Chapter 7
Disclaimer:
I own nothing but the story line.
All charters from Uta No Prince Sama and Skip Beat are all owned by their various creators. BTS is owned by themselves and Big Hit.
Nor do I own YouTube, Spotify, Tinashe or any media presented and owned by them.
I only use them for entertainment purposes.
The above link is for a female pitched version of BTS's House Of Cards. This was the closest I could find to my inner picture for later in this chapter.
(Master Course Dorms)
Morning came soon after everyone had settled in for the night. Most were still in late stages of sleep, dreaming of many different things. One person though, had awoke with the dawn, too pensive about the past night's developments to rest peacefully. Haruka's golden-green eyes stared in silent contemplation at the three girls, still in the land of dreams, that were laid out in her room.
'It was only yesterday that we all met, and became friends. Although, I have know Kyoko for sometime considering our past. Still it feels like we've all been friends much longer.'
She couldn't help smile secretly at herself, thinking with warmth settling into her heart. There was a strange familiarity about the group.
Then, while still going over her feelings in her mind, she remembered the drunken daring ness she had exhibited last night. Surprisingly, she felt no embarrassment, or hang over symptoms from the vast amounts of Sake she had consumed.
'What am I going to do now? The president did give me, all of us really, quite a shock. I figured at this point I'd still be a bit embarrassed, but for some reason I'm not.'
She once again thought of the unintended fall, and subsequent landing on Tokiya...'I guess I should call him that, at least in my own mind. At that time everything was still new to me, but his words then were quite unlike him.' (Giggle)
'He did look adorable in that Piyo-Chan costume.' She thought to herself with another giggle.
"Hime-chan? You're up already?" Kyoko suddenly groaned out from her side, while still laying in bed.
Haruka looked over and realized her new found childhood friend, who she had probably woke with her giggles, was staring at her with a slight daze. The second ginger headed girl was still a bit groggy from sleep.
"Oh, I'm sorry Yoko-Chan. I didn't realize how loud I was. Do you feel ok this morning? I know last night was quite a strange night." The girl whispered to her friend.
Kyoko sat up slowly, waiting to see if perhaps her head would swim, but after a moment she nodded her head. "It was quite a fun experience wasn't it? I'm actually feeling quite fine. Surprisingly good actually."
"Mou, you can stop whispering now. I can't sleep much more anyway. Oy Tomo-chan, I know you're awake too. Why don't you quit playing possum and join the rest of us in the land of the living?" Kanae said from her place on the second bed, beside Kyoko's sitting figure.
"You caught me Moko-chan. I was hoping to see how long it would take to either fall back asleep, or for someone to wake up feeling like shit. But looking at everyone, it seems like our tolerance was better than I expected. That's good to know, at least now I won't feel guilty having more drinking nights with friends." The red head replied mischievously.
The other three girls looked at her and all thought the same thing.
'You're kidding right?'
"So about last night, anyone have anything they'd like to say? Our plans went off rather well. I'm surprised at the fact that no one has died of mortification yet." Tomo smirked after some pointed looks were made.
All four in the room looked at each other and only said one thing.
"Blame it on the alcohol?"
Laughs were heard from all four. Once they gained their breath, Kanae brought up a question.
"So are we still on for our new morning workout routine? I know Kyoko and I are off for the next few days, so we have nothing else to do."
"Actually, Tomo-chan and I took the next two days off to relax together. I do believe that makes it a golden chance to start taking up this workout. I'm all for it, maybe it'll help me be less prone to trip over my own feet." Haruka replied with a thought over her own clumsy nature. 'Or tripping into anyone's lap accidentally again.'
"Alright it's settled then, let's all get dressed, and go make some coffee. Then we can go to one of the practice rooms and start. This should be fun." Tomo said.
All nodded in agreement, and slowly pulled themselves from their beds. Each pulling out comfortable clothes that they could workout in.
All decided that taking turns to change in the bathroom was unnecessary, since they were all females anyway. So they opted to change in the room. Once all four were dressed in their black spandex leggings, racer backed workout shirts, light athletic jackets, and training shoes, they all headed as one out the door of Haruka's room to the kitchen. All with the thought of coffee and a day of fun ahead.
As the three continued walking, Kyoko started trailing behind to pull out her phone. She knew she still had to accept the job offer she received the previous evening. While still experiencing some trepidation at who she knew was the lead male, she knew she'd have Haruka by her side. So without anymore hesitation she sent a text to confirm her acceptance and slid the phone back into the pocket of her jacket. She quickened her pace to catch up with the other three on the way to the kitchen.
Little did they all know what surprises waited for them today.
(Kitchen)
'It's too early for this. I thought I'd sleep in since we all have the day off, but I just can't.' Masato thought to himself while brewing a pot of coffee. He was usually the type to reflect over a soothing green tea in the morning, but his mind called for something stronger at the moment. 'I can't believe it, but I'm almost tempted to add something extra to my coffee.' The man only drank on certain occasions, barring last night of course.
'Yes. Last night was very...intriguing.' He thought back to the previous rude awakening and following eavesdropping. His mind became more wrapped up in the thought of Haruka wanting any of them, much less all of them, in very much the same way they wanted her.
'Intriguing indeed.'
He was still lost in his thoughts and didn't hear two other men enter the kitchen, until they began to argue.
"But Camus, it's still so early and it's the beginning of our vacation. Why did I have to wake up too? You can be an early riser by yourself today. In fact, I thought you weren't training me anymore, so there was no need to push me out of me bed." Cecil whined indignantly at his senior.
Camus shot him a haughty look, normal for his aristocratic face. "Aijima stop whining. Those who rise early are more prepared to seize the day. As a future king you should know this already. Honestly, I fear for your future reign if this is how you are now."
Cecil didn't reply, he felt it better to keep quiet than try to fight with the Count. 'Pfft. Count. You'd think he'd have a better way with people given his noble background.'
"Good morning Cecil, Camus-senpai. I've already prepared coffee. Would you both like to join me for a cup?" Masato asked to alert the clashing noble and prince to his presence.
Cecil and Camus looked toward the direction of the voice, surprised to see anyone but themselves up this early during vacation.
