The Rhythm of my Heart {Bandori X Male Reader}

Chapter 1: Are you looking for a Job?

"Dreamers aren't always delusional, some of mankind's greatest achievements stem from the Dreamworld" - Unknown

It's a warm July afternoon and (Y/N) was sitting in his living room playing video games on his gaming console, it was pretty typical of him to spend his summer afternoons alone since his parents travel around the world around this time of year. (Y/N) was fortunate enough to live a relatively comfortable life since his father is an executive of a technology company and his mother is a casting director for a well known production company. But despite not always being around (Y/N)'s parents are always there if he needs them to be, but being alone for nearly half the year can wear on a person. Soon enough (Y/N) grew bored of playing video games, thankfully he received a text from his childhood friend Saaya Yamabuki.

Saaya: Hey (Y/N), do you want to help out at the bakery today?

(Y/N): That depends, will you pay this time?

Saaya: Maybe I can reward you with a date? ;)

(Y/N): Very funny, it's not cool to play with my emotions like that. But sure, I can help you out

Saaya: Great! I'll see you in an hour! Thanks (Y/N) your the best!!! :)

Saaya Yamabuki is one of (Y/N)'s childhood friends, her family owns Yamabuki Bakery which is very popular with high school students and their chocolate cornets and curry buns are always in high demand. (Y/N) likes to help out at Yamabuki Bakery since Saaya's parents aren't always healthy enough to run it themselves, (Y/N) knows that Saaya has a hard time balancing her schoolwork, running the family bakery, and preforming for a girl band called Poppin' Party. But after a few months he helped her discover the perfect balance and now she can juggle all of her responsibilities relatively stress free. (Y/N) grabbed his phone and checked the train times from Taito to Kita which came out to about 40 minutes, he looked and the clock and nodded as he left his house.

(Y/N) walked towards Ueno Station which is about a 10 minute walk from his house, as he walked through Ameyoko he took in all of the summer vibes of Tokyo. People were enjoying the beautiful summer weather and getting ready for Tanabata or better known as the Star Festival, (Y/N) wondered if Saaya would be able to join him this year. As he waited to cross the street he noticed a Poppin' Party poster stuck in the window of a music shop, he smiled as he saw Saaya along with her band mates Arisa Ichigaya, Rimi Ushigome, Tae Hanazono, and their band leader Kasumi Toyama. It seems like the poster is advertising their new single Straight Through Our Dreams! which seems to be blowing up in the music community lately, but (Y/N) can't help but feel a little jealous of Saaya and her success with Poppin' Party. He always wanted to be part of a band, but male high school bands are few and far between in Tokyo and quite frankly, their hasn't been many opportunities to audition let alone male bands that are recruiting new members. His parents were very supportive of his dreams but they urged him to make secondary plans in case his dreams don't pan out, but (Y/N) is extremely determined if not stubborn to make his dreams come true no matter the cost. He then look one last look at the poster and raised his eyebrow when he saw the logo of the Live House at the corner of the poster, he's heard of Galaxy and Space Live Houses but he's never heard of CiRCLE. He disregarded it and crossed the street into the station, he boarded the north bound train for Kita.

After 40 minutes and ¥480 later, (Y/N) exited Higashi Station and walked towards the shopping district Yamabuki Bakery is located in. As he walked through the shopping district he took note on several other shops, it seems like the meat shop and cafe stand out the most. Upon closure inspection the meat shop is called Kitazawa Butcher and he can see an energetic, orange haired girl peddling croquettes among other products for sale. The other shop has a rather distinct coffee aroma coming from it, the cafe is called Hazawa Coffee and (Y/N) can see a rather cute brown haired girl serving tables inside. He resisted the urge to buy a croquette or a coffee and made his way inside Yamabuki Bakery, but as he entered inside he noticed a pink bear mascot handing out balloons and a grey haired girl staring into the bakery. He just shook his head as he entered the bakery, he was met by the welcoming smile of Saaya Yamabuki.

Saaya: Welcome~ Oh! (Y/N)! Your finally here!

(Y/N): In the flesh! So you said you need my help?

Saaya: Yep! Grab and apron and let's get that bread!

(Y/N): Sure thing boss lady!

Saaya and (Y/N) spent the next 4 hours working the bakery, they took orders and restocked the shelves with fresh bread and pastries. He also met some rather interesting customers, namely Rimi Ushigome who seems to be obsessed with the chocolate cornets sold here and Moca Aoba who claims to be "Yamabuki Bakery's #1 Fan", she even had an ungodly amount of stamps on her bakery stamp card. But other then that (Y/N) and Saaya managed to complete a full days work with all of the bread sold out, (Y/N) cleaned up the store as Saaya counted the money however an eerie feeling of awkwardness crept up on the two teenagers. Saaya has this odd ability to read (Y/N)'s thoughts and she can tell that he's thinking about the band she was in, she was well aware of the dreams (Y/N) and the continuous failure he's had at attaining that dream. This ability coupled with (Y/N)'s stubbornness has led to more then a few arguments but despite their tendency to butt heads occasionally, Saaya and (Y/N) are thick as thieves and are quick to make up after. But wanting to avoid a confrontation Saaya opted to not ask (Y/N) about his thoughts, after about 30 minutes Saaya sighed and nodded which signalled that all of the work was done for the day. (Y/N) nodded and hugged Saaya before walking out of Yamabuki Bakery, but looking at all of that posters of Poppin' Party around the shopping district made (Y/N) feel nothing but discontent.

He felt like a failure compared to his best friend, her dreams came true while his dreams are struggling to make it to reality. He hung his head as he walked aimlessly through the shopping district, he just felt defeated. (Y/N) had a fairly strong inferiority complex which further grew after Saaya's success with Poppin' Party, he helped Saaya become the person she is today but he did little to help himself and while Saaya enjoyed the boons her success, (Y/N) was left to wonder in hindsight if it was right to help others but not help himself. He sat in a nearby park and sighed and he buried his head in his hands, he stayed in that position for 10 minutes until he heard his phone ring. He thought it was from Saaya or his parents but the name of the sender shocked him, he hasn't heard from the sender in years. And the message sent? It made him curious as what it means, he cocked his head as he unlocked his phone and entered the messaging app. He was now left on wether or not to say Yes or No....
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Marina Tsukishima: You looking for a Job?

{Author's Note}

Heyo! This is my first time writing one of these things so I'm not expecting much in terms of reception. But if you guys like where this is going then be sure it let me know! I want to test the waters first before sailing further! Leave a comment or some advice on how to move forward, I welcome the criticism! PEACE!