumming his guitar.
"Bavarian filled", Kaidou says as he continues to tune his bass guitar.
"Original glazed for me! Thanks buddy!" Momo exclaims with a grin.
Ryoma turns his head to his members and glares at them before slamming the door shut behind him while mumbling how unfair it was for younger people.
As Ryoma gets closer to the refreshments table, he sees someone hovering over the donuts. Her back is towards him so he can't see her face but she looks to be shorter than him and has shoulder-length, light brown hair. She looks to be wearing a sleeveless, blue denim jacket, black denim shorts, and hot pink sneakers. He gets close enough to hear her mumbling about donut flavors and which one she should get. Ryoma is known to be many things but he's best known to be impatient and—
"Oi, you're in the way", he tells her abruptly.
—rude to girls.
The petite girl quickly turns around—her widened, dark brown eyes locking on to his slowly widening hazel ones. They stare at each other for a while before she breaks eye contact and looks at his shoes. He's wearing a pair of red and white Vans. She moves up and observes that his dark green denim jeans look a bit bulky on him but that's probably on purpose. She moves up some more to see that he is wearing a black v-neck shirt with the words, 'Punk is not dead' printed on it in red. Her eyes then travel to his face. Her eyes light up in recognition.
He smirks at her arrogantly, "Like what you see?" he teases. He seldom talks to strangers and even rarely to girls but this one seemed different somehow. He'll admit she's cute but that's not what attracted him to her. Maybe she's a fan—a non-crazy fan.
She frowns a bit before grinning mischievously, "I was just disappointed to find out just how short the well-known leader of Tenipuri is in person", she tucks some hair behind her left ear while she rests her right hand on her hip.
It was his turn to frown. Okay, she's not their fan, that's for sure. "Should you really be talking about my height? You're practically a head shorter than me", he smirks triumphantly when he sees her frowning in displeasure, "Checkmate, pipsqueak", he steps a bit closer to her.
An anger vein forms on her forehead. She pouts grumpily at his retort.
He grins cheekily and takes the short pause as an opportunity to look at her better. She's wearing a hot pink tube top under her open denim jacket. It has the words, 'Rock on!' printed on it in black. For a brief moment, he admires her angry expression—she looks cute angry.
"Who you calling a pipsqueak, you shorty!" she retorts back while stepping closer to him.
He resists the urge to chuckle at her but continues to grin at her mockingly, "Maybe I should raise my voice a bit more so you could hear better from all the way down there", he takes another step towards her as his grin widens, "Pipsqueak", he calls her mockingly.
Her cheeks flare up in anger, "That was rhetorical, you dingbat!" she takes another step forward while her hands are clenched at her sides. She debates with herself whether or not she'll be put in jail for killing an arrogant vocalist.
His grin widens as he takes another step forward and cups his right ear, "What?" he pretends he didn't hear her, "Speak up, pipsqueak, I can't hear you from all the way down there"
By now, they were already less than a foot away from each other. She was looking up at him and scowling while he was arrogantly looking down at her and smirking in amusement.
"Well, this is a surprise", someone interrupts and makes the two focus on the new person who was standing a couple of feet beside them.
Her scowling face immediately changes to a bright and happy expression as she hurries towards the new person in glee, "Shuichi-nii!" she exclaims while hugging him.
Ryoma raises his brow, "Oishi-san?" he calls out to make sure.
Oishi nods with a smile, "In the flesh!" he looks towards the refreshments table before looking at Ryoma again, "I could've gotten the donuts for you if you just called me", he gently strokes the girl's hair.
Ryoma shrugs indifferently and focuses his attention back to the girl who is currently enjoying how Oishi is stroking her hair. He feels slightly irritated at the fact that she bolted away from him the moment she saw Oishi but he's not going to let anyone know that.
Unfortunately for Ryoma, Oishi is a very observant person. He noticed Ryoma's slight change in demeanor when Meisha ran to hug him. His eyes glint in amusement. He gently pushes Meisha away from him and smiles down warmly at her. She gives him a wide grin.
Okay, Ryoma will admit that she looks even cuter happy. So what if she's cute and acts all close to his manager? He mentally sulks. He's seen cuter girls. Although he will admit that he feels a special something between them.
"I didn't know you two know each other", Oishi says while glancing at Ryoma before looking back down at the girl.
"We don't", the two teens say in unison with frowns on their faces.
"Oh", Oishi looks surprised, "You just met now and you're at each other's throats already", he frowns.
"She was in the way", Ryoma shrugs indifferently.
"He was being a jerk!" she defends her self and crosses her arms in defiance.
Oishi sighs. He guesses that Ryoma got impatient again and said something rude. He should really lecture him more about that bad attitude of his. But for some strange reason, that's the whole reason why his fan club goes gaga over him. He watches how the girl continues to glare at Ryoma. And if there's one thing he knows about this girl is that she's too stubborn to back down from a fight. He glances at Ryoma and sees him smirking mockingly at her. He notices a familiar glint in Ryoma's eyes. Oishi has been working with Tenipuri for almost two years now so he knows that that glint means Ryoma's interested. He glances back at the girl. Too bad Ryoma's subject of interest is practically hissing at him. Oishi's face brightens a bit when an idea came to mind. He is thankful to any existing almighty being that made this opportunity possible. He rummages through his brown, leather messenger bag and pulls out two cans of ponta. He bought these especially for the two of them after all. He's not going to waste this opportunity.
"Echizen-kun", Oishi calls out as he lightly throws one can to Ryoma who easily catches it. "And here's one for you", he hands the other can to the girl with a sly smile.
"Than—" They both say in unison but stopped when they took a closer look at their cans. Their facial expressions immediately changed to one of displeasure and slight disgust.
Oishi's eyes glint knowingly, "Well, I have to go do manager stuff so I'll see you guys later", he says in a hurry before jogging away from the two teens.
The two teens look at each other before looking down at each other's cans. Their eyes light up in interest. He is holding a strawberry-flavored ponta while she is holding a grape-flavored one. They both know that Oishi knows their favorite drinks so maybe he accidentally interchanged the cans because he was in such a hurry. But in fact, Oishi did this on purpose and both of them will never know that.
"Um, would you agree to a truce?" she asks him while lightly waving her can towards him.
He looks down at his can before glancing at her can. Who in the right mind would want to drink the strawberry-flavored ponta? It's known as the least favorite flavor. His eyes move towards her face and he sees her hopeful eyes. Weird, she actually likes this flavor. He gives her a sly smile, making her narrow her eyes at him warily.
"On one condition", he says while walking towards her to get closer. He likes being near her for some reason. He feels more comfortable being near her.
