Author's Notes: Hey! I am back with another fanfic after 1000000 years. Haha! But really, high school has been hectic enough that even with Sem break and Christmas break, I was still buried under piles and piles of schoolwork. But fret no more for Summer has allowed me ample time to be inspired and make another story and because I love La Corda soooo much, I have decided to make a fic out of this particular anime. Unfortunately, because I have been on hiatus for an uber long time, my skills have become crappier than ever and I have managed to come up with a very crappy fic. And for that, I am sorry. But anyway, on with the fic! And please bear with me.
Disclaimer: I obviously don't own La Corda D'Oro for such a master class anime couldn't have possible been thought of by someone like me. :D
Kahoko's POV
'Twas the day before graduation and all through the school, not a senior was quiet not even a goth. The fliers were hung by the bulletin boards with care in hopes that someone would notice they're there…
Aw, who the heck am I kidding? I'm not poetic. Leave it to me to murder a classic masterpiece and turn it into something crappy. Hey there, Hino Kahoko here. Auburn hair, brown eyes… a typical senior in Seisou Academy about to graduate and face the world of college. Of course, the atmosphere here in school isn't always as tense as it is now. It's just the effect of the pre-graduation hype felt by my fellow batch mates. Although I'm not really as bothered with this as they are, but even my best friends, Mio and Nao, are getting pretty annoying with all the stressing vibes they're giving off but I'll never say it to them. I'd be as stressed as they were if…
…if I didn't have more pressing matters to think about. Like how my cool-off-turned-ex boyfriend Len Tsukimori is totally avoiding me.
I told him that I wanted some time for myself for a while what with all the entrance exams piling up in front of me. (Not everyone can be as much of a genius as Len is, and I'm certainly one of those people.) I said it was only temporary and it was only what people would call a 'cool off' but he totally took it the wrong way and went into total 'ignore Kahoko' mode. He probably thought I was breaking up with him when I really wasn't. I wouldn't even think of that!
And now here I am, walking dazedly in the hallways again thinking, pondering on how I'd approach him but so far, all attempts have become futile as he was just so good at avoiding me. And tomorrow's graduation, too! I really need to work things out, but I can't come up with anything!
Normal POV
"Kaho-chan?" asked a worried Mio as she saw that her long-haired friend was out of it again.
"Hai?" came a monotonous reply from Hino.
"I just asked if you wanted to go with us to the bakeshop on the way home later."
"…"
"Kaho…?"
"Huh? Oh…sure, I'll come."
"*Sigh* Is this about Tsukimori-san again?"
"No, not at all."
"Quit lying to us, Kaho-chan. We're your friends, we can tell if you're lying to us," said an annoyed Nao.
"No, really…I'm fine. There's the bell. We'd better get to class before it's too late."
And with that, the three friends hurried off to class after the two short-haired ones shot a long sad glance at each other with worry about their other friend filling their eyes.
Later that day, Kahoko went with Mio and Nao to the bakery, but only ending up buying nothing because she wasn't paying attention as usual. So she just excused herself from her friends and walked home, bidding them goodbye and a 'See you tomorrow in Graduation'.
Mio and Nao wanted to help their friend, but thought of no way how. It's not like they were close enough to Len to tell him to quit avoiding Kahoko. And Ryotaro wouldn't be of much help, either. The same went for all their other friends since no one was close to Len at all.
Torn and sad, they both parted ways muddled up in their own thoughts on how to get Len and Kahoko back together.
The next day, it was Graduation but still, no one had come up with anything to pull Kahoko out of her misery. The ceremony went on and everyone got up on the stage to receive their diplomas and before anyone knew it, caps were flung into the air and people were hugging and crying and bidding farewell to each other.
Kahoko, not wanting to ruin the event for anyone, did her best to put up a good face for all her friends and convincingly graduated without the hint of sadness over Len Tsukimori in her eyes. But deep down, though, laid the ache in her heart over the fact that she was graduating on bad terms with the love of her life.
That's when she decided to confront him. She excused herself from all the picture-taking with her friends and made her way through the crowd to the other side of the hall where the Music Department students stood saying their final goodbyes to each other as well.
It wasn't difficult for her to spot the blue-haired boy whom her heart belonged to over the wave of people only to see him smiling the smile that he once vowed to give only to her. The smile that sent shivers up and down her spine and made her whole world spin because it was the most heart-warming, the most angelic smile in the world—in her world.
But seeing him smile like that made her realize that he was happy without her. She grasped the fact that he seemed genuinely glad without her in his life and suddenly her world crumbled because she couldn't stand to accept the truth—that he didn't need her in his life to make him happy as what he'd told her a long time ago when Kahoko was happy, when she thought he was happy too.
