Disclaimer: Nope…don't own La Corda D'oro or any of its original characters or the original La Corda D'oro story line. I do own THIS story's story line and a few characters, but that's beside the point.
Pre-Chapter Notes: Uhmmm…I'm going to attempt to make up for the shortness of the last chapter by making this one little longer, but I'm not sure if I can pull it off without making you guys wait an eternity. I'll try my hardest! This chapter will probably give me more trouble than the last one since I do not have this one planned in my head at all. You see, I have the last part of the middle and the end of this story set in my mind, but now I have to work up to that. Aish! Wish me luck! (BTW: "Pre-Chapter Notes" are written before I have even written the chapter! After notes are after I have written it…so there)
Super ultra credits: To my beta-reader/editor or whatever, zippingzephyr!! I owe her sooo much! Without her, this chapter would have not been possible!!
"I'm sorry Hino, I can't go," Manami bowed apologetically.
"No, it's alright. I understand…I'm kind of last minute on this, so it's my fault anyways."
Waving good-bye to Manami, Kahoko sighed and walked dismally to her next class. Apparently, Manami already had plans with other friends for the vacation. Nami Amou also had plans to shadow someone at a real newspaper job. Now what was she to do? Invite her family was her last option, right? That wouldn't be so bad…but…she'd still have extra tickets…and that just seemed like a huge waste!
I guess Nao was right…I'll have to resort to plan C…
Plan C involved inviting the rest of the concours members. She made a list in her head. Nao, Mio, Fuyuumi…Len…Ryotaro…Kazuki….Keiichi…….Azuma……………….? Even with that, she still had just one ticket left. Who else did she know? Who?!?!
"Ow!"
Unfortunately, Kahoko had not been paying attention and bumped into someone. Embarrassed, she quickly bowed in apology.
"I'm so sorry! Are you alright? I'm sorry!"
"Nah, it's ok, Kaho-chan," said a familiar voice.
Huh?
Kahoko looked up to view her victim more closely. It was Len's cousin, Seoko.
Seoko-!
"Shima-senpai! Hi!" Kahoko greeted enthusiastically. "I was just wondering something about vacation…"
Both Ryotaro and Len were not pleased. For Ryotaro, it was because of the presence of Len. While Len also did not like Ryotaro's company, there was another "presence" on this vacation. The so-called "presence" made Len feel very much exasperated and incredibly tired This "presence" was no other than his own relative…
"Lennniieee!" his boisterous cousin shouted, waving some childhood pictures of him from her seat on the train. "Aren't they cute?! Do you remember these!!??"
He cringed at his cousin's call. From the corner of his eye, Len noticed Ryotaro smirking; one day, he would get her back for this humiliation…one day…
Len fumed as Ryotaro suppressed his laughter, knowing he would laugh so loud that it'd be embarrassing. Shoko shyly looked over Seoko's shoulder along with Mio, Nao, and Kahoko. Mio and Nao sat together directly in front of Shoko and Seoko as Kahoko sat in the seat behind them with Keiichi (who was of course, sleeping).
"Ne, he looks so adorable in these pictures! You'd hardly believe it was actually Tsukimori," Nao said in a low voice. The girls giggled.
Azuma looked across the aisle from his train seat and wondered aloud, "What could you girls possibly be laughing so much about?"
Seoko waved Len's embarrassing pictures even higher for the world to see. "These babies right here," she laughed. She tossed some at Kazuki who seemed to be staring out into space in his seat next to Azuma. "Kazuki-kun, wanna see some?"
Kazuki blinked. "Hm? Oh, yeah!" Kazuki gained his normal enthusiasm and fussed over the pictures. Azuma watched Kazuki quietly and inferred that Kazuki was putting on a face. He'd been doing so for the past couple of days since the picture in the paper.
Every now and then Kazuki would daydream and drift off into who knows where.