She lets him come nearer to her but her eyes show doubt and suspicion, "Well, what is it? It better be worth exchanging ponta for", she says with a frown as if expecting the worst.
He grins cheekily and bends down a bit so their faces are inches apart from each other, "You have to tell me your name", he says smoothly.
There was a short silence between them before the girl takes a step back and covers her mouth to control herself from laughing. Ryoma looks at her with widened eyes—bewildered by her sudden desire to laugh. His facial expression must have broken her control because she couldn't take it anymore and decided to laugh freely while clutching her stomach in slight pain. He was expecting her to blush or faint like all the other girls he spoke that way to or get angry or irritated but he never expected her to laugh at him. But instead of feeling insulted or irritated at her laughter, he can't help but strain his ears to hear more of the melodic laughter. He could slowly feel his creative juices flowing and making a new song as he continues to practically gape at the continuously laughing girl in front of him. Okay, he admits that she definitely caught his full attention now. Her laughter dies down as she wipes some tears from her eyes. He misses her laughter and hopes to hear it again.
She grins at him sincerely, making an imaginary arrow pierce through his heart, "I'm Meisha", she offers the grape-flavored ponta to him with her left hand, "Meisha Tezuka", she continues to smile at him with eyes full of mirth.
Ryoma moves his lips but ends up looking like a fish out of water. She looks at him confused but continues to smile at him. Smooth move, Romeo. What are you? A thirteen year old talking to his crush for the first time? He stiffly moves his left hand to offer the strawberry-flavored ponta. Actually, he does seem to act like a thirteen year old talking to his crush for the first time.
"I-I'm Ryoma Echizen", he tries not to flinch at how he stammered. He reaches out his right hand to take the offered grape-flavored ponta. He purposely brushes his hand on hers and feels a tingly but addicting sensation.
"Yeah, I know." She reaches out her right hand as well to take the offered strawberry-flavored ponta, "I don't think anybody can forget you after your performance. Awesome new song, by the way!" she grins at him and accidentally brushes his hand while taking the can.
There's that sensation again. It's definitely addictive. "Thanks", he says with a smirk as he controls the urge to grab her hand and just draw circles on her palm.
She opens her mouth to say something but gets interrupted.
"Meisha, there you are!" a male voice cuts in, making the two look towards the source of the voice. He was jogging towards the two and nearing Ryoma.
She grins and walks towards him—going past Ryoma, "You were looking for me, Shuu-nii?" she asks.
Ryoma frowns. This tall guy just called Meisha with so much familiarity. And Meisha addressed him fondly as well. Who is this guy?
The taller guy nods in response to Meisha's question and is about to say something before he notices Ryoma glaring at him from behind Meisha. He smiles slyly in amusement.
Meisha noticed the slight pause so she moves aside and gestures towards Ryoma while continuing to look up at the taller guy, "This is Ryoma Echizen. You know, the leader of Tenipuri."
The taller guy nods and extends his hand towards Ryoma, "I'm Shuusuke Fuji", he smiles, "Meisha must have caused you some trouble", he opens his eyes a bit to reveal azure eyes that held a knowing glint in them.
"Hey!" Meisha protests with a pout but gets ignored by the two.
Ryoma's frown deepens as he reluctantly shakes his hand, "So how are you related to this pipsqueak?" he raises his brow skeptically.
"Hey!" Meisha protests once again with a pout but is still ignored by the two.
Fuji's smile widens, "What's it to you, Echizen-kun?" he teases.
Ryoma glares up at him while his frown continues to deepen.
"Fuji! Meisha! We're playing after the break!" another tall guy jogs towards them with an uneasy smile.
Ryoma takes in the new information. They're playing after the break. His eyes widen in realization as he looks at Meisha.
"You're here to compete", he says as if stating a fact.
Meisha nods energetically, "Of course I am! You didn't think I was some fan who snuck in backstage, did you?" she giggles at Ryoma's stumped look.
He actually did think she was a fan; His fan to be exact.
"Hey, you're Ryoma Echizen from Tenipuri", the new guy says when he recognized Ryoma, "Great performance earlier! I'm definitely buying the song when it comes out", he smiles shyly.
"Thanks, um…" Ryoma raises his brow a bit.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" the new guy chuckles uneasily, "I'm Takashi Kawamura", he offers his hand.
Ryoma nods and shakes his hand.
"We call him Taka-san." Meisha smiles at Ryoma who lifts a brow curiously. "We have another member. His name is Sadaharu Inui. He's currently with our temporary manager, my older brother!" she grins proudly.
Ryoma decides not to ask further about Taka or about their temporary manager. There's something more important he wants to know. "So, what instrument do you play?" He could care less about the other members of her band; His interest in her peaked now that he knows that she is also in a band and is even competing in such a high-level event.
She grins teasingly, "You'll have to wait and see", she adjusts her sleeveless denim jacket a bit before fixing her hair up in a high ponytail.
Ryoma smirks in interest. He's sure that she's either the lead vocalist or the lead guitar or both like him. She just seems like the type to attract people. And plus, she's the only girl in the band so maybe they are going for the Paramore appeal.
She smiles at everyone, "So, how do I look?" she twirls playfully.
"Cute as always", Fuji smiles at her fondly.
Taka grins at her, "You look great, Meisha", he gives her a thumb up.
Meisha looks at Ryoma expectantly.
Ryoma glances away a bit embarrassingly. Perfect is the word that came to mind but he doesn't want to say something so cheesy in front of other people. He looks at her, "Decent enough", he tries to sound indifferent but his eyes reflect a certain amount of admiration and fondness.
Meisha must have noticed because she smiles at him gratefully, "Thanks".
Ryoma's cheeks turn pink as he looks away from her abruptly, "Whatever", he mumbles.
"Meisha", a stern voice says from behind Ryoma, making him turn around to see a tall and intimidating figure.
"Yes, Oniichan?" she asks cheerfully while Ryoma lifts his brow curiously.
"Let's go. We have to be on stage in 10 minutes", her older brother says sternly.
"Alright!" she says with a grin.
Ryoma continues to stare at the brother. This stiff and strict-looking guy is this cheerful and energetic girl's brother? More importantly, where has he seen this guy before? He looks oddly familiar.
Meisha's older brother finally notices Ryoma as he looks down at him with a stoic expression. They stare indifferently at each other before the brother looks away and walks towards Meisha. Ryoma continues to watch him—trying to remember where he has seen him before.
"Make sure to catch up soon", the brother tells Meisha before softly patting her head.
