Doki Doki Music Club ✓ [DDLC x QN crossover x Reader] [INTERACTIVE FANFICTION]

Day 4 - Reiji's weird behavior and even more festival plans

"Awe, man..." Ai sighed when he stepped into the clubroom. "I'm the last one here again..."
"Don't worry, I just got here too." I waved my hand.
"Were you practicing piano again?" Camus looked at Ai.
"Yeah..." he chuckled awkwardly.
"You must have a lot of determination." the blonde smiled. "Starting this club, and now learning piano..."
"Well, I wouldn't call it determination... But, passion I guess. Remember that too that the club wouldn't be here if it wasn't for all of you." he smiled. "And I'm really glad you are all helping out with the festival, too."
"Yes, I'm so pumped for the festival!" Ranmaru grinned widely. "It's gonna rock!"
"Eh?" Ai blinked at him. "Weren't you complaining about it just yesterday?"
"Well... yeah. But I'm not talking about our part of the festival. But I mean... it's a whole day of school where you don't have to study and get to eat all kinds of food!"
"You sound like Reiji all of a sudden..." I muttered.
"Ai! Do they usually have fried squid?" Ranmaru looked at the tealette with a smirk.
"Squid...?" he tilted his head. "That's a pretty specific thing to look forward to..."
"Oh come on." he crossed his arms. "Are you saying you don't like squid? You of all people?"
"Eh? I didn't say I don't like it... Besides, what do you mean by that?"
"Because!" he grinned. "It's right in your name! Ai M- IKA- ze!"
"... What?" he narrowed his eyes, sweatdropping. "That's not how you say my name. At all. Besides, that joke makes no sense in translation."
"....?"
"... Ah, never mind that." he shook his head. "Let's just focus on our event for now..."
"Fine, fine." Ranmaru chuckled. "Your reactions aren't as funny as Camus' or Reiji's, anyway."
"Excuse me...?" Camus raised an eyebrow.
"... Where's Reiji anyway?" I asked, but cut myself off. "Ah, there you are."
Reiji was sitting by a desk in the corner of the room, staring into nothingness. I walked over to him.
"Hey, Reiji..." I waved my hand in front of his face.
"Hah--?" he jumped.
"You're spacing out again." I sighed.
"A... Ah... Haha... sorry... don't mind me. You can... go talk to everyone else." he smiled wryly.
"Huh...?" I blinked. "Is everything okay?"
"O-Of course!!" he jabbered. "Why wouldn't it be...?"
"It just feels like you're a little off..." I muttered, looking at him worried. "Sorry for assuming things..."
"Jeez... you worry way too much about me." he sighed, then looked at me with a clearly forced, bright smile. "I'm fine, see? Don't let me distract you from having fun with everyone."
"Well... Alright, I guess... If you say so..." I mumbled, sending him a worried look one last time before slowly turning back to everyone else. But their conversation already moved on, with everyone back on their usual activities. Maybe I should ask Ai if he noticed anything about Reiji recently... They've been preparing for the festival, so they must've spent a lot of time together. I shyly approached Ai, who was shuffling through some papers by his desk.
"Ah, [F/N]. What's up?" he looked up at me.
"Hey, uh... This might sound a bit strange, but..." I muttered. "Have you noticed anything up with Reiji recently...?"
"Anything up with him...?" he tilted his head. "In what way?"
"Maybe I'm just thinking about it too much, but... he seems a little down today...." I looked at Reiji in the corner.
"You think so?" Ai blinked at me. "I can't say I've noticed anything about him..." he mumbled, looking over at the brunette too. "Maybe there's something on his mind. But I'm surprised you're the one asking me and not the other way around. You certainly know him a lot better than I do..."
"Yeah... but I've never seen him like this." I frowned. "He always talks to me about the things that bother him. But now...... Sorry, I know it's not your problem." I sighed, looking away. "I just wanted to ask, but I'll drop it now..."
"No, no..." he shook his head. "It's important to me too. I mean... he's my friend..." he smiled gently. "And I also care about the well-being of club members. Maybe I'll try talking to him..." he hummed.
"Eh? Are you sure...?" I frowned. "He seemed like he wanted to be left alone..."
"Are you sure? Maybe he just has trouble bringing it up with the person of interest..."
"... Person of...? What do you mean?" I furrowed my eyebrows.
"I mean that maybe the thing on his mind is you, [F/N]."
"Me...?" I blinked. "How the heck would you come to that conclusion?"
"Well... I probably shouldn't say too much." he smiled. "But... Reiji talks about you more than anything else."
"E-Eh...?"
"He's been so much happier ever since you joined the club..." he chuckled. "It's like and extra sparkle was turned on inside him."
"What..??" I furrowed my eyebrows. "No way... Reiji's just... always like that. He's always been full of sunshine... So it's not any different now than it always has been."
Ai chuckled. "You are quite funny, [F/N]. Haven't you thought about it... that maybe the reason because you always see him so cheerful... is because that's just how he is around you?"
"..."
"Ah... I said too much." he muttered. "I'm sorry... well, what do I know? I didn't mean to jump to conclusions... so just forget what I said. I'll try to talk to him, so just try not to think too much about that for now."
"A... Alright..." I slowly nodded.
Ai smiled at me meaningfully. I know that he told me to forget about it... But I know that I won't be able to get his words out of my head. Ai stood up from his desk and walked over to where Reiji was sitting. I watched him kneel down next to Reiji and gently talk to him. But he was talking so quietly that I couldn't hear him. I sighed and sat down. I know that Reiji told me not to worry about him and hang out with everyone else... But that's impossible if he's being like this. How much do I care about him exactly, if I'm letting this bother me so much...? Now it feels like that I'm the one being weird... But there's nothing I can do besides waiting for Ai.