Hey guys! Sorry I hadn't written a chapter in a while! I got sick for like four days, and then I recently went to a convention near my town in LA! It was so much fun and I was happy that i got some time off to write this chapter! i hope you all like it!
P.S.: If any of you are curious as to what Mallory looks like, I put a link to a picture of what she looks like in the story on my profile page! You can check it out any time you want!
"I didn't think writing a song would be this hard..." Mallory trailed off, her feet swaying lightly underneath the chair she sat in, currently perplexed and puzzled by the process of writing a song. Being an idol was what she wanted to do, but she never knew that one of her tests would have to be writing a song.
"This is gonna be my first single to put out and there's already so much pressure!" Mallory exclaimed worriedly, pulling at her short hair lightly in panic. She huffed, dropping her pencil on the top of her desk as she slumped her arms on the desk, resting her head on her forearms as she sighed; she needed a break, being at this for over two hours and nothing had come to her. What was she supposed to write about anyways? "Maybe I should go ask Nanami-san, she usually has good advice-" Her train of thought however was cutoff when she heard a vibrating sound coming from her cell phone. She picked it up and saw a text message appear on her screen, reading it to herself, "Mal-chan, come meet us outside of the dorms, you have an assignment~ Make sure to bring your sewing supplies with you as well; from Rei-chan." Mallory gave a small laugh at the text message, Reiji had used little emoticons in his text message like always, showing off his goofy personality again. "Guess I get a break at least." Quickly getting to her feet, she grabbed her bag, stuffing it with her sewing supplies and cellphone, as well as her music sheets before heading out of her room. She quickly jogged as fast as she could to the front of the dorms, but as she turned a corner, knocked into someone, almost losing her balance.
"Ah, I'm so sorry!" Mallory exclaimed, making sure her bag was still with her as she quickly bowed in apology to whoever she had smacked into, but it quickly changed when she saw who it was.
"Watch where you're going next time; no wonder Ai says you need more practice in dancing, you can't even pay attention to what you're doing." A scowl appeared on Mallory's face as she straightened up, looking at the silver-haired man in front of her.
"I didn't mean to, Kurosaki-senpai." Mallory said back, an annoyed glare on her face as she looked at the man; the two had been at a stand still for the past few days, neither of them wanting to talk or be near each other due to the fact that it could lead to a fight like last time. "Why aren't you with the others at the front of the dorm?"
"Why do you care?" A frown came to Ranmaru's face as he looked down at the girl, before giving a scoff, which only made the girl angrier. "You better wipe that glare off your face, or your face will get stuck that way." He pushed past Mallory, hands in his pockets as the conversation finished for the time being, Mallory watching him leave with the scowl still on her face. She still didn't know what his attitude about her was.
"I'm here!" Mallory said, breathing a bit heavily as she made her way out of the dorms, seeing the other senpais waiting for her next to a car. Reiji gave a wave to Mallory, smiling, however Camus and Ai were giving calculating stares.
"You're late." Ai said to Mallory, his cyan eyes watching her as she gave an apologetic look, bowing lightly to her senpais.
"I-I didn't mean to, I'm sorry. I ran into Kurosaki-senpai...and it took a bit longer than I thought." Her brown eyes looked back into Ai's cyan colored ones, the two glancing back at each other for a few moments, before Ai looked away from Mallory's gaze.
"As long as it doesn't happen again." Mallory gave a small smile, nodding.
"It won't Mikaze-senpai, I promise!" Ai gave a small nod, his eyes looking towards the others, away from his student. Mallory then looked towards Reiji, taking out her phone.
"So, what is the assignment Rei-chan?" Mallory asked, using the nickname that Reiji told her to use. The brown-haired man gave a grin, patting the car next to him.
"We're going to the city for a photo shoot with our other students from STARISH! We got a call from the photographers there that some of the outfits that you made earlier got damaged on the way over, and that some of them need to be fixed. After you help us with that, we'll get to your lesson!" Mallory gave a small nod, before glancing back at the dorms.
"What about Kurosaki-senpai?" Reiji gave a frown, rubbing the back of his head nervously at the question.
