Yes, it has been ages. I apologise. My only (terrible) excuses are: a) January fatigue, and b) me wanting to leave a break between STARISH and Quartet Night. I don't know all that much about QN, and I had to look up stuff about them online. There are lots of differences between the games and the anime when it comes to this lot, so I think I'll try and stick to what most people know about them, and interpret them as I like. SO! The first QN confession goes to... (Thank you for reading thank you for reading thank you for reading) ...Reiji!

If someone had never met Kotobuki Reiji before, but had watched him play tennis, they would probably have a very distinct impression of him left in their minds. If that person's friend had never watched Reiji play tennis, but knew him in person, then they would also have a distinct, yet slightly different, impression of him. This made it rather confusing for both parties when the impressions collided.

One particular example comes to mind. Imagine a hot day in June, the sort of day that makes everything golden, and full of life. Then imagine, if you will, a park, a wide open one with playing fields stretching out into the green distance. In the corner of this park there are two red clay tennis courts. And surprisingly, a small group of good-looking boys (and their composer) who, rather recently, made it big in the music business are standing outside one of the courts staring at the two opponents inside...

'Since when is Reiji this determined about anything?' asked Otoya nervously. 'He's so easygoing all the time, I don't get it.' He looked up at his roommate, who looked just as perplexed as he was. 'Tokiya, you know about split personalities, does this make sense to you?'

'What?!' The word was said very quietly, but the shock was still clear. Tokiya stared at Otoya in irritated amazement that he would have the guts to ask such a thing.

'I don't think it's a split personality,' observed Masato, 'More of an unexpected side to him.'

Their heads flicked from one side to the other in perfect synchronicity, following the tennis ball. It may have been from concentration...but it looked ridiculous.

'Can he get it can he get it can he get it come on getitgetitgetit!' Syo's voice slowly rose like that of a commentator, as Reiji sprinted to reach the ball, ending with a triumphant, 'SU-GEEEEEEHHHHH!' when he finally hit it back to Ranmaru with centimetres to spare.

'It shouldn't be that unexpected,' said a small, cold voice.

'Sempai!' Natsuki chirped happily, turning to greet the stern-faced boy beside them, cyan-coloured hair half swept back into a ponytail.

'What? But Reiji's always so cheerful and relaxed; he's different playing sports. Isn't that-' Otoya gestured to the tennis player blazing with the heat of the game-'Isn't that what you would call different?'

'No,' said Ai firmly. 'Reiji's actually very dedicated to things once he puts his mind to it, often he becomes so committed that he can't focus on anything else. That's why he tries not to choose one specific thing to cling to: he believes that he will lose his music career if he commits too much to something else. It's all quite logical really,' he added, staring thoughtfully through the mesh and into the court.

'But why is he playing now if he doesn't want to commit?' asked Cecil, as usual the only one unafraid to risk looking stupid.

'Because sports are made up of relatively short games. Reiji likes most sports, and wouldn't choose one over the rest. Instead he uses these games to become determined for a short period of time,' answered the younger boy simply.

'Well, he'd better teach me how to play like that...' breathed Syo, who was still staring wide-eyed at the running and jumping figures in white.

'Syo-chan, you're gonna look so cute in tennis gear!' A tall, blonde bundle of joy flung its arms around Syo's neck and squeezed tight.

'Natsuki! Get OFFF!'

All the while the little composer hadn't said a word. She listened intently to everything Ai said about the tall boy with silver eyes in the court. Somehow it all made sense, although Haruka couldn't quite take it in yet. To think that after all this time he would show such a different side to himself...

He looked so strong and competitive, she wasn't sure if she liked it or not. But there was something very familiar in the way that each hit came with a grin, and every miss was partnered with a laugh.

She remembered when she'd first met him, along with the rest of Quartet Night, on their first day in the Master Course, and straight away she'd wanted to know more about who he was. He'd been laughing then, too. But they never seemed to be together; Reiji was always with STARISH, coaching Otoya and Tokiya, or spending time with his own band. How could an unknown composer like her have anything to do with him?

