Chapter 14 - Personal Performance
9.19.1204 - Sunday (Free Day)
Towa wasn't sure what she was going to do. She had promised to show Rean a recording of her concert from last year's school festival to help give him ideas for what Class VII should do for the school festival this year. However, no matter where she looked in her room she couldn't find the recording she had saved. She didn't want to waste Rean's time, she knew Class VII had nothing planned yet so Rean needed something to give him inspiration.
Inspiration soon hit her, or rather she slipped on inspiration. While rummaging through her room she had slipped on the unspeakable costume that Crow got her for their concert. While she considered it her old shame and swore to never wear it publicly again, she had little option. She knew if there was no way to show Rean her performance then she'll have to give him a personal performance to make up for it.
"I suppose this thing really did come in handy after all this time." Towa told herself.
She decided to try it on to see if it still fit, and unsurprisingly it still fit like before. Not like she grew between her first year and second year at thors anyway. She quickly put on her school uniform over her unspeakable costume and headed towards where she arranged to meet with Rean.
When she arrived at the computer room she took a seat by the front desk. Rean was still probably busy investigating the old schoolhouse with Class VII so she had some time to herself. Seeing as Rean wouldn't be there for a while, Towa decided it wouldn't hurt to take a little nap. She did promise Rean that she would sleep better after the West Zemuria Trade Conference after all.
Towa's nap didn't last as long as she would have liked however, as she was soon woken up by someone calling her from outside the window. She checked who it was that woke her up, and was surprised to Rean outside standing next to an orbal bike.
"Ms. Herschel, may you come out here to see me?" Rean yelled.
Towa obliged Rean's request and made her way outside. On the way she started to question why he called her "Ms. Herschel''. She had gotten so used to him calling her President Towa. If Rean was going to change what he called her she would have preferred it if he just casually called her by just her first name. She also questioned how Rean got his hands on an orbal bike, according to Angelica her orbal bike was the only one in existence.
Before she knew it she was outside with Rean.
"Rean I thought we agreed to meet up in the computer room? I had something prepared for you." Towa informed Rean with a slight blush.
Rean simply turned to her before answering. "This meeting wasn't about the concert Ms. Herschel. I asked to meet with you so I could ask you about our future."
"Our f-future!?" Towa responded as she felt herself getting flustered.
She couldn't fathom Rean saying such a thing. He had always been so oblivious, so to hear him speak so boldly made her feel all sorts of things.
"Here isn't the right place, let's go somewhere more serene my love." Rean said as he led Towa to his orbal bike.
Rean's orbal bike didn't have a side-car, so he asked Towa to sit behind him and to hold on tight until they made it to their destination.
Much like before Towa obliged Rean's request, she was still processing everything that was happening.
The mere idea that he would boldly call her "his love" was making her heart skip multiple beats. This all felt unreal. Where did Rean learn such behavior? He was acting as if he came out of one of Towa's romance novels that she hid under her bed.
The orbal bike just kept on going, and with each bump Towa's hold on Rean only got tighter and tighter.
Soon they arrived at their destination: it was the hill they rested on a few months ago when they tested Angelica's orbal bike. Before Towa could get off Rean's orbal bike, Rean got out first and picked her up like he's done so many times now, and each time she loved it. Although, she'd never tell him that.
Once they got to the top of the hill he set her down next the tree they rested on last time they were there.
Before Towa could catch her breath Rean continued his bold new nature as he got down on one knee and lifted her chin up. As much as she liked the attention from Rean, she admittedly would have preferred being the one doing this to Rean. She was his upperclassman, it should be her taking charge if they were going to behave in such a way.
Rean began to whisper something to her. "Ms. Herschel... I need your help."
"W-What is it Rean? You know that I'll help you with anything." Towa responded.
"There's a certain subject I'm not quite knowledgeable about, and I couldn't think of a better tutor than you Ms. Herschel." Rean admitted. She could tell that he was getting flustered.
"Of course Rean, but only if you just call me by my first name. What's the subject you need help with?" asked Towa.
Rean quickly let go of Towa's chin and sat down next to her, and as he got more and more flustered quickly made a simple request. "T-Towa… could you help me with the subject of romance?"
Towa wasn't sure how to respond. Normally she would be a blushing mess in this scenario, but right now she knew she needed to be as calm as possible. How could she teach a nervous Rean if he saw how equally nervous she was.
"O-Of course Rean. All my knowledge comes from books though, but I suppose we could tutor each other. Um… I'll lead to the best of m-my ability." Towa answered.
Before she knew it, she was holding Rean's chin. She moved her face closer to his as she took charge. The moment could last forever. As the space between their lips began to shrink she felt nothing but bliss. She might as well be dreaming, she thought to herself.