She looks up at him happily and nods. He nods back in response before heading towards the stage area with Fuji and Taka in tow.
She grins at Ryoma, "Well, you heard my manager. I got to go!" she lightly waves at him.
Ryoma inserts his hands in his pockets and smirks, "Good luck", he says smugly, "You'll need it to beat us"
She smirks at him back, "Word of advice", she wags her left index finger in front of him, "Next time the audience asks for an encore, you should give it to them", she swiftly turns around and starts walking towards the stage area, "Because they might not ask for it anymore after we're through", she waves her right and continues to walk away.
Ryoma's eyes brighten at the subtle challenge. His smirk widens, "Mada mada dane", he says to himself.
"Echizen!" a familiar voice calls him, making him turn around to see Momo, Eiji, and Kaidou walking towards him with frowns on their faces. "What's taking you so long with those donuts?" Momo crosses his arms as he hovers over Ryoma.
"Yeah! We've been starving!" Eiji whines and clings to Ryoma while the latter tries to keep his balance.
"Pssh", Kaidou hisses indifferently.
Ryoma shrugs, "I got distracted".
Momo and Eiji narrow their eyes suspiciously.
"It's true", Oishi comes up from behind Kaidou, "He was preoccupied with a girl earlier", he teases with a grin.
Ryoma frowns—not liking where the conversation might head to.
Momo whistles and messes up Ryoma's hair with a smirk, "You little rascal! You should be taking care of your band members and not flirting with some girl!" he says playfully.
"Stop it, senpai!" Ryoma complains while trying to get away from Momo.
"What! Our ochibi with a girl!" Eiji looks surprised and frowns, "You didn't make her cry, did you? Remember the last time we left you alone with a girl?" he sighs.
Ryoma finally pulls free from Momo and fixes his hair with a frown, "That was senpaitachi's fault. And besides, she was too quiet and kept looking down at her shoes", he inserts his hands in his pockets.
"I told you guys it was a bad idea", Kaidou says while shaking his head.
Momo laughs, "Well, it was a good thing that she was also Eiji-senpai's fan so Eiji-senpai was able to cheer her up", he nods approvingly.
"Still! Asking a girl if she's mute and forcing her to speak up was harsh nya!" Eiji reprimands Ryoma.
Ryoma shrugs, "Like I said, senpaitachi's fault", he says indifferently.
Oishi shakes his head, "I also clearly remember telling you that Echizen-kun won't do well with shy girls", he sighs, "Remember the Cat's Eye incident?" he eyes all the members.
Eiji and Momo start to nod, "Riiiiiight", they say in unison.
Kaidou sighs and shakes his head in disappointment.
Ryoma shrugs, "How was I to know that she was the store owner's daughter? I only told her she looked too old to be 18 years old"
Oishi, Eiji, Momo, and Kaidou just sigh. They wonder if there's any girl who can put him in his place.
Oishi's face brightens up when Meisha's face popped up in his mind. "Actually, the girl that I was talking about would probably be able to tame Echizen-kun", he smiles playfully.
Ryoma frowns. He was secretly thankful that Eiji changed the subject but Oishi just finds a way to go back to it.
Oishi looks at Eiji with a grin, "It was Meisha", he says.
"What! She is already here? She didn't even come see!" Eiji complains.
Momo and Kaidou look at each other before looking down at Ryoma who looked confused.
"You know her too, senpai?" Ryoma asks with widened eyes. It's such a small world after all.
"Actually, Eiji and I are good friends of Meisha's older brother. You might have heard of him", he pauses when Ryoma looks even more confused, "Kunimitsu Tezuka", he grins.
"Kunimitsu Tezuka!" Momo and Kaidou exclaim in surprise.
Ryoma's eyes widen in realization. Of course! No wonder he looked so familiar! He's seen him on TV just last week. He is the founder and CEO of that new music productions company in Tokyo, Melody, Inc. They haven't gone worldwide yet but there have been rumors about them partnering up with a famous company in Europe. Come to think of it, he should have realized that it was him the moment Meisha introduced herself. He really was distracted after all—her eyes, her laughter, her angry pout, her smile, her—he shakes his head to rid himself of an incoming daydream.
"Next up is a new band under Melody, Inc." the Tenipuri members hear the emcee say over the speakers nearby, "Give it up for The Zone!"
They hear the crowd welcoming the band with shouts and whistles. They must be expecting something good since the band is under a new and well-known music productions company.
"Oh! That's them now", Oishi starts walking towards the stage area, "Let's watch them. This is the first time they are performing live", he says while the others follow him.
"It's been a while since I've watched them play nya", Eiji walks beside Oishi, "But Meisha is playing this time, right?" he asks Oishi who nods.
Ryoma smirks. So she is playing an instrument. She might be the lead guitarist then.
"Hello hello! We're The Zone!" a slightly high-pitched voice could be heard over the speakers.
Ryoma could recognize that voice anywhere. He walks a bit faster and passes Eiji and Oishi who were in front of their group. It hasn't been more than 15 minutes yet and he already misses her. Not that he'll ever admit it though. Momo and Eiji grin mischievously, Oishi smiles knowingly, while Kaidou slowly nods as if telepathically encouraging their leader.
"It's our first time playing for an audience", she pauses and laughs a bit, "Well, a paying audience".
The crowd laughs at her joke.
The Tenipuri stay by the right side of the stage and makes sure they are well hidden behind the thick curtains of the stage. They noticed that several other bands decided to watch this new band as well. Ryoma immediately focuses on the petite girl standing behind the vocalist's microphone. The three other members were standing behind her in a line.
She looks to her right and sees Ryoma almost immediately. He was watching her with a glint in his eyes and she couldn't help but smirk at him confidently before facing the crowd, "Since we're new to everyone, let me introduce ourselves before we start. Ladies first then", she looks at the other members behind her before she looked like she just realized something and starts scratching the back of her head a bit shyly, "Right. Me first then"
The crowd laughs at her silliness while she grins at them.
"I'm Meisha! And believe it or not, I'm the drummer of this band!" she points to herself proudly.
There were skeptical remarks but there were also encouraging remarks especially from women.
The bands watching backstage were surprised and most were pretty skeptical. A few of the bands are just waiting for The Zone to fail since it was their first time in a competition as big as the Band Wars. And plus, there was no way this petite girl will be able to hit the drums hard and fast enough for the male members to stay with the beat. The drums are technically the heart of a band. But then again, the organizers wouldn't allow them to play if they were obviously amateurs.
Ryoma didn't know what to think. He could have never guessed that she was the drummer. She looks so delicate. Although he did notice her fit physique—her arms and legs looked well-toned when he checked her out—err, when he looked her over earlier.
