Holding a black instrument case in her arms, Riko made the lonely walk to the music room. The ringing bell of Otonokizaka had sent most of the student body scrambling for home, leaving the halls empty for her trek. It was alright, though. That just meant she would have some peace and quiet when she practiced her instrument.
While she was proud to have the ability to play multiple instruments, she was more interested in her viola. It was her baby - a gift from her parents - and she took impeccable care of it. Continuing to cradle it in her arms, she shifted it slightly so that she could grab the door handle and push the door open.
When the door swung open, she realized that there was music coming from the room. The soft, melodious sound of a piano hit her ears, stopping her in her tracks. Looking towards the grand piano that was situated towards the back of the room, she confirmed visually that she was not the only one there.
Another student was sitting at the piano, their fingers expertly moving across the keys like a master. With eyes closed, it seemed that they hadn't realized someone else had entered the room, focused as they were on their piece. Riko was floored by the beauty her senses were capturing, both from the music and from the girl.
Her vibrant red hair dipped teasingly past her shoulders, swaying gently with the light breeze that filtered in through the open window. A small smile was on her face as she played, the happiness she held understated but visible to those who were there to see. That day, it was just Riko, and she was glad that no one else was there to see her staring like some weirdo.
Finally, the song ended, and a pair of amethyst eyes opened to lock onto Riko's: she'd been caught. Frozen to the spot, she gulped nervously as a faint blush crossed her cheeks. Now she recognized the girl sitting at the piano. How had she not recognized the obvious hint of a beautiful redhead playing the piano? It couldn't be anyone else but the Nishikino Maki.
Riko wasn't sure if she was breathing. Surely still being conscious meant she was, but she wasn't able to confirm it. She knew of Maki: most new students to the school were well-aware of all the members of Muse. Something else drew her specifically to the composer though. Likely it was the fact that Maki played the piano just like she did, though the viola was her main instrument of choice.
Secretly though, there was the fact that, in her eyes, Maki was the most beautiful and most captivating of the nine. As a new student, she'd barely even glimpsed the composer, much less spoken to her. Still, she'd glanced at a few moments of Muse concerts that had been playing on her fellow classmates' cellphones, and she had heard the praising whispers of her fellow classmates. It wasn't much, but it was enough to entice Riko.
She didn't want to admit that she was drawn by the superficial, but her mind had already determined for her that, even though she'd never met Maki before, she was absolutely perfect. After awhile though, she'd been able to push those thoughts into the back of her mind and concentrate solely on her school life. Sure, they went to the same school, but there was no chance she'd ever meet Maki. They were in different years and walked different paths.
How wrong she had been. Here she was now, in the same room as Maki, and seeing her on small phone screens clearly paled in comparison to looking upon Maki in the flesh. It had only understated her beauty, because wow she was pretty. Not only that, but she played the piano so incredibly well, and from what Riko had heard she was also impressively smart. Was there nothing she couldn't do?
"Did you come here to play?" The silence was broken, and Riko blinked in confusion before realizing that Maki was talking to her. That gentle smile was still on her face as she stood up from the piano bench. "I was just about to head out, so feel free to use the room." Before Maki had even made it halfway across the room, Riko finally spoke up. This was unfortunate.
"A-Ah! N-No, I didn't! I-I was... returning it! The instrument! I was returning it for a friend! Hahaha, I've never played anything before. What even is an instrument?" 'Shut up shut up shut up!' The bad thing about having unexpected conversations was the high chance of her flying into a panic and saying something incredibly stupid. This took the cake though. It took the cake and threw it on the ground in front of a group of children.
Placing her viola against the wall, she almost burst into tears at the sight of Maki looking at her with complete confusion. "P-Pardon the intrusion!" She bowed so deeply that she almost fell over, then whirled around and opened the door, running out of the room and down the hall.
Halfway down she stopped, groaning as she realized exactly what she had done. She had made a total fool of herself in front of Maki, and to add to her misery, she had left her precious viola in the music room, which meant she either had to go back and get it, risking further ridicule, or abandon it and give up her musical ambitions. Maybe becoming a sailor wasn't a bad idea. At least nobody would be able to find her.