Azuma, who didn't normally worry over other people's problems, distinctly felt concerned for his normally chipper friend. While Azuma usually never deeply contemplated Kazuki, Azuma was used to Kazuki being, well, himself. Perhaps this little vacation that Kahoko had abruptly invited them on was a good thing…or a horribly catastrophic thing. It could go either way. He looked over at the group; Kazuki leaned over the aisle to share the pictures with the girls. He looked in front of him; all he could see were the backs of Ryotaro's and Len's heads, but he was positive that Len seethed quietly.
I wonder what this little trip will bring…
Kahoko plopped on a twin size bed in a room at the inn. Just thirty minutes before, they had checked in at the counter. This did not prove to be a challenge of any sort considering they were the only ones in line. It appeared that when the group arrived, the place was empty. The owner explained that they had been expecting another large group of people from a convention to come, but the group had to cancel because of a storm delay. Now, Kahoko's little group of friends more or less had the whole place to themselves.
Kahoko worried. Lili…she left him all alone for this vacation. When she invited everyone to go, she totally forgot that there'd be no one to keep an eye on fairy hunter business. Lili assured her that he'd be fine for four days, but Kahoko still felt enormously guilty. She looked at her still unpacked bag.
Nao and Mio were just finishing up and getting ready for their planned dinner. Kahoko looked at the room; it was cozy and just barely fit the three of them. Seoko and Shoko were in a room adjoining this one while the boys were in the two adjoining rooms across the hall.
After finishing with her things and finally getting settled, Kahoko glanced at the time. "Nao, Mio, it's almost time for us to get going for din-"
Before she could finish, Seoko burst in through the adjoining door with Shoko in tow.
"I am so excited!!!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.
"Shima-senpai, quiet down!" Nao said, laughing.
"And what? Bother all those other guests?"
"She has a point," Mio indicated.
"Well, as I was saying," Kahoko continued, "We should probably start to get going."
Seoko pouted. "Oh, what's the rush Kaho-chan? The boys are probably expecting us to dawdle anyways. Let's just talk about girl stuff!"
Mio looked up. "Like what?"
A mischievous smile played on to their senpai's face.
"Let's talk boys…"
Kazuki paced in the hallway separating the girls' rooms and the guys' rooms. He still vividly remembered that picture in the school paper. Now, every time he looked at either Kahoko or Ryotaro, he felt like he'd explode! He knew from the way the two acted that they weren't going out. As little as Kazuki knew about relationships, he could tell that much. Also, Azuma kept on reassuring him several times it wasn't possible. But…it made him feel so…jealous. Jealous…Kazuki never felt that often; not in this way. He disliked feeling resentful toward Ryotaro all because of that one picture. Then again, it's like they say. A picture says a thousand words…
"Oh c'mon Kaho-chan!"
Kazuki looked abruptly at the girls' side of the hall. Apparently, these walls weren't very soundproof.
"Who would you rather?????" Kazuki heard Seoko's voice say rather loudly.
Rather what? Rather what?!?
Before he knew it, Kazuki found himself listening closely to the door. Soon, one of the boys' doors opened revealing Ryotaro and Keiichi walking out.
Ryotaro raised an eyebrow. "Hihara-senpai? What-"
The giggling of girls stopped Ryotaro in mid-sentence.
And thus, somehow, the rest of the boys ended up close to the girls' side of the hall; all except for Azuma. Keiichi silently wondered why this felt so familiar.
"Sho-chan," Seoko said excitedly, "What do you think about Keiichi-kun?"
The boys almost felt the shy girl blush. "Well, I…um…"
"Shima-senpai, stop picking on Fuyuumi-chan!" Kahoko playfully lectured.
"Oh?" said Nao's voice. "What about you, Kaho-chan? Among the concours members, which guy is your preference?"
The boys, even the almost fast asleep Keiichi and the self-proclaimed indifferent Len, all leaned in to listen more closely.
"I-" she began.
Suddenly, the door, which Kazuki had been leaning on, opened, causing Kazuki to fall over.
"Hey guys," greeted Seoko, peeking out at the rest of the listeners. "Learn anything new?"
"Is that so?" Azuma said smiling after Seoko's excruciatingly detailed version of the incident in the hallway. "And I missed out? How unfortunate…"
And truly, he did regret he had not witnessed this hilarious event.
