Async (Ryuichi Sakamoto x Reader)

Present Day : The Beginning

Notes!
(p/m) : preferred major
(f/c) : fav color
(f/s/t) : fav song title

~Third-person P.O.V~
"Your assignment is to choose a song or a piece and make your own instrumental cover, remix or a mashup. Pick a partner or do it individually. The deadline will be next week and I wish you luck." The class stood up and bowed as a thank you for the professor before leaving the class. That was the last assignment for the day for (y/n).

After graduating in (p/m), (y/n) decided to pursue in music major as one of her passion. She decided to go to Japan and successfully entered the University of Music and Fine Arts in Tokyo. (y/n) was accepted in the music major after submitting her entry video, a cover from one of the soundtracks of (f/movie). She had been practicing the piece for few months and it finally paid off when she received an e-mail of acceptance from the university. Now she's in the fifth semester.

~Your P.O.V~
"(y/n)! do you want to make the assignment together?" I turned to the voice and it was Maya. "Sure! We can combine our ideas in the piece." I accepted. "Do you have any songs to pick yet?" asked Maya. "I don't know yet... I haven't thought about it. How about you?". "You know that I will pick a classic piano." Maya winked and I giggled. "Of course you do. Have you ever tried modern songs?"

"If you can recommend me a good one then I'll give it a try. If you can't then I'll give you my secret weapon." I sarcastically asked if it's a challenge and I can see that Maya was confident. "Alright. Challenge accepted!" we shook hands to seal the deal. "When will we start?". "I'll pick you up and we can work on it in my place." Maya suggested and I agreed. "I'll come at 6 then. You better prepare that song, alright?". "I'll give my best shot!" I replied and we bid goodbye.

I stopped by the cafeteria to get lunch and walked back to my apartment. Even though my uncle gives me monthly allowance, I made some extra earnings by playing gigs at some nights. I played in a small band and my main instrument is the keyboard and bass for substitute. We don't really have an official name but some call us Rooks. I don't understand why they call us that but we didn't mind. Ryouma said the name is an irony for us. He always have funny conclusions when it's about the band.

I did my chores and took a nice shower. At first I thought living in a completely different place would be hard. In terms of adapting was pretty hard especially with disciplinaries but I got used to it. It makes me feel more productive. The language was pretty hard too and I had to learn Japanese for a year first before going to college. Turns out my classmates there some goes to the same university as I am.

I opened my laptop and start searching good songs for Maya's challenge. I shuffled through my music library and could only found few that's as close to Maya's taste. I did prepare backups with some of my favorites if she isn't satisfied yet. I spent the next minutes creating the playlist and look up songs for the assignment. "There's just so many good ones! I can't choose!" I let out my frustration.

I checked the clock and it's 5pm. I washed my face and brushed my teeth then put on a (f/c) long sleeved tee with jeans. I packed my laptop with its other small equipment and wait for Maya to come. I texted her to ask where she is and she replied she almost arrived. I decided to wait outside. I locked the door and walked until I exited the lobby. After I got our, Maya arrived.

"(y/n)! I was going to your door." Said Maya. "I don't want to trouble you going upstairs.". "Well then, let's go!" said Maya excitedly and we went to her place. She lives nearby so we walked all the way. We arrived and she opened the door, "I'm home!" she exclaimed out loud to the empty room. I knocked the door to announce myself. "Come in! don't be shy..." she invited and asked me to take a seat.

I sat down and asked, "Where should I put my laptop?". "Just put it on the table. What would you like to drink?" asked Maya while walking to the kitchen. "Anything you have is fine." I answered and I set up my laptop. Maya then came back with two glass and a juice carton. "You brought yours?" Maya put down the glasses and poured the juice. "I brought it just in case for comparison." She told me to wait while she gets hers and offered me the drink.

Maya came back with her laptop and put it down next to mine. She sat down and looked at me, "I hope you bring your best choices..." Maya smirked. "I have the playlist right here." I lent her my earphones and plug it to my laptop and pressed play. She put on a serious face while listening. Even though it was a joke but it made me a bit anxious. I glanced over my screen and it was on the last song.

She took off the earphones and took a "professional" inhale with the hand. "Did it matched your preferences?" I "professionally" asked. "It's good. I might look into the artist sometime..." Maya casually answered, much to my surprise. "Alright! Let's try with (f/s/t)!" I was more surprised with Maya's idea. "I noticed that you occasionally hum to the tune so I thought it would be a good idea." She explained and I smiled in relieve.

After experimenting with remixes and mashups, we decided to make our own version of the song's instrumental cover. My idea was to mix it with other sounds and/or melody while Maya kept reminding me to not straying from the original. For the first hour, we paused our work for dinner. We decided to order take outs because we want to finish it as fast as we can.

While we wait for our food to come, we continue our work again. After arranging the base beats, we try to fit in the guitars first. Our work was stopped when we heard a knock on the door. Maya answered the door and paid after taking the food. "Thank you!" Maya thanked the delivery guy and put the food on the table. "Dinner's ready!" we grabbed our food and ate, "Thanks for the food!"

We enjoyed our dinner while listening to the playlist I made on speaker and shared our opinions about the songs. We finished our dinner and when I checked the clock, it was getting late. "Oh man... when did the time fly?". "We can continue it tomorrow between classes or just like tonight if you like." Maya suggested. "why can't we do it spend the whole Saturday to finish it?" I asked. "There will be a concert at Saturday and most of our classmates are excited for it."

"Concert?" I was confused. Maya recommended me one of the nation's musician to change the topic. "Ryuichi Sakamoto?". "Try to listen to one of his famous piece or try to watch the movie, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence." Maya suggested. "Why?". "Well you gave me yours so it's my turn to give mine." Maya explained. "I thought you said it was a challenge...". "Mmm... just a bit." She cheekily smiled.

"Fine... but it will be a draw if I like the song too." She snapped her finger and I laughed it off. I turned off my laptop and put it in back to my bag then went to the door. "Thanks for tonight. Hope we can finish it early.". "Me too! I'm excited for the show." I was slightly confused at the last part and I shrugged it. We bid goodbye and I walked back to my place.

"I'm home." I exclaimed after opening the door and locked it back. I changed to my pajamas and turned back on my laptop. I plugged in the charger and searched for the movie Maya told me. I found the website and streamed the movie. The first half was a bit weird for me but for some reason I kept watching it until the end.

A.N : Hey, guys! I decided to publish the first chapter now because I feel that my current work is almost finish and I'm really excited to show you guys my new work. I hope I can give you guys more info and I'll do my best to make it as interesting as possible! Gotta need a lot of research for this one... Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter and I'll see you in the next one! RD out!! Boi!!!