Not sure what exactly to label this one so I'm not using the emoji system.

Eh.

I'll probably end up scrapping that system anyways, cause I don't like the way the titles look, but I'm not sure at this point.

I wanted this to be longer since my Nier oneshots hit about the number of words my songfics get even when they're not songfics and I wanted to push myself.

!art at the top is not mine! It is fricking gorgeous, but I do not claim it!

Anyways, this is just a random idea I had, based on a roleplay my friend and I had a while ago that featured a masquerade dance.

Also because I love the phantom of the opera.

Byakuya Togami x Makoto Naegi

Also platonic sayaka x Makoto cause I love them as friends it's just so cute to me???

Idk what genre I should put this under??? Angst??? Fluff???

Eh. Just enjoy it.

Also Bc I said so they don't live in dorms in this one.

keytotime I'm actually really proud of this one so Yee here

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    "Kirigiri, I need some help, please!"

  The lavender-haired girl in question glanced up at Makoto with a hint of amusement in her eyes. "What is the matter?" She asked.

   Makoto took the seat beside her, resting his elbows on the table and running his fingers through his hair. "I've been so busy with volunteering that I haven't even thought of asking someone to the dance, and it's tomorrow, and the person I want to ask is already going with Celestia Ludenburg!" He said a little louder than anticipated.

  Kyoko smiled at her friend. "We could go," she suggested, and when Makoto shot up fifty shades of red, she added, "As friends, of course."

  Makoto was oblivious to a certain blonde's disheartened half glare as he eagerly accepted the idea, not wanting to show up to the school dance alone.

  The bell for lunch rang shortly after, and the two friends went to their separate classes; Makoto to Debate and Kyoko to Criminal Studies.

"Good afternoon class," Mrs. Toshiro, the debate teacher, greeted the class. She was easily one of Makoto's favorite teachers, mainly due to her ability to challenge Makoto in a way he didn't think possible before.

"Now then, as the semester draws to a close, it's important to remember that the speech and debate tournament is coming up. Make sure to mark your calenders, I'm not going to drive by anyone's house to wake you up," she added, glancing at several students who awkwardly laughed as they remembered sleeping through alarms.

Makoto was, as usual, writing notes and following with the lesson. It was a distraction for him, helping to ground his various thoughts about the dance tomorrow night.

"Naegi, are you ready to present your project? You've been out for a minute, are you okay?"

   Makoto snapped up, worried that he'd zoned out. He hadn't meant to, if he had. "I-I'm sorry Mrs. Toshiro-"

   But Mrs. Toshiro smiled at him. "It's okay, I was getting a little worried about you. I believe it's because of the dance tomorrow. Perhaps presenting to the class might give you something else to worry about?"

   Makoto nodded sheepishly, grabbing his project from his folder and heading to her desk to turn it in.

   Mrs. Toshiro nodded at him before facing the class again. "Alright class, I see that most of you have forgotten the basic steps of choosing and researching a debate topic. Naegi has decided to be gracious enough to demonstrate what you should expect after five weeks of research if you are diligent."

  Makoto chuckled nervously as she went back to her desk, rubbing the back of his neck. "So I was asked to demonstrate how a topic should be recognizable to you after researching it for an extended period of time. I decided to research the women's rights movement in America and the rest of the world."

A few groans came up, particularly from the back of the classroom, but he pushed them out of his mind.

"Ask me questions about it then."

The class certainly indulged in his request, and while Makoto answered the different questions, his mind was focused, sharply focusing on his task.

Outside, a certain someone walked past the debate room door. Normally this person would have simply walked past the door-after all, it was just another class full of plebeians. Nothing special. So why did he pause just beyond the door so that he could listen to Naegi speak? Why was his heart threatening to burst? It wouldn't do to dwell on these questions, so he moved past it, quickly, forcing those thoughts out of his mind.

By the time the bell rang for dismissal, Makoto had pushed all thoughts of the dance out of his mind-at least until Sayaka began asking for details on his costume.

"My-my costume?" He almost exclaimed. "What about it?"

   "You mean you haven't thought about what you're going to wear?!" She exclaimed. "Makoto, this is a masquerade! You can't just waltz in wearing who knows what you just found in your closet!"

   Makoto shrugged. "So? It'll be fine. It's only one night."

   Sayaka frowned before grabbing Makoto's arm and all but dragging him to the subway. "This is a crisis. Do you even have a mask?"

   "...no...?"

  "Makoto you truly are hopeless."

He followed her as she bought them tickets and then got on, still wondering where they were going. The two of them sat down near the doors, and it wasn't long until Sayaka brought up conversation again.

"You want to impress Togami, well we're one step closer to doing that," she said smugly.

Makoto squeaked and blushed a violent shade of red. "How did you know that?" He exclaimed. "I haven't told anyone!"

She merely giggled at him. "You're totally obvious! You're so bad at hiding your crushes!"