"Kurosaki will not being accompanying us." Camus simply announced, looking back at Mallory. "Now if we do not wish to be late, we should be on our way now."
"Good idea Myu-chan! Let's get going, we don't want to keep our other students waiting!"
Mallory walked into the large studio, holding her supplies as she looked at all the set ups that had been put up, each one for their senpai and kouhais. "This shoot must be for the unit dramas that Saotome is making." Mallory muttered to herself, nearby seeing the clothes rack with the outfits she had designed.
"Ah, Nakagawa-san!" She stopped in her tracks, turning to see a familiar face as she gave a smile.
"Oh, you're...Ittoki-san, correct?" Mallory asked, seeing a red-haired male walking over to her. The boy gave a grin, nodding at her.
"Ittoki Otoya, Rei-chan talks a lot about you. It's great to finally meet you, congratulations by the way, for getting to be an idol." Mallory blushed lightly, laughing a bit as she gave a small bow to Otoya.
"Thank you Ittoki-san, though I'm no where as good as the group you're in; I've just started." She had barely just started, and she still had a long way to go, but she would do whatever it took. Otoya gave a smile, kind and encouraging.
"I'm sure you'll do great Nakagawa-san; I can't wait to hear your first song when it comes out!" Mallory gave a smile. "Thank you Ittoki-san; ah, but I have to get going actually with fixing some of these outfits."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to distract you!" Otoya said nervously, a light worried look appearing on his face. Mallory gave a small laugh, patting his shoulder lightly.
"No no it's ok, I just got here. I hope we can talk more sometime." She gave a small wave to the idol, Otoya giving a smile and a nod, waving back to her as he turned and left, going back to the area where the other STARISH members were. Mallory then turned back to the rack of clothes, seeing some of them; the only ones that seemed to be damaged were Ranmaru's and Ai's outfits, but they were easily fixable. She started off by working on Ai's, due to the fact that he was here, and that his shoot would be coming up in about half an hour.
"Mikaze-senpai, could you come over here please?" Mallory asked, seeing the cyan hair colored idol turn to her, before walking over quietly.
"What is it Nakagawa-san?" He asked, getting straight to the point as usual; she always noticed that he was rather blunt about things, never dodging questions or avoiding to answer when she had something to ask, but something that always interested her were his eyes. His eyes were the most beautiful color she had ever seen, but when she looked into Ai's eyes, his expressions were always so...lifeless. No vibrant emotion or anything, just a usual blank stare. It always intrigued her to no end, and she always wanted to ask him why he never really showed any emotion, but she didn't want to pry or seem rude, but still it nagged at her when the two talked or were working together.
"Nakagawa-san." Mallory jumped, holding the dark navy blue jacket in her hands, as she blinked at her teacher.
"Y-Yes Mikaze-senpai?" The boy looked at her, once again his expression emotionless, a blank stare looking back at her. "Are you distracted by something?" She stared for a few moments, shaking her head. "N-No, what makes you say that?"
"You were staring at me, for about 3 and a half minutes; it was odd." A flush of red came to Mallory's face, warmth enveloping her cheeks as she gripped the jacket in her hands a bit tightly, a nervous look on her face.
"A-Ah I'm sorry Mikaze-senpai, I didn't mean to stare at you, honest." She glanced back at her teacher for a few moments, "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable in any way." Ai simply watched the girl, his eyes never leaving her form as she looked back at him, butterflies fluttering in her chest; what was with her? "A-Anyway, I just needed you to put this on, so I can check on what needs to be fixed." She held up the jacket in her hands, before Ai took the jacket from her fingertips, her breath hitching in her throat lightly when his hand brushed against hers lightly.
"The left sleeve feels loose, I believe the seam at the shoulder came undone." Mallory blinked lightly before she gave a nod to Ai, taking the jacket delicately in her hands to not damage it anymore, before giving a smile.
"Thank you Mikaze-senpai; I'll fix it for you right away." Ai gave a nod to Mallory, glancing at her once more, his gaze calculating, observing. She simply blinked, giving another small smile; it was rather odd, but she was starting to get used to his stares, he simply said it was to read off of her, to get to know her better, but still his gaze made her nervous.
