Community: Autumnwrite
Challenge: 24/50
Prompt: #7. "There are two more…"
Characters/Pairings: Len Tsukimori, Kahoko Hino, and Ryotaro Tsuchiura
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Sunday Afternoons
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Kahoko walked into the old store, the instruments gleaming from their cases and the walls lined with CDs. "Hello," she called out, looking around the shop, "Am I early?"
"Yes," the old man said, glancing up from where he was polishing a trumpet. "They'll be here soon, though."
"Oh, I'll get ready then." She set down her case and got her violin out. It's a good thing they were willing to help.
Earlier, when she was leaving a meeting for the concur participants, she was stopped by Len. He stood there, stopping her from exiting, and had a frown on his face.
"You sound horrible," he bluntly stated.
"Yeah, I've been practicing everyday for hours." She scratched the side of her head, giving a sheepish smile. "I still haven't reached your level yet."
"…" He stared at her for a long moment, making her feel uncomfortable. The sound of their breathing was the only thing she could hear and she desperately wanted the silence to break.
"I—"
"I guess there is no choice then," he sighed, running a hand through his sky-coloured hair. "Four o'clock this Sunday, at the shop, you will get a lesson."
"What? But—"
"I am showing you violin care anyways."
"That's not it! I—"
"Don't be late," he interrupted her once more before turning around and striding out of the classroom.
"But…" She held her hand out to stop him but he was gone.
"I'll tune you then," Ryotaro appeared at the door, having overheard the whole conversation.
"What—"
"I'm going to be there anyways. I might as well help." He smiled at her and waved, strolling down the hall leaving a flustered Kahoko in the music room.
"But…you two don't need to help me…" she uselessly muttered, sighing. They never waited to hear what she was saying anyways, just doing what they wanted. "Now I'm going to waste their time…"
There was nothing she could do anyways so she just packed up and went home. Suddenly, a warm bath was the only thing she could think of.
The piano lid was opened and she looked up with a start. There by the piano was Ryotaro and Len, a small distance between them as they stared at each other hostilely.
"You don't need to do this." She glanced from one guy to the other, hoping this would stop the silent war going between them. "Really, you don't—"
"The contest needs to keep some standards up."
"You would think that, wouldn't you?"
"At least someone does."
"Should we start?" Kahoko held her violin up between the two, effectively stopping the two. Len raised an eyebrow while Ryotaro's eyes widened.
"Good." She smiled at the two, happy they stopped fighting, and turned to Ryotaro. "Should we start tuning then?"
Ryotaro laughed, "Sure." Of course she'd stop the fighting like that. Turning to the piano, he sat down and glanced at her. "Ready?"
"Wait," she replied, positioning her arms, "Now—"
"Your right arm should be slightly higher," Len cut in, repositioning her arms.
"Oh." She glanced at her arms, trying to remember the way they were set, before nodding to Ryotaro. "Let's start."
She listened to the 'A' from the piano before moving the bow.
"More force," Len told Kahoko, watching her arms move, "Also, your movements are too loose."
"Ok." She slid the bow over the strings again.
"No, you didn't fix the problem."
"Stop ordering her around so much."
Len glanced at Ryotaro. "I am teaching her. This means telling her what to do."
"Give her a moment to adjust."
"I did."
Is this always going to happen? Kahoko thought as she tried once more.
-x-
"I think I got it!" Kahoko exclaimed happily as she played the first few notes to the latest song she was practicing.
"Me too," Ryotaro grinned at her, stretching his arms.
"You did better," was all that Len had to say as he glanced at the clock.
It had been four hours since they started and already she could play the first thirty measures with the right rhythm and melody. That was a lot of progress, considering normally it would take her a few days. The best thing was that Len would help her with parts she didn't understand and Ryotaro would check her sound every now and then. Her performance improved greatly because of this.
"You still need to keep the notes at the right pitch and keep the sound steady," Len added as he put on his coat.
"Yeah," Kahoko agreed, her arms tired from the practice.
"She improved a lot." Ryotaro looked at Len, as though challenging him. "Maybe after a few more practices she'll have that under control."
"Of course she will practice." Len stared at Kahoko and she nodded quickly.
"Could…" she paused, hesitating because she didn't want to ask them for too much, "In a while, could I get some advice and see how much I improved?"
Ryotaro and Len were at the door already and they both replied with the same words.
"Next Sunday."
-x-
Kahoko didn't know why they still helped her but every Sunday was spent the same way. Len would complain sometimes, muttering something about how he should be practicing more. Ryotaro would occasionally come late, sweaty from soccer practice. Even though they had other things they could do, they both still spent four hours every Sunday afternoon helping her learn.
They never asked why she needed to learn the violin again, why she couldn't play the way she used to. They had every right to ask, considering it was not that easy to forget an instrument, but instead they pushed her to improve.
Kahoko loved her Sundays because she spent them in a small shop, filled with laughter, warm conversations, music, and something like magic.
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A/N: This idea came from the episode where Len helped her replace her violin strings. I don't think it came out as well as it did in my head, but I hope it was ok at least. I'm not sure the characters are IC…
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
Review!