Tsukiyomi Ikuto smirked at his utter stupidity back in those days.
The days when he was a young, but professional music teacher at a high school full of delinquents. A law-abiding, strict teacher he was back then - never leaning a slight millimetre in favour of any student, especially the musically gifted. A relentless mentor with no space in his heart for anyone else.
Yet, how did he make a mistake among it all?
Those were Ikuto's thoughts as he passed the all-too familiar river - it was no special body of water, it was simply a stream which barely flowed down the narrow cavern - and like the one thousand, five hundred and ninety-two days before, he sat down on the cool grass hill beside it.
One thousand, five hundred and ninety-two days, huh… Ikuto wondered as his eyes lazily followed a small girl dipping her tiny hand into the water. Four years, four months, ten days ago…
"Been that long already, hmm… since she left me."
Even after that long of a period, he could not forget his sharp-tongued student Hinamori Amu.
Ikuto deducted that she would be twenty-three at the most. Back then, he was twenty-four, and she was a third-year in high school. Her last year of school had meant everything to her future, yet he had lost his grasp on his rational views and destroyed her chances of further success.
Hinamori Amu was one student Ikuto never even wanted to bother teaching in the first place. The whole faculty knew of her immediate retorts, her disrespectful attitude, her bleached hair, her outrageous punk-princess themed fashion style. Yet the whole school admired her. Idolised her, even. Due to his sharp senses, he could even tell that some members of the faculty - even the principal - held an admiration for the eighteen year old.
Before then, Hinamori Amu was simply an immature student with no future focus.
Ikuto was the only one with an exterior front.
How wrong he was at the time.
She had knocked on his classroom door with a request - that he would teach her piano within three months of her mother's birthday. Though Ikuto, who did not prioritise within the student body, refused in his usual manner, he couldn't help but be shocked at her pleading tone. It seemed completely out-of-character from her usual impolite attitude - which led to his first slip.
His true character took over temporarily.
"To see Hinamori Amu like this… isn't that strange."
Instead of his usual cold tone, he spoke those words condescendingly. Never once had he shown his sadistic, playful side to any of the other teachers, let alone a student. Shrugging it off didn't help either, because he couldn't bring himself to go back to his stoic manner. Amu was visibly shocked at the sudden character change - though she had noticed that Ikuto was similar to her, she didn't bring it up. She continued to plead for his help, and he ended up accepting in order to keep her mouth shut.
As time passed, he noticed that Amu was indeed a quick learner. After one week, she could already sight-read. Not only did she start progressing quickly, but the two started to make small-talk. Eventually, after Amu opened up about her 'habit' - her automatic 'Cool 'n' Spicy' façade - she had started to open up to Ikuto. He was stunned at how much she had changed after a while of teaching her piano. Amu was actually rather childish - she pouted her lips often when she was frustrated, she cheered excessively whenever she successfully learnt new things, and her blush. She was someone who easily got embarrassed at small things. Ikuto had found her expressions so amusing that he unconsciously acted like his true self in front of her to see more of them. It was a short while after when he opened up to her as well.
One by one, Ikuto's initial plans disappeared. He couldn't deny, after two months and a bit, that he favoured Amu even though she wasn't a music student.
Just someone learning piano for three months.
Initially, Ikuto thought that those feelings would only last those three months. He thought he wouldn't miss her charming smiles, her flushed expressions, her true happiness.
But he felt his heart ache on the last day. He had realised that instead of a relationship between a teacher and a student, she had become his friend - a word that he hadn't used for years. However, there was no longer a need to meet up regularly anymore - she only asked for three months, after all. It never occurred to him that she hadn't wanted to bother him any more.
The time after that was a complete hell for Ikuto. The only time they saw each other was the rare encounters in the hallway. She would say hello, and he would nod once. That continued for another month until neither could stand the awkwardness anymore.
By then Ikuto had realised his feelings for his student. However, he knew the absurdity of doing so - leading him to prevent talking to her in any way.