"Good." She watched him return to his students, Kurusu Syo and Shinomiya Natsuki, before she took out her supplies, getting to work.
"We're ready!" The cameraman exclaimed, getting the lighting and the camera set up for the shoot, as Mallory jogged over to Ai.
"Mikaze-senpai, I finished the adjustments." She handed the piece of clothing to her teacher, to which he took from her, before putting it on.
"It's better now." He simply said, folding his arms as he looked at his student, "Have you finished your song yet?" Mallory fiddled with her hands gently, looking down for a few moments.
"Not yet, but I will. I just need a bit more time for something to come to me." He gave a small noise of understanding.
"You better not take long, you have a deadline. I'll be wondering what exactly you'll come up with, considering the vocal lessons I did with you should have helped you improve a bit." Mallory gave a small nod, "Yeah, you're a pretty strict teacher Mikaze-senpai."
"Do it again." Mallory gave a small huff, taking in breaths of air as she coughed a little, trying to get her voice recover.
"Mikaze-senpai I can't do that high of a note; we've been at this for over an hour." Mallory gave a small frown, looking at her senpai, who was sitting on the piano stool in front of her. Ai gave a small sigh as he took his fingers off of the keys of the piano, looking at Mallory.
"If you're going to simply give up, then you shouldn't be wasting my time." Mallory winced at her teachers words, looking back at Ai.
"I didn't mean it Mikaze-senpai. I just...I don't think I can do this note." Ai simply watched her, before settling his fingers back on the keys of the piano, playing the scales of a piano as he began slowly, singing each note. Mallory watched as Ai sang each note of the scale, going up each time until he made it to the note that she couldn't reach, executing it perfectly. He took his fingertips off the keys once more, slowly pushing the seat of the piano behind him so he could stand properly, before walking over to stand in front of Mallory.
"All it takes is practice, if I can do it, so can you." He stood behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder and one on her back as he helped her straiten her posture. "You must stand straight and tall when doing these scales," he then placed his right hand against her abdomen, "you also need to keep air inside the base of your abdomen. When you sing, you keep air trapped in your throat, making your voice give out." Mallory gave a small nod, her face flushing pink lightly as Ai straitened up to look at Mallory. "We're doing it again until you get it right." He sat back down on the piano stool, his fingers settling on the piano keys once more before he began to play each key, watching Mallory as she stood tall and sang, taking Ai's advice to heart. When Ai got to the last note, he pressed the key, watching Mallory with a calculating gaze as she hit the note perfectly, before he stopped playing.
"I-I did it!" Mallory exclaimed, a look of surprise on her face, a grin coming to her lips as she leaned against the piano. "Thank you Ai! You're a genius!"
"I only told you what basic idols know." Ai simply said to Mallory, glancing at her.
"Yeah, but you didn't give up on me! You kept telling me to do it and I did! You're a great teacher Ai!" Ai perked up lightly as he looked at Mallory, a look of slight surprise on his face.
"You called me Ai." Mallory blinked before she blushed, quickly apologizing.
"Ah! I meant Mikaze-senpai! Gomen, Gomen; I just got excited was all..." Mallory trailed off, her face a scarlet red color. "It's alright." Mallory heard this and turned to look at her teacher, "Really?"
"Now we do it again." Mallory jumped lightly as she saw Ai get ready to play the scales again, giving a nod as she got began to practice once more.
"Right! I won't give up this time!"
"It's to help you improve." Ai simply stated, looking at Mallory. "I know, I'm grateful for the lessons you gave me, they really helped." Ai looked away for a few moments, glancing away from his student. A look of something she couldn't describe was written on his face, but by the time he turned back he had his usual blank stare.
"It's simply what a teacher does for his students." Mallory gave a small nod, but glanced over when she heard the cameramen were ready for the shoot. "I think it's time for you to get going." Ai simply gave a nod, turning to leave before he looked back at Mallory with another one of his emotionless stares. "Nakagawa-san, from now on I want you to call me Mikaze-san when we're in public." Mallory blinked at the statement, a bit surprised.
