Hello Everyone! This is my first Fanfic. The first chapter here is really short, so I'm sorry about that. But I just wanted to get it out of the way so I could start writing the good parts.

Basically, the overall story is about a girl named Chihara, who is one of the participants in the Concours. It's set at the same time as La Corda D'oro, but it has a little twist and a few changes. For now, it's just about friendship, love, betrayal, hope, understanding, and competition. It's a one-sided KazukixKahoko, but probably not for too long. I think that I'm going to make it a KazukixOC sometime later. Don't worry, the characters are the same, so I'm not going to make Chiharu a mary-sue and Kahoko an evil jerk. Nopnope, my stories are always very realistic!

This chapter introduces Chihara and her friend Kimiko (who isn't a main character). Basically, Chihara faces her first challenge by the end of the chapter, and she needs to make an important decision. So stay tuned!

"Eleven point three. That's a new personal best, Takeyama-san." Nakamura-sensei smiled in approval. "I'm amazed at how you still improve every year. I didn't think it was possible." He watched as the crumpled heap of limbs on the floor tried to catch its breath. "No response, huh?" The athletics coach chuckled knowingly. "As soon as you get yourself together, head back to the locker room and shower off. You did a good job today, Chiharu." Waving, Nakamura turned around and walked away.

Chiharu Takeyama leaned all of her weight against the wall as she got up off the floor, breathing heavily and sweating buckets. Using the wall for support, she made her way to the girls' locker room, where she quickly undressed and took a shower in cold water. 11.5, huh? She thought to herself. That's…that's not bad at all. She wrapped herself in her towel. Maybe I should be more serious about the track team. Maybe I'm meant to be on it. She opened up her locker and dug out her school uniform. Although she didn't really have much of a liking towards the ruffled ties, ugly uniform was a small price to pay for being in the Music Department at Seiso Academy.

"Hey, Chiharu-Chan!" Chiharu's best friend, Kimiko, called from the other end of the room, carrying her violin case in her hand. "Come on! You know how a high humidity can totally mess up our instruments! And this place is full of steam!" Kimiko ran to where Chiharu was. "Plus, I need to show you something. It might change everything!" She added.

Chiharu put away her gym clothes and walked outside with Kimiko. "Kimiko-chan, I've been…thinking. About music." She said, as they maneuvered through crowds of music students. Wouldn't the track team be good for me? I mean…as much as I like the viola…track is something I know I'm good at. Chiharu thought. And…I have nothing to show that I'm good at playing the viola.

Kimiko smiled. "You should be." She laughed, obviously knowing something that Chiharu didn't. The two entered the main hall, which was buzzing with excitement. That was unusual, since the Music Department was always very composed.

"What's going on?" Chiharu asked. Without waiting for an answer, she continued. "Anyways, today at track…I beat my previous record. Now I have an eleven point three."

"Yeah, and?" Kimiko pushed.

Chiharu sighed. "And I guess that I've never taken track seriously before, because running was always something I just did for fun. Because I love to run." She explained. Something up ahead caught her eye. "Wait, why is everyone crowded over there?" She pointed to a crowd of music students, all gathering around the bulletin board.

Kimiko grinned toothily. "You'll see. Go on."

"Now, coach actually thinks I'm good. So…I want to practice more with the team." Chiharu breathed.

Kimiko tilted her head in confusion. "So, what does that have to do with music?" She asked, as they neared the bulging crowd. Kimiko smiled. Gosh, I can't wait until Chiharu finds out! She thought, nearly exploding with excitement.

"I—well, as it is, I don't have enough time to practice for music." Chiharu whispered. "And I know that if I don't practice, I won't be good enough to keep up with the students here in the Music Department. But…I want to take track seriously. I want to compete. And in order to do that, I'll have to switch to the General Ed Department."

"What?!" Kimiko's outburst made the whole building go quiet for a moment, and all heads turned in her direction. Kimiko's face darkened as she whispered, "But you can't do that!" She breathed a sigh of relief when the room went back to its loud, unruly buzz, and brushed her hair out of her face. "That's like…that's like giving up everything. You know that the Music Department is superior!" Kimiko hissed.

Chiharu shook her head. "Don't say that! You never know." She exhaled. "And besides, I'm only choosing track over music because nothing shows that I'm good at music at all. I mean, for all I know, I could suck." She shrugged. "So I'll talk about it to the principal. It's still early in the year. Anyways, what was it you were going to show me?"

Kimiko's face paled, and she grabbed Chiharu's arm without saying anything. She pulled Chiharu through the crowd, pushing people and making space for them until they were standing right in front of the bulletin board. She tapped her finger next to a sheet of paper that read Inter-School Musical Concours. Below the heading was a short list of eight participants.

Chiharu covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh my gosh! I completely forgot about the Concours!" She gasped. She quietly reviewed the list of participants. "First Year Class A: Shimizu Keiichi". A first year student, huh? Good for him. She moved onto the next one. "First Year Class B: Shouko Fuyumi". Another one? They must be really good! It was no shock when she read: "Second Year Class A: Tsukimori Len". Great. What a snob. However, her face brightened when she read the next line. "Third Year Class B: Hihara Kazuki". Kazuki made it! That's great…I'll go congratulate him later. She thought. "Third Year Class B: Yunoki Azuma". Her mouth wrenched into a permanent scowl. What a showoff.

And then, at the bottom, printed in neat, perfect letters: "Third Year Class B: Takeyama Chiharu".

Heyas! So how did you like it?! Don't worry if you didn't; it's not one of my best works. If you liked it, great! Review it and tell me what you thought was good. If you didn't, then offer me some constructive criticism. NO FLAMES, please. 3

Preview for chapter two:

Chiharu is having a great time, being able to see and interact with her friends more now that they are in the same competition. But what happens when her competitive side gets the better of her and threatens to ruin their relationships? Read on and find out!

Next Chapter: June 25, 2009 (but hopefully sooner) :3