"That would be acceptable." Camus replied, while Cecil just nodded. He was still too tired be be his usual boisterous self just yet.
Quietly all three took their preferred coffee mugs and filled them from the pot. Each one adding his choice of creamer, and one adding astounding amounts of sugar to suit his sweet tooth. Without a peep of conversation the three males sat at the kitchen table, and slowly began to ingest their caffeinated morning beverage. All was considerably peaceful at the moment, more so given the uproar of activity the previous evening.
Not being one to stay quiet long, especially with the thoughts whirling in his awakening mind, Cecil decided to make conversation. "So last night was quite fun, wouldn't you two agree? Although, I still can't believe those four were able to concoct, and follow through with such a plan."
"Fun? (Hmmm) I believe there are many better adjectives to use than fun, but for the sake of conversation we shall leave it at, as you do blandly put it, fun." Camus replied quietly. He, too, was remembering last nights events, but as being one of the targets of the women's botched plans, his thoughts still centered on Haruka's request for punishment. If he had been a weak willed man, which he believed he wasn't, he may have tried to take her invitation to heart. He was sorely tempted to find her today and explain to her the... problems... she had unleashed in him with her scandalous request. She already believed him to be a deviant, and who was he to deny his lady her fantasies? This was all thought with a secretive smirk to himself at the images his mind conjured for him.
Masato said nothing as he noticed the smirk on the other man's face, he knew that Camus had been one to fall to Haruka's plans. He could only wonder, what ploy she had used to put that strange expression on his face. Although, he had his own share of thoughts about the events. He was still unable to forget the way she had spoken to him in the hallway. He was almost regretting that she perhaps wouldn't remember asking him to use her first name, or the way she had shortened his, and said it almost seductively. He would indeed take the older actor's advice and Haruka's urging, and begin addressing her by her first name.
(Hhmmm) "Fun is indeed a polite way of putting it Cecil. We were all for sure thrown into state of shock by the president's declaration already, the events following only added to our... unrest... Yes, unrest would be the word to use." Masato added quietly to the others spoken thoughts, with the reminder of his restless night.
Cecil looked slightly confused, he was still unsure about everything from the previous evening. He knew deep in his heart there were still matters to be discussed. As he was going to voice his own feelings, he and the other men took note of voices down the hall.
"Nee, which should we start with? I don't know what each of us is comfortable with, when considering experience. I opt for a slower tempo to start, then as we learn the rhythms we could advance to a faster pace." Tomo could be heard querying, what the men assumed were the other three females. Each sat very still for a moment as they realized if the red head was headed this way, then it was reasonable to assume Haruka was too.
"Mou, that's a good point. I have some experience with footwork, but these two on the other hand..." Kanae cut off as two voices were heard.
"Hey!" Both girls, being the 'other two' said with good natured complaint.
"Now, now girls. It'll be ok. We'll just have fun and start with the basics today. Perhaps we should try studying videos..." The red head stopped her answer, as the four girls reached the doorway to the expansive kitchen. She and the others looked at the three males sitting at the table, each looking at the the group of women with a nervous expression.
Afraid of things becoming awkward, Cecil decided to say something in greeting. "Good morning ladies. You all seem to be up quite early."
"Ah, yes. We were coming down to make coffee. We had plans to take care of since we all seem to be free today." Haruka replied quietly. What embarrassment she had seemed to be empty of earlier, finally hit in full force at seeing two of the men. She remembered her bold words to Camus, and her very informal words to Masato last night, and couldn't help the rush of heat she felt through her whole body. She felt lucky that it wasn't Tokiya and Ren, not so much because of Tokiya, but because she knew her blonde headed victim would have brought up things better left alone for now.
Camus said nothing, he watched the lovely woman he was infatuated with begin to lightly blush when looking at him.
'It seems she wasn't so far gone with alcohol last night to forget her words then. I guess that changes my earlier decision of ignoring the request.'
Masato also noticed the slight pink that stained the girl's cheeks. He figured she probably did remember her words to him, if her body language was any indication. Deciding there was no time like the present, he voiced a greeting as well.
"Good morning Haruka, Shibya-san, Mogami-san, and Kotonami-san. I have already taken the liberty of preparing coffee this morning. Please do join us for a cup."
Three women's eyebrows raised at the reserved man's use of Haruka's first name. Haruka looked at Masato as she heard her name slip through his lips. 'I was right that him saying my name sounds beautiful.' She couldn't help but notice his gaze, or that he did look quite handsome this morning.
"Thank you...Masa... that is very kind of you." She said, making sure to use the affectionate version of his name. She felt a sense of satisfaction at his shift in expression. His blue eyes darkened slightly at the the girl's words. His thoughts again returned to her second fall of the night. That time he had been pulled down with her, as well as Tokiya. In other circumstances, considering she had voiced her desire, although not to the men intentionally, of Tokiya and himself taking her as a pair, things could have gone very differently behind closed doors. The more the thoughts played in his imagination, the more willing he could feel himself becoming... perhaps that would be a way to start his seduction, by giving her something she had voiced as a fantasy. He'd have to broach the topic with the potential partner, that is if the other man hadn't already considered it.
"Yes Hijikawa-san, I do believe we will accept your offered coffee. Although, anything extra you may be thinking of having... " Tomo pointedly looked between Haruka and Masato. The man in question quickly cleared his mind, fighting a blush at the insinuation, he'd turn those thoughts over later. Haruka didn't quite get the hint, but from her friend's look, she knew she'd get an answer later.
Camus was unsettled that his love had become so familiar with one of the others already. Nor did he miss the suggestive statement made by the red head. If the previously discussed 'arrangement' had any hope of working, then he, himself, would have to forgo formality as well.
"Yes Haruka, we three would be pleased if your friends and you would have a cup with us. Coffee is always best with good company." Camus felt that he pulled that off quite naturally. He noticed that his little woman blushed even deeper. He felt some heated satisfaction that she was reacting to him as well. 'Punishment' as you asked for last night, seems to be closer to hand than before.'
Haruka and the girls all were equally shocked at not one, but two of the most formal men in the dorms. Both had decided to use Haruka's first name, as if it was an everyday occurrence.
