ｓｍａｌｌ   ｗｏｒｌｄ

『 your p.o.v 』

"Wait so you're skipping class today?" Tomo-chan asked as I rummaged through my shared closet with Haruka, trying desperately to find something relatively nice to wear.

I glanced over my shoulder to the burgundy haired girl and offered her a bright smile. "Yup. Don't tell anyone, but I'm actually meeting up with Reiji and a few other idols to discuss possible song ideas.~"

Haruka looked to me with widened eyes from where she sits on her bed. "That's amazing ___! I'm so happy for you!"

"Don't get too excited just yet. I'm pretty sure I'm going to turn them down for now since I need to focus on school." I said, going back to filtering through my clothes. "I mean, Ren still isn't talking to me, Otoya needs to finish his song, I have that competition going on with Masato- school is hectic right now and I don't have time to be working with professionals when I need to focus on graduating first."

Tomo-chan laughed at that. "True, graduating is a little important." She agreed.

"But if you worked with Reiji and these other idols, then couldn't you just graduate early and go straight to working professionally?" Haruka then asked.

I glanced to the pink haired girl before shrugging my shoulders. "Honestly, I don't know if Shining would let me do that and even if he did go along with that plan of action, I wouldn't want to take it."

"Why not? Getting to skip all this school stuff to go straight to composing for real professional idols is like every composer's dream, right Haruka?" Tomo-chan asked to which our roommate nodded. "It would be nice to go and compose for professionals and learn hands-on rather than attend all these classes," Haruka responded easily.

"Eh, I'm having a lot of fun here with everyone and I don't want to just skip all of this. Otoya and I were homeschooled back at the orphanage so this is our first real school experience and I don't want to just let this slip through my grasp just yet. Besides, I've made such amazing friends here and if I have to sit through boring classes in order to create stronger bonds with everyone, then so be it!" I said with a bright laugh as I finally decided on an outfit to wear today.

I'm meeting with four actual idols so it's not like I can just walk out of here wearing something horribly casual. I have to make a great first impression on them! They don't seem very fond of Reiji and they also think I'm a lot like him so I have to prove them wrong and show them that I am very serious about becoming the best composer I can become for my idols. Even if I turn down working with them now, who knows if I'll work with them in the future so I can't go screwing things up for my future self now can I?

Things went quiet for a moment before Haruka spoke up once more. "Is that why you're so determined to improve your relationship with Ren?" She asked hesitantly.

I grabbed the hem of my night shirt before tugging the piece of clothing up and off over my head. "Is what why?" I asked in return.

"I don't really know how to word this without coming across as rude," Haruka said with a small laugh.

Smiling, I looked to the cute pink haired girl from over my shoulder. "Just ask. I'll know you don't mean it in a rude way."

She still hesitated while Tomo-chan walked over to help me pick out a better outfit since between the three of us, she definitely has the best style. "Well," Haruka started, "you grew up in the orphanage and were really alone right until you had Otoya right?" I nodded in agreement. "So, are you scared that maybe if you mess things up with Ren, you'll lose him for good and be alone again?"

"Wow way to call me desperate," I said with a loud laugh as Tomo-chan just hit my shoulder for teasing our beloved composer. "I'm kidding! But in a way, you're right Haruka. I naturally hold onto those I care about because I know how it feels to be alone. And, if you think about it, Ren's alone right now and I don't like that so I want to fix things between us so he doesn't have to be alone anymore."

"Masato was right, Ren isn't your problem and if you've already apologized and he's still treating your poorly, that's on him." Tomo-chan said matter-of-factly as she helped fix the clothes she just put on me, making sure I look more or less business casual without being too businessy or too casual. "True friends will see that you're trying and stick with you through nothing even if you have a fight here and there- that's just apart of life. Ren being so petty and brushing you off like your worthless just shows that he's not worth your time."

I thought for a moment before shaking my head some. "It's just, I don't see it that way." I murmured as I quietly thanked Tomochika for picking out a great outfit for me to wear. "Ren may be acting out and being a little cruel with his words, but I don't think he's doing it from a source of genuine arrogance or anything even remotely like that. I think he's hurting inside which is why he's acting the way he is."

"And how would you know?" Haruka asked, genuinely curious as to what my answer could be as Tomo-chan walked back over to sit beside her on their more or less shared bed.