Oishi and Eiji look at each other knowingly. They can't wait for everyone's reactions.
Momo crosses his arms and frowns. He is displeased at the idea of a girl drummer. He's not sexist or anything. He likes girl drummers in all-girl bands. He just doesn't like the idea of the only girl in the band being a drummer. He knows how much strength and skill is needed to be a drummer and he honestly thinks that this Meisha doesn't have what it takes—although it has been a bad habit of his to underestimate people.
Kaidou continues to stay silent as he studies Meisha. She doesn't look nervous at all. In fact, she looks very confident and proud of her self. Her eyes show no doubt even if she can clearly hear other people's criticisms. He glances at Oishi and Eiji and sees how anxious they are—anxious in a good way in fact. He looks at Meisha again and decides to stay neutral about the whole thing.
"And this guy here", she points over her left shoulder to Taka-san who is nervously waving and smiling, "is Taka-san, our lead guitarist", she grins.
Some people lightly laughed at Taka-san's shy demeanor. A lead guitarist is usually confident and charismatic. How is this guy going to pull off a guitar solo when he's so nervous he's sweating bullets on stage? Some people start betting that he's going to faint in the middle of the performance or at least make a couple of mistakes.
Meisha, with her keen sense of hearing, could hear the skeptics. She smirks and turns to walk towards Taka's yellow guitar. She picks it up and hands it to him, "Here you go, Taka-san", she grins mischievously.
"Oh, thanks, Meisha", he takes his guitar while Meisha immediately steps back. His demeanor suddenly changes and the audience could practically see the fire around him, "Oh yeah, baby! Burning! Let's rock and roll!" he exclaims and doesn't hesitate to finger some complicated tunes with his guitar.
Meisha, Fuji, and Inui smile smugly at how the crowd became silent as they gaped at Taka practically shredding the guitar. Meisha calmly takes back her position behind the microphone stand and clears her throat. As if on cue, Fuji confiscates Taka's guitar to place it back on its stand. The fire around Taka disappears and he goes back to being the shy and nervous Taka.
The crowd looks at Meisha for an explanation but she winks and sticks her tongue out at them playfully.
Oishi and Eiji are trying to hold in their laughter while they look at the number of people backstage just gaping at Taka. Even the other Tenipuri members had their mouths wide open in awe.
"Intense, huh?" Meisha grins mischievously before pointing over her right shoulder where Fuji is standing, "This guy right here is Fuji. He's our vocalist", she steps aside so everyone could get a better view of Fuji as he smiles and lightly waves at the crowd.
A couple of girls swoon at how good-looking he is.
"Why don't you give our ladies here some fan service?" she tells Fuji with a grin.
Fuji's smile widens as he opens his eyes to reveal a beautiful pair of azure orbs.
The crowd seems mesmerized at the beautiful color.
Fuji smirks a bit and winks at the ladies in the crowd.
Most of the women started screaming out his name, "Fuji-sama!" While others silently admired him while imagining how their kids will look like in the future. A couple of men were sure that their dates would dump them after the event.
The female staff and band members were going gaga backstage. The male staff and fellow band members were trying their best to hold them off to keep them off the stage.
Oishi sighs as he remembers their high school days. He had to constantly hide Fuji from screaming fan girls. He looks towards Eiji and sees him trembling a bit in fear. Oh right, Oishi almost forgot that Eiji encountered a bad experience with Fuji's fan girls and scarred him for life. He lightly rubs Eiji's head comfortingly, "There, there, Eiji. The staffs will make sure Fuji's fan girls don't reach us here", he says comfortingly like how a mother comforts a child.
Eiji sniffles a bit, "I still have nightmares about it, Oishi", he covers his face and shakes his head frantically, "All those glitters!"
Oishi pats Eiji's back comfortingly, "There, there".
Momo, Kaidou, and Ryoma look at the two seniors weirdly.
Meisha steps back to her previous position as she makes a tsk sound and frowns, "How will you be able to hear your dear Fuji-sama's voice if you're all so loud?" she says and smirks mischievously, "I happen to know that he likes feminine and shy women the most".
And just like that, the women quieted down to try their best at looking more feminine while they silently swoon when Fuji smiled appreciatively for the silence. The men in the crowd were awed at how Meisha easily handled the crazy women.
The backstage also became quiet while the women silently simulated how they are going to talk to Fuji after the performance.
Eiji sighs in relief and grins, "Leave it to Meisha to handle crazed fan girls".
Oishi nods in agreement, "She looks to have improved greatly in that department".
Momo laughs, "You guys sound like she practices handling fan girls"
Oishi and Eiji look at him confused, "She does", they say in unison.
Momo stops laughing and looks at them incredulously, "How—"
"We should get her to control ours", Ryoma says monotonously.
"I agree. It's been getting worse lately. We'll need an expert like her", Kaidou says with a nod while keeping his facial expression serious.
"Am I the only one confused at the fact that handling fan girls can be practiced?" Momo sighs and shakes his head in disbelief.
Meisha points over her right shoulder again to point at Inui, "This is Inui. He's our bass guitarist!" she says cheerfully but anyone can see the mischief in her eyes.
Everyone looks towards Inui and expects him to have some sort of quirk or unique features.
Inui lifts his glasses up a bit and smiles in greeting.
The crowd is relieved to know that there is at least one ordinary member in the band.
"Let's rock and roll!" Meisha exclaims before turning to head towards the drums in the back.
The crowd cheers in excitement but they slowly become quiet as they notice something terribly off on stage.
Inui picks up a shamisen from the bass stand—where a bass guitar should be.
(Author's note: A shamisen is a Japanese instrument. It is a three-stringed lute and looks kind of like a banjo. It also sounds somewhat like a banjo.)
The crowd's eyes widen in disbelief. Is he seriously going to use that as a bass guitar? Someone ought to mention that a shamisen is definitely not meant to be a bass guitar but they could clearly see Inui smirking and his glasses gleaming challengingly as if daring anyone to point the matter out.
Meisha, Fuji, and Taka could barely hide their amusement at the situation. The same thing happened when they were auditioning for the competition.
Ryoma points to the shamisen, "But that's a—mmmfff"
Eiji covers his mouth frantically, "Don't say anything nya! Just go with it!" he pleads.
"You have no idea how much Inui knows about shamisens", Oishi sighs, "I had to sit through a 4-hour lecture the first time I asked", he shivers.
