POV: Ryuko

I am currently in the music club's room, waiting for a particular person...

I'm really looking forward to practicing with him for his own play, Melted Snow if I remembered correctly about the name he said. (Yes, another one from Plum.)

I'm hoping he prepared the music sheet in order for me to play along with him.

As I play my violin, I heard the sound of the door opening.

"Oh..." he looked confused. "You're here early than expected, Ryuko."

What a lame response for noticing my presence. Gonna tease him.

"Hmph!... Is this how you decide to greet a lady, Tori?" I asked with a pout.

"You're a girl, not a lady, Ryuko." He rebutted. What a bummer.

"That's why I'm mad..." I reflected back at him. Let's see how he could handle it.

"Fine... I'm sorry about that." He replied. Did he just accept his fault with no hesitation? "Good afternoon, Ryuko."

"Good afternoon, Tori." I greeted him back. It's pretty weird for me to call him without honorifics. It feels like we are datin-...

Wait... did I just think about it??

No no no... It's too soon for me to do so...

I redeemed myself as my face goes pretty hot. I'm sure he won't notice it.

"Why are you so red? Are you sick? Do you want me to take you to the infirmary?" He asked me many questions as he glanced in my direction.

'Dense idiot...' I thought...

I'm feeling a bit disappointed about it though.

Not that I mind...

POV: Torikachi

Ryuko probably thinking about us dating, as I noticed her red face.

I decided to play dumb with her, leading her to think that I'm a dense idiot.

As I said myself, I'm not ready for being in a relationship. My mentality is not as good as people might think.

People might call me a disgrace, but I simply don't care.

If Ryuko decided to confess, I might probably turn her down.

Since I will never be grateful for my existence...

Yes, my existence is nothing more than a disgrace. My heart and soul belong to no one, and I'm just nothing more than a walking body.

The more people who cared about me, the more hurtful they will be in the future.

At least it's not the same as my previous world.

At least I'm glad that I got transported into this new world that I already know the future holds.

"Ne, Tori..." Ryuko called out to me. "Have you prepared your spreadsheet for me to practice with you?"

As far as I remember, I told her that we will play Melted Snow in the contest this October.

"Yes, I have. I will play the sheet first, and you could play along with me if you want." I said as I handed her the sheet containing both the piano chords and the violin chords for her to play. It looked complicated at first, but I think she could handle it.

"Okay." Replied Ryuko.

I walked up to the piano in the music club's room, and sit on the chair, making myself ready for the play.

I already memorized the notes from my old world, so I decided to play my track.

https://youtu.be/6TeHb_v5sC4

As I'm playing, Ryuko decided to play along with my performance, and surprisingly, she could time the chords really well.

However, she got stuck near the end of our play. Not too bad for our first try.

"Honestly, you played better than I thought, Ryuko." I complimented her. "You almost nailed the whole play first try, but you got stuck near the end of our play. Not bad..."

I told her as I patted her head. She looks happy, and I'm pretty pleased with myself too.

"Ehehe... thank you, Tori..." she replied as she got embarrassed, again...

"But isn't it too short? I thought it could be longer." She said. Truthfully, Melted Snow is too short for our contest which needs to be more than 3 minutes, I might need to play another one instead of this.

"Yeah... and I guess it's not fit with the vibe of the autumn too," I stated. "I will try to find another song for us to play. I think our previous one could play for Christmas's Eve."

I said as I pulled out my bunches of sheets, trying to find another one that would suit the theme for our contest.

"This might be the repeated one since I already played it on the cruise that day," I told her. "Remember the 3rd one I played?"

"Well, yes... I think so." Ryuko replied. "That play was also good, and I think it will fit the atmosphere of the contest too."

"The third one that I played is a little bit tricky for you though," I stated, making sure she's confident enough for the violin. "The name is Archangel, and it's more energetic than our previous. Are you sure you want to?" I asked.

"As long as it fits the atmosphere of the contest that day, I could do it." She said with determination. "So, where's the sheet?"

I replied with a nod while giving her the chord sheet.

"Same as the first, I will play the piano first, you could join in whenever you like." I said.

"Okay then." She replied.