"When I first went to the orphanage, I was a very angry and sad little girl." I said with a bitter smile. "Feeling a deep pain that comes from any source can make someone lash out when things hit just a little too close to home and I know that all too well. Looking at Ren right now reminds me a lot of what I was like back then before Otoya and I had grown close. We were both angry, spiteful little gremlins who lashed out at anyone and everyone if they tried to help us."

Tomo-chan looked to me with a small, reassuring smile. "And you want to be someone Ren can relate to so he doesn't feel so alone anymore, right? Just like what Otoya was to you and vice versa?"

"Exactly!" I said with a laugh, the somber mood brightening considerably at my large grin. "So I'm not going to give up on Ren no matter what! I'll keep annoying him until he caves because if there's one thing both Reiji and Otoya have taught me, it's how to be persistent and very annoying.~"

Haruka laughed at that. "Aren't you supposed to be leaving soon?"

I looked to the clock on the wall before looking back to Haruka with widened eyes. "Oh my gosh- I was supposed to meet Reiji out front like twenty minutes ago."

Tomo-chan ushered me into the bathroom. "Quick, brush your teeth and I'll do your hair and makeup. Haruka grab her shoes and laptop. We're in rush mode girls!"

The three of us kicked into high gear as my beloved roommates helped me to get ready for my meeting with Reiji and his three other idols bandmates. Thankfully with their help, I was out the door to our dorm room in no more than ten minutes flat. I don't know what I would do without them.

Honestly, they are lifesavers on so many levels...

Just as I was rounding another corner and beginning to near the front of Saotome Academy, a certain pink haired idol came into view holding a number of folders close to his chest as he walks down the hallway in my direction. My heart rate sped up just ever so slightly. I haven't really spoken to Ringo in nearly a week now since he brought me to the teacher's lounge...

When those bright blue eyes of his met my own, the idol teacher smiled. "Morning ___! You look beautiful as always. Excited to go meet with those four?" He asked as if nothing ever happened between us.

Taking my queues from him, I returned his smile while holding my laptop in front of my hips. "I'm nervous, but Reiji will be there so I'm not too scared to meet with them," I said honestly.

Ringo laughed a bit. "You'll do just fine. You composers will be receiving a new assignment today so come down to the teacher's lounge when you get back later to pick it up from Ryuuya, okay? Maybe you can help me grade some things this time around." He then said with a wink before continuing down the hallway, passing me by without ever once looking back as his ruby red heels clicked against the tiled floor.

I glanced over my shoulder and watched as Ringo disappeared from my sights, my heart still racing ever so slightly. Shaking my head some to clear my thoughts, I hurried down the hallway and out the front doors to Saotome Academy, the wind outside chilled and especially unforgiving at this time of morning. Even with Reiji's heavy coat, I'm still cold and that says something since Reiji always buys the thickest and warmth retaining coats he can find.

With my shoes clicking against the concrete pavement, I made my way down to the large front gates of this academy and slipped past them, not particularly keen on getting caught sneaking off the academy grounds at seven in the morning. Thankfully the classic pale green Volkswagon was parked on the street just outside the large gates, making it easy for me to rush into the warmth of Reiji's beloved classic car and not get spotted by any of the security guards that normally patrol the perimeter.

"Is that my coat?" That's the first thing Reiji asked me as I oh-so-elegantly barrelled into the passenger seat of his car, being sure to place my laptop down onto my lap as carefully as I could so I wouldn't take any chances of damaging it.

I glanced down at the coat I'm wearing as if just realizing who it's true owner is. "Oh yeah, I might have raided your closet last time I was at home and found this gem just hiding behind all of your shirts."

The brunette beside me laughed as he leaned over and tugged on the collar of it some to readjust it ever so slightly. "It's way too big for you." He said with a laugh. "But you look adorable in it."

Feeling an unfamiliar warmth beginning to tinge my cheeks, I rolled my eyes at him. "Flirting this early in the morning already Rei-chan? Really? Do you have any shame?"

"Like I said," Reiji started as he switched gears and began driving down the street after making sure I had buckled up, "this isn't flirting. You haven't seen anything yet my special girl. Just you wait until you're a little older, then you'll get a real treat."

"You're crazy." I mused.

"Crazy for you."

"Oh my gosh- stop."

The handsome brunette laughed as he took us onto the high way. "I've missed you ___. It's been too long since we last saw each other!" He said dramatically.

I looked to Reiji with a deadpanned expression. "You saw me not even three weeks ago."

"Two and a half weeks too long." He cooed.

