"I brought this with hopes that you'd wear it!"
Kaji smiled at Kahoko as he kept his hands still while holding a Juliet Capulet inspired cream and scarlet gown. She now had pink blotches on her cheeks, making her unable to utter a word.
All of the male participants were staring unbelievably at Kaji and his straightforwardness to Kahoko. Even the great violinist, Len Tsukimori, couldn't help but be astonished by the blonde's plain-spoken request, plus the fact that Kaji asked Kahoko way ahead of others to be his dance partner.
Later that evening, the participants were dressed up like characters for Shakespeare's romantic tragedy. Kahoko, fulfilling Kaji's request dressed as Juliet. The boys looked stunning except that Hihara, Yunoki, and Tsukimori were not there at the ballroom.
Hino's eyes widened as she saw Shimizu's palm in front of her – a dance with fair Juliet was he tried to ask. Kahoko somehow managed to explain that she's all left feet in spite of her elegant stance. It was the first time a kouhai asked her for a dance so even with her protests, she complies. She happily took Shimizu's waiting hand and they slowly maneuvered on the grandiose dance floor, leaving Fuyumi and the others gaped at the pair.
"Are you sure that you don't want to go Yunoki? This is our last cultural festival after all" Hihara said while eyeing his purple-haired best friend.
"Hihara, you can just go on ahead if you're actually worried about that blonde and Hino-san" smirking, he told him.
"B-but...it's not that Yunoki!" blushing, Hihara tries to mutter incoherent sentences.
"Yes, yes. Hihara, I know" he lightly patted Hihara's shoulder to stop him from his slight frolicking.
Yunoki's eyes were scanning the entirety of the room, as if waiting for someone to appear.
"That's enough Shimizu-kun"
The angel-faced boy turned around to see whose hands grabbed both sides of his shoulders.
"K-Kaji-kun!" Hino exclaimed.
"May I?"
Shimizu bowed his head and slowly went to Fuyumi's side. She eyes him with wonder as he stares blankly into space. Kaji softly took Hino's hands and they're now in sync with the ballroom's colorful music. Hino blushed when Kaji said she was the prettiest girl he ever laid eyes on.
Tsuchiura nearly bit his lip as he saw the blond Romeo leading Juliet gracefully to the center until…
"KAHO-CHAN!"
He was close to panting when the waltzing pair came into an abrupt halt.
"Hihara-senpai?" she sounded worried as the green-haired trumpeter blocks her view from Kaji.
"Kaji-kun! You're being unfair!"
Before Kaji could even reply to his accusation, Hihara already pulled Kahoko into his hold as he smiles at her in the middle of the salon. Kaji smiled at them and mouthed "thanks" to Hino. She was still marveling on the events which happened within less than 20 minutes.
Hino never knew that this was going to be a long, exhausting night until he saw Tsuchiura's eager eyes approaching their direction.
After taking the last turn, Kahoko decided that she needed to take a break from these hot-blooded boys and get some night's fresh air. She scouted the room and prepared to make a graceful exit.
Outside the immense marquee, the air was crisp and soothing. It made her breathing relaxed and her mind, peaceful.
Putting one hand on the smooth stone balustrade, she took off her gold-beaded heels one after the other and massaged each foot. After an immediate sign of relief, she looked up and gazed at the diamond-adorned sky. Under the glow night, she looked like a maiden waiting for a promise of love.
"Kahoko"
Her body instantly stiffened after hearing the voice that called out her first name.
"Y-Yunoki-senpai!" she exclaimed.
She immediately stood from where she was before when the handsome purple-haired senior went close to where she is – leaving her with no escape. He gently took her hands and asked for a dance under the stars.
She was blushing furiously for the guy already did a three-step move ahead before she could even protest.
"Having such an expression would mean inviting me to tease you"
You're doing it already senpai if you may just know!
Yunoki grinned slyly at her. Kahoko could only sink her head to hide her now her more scarlet cheeks.
Finally, he let go of her hand and spoke, "Kahoko, what would you now think if the enthusiastic girls from my fan club found out I spent my last cultural festival with you?" Kahoko half-smiled, speechless.
What am I going to do with this personality?
The mentioning of her name always made her shiver in a peculiar way. She looked up and saw Yunoki Azuma walking towards the school gates - and then he was gone.
Kahoko let out a huge sigh as she slumped herself on the grassier part of the school garden. Staring at her surroundings, she wonders if another person from the party would pop out from nowhere and would ask her to do another round of waltzing or worse, jitterbugging.
And there was this certain person which popped in her mind while she adores the lovely sparkle of the sky. She walked along the corridors of the music department until she reached the girl's changing room. Untying her hair and softly brushing it, she left her scarlet tresses flowed on her collarbones.
She slid her hand inside her tiny purse and took out her iPod. Her thumb freely moving onto the gadget's body as she leaves the room humming.
Inside his usual reserved practice room, she saw him standing near the window, staring out onto the brilliance of the night sky. He looked like he was in deep thought that he did not even hear Kahoko knock.
"Tsukimori-kun"
"Hino?" he was rather surprised and the next second, in great awe when he saw her in the cream-colored, long-sleeved satin dress decked with tiny golden beads. Her silky hair fell freely on her almost bare shoulders and her eyes received the twinkling glow of the ballroom lights as she moved forward to him – making her as a whole - an ensemble as unforgettable as the night.
"I already knocked three times but you didn't respond" she sounded almost complaining.
"Why are you even here?" his cold manner exudes in his retorts.
"I was wondering why you were not at the party so I looked for you. All of us were there" she mused.
The azure-haired boy told her he had been practicing.
As always, he really doesn't know how to take a break from music.
Somehow, she felt sad at her own thought.
"And you didn't even try to dance. The school's cultural festival is too good to miss" she added.
"I am not into such activities Hino", he eyed her with faint amusement.
"Tsukimori-kun, perhaps you don't know how to dance?" she teasingly accused him.
"Why don't you see for yourself then?"
The violin prodigy does not allow anyone to trample on his great ego.
Hino was chuckling sweetly until her giggles were cut short when Len pulled her close to him. The movement took her by surprise and yet, she felt perfectly safe in his hold.
She smiled shyly as she rotates her thumb on her iPod and placed her earphone on Tsukimori's right ear.
Bold move.
She took the other end of the earphone and placed it on her left ear.
His sharp, golden orbs melted as heart-warming Ave Maria flows in their ears. Her left hand, resting on his shoulder, holds the music player. Her right hand hangs close to his nape, almost touching his feathery hair. The right placement of his hands on her waist was a new form of their newfound physical intimacy.
Both of them slowly swayed and turned as Len leads their dance gently inside the practice room. She was blushing madly since she kept on noticing how close she is to him.
To ease her rapidly beating heart, she tried to talk her way out of it.
"I never thought you'd take this seriously. Plus, you really dance well"
"Thank you. I am always serious Hino" he calmly told her.
Does that include his feelings for her? They turned.
"O-oops, Sorry Tsukimori-kun" she stepped on his shiny leather shoe. The misstep made her nervousness a giveaway.
"It's okay. But I think I have to teach you how to waltz properly" he smiled for a fraction of a second.
"Tsukimori-kun! You smiled!" Her face brightened.
Instead of going with his usual rebuttals, he pulled her into a warm embrace and whispered to her:
"You don't know how happy I am right now."
Her cheeks exploded into fiery blushes as she inched herself close to him – inhaling his heavenly scent.
"Tsukimori-kun, do your best in Vienna okay?"
Ave Maria gradually fades from their ears.