He played tennis well. Brilliantly, in fact. The games flew by in quick succession, and it was becoming easier to see who was gaining the upper hand. Ranmaru seemed to be getting more concentrated, yelling when he hit the ball, and narrowing his strange eyes across the net. But, if anything, this only appeared to increase Reiji's energy. He darted about on the balls of his feet like a hare, and grinned provokingly at the growling Ranmaru. It was almost like watching that old American cartoon Haruka had seen a few times, the one with the mouse that keeps teasing the cat.

Then she smiled to herself as she noticed the trademark white hat with a blue ribbon placed reverently on its own chair. The tiny little things that she had learnt to spot when Reiji was around made her feel peaceful in the knowledge that her secret admiration was unrequited. Mysteries were left unsolved, although every hint she found for herself was a treasure. Somehow it was comfortable that way, but Haruka had a feeling that it wouldn't be if it went on for too long.

She heard clapping beside her, and snapped back into focus just as the two players walked out of the court. It had been close, but Reiji had won. Haruka watched as he shook a sulking Ranmaru's hand, and even tried to hug him unsuccessfully. Syo-kun and Shinomiya-san are sort of like that, she thought, but I think Syo doesn't actually mind that much... Is it strange that this seems less friendly?

Reiji smiled warmly.

'We should play more often, Ran-Ran! We're well matched.'

Ranmaru rolled his eyes and stalked off. An improvement. He hadn't answered rudely, and he certainly hadn't refused to play again. Soon, he would have to come out and admit that they really were friends, not just colleagues who sounded good together when they sang. Maybe he would even say it out loud!

Reiji nodded to himself as he followed Ranmaru back to the changing rooms. Yes, something had definitely changed within Quartet Night recently. Ranmaru stuck around after rehearsals, instead of leaving straight away, and he didn't fight with Camus so much anymore. Ai was asking questions all the time, wanting to know why someone said this, or made that expression. It was nice to see him not feeling obligated to be an adult. (He was, after all, still only 15 years old.)

And all because of her. He quickly towelled himself dry and slipped his clean clothes on before exiting the shower cubicle. STARISH's mysterious little composer, Nanami Haruka. Reiji couldn't think of her without smiling slightly. She was so naive; she probably didn't even know half the things that had come about after the UtaPri concert. Her wide eyes and tentative smile held the keys to a mind that could create such beautiful harmonies, such happy, joyful music that this broken group of arguments was gradually healing. She had been the trigger.

He reached up for his hat, but realised that it wasn't on the peg where he had left it. Reiji's hat was his favourite thing to wear, in fact he would have classed it as his favourite possession had Quartet Night not bought a mansion fairly recently. He held down the initial panic of losing it with thoughts of where it could be and where he would look. They had just been playing tennis, so the tennis court, of course!

Reiji stepped out into the evening, and the warm orange breeze made his still-damp hair rustle and separate out as it dried. It was only a short walk back to the courts, but he felt like he couldn't get there fast enough. He had owned that hat for years, it had been a gift, and a gift that old and that treasured could not be lost.

He dashed round to the door of the second court, now empty, and suddenly stopped. A girl was holding his hat, the very girl he had been thinking about. Now how was that for a coincidence? She had not seen him yet, and was turning the hat round and round in her hands, tracing the blue ribbon with a single pianist's finger.

Reiji was unsure of how to react to this strange sight: a girl who had unknowingly brought his band back together was now carefully caressing his most prized possession as though she had known it as long as he had.

Was there anything he could do that would fit the moment?

No.

So he stuck to what he knew, and smiled.

Haruka continued to trace the ribbon, wondering what to do with the hat. The others had all gone back, she had said she'd got some shopping to do and would catch up.