'So they're already making their moves then?' Kanae thought, although Haruka returning the favor with Masato was encouraging. Perhaps she wouldn't break under the pressure of trying to bring up some arrangement in the future.
Cecil didn't see anything wrong with the change in name used, he supposed both men decided to take this seriously. He was happy that Haruka seemed not to be as reluctant as they all feared she'd be. This could be very promising, if they could all sit down with her and discuss their thoughts about how to pursue what seems to be a promising arrangement for them all.
"Ok girls, let's stop standing here and go get some coffee then. We still have the whole day ahead of us, so let's get a move on." Kyoko finally spoke up, being that she had been watching the exchange between her friend and the men a moment ago.
All four women realizing that they still had to start their workout, decided to head forward to obtain mugs of coffee for themselves. Each repeating the actions of the males earlier, and adding their own touches to their drinks.
They sat down to join the men at the rounded kitchen table. All the girls, except for Haruka, as one decided to sit opposite the men. This left the fourth female to sit between two of her current pursuers. With a false sense of calm she seated her self between the handsome Masato and the regally beautiful Camus. She recalled sitting between two other men last night, touching, and being touched in intimate ways. 'I wonder how it would be to touch these two the same way?'
Both men were secretly happy at the current seating arrangement. Cecil was a bit put out, he would've liked to sit next to his princess. Everyone sat quietly at the table, all drinking their coffee, all with thoughts of last night's 'game'.
Clearing of a throat brought them all back to their present company.
"So Haruka, what plans do you and your friends have today that would cause you to rise so early? I was hoping you'd be free today. I wanted to spend time with you since we're all so busy most of the time." Cecil said with a boyishly charming smile on his face.
All three girls seated across the table continued to sip their coffee, pretending to be uninterested in the conversation. Though in truth each was watching intently, wondering how the center of the men's attention would reply.
Haruka looked at Cecil, she was used to him always seeking her out to spend time together, so his statement didn't faze her.
"We were planning on starting a group workout routine today. With Yoko-Chan's upcoming musical, we thought we'd take the chance to practice dancing. It seemed to be quite a fun suggestion."
The three men felt themselves become dazed as the woman mentioned dancing. All three recalled catching her 'dancing' the day before upon their return, they each were interested in the thought of her dancing in front of them again, perhaps even with them in such a way.
"Yes that's right Kyoko, you did make sure to let the agency know you had accepted the part, right?" Kanae asked, she tried very hard not to glare at the three men. She had an idea of where their minds had strayed.
"Of course. I replied my acceptance on the way down. I'm excited to be working with Hime-chan."
Kanae fought hard not to roll her eyes, she was used to Kyoko's ease at bouncing back from a slump by now. It was just not late enough in the day for starry eyed cheerfulness, her coffee hadn't kicked in yet. Until then she'd hold herself back from making a snarky comment.
"That's great! It looks like we'll all be working together in the near future." Haruka replied, she was happy to be able to speak, even though she was still questioning the ramifications of reaching out and touching the two men sitting beside her. She felt herself actually having to fight the urge to see what kind of reaction she'd receive. Since last night, she felt herself becoming bold in her unvoiced desires to pursue the men after her heart. She'd have to tread carefully for a while, until things could be settled.
"If you ladies need any help with your routine, please don't hesitate to come to any of us for advise. I'm sure any of us would be more than happy to assist." Cecil spoke up. He really hoped to assist them in this endeavor, although not for a selfless reason. He was thinking of watching Haruka dancing.
The other two men nodded to confirm their willingness to help.
Tomo almost said something about knowing why they were offering assistance, but she'd let this play out, for now she smiled as sincerely as she could. "Thank you for the offer gentleman. I'm sure if there are any issues we'll come for your help. Speaking of that, I do believe it's time we get started girls. We're burning daylight at this point, so let's get going shall we?"
With that she got up from the table to place her empty mug in the sink. The others seeing she was serious started to get up and do the same. Haruka on the other hand decided to whisper to the men.
"I would like to meet with ALL of you later to... discuss..something. I'll message when I'm ready." After saying that, she gave into her urge and placed a hand on Masato and Camus's upper thighs and gently trailed her fingers upward, withdrawing her hand before she could become bolder she stood up. Then walked to Cecil on her way to the sink, she leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek while smiling at the other two with a mischievous look in her eyes.
She quickly placed her mug in the sink to clean later, and walked out the door to follow the others. She'd wait to see how they responded to her actions later.
As they watched her walk out, all three felt shock again, something they were getting quite used to from dealing with Haruka lately.
"I do believe you're right Camus. Fun was much too bland a word for it. Although at this moment, I don't think I can find a good enough adjective." Cecil said with a hand pressed against the place Haruka had kissed.
The other two nodded dumbly. "Indeed." They voiced in agreement at the same time.
'I will for sure answer her request from last night. She will surely enjoy 'punishment' from me soon.' Camus thought.
Masato was even more determined to enact his plan from earlier, with or without a third person involved.
'Haruka, I will make your fantasy a reality, indeed I will make you beg before I finish driving you to ecstasy.'
(Practice Room)
The four girls quietly arrived to their selected workout location. All were excited to be starting their new workout. They had all decided on the way to start with learning the routine to Run by BTS. They already had the jackets for the shoulder movement. Plus it seemed like a fun dance to learn, so they had researched the moves after making their decision.
"How should separate out the parts? Perhaps we all just follow the group movements?" Kanae asked to Tomo. She had a feeling that the two younger women could pick up the group dance the best, the lead dancing would probably have to be balanced between them.
"I think we should take turns being the front person, but for now we'll just focus on getting the basic movements down. If we all catch on pretty well then we can start figuring the rest out." Tomo replied to the other girls.
Kyoko and Haruka nodded at the suggestion, with that they all spread out, and started learning the dance movements by pulling up the video they had researched earlier.
(Time Skip)
"Haruka you're amazing! A natural really, are you sure you've never taken lessons?" Tomo asked her friend after the first 30 minuets of working out.
They were all taking a break from the intense pace they had set, each drinking water. Instead of the slow progression they expected, they had discovered themselves falling quite easily into the movements. The biggest surprise, however, was that Haruka had mastered the whole dance to perfection, with quick accuracy that the others still couldn't follow.