Then I started to play another song from Plum.

https://youtu.be/GJUPJy_xyJ4

(Imagine the song without all the beats. I couldn't find any without the beats, so yeah.)

As I play, I noticed that Ryuko stopped her performance in the middle, perhaps it's hard for her to keep up with the speed.

I finished my performance, I called her.

"Not bad for our first try, but you seemed to struggle a bit for keeping up with the speed of the song." I complimented her. "Maybe I underestimated you a little bit..."

"Hey! I heard that." She replied. "What were your expectations?"

"I thought you couldn't keep up with the song by 70% of the whole, but good job for exceeding my expectations," I replied. "Your parts of the play are not that much, so I'm sure you could handle it in a few weeks or so. You managed to read the notes almost perfectly on our first try."

"Hey, I'm in class A for a reason, you know??" She rebelled. I guess this is one of the strengths of an A-class individual.

"I apologize," I said.

"Accepted..." she said with a pause. I don't think I will like where this is going. "By giving me a treat, and we will be even."

"How unfair could you be, Ryuko...?" I murmured.

"Fine... I guess we could go to Pallet Cafe. My treat, but please don't order something expensive. I need my points for other stuff you know?" I lied. I got more than enough points for me to buy my ingredients since the trade with Hashimoto. It was worth it.

"Of course..." she replied with a grin. "I won't!! I will waste all of your points. Ehe!"

My expectation had betrayed me. What was I thinking about saying that sentence...

"Please don't bully me like this... I'm hurt, Ryuko." I pretended that I'm very sad, for her sympathy.

"W-wait... I'm just joking... Umm. Yeah! I'm joking." She replied nervously. I'm going to tease her. >:D

"And you don't want to admit that you are joking yourself... I'm hurt that you lied to me, Ryuko..." I decided to play dumb with her, to see how long she could stand for.

"Ugh... fine... you win." She said with a pout. "Now treat me."

"Alright, alright," I said. "Let's go Ryuko. I think we're good for today."

"Yayyy!!!"

*time skip to Pallet Cafe

POV: Ryuko

I am currently at the Pallet Cafe with Tori. As we enter the cafe, many gazes are looking towards us, assuming we are dating.

We are not dating at the moment...

but I don't mind dating him...

Surely he won't mind dating me, right?

Right??

As I go to my seat, I told him what my order will be.

"Just choose what you think is recommendable for the two of us."

As I said loudly, many girls' gazes landed on me, concluded that we are dating, even though we are kind of not supposed to.

'I guess I won't mind dating someone like him...' I thought as my face was getting hot.

"Okay then." He replied.

*a few moments later

Tori is back with 2 servings of drinks and desserts.

"I think you've already eaten this before," Tori told me. "So, your serving is a medium-sized caramel crunch Frappuccino, with Tiramisu as your dessert for your treat for today." He said politely. I never expect him to be this polite, he could be fit for being a waiter.

"O-oh... Thank you." I replied with a smile. "So... what's yours?" I asked since his serving is different than mine.

"Well, to tell you miss, my serving is a medium-sized Oreo Cookie Frappuccino with extra whipped cream, along with lemon cake as my dessert. Does that satisfy your curiosity, Ryuko?" He replied. I don't know how he suddenly gets this polite, I guess it's his way of acting.

"Yes. I'm satisfied." I said.

"Good for you then." He replied. "So, is there anything you wanted to talk to me about while we are here?" He asked.

"So I wanted to talk to you about something..."

We had our conversation about our classes' behavior, and discuss our contest this October.

As we continued our conversation, Tori usually glared at my Tiramisu. He probably wants to eat some of it.

"You know... you've been looking at my Tiramisu for a while. Wanna have some? Since I get to taste yours afterward." I asked with a smile on my face.

"Etou... I guess I could take a bite of it if you insist." He replied with a self-inserted self.

As he tried to take his spoon, I immediately scooped a small part of my Tiramisu and faced the spoon to him.

"Say 'Ahhh...'" I don't know why I'm trying to do this, but this is embarrassing than I thought it would be...

'Please, hurry up and accept it... you are making me embarrassed...' I thought as my face heated up.

