Hey guys! It's me with the next chapter of the story, Conflicting Opinions! It's Ranmaru's turn and he's still not exactly liking the idea of teaching a girl...

Conflicted Opinions

"Arigatou, Nakagawa-san." Ai muttered at the dining table, reading a magazine in front of him, as Mallory brought a tray holding a porcelain teapot; the same one that she had been used to train with by Camus to get the tea making process down correctly. If she was going to be their assistant as well, she would need to know how to make tea properly.

"You're welcome, Mikaze-senpai." Mallory said with a small smile, setting down the tray as she set three tea cups on the table, one for Ai, one for Camus, and one for Ranmaru. She began by pouring the milk in first, humming a light tune as she then poured the the tea. After, she stirred each cup with a small spoon before handing each male their cup. "I also brought white sugar and brown sugar since I still don't know your preferences, just in case." Camus took his cup, putting a small spoon of sugar in his tea, stirring it before he took a sip of his drink.

"...I see you chose the rose tea today." Camus glanced at Mallory, which she gave a small nod.

"I thought you would like something a bit more refreshing today." Mallory gave a nervous look, trying to keep her cool. It was always hard to figure out what Camus was thinking, but he gave a rather content nod, an approving look appearing on his face.

"Continue to use this tea for me over the course of the next few days, though I suggest letting the tea settle for another minute." Mallory gave a nod, determined to get it right the next time she was tasked with this again. "Did you also bring what I requested?" Mallory jumped a bit, realizing she almost forgot as she quickly ran back to the nearby kitchen, before coming back, holding a small wooden basket. She set it down on the table, the basket showcasing many types of different sweets; checkerboard cookies, biscotti, and other desserts and pastries that went well with tea.

"I went to the café that you requested, and they knew your name right away. They gave me your sweets, and told me that you're welcome by there again anytime." Camus gave a simple nod of his head, while Ai took a cookie from the basket, settling it between his lips as he continued to read silently.

"That's all we need Nakagawa-san." Camus announced to their assistant, as Mallory gave a short bow.

"If that is all you need, I'll be going then." Mallory took the empty tray from the table, leaving the teapot and sweets with them before turning to leave, but stopped, before turning back to face the three. "Actually, could I ask a question?"

"You may." Camus said, having another sip of his tea, along with a few of the sweets that he settled onto a plate he had brought with him.

"Well...I haven't had a lesson in over a week, and I was just wondering if something was wrong." Mallory asked, though a bit shyly, and a bit hesitantly; she wanted to train and learn, but she didn't want to annoy or irritate her senpai's as well. They had their own business to attend to, and she understood that. Camus looked at Mallory as he drank his tea, swallowing before he set his cup down.

"As I recall you have only had lessons with myself, and once with Reiji on your visual appeal. The only ones left to teach the first time would be either Mikaze or Kurosaki." At the statement, Ranmaru visibly stiffened in his seat, a scowl on his face as he ate one of the many assorted snacks from the basket.

"I believe it is Ranmaru's turn to teach you Nakagawa-san." Ai said, glancing at the gray-haired male as his scowl began to worsen, before folding his arms across his chest.

"I already told you I'm not teaching her!" He exclaimed, glaring at Ai for putting him on the spot.

"Why not, I haven't done anything to you!" Mallory said back to Ranmaru, a small glare appearing on her face. Ranmaru simply gave a huff towards the girl, tilting in his chair.

"Girls are always annoying to teach, they're too soft and they let their emotions get in the way of their training," Ranmaru gave a scowl towards Mallory, "They're a pain." Mallory gave a glare back towards Ranmaru, trying to control her anger, but he was pissing her off. Wouldn't teach her because she was a girl? How absurd was that?!

"I came here to learn to be an idol, and you're the one prolonging my development because I'm the opposite gender?" Mallory asked Ranmaru, rage starting to seep in through her words.

"Yeah, so what?! I wouldn't expect you to understand." Ranmaru voiced back at Mallory, his scowl never leaving his face.

"Understand? Understand what, that you're being sexist and unreasonable?!" Mallory exclaimed back at Ranmaru, clear that her anger was starting to take control of the conversation.

"Both of you are being rather childish," Ai said, watching the two fight as he looked up from his magazine," Nakagawa-san, is this how an idol would act?" Mallory heard Ai's statement, and blinked a few moments, before taking a breath, and standing tall, a guilty expression coming to her face.