Haruka smiled at her friends in bashful pride, and shook her head. "I never had the chance to do anything like that as a child. My body was always very weak, so it was easy to overexert myself. Even walking for more than 15 minuets was hard for me. I'm happy my body has gotten stronger than when I was younger."
Her three friends looked a bit melancholy at the thought of a younger Haruka struggling to do things because of her health.
"Hime-chan we're happy that you're healthy now, but don't push yourself too hard ok? This is all just for fun, after all I'm the only that really has to worry about using this for my job." Kyoko edged out in a sigh. She was truly happy that her friend was doing so well, but she couldn't help being a little jealous at her natural grace and ease at picking up dancing.
"Yeah Haruka, maybe you should become an idol. I bet you can probably sing quite nicely, actually we need to try some singing now that I think about it. The job is a musical, so it's better to be prepared than be a sitting duck. Wouldn't you agree Kyoko?" Kanae added to the friendly discussion. Kyoko looked to Kanae with a horrified expression, and almost started shaking her head.
Just as she could refuse another voice interrupted them. "Kyoko-chan, that sounds like a very good idea. It is, as she said, better to be prepared than not." All four heads shot up to see Lory standing there. None had heard him open the door and enter the room.
Kyoko knew she was defeated at that point, once her president got an idea in his head there was no stopping him. "Yes President that would be a good point. I suppose if the others will practice with me it'd be easier to try."
The other girls all wanted to know how this was turned around on them, but feeling guilty at the thought of hurting their friend's feelings they all agreed reluctantly.
"So young ladies, what song will you practice with?" Lory asked in interest.
All four beauties looked at each other. "There's only one song we all know well, but we'll have to work to match our pitch to the song, since it's a male group's song." Haruka stated for discussion.
The other three knew what song she was talking about, all agreed it'd be the easiest song for them all to learn.
"It's settled then, we'll start practicing right now." Tomo said in agreement with the choice. Kanae and Kyoko nodded to show their agreement as well. No one actually mentioned the song's name, so this left Lory even more curious.
'They are already so in sync with each other. They'd be a wonderful group if they ever decided to become idols.'
Lory turned to leave the girls to their practice, but decided to voice a comment. "I'm interested in hearing what you girls are going to sing, so I'll come back in an hour. Ta ta."
With that he walked out, while a new plan was forming in his mind.
The girls were already too busy discussing how to distribute parts, to notice Lory's quiet exit, while Haruka stepped to the piano, figuring she'd play each part out for them all to learn. They'd move onto the background track once they'd all selected and learned their parts.
(Outside the practice room)
Lory closed the door once outside the room. He decided it was time to have a little fun, and hopefully further his otome subject's romances a bit.
He text Saotome requesting to have all the men in the dorms meet him outside the president's office in a hour.
He received a confirmation text from his old friend in return. His excitement increased at the thought of the meeting in an hour.
He was so jovial that he almost forgot about the other issue pressing in on them. Kuu and Julie were still at his house resting, but he knew sometime today they'd want to discuss meeting with Haruka and how to meet Kuon. The thought almost stopped his happiness in its tracks, but this would be something to hopefully bring everyone comfort in the end. He just hoped it didn't cause any problems with other plans, but he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.
Once again pressing the darker issues from his mind, he proceeded down the hallway, humming the theme song of one of his favorite romance games.
(With Ringo)
"Nee Shining... why'd you call me in so early? It's the beginning of my vacation too ya know." Ringo grunted in his manly voice. He was still too tired to switch his more well know female persona, he had dressed in his masculine clothing, since his boss had awoke him and demanded his presence so quickly.
Saotome held back a smirk at the thought of his friend's request, he hadn't had this much fun in a while. 'Lory sure keeps everyone on their toes.' He thought to himself. Now to play his part in this promising plan. He'd been keeping an eye on the four girl's workout, so he had an idea of what the plan was.
"Mister Ringo, I need you to go wake Mister Hyuuga, and then quickly assemble all of the other gentlemen, including our two guests, for a meeting. Have them all gathered in front of my office within the hour. You will be given further details once your task is completed."
Ringo ran a hand though his naturally short, pink hair and sighed. He knew better than to refuse, he was sure whatever his president was up to was a plot between him and that otaku president, but he was too frustrated to care right now. His thoughts had been in a whirlwind when he'd laid back down last night, so he'd gotten very little sleep.
Giving up on trying to organize his mind, he nodded and walked out of Saotome's office, first calling Hyuuga, who luckily had finished dressing after cleaning up from his morning workout, and answered after the first ring.
"What is it Ringo?"
"Nee Hyuuga, Shining wants us to wake up and assemble all the boys as quick as we can, he wants to meet with us all about something. You'll take care of Quartet Night and our two guests right? I'll take care of the others." Ringo replied, he wasn't quite ready to be one on one with the dark headed actor. He still had to find out what caused the man's sudden interest in Haruka, and he'd be damned if he was the one to wake him. In his state of mind at the moment he may do something dangerous. If he felt it was to protect his gentle love, then he wouldn't regret it, but it could cause complications later. So he decided to avoid putting himself in that position right now.
"Of course, knowing some of the boys, they will already be awake. I'll call them first to get them to wake up the others." The orange haired actor replied to his friend, not realizing something dark was swirling through the pinkette's mind.
"Ok. Let me know when you've gotten all yours together then. After I get my seven sleepyheads we can meet outside the office." Ringo then hung up to start waking up Starish.
With that he headed down toward the kitchen, where he figured any of the awake members would be. He'd recruit them to be personal alarms to the others, he really didn't feel like dealing with grumpy wakers. Best to let someone else be on the receiving end of angry males with little sleep.
(Kitchen)
Even though the women had left almost an hour ago, the three men left behind were still quietly conversing. None touched on the topic of Haruka or her actions earlier, they all silently agreed to leave that for later.
"Ah lucky me! I found three of you in one place, I need your help. Shining wants everyone up immediately and assembled in front of his office within the next 40 minuets. I need you to go wake up your group mates that Hyuuga hasn't already gotten to ok?" Ringo said walking into the kitchen, he felt happy that his plan had worked. Perhaps it was a sign that his morning was getting better.