Ignoring the shamisen for the moment, the crowd wasn't really sure what to expect from this new band full of quirky people. A lot were expecting them to sound really off since Taka is a fast-paced player, the drummer is a girl (they expect her to not be able to match her pace with Taka's), the bass guitar is a shamisen (okay, they can't really ignore the shamisen), and the vocalist looks soft-spoken. But giving the band the benefit of the doubt, the band did get through the audition to qualify for the competition. There were others though who felt really excited to hear them play since it's the first time they have seen such a quirky band. While few felt indifferent about it.
Ryoma could feel his anticipation building up. He can't wait to see how this petite girl would reach his expectations since she did seem pretty confident earlier. He doesn't think he'll be able to keep his mind off her any time soon and he honestly doesn't want to. Her laugh is a melody he isn't willing to forget and her eyes are so pure, they make him sweat. Oh, it rhymed. He could probably make a dozen songs about her in one day.
Meisha looks to her right again and sees Oishi and Eiji waving enthusiastically at her. She waves back at them lightly with a grin before her eyes settle on Ryoma. He had his hands in his pockets while he looked at her with a cocky smirk. Her happy grin changes to a cheeky one before she playfully sticks her tongue out to him and focuses back on the crowd. She glances at the other members and sees that they are ready. She taps her drum sticks once, twice, thrice, and then the whole area is filled with music once again.
The crowd is in awe as they sway, jump, or bang their heads to the tune. Most people were wrong with their expectations. Taka is totally shredding that guitar and keeping the pace with the band. Fuji's voice is loud, clear and just beautiful. Inui's professional shamisen playing is just blending in to the music. It's sounding more like a techno beat than a shamisen. And they were wrong about Meisha the most. How can so much raw amount of power be contained in such a little body? She is grinning widely as if what she's doing is mere child's play. She's able to switch from one drum to the other without missing a beat.
Fuji gets to the chorus of the song with Taka singing the second voice (the words in the parenthesis):
"What did you call me?
(I dare you to say it again)
I beg to disagree.
(I dare you to say it again)
You're the one who's clingy.
(You!)
You're the one who needs me.
(Not me!)
Stop thinking you're godsend.
(You're not)
You Psycho (Psycho) girlfriend!"
The crowd goes wild as they let the lyrics of the song sink in.
Tenipuri and the other people backstage were awed. The Zone plays like a professional band would. They are all in sync and their timing is impeccable. Tenipuri had to admit that they might not win the competition this year.
"Wow", Oishi says in disbelief, "Tezuka wasn't exaggerating when he said everyone will be surprised".
"They improved a lot nya! How is that possible? I heard them play together just last month!" Eiji says in disbelief while shaking Oishi.
"Wait, so they weren't always like this?" Momo asks.
Eiji stops shaking Oishi and explains, "Well, they were always good but still in par with us"
"And you mean to say that they turned into pros after a month?" Kaidou asks in surprise.
Oishi smiles knowingly, "That's right. They are under Melody, Inc. after all so they needed to step up their game".
Ryoma hums in interest, "Melody, Inc. huh?"
Oishi's eyes glint knowingly.
The Zone members were pleasantly surprised when the crowd sang the second chorus with Fuji and Taka. They are confident in their skills but they never thought they would be this big of a hit.
"Now ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Meisha's drum solo!" Fuji announces as he steps to the side with the microphone stand in hand in order to allow the audience a better view of the drummer.
The drums sound louder as the bass and lead guitar's sounds fade away.
"What! A drum solo?" Momo exclaims and looks at Ryoma, "You never let me do a drum solo!" he says accusingly.
Ryoma raises a brow at him and smirks, "If you can do better than that pipsqueak, then I promise to think about it".
Meisha's speed, accuracy, and strength were enough to make any of the male drummers there cry. The crowd cheered for her and kept telling her to go faster. And not one to disappoint a crowd, she goes faster and faster. She furiously hit the drums and rhythmically stepped on the two bass pedals. Then she suddenly grins wide while her eyes sparkle in glee. She tosses her drum sticks in the air and quickly grabs a new pair from her back pocket. The tossed drum sticks each land on the two cymbals while she fluidly continues the beat as if it never stopped. The crowd starts to cheer louder than before. The guitars slowly come back to life while Fuji puts the microphone stand in place and goes back to his previous position, thus ending Meisha's drum solo.
Momo finally closes his gaping mouth and swallows the lump that formed in his throat, "My drum solo will just have to wait", he sighs.
Ryoma smirks, "Mada mada dane", he focuses solely on Meisha who was drumming happily with a big grin on her face.
"The Zone! The Zone!" the crowd continues to chant as the band waves and slowly exits the stage.
The entire area is filled with the crowd's chants.
Once the band was safely hidden behind the curtains, the staffs and other bands approach them while applauding and complimenting them. Everyone can still hear the crowd outside screaming for The Zone. Meisha and Taka look surprised and a bit embarrassed by all the attention while they shyly express their gratitude. Fuji and Inui smile and express their gratitude by shaking several people's hands.
"Alright people, back it up. Give them some room", Eiji yells over the crowd as he, Oishi, and the other Tenipuri members try to get to The Zone as well.
"The competition is still ongoing everyone!" Oishi also yells over the crowd to remind the staffs.
"Fuji is claustrophobic!" Eiji yells out, making most of the girls back away in fear that their Fuji-sama will faint.
"Meisha is off-limits!" Oishi yells out, making half the teen males look towards him before they notice Ryoma's fierce glare and back away.
Meisha looks around to see if her brother was the one scaring the guys away.
"Taka-san will rage!" Oishi yells out, making some of the people back away in case Taka-san goes on burning mode again.
"Inui will lecture you about the history of the shamisen!" Eiji yells out, making the others look towards Inui to see his glasses glinting in an evil way before backing far away.
By the time Oishi and the Tenipuri members reach The Zone members, the crowd has already dispersed (except for most of Fuji's fans who were watching from afar).
"Oishi! Eiji! It's good to see you guys again!" Taka says and lightly claps Oishi and Eiji's shoulders lightly.
"You two haven't lost your touch", Inui smiles at them, "You still know how to drive away crowds", his glasses glint in acknowledgement.
"Reminds me of our high school days, right, Eiji?" Fuji smiles a bit sadistically.
Eiji hugs himself and shivers a bit, "All those glitters…"
Inui lifts his glasses, "We should really try doing exposure therapy, Eiji. It will help conquer that trauma of yours."
Oishi sighs, "Please leave our second lead guitarist alone, guys. He still has nightmares about that incident", he pats Eiji's head.
"I can protect you from fan girls, Kiku-nii!" Meisha says confidently.