"Huh? Why the sudden change?" She asked curiously, holding her clipboard in her arms lightly as she glanced at the cyan hair colored male.
"It's simply to address me correctly; there's no use in calling me Senpai when you're the one working for me in public." His cyan colored eyes stared back into her brown ones for a few moments, "Is that clear?" Mallory gave a nod, a smile coming to her lips.
"I understand, Mikaze-san. I'll address you as such when we're on jobs together from now on." Ai stared back at her for a few moments, before turning away from her.
"Good, I'll expect you to follow these directions."
"Shinomiya-san, please don't stand so close to me." Ai said as his students got ready for the shoot, all of them wearing their designed outfits for the Unit Drama CDs that were to be released next month.
"Ah, gomen Mikaze-senpai, I'll stand over here. Is that alright?"
"It's better." Behind in the sidelines, Mallory held her clipboard in her hand, schedule residing in it as she couldn't tear her eyes away from the display in front of her. Doing a photo shoot seemed so easy for her senpai's and their students, she could tell that she already had a long way to go.
"I haven't even gotten into the variety show training yet..." Mallory trailed off, her thoughts wandering to other activities; what other training would she get to experience?
"Mal-chan!" Mallory jumped, her thoughts interrupted as she gave a small breath, her nerves heightened from the sudden jump scare she had when she heard someone call to her. She turned, seeing brown hair and grey eyes, and recognized the voice immediately.
"Rei-chan, don't scare me like that." Mallory sighed once more, her face blushing lightly from the small embarrassing moment.
"Ah gomen, gomen; you were just staring off into space, I just wanted to make sure you were ok." Mallory blinked again; she was staring off into space again? That wasn't good; she would have to fix that once she got back to her dorm. Getting distracted wasn't the best thing for her especially with her job.
"Well thank you Rei-chan, but I'm fine. I was just thinking is all." Her attention turned back to Ai and his students as the photographer took the photos, the camera flashing every few moments as Reiji watched.
"Ai-Ai's really good at photo shoots isn't he?" Reiji asked, watching the photo shoot. Mallory turned to watch, but once again, could only see Ai's rather blank expression.
"I guess." She continued to watch, before the she turned to her other senpai. "Reiji, why does Mikaze-senpai never really show any emotion? The entire month and a half I've been here, I haven't seen him laugh, or even give a hint of a smile. Is he always that serious?" Reiji gave a small sound of confusion, before giving a small laugh.
"Ai-Ai can be rather serious all the time, it's just the way he is. I've only seen him smile a few times, but it was just for photo shoots like this, and for publicity." Mallory looked at Reiji, before glancing back at Ai, watching him. "Oh, by the way, after this shoot is done we'll be getting to your next lesson!" Mallory turned to look back at Reiji, holding her schedule in her hands.
"What is it this time? Another vocal lesson? Or a dance lesson?" Mallory asked, generally curious. She would usually get a notice or something from one of her senpai's about what her lesson would be, but she wasn't told anything as of yet. Reiji gave a smirk, patting Mallory on the head, messing up her hair slightly as he did so.
"You'll just have to wait dear Mal-chan." Mallory gave a small moan of complaint as she had to fix her hair, her face dusted pink lightly; Reiji always like to tease her when he had the chance. "How's your song coming by the way?" Mallory glanced back at Reiji once she fixed her hair, shuffling her feet lightly against the floor.
"Uh, it's ok...I guess. I haven't really written anything yet cause nothing's really come to mind, but I'll figure something out." Reiji gave a small smile, looking down at his student.
"I'm sure you will, just stay calm and you'll get through it. Even if this is a test, you shouldn't rush through it like Myu-chan said. I'm sure whatever you write will be great, and I'll be there to help if you get stuck!" He gave a grin back to Mallory as she gave a small smile, nodding.
"Thanks Rei-chan, I'll ask for help if I need it in the future."
