AN: Hello everyone, so since Akashi is my favourite character from KnB, I have decided to have a go at fanfiction and created this story. I will try and update once every 1-2 weeks, if any of you will want to read it, that is :)
Also, feel free to leave comments, reviews, constructive criticism or praise ( :D ), I would be delighted to hear it… and please, if you find any grammatical errors or discrepancies, let me know. I am not a native speaker, my native language is very different to English, so every hint, tip and advice is greatly appreciated :)
I hope you'll enjoy the story! :)
V.
Wind was blowing ever so softly that morning. It was unusually cool for a third week of April, the boy thought. He took his everyday detour around the empty mansion on his way to school, thinking little of it as he did so – he has been using this way ever since he arrived in Kyoto. At first, he had hoped the high window over a balcony would be open, and music would play again, as it did so long ago. Now, it just became sort of a ritual he made for himself, acknowledging the fact that the window may, in truth, never open again, and the music would, most likely, never play. It was a fools´ notion in the first place to hope that the dim memory from his childhood would spring into life, he thought, half amused at his own naivety. This sort of wishful thinking doesn´t befit him, after all. So he set off in the direction of the mansion, wondering why he still keeps such a useless habit at all.
He should have noticed the slight shift in the air that morning. Something was very different on this day indeed, and he came to realize it as he found his head jerking upwards, alerted by the soft sound of a piano coming from the direction of the mansion. He hurried over, and sure enough, the window was open. Transparent yellow curtains danced in the wind, almost in harmony with the classical piano piece that was now clearly audible in the cold air. A well-known composition from Schubert, he almost smiled to himself, Impromptu in G flat. With a different vibe to his step, he continued on his way to school.
Fingers of the girl playing the piano stopped dead in their tracks. She felt a slight tingling in the back of her head- a feeling she got every time somebody was watching her without her knowledge. She raised from the piano stool, and rushed to the balcony to look around, only to find the street below deserted. Even the park across the street seemed vacant at a glance. There was definitely nobody watching her from the outside of the mansion. Still uneasy, she closed the window and the piano, and walked out of the room, picking up her white and light-blue uniform along with a towel on her way to the bathroom.
"Ichinose-san, welcome to Rakuzan Academy. We are most pleased that a student of your quality has chosen our institution. I am sure you are well aware of the fact that we do not, unfortunately, have a music program here. However, we do focus on bringing out the best in our most talented students in all areas we possibly can, and with your parents already making necessary arrangements, I am pleased to inform you that we have prepared a study program especially tailored for you. It should give you plenty of time do develop your musical skills adequately, and you will have a new music room all ready for you to use. Some alterations to the regular schedule your class follows have been made, and in the file you are now holding in your hands is all the necessary information you need to know. Now. Before I let you join the other students, do you have any questions?" The headmaster adjusted a pair of square, turtle shell glasses on his nose, eyeing the girl in front of him expectantly. So far, she never once interrupted his monologue, just watched him calmly with her soft green eyes. "I do have a question, headmaster. Which subjects got left out of my schedule?" She spoke in a surprisingly modest tone. "English, of course, home economics, art, P.E. and part of your civic curriculum- those are all affected by the altered study plan we have approved for you specifically, Ichinose-san." The girl then surprised him by bowing low and hastily saying: "Headmaster! Please, let me attend P.E. and art classes!" The middle aged man was impressed. This girl seemed to be different than he expected her to be. If anything, she appeared to be bothered by all the special treatment her family had arranged for her. The headmaster smiled: "Ichinose-san, your curriculum was composed with your musical career in mind. You are a high school student now, so if you feel that attending classes outside your study plan won´t impede your piano practices, you are free to participate. I admit it is refreshing to see a student so interested in their education. I will talk to your parents, and the school board. In the meantime, I allow you to attend whichever additional classes you desire, on my responsibility."
The smile on her face as she thanked him was radiant, almost blinding.