"Meisha!" Eiji hugs her and turns around and around, "You went to see Oishi but not me! It's not fair!" he complains.
"Kiku-nii, I'm getting dizzy!" Meisha exclaims with swirly eyes.
Ryoma's demeanor changes and everyone but Meisha could feel it. Fuji smiles in amusement, Inui's glasses gleam in interest, Taka stares at Ryoma curiously, Momo holds in his chuckles, Kaidou sighs, Oishi looks from Ryoma to Eiji warily, and Eiji stops turning around as he feels a chill climb up his spine.
Meisha was grateful that she could feel the floor beneath her feet again as she lightly shakes her head to rid herself of the dizziness, "Kiku-nii, I met up with Shuichi-nii by coincidence. I was going to grab some donuts and surprise you guys in your dressing room but someone—" she looks at Ryoma pointedly who raises a brow at her, "didn't let me."
Ryoma smirks, "You should thank me. You wouldn't have been able to play properly if you got fat with all those sweets."
The others look from Ryoma to Meisha.
Meisha rests her hands on her hips and grins playfully, "Whether I had donuts or not, we would still be able to beat your band. But I'm sure you're already aware of that", she says smugly.
The others look from Meisha to Ryoma again.
Ryoma smirks mischievously, "I admit that I was surprised".
The others look from Ryoma to Meisha again.
Meisha raises a brow curiously and smirks, "Surprised at how awesome we are?"
The others look from Meisha to Ryoma again.
Ryoma grins playfully, "Surprised that you were able to reach the bass pedals with your height", he teases.
"Hey!" Meisha exclaims with a pout.
The others decide to leave the two arguing teens alone and introduce Momo and Kaidou to the members of The Zone. Kaidou was silent half of the time but he and Inui seemed to get along. Momo talked and laughed with Fuji and Taka. While the seniors were talking and exchanging pleasantries, the two younger teens were still arguing in their own world.
"Dame dame jan, you're just being a sore loser", she grins at him smugly.
"The competition isn't over yet and you're already acting like you won. Mada mada dane, you're still kid", he shakes his head in disappointment.
She pouts, "We're the same age!" she exclaims.
Ryoma smirks, "You don't look like it from down there."
An anger vein appears on her forehead, "Why I oughta—" she moves forward but didn't notice the messy speaker wires on the floor in front of her, "Wa!" she exclaims when her foot got caught in the said wires and is about to trip.
Ryoma's eyes widen a bit. He moves forward and extends his arms to catch her but apparently, someone beat him to it.
Tezuka has his back on Ryoma when he bends down to catch Meisha with his right arm. Meisha clutches on to his right arm to regain her balance while Tezuka slowly gets up to his full height.
"Thank you, Oniichan!" she grins up at him with her cheeks all rosy and her eyes full of admiration.
Ryoma makes a tsk sound. She would have been looking at him like that now if her big brother did not butt in. When did he even get here? Does he have some sort of little-sister-in-trouble-radar or something?
"Tezuka! Your Meisha-radar is as accurate as ever nya", Eiji laughs.
Ryoma rolls his eyes and guesses that he is really an overprotective brother.
"We've been friends for years, Tezuka, and I still don't know how you just swoop in when Meisha's in trouble", Oishi scratches the back of his head in confusion.
Tezuka shrugs indifferently and looks at Momo and Kaidou who flinch at the sudden (and unwanted) attention from the known founder and CEO of Melody, Inc.
"Tezuka, this is Takeshi Momoshiro, Tenipuri's drummer", Oishi gestures to Momo who immediately bows respectfully and earns a curt nod from Tezuka, "This is Kaoru Kaidou, our bass guitarist", he gestures to Kaidou next who also bows respectfully and earns the same curt nod from Tezuka, "And the one behind you is—"
"Ryoma Echizen, lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and leader of Tenipuri", Ryoma offers his hand to Tezuka who turned around to face him.
"Hn", Tezuka responds with narrow eyes as he takes the offered hand and firmly shakes it.
Everyone but Meisha could feel the sudden tension in the air. And those who did, felt frightened for Ryoma (except for Inui and Fuji).
"Did you like our performance, Oniichan?" Meisha suddenly asks cheerfully while poking Tezuka's back.
Tezuka suddenly turns to look at Meisha again and gently pats her head with a soft expression, "You did very well, Meisha", he praises with a tone laced in fondness.
Meisha smiles up at her brother fondly while enjoying the princess-like treatment her brother always gives her.
Momo, Kaidou, and Ryoma couldn't help but be amazed with this girl. Not only can she control crazed fan girls, but she can tame her slightly bloodthirsty brother in a matter of seconds.
Fuji chuckles, "Tezuka turns into a harmless kitten when in front of Meisha", his smile widens when Tezuka glares at him.
"Well, that part of him will probably never change", Inui smirks.
Oishi lightly claps Tezuka's left shoulder, "Meisha is already 16 years old, Tezuka. She will eventually grow up so you should stop being such an overprotective brother", he teases with a grin.
Tezuka narrows his eyes at him before his glasses give off a glint and hides his eyes, "Oishi, have you told your band about our proposal?"
Oishi flinches and looks at the Tenipuri members who were looking at him curiously.
"About their transfer to Melody, Inc.?" Tezuka lifts his glasses up nonchalantly. A well-trained eye can see the vengeful smirk on his face.
"Transfer?" Eiji looks at Oishi questioningly.
"Proposal to transfer to Melody, Inc.?" Momo stares at Oishi with wide eyes.
"Psshh, haven't heard about it. Did you know, Echizen?" Kaidou looks towards Ryoma.
Ryoma places his hands in his pockets and steps forward so that he and Tezuka stood side by side while Meisha stood in front of her brother, "What is this about, Oishi-san?" his brow raises in apprehension. He didn't like being left in the dark—especially if it was something related to the band.
Oishi sighs before glaring at Tezuka, who did not look remorseful at all. "Well, I went to Melody, Inc. last month because Tezuka called me. He wants to have Tenipuri under their wing", he looks at Ryoma, "We're still under contract with Tune it productions but Tezuka said he'll handle the contract transfer", he smiles uneasily at him. He knew he should have consulted with Ryoma first but he knew that Ryoma might flat out refuse the offer.
Ryoma glances towards Meisha who looks a bit surprised, "You didn't know about this either?" he asks.
Meisha shakes her head lightly, "I'm not really under Melody, Inc. so I wouldn't know what goes on in the company", she shrugs indifferently.
"Wait, you're not under Melody, Inc.? But I thought The Zone is under the company", Momo suddenly interrupts looking confused, "Oh!" he realizes something before pointing at himself, "I'm Momo by the way. You can call me Momo-chan", he grins.