"Oh… Rean…" Towa whispered.
Rean quickly made his way to the computer room after exploring the old schoolhouse and doing Patrick's request. He hoped Towa didn't get too bored waiting for him. Ever since he realized he had a crush on her he's been rather unsure how to keep cool around her. It was a miracle that Towa didn't notice his face blushing when they went shopping for supplies recently.
Without knocking, Rean entered the computer room and found Towa fast asleep.
As he got closer he questioned if he should wake her up. After lightly poking her cheek he decided to just let her sleep. Afterall he was the one that requested her to get more sleep. He decided to put his red uniform jacket over Towa as a makeshift blanket to keep her warm as it had been getting chillier recently. He then took a seat on a nearby chair.
He stared out the window as he waited for Towa to wake up, although he snuck a few peaks at Towa. He was a little ashamed of himself for sneaking a few peaks at Towa. She was a rather cute sleeper in his defense. Granted he thought Towa was already cute no matter the situation.
A part of him was rather curious of what Towa was dreaming of, but knowing her workaholic nature, he was sure she was probably dreaming about something school related.
Suddenly Rean heard Towa whisper something in her sleep. "Oh… Rean…"
Rean suddenly froze in his seat and thought to himself. "Why did President Towa say my name!? She still looks fast asleep, so clearly she's not trying to catch my attention. Don't tell me… S-She's dreaming about m-me!?"
He felt his whole body get warm.
Rean heard Towa starting to whisper again. "You're… such a… fast learner… Rean..."
That admittedly calmed Rean down as he tried to figure out the context of Towa's dream. "I s-see, so I was right even in her dreams she's still doing school related things. Who would have thought she would be tutoring me even in her dreams. F-For a second there I thought I heard something I shouldn't have."
Suddenly the school bell rang, Rean figured it must've been to alert any students that the main building was closing soon. He should probably wake Towa up and reschedule which day to see her concert recording. He was kind of looking forward to seeing it, especially after Crow told him he'd love Towa's costume. But that would have to wait another day, especially considering how they should leave the main building as soon as possible.
Towa slowly opened her eyes, she immediately noticed she had drool and wiped it off. It took her a second to realize she was still in the computer lab, she could've sworn she was on a hill with Rean. She then realized that it must've all been a dream. "I should've known, Rean would never be that forward." she commented out loud.
"I would never be what?" Rean asked as he made his way to Towa.
"Rean what are you doing here!? Oh, that's right… I asked you to meet me here." Towa asked as she felt her face get warm.
"I saw you sleeping when I got here and didn't want to wake you up. Sorry, I guess I should've poked your cheek harder." Rean answered.
"D-Don't apologize! I really needed the sleep, it's fine." Towa told Rean.
"Should we watch the recording another time? Pretty sure we'll get locked inside the main building if we stay here any longer." Rean asked Towa.
"Don't worry this shouldn't take that long. Um… can you sit in that chair all the way in the back of the room and keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them?" Towa asked Rean.
"Oh… uh, sure." Rean said as he made his way to where Towa told him to sit and closed his eyes.
Well it was the moment of truth, she quickly pulled down all the blinds and made sure the door was locked. She didn't want someone walking in or seeing her perfornforance, it was meant for Rean's eyes and ears only after all. She quickly took off her school uniform without even realizing she had been wearing Rean's red coat and put it aside. She also quickly took off her blue ribbon and quickly used the two black ribbons that matched her unspeakable outfit. She was ready to give Rean the recreation of her performance, costume and all.
"All right Rean, you can open your eyes now. You better not laugh though." Towa announced.
"Why would I laugh at a recording of you President To-wha?" Rean asked before taking a look at Towa in her unspeakable costume. He felt his face somehow get even warmer than before.
"I might've lost the recording. So I figured I could just redo my performance, just for you. I hope you don't mind." Towa explained as she tried to avoid making eye contact with Rean.
"I-I don't mind President Towa." Rean responded. He was trying his hardest not to let his eyes wander too much.
"I don't have a microphone on me so I'll do my best to sing as clearly as I can okay. This song is called 'Cry For Me, Cry For You'. I hope you enjoy the show." Towa said as she prepared herself.
Towa closed her eyes and started to sing to the best of her ability. "~I can hear your voice crying for me; it's crying out my name~"
Rean was captivated by Towa's performance. He started to question if Towa had a history in music, she was far too good to be an amateur in his opinion. He was thankful that Towa was singing with her eyes closed, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to face her again if she caught him staring at her. Despite the unspeakable costume Towa was wearing (or maybe because of the unspeakable costume she was wearing) he thought she still looked rather cute.
