Disclaimer: I own nothing... if I owned anything two grass-haired kids would be my personal butlers and Kahoko would end up with Hihara. Just sayin'
AN: There is way way way way too much LenxKaho fanfic. I mean, I have nothing against the pairing but there's so little of everything else ;( So here we go! One of my favourite pairings :D R&R please!
The bell rang. In Seiso Music Department class 2-A, one Mori Manami who had been staring blankly out of the window was jerked to her senses. She stayed in her seat, blinking dazedly. Two seats in front of her, one blue-haired violin prodigy quickly got up and strode to the door only to be intercepted by a swarm of adoring fan girls bearing all manner of sweets, which he hated.
Manami shook her head, wondering how there could be girls so thick-headed as to offer themselves to Len like sheep flinging themselves into a slaughterhouse – of course, she thought with a smile, Hino Kahoko didn't count. In any case, even if he managed to get through them, there was no stopping the mass of females in the corridor, the queue which stretched all the way to class 3-B on the other end of the building. Yunoki-senpai had officially blocked up the whole school.
It was Valentine's Day.
Manami continued to gaze out of the window. Far better to wait it out than to attempt passage and risk being trampled on by almost half the school's population of love-crazed females.
"Ne, Mori-chan!"
She blinked. It wasn't possible. But sure enough, perched jauntily on the next table with her trusty camera in her hands, was Amou Nami, the nosy, life-loving school reporter with all the latest gossip.
"Amou? How…?"
Amou was from class 2-1, in the General Education Department. The other wing of the school.
She winked conspiratorially at Manami. "I have my ways, you know," she declared proudly. "I can't let a bunch of lovesick Yunoki guards get in the way of my scoop." Here she winked again.
Now Manami was puzzled. "Why are you here in the first place?"
Amou leaned in, and Manami found herself leaning in too.
"Today, our Hino Kahoko received a message from," here she waggled her eyebrows at the irate violinist, who had yet to find a way to leave the class, "to meet on the roof after school!"
"How did you know about this?" Manami highly doubted Hino had told Amou of her own free will. However the blue-eyed reporter, despite being so sharp, apparently had selective hearing, because she completely ignored the quiet pianist's question.
"And guess what? On the way here, I told Tsuchiura-kun too! You should have seen his expression! You know what that means, right?"
"Amou-san…"
"Go get him, girl!"
"Shhh!"
"Oh… sorry."
Manami sighed. For the longest time she'd had a crush on the handsome, talented, athletic, kind, handsome… um, extremely cool pianist. First it was envy, because of his skills that definitely surpassed hers despite all her training and his lack of training. Then it was admiration, as she became Hino's accompanist. She would never admit it, but the green-haired soccer star was her main motivation for helping Hino. (Of course, she had grown to like Hino as a friend too… ahaha ^^) The admiration quickly turned to like… and would she ever have the chance to see it turn to love?
She sighed again. "It's not supposed to be that easy, Amou-san."
"Ehhh… well, good luck! Don't worry! You're beautiful, talented-"
Not as talented as him.
"-and nice. There's nothing not to like!"
I'm not Hino.
"So, are you going to stalk him?" Manami quickly changed the subject, nodding at Len. Amou didn't look convinced, but thankfully she let it go.
"Yep! Totally! This way I get a double scoop – Violin Romance aaaaaaaaaand Piano Romance!" she squealed with delight.
"Amou-san! Are you exploiting me just for your newspaper?" Manami asked, pouting. Amou patted Manami on the head.
"Of course not! I just want you guys to get toge- A! He's gone!"
In a flash the bright-eyed journalist was racing after Len. With a resigned sigh, Manami began to pack up her things. She would be forced to push her way through the thinning – but still huge - Yunoki guard crowd, otherwise she might arrive too late.
By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs to the roof, the brunette was panting slightly. My eardrums feel like they've been machine-washed and mangled. The last shriek of "Yunoki-sama!" still echoed in her ears. Glancing up, she didn't see or hear anything. Oh well, here goes. I hope Tsuchiura-kun is there already. Yet a part of her immediately regretted thinking that. He would definitely get hurt.
As she turned the last corner, she saw his back. The tall pianist was standing stock still like a statue, looking through the glass pane in the door. He didn't turn, although her footsteps were clearly audible. She stood next to him, peering at him worriedly. He turned his face away from her, but what she could see of his cheek looked glossier than usual – was he crying?