"Kotobuki, it's time for Nakagawa-san's lesson." The two turned to see Camus walk by, wearing his outfit from his Unit Drama CD. Mallory almost couldn't tell who he was; he was wearing a long white sleeved shirt covered by a long-sleeved dark jacket, with the collar of his white shirt being tied by a white and black striped ribbon. His hair was different as well, usually flowing on his shoulders, it was now pulled back into a long ponytail, and he was wearing a pair of black framed glasses.
"Woah, Myu-chan I almost didn't recognize you!" Reiji said with a grin, Camus simply giving a small sigh. "You really know your stuff about clothes Mal-chan." Mallory blushed lightly, scratching her head in nervousness.
"I'm not that good, but Rei-chan is right Camus-senpai, you do look really good in those clothes."
"Thank you Nakagawa-san, but now it is time for your next lesson." He turned to see that the photo shoot for Ai, Syo and Natsuki had finished, and the backdrop had been changed to a plain white sheet, leaving a blank background. "Have you heard of the idol magazine Idol Start?" Mallory looked at Camus, nodding lightly.
"It's a magazine that displays the next idols that are debuting; my sister had an article about her in it, and I heard that STARISH got an article as well." Mallory then gave a confused look, "Why are you asking me about it though?"
"Cause you're gonna be in it Mal-chan!" Reiji said with a grin, wrapping an arm around Mallory's shoulders, "It'll be great! It's your first step to debuting!" Mallory was speechless, her face agape as she heard the news; she was going to be in a magazine? "Come on, it's your turn!"
"W-Wait, you mean now?" Mallory stuttered out, feeling Reiji lead her towards the backdrop area, where the cameras and lights were set up. "I-I don't know if I can do it now. I mean, am I wearing the right clothes, do I have to change or anything?" She wondered due to her rather plain choice of clothing; a regular green tank top hidden under a pair of short overalls and a pair of plain black converse shoes. It didn't exactly look like an outfit fit for a photo shoot, much less a magazine.
"You'll be fine, all you have to do is take a few pictures and that's it, piece of cake!" Reiji said with a grin, leading Mallory right towards the marker where she was supposed to stand. "You'll do fine Mal-chan." Reiji then gave a thumbs up to the camera man, before he made his way off the set to stand in the background, hands in his pockets as he gave one of his goofy grins to Mallory for support and comfort, but she still felt nervous regardless of the small pep talk. She turned to look at the camera, her body going stiff as she swallowed lightly, eyes on her. She still had some issues with having attention put on her, her nerves coming back every time something like this happened.
"Just start off by doing poses you're comfortable with." The cameraman told to Mallory, the idol in training jumping lightly when she was addressed.
"Uh, right." Mallory muttered, giving a nervous look as she shuffled on her feet lightly, trying to figure out what exactly she was going to do. She looked at the cameraman uncomfortably, before hesitantly starting.
"She's nervous." Ai observed, arms folded against his chest as he watched Mallory begin posing, though they looked rather plain, and not full of energy.
"She needs to learn that idols have to be diligent when it comes to these things. Being nervous all the time will get her no where." Camus muttered as well, glancing every so often to watch and give his opinion.
"Mal-chan's still new at all this you guys; she'll get the hang of it." Reiji said, though he gave a small frown as he watched his student give awkward poses; she was rather stiff, and not letting her poses move naturally. "Maybe someone should help-hmm? Ai-Ai, where are you going?"
Mallory gave another odd pose, trying to give a natural look, but once again looking rather stiff.
"Maybe we should take a small break." The cameraman said as he gave a sigh, hoping that it would help with the photos, as well as with her. She gave a small huff, looking down as she rubbed her arm nervously; she was ashamed, and embarrassed. She couldn't get down just doing poses for photos because nerves got to her? How stupid was that? She gave a sigh, when she looked up to see Ai, his expression blank, yet stern.
"You're giving bad results." He said simply, walking to stand in front of Mallory. "Being nervous isn't going to help you."
"I-I know," Mallory muttered, looking down slightly, "It's just everyone is looking at me, watching me. It just makes me self-conscious is all."
"Being self-conscious is normal, but it shouldn't stop you from doing your job." Mallory winced slightly at her teachers words, giving a nod. She fiddled with her hands for a few moments, before she looked back at her teacher.