It all changed - nonetheless - when Amu had quietly entered his music room and played the piece he had specifically taught her. No words were shared - it was only the messages their eyes were sending each other - and Ikuto's self-restraint proved to be useless when he kissed her with a passion neither of them felt before, starting their brief affair.
The two restarted their regular meet-ups - but more piano lessons were not their only focus, of course. Their secret rendezvous were never discovered by anyone - no-one would even imagine that the harsh Tsukiyomi-sensei and the brash Hinamori Amu would conduct such liaison, or that they were two people putting up tough fronts.
Everything about the relationship flowed smoothly, until a week before graduation. Ikuto found it rather strange for Amu to miss a day of school, especially during such a vital time. She was a student who was rarely away despite her manner, so he initially believed it to be a pre-graduation sickness. Yet he continued to worry about her safety, but there was no way he could go see her due to a possible slip up in keeping their secret.
He expected her to come back to school the next day, but she was nowhere to be seen. It was the same case for the next few days. He became increasingly concerned due to the lack of contact from her the past few days. But he still expected her to come on the day of graduation.
Yet no-one appeared when the name 'Hinamori Amu' was called upon by the principal. The reasons for her absence were still unknown - her family's presence was also non-existence during the ceremony. Ikuto didn't want to sit through the ceremony listening to the calling of names which didn't concern him - he wanted to run to Amu's house to see if she was okay - but for some reason the vice-principal was keeping a close watch on what he was doing. Thus, Ikuto stayed for the sake of the vice's suspicion.
After the ceremony, when it was the time for the students to shed tears and embrace others on their last day, Ikuto immediately disappeared from the crowd and headed to Amu's home. But when he repeatedly rang the doorbell and knocked on the door, no-one answered. In a desperate measure to see what was going on, he tried the handle.
Open.
To Ikuto's horror, it led him to an empty house. Lacking furniture, photos, even mere dust.
He made the realization that Amu had left without a trace. No messages, no calls, no communication whatsoever. All she had left was a heart torn in two.
Yes, Ikuto was indeed a fool. The park's sentimentality of their relationship years ago was something he couldn't bear to leave. Thus, he continued to wait at the park with a false hope that she would return to him.
He exhaled deeply as he remembered he was to perform in a concert in two hours.
"So what happened to Shibusaki-san, the accompanist?"
"He was involved in a car accident this morning. Couple of fractures."
"Oh, man… so we got a replacement for our pianist?"
"Yeah, she's been performing at concerts for a while now… but it's her first time in this theatre."
"I see… now, about the schedule…"
Ikuto barely listened to the conversation as he focused on tuning his violin to perfect pitch. He was annoyed that his accompanist was absent - even though there really was no way of him being able to play - so he hoped that the replacement would prove satisfactory. The directors had told him that they would walk on and off the stage from either side, and due to Ikuto arriving a short time before the start of the concert they wouldn't be able to meet until after the performance.
Ah, how bothersome.
"Tsukiyomi-san, it's time." The director told him and led him to the side of the stage.
Like always, I will perform like a professional.
He heard his name and piece being announced - he remembered as clear as crystal that the piece was the one Amu had learnt when he taught her. As he declared in his head that he would play well for her and walked on stage, he locked eyes with the accompanist.
Ikuto was stunned to the core. Bright pink hair, moving gold eyes, that determined expression - he could not be mistaken.
His accompanist was his former student.
However he wasn't going to swallow his words this quickly - he continued to walk until he was right next to the piano, where she quietly sat down. Ikuto briefly analysed her - the black dress fit her like a glove. Her hair was noticeably longer, and she looked much more like an adult. Most importantly, she looked tense on stage, but he couldn't tell if it was from the nerves on stage or if it was him who caused it.
Eventually, he raised his violin to his chin and shoulder, and as he faced her, he started to play.
At the last note, Ikuto had noticed that she had developed from a raw talent to one of a professional standard. Looking at the way she played those notes, even he - her former mentor - could not tell for a moment that she had initially learnt piano as an emergency birthday present for her mother.