"Of course Ringo-san. I suppose Hyuuga is taking my group then?" Camus asked from his spot at the table.
"Bingo Camus, I always knew you were more than a pretty face." Ringo couldn't help poking fun at the cold nobleman, he was just always so stiff, that it made his reactions all the more fun.
"Somehow you saying that, especially as a man, pisses me off." Camus replied with a hint of rancor, he didn't know why anyone would assume him below average intelligence.
Masato and Cecil both watched their seniors in amusement, neither wanted to get in the middle of this. They didn't want to be on the receiving end of teasing from one, or anger from the other.
"I will take care of Ichinose and Ittokki, as well as Jinguji. Cecil can you handle Kurusu and Shinomiya?" Masato asked his brown headed band mate, completely ignoring the two older men still in the kitchen.
Cecil nodded, and then got up and moved to the sink to place his mug in it. Camus, at this point, left the room to take care of waking his own group mates, he spoke nothing as he exited. He was still a bit insulted and chose to keep his pride intact. He walked past two new men entering the kitchen.
"Don't worry about myself and Otoya. We're already awake, we were headed down to get something from here.
So you just need to wake up Shinomiya, Ren, and Syo." Tokiya said walking into the kitchen with Otoya.
"Good morning Ichinose and Otoya. It is good that you're already awake, and ready. That will save us a bit of time." Masato said as he left the table to deposit his mug as well. When he turned he stared at Tokiya, and then shifted his gaze, his thoughts went again to his decision earlier. He was hoping to talk to the man later, and possibly recruit him to his side in the plan, right now was not a good moment with so many around.
Tokiya saw the look and questioned to himself what the glance could have meant. It seemed like Masato had something on his mind, perhaps later he'd need to find a moment to speak to the other man, he knew him well enough to wait until they could speak in private. With that he sent a glance and nod to other man to let him know he had picked up on his signal. Masato nodded back before he decided to wash the mugs in the sink as a distraction.
"Tokiya, look there's already coffee made, let's go get some. It sounds like we have something important to do." Otoya said happily to his friend, he felt the president was going to meet with them about Haruka, if that was the case he was ready to get going.
Both proceeded to grab mugs for coffee and filled them, adding their own preferences of creamer and sweetener.
After the two new arrivals had gotten themselves a mug of coffee each and something to eat quickly, they all started heading to the door to gather the remaining three. Luck seemed to be on their sides today, as they could hear the voice of their shortest member grumbling at his taller blonde headed friend.
"Damn it Natsuki! I was trying to sleep in, why did you wake me up so early today? We don't have to be anywhere, I could still be cozy in bed right now." Syo could be heard yelling at Natsuki in annoyance.
Not being one to get down over his smaller friend's moody ness, Natsuki smiled and replied. "But Syo-chan I wanted to spend time with Haru-chan as soon a possible!"
Syo just sighed but didn't say anything else, he would've liked that too, but he figured Haruka was still processing everything that happened yesterday.
"Oy Syo, Natsuki we were just coming to wake you. President wants us to meet outside his office immediately." Otoya called out to the two blondes.
"We still have to wake up Ren, unless one of you want to call him." Tokiya interjected with a note of exhaustion, his sleep was not restful at all. First his dreams of Haruka, that had left him restless, then being unable to fall back asleep with so many questions on his mind.
"Actually Rei-chan just messaged, he's already run into Ren when he and Hyuuga went to get Kurosaki-senpai. They'll meet us at the president's office." Otoya yawned out, his sleep like everyone else's was disturbed by dreams and thoughts all night.
"Ok everyone move it. Let's get to the president's office to find out what he wants. I'm texting Hyuuga now to let him know we're on the way." Ringo said pulling out his phone while shooing all assembled persons to the door.
Once finished he put his phone back into his jeans pocket and walked out of the kitchen as well. He only hoped this wouldn't take much time, he was determined to get some answers about last night's revelations.
(At the office)
Finally all 15 men were assembled, none noticed Ringo and Tokiya shoot a look at Ren Tsuruga in, almost, open hostility.
Ren on the other hand felt the eyes on him, and knew he had made things quite awkward last night with his pointed questions at his younger cousin. Still he wasn't free to discuss it right now, and just did his best to pretend not to notice the looks.
Ren Jinguji decided to direct a question to the group, although it wasn't the question he really wanted to ask. "Does anyone have an idea of what we needed to meet about on our day off?" Everyone shook their heads no in reply, before anyone else could speak the door opened suddenly, gaining their attention. President Lory stepped out to see the 15 sets of eyes on him in shock.
"Good Morning boys. I'll be the one meeting with you, now if you could follow me, I have something you would all be interested in seeing. Just keep very quiet, or you may miss something miraculous!" He said happily, he almost clapped in glee. He couldn't wait to see the expressions that the boys were going to have at his little surprise.
Before anyone could utter a word in question, the flamboyant president had walked off, expecting them to follow along.
'That man is up to something again. I hope he's not planning something crazy.' Ren Tsuruga thought to himself in quiet annoyance.
(Outside the practice room)
The group had finally made it to their destination, although only Lory knew this was it. All of them stood looking at him with various looks of exhaustion, annoyance, or uninterest.
Knowing the room was soundproof the president turned to the men.
"Now boys, I want you to stay right by the door, I'll leave it cracked open, so just listen closely. I've prepared a surprise!" Lory excitedly explained.
With that he turned to the room's doors and opened one all the way to let himself in. He left it open so that his guests could see and hear what was going on inside.
"Alright girls I'm back, I'm very excited to see how it went. I hope you're all prepared."
The girls in the room nodded at the president. Each got into their practiced positions in front of the mic stands they had placed on the floor from their place in the corner. They figured it'd help them to sing if they had a point of reference to match the song better.
The men were all confused, was Lory starting a new girl group? Did he want their opinions on them? None had been concerned enough to peek inside yet, so they were just going off the things heard so far.
Suddenly they heard a song begin, the song was becoming sickeningly familiar to the group.
'Seriously this song again? Wasn't last night enough?'