"I know, it won't happen again." Mallory muttered, Ai watching her. She heard him give a small sigh, before she noticed that the camera man had returned. "Are you ready?" Mallory gave a few stutters, before she noticed Ai pulling her along to the marker that they had set, with him next to her.
"Mikaze-senpai?" She questioned, noticing that he wasn't returning to his spot with the other seniors. He simply stood next to her, before he took her right hand in his left, while his left arm slowly snaked around her waist, the two in rather close contact. Mallory's face lit up a bright red, almost at a loss for words. "M-Mikaze-senpai?"
"Follow my lead." He muttered, his cyan colored eyes gazing back into her brown ones as she swallowed lightly, before giving a light nod.
"A-Alright." She muttered back, her voice almost at a whisper from the close contact the two shared. The camera began to snap photos, the lights flashing as the two began to take photos together, Mallory's nerves slowly melting away with each passing minute. Her heart raced every single moment she had with Ai, noticing the lavender scent that came from the male next to her, the aroma almost intoxicating to her. It fit him oddly, as she smiled each time the two took a photo, her nervousness and worries withering away as she continued to take in the soft scent. It calmed her weirdly enough, to a point that she didn't even notice when Ai had left the back drop, now taking pictures on her own, with no worries whatsoever of other people watching her. She glanced back at where her teachers were, and her eyes widened lightly; it must have been the flash of the camera, but she could have sworn she saw Ai smile, even if only for a moment.
"Good idea to take some pictures with her Ai-Ai, she's doing a lot better now!" Reiji said with a grin to his fellow idol, watching Mallory give better poses, looking more relaxed than ever.
"It was a simple solution; she just needed someone to help her calm her nerves. She should do better now." Ai muttered, wiping off some dust from his jacket as she watched Mallory as well; she was improving, but she could do better. He would have to write improvements for her to look over and access. As he watched her however, his thoughts went back to a few moments before, remembering the close contact the two shared. He felt something rather odd when he was helping her, a feeling in his chest, the same he felt before back when the two had first met in the piano room. The same odd feeling when he was close to her, the strangely numbing sensation he felt when he smelled the aroma of her perfume; vanilla, he remembered, the scent fresh in his mind from when he had caught her before. What was this he was feeling? His hands clung to his jackets sleeves tightly as his arms were wrapped around him lightly, as he continued to watch his student from afar.
"Glad that's finally over." Mallory sighed as the camera crew began to clean up, putting away the equipment as she walked over to wards the back area, seeing Reiji nearby.
"Mal-chan, you did great! I knew you could do it!" Mallory gave a small laugh, her face blushing a light pink as she looked around, a confused look on her face.
"Where'd Mikaze-senpai and Camus-senpai go?"
"They had to go back to the dorms early for another assignment with their students from STARISH." Reiji gave a small grin, hands on his hips. "Since it's just you and me, why don't we head out and go celebrate for completing your next lesson?" Mallory perked up lightly, looking at Reiji with a nervous look as she gave a panicked shake of her head.
"You don't have to do that Kotobuki-senpai, I'm here to serve you, not the other way around!" Reiji only gave a hearty laugh to her reaction, wrapping his arm around her neck as he grinned.
"Come on Mal-chan, it's just a small celebration; do it for me, please?" Mallory gave a small moan of uncertainty, but couldn't say no when her senpai gave his rather infamous pout; it always got her.
"A-Alright we can celebrate." She gave a small smile when she saw Reiji cheer, before she was led off by her senpai out of the studio, her bag and other belongings coming along with her. "K-Kotobuki-senpai don't run so fast!"
"I heard you liked sweets, so I found this place when I was on a job last week." Reiji said with a grin as the two sat at a small café, sitting outside. Mallory gave a small smile, but her face was a small hint of red; she wasn't used to being alone with guys. Even if this was her teacher, it felt rather strange to be alone with him in public; she didn't want people to get the wrong idea or anything.
"Mal-chan you're face is all red." Mallory looked back at Reiji, as she gave a nervous laugh.
