“I can’t believe Tomohisa got here early!” Meisa commented as she walked over to Maki’s desk while Tomohisa was right at the next one drinking his coffee.

“I’m here you know.” Tomohisa pointed out with a small scowl.

Meisa shrugged. “Pfft, like I care.” Then she turned back to Maki. “So you promised to be his alarm clock?”

“Nah, I just went on with the usual morning and when I went out of my apartment, he was there.” Maki informed as she fixed some music sheets in front of her while gulping from her iced coffee. She and Tomohisa would have to be starting with the song they needed to compose later.

“Hi guys…” Erika suddenly joined them. She didn’t wait for an answer before she moved forward slightly and whispered so the others around could hear what she was saying. “Did you guys hear? There’s a new instructor that Yuichi hired.”

“Another new instructor?” Meisa asked, then turned to Maki.

“Hey I’m not new!” Maki reasoned out. True, she was a pioneer it’s just that she chose to work as a pianist at a hotel lounge in London. She was depressed when her mom died and chose to have a change of scenery. After that she was all alone since her dad had left them when she was just 10. But that was 15 years ago so let the past be the past.

“Apparently a new guitar instructor.” Erika continued with her news from the rumor mill.

By this statement, the three girls turned to Tomohisa who was still busy with his coffee. The man shrugged.

“I don’t know anything about that. You know Yuichi, he didn’t even tell us Maki was going to come back.”

“Yeah…”

“True…”

“So right…”

The girls all simultaneously shrugged. Meisa and Erika went back to their respective seats, ready to start with their morning.

“Anyways Maki, meet me at studio 4 later.” Tomohisa informed just as Jin approached him and slapped him hard on the back. He burst out with a large cough, the coffee almost spilling on his desk.

“What the heck Jin! Can’t you see I was drinking coffee?” Tomohisa said irritably.

Jin was used to this and continued with what he was going to say. “Do you have any idea who the new instructor is?”

“No…”

“It’s Ryo…”

Maki watched the conversation between the two men and wondering, who the heck was Ryo?

“He was a friend of ours in music camp.” Jin answered.

Oh, did she say that out loud? “Music camp? You guys went to music camp?”

“Yeah, I was 20 at that time.” Tomohisa replied. “That was 8 years ago.” He chuckled wistfully, remembering some so called happy times.

“Okay everyone!” They turned their heads when Yuichi stepped up to the front of the faculty room and faced them all with a calm face. Standing next to him was a man dressed in a simple button up shirt. “We have a new instructor joining us today. He graduated from Tokyo College of Music, please welcome Nishikido Ryo.”

They clapped their hands in warm greeting as Ryo stepped up and bowed his head. “Nishikido Ryo desu… yoroshiku onegaishimasu.”

Maki took her time to look at the man. He had this aura about him. Sure he was handsome, in that intense sort of way. She wondered if he ever smiled though, he looked grim. Almost everyone went on to talk to Ryo. First in line were Tomohisa and Jin of course as they conversed with him. To avoid the “traffic” Maki chose to stay at her desk and began planning the music she would be composing with Tomohisa.

The she realized she had to go to the bathroom. That iced coffee was some diuretic! No one noticed her as she went out; all were still too busy talking to Ryo.

If you weren’t familiar with the academy you’d immediately get lost. That’s why when the first day of school came; the professors gave their students tours and user-friendly maps. But they’d get used to it in a few weeks. The closest restroom to the faculty was at the end of the corridor and to the left. She made her way with quiet steps and opened the bathroom door before entering a cubicle.

After answering nature’s call she exited and almost had a heart attack when she saw Keiko. “Oh!”

“Oh!”

 They looked at each other then chuckled at their silliness.

“I-I didn’t hear you come in.” Keiko said.

Maki smiled. “I always had stealthy feet.”

Keiko gave the chuckle back before starting with washing her hands. Maki did the same, smiling at the woman beside her. She got a good look at Keiko, taking the opportunity. Keiko was very different from her. They had the same height but Keiko’s face was sharper the latter’s eyes were an almond shape different from hers which was way more rounded.

She seemed like a nice girl. What the heck was stopping Tomohisa from dating her? She asked herself. But she had no business in the matter and didn’t plan to have one and so continued washing her hands. She was about almost done when Keiko turned to her and asked;

“D-do you like Tomohisa?”

Maki almost dropped the bar of soap. When she looked at Keiko, the woman shook her head as if waking herself up.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that.” She muttered. “But, it’s out of the bag now. So, do you like him Maki-san?”

Maki opened but nothing came out. What was she supposed to say to that? Did she? The obvious answer was no! They’d kill each other too much! But was that true? “I-iie… he’s just my co-worker…”

In relief, Keiko nodded her head then bashfully smiled at Maki. “I’m sorry, I was just really curious, you two just seemed so close…”

Her and Tomohisa? Close? “I think you need to get your eyes checked Keiko-san.” She laughed softly. “We’re just friends, and half the time we’d like to kill each other.”