Tears filled her eyes once more but with remorse this time as she ran past the blur of people keeping her from the auditorium's exit.
But finally reaching her destination, she breathed in the fresh air as she ran to the rooftop where she spent most of her time practicing her precious violin and just hanging out with Len and stayed there and broke down crying.
Len's POV
Finally, the ceremony's over.
I've been itching to run over to where the General Education students were seated since the event started but common sense told me not to.
Stupid classmates, why are they holding me up? Can't they sense I'm in a hurry to get to Kahoko before this day ends? They're all bidding me goodbye as if we were actually close friends. Maybe they were to each other, but I never felt any strong connection with them… nothing to make me sad to part ways with them. All that matters now is making up with Kahoko.
Fine, maybe a quick smile would make them feel better. For the love of all things good, here!
*Smiles at classmates, faking sincerity*
And that's when I saw her. It was only from my peripheral vision, but there was no mistaking it. It was the auburn hair that smelled of strawberries running away from me.
I was just about to catch up to her when my friends started pulling me in for pictures. Not wanting to graduate on bad terms with them, I politely excused myself from the smiling group and made my way through the crowd to chase Kahoko.
Reaching the doors after practically pushing people out of my way, I got really pissed seeing no sign of her. Man, she runs fast.
But I knew just where to find her.
Normal POV
Hino Kahoko, who had just run away from her friends to cry in peace because she sensed that her ex-boyfriend was happy without her, was sitting miserably on the rooftop of one of her school's buildings drying her eyes when she heard the door creak open.
'Great,' she thought, 'Someone to ruin the moment.'
But the familiar voice that called out for her made her heart beat twice as fast and tears started streaming down her red cheeks again.
She stared towards where the enthralling voice was coming from and golden eyes met with hers as a warm smile replaced a worried look on her visitor's face.
A sudden gust of wind blew by and her hair moved with it as she stared wide-eyed at Len Tsukimori who was suddenly leaning towards her to cup her face softly in his hands to plant a gentle yet strong kiss on her lips.
And suddenly, her world was spinning right round and butterflies were in her stomach as the kiss melted her into a pool of herself. She was still deciding with what little conscience she had left on whether she would place her arms around his neck but his hands found hers and wound it around him as he placed his hands onto her back.
The kiss lasted for what seemed like forever to the both of them but they parted their lips only to stare into each others' eyes and found the others' lips soon enough for another lip-lock session.
"I'm sorry," Kahoko finally blurted out, unwilling to ruin the moment.
She leaned back and stared intently into Len's eyes as tears started falling again.
But Len only smiled back and wiped her tears away with his thumb and leaned his forehead against hers.
"You don't have to say that. I'm the one who's sorry," he said to her.
His breath on her face almost made the crying brunette dazed but she managed to resist enough to reply.
"I'm at fault here. Don't put the blame on yourself. If I hadn't wanted a cool-off, then this…"
"If I hadn't taken it the wrong way and went off avoiding you, none of this mess would have happened. Luckily, Kanazawa-sensei managed to explain to me what you meant by cooling off and snapped some sense into me."
"But still…I thought you were happy without me."
"Happy without you?! Kahoko, listen to me. My life has been a complete mess without you. If only you knew how depressed I was. I couldn't even play the violin anymore."
Realization dawned on the girl's features and she was at a loss for words as Len was making it clear how much he truly loved her.
Not getting a response, Len proceeded with his plea.
"Please, Kahoko, don't make this worse for me than it already is. I feel horrible enough for doing that to you but for you to put the blame on yourself… Can't you just accept my apology to rid me of my guilt?"
"Fine. I-I…I forgive you."
"Thank you."
"Now, will you forgive me for cooling off with you in the first place?"
Len heaved a heavy sigh but smiled back and accepted her apology nonetheless.
And with that, the cerulean-haired violinist planted another soft kiss to Kahoko's soft lips before helping her up and pulling her back to the auditorium where her friends were still waiting for her. And when they saw the two hand in hand as they entered the huge hall, loud hoots and cheers suddenly surrounded the couple as a bout of congratulations ensued.
"I love you," Len whispered into Kahoko's ears as more friends came to cheer for them.
"I know. I love you too," replied the girl and they both joined the crowd of fresh graduates who were no longer talking about them, but were engaged in another round of goodbyes to high school and hellos to the future.
THE END
A/N: Well, there you have it. How much do you hate it? WAIT! Don't tell me. I don't wanna know. But please review anyway. Constructive criticism is openly accepted and I once again apologize for bringing such crapiness into your lives. Until the next time inspiration and diligence hit me, see ya! :)