Sadly this song had played in many of their dreams last night, considering the first incident, and then the videos that were shown in the later game. Most of the videos featured a version of this song, during the more mature parts. Just as they expected to hear the lyrics in the normal place, they instead were all shocked to hear a female singer in place of the usual male voice.
Kyoko-Insecure again, dangerous again
So bad (why?) us, yeah
Haruka-Enduring more, holding out
So hard (hard), we can't
Kanae-Even if you already knew
We couldn't stop
Kyoko and Haruka-No way, no way, no way, falling
Tomo-As time passes by
We only mess it up even more
Haruka-No way, no way, it's collapsing again
All-A house made of cards, and us inside
Even if you say you see the end, even if you say it'll collapse soon
Kyoko-A house made of cards, and stupidly, us
Even if you say it's a useless dream, just stay a little more like this
Kanae and Tomo-Like there's no tomorrow
Like there's no next time
Kanae-Everything that you've done in front of my eyes
Tomo-It's a complete darkness
Say it like you mean it
Haruka-In the end, we can't make it
Even so, I keep hoping
Even at the end, if you're with me, I'm okay
Kyoko-Even if you already knew
We couldn't stop
Haruka and Kyoko-No way, no way, no way, falling
As time passes by
We only mess it up even more
Tomo and Kane-No way, no way, it's collapsing again
A house made of cards, and us inside
Even if you say you see the end, even if you say it'll collapse soon
Haruka-A house made of cards, and stupidly, us
Even if you say it's a useless dream, just stay a little more like this
Kyoko-Slow down the time
Please stay just for a little more oh
Please Baby. Calm down
Kanae-Just a little more
More insecure, more dangerous
So bad (so bad) us, yeah
Tomo-Enduring more, holding out
So hard, it's collapsing again
A house made of cards, and us inside
All-Even if you say you see the end, even if you say it'll collapse soon
A house made of cards, and stupidly, us
Even if you say it's a useless dream, just stay a little more like this.
(I once again used the English translation to House of Cards by BTS.)
As the four girls were singing all the men had forgotten to stay hidden behind the door, and peered in, in shock. Haruka, Kyoko, Kanae, and Tomo were standing at their mic stands, and singing, amazingly well in fact.
Lory saw the boys and winked, he had made sure the girl's backs were turned to the door by taking a seat on the opposite side of the room. He had a feeling the boys wouldn't be able to help themselves and peek, now for the second part of his surprise.
"Young ladies that was amazing! Considering none of you are singing idols, I can honestly say that's one of the best harmonies I've heard. No training and you're this good? I don't think we'll have to worry about Kyoko-chan's musical, you're all naturals. Anyway, enough about that, I heard you were practicing a dance for exercise. I'd like to see it, would that be ok?" Lory questioned sincerely, in fact if their dancing was as good as their singing...he felt a plan hatching.
"Of course president. Haruka you'll be the front person for this, you're our best dancer so far. Be prepared to be amazed president, Haruka seems to have a raw talent for learning dances quickly. Now we know her singing is amazing too." Kanae said with some pride directed at her younger friend.
Haruka blushed at the praise, but nodded in agreement to being the front person.
All the men were still in shock, they could admit that if these four girls ever made a group, then they'd for sure be able to beat every group out there, including their own two groups.
"Wait, did they said Nanami is going to be the lead dancer?" Syo whispered, he knew the point person was usually the main dancer, but he had never known her to be a dancer.
"Yes Haruka and the other three told us this morning, they decided to start a new workout routine. They wanted to learn some choreography to help Mogami-San get used to dancing." Masato supplied, he was too amazed watching the woman he adored to notice all the men look at him for his use of Haruka's first name. Of course Camus and Cecil had been there, so they were already used to it.
"Masa-san, when did you start calling her Haruka?" Otoya asked in a whisper. All the men were staying quiet so the girls didn't spot them.
'Why does it feel like we're starting to spy on them all the time?' A few thought, after they recalled two similar incidents.
"He did that this morning too. Haruka and the others came down this morning and had coffee with us, she also called him Masa. It was quite adorable." Camus quietly added in explanation, his thoughts returned to Haruka's blushing face earlier. Everyone turned to look at him then, he too had used her first name. Plus he had used the term adorable, which was strange for him.
'So these two are taking my advice then. Maybe now the others will be more motivated to change things.' Ren Tsuruga thought to himself.
"So she's learning to dance for the musical? Kyoko certainly is a driven professional." Yashiro said to Ren. Although he was speaking of Kyoko, his mind wandered to her dark haired friend. After being her target of the seduction trap, he had begun seeing her differently. Sure he had thought her beautiful before, but now he was starting to see her as a man sees a woman. Much had changed for them all in just 24 hours, less even. Yashiro thought about perhaps wooing the younger woman, it was just a plus that pursuing her would help his charge's pursuit of Kyoko along.
Suddenly all the men were shocked once again, a faster beat began playing, this was not a song they had heard the previous day. They could tell it was the same artist, but their minds were completely thrown when they saw the four woman dancing effortlessly to the song. While all were amazing, Haruka's dancing was exceptional, no one had ever thought she might have talents beside composing. They were becoming more and more surprised by the moment.
"They're amazing! I thought we were all good, but this kinda makes me feel like a newbie again." Whispered Reji, they were still trying to avoid detection by the four women.
"Yes it does indeed make one feel a bit overwhelmed. All of them are so flawless together, which is astonishing considering this is their first time doing this as a group." The autonomous Ai said, his inner functions pulled up the male groups video to compare to it the four females. They were all matching it step for step in perfect sync.
Ren made no comment, as he was too intent on watching Kyoko dance with the ease of someone who'd trained for years. The earlier shock from hearing her sing was only adding to his amazement of the woman.
All men agreed in their minds, none could think of anything else to say at that moment. Then the dance reached a focal point as the women bared their shoulders and moved them back and forth to the beat of the song, while imitating a running movement.
Each movement drew the men's notice more and more. The fact that the women were all wearing tight athletic leggings, which clearly defined their bodies, attracted attention to the movements of their legs.
As they were doing the shoulder movement, Haruka caught a glance of the previously undetected audience. Instead of faltering, she smiled at them in silent amusement and kept dancing. The music was affecting her the same way as last night, and bringing out a playful side she'd never exhibited before.