Meisha giggles, "Hello, Momo-senpai. I'm Meisha. And to answer your question, yes, the band is under Melody, Inc. but I'm just the proxy drummer of the band", she gestures to Tezuka, "Oniichan is the official drummer of The Zone."
Ryoma, Momo, and Kaidou look towards Tezuka and try to imagine him drumming the way Meisha did.
Tezuka sighs, "Meisha, I already told you that I'm not a part of the band anymore. I need to focus on Melody, Inc. so I don't have time to practice or appear in gigs", he rubs the bridge of his nose.
"And I already told you a billion times that I'm willing to remain as the proxy drummer until things in the company settle down so you can go back to playing again", she grins at him confidently. She has won this argument a million times and she will win it again this time.
Tezuka sighs again and looks at his colleagues, "Will someone please talk to her?" he gestures to Meisha who continues to grin.
"Sorry Tezuka, but we're on Meisha's side on this one", Taka smiles while scratching his cheek and looking a bit remorseful.
"The Zone won't really be the same without you", Fuji says, "I do like having a more energetic Tezuka in the band", he looks at Meisha and smiles wider before looking at Tezuka, "But having the brooding Tezuka is what makes The Zone complete", he opens his eyes and smirks.
"I also haven't finished showing you what other sounds I can do with the shamisen", Inui says while his glasses gleam.
"For the nth time, Inui, I don't really want to know", Tezuka sighs and looks at Meisha.
"See?" she grins triumphantly while Tezuka rubs his temples to ease the oncoming headache.
Ryoma takes the distraction as an opportunity to swiftly move to be in front of Meisha and away from Tezuka's reach at the time being, "So you don't have your own band?" he asks her before he smugly smirks at Tezuka who was left standing behind Meisha.
Meisha sighs but smiles, "Not yet but I am currently looking for a good band that will take me in".
Ryoma's face brightens up, "Well you're in luck. We're looking for a drummer."
"Oi!" Momo marches towards Ryoma angrily, "We already have a drummer!" he crosses his arms in a huff.
Ryoma indifferently glances up to a towering Momo before smirking at him, "Looking for a real drummer."
An anger vein appears on Momo's forehead, "You little bastard!" he traps Ryoma in a headlock, "You just want to spend more time with Meisha-chan!"
"Momo-senpai, let go!" Ryoma struggles.
"You guys are funny", she giggles.
Momo blushes and loosens his grip on Ryoma who immediately goes about fixing his shirt and hair.
"So, you going to move to Melody, Inc.?" she raises her brow curiously.
Ryoma looks around and sees that everyone is waiting for an answer. He looks at Oishi before shifting his focus to Tezuka, "Oishi-san has always worked with the band's best interests in mind so if he really thinks that the proposal will best benefit Tenipuri then I'm all ears. What do you have to offer for our music?" he asks while placing his hands in his pockets.
Meisha steps back a bit so Tezuka and Ryoma can talk without her standing in between them.
"As you've mentioned, Oishi does keep the band's best interests in mind", Tezuka starts to say, "And I assure you, we at Melody, Inc. can provide what other companies cannot"
"And that is?" Momo asks, looking skeptic.
"The chance to become better", Tezuka looks at the Tenipuri members and sees them looking both confused and interested.
"Let me explain", Inui says as all eyes focus on him, "Melody, Inc. won't only promote your band or sponsor your events and equipment, but we also provide lessons", he lifts his glasses up.
"Voice, guitar, drums, bass, keyboard, mixing, song-writing, you name it", Fuji says with a smile.
"The trainers are really nice too. They came from Lyrisch Studios and they are fun to work with. My sliding improved because of my trainer", he scratches the back of his head embarrassingly.
"LYRISCH STUDIOS! You mean THE Lyrisch Studios? The top music productions company in Europe?" Eiji shakes Taka excitedly.
"You're shaking my brain!" Taka says with swirls for eyes.
"That's right", Inui looks at the surprised Eiji, Momo, Kaidou, and Ryoma before he lifts his glasses and smirks knowingly, "How do you think The Zone improved this much after a month?".
Oishi's face lights up with hope, "Melody, Inc. has also agreed to allow Tenipuri to continue performing gigs as you do now as long as we promote Melody, Inc. to other bands", he focuses his attention to Ryoma, "And if you don't like it, then you can leave anytime without any repercussions".
All eyes are on Ryoma now as he crosses his arms and looks contemplative. "You will still be our manager, right?" he asks Oishi with a raised brow.
Oishi smiles warmly, "Yes, Echizen-kun. I would never quit being Tenipuri's manager."
Eiji, Momo, and Kaidou smile, relieved and happy to know that fact while Ryoma nods in response. He looks at his members and sees their eagerness. Like him, they also want to take advantage of the high-end training. He looks down at his shoes and contemplates on whether or not to accept the proposal. They won't really have much to lose if they do. They'll of course have to give up the rights of their music and stop selling them on itunes (Melody, Inc. will be the one to decide where their music will be sold in). And they can leave anytime they want to if they didn't like something about the company or if he feels constricted again. He glances slightly to his left, making his hazel eyes land on Meisha's dark brown eyes.
"Will I see you there?" he asks absent-mindedly.
All eyes are on Meisha now as her eyes widen in surprise.
His eyes widen as he realizes that he asked that out loud. His cheeks slowly turn pink as he realizes the possible implications of asking such a question. He bites his lower lip in fear and anxiousness. He keeps his eyes on hers stubbornly. It's too late to take back the question now.
Tezuka clears his throat to get Ryoma's attention, "Meisha will be busy reviewing for the Tokyo University entrance exam. She's aiming to get a degree in music there", he narrows his eyes on Ryoma while crossing his arms to stand stern.
Meisha takes this opportunity to lower her head and stare at her shoes as she slowly processes Ryoma's question.
Oishi and Eiji sigh, Taka laughs uneasily, Fuji smiles in amusement, and Inui's glasses gleam but they all think of the same thing: "Sister-complex". Momo covers his mouth to stop himself from snorting while Kaidou nods and mentally encourages their leader to stand strong.
Ryoma lowers his gaze a bit dejectedly. So he can't see her there. She's aiming for Tokyo University after all so she'll be too busy to drop by and definitely too busy to hang out. He was thinking of getting her number so he can get to know her better but he might just be a hindrance. He sulks a bit and feels that—
"Yes", Meisha meekly says.