Hikari left the headmasters´ office, and took out her class schedule to check whether she happens to be late for anything on her first day already, or not. Luckily for her, first three hours of her time were meant to be spent on piano practice in her private music room…And school itself was starting in more than half an hour. After she penciled in P.E. and art, she set off to find her new piano, turning a corner into a corridor she believed led to the correct wing, still surprised how early she woke up this morning.
Soon she found out that not consulting the plan first was not the smartest thing to do. Rakuzan was huge. Far larger than any school she attended in Europe, and since it was still fairly early in the morning, the hallways were eerily silent and completely empty. She sighed, resigned to trying to find her own way in the confusing maze of tall hallways and stylish classrooms, when she noticed the door of a nearby room standing slightly ajar. Whoever was in there didn´t bother to turn the lights on.
Hikari hesitated, her hand halfway raised to the handle on the sliding door.
Click. A sharp, wooden sound. Clack. And one more. She listened attentively for a third one, which never came. Suddenly curious, she slid the door open.
Even though it was morning already, the room was still shadowy, with most of its´ window blinders pulled down, preventing the pale rays of April sun from entering. Another clicking sound drew Hikaris´ gaze to its´ origin, and her eyes widened. She didn´t recognize the boy sitting near the only non-blinded window in the pillar of cool morning sunlight. He was leaning over a shogi board, and created an image of odd serenity, concentrating on the game, which he apparently played against himself. His hair had a vibrant red color, and even though Hikari did not know him, he struck her as painfully familiar. Since there was no sign of him noticing her presence, it would be sensible to turn around and leave quietly. However, she found herself walking over to his table, pulling a chair to it, sitting across him and watching his game in silence.
"Ote, "he murmured after what seemed like an hour, and raised his head to look at her. Hikari returned his stare with calm determination in her own expression. She didn´t fail to notice that his eyes did not match in color. There were also other aspects about him that did not quite fit together. Those, too, caught her eye, and made her smile falter and her eyes sadden, so she decided to keep her observations to herself for now.
"Okaeri, Hikari," he said, still eyeing her with unnerving intensity. Hikari seemed unfazed by this, her expression unchanging except for one very slightly raised eyebrow. "I think a "good morning" would be a better greeting, now, wouldn´t it?"
"Indeed it may seem so, though I prefer to emphasize the fact that you are back, Hikari. Will you not ask me how do I know your name? It must confuse you, since I don´t see you remembering mine." A tinge of amusement mixed with annoyance marked his answer, along with a soft chuckle.
"I won´t ask, since you seem to be accustomed to knowing a lot," she replied.
"Indeed I am." Another chuckle, followed by a malicious grin. And silence.
"I´ve never met you before in my life," said Hikari softly, after a short while.
More silence. Noticeably colder than the previous one.
He rose from his chair, and walked around the table to stand in front of the girl, just one step too close to her. The menacing aura radiating off of him was almost visible.
"Akashi Seijūrō. You will remember me."
She stood up as well. They were the exact same height. Akashis´ cold animosity seemed to just wash past Hikari, as no notion of anything but calm confidence seemed to reflect in her posture.
She smiled. "I will remember you now, Akashi-kun."
She raised her palm, and, very swiftly, touched his cheek with just her fingertips. Then, before he could say anything else, Hikari walked past him and out of the room.
After he packed his shogi set and left the classroom for his first lesson, other students already filled the corridors, and the tall girl was nowhere to be seen.
Morning classes went by without anything way out of the ordinary. The only noteworthy thing that happened was the arrival of their new classmate to Japanese history class right before lunch. Akashi watched her, along with everybody else, as she introduced herself, and was assigned a place in the back of the class, near the window.
Hikari noticed the curious looks, and the whispers that arose as soon as she took her seat in the back of the room. Most of her new classmates seemed to be interested in her in a friendly way, at least, which was a relief, yet she still had a strong suspicion that lunch break would be the toughest part of the day yet.
The second the bell rung, she saw just how correct she was.
"Ichinose-san, is it true that you lived in Europe for the past eight years?"
"Yes, Fumiko-san, I-"
"Ichinose-san, your hair is such a lovely color! Do you ever dye it?"