Kazuki seemed to be shrinking in his seat as Len and Ryotaro almost looked ashamed. Keiichi, however, stared sleepily at his soup and wondered if itwasstill scalding or if it had cooled down yet.
Kazuki, Ryotaro, and even Len all seemed to be thinking the same thing:
She must think I'm an idiot…
The group finished up their dinner at the restaurant which was connected to the hotel. The menu had been simple, consisting of beef teriyaki, shrimp tempura, and other sorts. A waitress dropped off the ending plate and left the bill.
"Oh, watermelon!" Kazuki exclaimed, immediately grabbing a piece.
Kahoko smiled, remembering that Kazuki always ate too quickly due to his competition with his older brother. She looked over at the rest of everyone at the table, each one grabbing a piece except for…
"Ah, Tsukimori-kun, you don't like watermelon?"
Len looked up at Kahoko.
Suddely, someone in the group began to laugh hysterically.
….Oh no…
Seoko was sitting in her seat and laughing like a mad woman.
"Shima-senpai, are…you…alright?" Shoko asked quietly, cowering back little by little.
Seoko wiped tears from her eyes, still amused by whatever made her laugh in the first place. "I'm sorry, I just…oh gosh…Len…you are a cutie…"
Ryotaro looked between Seoko and Len. Len, the normally confident (although slightly stuck-up, in Ryotaro's opinion) looked like he shrunk visibly. Although he obviously lost some of his poise, he still said confidently, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Seoko shook her head and waved her finger at Len as if he had done something bad. "Tisk, tisk Len, don't you remember?"
He turned away and did not even acknowledge Seoko's question.
Azuma, slightly intrigued, faced towards Seoko; while he did find her incredibly annoying, she was still quite the interesting person. She proved to be a catalyst for Len's inept social abilities. "What is it, Shima-san?"
Seoko smiled her usual, devious smile. She proceeded to tell her story, starting with fantastic descriptions of Len as a child, using her pictures as props to tell the story. Slowly but surely, Len began to sink into his seat; Ryotaro definitely enjoyed this.
The story felt unbearably long to Len; how was it possible that his air-headed cousin remembered the most worthless things so vividly? Then again, why did that surprise him?
Finally, her storytelling came to a climax: "This was Len's first time eating watermelon, y'know? Being only five and all…it was his first time eating one with seeds in it anyways." At this point, Seoko looked like she was about to lose control of herself and break out laughing, but she continued on. "He looked at the piece suspiciously for a bit, staring at it. After he finally took a bite of it, I couldn't resist saying, 'Hey, Len…did you know that if you eat watermelon seeds like that, a watermelon will grow in your stomach?'" Now, Seoko definitely giggled. "He spit the watermelon right out and hasn't eaten any since!"
The girls laughed as Ryotaro smirked. Nao wiped her eyes as she said, "Tsukimori, that is entirely too cute! Have you really not eaten watermelon since?"
Silence from Len.
Ryotaro, of course, had to interject, "How sad, being afraid of watermelons after all this time. Really now, Tsukimori, I'm beginning to lose my respect for you."
Len shot his best death glare the group had ever seen; who it was pointed at, no one was sure, but nonetheless, he would never live this down for the rest of his school life.
Kazuki sighed restlessly, looking out on the balcony at the beach. The waves crashed against the shore, soothing his mind quite a bit. He hated his growing restlessness these days. He realized it had been a while since Kazuki had talked alone with Kahoko; was the last time before the end of the concours? Maybe.
Walking out of the hallway onto the balcony, he closed his eyes and leaned over the rail. He could not remember being this calm for a long time; he felt glad that he decided to go on this trip. Really, the fact that Kahoko invited him made his heart soar.
Before Kazuki knew it, he fell into a kind of nap, right there, standing up and leaning on the railing. While he was still conscious, he didn't fully notice the sound of a voice or the light footsteps coming towards him…
It surprised Kahoko to find Kazuki just standing there, dazed at the balcony. Wasn't this something Keiichi usually did? Not being able to resist, she tip-toed up close behind him. Suddenly, she slammed her hands on his shoulders.