"I-it's nothing, just the weather or something!" Reiji gave a small laugh, grinning slightly as he settled ini his chair
"It couldn't be because you and I are alone together, is it?" Mallory's face only blushed harder as Reiji gave a laugh, "you got redder, that's so cute!" Mallory gave a small annoyed huff, watching her senpai tease her, it was always his way of showing her cared, by teasing her to no end. "H-Hey don't give me that annoyed look. You and Ran-Ran have the same glare when you get annoyed with me, it hurts my feelings." Mallory stopped as she looked at Reiji, giving an incredulous look.
"Kurosaki-senpai and I have the same look?" She asked, not really believing the statement; the two annoyed each other to no end, and never got along. She gave a small sigh, looking at Reiji. "Actually, I had a question about him."
"Hm, you mean Ran-Ran?" Reiji asked, noticing a waitress come by and leaving them a small tray of assorted pastries that they had ordered. "What did you want to ask?" Mallory fiddled with her fingers lightly, looking at Reiji with a nervous glance.
"When I asked you before why Kurosaki-senpai wouldn't teach me, you told me that he had secrets that he wanted to keep to himself." Reiji gave a small frown, his normal cheerful mood changing to his rare mature side. He folded his arms across his chest, thinking to himself.
"You want to know about Ran-Ran's past and why he doesn't trust you." He said it more as a statement then a question, nodding in understanding. "You know even if I tell you about his past, he may still not want to talk to you."
"But at least it would be a start somewhat." Mallory muttered, looking at Reiji with a determined look. "I just want to understand why he won't teach me, I at least have the right to know, rather than be in the dark about things." Reiji gave a small nod, giving a heavy sigh before he settled into his seat, leaning his arms against the table they sat at. He looked back at Mallory with a serious look, before he took a breath.
"Before Ran-Ran was in Quartet Night, he was in a rock band with a group of friends he knew. They were really good, and were popular all around Japan, especially in Tokyo." He placed a few pastries on to a small plate in front of him, glancing down at the water that he had gotten. "They promised to stay friends forever and be in the group, saying that nothing would get in the way of their playing or their friendship. However a few years after their latest tour, one of Ran-Ran's band mates got a girlfriend." Mallory simply listened intently, staring at Reiji, not saying a word. "She would go with them on all the tours and watch them play. It was a normal setup until she started to sleep around with some of he other band mates, going behind people's backs and causing fights within the group. She caused so much trouble that the band had to end up breaking up, which caused Ran-Ran to get bitter. He joined Saotome Agency and later met us, and we became Quartet Night." Reiji gave a sigh, sitting back in his chair, his grey eyes softening at his student. "Ran-Ran doesn't want to teach you because he thinks it'll happen all over again, but this time with Quartet Night."
"But I would never do something like that." Mallory said with a shake of her head, giving a worried look to her teacher. Reiji gave a small chuckle, his usual smile returning as he looked at Mallory.
"I know you wouldn't Mal-chan, you're not that type of girl to go and do that." Reiji gave a soft smile as he looked at the food in front of him, a soft gaze lingering in his eyes. "It's actually rather comforting to see Ran-Ran be all paranoid about this." Mallory gave a confused look, "Why is that?" Reiji gave another chuckle, straightening in his chair. "Ran-Ran is always so serious and has an attitude, but he's worried that you'll break up the group. He usually tells me that he doesn't care about the group and that he likes working alone...but I can tell he actually cares about the group. He has fun with us, even if he doesn't want to admit it." Mallory stayed silent as she listened, before she gave a small smile, nodding.
"I guess that is good-"
"Nakagawa-san?"
"Mallory?" Mallory was cut off when she heard to female voices, both familiar to her as she turned in her seat to see Haruka and Tomochika. "Nanami-san? Tomo-chan? What are you guys doing here?"
"We were gonna ask you the same thing." Tomochika said surprised, stopping to glance at Reiji for a few moments before her eyes went wide. "Wait, don't tell me you're on a date, are you?!" Haruka gave a surprised gasp as well, looking at the blushing girl.
"Nakagawa-san, I didn't know you and Kotobuki-san were dating!" Mallory's face turned a thousand shades of red as she heard the girls comments, almost falling out of her chair from the pure shock.