"Well isn't that cute, we've been spotted. Our little fox is becoming more confident by the day, wouldn't you all agree?" Ren Jinguji smirked back at Haruka as he pointed out their detection.
All the others had caught the look too, and at first they were afraid that she'd freeze up. She surprised them all when she kept going without missing a step.
"Shit, she's flawless, she'd be a threat as an idol for sure. We're all lucky she's with us." Ranmaru added for the first time this morning, his eyes never leaving the group of females. More specifically the girl acting as the focal point of the dance.
Tokiya was watching in silent attention. He was always amazed at Haruka, but she kept surprising him everyday. His heart raced watching her, she seemed to exude a sense of freedom he'd never seen her have before. In that moment he didn't notice anything around him as he was spellbound by her.
"Go go Haru-chan!" Natsuki suddenly yelled as the dance came to an end.
All others broke off from their distracted states to look at him. He'd given them away for sure with that yell.
"Damn it Natsuki, we were supposed to stay quiet!" Syo yelled, which for sure drew the attention of the females to the spying group.
"I see we had an unexpected audience. How long have you been there anyway?" Kanae asked calmly, she wasn't going to be embarrassed.
Kyoko looked to Ren, who was staring at her with an expression she'd never seen before, and blushed.
Tomo and Haruka stayed silent while looking at the men. Haruka had already known they were there, and Tomo knew they'd get an explanation whether she said anything or not.
The men all looked away nervously at, for once, being caught spying, although it wasn't their fault this time.
Lory was watching the young people in front of him with amusement. He decided since it was technically his fault, he'd swoop in to save the young gentlemen.
"They'd be here because of me, I had a meeting planned with them after this. So I decided to kill two birds with one stone, and brought them with me. Did I do something wrong?" He finished off his explanation with fake tears, he was always good at getting out of trouble.
Haruka felt bad for the man, not knowing of his sneaky way of making things go his way. "Of course not sir. It's perfectly fine, we're thankful you took time out of your busy schedule to watch us." She consoled the older man sweetly.
Kyoko and Kanae rolled their eyes at the antics of their president, they knew he was up to something else.
Tomo had also caught on that the older man was pulling their leg, but indulged him anyway. "It was a good idea, now we can get some opinions from them as well." She said, she'd get her revenge on the men later.
"Yes that's a good idea Shibiya-chan!" Lory agreed, he knew he'd been caught by the three. "So boys anything you can point out?"
"That was actually amazing. The song were perfectly pitched and smooth, and their dancing was very concise and fluid." Masato spoke up.
All the men agreed with a nod of their heads.
Haruka's face lit up in happinesses, and before she could hold back, she rushed up to the man and enclosed him in a tight hug with an affectionate kiss on his cheek. "Thank you Masa, I'm happy that you think so."
This was the first time everyone as a whole had witnessed her calling him the affectionate term. All the others felt a twitch of jealousy, and thought that if they had perhaps spoken up she'd have done the same to them.
Before anyone could move to separate the two, or try to gain the same treatment they heard a familiar laugh.
"Muah Ha Ha. Big News! Big NEWWSSSS! I have decided that Miss Nanami will be assigned a song and partners. I would like her and these partners to learn the dance and present it to Lory and myself!" Shining said as he descended from the ceiling on a wire.
Haruka looked in shock at the man, while still wrapped in the arms of the man she had been hugging.
The other three girls now had a clue to what the other president had been playing at. They fought the urge to facepalm at the two men's tactics. The dark haired actor and his manager did facepalm.
'They got them right where they wanted them. This is obviously a ploy to create more romance.'
"President are you picking my partners and the song?!" Haruka asked in shock.
Lory was sitting back with a grin, he never expected his friend to help his plan along. After this he'd be sure to get his help with another plan he was working on.
"I believe Sa-kun already has partners in mind, do you not old friend?" Lory asked.
Not missing a beat the other president answered. "Of course, I've also had the link to the choreography video sent to their phones."
Six phones suddenly dinged alerting their owners to a new message. Haruka's was of course one. The men all checked their phones hoping it was them.
The five lucky men were Masato, Ranmaru, Otoya, Reji and Natsuki.
All the others glared at their phones, almost like they thought if they stared long enough they'd get a different result.
"After this first group, I will have a new song and dance selected. Your partners will change with each selection, I expect great things gentlemen and Miss Nanami! Bye Bye now! BYE BYE." Shining disappears through a trap door in the floor exclaiming the whole way.
The five picked partners looked at Haruka, and she stared back. She couldn't help but smile, she knew what her boss was up to, and was halfway tempted to thank him.
"Let's work together guys and impress the president ok. I look forward to working on the next project with everyone else." Haruka said the the group. Luckily she had a way of soothing the men, so all forgot their reasons to protest a moment ago.
"Yeah let's do this Haru-chan!" Natsuki said happily, while pulling her away from Masato and hugging her. The other four men took their turns voicing their agreement.
The men not selected watched and silently all thought they couldn't wait for their turn.
"Mou, Haruka let's see the song he picked out first. Since we're done for the day with ours, then you can start practicing this new one if you feel up to it." Kanae groaned out.
Lory decided that he'd add some fun to the plan. "Ren-kun, Kyoko-chan, I'd like you two to participate as well. It'd be a good idea for Kyoko to keep learning different choreography styles. Ren will act as her partner." Both actor and actress looked at their president silently asking what he was up to. He just smiled fatherly at the group.
Haruka and her group were intent on trying to open the link, and didn't completely hear the conversation. Nor did they hear the men's discussion.
"I think we need to form groups with each person who has the link to study the video. If we all work together then it shouldn't be hard to help them learn the dance quickly." Tokiya voiced out as suggestion. In truth he was curious as to the song selection, he knew the others were as well. With all in agreement each of the five men grouped up with the others to study the video.
"Tinase, Player? I've never heard of this before." Haruka said as she started the YouTube video with the others girls watching. As the music began she couldn't help but notice she liked the beat to it. Then came the beginning of the choreography, all the girls watched with widening eyes. They were expected to learn this? Kyoko and Haruka felt a bit nervous watching the video, each trying to picture doing these moves with their male partners. Haruka would only have to dance briefly with each one, but Kyoko would only have Ren.