Keiko nodded slowly at that but it seemed she wasn’t convinced. With her head held high, she smiled back at Maki. “Jaa, thanks for that. I look forward to working with you Maki-san.” She smiled.

Keiko didn’t even wait for her and stepped out of the bathroom. She still looked embarrassed at her question but Maki wasn’t. Not really. How could Keiko think that she liked Tomohisa? Did it show? Not that it was true. Nope. No it was not. She just hoped Keiko wasn’t feeling threatened by her. Exiting the bathroom, she tried getting these things out of her systems. When she returned to the faculty, only a few other people were there, probably everyone else was out practicing and doing whatever things not to be done inside the faculty room. The only other person she could talk to there was Kazuya. The man was busy creating something in his laptop.

She approached him and tapped him on the shoulder. “Anou, Kazu?”

“Oh hey Maki!” Kazuya’s voice stretched out as he looked at her. “What is it?”

Normally Maki would do this with Meisa or Erika but the two were nowhere to be found and she needed to get this out of my system. “Well it’s… Keiko asked me if I liked Tomohisa…” She let the sentence hang but saw that Kazuya was still expectantly looking at her. “Why do you think that is?”

Kazuya’s lips pulled into a small smirk. “Well why do you think Keiko asked you that? I’m guessing Tomohisa already told you that Keiko told him she likes him.”

Maki shrugged. “I don’t know.” Then she laughed slowly. “It’s not like she feels threatened right?”

When Kazuya didn’t answer and only continued smirking at her, she huffed and crossed her arms. “Oh come on, that couldn’t be it, I mean, me and Tomohisa? Who would think that?”

Kazuya heaved his shoulders and let them drop. “Beats me…”

But Maki knew better than that. Kazuya was one of her best friends for pete’s sake. “What are you not telling me Kazu?”

“Nothing!” Kazuya said in a defensive manner then grinned teasingly at her.

Impossible. Maki rolled her eyes. “Fine, thanks anyways Kazu…” She her heel and grabbed the music sheets, exiting the room, she heard Kazuya yell; “Glad to help!”

Her teeth gritted themselves without her knowledge,. She hated doing that but her body did so to get rid of her annoyance. Studio 4 was at the 4^th floor, along with all the other studio rooms but it was at the other end of the building. Holding the music sheets to her chest, Maki approached the elevators and was surprised when it opened to reveal Ryo.

She smiled politely at him but he only nodded his head. He was probably from upstairs and headed to the faculty room. He exited as she entered. She was about to press the small number four on the elevators but Ryo moved and stopped her.

“Uh, I’m sorry…” He said, his hands at the door.

Maki quickly pressed the ‘open’ button. Being hit by the elevators closing doors was not the best feeling. “Hai?”

“Anou, could you point me to where the studio rooms are?” Ryo asked, rather bashfully. He scratched the back of his head, giving off a small sheepish smile. So he could smile after all. “Jin was supposed to bring me there, but he suddenly disappeared with his girlfriend.”

Maki chuckled and nodded her head. “The studios are at the 4^th floor, I’m going there.”

Ryo immediately stepped back into the elevator. “Thank you.”

It closed with a ding as Maki let go from pressing the button. There was only a moment’s silence before she turned to him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to introduce myself to you, Horikita Maki desu.” She held out her hand.

He accepted it and nodded. “Nishikido Ryo.” He was back to just nodding then.

Maybe she could start the conversation. It was long walk to the studios after all. “I’d like to apologize for Jin abandoning you. His girlfriend is my best friend and she pulled him away.”

“Even without the girlfriend, I’d bet Jin is like that.” Ryo grinned.

He had a sense of humor after all. “So Nishikido-san, would you care to tell me why you chose Ue Hodokyou to teach at?”

“Well it’s a great school.” He declared. “Plus, I wanted to get away from playing for singers.”

“That was your work then?”

“I played the guitar for a few singers here in Japan.” Many would be proud to say that but Ryo stated it in a rather bored tone. They got off the elevator and walked to the end of the building.

“What about you Horikita-san?” Ryo asked. “Why choose this school?”

“Maa, I was a pioneer, Yuichi actually invited me to teach here. But I went away for a couple of years, played at piano for hotel lounges in London.” She replied. No use not laying everything out. He’d find out about them anyway.

“Sugoii, you’ve been to London.” Ryo commented. He smiled at that.

Maki actually enjoyed seeing him smile. It was like he was shifting to a different persona. Just a few more steps away and they were at the studios. Studio 4 was at the end, Maki saw Jin talking to Tomohisa inside the booth. She led Ryo inside too, closing the door behind him.

“You’re the worst tour guide ever Jin.” Maki mocked in friendly teasing before gesturing to Ryo.

Jin slapped his forehead as he looked at Ryo who was smirking at him. “Dude I’m so sorry! But you know the girlfriend; can’t satisfy her with one day.”