Ikuto paid no attention to the ecstatic crowd's cheer as he reluctantly tore his gaze away from her in order to bow to the audience. After he sensed her walking away, he paid no attention to the director's instructions and followed Amu off the stage.
As soon as Ikuto was out of view from the audience, his arm snapped forward to grab hers.
He could hear her gasp slightly, but she didn't turn around to face him.
"Hinamori. It's you, isn't it?" Amu nervously turned around, attempting to pull her hand out of his grasp - but that action made Ikuto hold on tighter.
"Please let go." He exhaled and a slight grin appeared on his face. "Yes. I was right." She silently glanced into his eyes for a split second. "You haven't changed much." Ikuto blurted out, his self-control disappearing within an instant. The power of a woman's eyes had gotten the better of him. Amu's facial colour bloomed into a light red and looked around. Ikuto noticed what she was embarrassed about - the countless eyes backstage analysing the two. Sigh… what did I expect? He made a rash decision to pull her by the arm away from the bystanders.
The two were alone in the preparation room. Ikuto leaned on the bench and looked through the mirror at Amu, who was idly sitting in one of the seats. He analysed her much more carefully than before. Though she kept her pink hair as her individual statement, she had lost some of the youthfulness of a teenager after a few years - she looked mature, knowledgeable.
He wondered to himself, was it the same case for her personality?
Ikuto lazily ran his hands through his hair in confusion. He had expected himself to enjoy the lost moments with Amu if he ever saw her again. Yet he ended up making it awkward by standing around doing nothing.
"Hina-"
"You're asking about why I did what I did, right?" He knew it didn't take a genius to figure it out, so he had no time to be shocked. Even without confirmation, Amu nodded and looked to the side, not wanting to meet his gaze through the mirror. "It was so sudden when it happened… by then graduation was completely out of the question." She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and swallowed. "We… were blackmailed to leave the city immediately."
Her answer wasn't what he had expected to hear from her. He was thinking along the lines of bankruptcy, kidnapping, or even a shoujo classic pregnancy - not that he actually wished for that to happen - but blackmail wasn't very high up his list.
"What do you mean, blackmailed?" Ikuto mentally hit himself for asking such a dumb question.
"A week before graduation… everything from the house vanished. So did Ami and Mother. I found a note telling us to head straight to Kyoto within twenty four hours if we didn't want them hurt. When we arrived, we found out that the perpetrator had wanted us all to move out of Osaka because of my father's unattainable success at his job… it seemed that he was some selfish rich kid who used money for all of his ordeals. In the end… we were watched by surveillance every day… for four years. It was about four months ago that they suddenly let us out. It turns out that the guy behind it all had been murdered by a company rival. My family wanted to stay in Kyoto since they were never able to enjoy the highlights of the city… but I decided to come back here. I missed it all."
Ikuto couldn't stand it anymore. She had never wanted to leave him in the first place - it was a forced decision. It was unbearable to think that while he was free in the city as a stoic, yet hopeful adult, she had been trapped for something mainly unrelated to her. In a split second, he strode towards her and grabbed her hand.
"Wait… Tsukiyomi-sensei-" He instantly interrupted her by pulling her towards him in a tight embrace.
"How I missed you these four years… I'm so sorry..." He breathed as he did the things he had missed out on for their time apart - he ran his fingers through her pink tresses, he inhaled her scent, he embraced her small body. He couldn't care less about the perpetrator at that moment - he could only cherish her presence. Ikuto could feel her tense body relax after a while, and he could feel warm moisture soaking through his shirt as her arms wrapped around his waist.
"What's wrong?" He pulled away reluctantly to see her face and wipe away her tears. Yet they continued to flow down her eyes filled with remorse.
"W-What do you mean, 'what's wrong'?" She asked in disbelief. "Aren't you mad at me for… for lea-" Ikuto swiftly placed a finger on her trembling lips, knowing that it pained her enough to say those words. Holding the back of her head, he placed her head on his chest and rubbed her back soothingly.