"N-No of course not, it's not like that!" Her face couldn't have been any redder, and she was sure she had never felt this embarrassed in all her life.
"Oh yeah, then how come your face is red? Come on, you don't have to hide it from me~" Tomochika teased, her lips holding a smirk as Mallory blushed even redder, a glare starting to come to her face. "Come on Haruka, let's leave the two alone before we ruin their moment!"
"W-Wait, Tomochika!" The two girls had left before Mallory could confront them any longer on the matter, before she turned back in her chair, face as red as it could be. She was sure she would never live this down, and Reiji had been there for the whole thing. "I'm sorry Kotobuki-senpai, Tomochika just likes to tease me like that is all..." She glance up at him when she heard him give a rather cheerful laugh, a grin on his face as he looked back at her.
"It's ok, it was kind of funny actually." Mallory glanced away from her teacher, giving a sigh; she would have to get back at her friend later for pulling that stunt. "But you know, you hurt my feelings a bit." Mallory's embarrassed look faded when she heard this, a questioning look appearing on her face.
"I did?" She asked, wondering what she had done. Reiji simply gave a small chuckle, resting his chin against the palm of his hand as he watched his student, a look in his eye that Mallory honestly couldn't describe as a smile graced his lips.
"Of course you did. I thought this was a date, Mal-chan." Her face blushed once more, a look of shock now appearing on her face as she stared incredulously at her teacher.
"W-What?" She stuttered out, startled by the statement. Before she could ask anything else, a heartfelt laugh came from her teacher as he wiped a few tears away from his eyes, a teasing grin on his face.
"I was only joking Mal-chan." Her look of shock turned to one of embarrassment once more, giving a small sigh as she stared at Reiji.
"Kotobuki-senpai, not you too..." Mallory trailed off, giving a sigh once more; she was going to be teased by her friend, and now her teacher? She was going to have her hands full. However she gave a small smile as she watched her teacher laugh; despite playing tricks on her and teasing her, she knew that he cared. He worried about her and always wanted to help her, and even Ai had helped her today as well, She knew she could count on her teachers, and just knowing that they were there for her was all she needed.
"It's finally done." Mallory muttered to herself with a smile, setting down her lyrics sheets; after a few hours of thinking and brainstorming, she had finished her single. All she had to do was write a composition and record it, and she would be on her way. As she set her pencil down, she thought for a few moments, remembering the talk that she and Reiji has about Ranmaru. She knew why he didn't want to teach her, and why he had a bias towards her, but she hadn't confronted him yet on the subject. Now that she knew, she understood why he was so hesitant with wanting to teach her. If something as terrible had happened to her, she wouldn't want to teach someone that reminded them of a terrible memory. Even so, he was her teacher, and he couldn't just ignore her forever.
"Maybe it's time I actually try to talk to him" She said to herself, her legs swaying lightly under the chair she sat in. With a small sigh, she got her nerves together and got to her feet, stepping out of her room as she walked down the halls, making her way down to the boys dorms. She gave a breath, coming closer and closer until she made it to the room, noticing Ranmaru's name on a plaque next to the door she stood in front of. With a hesitant look, she knocked on the door, hearing slightly shuffling before the door opened to show grey and purple eyes.
"It's you, what do you want?" Ranmaru asked, obvious hints of annoyance in his voice as he glanced at Mallory. Mallory gave a small glare, before it changed to a look of determination, which Ranmaru noticed, his eyes narrowing lightly.
"I know about what happened." His eyes glared down at her, intense emotions passing through his entire being. Memories he never wanted to remember were flooding back to him, and it pissed him off to no end. How did this girl know about his past? His hand tightened on the door handle, gripping it tightly as the two glared back at each other, silent.
There's the chapter! I wrote the end on a bit of a cliffhanger for the heck of it, so I can get my readers excited for the next chapter that'll be coming up! What do you guys think will happen next? Will Ranmaru and Mallory get into an even more heated argument? Or will the two finally start getting along? Find out when the next chapter comes out! Please read and review, I love being reviewed and I always love knowing what you guys think! Till next time!