Hey this a new idea I've been toyin around with. Decided to sit down and try to write something out. If it is received well I'll update. At least one or two more chapters in the works. C&C encouraged! Enjoy!

It's 10:45pm. Almost time to hit the bandstand. John looks out and sees a full house tonight. Not a single seat left in the small club. Tonight is the perfect setting for a jazz performance. The club is dimly lit, drinks on all the tables, smoke fills the air, and two rain-covered windows towards the front show the busy streets of the city. He already feels the sweat seeping through his suit. Not only is he nervous about playing in front of so many people, but the club's AC broke so they have to keep the front door open. He checks on his trumpet one last time. Good response on the valves. Slide triggers run smoothly back and forth. Tuning slide is in the perfect position. It's show time.

John and the rest of the band enter the stage. A round of applause fills the room while the players take their positions. Piano, bass, drums, and trumpet. A classic quartet setting. They open with the standard It Never Entered My Mind, but before the vintage Steinway piano strikes those first slow arpeggios, a thought races through John's mind. That girl he sees at school. The one with the red streak in her hair. He's never once talked to her, hell, he's never once talked in class at all. No one in the school knows about him. He's just drifting through each class, going unnoticed. That's the way he wants it though. Don't want anyone figuring out he has this lifestyle. The only reason he can be out this late is because he has no parents. No siblings. No friends. People noticing him means people asking about the past. Neglect, abuse, death, drug problems…those only scratch the surface. No one needs to know about that. No one ever will. Ryuko pops back into his head. Her face, her smile. He digs her. A smile creeps along John's face while his chest feels even warmer now.

'She's gorgeous, but I'm a nobody. I don't stand a ghost of a chance with her.' He says in his head.

The piano player interrupts John's daydreaming. "Hey, let's start playing some shit, man."

"Oh yea…sorry man. You start us off." John replies.

The piano player's hands smoothly dance across the keys. The simple yet beautiful arpeggios play. John takes one last drag off his cigarette and holds it in the third valve ring. One last deep breath. He closes his eyes and gently plays the first note.

Ryuko has been enjoying herself these last couple months. She finally gets a chance to live a normal life after all that went down at the last academy. She couldn't sleep tonight. Told Mako she's going out for a walk. She makes it pretty far into the heart of the city. Colors of all kinds light up the night sky. Skyscrapers tower over the rest of the city. She passes old looking apartment buildings, roads filled with shops, and huge, complex, business centers. People fill the streets. Unfortunately, she forgot to bring an umbrella.

"Aw shit. Well its just rain anyway. I've had much worse before."

As she walks down the busy sidewalk that guy crept into her head again. She just saw him today in her class. Who was he? He must've been there the whole time but why didn't she notice until now? The guy doesn't say a word. She looked at him but he was distracted gazing out the window. He doesn't seem to fit in with the school setting she thinks. Ryuko feels the same herself. Even though she loves this new school, it's still difficult coming to terms with her not being human. It seems like they at least have that in common.

'I'll talk to him tomorrow, there's something mysterious about him. I need to find out what that is.' She thinks to herself.

It's nearing 11:00. Getting pretty late. Mako might be up worrying. Ryuko decides to turn around and start making the trek back home. Before she can take the first step, she hears something. Something she's never heard before.

"What is that? I've never heard music like this before. There's something…. hauntingly beautiful about it…screw it, Mako can worry for a little longer. I gotta check this out for a bit."

As she approaches the club, the music gets louder. She hears what sounds like a trumpet. But it must have some type of mute in it. The horn sounds muffled and has a certain buzz to it. The trumpet is playing very long and soft tones. No one is playing fast, but with every note the horn player hits, she feels a sharp pulse in her chest. It sounds so sad, it sounds beautiful, it sounds as if they're searching for something. It sounds like everything.

"I need to peak inside."

Ryuko heads into the door. She immediately looks for a seat but none seem to be available.

"Shit…guess I'll just stand by the door here. I don't want to miss this!"

She looks towards the back by the bandstand. A piano player quietly presses many keys down to create very interesting sounding chords. Chords full of color. A standup bass player quietly plucks the strings. She notices there aren't any frets on that thing, and he is playing with his eyes closed.

'Wow these guys really know what they are doing. They seem so invested in it.' She thought.

The drummer is using what looks like brushes. Both are slowly dancing on the snare drum while the hi hat clicks every two beats. She then looks at the trumpet player.

Her eyes widened immediately. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Holy shit! That's him!" she said under her breath.

'Why would he not tell anyone he's a musician? I guess most kids don't stay out this late anyways, and some clubs may not even let them in. Is he embarrassed to tell people? Is he scared? Does he think he's not good enough?' she thought to herself.

Ryuko studied his face. John's eyes were closed for the entire song. But she noticed something about him. This guy has had a rough history. Not only can his face tell that, but what he's playing right now sounds so sad. She can feel the pain coming out of the horn. She feels a connection with him and the group.

Ryuko stays for the entire song but decides to leave quick after in case John sees her. She opens the door and finds that everyone is asleep, gets into her pajamas, and hops into bed. She gazes up at the ceiling. The melody keeps playing in her head. John's haunting yet beautiful sound kept playing.

"I'm going to talk to him tomorrow for sure. I just want to hear him play again at the least. I gotta be secret about it. He hasn't told anyone and I discovered it by accident. If that's what jazz is, I gotta ask him for some recommendations as well."

With that Ryuko drifts to sleep while she plays the melody of the tune over and over until she finally passes out.