"Eh...?" Tori couldn't help himself but be shocked, while trying to restraint himself, not taking the offer.

"You know... I could do this myse- Ugmmh!!??" As he tries to finish his sentence, I decided to shove the spoon into his mouth with Tiramisu on it.

This is too embarrassing for me...

And I don't know why I'm doing this...

As I did it, I realized how much of an idiot I am, using my spoon to feed him...

'I-Indirect k-kiss??' I thought as my mind couldn't handle this emotional shock.

"Sigh... this is why you shouldn't do it, Ryuko." He said as he scratched the left side of his cheek. "They will get the wrong idea."

"I don't mind..." I murmured as I unintentionally touch my lips...

"Excuse me, what did you say??" He asked. I accidentally spoke loud enough for him to hear.

"N-nothing..." I answered him.

I can sense multiple glares from the girls in the cafe land towards me. Why there are so many girls who have their eyes on Tori??

But... I'm happy that he chose to be with me at the moment.

It doesn't matter. If it's only just one second with you, I don't mind it...

"A-Anyway, it's time for you to let me taste yours, Tori," I said.

"Alright..." he replied with a pause.

"Say 'Ahhhh'." He said as he face the spoon filled with lemon cake at me.

"E-Ehhh??" I couldn't help myself but be confused by his actions.

"You know..." he said. "This is more embarrassing than I thought it would be, so would you kindly wrap it up please??"

I couldn't help but chuckle at his action. It's a cute site, to be honest.

"Fine... you asked for it," I said as I open my mouth. "Ahhhh..."

As the spoon nearly reached my mouth, Tori decided to say something that's so embarrassing for me to handle.

"Choo choo... coming through!" He said. Why is he so childish at a moment like this...

I couldn't help myself but be embarrassed by his actions. It felt awkward for me to remember this event in the future.

"I bet you didn't see that coming, did you??" He asked with a chuckle.

"Hey... no fair..." I said as many girls keep on staring at our table.

"I wish that was me..." I heard one of the girls' words lingering in my ears.

"Haven't you girls heard? They signed on our club's contest this October as a duet." Said one of the senpais that we're acquainted with in the music club.

As I remember, her name is Asahina-senpai.

POV: Torikachi

"Haven't you girls heard? They signed on our club's contest this October as a duet." Said Nazusa-senpai. I heard that she's also in the music club, even though I didn't see her once in the club's room.

"Wait, I heard one of them is a prodigy. Could it be Ryuko-chan??" One of the senpais said as she glanced in Ryuko's direction.

"No no..." replied Nazusa-senpai. "Ryuko-chan's violin is good, but the rumored prodigy is a piano player. So I think it's the boy."

"Wait really?? One of our underclassmen is a prodigy?? So it was true??" Asked one of the senpais in Nazusa-senpai's group.

"I don't know myself." Replied Nazusa-senpai. "When I went to the club room earlier, I heard two plays that I never heard of, but it sounded pleasant to my ears."

So she heard both Melted Snow and Archangel too, huh...

"We should greet them," I told Ryuko. "Senpais are talking about us right now."

"Wait really??" She asked. "I think Asahina-senpai is a little bit... you know... strict??"

"Nah... we will be fine. It's not like she's uncomfortable around us though." I ensured her.

"Let's greet them, shall we?" I asked.

"Okay, sure."

POV: 3rd Person

In Pallet Cafe, there's a small group containing 4 second-year senpais and 2 freshmen.

Tori: "I could hear your conversation, you know?"

Nazusa: "Oh... my apologies. I spoke too loud."

Tori: "It's fine. Since senpais are talking about me, I guess I could join your conversation, Asahina-senpai??"

Nazusa: "How did you know my name?"

Tori: "Oh my... I don't think you know about this but Ryuko told me a lot about you, senpai."

Tori said as he gave Ryuko a wink.

Ryuko: "Yes... I'm sorry for him bothering you, Asahina-senpai..."

Nazusa: "It's fine. No big deal! Why don't you guys just sit here? We are going to talk about our prodigy boy over here."

Nazusa said as she glanced at Tori's eyes.

