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Ryoko pouts, crosses her arms, and pouts harder. She throws a glare towards her notebook, pointing it at the crude drawer of her beloved Matsuda.
"....Meanie."
Typically her Matsuda was a "meanie" most of the time, often throwing rude names and scalpels at her. But that was just how he showed affection! She knew he didn't mean to be a "meanie"!
...Right?
Well, that's what she had thought, up until today.
For a long time (she can't remember exactly how long and its never written in her notebook), she had been trying to get Matsuda to take her on a romantic date. Any date! Whether it's a movie in their dorm or a fancy, candlelit dinner, she wasn't picky! But each time, she was rejected with harsh words and walked back to her room with a broken heart, ready to forget about it within the next hour.
But she did not give up! Not when true love was on the line!
Until this time...
She decided to write him a letter containing all her feeling for him. Each word carefully chosen to explain how exactly he make her heart beat, her tummy flutter, and her face blush. It had taken days and countless rough drafts for her to be satisfied, having to cut pages of writing because the letter wouldn't fit in the envelope. Her declaration of love with a simple request for a picnic date together written at the end. The most romantic gesture she could think of! But honestly, Ryoko was still expecting his rejection, and it came...
...a little harsher than normal.
She had left it on his desk, carefully placed so it would not get lost or damaged, but not anywhere that could inconvenience him. She waited patiently for him to return for her appointment, see the letter, and respond with either a hard "no" mixed in with some typical name calling or the "yes" she's been waiting forever to finally hear.
She waits and waits, until he finally barges in, grunting in acknowledgement of her attendance. He slumps at his desk, setting down the stack of folders in his hands. He notices the letter and picks it up. She tries to wait for him to open it, but the flood gates burt.
"It's from me, Matsuda! It's a love confession!"
However, instead of opening it like she had wanted, he just stares at it for a moment and tears it in half.
Ryoko let's out a sharp yelp, almost like she had been the one ripped in half. She just stares at him for a moment as he tosses the peices in the recycling and scrambles to her feet. With tears clouding her eyes, she rushes out of Matsuda's lab and heads straight for her dorm.
She doesn't know what she had done wrong, what boundary she crossed that warranted this strongly of an rejection. Honestly, this had hurt more than all the names he had called her COMBINED!
So now she sits, alone in her room, pouting at her notebook.
...Until her stomach growls and she becomes very aware of how hungry she was.
She had skipped a few meals while writing her letter, to caught up for her normal reminders to work. Excited to finally give it to him, she had forgotten to eat earlier. She pouts at her stomach for being a meanie too.
She drags herself out of her dorm and all the way to the cafeteria, searching for the first thing that would sedate her hunger. She grabs her snack a proceeds to drag herself back to her dorm when something catches her eye.
She looks over at the abandoned table, noticing a forgotten magazine sitting atop the plastic. She goes to ignore it when the bright font draws her attention. Right beside the model's bust was a title.
"3 FULLPROOF WAYS TO MAKE HIM YOURS!"
She looks around hesitantly, carefully picking up the magazine as if it were a trap. She reads the cover page, ignoring all the blatant advertisements.
"Junko Enoshima gives away her secret tricks to getting the boy of your dreams! Read more on page 15."
Ryoko tilts her head, staring at the girl on the cover. She feels the pit of her stomach churning as she stares into her glossy eyes, the reaches over for her snack. She turns to the page indicated by the description, squinting down at the overly decorated margins.
"Yearning for him to notice you? Desperately vying for his attention? Praying to get just one date with him? By using these tricks, here's how you can make him yours! A proven method of how I got my amazing boyfriend, Yasuke!!"
...
"Her boyfriend is named Yasuke too?! Maybe this could make him like me back!"
She scoops up her things and rushes back to her dorm, plan formulating in her head.
1. Dress Up!
She squints her eyes at the text, her head tilted slightly. She looks down at herself, taking in her own appearance.
"I look cute! I can just skip this one!"
But the longer she looks at herself, the more self conscious she feels. She stares at her uniform; plain, white button down, matching dull cardigan and skirt, ugly potato shoes-
No! She does not look cute at all! Is this why Matsuda always calls her ugly!?
"The key to getting a guy all over you is your outfit! You need to show off your assets to get his attention, lucky for you, I have the cutest outfit ideas in the whole universe! See page 3-12 for these killer designs!"
She flips to said pages, staring down at the girl from the cover. She feels her face heat up from the amount of skin she was showing, finding herself staring a little too long. She looks away, finding herself comparing the girl to her own body. She shakes herself out of it, scanning the outfits for something she would wear.