What she really should be doing was walking to the bus stop and take the next ride home, where she would return the hat to its (rather handsome) owner and have done.

But surely that could wait.

The ribbon was so smooth under her fingers, and even though the hat must have been at least a few years old it wasn't frayed anywhere. Sunset orange and pink bathed the usually white fabric, and Haruka sank into the plastic chair behind her. She rested the hat on her knees and shut her eyes. It was so warm. Summer evenings were so easy to sink into.

'I see you have something of mine there,' said a voice.

Haruka jumped right back out of the chair, clutching the hat to her face. Reiji chuckled lightly.

'Hey, easy. It is my hat isn't it?' His silver eyes danced with laughter. Haruka noticed that before realising that they were actually standing quite close to one another.

Oh no. How much had he seen? She must have looked like a freak, toying with his hat like that. What would he think of her now?

Her huge golden eyes became enormous, and since she had hidden behind the hat, they were all that Reiji could see of her face.

'May I...?' he said teasingly, gently prizing the hat from between her fingers. He didn't put it on his head though. Not yet. Something would end if he did that too quickly.

'S-s-sorry!' she squeaked out, looking terrified.

'It's fine. Thank you, actually. I'd rather not lose this, but I almost did.' He gazed down fondly at the hat in his hands, and the butterflies in her stomach seemed to multiply into the thousands as she waited for him to look back up at her again. 'It was a gift from a while back.'

It was curiosity rather than bravery that caused Haruka to blurt out,

'Who from?'

As soon as she'd spoken her mind was in turmoil. What if that's too personal? Of course it's too personal, I'm always so impolite to people. Reiji looked back up at her, and Haruka had to physically try and slow her breathing down as their eyes met. When he finally spoke, his voice was softer, but even though his smile was now a small, private one, it was very much there.

'It was actually from a girl I dated,' he said. Immediately alarm bells were ringing and Haruka was about to apologise again for overstepping the line, but Reiji continued. 'She'd noticed that I liked it when we went out one day, and by the next time we'd met, she'd bought it for me. There was no special occasion; she just said, "Here you are, you said you liked this," and gave it to me. People don't often do that for others, just spontaneously doing things to make them happy, you know?'

Haruka was amazed that he would talk so freely about an ex to another girl, but Reiji carried on, saying simply,

'We broke up after a few months. She wanted to study abroad and it just wasn't working out between us. I wear the hat because, well, I still like it, but where it came from is important to me too. A Random Act of Kindness, it's called.'

They were now standing very, very close to one another. Haruka could feel her cheeks turning red in the silence that followed. A spell was upon the two of them, and once Reiji put his hat back on and decided to leave the tennis court, it would be broken.

Then the unthinkable happened.

'D'you want to walk back to the bus stop with me?' asked Reiji, extending a hand politely. Haruka hesitated for half a second before slowly taking up the offered hand: it felt so perfect. But Reiji's real hand was much more perfect than the offer of his hand.

They walked through the evening across the park, and conversation came easily. She found out that he'd lived in the countryside too, as a child, so they talked about how odd the city was, and she even made him laugh with a joke about elevator manners, which she'd never understood.

Reiji was getting more and more interested in Haruka as they talked. She was funny once she got over her shyness, and his guess was that none of the STARISH boys had held a very long conversation with her, preferring to take the 'admire from afar' option. There was no denying that he was interested in her, he couldn't help it. Somehow she was working her magic on him too...

A few days after that golden bus ride home, Haruka stood outside Reiji's dorm room, worrying again. In her hand was an envelope that she knew must not become crumpled, and yet it was all she could do not to rip it up with nervousness.

The problem was that Otoya and Tokiya both lived (sort-of) in that room too, and if she knocked on the door she was almost certain that it would be one of them who answered it. She was pretty sure that Tokiya would be able to guess what was going on, and if Otoya answered the door he'd tell Tokiya. But then, if she left the envelope under the door, Reiji might show it to them or they could open it before he saw it!