With a glance through the dirty glass it was obvious what was happening. Len and Hino were kissing, and quite passionately at that. I wonder where Amou-san is hiding.
"Tsuchiura-kun-"
"Sorry, I gotta go," he mumbled thickly, whirling around and grabbing his bag. He ran down the steps four at the time and soon disappeared from sight, the echoes of his heavy footsteps all that was left.
It only kicked in after a few moments. Tsuchiura-kun!
Manami quickly followed suit, running down the steps as quickly as she could in her skirt. I should have gone immediately! I'll never catch up to him!
Thump. Thump. Thump. Her heartbeat, quickly accelerating. Her lungs sucked in air desperately. Her legs were beginning to feel weak. Tears were threatening to leak out of her eyes. She felt so, so terrible for wishing this would happen. It killed her, his sorrow. He had hidden his face as he rushed past her, but…
The slump of his shoulders. The barely contained half-sob that escaped from his throat. That aura of despair coming from him …
Where was he?
Abandoning her school bag at the gate, she ran out, eyes scanning the surroundings. Suddenly a hunch struck her and she ran behind the school, where dozens of beautiful sakura trees slowly released their pink petals, which floated peacefully in the air. The whorls of pink sakura petals swirling gently in the air were… pretty, but frankly terrible for visibility.
She carefully walked between the trees. Was she wrong? Maybe he'd gone straight home. Or maybe to the toilet to cry. But that sounded so un-Tsuchiura-ish she immediately dismissed the thought. She continued to walk, her heart sinking lower and lower until it felt like it was where her stomach should be.
Then she saw him.
He was sitting with his back to a tree, hugging his knees to his chest with his head between his knees, so he didn't see her. A half-sob racked his body, but she could tell he was trying to contain it. How typical – he did have a tendency to be old-fashioned about such things. Then he looked up, resting his chin on his knees. Everything about his posture, his helpless expression, his eyes, showed a man who had lost everything and didn't know what to do.
His eyes were glazed. He was so out of it that he didn't even notice her coming around the tree until she sat next to him, probably a little closer than was appropriate.
"Mori-san?" he exclaimed, too startled to hide his face or even make excuses.
"Tsuchiura-kun," she acknowledged, her voice a little sad. Now that she had actually found him, she didn't know what to say. She was just glad he hadn't run away from her or anything. Yet.
"You really loved her, didn't you?"
There was a long silence. Glancing at the man she admired so much, she realized he was savoring the silence. Enjoying her presence? Maybe. He was smiling slightly. It soon became a sad smile, and then a bitter one, then sad again. He closed his eyes, sighing, in the way that meant he had accepted what happened.
"Tsuchiura-kun?"
He opened his eyes. Her bright, searching blue eyes met his sorrowful, deep yellow ones. For the first time, she allowed herself to fall into his eyes the way she had always wanted to. On the lanky green-haired man's part, he had never realized before what a bright turquoise her eyes were. They were honest, kind, and searching. He had never seen just how beautiful she was, how her wavy caramel locks complemented her kind eyes and face. Despite himself and all his sorrow, he couldn't help wondering why Mori-san didn't have a boyfriend yet.
Manami smiled warmly at him. "If you ever need anything… I'll be here, okay?"
It was a perfectly innocent statement, but he knew what it meant. Her eyes were full of love and spoke volumes more about her feelings than any words could convey. He found himself struggling with a decision he wanted to make – in the end, he made it.
He leaned against her and, after a moment's hesitation, buried his face in the crook of her neck. Taken aback, she slowly wrapped her arms around him. He felt the fingers he knew caressed the keys of a piano as lovingly as he did stroke his head gently, running through his short hair. He groaned into her neck. "I've been so stupid, Mori."
"Manami," she corrected automatically. Her pale cheeks were tinged red from his proximity. He was practically nuzzling her neck. Not that she minded, of course. She had seen the realization in his eyes when their eyes met. He was actually noticing her. She blushed deeper.
"I've been stupid too," she murmured gently, running her fingers through his hair. "Chasing after something I could never have. But then again, I may be wrong."
He had shifted his head to lie sideways on her shoulder. She glanced down at him and quipped, "I do have a chance, don't I?"
She caught the red spreading across his tanned cheeks before he quickly buried his face into her neck again.
"Yeah…"
She smiled to herself, loving every moment of it.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Manami."
"Tsu-"
"Just Ryou."
"Happy Valentine's, Ryou."
It's not supposed to be this easy.