She stumbles across one that is less revealing and more comfortable looking than the rest. She stands up and heads for her closet, hoping she would have something similar enough to the photos.
She ends up being shocked after finding an exact copy of the outfit in her closet, confused why something she would not likely wear being here in the first place. But she just shrugs, stripping herself down and sliding her new outfit on.
She rushes over to her mirror, admiring herself in different clothes.
"So cute!"
She quickly brushes her hair and slides on a pair of heeled boots she found in her closet, leaving her dorm to find her beloved Matsuda!
And it doesn't take long, because as soon as she turns the corner, her face slams into his chest.
"Fuck- Ryoko?" He grabs her by the shoulders, pushing her away but keeping her locked in place. She catches a glimpse of worry, but then he looks her up and down, an eyebrow raising.
She, of course, takes this as a good sign and tries to strike a pose. "Do you like my new clothes?! Super cute, right?!" She grins up at him, but he just narrows his eyes.
"They're just as unflattering as your normal clothes, why are you wearing this?" He scowls down at her outfit, like it had personally offended him. But his words make her heart drop, and she feels herself pouting at his words.
"I've been looking for you. Why did you run out? Do you know how important your appointments are?"
"Oh- I..." A part of her doesn't want to talk about her letter, to bury it deep in the back of her head, to be forgotten like most of the things in her head. But at the same time, she still feels hurt over it.
So she decides to do what she does best, and forget.
"I just wanted to get dressed up for you!"
He pauses for a moment, eyes staring through her, then he grabs the collar of her shirt and begins to walk towards the direction of his lab, dragging her along. "Dumbass, running out to play dress up."
She pouts, "So you still don't like it?" But he just grunts, dragging her a little more forcefully.
Ok, so that didn't work.
2. Make Him Jealous!
She had gotten harshly scolded for running away from an important appointment. It did make her a little upset, and the uncomfortable clothes definitely did not help with her mood. But by the time his lecture was over, so was her check up, and he ushered her out to focus on his work.
She stands there for a moment, brain empty, unsure what to do with herself.
"I was trying to do something, right? What was it?"
She opens her notebook, reading her messy handwriting, suddenly slammed with the emotions from earlier. Her plan to forget totally forgotten.
She scans her notebook and writes down what happened before dragging herself back to her dorm. She enters and heads straight for the table, snatching up the magazine, continuing where she left off.
"If your cute outfit didn't work, try making him jealous instead! Flirting with a close friend, giggling at a stranger's joke, or going out with a classmate is a surefire way to get him to notice what he's missing!"
Ryoko frowns. Dressing up was one thing, but going on a date with someone else was another.
But...
If the clothes didn't work, maybe this would? She doesn't recall ever seeing Matsuda getting jealous before, as they are often alone together in his lab. Whenever he's upset, she's typically the reason why. But she wonders if this might be the key to finally convincing him to go on a date.
But, who can she-
Yuto.
He was Matsuda's classmate, so he does fall into one of the listed categories, and he has expressed... intrest in her. Maybe if they went out somewhere on campus? It would be difficult to get Matsuda to see them together...
She sighs, shugs, and goes to look for Yuto.
She finds him heading for his dorm, arms carrying large bags with the logo of the local bakery stamped on them, a bun already stuffed in his mouth. Ryoko calls out to him and he looks up-
And immediately chokes on his food.
Dropping his bags, he tries to unclog his throat, coughing and gagging as he gasps for air. She rushes towards him and pats his back as an attempt to help. Once he's breathing again, he looks up at her, face completely red.
"Wh- you caught me off guard there." He drags his eyes up her body, lingering at the more intimate places that where more exposed than normal. She had forgotten to change her outfit...
She shakes of the uncomfortable feeling and straightens up. "Yuto, I would like to go on a-a date with you!"
He begins to choke on his spit when she utters those words, coughing and gasping. She pats his back again as he clears his throat.
"Well, obviously. I typically don't waste time on trivial things like dates, BUT since it's you, I guess-"
"Guess what?"
She jumps, started by the unexpected voice. She whips her head around and comes face to face with her Matsuda. His mouth is pressed in a hard line, eyebrow raised.
"This is perfect! If he knows that I'm asking Yuto out, he'll get jealous now and I won't have to actually go out with him-"
"N-nothing! Was just telling h-her that I don't do dates! Sorry, but my answer is no! S-see ya!" She whips her head towards Yuto, confusingly watching as he scrambles to pick up his bags and rush towards his dorm. She frowns, saddened that her plan hadn't worked out again.
"..oh." She turns back to Matsuda, but he just brushes past her. "Matsuda! What are you doing here?"
He turns and looks at her like she was stupid. "I live here?"