Haruka sighed. Her fluttering heart and spinning mind weren't helping her solve the problem, no matter how romantic.

Eventually she had to walk away. This was taking too long, and wasn't worth it anyway. Reiji wouldn't care what she had to say, he was busy with his own band and he'd already admitted to previously having a girlfriend. To an outsider, Haruka must have looked like Cinderella being told she couldn't go to the ball as she walked back down the old-fashioned corridors. To be honest, that felt like the closest to a fairy tale she would ever get.

Outside, the sky was clearing up, making for another beautiful day. There was birdsong in the trees and the grounds looked stunning as the sunlight spread over it like a warm blanket. She could go out there and pretend nothing had ever happened.

'Haru-chan? You OK?'

Haruka's insides froze. That was his voice. And she turned to see the silver eyes already smiling down at her. How many times could these surprise encounters happen before they stopped shocking her?

Reiji, for his part, was just as surprised as Haruka had been when the would-be conversation was cut short and an envelope was shoved into his hands. He'd been hoping for a friendlier exchange so that he could ask her when she was free, but Haruka was already walking down the hall away from him. Odd, to say the least.

'Ne, Haru-chan?' he called after her. What had he done wrong? Reiji felt guilty already. Hurting her would be far worse than her hurting him. She probably isn't even capable of hurting people intentionally, he thought absent-mindedly.

He read the contents of the envelope that evening. Or rather, sight-read. Reiji smiled hopelessly down at the sheet music in his hand. What more could he expect from such a talented little songwriter? The message was clear. It was time to reply.

His light didn't go out until the early morning.

The gardens were just as beautiful as they had been the day before. Haruka was sitting alone on a bench opposite huge a flower garden, shaded by green branches. Her shoes were bathed in sunlight, and the warmth felt soft and strangely personal. She laughed out loud at the manga in her hands. It was just that sort of day.

'Haru-chan?'

She jumped to her feet, the manga left beside her on the bench. Her cheeks were warm already, and Haruka scolded herself silently for being so out of control.

'Hai!' The word came out far less nervous than she felt. What was he here for? Had he understood the envelope? How had he known she would be out here? Or was it yet another surprise meeting?

Reiji walked over to her. He would have sat down, but Haruka remained next to the bench stiffly, almost as though she was standing to attention in some sort of military drill.

'Hey, calm down, Haru-chan. It's just me, right?' he said, laughing lightly.

It's just him?! How can he say that? If only he knew what I thought of him... Actually, better keep that to myself for now. It's far too weird.

Haruka held herself in check as Reiji produced the famous envelope from his jacket pocket.

'Got your message,' he said, sitting down and gesturing for her to join him. Why's she so tense? She was sitting here before me, after all.

'You did?'

'Yeah.' Reiji smiled at her admiringly, and Haruka felt herself get a little light-headed. Can't I just be easy about it like that time in the park?

'It's beautifully written, Haru-chan. You put so much of yourself into your music, and yet somehow I've noticed... How do I put this?' Reiji paused for a moment, and then said, '...Whenever you write for someone else, it sounds like you're writing them into the music. It was an honour to 'hear myself' like that, if you see what I mean?'

Haruka blushed again, and tried to smile and accept the compliment, although she felt that she hadn't really done anything.

'It was easy,' she said. 'It's like taking a picture of someone. Will you- Will you sing it for me?' she added cautiously.

She needn't have been so scared. Reiji himself had been just about to suggest that he do exactly that. He'd even warmed up his voice before leaving the building, wanting to do Haruka's song complete justice.

It was fast, bouncy and full of energy, difficult to do accapella for most people. But then again, it had been written for one specific person, and Haruka knew that he could pull it off.

La-la dance

la-la romance

Let's go round again!

La-la dance

La-la romance

Let's do it all again!

They say love can come only once

But I know the truth: it comes only with you.