"N-No senpai, I'm sorry." She felt rather embarrassed now, one of her senpai's had to stop her from getting out of hand; that wasn't good.

"See I told you, girls get too emotional." Ranmaru pressed on, his scowl lessening, but a glare was still clearly on his face. Mallory gave an annoyed scowl to Ranmaru, but he simply scoffed, getting out of his chair and walking away, hands in his pockets.

Mallory gave a sigh, watching with an annoyed look as Ranmaru stormed off. "What's his problem with me?" She was generally confused and annoyed by the man, holding the tray in her arms.

"Ranmaru has things he wishes to keep to himself," Ai muttered as he took another cookie from the basket, "he has his reasons, however selfish they may be." He motioned for Mallory to sit down in the seat that Ranmaru previously sat in, and she obliged her senpai's offer, sitting down as she gave a sigh, eyes settling on the teacup that she had handed Ranmaru; he didn't even touch it.

"Hey Nanami-san, would you have any idea why Kurosaki-senpai would have a bias towards me?" Mallory couldn't help but go to someone for help, and the one she knew she could turn to was her composer friend. She gave a rather annoyed look as she addressed her senpai; could she even call him that if he hasn't even taught her anything, and refuses to teach her anything at all?

"Hmm, well I couldn't really think of anything; maybe you should try asking Kurosaki-san yourself." Mallory gave a shake of her head, a frown on her face.

"I'm sure he'd just slam the door in my face." She sighed as she flopped onto Haruka's bed, looking up at the ceiling fan the spun slowly in circles. "I just don't understand why..." She muttered softly, breathing softly. Haruka gave a pat on her friend's shoulder, giving an encouraging smile.

"It'll be alright Mallory-chan; maybe one of the other senpai's could answer your question!" Mallory blinked for a few moments, giving a sigh; it couldn't hurt to try.

"Ah, so Ran-Ran won't teach you?" Reiji asked, the two talking outside in the gardens, the two settled next to each other on a wooden bench. He folded his arms, looking rather upset. "Saotome told us to teach you, but Ran-Ran won't consider it because you're a girl?"

"I told him he was being unreasonable, but that only got him more annoyed with me." Mallory gave a worried look, hands fiddling nervously in her lap. "How am I supposed to progress if one of my teachers doesn't even want to teach me?" Reiji cast his gaze down at his student, he could tell how distraught she was by this news.

"Ran-Ran has some things that he likes to keep secret...things that in the past hurt him." Mallory looked up at Reiji, noticing his demeanor had changed. He sounded more serious, and more mature than his usual bubbly self. "He likes to keep his emotions bottled up, not show anyone what he's really feeling. He's always like that, but deep down I think he wants to teach you; he thinks of you as a challenge."

"Me, a challenge?" Mallory asked, giving a confused look at her senpai. Reiji gave a nod, a small smile coming to his lips.

"Yep, Ran-Ran likes a good challenge every now and again, but I also know he has a strong sense of duty. Saotome had us become your teachers, and he knows that he has to teach you...but some stuff gets in the way of that." Mallory looked down at her lap, giving a small sigh.

"So, now what I do?" She muttered, her mood still in a rut. Reiji gave a small laugh, suddenly wrapping an arm around Mallory's waist and pulling her close. She felt his arm around her as he pulled her closer to him, her face blushing red as he heart began to beat a mile per minute. "K-Kotobuki-senpai?!" Reiji simply gave a hearty laugh, before ruffling Mallory's short brown hair, a grin on his face.

"Don't be so down Mal-chan!" Reiji chuckled a bit before looking down at his student, a smile appearing on his lips as he spoke softly. "Ran-Ran will pull through in the end, all you have to do is wait." Mallory gave a small nod, her face still dusted red from the close contact the two shared.

"Y-Yes senpai." Mallory said, giving a small nod, before Reiji gave a goofy grin, hugging Mallory as he ruffled her hair.

"You're just so cute Mal-chan!" Mallory blushed again when she felt her senpai hug her tightly, and he called her cute too?

"K-Kotobuki-senpai, my hair's getting all messed up!"

Sorry this chapter was so short guys! Writing for Ranmaru is kind of hard for me, but we kind of getting to a point to where we can go into his past with Mallory.

I loved the way i ended this chapter, I like the weird little brother/sister relationship I give between Reiji and Mallory, I think it's adorable. XD

But who knows, maybe it'll start to change?

Find out next time!