But Ryoko pouts, shaking her head. "I know that! I'm not dumb! But you NEVER go to your dorm, especially not this early!"
But he just raises his manga up in the air, unamused look on his face. "You are and I need to grab another volume." He turns away without another word.
Normally, Ryoko would continue to push, beg him to let her see his dorm, continue asking trivial questions, trying to cling to his personal space, but after the day she's had, she just mumbles an "Oh ok." and turns to head back to her dorm again.
Completely unaware of the death glare Matsuda throws at Yuto's door.
3. Ignore Him!
She does not reach for the magazine when she returns home, just scribbles down the mess of a day she has had and strips, climbing into her bed. She knows that she probably should have kept trying, but the lack of reaction from Matsuda told her that she would just be wasting her time.
She hesitantly reaches over for the magazine, curious as to what the last "trick" could be.
"Now, if the first two did not work, try bringing out the big guns! Ignoring him will make him be the first to approach. He'll be so desperate to get your attention that he'll practically beg to take you out!"
Honestly, Ryoko had begun to lose hope for this magazine. She had only been embarrassed and called mean names, thing her Matsuda would typically do anyway. But, she was still hurt about her letter.
"Maybe not talking to him for a few days will help me feel better?"
So that's what she did. She rolls over, goes to sleep, and proceeds to ignore her Matsuda for the next few days. She writes down what she's doing and why multiple times in her notebook, determined to not ruin her plan after she forgets. Often, she finds herself heading towards his lab before scanning her notebook and hesitantly turning back.
Honestly, it hurts Ryoko that it's so easy. He doesn't try to see her, doesn't come groveling at her feet, doesn't surprise her with anything romantic.
Nothing.
And that makes her feel hopeless.
A week passes when she gets a knock on her door. It's late, around her bedtime and she's already dressed in her pajamas, but she drags herself to the door anyway. But before the door could fully open, the person pushes in, shutting the door behind them.
It's her Matsuda, still dressed in his normal clothes (she doesn't think he ever changes and it should disgust her more, but she doesn't care.), his brows furrowing.
"Why are you avoiding me?"
She blinks, "Huh?" But it seems to only make him angrier.
"You've been avoiding me all week. Normally, I can't get your head out of my ass, but now I can't seem to find you anywhere!" He crosses his arms, before a flash of guilt overtakes his face. He reaches up and presses the back of his hand to her forehead.
"Is it because you're not feeling well? Are you experiencing any hallucinations? Voices of people who aren't there? Impulsive behavior?-"
Ryoko frowns, ripping his hand from her face. "You. Are. A. MEANIE!" She stomps her foot to punctuate her words, earning her a glare from Matsuda.
"Wh- "meanie"?!"
"You threw away my letter! You didn't even read it! You're a MEANIE!" She crosses her arms, feeling tears prickling in the corners of her eyes. He just raises an eyebrow.
"So? Don't leave your things on my desk-"
Ryoko throws her arms out, "UGH! You don't care! I spent so much time and worked so hard on it, and you don't care!" She begins to sob, wiping her runny nose on her sleeves. "I tried so hard and you just threw it away. You threw away my feelings!"
Matsuda's face morphs into regret instantly, gently wrapping his arms around her. "Wait- I didn't mean to- I'm sorry- please don't cry-" But that just makes her wail harder.
He wipes the tears from her eyes, cradling her face between his hands. He frowns, voice hushed. "I didn't mean to make you cry, I really didn't. I just- I just didn't think. I'm sorry."
Ryoko sniffles, leaning into his hands. "You could've just said no to the picnic..."
He gives a dry laugh, pulling her into his embrace. "That doesn't sound horrible, probably one of the better ideas you've had."
She pouts, "You're still being a meanie."
But he just hugs her tighter, "Only for you."
She closes her eyes, content on falling asleep in his arms, even if she had to stand all night. But it seems that Matsuda has other plans. He picks up the magazine from the nearby table and squints at it.
"Why do you have this?"
She looks over at it. "I wanted to get you to like me more! I thought it would work..."
He frowns and pulls away, "Is that why you've been acting weird lately?" He pauses before throwing it in the trash. "Tch, you shouldn't take advice from these things, they're just trying to set you up for failure."
Ryoko stares down at the girl in the photo, the pit returning in her stomach. She finds herself bitter towards the girl, angry that she was tricked into following bad advice. But she ignores it, turning her attention towards Matsuda.
"So are you actually going to go on a picnic date with me?!"
"Jeez, not if you blow out my eardrums. Do you not have a volume button?"
"Hey! Meanie!"
She finds herself hoping that his love never runs out.