Rean continued to listen to Towa sing. "~Let's never forget the fact that we can be healed by our warmth of contact and shed tears~"
Towa wasn't sure which performance was more challenging for her. Last year's concert involved her performing for the whole school alongside Angelica, George, and Crow. But now it was just her and Rean. This performance was on such a smaller scale in comparison to last years, so why was she so much more nervous now that it was only Rean watching her? Who was she kidding, she knew exactly why she was so nervous. There's no way she would've worn this costume again unless it was she knew Rean would be the only one seeing her in it. As far as she was concerned this performance was for Rean's eyes and ears only. It would also help him figure out what Class VII should do for the school festival, so it wasn't like she was doing this for her own selfishness.
Soon Towa was able to reach the final verse. "~I cry for you, are you hearing my voice? It's crying out your name. You cry for me, I can hear your voice; it's now crying out my name~"
Once he knew the song was over Rean stood up and applauded Towa for her performance. "Bravo, that was a great performance President Towa!"
"I hope that my performance gives you an idea for what your class should do Rean." Towa said. She hoped Rean didn't see how red her face had gotten while she performed.
"It did. Thank you. Maybe Class VII should also do a concert." answered Rean as made his way to Towa in front of the room.
Towa suddenly noticed that Rean's tie had come undone. "Oh Rean let me fix your tie for you."
Suddenly they heard someone forcing open the locked door. Before they knew it Instructor Sara forced her way in before Towa could change back or finish fixing Rean's tie.
"So this is where you two were. After Rean didn't show up with Towa's recording, Crow showed us his recording of the concert and we decided to hold our own concert. Sorry Rean, but we figured you thought the same thing. By the way why was the door locked?" Instructor Sara asked before taking a look inside.
There she saw Rean and Towa standing a bit too close to each other. She saw Towa dressed in the unspeakable costume from the concert recording and she was seemingly helping Rean out of his uniform.
"M-My bad sorry for the interruption. I'll be going back to the dorm. U-Umm next, please just do this in your dorm rooms." Instructor Sara stuttered before awkwardly closing the door and leaving.
"Uh President Towa, is it against school rules to hold a mini concert in the main building?" Rean asked.
"Not to my knowledge. We weren't breaking any school rules by doing this here instead of one of our rooms. Instructor Sara might've misread one of the rules." answered Towa.
Despite the interruption Towa was able to quickly fix Rean's tie.
"I think we should head back to our dorms now. I think we've stayed after school long enough." responded Rean.
"Yeah we probably should. You might have to ask one of your classmates for details on the concert they decided. Good thing they got the same idea. Oh... um, could you wait outside the room while I change back?"
Rean quickly left the room to give Towa some privacy while she changed back. She didn't want to keep Rean waiting too much so she quickly put on her uniform over her unspeakable costume. She was in such a rush however that she didn't realize she also put on Rean's red uniform coat that he put on her when she was asleep earlier.
"Shall I walk you to your dorm Rean?" asked Towa once she left the computer room.
"I could never say no to an offer from my Student Council President." Rean responded.
Rean noticed something different about Towa, but he couldn't tell what it was. Then he realized she kept the twintains instead of using her usual ribbon. That must've been it. They both didn't realize just how late they stayed until they left the main building and saw just how dark it had gotten.
As the two of them made they're way through Trista, Rean tried to start some small talk. "Is it me or has it gotten chillier recently?"
"You think so? Honestly I feel warmer than usual" answered Towa.
The two continued their small talk until they reached the Class VII dorm. Rean once again thanked Towa for all her help and they both wished each other a good night.
Rean went upstairs to where his room was, but before he got inside he was stopped by Elliot and Crow who wanted to fill him in on what their class was planning. They quickly caught him up on Class VII's plan, thankfully their plan was close to what Rean had thought up with Towa.
He wished them a good night before Elliot stopped him to ask a question. "Uh Rean, did something happen to your red uniform coat?"
Rean froze as he looked down and realized why he'd been feeling colder than usual.
Towa made it to the Lower-Class Dorm, and to her surprise George was in the lobby tinkering with some metal ball.
"Oh Towa there you are, did the recording work?" George asked as he saw Towa making her way to the stairs.
Towa wondered how to answer. If she answered honestly she'd have to have George know about her giving Rean a personal performance. While Instructor Sara walked in on them, she'd prefer if the less people knew the better. So she lied.
"Yup, it worked like a charm. It was a little embarrassing having Rean see me in that costume, but at least it was only on video haha." Towa grinned as she tried avoiding eye contact with George.
"Oh good, that's a relief." George responded.
Towa was surprised that her lie worked, maybe Aidios was finally giving her some good luck.
"Oh, um Towa. I don't want to pry if it's something private, but why are you wearing Rean's red uniform coat?" asked George.
Towa froze as she looked down and realized why she'd been feeling warmer than usual.