Rolling my eyes again, I shifted my attention outside my window, watching as the cities large buildings flew past while the sun was just beginning to fully rise up into the sky now. Bits of sunlight poured down from between the thick white clouds, casting a beautiful warm pink hue over the city. "So, has Shining confirmed your band as a real group now or are there still more meetings to be held before your quartet is official?" I asked.

Reiji hummed as he thought of an answer. "Well, the four of us are confirmed to be the only four members in our group. Now we're just meeting to get all the nitty gritty little things taken care of here and there."

"Is there a name for your band yet?"

"Kotobuki Reiji and his Three Backup Singers?"

I laughed at that. "From everything I heard yesterday on the phone, it sounds like they're a trio and you're the backup singer Rei-chan."

"Your words hurt ___!" Reiji said while dramatically placing a hand over his heart, being sure to keep his attention fixated on the road. "We don't have a name just yet, but I proposed Quartet Night yesterday during our meeting with Shining and AI liked it so we might end up going with that for the time being."

"Quartet Night," I repeated, "sounds cool."

"You like it? I'm glad." The brunette said with a bright smile.

Laughing, I looked to him as we exited the highway and began navigating through the cities streets once again. "And what if I had said Quartet Night was a horrible name? Hm? What then?" I teased.

Reiji looked to me with his smile never faltering. "I'd have changed my suggestion in a heart beat to anything you'd want us to be called."

"You so would have not."

"Don't underestimate my love for you."

Scoffing, I turned away from this flirtatious idol. "Where are we meeting up with the other members anyways?"

Reiji brought the car to a stop at a red light, looking out his window as well now while we wait for the light to change to green. "AIAI found this nice restaurant that serves a little bit of everything and is open from early morning till an hour or two after midnight so we decided to meet there for our meetings from now on. No one has to fight for their favorite foods since this place has everything we like."

"That's good." I responded. "Something tells me you four have very different tastes."

The brunette beside me shrugged as the light changed green and he stepped lightly on the gas. "RanRan and I eat a lot of the same things. Camyu sometimes eats real food, though it's mainly just sweets and desserts more than half the time so I've only ever seen him eat a sandwich once. And then there's AIAI who I rarely see ever eat. I guess he's just not a food person yet since he's so young and all."

I glanced to Reiji, buildings passing us by in a flurry of colors as more store signs light up. "How old is he?"

"AIAI? He's fifteen. Camyu is twenty, RanRan is twenty-two, and I'm the oldest at twenty-five." He answered easily.

"Wow, you're old."

"And you're still a kid."

"I'd rather be a kid than an old man." I said with a loud laugh, only causing Reiji to pout as he looked to me for just a fraction of a second before looking back to the road. "I'm kidding! You're not an old man, yet."

"Yet." Reiji repeated as he shook his head. "I'm going to make fun of you when you turn twenty-five and then call you old from that day forward and we'll see how you like it."

Giggling, I looked back out my window. "At least you're handsome at twenty-five. I'm going to look like i'm fourty by the time I'm twenty-five if I keep working as hard as I am now."

With a lighthearted chuckled, Reiji reached over and placed a hand over my own that's currently resting on my laptop. "You'll always be a beautiful woman in my eyes even if you are old."

"That sounds like a backhanded compliment."

"You're one to talk."

We both laughed at that, the rest of the drive spent with light banter being exchanged between the two of us. Gosh, I've missed this. I've missed him. Reiji's just been so busy lately with work and after that hospital scare about a month ago now, I don't know. I guess I just don't want to lose him like I'm losing Ren...

Reiji squeezed my hand lightly just as he pulled up to the front parking spots outside the small and cozy looking restaurant. "Something on your mind, kiddo?" He asked, obviously sensing my sudden disheartened state.

Offering him as reassuring a smile as I could muster, I shook my head. "Nothing really, just a little nervous to be meeting professionals." I said, not really an excuse considering I am nervous to be here and really doing this.

"You'll do just fine! I'm here so you don't need to worry about anything, okay?" The handsome brunette said as he leaned down and placed a soft kiss to my forehead. "Now c'mon, Camyu has been dying to see you after I told him you saw him play live."

Stepping out of the car and trying to suppress the blush threatening to work it's way up onto my cheeks, I looked to Reiji with slightly widened eyes. "Really? He wants to see me? I thought Ringo and Ryuuya said he's mean?"

Laughing, Reiji held the door to the restaurant open for me as we stepped inside. "Camyu isn't exactly the nicest, but he isn't the wicked warlock of the west either." The brunette mused before leading me to the furthest corner of this small restaurant, a group of three men all sitting at a booth table easily capable of holding six to eight people.