“Oh please I do not want to hear your life with Mei-tan!” Maki covered her ears as she sat beside Tomohisa who was playing guitar on the couch.

“I never said we did that!” Jin cried in defense.

Maki grimaced. “Still, now you and Ryo may tour around again, Tomohisa and I have some things to do.”

“Oh, if you guys want to do it, you know we have the rest lounge at the second floor. The bed there is so soft, Meisa and I oft--”

Maki threw the couch pillow at Jin. “Out! Now!”

“No need to get frisky--”

“Out Jin!”

“Catch you guys later!” Jin waved to both Tomohisa and Maki, pulling a curious looking Ryo out of the studio rooms.

Now that they were alone, Maki turned to Tomohisa. “And you, couldn’t you have backed me up with Jin?”

“He wouldn’t have stopped anyways.” Tomohisa answered in a dead pan tone. “So, let’s get on with this ne?” He placed the guitar next to Maki then gestured for her to follow him to the piano. They sat together comfortably on the piano stool as Tomohisa started pressing random notes on the piano keys. “What would we have to write about?”

“It’s for the school.” Maki said pensively as if the piano keys would come to life and dance in front of her so they could make the sing for them. “Kind of like, a brand new day, for the kids, you know? Not just the kids, the whole staff too.”

“Mmm…”

Maki grabbed the sheet then started writing words. She wanted to write, about dreams, hope and just having fun. Tomohisa followed through with an upbeat rhythm and it was clear that they were enjoying. Even though there were minor details that they argue about.

“I think we should modulate it.”

“No Tomo, no modulating, it’s already too much of an upbeat song.”

“That’s what’s good about it!” Tomohisa reasoned out.

“No…” Maki knew he wouldn’t win this battle.

“Fine…”

 With a satisfied smirk, Maki went back to the words. They weren’t finished yet. Composing a song wasn’t just like that. Well, If you wanted it to matter that is. They decided to take a break. Tomohisa had thought ahead and had brought them water bottles and meals from the cafeteria.

“I see you got close with Ryo.” Tomohisa said, drinking from the water bottle.

Maki bit her burger, swallowed it then covered as she spoke. “I saw him by the elevators and he was looking for the studios.”

Tomohisa chuckled slowly. “He’s a hard nut to crack, Ryo.”

“At least he smiled at me.”

“He was smiling huh?” Tomohisa repeated her statement, sitting down beside her. “What’d you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Maki cried softly.

“You’re not funny at all Maki.” Tomohisa teased.

Maki scowled at him. She knew she was hell of a lot funnier than other people, not that she needed to prove that to him. “At least Ryo has better charm than you.”

“Total lie Maki.” He replied, resting on the couch. His legs were so long that they bumped knees with each other. Rather than saying anything, Maki kept quiet and acted like a good little girl as she ate her food. At least Tomohisa had gotten her food; plus points even though he was a pain in the . But then she remembered something.

“I saw Keiko at the bathrooms a while ago…”

Tomohisa didn’t answer, he just kept looking at her.

Maki continued. “She was asking me if I liked you…”

That got his attention. “And what did you answer?”

“You’re a friend and co-worker.” she replied. “Just that…”

He was quiet again. Maki couldn’t see his expression because since she was looking at her food and he was sitting beside her. She wasn’t really used to this awkward silence. “It’s not like she should feel threatened about me right?” She chuckled. Pft As if Tomohisa would like her. She turned her head over to him and saw that his expression was serious. Okay what did she do now?

“Tomo, what’s wrong?”

“What if I did like you?” Tomohisa’s voice matched his serious face.

Maki wouldn’t deny that her heart started beating fast. Again… Tomohisa? Liking her? Sh*t why was his face suddenly so close? So close that she could see herself reflected in his brown orbs. Those were some expressive brown orbs.

“Ha ha very funny Tomo… You should eat that so we can finish with the song.” She stood up. The couch was beginning to feel a little small for her liking. She sat at the piano, making sure that Tomohisa didn’t notice she was still looking at him. But she was and he didn’t know. She looked on as Tomohisa brushed a frustrated hand through his hair.

What was that all about?   

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AN: Hello everyone! So I would like to say a few things, you might be wondering why Keiko is almost always the love triangle in my stories, my answer; she's so different from Maki. It'll be fun comparing the two of them :D I don't hate her or anything like that. I actually think sh's beautiful! She and Maki have different beauties and seemingly different personalities that's why I have so much fun writing them XD 

@ shinhw4_girl - thanks! I hope you like the new chapter :D more sweetness will come.

@ Wallfllower - thank you! I hope you like how the stroy is going so far XD ganbarimasu!

@rengganis - I believe the universe ships Yamaki XD in the net chapter we'll find more about Keiko :D I hope you lik this one!

@jumpyamajima - Yuya has a very soecial place in my heart! he's my best friend's ichiban and I grew to love him too :D Yes! Yes! I seriously love that song! and playing it on the piano is so fun to do :D Yamaki sigh <3