Small Steps (Mikaze Ai X Reader)

Project Duality

Blue, clear skies wrapped around the world like a blanket, encasing every speck of the Earth peacefully.

However, in Saotome Academy, it was everything but peaceful.

In the honey-colored hallways, a relatively new, yet talented composer was returning to her dorm. Weaving in and out of crowds, couples, and even teachers, she sighed in frusturation at the wall of people in front of her started to slow down. One hand clutching music sheets, another running through her (h/c) hair, she seemed slightly tired from a hard day's work attending classes.

"I hope I did well in the contest..." She mumbled to herself. (Y/n) stopped in front of the bulletin board, and spotted a large sheet labeled, "COMPOSER CONTEST RESULTS". It didn't take her long before she spotted her name at the top. She laughed and jumped for joy, attracting a few judgemental glances, but (Y/n) could barely believe her eyes.

"I get to compose for a big group!!" She squealed to herself, giddy. Shortly, she glanced up and saw a familiar figure.

"Oh! Hello Ringo!" she estatically greeted her teacher, ready to spill the news.

"(Y/n)! There you are!" Ringo perked up and gently pulled her aside. "I was wondering where you were! Saotome said he wanted to see you." he smiled sweetly, with his pink locks swinging behind him. Before any of them could speak another word, a tall man grabbed (Y/n)'s wrist, and dashed away. Ringo tentatively waveda pale hand, surprised.

"Good luck (Y/n)!"

Left and right, (Y/n) was being pulled around by the strong grip of the headmaster himself, who was darting around shocked students and small obstacles.

"(Y/n)! You have no idea how much we need your music in this world! In fact, I have the perfect voices for you!!" Saotome bellowed, laughing with his head thrown back.

"Huh?" she managed to speak past her initial shock, confused. "We barely discussed this!"

"Music knows no bounds! You have the talent and skill to compose for one of our most unique groups!" He flashed a wide grin, suddenly skidding to a stop in front of two gold-trimmed double doors.

(Y/n) caught her breath, world seemingly spinning from how dizzy she was.

"Meet QUARTET NIGHT!"

The doors flew open, revealing four men standing around the room, singing a hypnotizing song. The four suddenly stopped and stared at the open door. (Y/n) gave the men a nervous wave and a hesitant smile before turning to speak to Saotome, except, nobody was there. Before any of them knew it, a booming voice spoke from above.

"Gentlemen..."

The lights dimmed, and a single spotlight clicked onto the headmaster upside-down on the ceiling; his sunglasses glinted, teasing the ones below.

"MEET YOUR NEW COMPOSER! (Y/N) (L/N)!!!"

The spotlights zipped around and abruptly stopped, shining on (Y/n)'s figure. She froze, unsure what to do. The lights slowly returned back to normal, and all eyes were on her. One of the men started walking toward her, but the others remained motionless.

With a perfect curl that fell in-between his kind grey eyes, energetic aura, and bright smile, the brunette man laughed and approached (Y/n), radiating happiness. He was wearing a simple, yet classy shirt along with some white pants. There was an extra bit of bounce in his step, and approached with open arms.

"Hello! We are Quartet Night!" He threw out his arms, gesturing at the other interesting members.

"Let me introduce myself first! My name is Kotobuki Reiji. Nice to meet you!" he held out his hand, which (Y/n) gladly took.

"Nice to meet you too!" She gave him a small grin before turning to the others.

"C'mon guys! Let's introduce ourselves!" Reiji chimed, somehow bringing all the members closer.

A man with spiked, silver hair grumbled, and rose from the couch, yawning. His sharp, piercing heterochromatic eyes glared down at her, as he walked closer without care, confidence residing in every step. Everything from his ripped jeans, torn band tee, spiked leather jacket, jet-black fingerless gloves, and sparkling dog tags screamed "rocker". He thrust out his hand in front of their new composer, metal bands and braclets jingling.

"The name's Ranmaru Kurosaki." He grunted. "Honestly... Saotome hasn't even told us anything about it. Pisses me off sometimes."

(Y/n) nodded, agreeing. "Yeah, I can understand." she gave him a small grin," He dragged me here as well. It is very nice to meet you though!" She took his hand. His grip was strong, and a single shake was enough for the both of them.

A man with flowing, long hair bowed, and looked up. He was dressed in formal attire, and his face seemed serious, yet his steps were elegant.

"Greetings. My name is Camus. My family have served the Silk Palace in Permafrost for years, so unfortunately, nobody there has surnames, so I apologize, my lady. It is a pleasure to meet you." He took (Y/n)'s hand with his gloved one and kissed it. Ranmaru rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms. The composer blushed lightly, not used to the action.

"Nice to meet you too." she grinned nervously. Her (e/c) eyes drifted to the last member. Electric blue hair and eyes stared at her, almost as if he was analyzing her every move. He was in a nice blue and white outfit. He calmly walked forward, his pale hand extended.

"Hello. My name is Mikaze Ai." His voice seemed to bear no emotion. "Hopefully, you will write us good songs." He nodded.

Taking his hand, (Y/n) flashed him a small smile. "I won't dissapoint!"

"Now, we will launch project DUALITY!" Saotome belted, appearing from thin air, and spinning in between the members with agility.

"This project will focus on the theme of duality.....Hot and Cold! Light and Dark! Truth and Lies! Love and Hate!" he shouted, striking a dramatic pose. "Express your inner turmoil! How mixed emotions play into relationships! Capture their hearts with your sensitive side!"

The idols and (Y/n) watched in awe as Saotome spinned out of the room.

(Y/n) anxiously laughed and cleared her throat to get the attention of the members.

"W-Well... Shall we get started?"