My eyes instantly locked on to the teal haired idol typing away on his own laptop. That looks exactly like Aine from the photo mom has in her living room, the one we looked at while cleaning the house together. The only notable difference between Aine and this idol is their hairstyles. That's it. I know Ringo said this Mikaze AI idol had a striking resemblance to Aine, but this is just insane. How has Reiji not talked to anyone about this?

And the other two idols sitting there are familiar as well, though one for a reason I wasn't expecting. The platinum blonde is definitely the cellist I saw play live when I was younger, the handsome foreigner who inspired me to compose classical pieces. And the rocker with the spikey silver hair sitting beside him used to be in a rock band ages ago. Otoya and I saw them live a number of times before they disbanded actually, the idol sitting here in particular inspiring Otoya to practice playing his guitar even harder so he could one day play with the same amount of passion as this silverette had.

Reiji's right, this world truly is small.

"Well don't just stand there." The brunette said with a lighthearted laugh as he gently nudged on my back so that I'd continue walking. "They don't bite now go sit so we can all order some breakfast."

Trying to will any and all of my nerves away, I walked beside Reiji towards the table of three idols. None of them were paying us much mind until I was no more than a couple feet away from them now, AI being the first to look up from his laptop, those light teal eyes of his focusing on me instantly. "I was beginning to think you crashed the car at some point, Reiji."

"You took your time in getting here, Kotobuki." The platinum blonde tacked on.

The silverette rolled his eyes. "Just sit down already so we can order. I'm starving."

Reiji smiled as he motioned for me to sit beside AI, the brunette sitting on the end of the booth seat with me trapped between him and the Aine lookalike. "Traffic was heavy this morning and someone came out of the dorms half an hour late."

My eyes widened some as I looked to Reiji. "In my defense, I had to feed a cat, talk to my roommates, and not let Ringo steal me off back to the teacher's lounge so consider it a miracle I came out at all." I mused even though I one-thousand percent did not feed Kuppuru this morning since we feed him before we go to bed.

The platinum blonde sitting across from myself looked to me with a blank expression, the book resting on the tables surface temporarily forgotten. "Kotobuki said you saw me play." He said simply.

"I did, but it was years ago." I responded with a small laugh. "You were amazing. I didn't know the cello could be played like that until you came up on stage and blew the entire crowd away."

With a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, the foreign idol scoffed. "As a renowned cellist, that was the only plausible outcome to my performance." Camus said arrogantly as a waitress came by to collect our orders and menus, Reiji ordering for myself since I obviously hadn't looked at the menu even once. "Though it's surprising to hear you speak in person."

"Yeah, you're not an idiot like the one sitting next to you," Ranmaru said as he looked from Reiji to me. "How are you related to him?"

Reiji threw an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to his side, his cologne instantly filling the air around us and making my head spin some. "Great genes must run in the family.~" He sang.

"Kotobuki ___ was adopted into the Kotobuki family not too long ago." AI spoke up, the other two Quartet Night members looking to him for the information Reiji clearly isn't going to be giving. "The two of them aren't blood related meaning ___ isn't like Reiji."

Camus exhaled a small sigh of relief. "That's reassuring to hear. I was almost worried I'd have to humor a dim-witted girl for the better half of my morning."

"I would walk out if there were two Reiji's." Ranmaru said blandly, the five of us now waiting for our food to come. "I can only handle so much stupidity."

"From the data I've collected, she appears to be very dependable, hardworking and produces compositions most professional composers can't create. She's essentially the opposite of Reiji." The teal haired idol sitting beside me said as he continued to type away on his laptop doing god knows what.

I glanced between these three idols while I absentmindedly leaned into Reiji's side, his arm still wrapped protectively around my shoulders. "Reiji works very hard and is just as dependable as I am so don't go writing him off just yet you three."

Reiji chuckled as he forced me impossibly closer to his side for a moment in a makeshift hug of sorts. "See guys, I'm hardworking and dependable!"

"Shut up." AI said monotonously.

"I'll believe you when I see what you've said put into action," Camus responded coldly.

"You, dependable and hardworking? Don't make me laugh." Ranmaru scoffed.

Before I could stop myself, I asked the first question that popped into my mind. "You all are so mean. How are you four supposed to create a quartet when all you do is bash one another?"

"We're professionals." The young idol beside myself spoke up without hesitation. "As professionals, we can work together without having to like each other."