The men on the other hand were having some issues with the dancing as well. Not from embarrassment, but from the thought of who they'd be dancing with. Except for the men not picked, at this point they felt like storming the president's office and demanding to be an assigned partner. Knowing that it would do them no good, they just continued to watch.
(Break)
"I believe the first step is to pick who will do which part. Haruka will of course take the main part, as the president assigned this task to her specifically. We five men will have a short part each, so perhaps we should discuss which one we all feel the most confident with." Masato said to his group. The video was till playing on each phone.
As he was directing this at the four men, they all took notice of the final dance paring in the video. The dance involved much more sexually charged physical contact. At this point all of the assigned partners knew which part them hoped for, but each realistically knew which parts they would take. All men not assigned became a bit down at the direction this dance could take things for the group of six, and vowed when it was their turn to do a project that they would use it to their advantage.
"I will take the second part, it's similar to a lot of Quartet Night's choreography. It should be the easiest for me to master quickly." Ranmaru spoke up, he made sure to keep his tone level, and not allow his excitement to show.
The others nodded and agreed to let him take the part, since he did have sound reasoning.
"I feel confident in my abilities for the first partner. It does involve a lot of fluid motions and lifting. I do have some experience with this already, that makes it easy to follow along." Masato claimed to the others.
"So that leaves the last three parts then? I believe I can do the third part, it seems like salsa dancing in some parts of the foot work. That's an advantage to me since I've started taking classes on it." Reji answered, picking his part.
That left Otoya and Natsuki to pick the final two parts.
A sigh was heard from Otoya before he spoke up. "I will take the fourth spot. It seems to be a mirrored partner dance, although it'll have to be adjusted for a male and female, since the video shows two females."
All four with parts looked at Natsuki, it finally dawned on him in that moment he'd be responsible for the longest male part of the dance. He blushed a bit, but nodded as he said, "That leaves me with the final part then. I will do my best."
As they finished claiming parts the video came to a close, once the music faded all was silent. All people in the room glanced at the six chosen for the project, waiting for someone to voice any concerns.
Masato, seeing an opportunity to discuss his earlier thought with Tokiya, made a statement to the room. "Ichinose I would like your assistance learning my part before we start. If you would follow me we can discuss the matter."
The other man being quick witted, caught on immediately to what the other man was really saying, just nodded and joined Masato in leaving the room. No one assumed anything was odd, and decided to follow his example. Each male picked two other men to discuss their parts with.
The women all decided to work on Haruka and Kyoko's part together, with a little help from Ringo. Even if he was a man he was still Haruka's advisor in the dorms.
(Masato and Tokiya)
The two men had left the room silently, both anxious to know how this conversation would go.
Once Masato felt they were a safe distance from the earshot of the others, he started trying to voice his idea.
"Ichinose, since last night I've had something on my mind. I would like you to hear out my request before making a decision."
Tokiya nodded, indicating for his friend to go on. He would do his best to hear the other man out fairly.
"I would like to form a... partnership, if you will. Something Haruka said last night stuck with me, and I felt perhaps it was a good approach to beginning an arrangement that would help us both to achieve our pursuit of her..."
Masato paused to allow his friend a moment to process what was being said, he hoped he had put it across in an understandable way.
Tokiya got the gist of what was being said, but had a concern. "Are you suggesting you and I form a relationship, or is this partnership something wholly devoted to Nanami-San."
Masato's eyes widened and his face drained of color. "No, I was not suggesting the first thing at all. I merely wish to, perhaps, use this agreement between us to give her something she has voiced being in consideration of. It would make more sense to try to seduce her with both of our attentions, than make her choose who to be with each time. This would give us an equal amount of time in her attention, while also letting her become comfortable with the idea of being with more than one of us."
Tokiya sighed in relief, the suggestion was not a bad one, if it had included what he originally thought, he would have turned it down immediately.
"I can see the pros of what you're suggesting, but do you think the others would be ok if they found out about this?" He questioned Masato, he was tipping more toward agreement, but he was still tepid at the thought of the problems this could cause. He didn't want any of the other men calling foul on the two, and breaking whatever peace could potentially be achieved.
Masato himself had considered that outcome, and had already decided that it wasn't enough to stop him from trying. "Honestly at this point, I'm sure the others are making plans of their own, perhaps some have similar ideas. We would be the first two to test the waters, if we can succeed in this endeavor then the others will be able to finally come to an agreement that would benefit Haruka and ourselves equally."
Masato decided he had said all he could to convince the seemingly reluctant partner in his plan. Tokiya was left to think deeply about what was said, he had also considered something similar after hearing her words last night. Perhaps Masato was right, and this could be the lynchpin to make everything fall into place. Something would have to be done as the events were now, and he knew the two of them working together would be better than trying to fight for Haruka's time and attention.
"I will agree to this partnership, I believe we could be the ones to help lead everyone else to a suitable arrangement. I know we're both doing this for her, so I can't say we're doing it for the wrong reasons completely, but I'm only going to say this once. If at anytime I feel like she's going to be hurt by this or she seems to feel forced, I WILL forget this plan and protect her before losing any chance of being with her." Tokiya felt the warning, while not necessary considering his partner, was a good point to get across.
"I agree wholeheartedly, I would never let her be hurt in anyway if there was anything in my power that could stop it." Masato answered back. He knew his friend was only saying what he must, so that all issues between them were out in the open. He felt that being honest back was the best thing to do.
"Then we have an agreement. Let's just remember we're doing it for her, and try not to feel awkward when the time comes, if it does, to it coming to fruition." Tokiya asked earnestly.
"Agreed. Now we have been overly long from the group. We should head back before we do arouse suspicion." With that said Masato turned to walk away, but stopped himself to add something else. "For this to work, you must absolutely start using her first name, she knows very well that she asked you to last night. At this point she's just waiting for you to accept the request." Then he continued walking back to the practice room.
Tokiya looked deep in thought at what was said to him in parting, he would have to do his best if this plan was going to work.
With that thought in mind he let his legs carry him forward to the practice room, to rejoin everyone else.