Midnight Mission

The concours participants are spending a long weekend practicing for a chamber music concert at a hot springs resort up the coast near Sendai.

* * * * *

It was around midnight as he made his way carefully down the dark hall, a bedroom key in his pocket. Earlier that day he had walked the same hall a few times, testing for creaky floorboards, making sure he knew how to get to that particular room as quietly as possible, even testing the key in the lock. Having done the preparation, his present task was going flawlessly. There wasn't a sound to be heard either from sleeping musicians in their rooms, or from his socked feet. If he was caught it might seem odd that he was wearing silk pajamas without a housecoat and with slippers in hand, but it was the better of two risky possibilities. As he arrived at said door and slowly inserted his key in the lock, his ears were in hyper-alert mode.

He cautiously entered the room, ready for any of several scenarios to occur. What he least wanted to happen was for her to scream. Even in that eventuality he had a plan, but it was less-than-foolproof and involved him getting to the door before anyone else did, to pretend that he had come in response to her cry for help. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

Seeing that there was a nightlight casting a soft glow in the room, he left the micro-flashlight in his pocket. He carefully closed the door and tiptoed toward a clump of blankets near one side of the bed. As he approached he saw her lying in fetal position with her head on a scrunched-up pillow. Her breathing was regular, so she obviously hadn't heard him. Now the challenge would be to wake her up without scaring her.

He knelt on the floor near her, taking a few moments to appreciate the sight of her face in complete repose. Her cheek looked so smooth he could happily spend all night caressing it. He tried to remember the feeling of her hair in his fingers. Her alluring mouth…well, he would taste it soon enough. He took a deep breath, preparing to cleave the silence. "Kahoko" he whispered. "Kahoko." He put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed it with his thumb. "Kahoko." Finally she was coming around. Suddenly her eyes flew open wide as she registered that it was the middle of the night and there was a man in her room. "It's me, Azuma." He put a finger to his lips. "Shhh."

"What are you doing in my room?" she blinked, recognizing the handsome boy. "What time is it?"

"It's midnight." he whispered…. "My room is really cold…and I was lonely."

"What?!" Her sleep-addled brain tried to make sense of what he was saying. "Wh-what does that have to do with me?"

"I was hoping that I could hang out with you for a while."

"Hang out with me? At midnight?" she hissed.

He put his finger to his lips again. "You know, share your bed. Cuddle."

Cuddle? Cuddle? Hearing that childlike word from his mouth gave her the shivers. Okay, so this guy was completely insane. Her jaw dropped in disbelief. A young man didn't get into a girl's bed for such an innocent-sounding reason, especially not a man like him.

He guessed her thoughts and put his hand on her head. "Relax, Kahoko. There's nothing for you to be nervous about. I couldn't misbehave if I wanted to, knowing that one scream from you would bring a bunch of guys here within seconds…"

She was still stunned. Did he actually think there was a way of making this sound like a reasonable request? Why wasn't her brain working well enough for her to say something appropriately scathing?... Hmm, his eyes really were hypnotic up close…

"Please, Kahoko. I just want to be with you."

Huh?...Since when did he want to 'be with her'?

He rolled his eyes with impatience."I'm getting cold, so while you're making up your mind I'm going to crawl into bed. If you're going to scream, please give me a warning. But I hope you'll first give me a chance. I'll be on my best behavior. You'll see." He patted her shoulder and got up off his knees.

She had never been good at saying No, but that was no excuse for not ejecting him forcefully from her room now! As embarrassing as it would be to deal with the situation once she called for help, she wasn't the one who should feel embarrassed, right?...So why wasn't she doing anything now?

She watched Azuma go around to the other side of the bed. As he eased the covers back and got in, she thought "Wait!.." but said nothing. She instinctively rolled over to face him. At least this way their knees would form a natural barrier. He got as close as he could to her without actually touching her.

"This is fine, isn't it?"

"Uh…maybe."

After a couple minutes of staring at his handsome face, her eyelids began getting heavy. It was the middle of the night after all, and she was naturally a heavy sleeper. His warmth and the sound of his breathing lulled her into a feeling of relative peace. It was kind of nice having someone to share the bed with, just like she used to with her sister when they were younger. There was something comforting about having a man nearby. She liked seeing his long mauve hair on the pillow so close to her.

"I really like you, Kahoko." He reached out with his hand to stroke down the side of her face. Her eyes flew wide open in reaction to his touch, but by the time his words sank in, she had gotten used to the contact. As if he actually liked her, though. Of course he would say that…but she was feeling more and more comfortable and drowsy.

He put his arm behind her head. "Here, put your head on my shoulder, Sleepygirl." He half-maneuvered, half-waited for her to get closer. She liked the idea of snuggling up to bask in his warmth. Sigh. Lord, she was such a pushover. At least she knew that screaming was an option to bring immediate help if necessary…How was it possible for this fearsome boy to feel so cozy?

With him lying on his back, her head in place and his arm around her, he knew this was as intimate as he would get with her tonight. There were two more nights for him to work with and he was more than satisfied with his progress so far. He was that much closer to achieving his mission. He took a deep breath and prepared to get some sleep before the silent vibrating alarm went off on his wristwatch. He was pleasantly surprised when she got more comfortable by snuggling even closer to him and draping her arm across his chest. "I like you too, Yunoki-sama" she whispered.

He rubbed her shoulder in acknowledgment. Yes, he was very pleased with his first night's work.

* * * * *

The alarm woke him at 5:00. He was careful in disentangling his arms from around her, but she awoke anyway.

"You're going now?"

"Yes. I have to get back to my own room before the others wake up."

"Yunoki-sama, how did you get into my room? I thought I locked the door."

"My family owns this resort. I have the key to your room."

"Oh…" Over the next few minutes it would occur to her that he planned this rendezvous. Of course he did. Devious boy.

"Thanks for your hospitality, Kahoko." He kissed her on the forehead and snuck out of the room.

Little did she know that the whole weekend retreat/concert was his doing; he had suggested the idea to the principal, given the school a great deal on the lodging, made sure that Kahoko had a private room close to his. He had done whatever it took to arrange alone time with her.

to be continued...