"Shh… you didn't leave me Hinamori. You never did." Once again, they pulled away from each other. With the back of her hand, Amu wiped the moisture from her cheeks. A faint smile appeared on her lips as her cheeks flushed slightly. "One question… did you forget me during those four years of separation? Is that why you didn't come see me?" His question had etched disbelief in Amu's expression.
"Of course not! Even if it was that long, I would never forget you… I-I actually loved you, and I still do…"
"Then why didn't you come see me as soon as you came back?"
"You're a healthy Japanese male, aren't you? I had expected you to find someone else prettier, older, better suited for you… I'm just a student you had an affair with anyway-"
"Idiot." Ikuto muttered silently with humour.
"...Eh?"
"Even though I'm an adult, I've never actually felt that for someone in my life. I couldn't get you out of my mind… I even went to our special place every day, hoping that I'd see you again!" He inhaled sharply as he leaned his forehead on hers. "Now that I've found you… I'm never going to let you go. Ever. Again." His declaration had struck Amu to the core - she had never expected such a reply from him. It made her happy inside knowing that he had waited for such a long time for her.
"Tsukiyomi-sen-"
"I am no longer your teacher, so don't call me that. Call me by my first name, please…" Amu hesitated for a moment, and Ikuto believed that she had thought of calling him by his first name embarrassing.
"Actually… what is your first name?" She asked him with a nervous giggle, biting her lip in confusion. "I never actually knew it." Ikuto felt both amused and annoyed.
"You're kidding." She shook her head, her face becoming even redder. Ikuto let out an exasperated sigh as he stood up straight.
"So you say that I've been on your mind for four years… and you only remembered me by my surname? You really are one of a kind." Amu crossed her arms and glared at his amused expression.
"What do you expect? You're a teacher! We students aren't supposed to know your first names anyway."
"We did date, you of all people should at least know my first name."
"You didn't even tell me!"
"Sigh. Did you even pay attention to the regular assemblies? Almost all the school cohort knew my name after a week or two from starting their first year." It was by then Ikuto knew that he had won the argument - even though she didn't want to admit that she was wrong.
"But…"
"Ikuto."
"Huh?"
"My name is Ikuto, and I have been in love with you for four years, nine months, seventeen days." He confessed to Amu with no regrets, no pain, no restraint. Though it seemed too much for her alone.
"H-Hey, don't just say that out of the blue, you idiot…" She stuttered, noticeably embarrassed by the feat.
"I can't help it, I haven't seen you in so long… now tell me." Her flusters seemed never-ending that night, she looked so embarrassed that even he was surprised. He didn't show it, though. "What is your name, and do you still love me?"
"You… you don't know my name either, do you? Hypocrite!"
"Oh, I do know. You were the attention-grabber back in those days, even amongst the faculty. I just want you to… let's see… play along?" He asked with a sly grin. Her cheeks puffed up as she looked away shyly, but Ikuto reached to hold her face in position to look into his eyes.
"Say it… please." Amu exhaled, knowing there was no way out of this, and smiled as she spoke.
"My name is Amu, and I have always loved you." Because at the utter cheesiness of the moment, both couldn't help but laugh at their words. That moment alone was interrupted by a sudden kiss from the navy haired violinist.
One thousand, five hundred and ninety third day after she disappeared: The two have finally been reunited for a blissful future.
A/N: Hey my readers! Thanks heaps for reading my new one-shot - personally, I think its too cheeseball for my style... but I felt like writing this. If you've been waqiting upon any of my other stories such as The Sinful Seven or Potential, I'm sorry I haven't posted recently. Too busy with the new assessments of a tenth grade student. =="
I accept all constructive criticism - I actually expect it, because it's not my best piece. I will welcome all criticism which is written in an attempt to give me advice, but no flaming. It's rather unnecessary. :)
So please, rate and review! :D:D:D