Tori: "So... since senpais wanted to talk about me, what questions do you want to ask me?"

Nazusa: "First of all, how did you become the target of the rumors about being a prodigy of some sort?"

Tori: "To be blunt, I just mindlessly played the piano on the cruise ship after our island exam, and I thought I wouldn't attract any attention that time since everyone was tired from the island exam. Turns out I was wrong... everyone was already in the lobby as I finished my plays, along with our homeroom teachers.

And that's when the rumor spreads I believe."

Nazusa: "I see. Next question, how do you think about Torikachi-kun, Ryuko-chan?? I heard you talked a lot about him, didn't you, Ryuko-chan??"

Tori: "Really, Ryuko??"

Ryuko: "Y-Yes... I couldn't help but admire you and your plays back then at the cruise. You only played 5 of them, but every single one of them gave a pleasant feeling to my ears. I couldn't help but assume that you could make more. Now I look at him, he's quite h-h-handsome..."

Ryuko murmured at her last sentence.

Tori: "I'm quite what, Ryuko?"

Tori decided to pat Ryuko's head.

Tori: "But, at least you are being honest. So thank you for being a good girl."

Ryuko couldn't help herself but blush from Tori's compliments.

Nazusa: "Ara~ Such a playboy your are, Torikachi-kun. Ryuko-chan, make sure to keep an eye on him. Many girls are already lurking for his urgmm-..."

One of the senpai: "Nazusa-san... please don't say that word in public."

She said as she covered Nazusa's mouth from saying a vulgar word.

Tori: 'I think I know what she meant.'

Tori: "My what, Senpai?"

One of the senpai: "I-It's nothing."

Tori: "Okay..."

Ryuko: "Ummm... Etou...~~"

Ryuko, at the moment, trying to restrain herself but it's futile, grabbing Tori's hand and putting it on her head.

Ryuko: "Please continue... I don't mind."

POV: Torikachi

Somehow, I'm feeling more comfortable patting Ryuko's head. She doesn't mind about it when I do it to her.

She keeps smiling happily when I headpat her like this.

I guess she's slowly falling in love with me, huh...

What a drastic development.

If it's not for my past life, I would have accepted her immediately.

But, I'm not ready yet, or will I change in the future?

Only the future knows.

If so, how would our class react? That's my only problem. Arisu might agree with our relationship, but our class might not be too happy about it...

But that's another story, for another day.

I think it's time for me to leave. I'm starting to feel awkward hanging around this girls-only table.

"I think it's time for me to take my leave, senpais," I said. "I have some more drafts to work on, as a 'prodigy'." I intentionally pressed on the prodigy word, as for the truth, I'm actually not. I just happened to mimic Plum's music, but I guess they considered it in this world.

"Alright. I guess this is where we part ways then." Replied Nazusa-senpai. "Goodbye, Torikachi-kun."

"I-I guess I will head back too." Said Ryuko. "I will take my leave, Senpais."

"No worries, Ryuko-chan." Said Nazusa-senpai. "Go conquer his heart. He's quite a hard one to catch."

Nazusa-senpai whispered something to Ryuko that I couldn't hear, but I will let it slide.

"Ehh...?" Ryuko couldn't help herself from blushing. "I-I'm not ready yet..."

"C'mon girl. Be brave. Many girls are thirsty for him too, you know??." Nazusa-senpai said.

"Sigh... I guess I will try. Bye-bye, Senpai." Ryuko said as she waved them goodbye.

"Bye-bye, Ryuko-chan."

To be honest, I had a fun time with Ryuko at the moment, so if it's possible, I might unable to let her down if she confesses in the future.

Or maybe not...

I don't know about my development, but I am looking forward to it.

===========================================================================

And...

The end for Tori's arc at the moment.

Honestly, I think I rushed the character development a bit too much, but I guess I just went with the flow while I'm writing.

AFTER certain considerations, I might make Tori x Ryuko in the future.

What do you guys think? I'm pretty hyped.

The next chapter will be the pool, and unexpectedly, Kiyo's group will be also there for the hangout.

How will they act in such an expected encounter?

Tune in next time

PEACE!!!!!!