  He protested and tried to get his excitable friend to calm down, but she wasn't having it.

    "Don't worry, Mukuro and I are going together and we've got our costumes figured out. So I've got time. C'mon Makoto, let a girl help you out!"

  Makoto sighed, knowing he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. "Fine. I'll let you help me. Heaven knows I need it."

  Sayaka cheered and instantly led her friend to a shop that sold various masks of different types.

   "Shouldn't we get a costume first?" Makoto asked, looking at all the masquerade masks on sale.

   "Some people get a mask to match their costume, and others get a costume to match their mask. I find getting a mask first to be much easier!" Sayaka replied, helping Makoto pick out masks that worked well for him.

   After around 30 minutes of sorting through masks, the pair finally succeeded in finding one that worked well with Makoto and was pleasing (at least in Sayaka's eyes).

     Unfortunately the shopping trip was far from over, and after a fifteen minute lunch break the pair shot off to various costume shops to get something to match the mask.

     It was sundown by the time Sayaka had completed Makoto's masquerade look, and the two friends were exhausted to say the least.

   "Thanks for your help today, Sayaka," Makoto said, "I couldn't have done it without you."

  Sayaka grinned at him. "It's no problem!" She said. "But it is getting late..."

  Makoto sighed playfully, not even sure why he was suggesting it. "Want to have a sleepover? Komaru'd love to join us if that's okay."

  Perhaps this had been Sayaka's goal all along, or maybe it was the result of a long day shopping, but she eagerly agreed.

      That night Sayaka and Komaru eagerly gave Makoto a face mask and even gave him a pedicure and manicure. The girls even managed to convince him to paint his nails, although he had them paint them black to match with the theme of his costume.

The next day passed in a blur, and Makoto found that once again Sayaka was at his house as they each got ready. Makoto had to admit, it was really fun to watch as Sayaka got herself ready. Since Makoto didn't really need anything more than a suit and his mask, he was ready long before Sayaka, but she simply shook her head before taking him to the bathroom and applying some light foundation and highlights to his face and giving him a black rose to pin on his suit.

"Alright, you two ready?" Komaru asked, poking her head in. "Your rides are here."

   It was almost comical watching the two of them make sure their costumes were in order and gathering small necessities like cell phones, student ID's, and cash. Komaru took several photos of the group and waved them off cheerfully, no doubt imagining her own masquerade dance in the future.

The ride to the masquerade was relatively free of any drama, if you don't count Kyoko casually comment on Makoto's nails. The poor boy's red face was even more enhanced against the black and white palette of his costume.

When the group arrived, Makoto and Kyoko stood on the sides, watching other couples dance and twirl across the dance floor.

Both found their gazes traveling to a certain pair, one of them long legged and donning a dramatic cape, the other in what most would describe a vampire's dream costume.

However, as the night went on and the clock ticked ever closer to midnight, the pair was separated, and found themselves whirled away by mysterious and elegant dance partners.

   There was a small hiccup when a student from one of the other classes attempted to crawl under a girl's skirt but it was sorted out in due time and Makoto found that while the girl was rather harsh to the other guys from then on, she hadn't let it totally ruin her evening. And he admired her for that.

   "Ladies and gentlemen, it is now three minutes to midnight! Find your final dance partner now before the unmasking!"

   "Pardon me," a voice came from behind Makoto, and he spun around to see the same long legged figure he was admiring earlier.

    "Yeah?" Makoto asked, trying not to squeak.

     "May I have this dance?"

    Makoto couldn't trust himself to speak, he already felt his cheeks and ears hearing up as he took the female position and his masked partner the male.

     "So, have you been enjoying yourself?"

"It's been fun," Makoto said sheepishly. "I was an idiot and didn't even think about what to do for the dance until last minute but things worked out. The person I wanted to go with ended up with another person as their date, but my friends went with me instead."

His partner chuckled. "You truly are lucky," he said. "It's almost admirable."

"Oh, um, thank you," he whispered.

The song came to a crescendo as the clock struck midnight, at the same time the voice from before called out to all students to unmask themselves.

To Makoto's embarrassment, the ribbons on his mask had been tied by Sayaka, and they simply refused to budge. His partner watched him struggle for a moment before wordlessly untying the stubborn knots himself.

"You look...elegant tonight, Naegi," Byakuya whispered in his ear, and if Makoto wasn't already blushing he certainly was now.

He tried to fumble a response, but the words were a scrambled mess that he couldn't unscramble.

"Who, may I ask, is the person you wanted to ask to the dance tonight?" Byakuya asked.

Makoto swallowed before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "I wanted to ask you," he said, the words nearly invisible if you weren't seeking them out.

As the song wound down to a close, Makoto found to his delight that Byakuya was willing to take him out for a short walk.

So he said goodbye to his friends and left the dance arm in arm with his crush.

And, just maybe, his soon to be boyfriend.