All eyes are on her again—some surprised, most confused. Does she mean, 'Yes, I'll be too busy' or 'Yes—
"Yes, you will see me there", she says shyly—her cheeks pink—as she slowly lifts her gaze up to look at Ryoma's surprised expression. She nervously pulls the ends of her denim jacket while going back to staring at her feet, "I-I mean", she stutters, "I do have to review but I can always do it in Oniichan's office. A-and besides, I can always take a break. It would be nice to hang out wh-while you're there", she glances up at Ryoma's bewildered expression and her face becomes red, "I-I don't really have friends my age so it would be nice if-if", she looks away and bites her lower lip nervously, "If we can be friends", she pulls down on her jacket a bit harder while glancing back at Ryoma.
His facial expression changes from confusion to realization.
At this point, the others decide to give the two young teens some privacy so they slowly leave while Oishi, Fuji, and Inui drag a very reluctant Tezuka with them. It doesn't seem like Ryoma and Meisha noticed the sudden absence of their seniors.
She looks away and fidgets because of his lack of an immediate response, "But that's if you want to be my friend, of course", she bites her lower lip and shyly glances up at him.
Ryoma couldn't help the cheeky grin that formed on his face. She looks absolutely adorable looking all shy like that. Her image will forever be burned into his memory.
She smiles a bit and stops fidgeting when she interpreted his grin as something positive.
"Well," he says smoothly while taking a step closer to her, "I can be your friend", he reaches out his left hand to pull one end of her denim jacket and gently coaxes her to come closer—which she did with a confused expression, "Or, I can be something more", he smiles playfully as their faces draw closer to each other.
She blushes as her eyes light up knowingly, "You mean, like a b—"
"Yeah", he cuts her off and lifts her chin up with his right hand.
"A best friend?" she says excitedly as her eyes sparkle in glee.
He had to pause what he was doing (or what he was about to do) in order to comprehend what she said. He meant boyfriend but she meant best friend. How innocent is this girl? He can't correct her now because one, she's really happy, and two, that would be awkward. It makes sense that she would see him that way since they just met today so starting as a best friend is actually a good way to start. Well, too bad he's very impatient.
He smirks mischievously and playfully pulls on her bangs, "Sure. So we always have to be together", his face is still inches apart from hers. Her hair is so smooth.
She doesn't look like she minds the closeness but she looks a bit confused, "Always?" she asks.
He lightly pinches her cheek and widens his smirk, "Of course. Best friends are always hanging out together. How else are we to know more about each other?" he raises a brow. Touching her is definitely addicting. How does she get it so soft and squishy?
"Oh!" she says with wide eyes before nodding enthusiastically in agreement.
He grins mischievously, "That also means we'll have to have sleepovers often, just the two of us", he lightly taps her nose.
She raises a brow skeptically, "Just the two of us?" she repeats.
He lightly pinches her nose, making her scrunch up her face a bit, "Of course. You wouldn't want other people to hear all the secrets we'll be sharing, would you?" his eyes glint knowingly.
She nods a bit uneasily, "I guess…" she says with an unsure tone.
His mischievous grin widens. This was easier than he thought.
From a not so very good hiding spot a few meters away, Oishi and the other Tenipuri members are keeping close watch and listening to their conversation (because they are worried about Meisha and Tezuka wouldn't shut up about it).
"Meisha! He's tricking you! Don't listen to the big bad wolf, little red riding hood!" Eiji says in a loud whisper as if Meisha could somehow hear him.
Momo chuckles, "It's no use, senpai. You know how Echizen is—when he sets his sights on something, he'll do whatever it takes to attain it one way or another", he nods to himself.
"He should just be a man and tell her he wants to date her", Kaidou says a bit gruffly—he doesn't know why he has to spy on the young teens as well.
Oishi lightly laughs, "Meisha may be 16 years old but she's still clueless when it comes to boys, dating, and romance in general. She's always been obsessed with music and drums", he sighs, "And it doesn't help that her older brother is overly protective of her".
"Good thing Fuji convinced dear brother to rest in their dressing room", Eiji snickers.
"Blackmailing is more like it", Oishi laughs.
"Well, anything is better than Inui's shamisen lessons", Eiji shivers at the thought.
Momo and Kaidou look at each other. They are definitely curious about Inui's shamisen lessons.
"What! Best friends have to feed each other too?" Meisha has never looked so appalled in her life.
"That's right", Ryoma casually says while lightly pulling her ponytailed hair.
She pouts. She understands that best friends always stay together and often sleep in each other's houses but the other things he said are just plain absurd. They have to hold hands regularly, they can't have other best friends, they have to call each other by pet names, and now he said they have to feed each other! She narrows her eyes at him while he continues to smirk arrogantly. It took her a while but she realizes that couples do all those things.
She crosses her arms and raises a brow, "Let me guess, we have to kiss too", she says sarcastically.
Ryoma's eyes widen before brightening in mischief as he lifts her face up closer to his, "You guessed it right, pipsqueak".
Her face turns bright red as she immediately takes a couple of steps back away from him. "Wha-What were you going to do?" she points to him accusingly.
He blinks innocently and moves closer again, "Kiss you of course".
She stretches out her arms in front of her to keep him from moving even closer while her face gets redder and redder by the second.
Ryoma is clearly enjoying this.
"That's not what best friends do! Actually, most of the things you mentioned were all couple stuff!" she says frantically.
He pretends to look like he just realized that matter, "You're right, pipsqueak. I must have mixed them up", he shakes his head as if disappointed in himself, "Mada mada dane"
She drops her hands and sighs in relief. For a minute there, she thought he was going to take her first kiss.
He swiftly moves towards her and grabs her by the waist, making her yelp, then bends down to slightly dip her—their faces a few centimeters apart. He looks down at her with a mischievous grin while she looks up at him with wide and surprised eyes. He could smell her strawberry-flavored lip gloss and wonders if it would taste as good as it smells.
"I still want that kiss though, my dear best friend", he kisses the tip of her nose.
The reaction was almost immediate. Her eyes have never been so wide and her face has never been so red. She pushes him forward and he lets her. Once she was steady on her feet, she slowly steps away from him—her face still red and a flustered expression on her face.
She suddenly turns around and runs away from him, "Stupid, arrogant, short, perverted, vocalist!" she exclaims while running.
Ryoma watches her with eyes full of mirth, "See you tomorrow at the studio!" he yells out before grinning playfully. He hasn't had this much fun in a long time. He places his hands in his pockets and walks the other way. He'll be sure to sign that contract before the day ends. He'll probably be staying in Melody, Inc. for a long while.
In the end, Oishi was right. Tenipuri just needed the right company to take them in.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! :3