"No, Katagawa-san, I don´t-"
"Ichinose-san, you play the piano, right? Did you really win that many competitions? The teachers told us you were very good!"
"I do play the piano, though I´m not su-"
"Nee, Ichinose-san, we´re all going to karaoke after school, do you want to come? We´d all love to spend more time with you! We´d leave right after club activities, meet us in front of the school gate!"
"Oh, thank you, Suzuki-kun, I really-"
"Ichinose-san, does your family really have a mansion in every country of the world?"
"What on Earth…?! N-no, how did this-"
"Ichinose-san…"
"I´m certain Hikari needs to at least eat her lunch in peace. Leave her." His voice barely above a whisper, Akashi joined the fray, and all questions stopped instantly. The girl smiled kindly at her classmates, and took out her packed lunch. "I´m really glad that you all want to get to know me. I´d love to go to the karaoke, thanks for the invite, but now, if you all can excuse me…" she trailed off, her eyes almost unwillingly shifting to her food. The little crowd dispersed, somewhat dissatisfied, but since nobody dared to oppose the read headed boy who looked as intimidating as ever, no questions were asked.
"Thanks," she gasped, and started to impatiently fumble with the knot on the napkin in which her bento box was hidden. Her hands trembled a little, and, up close in direct light, Akashi noticed a faint hue of purple under her eyes. He frowned.
"Go home, Hikari."
She didn´t interrupt her tough battle with the napkin knot to look up.
"Nonsense. It´s lunch, we still have two more classes, osoji and club activities. I´m not going home until after then," she replied in her irritatingly composed tone.
"Do not defy me. Besides, you are not joining any club, are you?"
Hikari sighed and finally looked him in the eye.
"I´m not. But since you pry, I use that time to practice some more before heading home."
She then returned to tugging helplessly at the stubborn piece of cloth, a small frown on her face. She didn't notice him walking behind her and leaning in, until a pair of slim hands with long fingers took the box from her, untied the knot, opened the bento box and placed it neatly back on her table.
Hikari´s frown gone, she turned around in her chair and smiled warmly at him.
"It is only lunch break, and I already have a second chance to thank you for helping me. I must really look like a damsel in distress, especially when vile napkins decide to hold my lunch hostage. If you´ll excuse me, Akashi-kun, since you so nobly helped me to get to my food, I´m going to try my luck on eating it without more drama."
Despite her clear dismissal, the boy didn´t leave. On the contrary, he approached her again, just as he did that morning, one step too close to be comfortable, using his menacing aura to give his words more weight. "Hikari. Go home."
There was no reply, she seemed to be munching on her rice balls quite happily, completely ignoring him.
"Hikari. I am telling you to leave- it would be best if you obeyed and did so." If there wasn´t a warning edge to his voice before, there certainly was one now.
Still no reply, though her green eyes rose to meet his, and she studied him with a thoughtful look on her face. Yet another light smile curved her lips, but the resolve in her expression was as absolute as Akashis´ order. "No," she said simply, in a voice so quiet only he could hear. "Are you defying me?" the red headed boy growled menacingly. "Why, Akashi – kun, I am. Yes." Her answer was calm, and there wasn´t a trace of anger or any emotion other than cool confidence that he could hear or see from the way she handled herself. A moment later, the warm kindness he was slowly learning to associate with her returned to her eyes, as Hikari continued with noticeable weariness in her voice: "Listen, Akashi-kun, I truly can´t understand why you insist on me going home, but I believe we have just established that this option is a complete no-go. I won´t abandon my duties, no more than you would have done in my place." Again, she looked him straight in the eye without ever flinching. Even though he was slightly impressed, he still felt the need to show her where they stand, so he hissed: "Know your place, Hikari."
Something flashed through her eyes, so quickly that he had trouble catching it, much less decipher what it was.
"I do know my place, Akashi-kun. The question is… do you know yours?"
"Hikari…"
"I meant no disrespect. Also, I´m sure that if you think about it for a bit, you´ll see what I meant very clearly."