It's a thing well known that lovers break hearts

But those songs are unsung when I'm with you.

You make me feel like I've started over

You make me feel like I've never started at all

Can't you come just a little closer?

Can we fall, fall, fall?

Laugh, heart!

Keep on smiling,

Well on your way to a magic story!

Break, heart!

Forget falling,

I'll skydive into a new love with you..

For the first time.

Yes I have been hurt before, but

I know the signs and I'm staying with you!

Every time I hear your voice

I can't ignore it when I'm around you!

Laugh, heart!

Keep on smiling,

Well on your way to a magic story!

Break, heart!

Forget falling,

I'll skydive into a new love with you...

For the first time.

La-la dance (Tell me why)

la-la romance (Whenever you smile)

Let's go round again!

La-la dance (I think I'd like)

La-la romance (Being in love with you)

Let the story begin!

Reiji finished the song reluctantly. While he was singing, Haruka had visibly relaxed beside him on the bench. She'd smiled, even clapped along to the refrain at the end. He could only hope that she'd stay that way in the time it took to ask her out.

He turned to face her and tried to catch her eye. She was already looking down at her hands, not a good sign. Reiji bent down so that he was in her field of vision, and held her gaze as they both sat up, eyes locked onto one another.

'You don't have to be so introverted all the time, you know,' he said quietly. 'I like you much better when you let yourself go a little.'

Haruka stared at him (as if she had any other choice – his silver eyes were distracting her again). She could feel the butterflies rising into her throat like before, and yet this time she welcomed them. Yes, she was nervous, yes, she was scared of the future, but that was OK. That was OK, because Reiji was feeling just the same. That's what his lyrics were about, right?

'Listen, Kotobuki-sempai-' she began, but Reiji cut her off.

'Call me Rei-chan, or even just Reiji, please. Kotobuki-sempai sounds so pompous, don't you think?' He puffed himself up, sticking his chin in the air, and said in a ridiculously loud voice, 'I am Kotobuki-sempai, and don't you forget it!'

Haruka smiled, her eyes sparkling with mirth, and Reiji looked down at her, saying in the same voice, 'What are you so happy about, you peasant?'

That was when they both burst out laughing. They rocked about on the wooden bench, full of strange, bubbly happiness. Every time that they managed to control themselves, Haruka would say, 'So I'm a peasant, am I, sempai?' or Reiji would give her another snooty glance, and it set them off again.

Haruka only realised that the butterflies had gone when her hand touched Reiji's by mistake. She stared down at the hands, suddenly silent again, her eyes huge.

Reiji was having none of that. He promptly interlocked his fingers with hers, causing Haruka to look up at him in surprise.

'Haru-chan,' he said matter-of-factly, 'Otoya and Tokiya are both out tomorrow afternoon, so I'm "off-duty", if you like. I think we should go somewhere together, if the weather holds. Any thoughts?'

'We could go get ice-cream!' Haruka knew that she was squeaking again, and tried to slow herself down. 'I mean, that sounds great, Reiji.'

He couldn't help but want to hear her say his name again. People tossed names around, and he was always trying to make his own name so casual to others, asking them all to use his first name. But when she said it...

Reiji's hand reached up to Haruka's cheek. The butterflies were back again, louder than ever. His touch was so easy, musical even, but it was just so hard to believe that it was happening for real.

He kissed her sweetly, on the cheek, his lips unmoving for more than just a moment. She shut her eyes, and it felt like a flower made of gold dust had just blossomed there.

She'd definitely be there tomorrow afternoon, despite the amount of time she knew she'd spend worrying. After all, love was about bravery too, wasn't it?

Again, sorry this took so long to write. Like with Syo in his story, I don't know Reiji very well, so if any Reiji specialists could tell me what they think, that would be greatly appreciated. ^_^ I'll try to be quicker, I promise! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, Quartet Nighters (do we have a fandom name? I guess we're all just otaku, huh).