Reiji offered me a reassuring smile. "Most bands that you see aren't really friends my special girl. They're more or less work acquaintances at best. You know how long it takes for relationships to develop, they don't happen overnight."

Flicking my eyes between these four idols before looking down to my laptop that rests on my lap, I sighed. The behavior of these four "professionals" is just like how Tokiya and Syo were treating Ren yesterday during school when our orange haired friend decided to skip class again. I don't get it at all. These four are supposed to create a band, but how can they do that when they don't get along in the least bit? No unity is going to reflect in their songs and that's going to affect their fanbase instantly... I wonder if a band this divided will ever truly become close like what I'm hoping my idols back at school will become..?

"___," AI said my name, snapping me from my thoughts, "could you show me the program you use to compose? I'm curious how you create your compositions using such an outdated piece of technology."

Glancing to him for a moment, I went ahead and placed my laptop onto the large table and booted it up beside his own. "My laptop isn't that old."

"This model in particular was made over a decade ago."

"Okay, it's a little old."

"I could always buy you a better laptop. All you have to do is ask your big brother and it's yours!" Reiji said with a bright smile. "I'll give you anything you ask for because you're my special girl.~"

Ranmaru visibly cringed at the brunettes usual flirtatious antics.

Giggling, I nudged Reiji's arm off from my shoulders and opened up my composing program. "This laptop works just fine for me and besides, I'd never want to get rid of this."

Camus looked up from his book with ice-cold light blue eyes locking onto me. "And why would you not upgrade when that archaic piece of technology is outdated and simply cannot keep up with the newer models?"

I typed in my password and then waited for a random song to load into the program so that I could show AI just how I compose on here. "Well, this laptop is very special to me and I don't want to upgrade if I don't have to. Maybe someday I'll retire her, but for right now, I'll keep using this laptop for my composing."

The four idols glanced between my laptop and I for a moment before going back to whatever it was they were doing before this little side conversation branched off. Thankfully no one asked about why this laptop is so special to me. It's not a hard question to answer, but I'd rather not bring up the whole "I'm-an-orphan-and-my-mother-gave-me-this-laptop-before-she-died" story this early into me meeting them if I don't have to.

With me beloved laptop in front of me, I showed AI Masato's song while explaining to him just how I can compose using an old computer program rather than the traditional writing music with a piano almost all composers still use today. Breakfast flew by quickly as well after the initial talk with these four idols had died down. Camus had read nearly the entire time while Ranmaru watched videos on his phone and ignored everyone. Reiji listened to my conversation with AI but stayed quiet as he occasionally placed a hand lightly on my thigh and squeezed, nearly sending my heart into racing so fast I thought I'd die a few times over. And AI talked with me the most by far about everything technology related, the two of us bonding over our shared preference of using our laptops when compared to using anything else.

All in all, this morning was a very interesting one to say the least.

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I love how realistically nothing all that major happened in this chapter other than "oh look QN exists now" and yet this chapter came out to be nearly 5K words long- a whole flippadoodles 1K more than my average chapter length what even is happening lmao

Part of me thinks I made QN a little too cold towards each other and Reiji considering I'm eventually going to have to somehow write them into being a close knit group come later on and all, but eh, cold RanRan and Camyu is fun to write for and also lowkey flirty and touchy Reiji nearly had me dying. That man is dangerous istg if anyone in utapri was going to kill me it would 1000% either be him or Camyu smh

Question of the Chapter: Who are you hoping for your protagonist to grow closest to among the QN members (after Reiji that is I mean they are siblings lol), or would you like her to always be closest to Reiji? I don't know why I'm like this but I really want this protagonist to get closer to AIAI or Camyu or even RanRan than she is with Rei-chan just because it'll be bittersweet when he sees her getting closer to his friends lmao I'm evil I know sorry

I still don't know how I nearly wrote 5K words centered almost entirely around QN when they're not even really apart of the story yet holy hell how did I do that??? Also, we've hit chapter twenty!!! Tbh I was thinking by chapter thirty I'd have the boys graduate from Saotome and then really introduce QN with the whole Master Course intro and have them build up a rivalry a bit before the Triple S concert is announced- but heh, looks like all that isn't going to be happening until way after chapter thirty :'))) this fic is seriously going to be so long lmao I hope you're all ready to read right up to the very end xD

I love each and every last one of you lovely cuties and thanks so much for taking the time to read this chapter <3

~ ｋａｔ ♡