Kazuki gasped awake, losing his balance and almost falling over the railing.
"Sorry, Hihara-senpai!" Kahoko said sweetly, not meaning to startle him so much.
Kazuki looked behind him to find the beautiful girl with the dazzling, auburn hair. He blushed violently, covering his awkward feelings with laughter.
"Kaho-chan! I didn't hear you coming!" he exclaimed, surprised.
Kahoko gave him a playful suspicious look. "Well I suppose you wouldn't have considering how out of it you were; falling asleep while standing up. I could've almost mistaken you for Shimizu-kun if you didn't have green hair and weren't so tall."
Kazuki blushed slightly, still laughing.
She smiled happily, feeling comfortable with Kazuki. Kazuki was just so easy to get along with and to talk to; even though lately he had been a little bit awkward around her, she still felt warm and content whenever she was in his presence. She supposed Kazuki was just that kind of person, and she wouldn't change it for the world.
"Ah," she remembered, realizing she walked down this hall for a reason. "Have you seen Tsukimori-kun? I lost sight of him as soon as dinner ended."
For of course, as soon as everyone stood up, Len had managed to excuse himself into seclusion, undoubtedly because of his cousin's relentless teasing. Though Kahoko as well as everyone else thought the story to be cute, she knew that Len was not the kind of person who took that kind of teasing well. Kahoko knew Seoko was a good person; she just took teasing a bit too far, at least for Len.
Kazuki thought for a moment. "Hm, I think he may have gone to one of those empty rooms they said we could use; you know, when Len asked if there was a place to practice?"
Of course, she vividly remembered having to reassure Len that there had to be a place for him to practice his precious violin.
"And even though I don't know Len that well, I'm betting he's practicing his heart out," Kazuki concluded, half-smiling at Len's seriousness.
"Ok, thank you, Hihara-senpai! I'll see you later," she said, waving good-bye and running off.
He stood silently for a moment before wondering…
Why would Kaho-chan want to talk to Len right now?
One or two thoughts crossed his mind.
Could Len and Kaho-chan…have something?
Kazuki shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of the thought. He ran off to his room. Len and Kahoko? Nah…that would never happen in a thousand years.
Why did I bother to come?
Len almost threw his stand together in a heap.
The inn had a few spare rooms used for events or small meetings; Len used them on this trip for practicing. Naturally he had brought his violin with him; that was the only way he would have even considered coming. Just because it was vacation didn't mean he could take a break from practicing. Besides, after a while, one just kind of got into the habit.
He sighed heavily, wishing badly that his cousin would by some miracle switch schools or better yet, completely move out of town. It was bad enough he dealt with her at home, but at school and even during a vacation? His mother asked too much of him.
He unfastened a few buttons on his shirt, trying to relax before playing. Without much pretense, he picked up his violin and flew. Why had he even bothered to set up a stand? He ended up just playing songs without sheet music; he created his own medley of solos through his finger memory. The music ranged from the Polonaise Brillante by Wieniawski to Sonatina Op. 100 by Dvorak. He realized that his fingers went through so many performances, so many contests, so many feelings…feelings?
He continued playing as he wondered if he had ever played with any feeling before…Kahoko Hino?
And just like that, his fingers somehow took over and began to play a piece he was all too familiar with.
Schubert's Ave Maria.
He had played this piece countless of times, but he and his fingers never tired from it. This piece…somehow…he always associated it with…
Suddenly, he noticed another presence in the room; they had been there for a while completely without him noticing. After he finished playing, he turned around only to find Kahoko Hino.
After Notes: Well, this was kind of amusing…not totally plot oriented…or maybe it is… And yes, I wrote Kahoko a little flamboyantly during her little scene with Kazuki 'cause I just figured, "Ah what the heck, she knows him well enough." This didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, and the watermelon thing wasn't THAT funny, but bear with me please; I had a hard time writing this, but better chapters are yet to come...I hope...