With a pitiful sigh, she turned around and dragged herself back to the music room. She really didn't want anything to happen to her instrument. Maybe she'd be lucky and Maki would have already left. When she opened the door again though, it was clear that she would have no such luck.
Maki was still standing there, as if she knew that Riko would return. Riko laughed sheepishly, picking her viola back up and muttering quietly, "I, uh... This is mine. I... do play. Sorry for, uh... for leaving." Her face was burning with embarrassment, but if Maki was put off by the display, she didn't show it. Instead, she smiled and walked back to her piano, sitting down and stretching her fingers out above the keys.
"It's okay. I won't bite, you know. Rin might, though." She chuckled quietly to herself, then blushed slightly as if realizing that Riko wouldn't have any idea about what she was talking about. "Wh-What I mean is, if you want, you can stay and play your viola. I can accompany you on the piano."
Riko had to take a moment to make herself believe what she had heard. The Nishikino Maki was asking her to play. No, she was asking for them to play together. She had to check again to make sure she was still breathing. Maybe this time she finally ceased allowing air to leave her lungs. "R-Really?"
"Of course." Riko couldn't help but immediately believe her, so she started to look around for a chair. With her viola case in one hand, she found a chair and dragged it over with the other, though she ended up having to pick it up off the ground and carry it as well after it made an ugly squeaking noise as it was dragged. How mortifying.
She sat down in the chair, concentrating on opening her case rather than looking directly at Maki. Her insides were roiling uncomfortably at the thought of doing something else stupid, but luckily she was able to extricate her viola and look back up without incident. Trying to control her breathing to calm her body's subtle shaking, she rested her chin on her instrument, holding it there while placing her fingers on the strings.
As she held the viola's bow in her hand, she realized something: what was she supposed to play? She couldn't just play anything, in case Maki didn't know the piece. What was she saying? Maki probably knew every piece. Well what if she played something that Riko didn't know? She'd look like an idiot... well, look more like an idiot. Oh Gods, she was panicking again.
The soft, soothing melodies of the piano once more reached her ears, and she looked over in surprise at Maki. She recognized the tune: she was being led into Felix Draeseke's Sonata in C Minor. Thank goodness: that was something she could do without looking stupid. Taking a deep breath, she drew the bow across the strings and began to play.
Despite a couple nervous mistakes - mistakes she would not have made under normal circumstances - they played well together. At times, Riko forgot she was even playing, as she was too busy listening to the lovely music accompanying her. Her hands moved on their own accord at those times, playing by pure muscle memory. She had to pay attention to what she was doing, but at the same time she didn't want to miss a single moment.
It didn't take long for them to fall into perfect step with each other. Every note from the piano complimented the vibration of the viola's strings exquisitely. Riko couldn't stop a smile from forming on her face, feeling an incredible sense of happiness and peace within herself. With her senses concentrated solely on her playing and the music they were making together, she could only imagine that there was a similar smile on Maki's face as well.
When the piece came to an end, she felt strangely somber. She didn't want it to ever end. The room felt too quiet without the music, too lonely. Letting her viola rest against her lap, she turned to thank Maki for playing with her, but she noticed the wistful look on Maki's face. "N-Nishikino-senpai?"
"It's nice to come here and play, isn't it?" It was clear Maki was having a moment, so Riko didn't dare speak up and break the calm that had suddenly fallen over the room. "You never know when coming here might change your life."
That hit her hard. Apparently Maki's talents also dipped into the world of philosophy. Maki was probably referring to something in her own life, but Riko couldn't help but agree. Sitting in this room, her eyes unable to look anywhere else but at Maki, she could already feel that something in her life had changed in a big way.
"I-It is nice, Nishikino-senpai. Th-Thank you for letting me accompany you."
"I enjoyed accompanying you," Maki corrected. Riko's entire world was being filled with a smile of incredible warmth, with a face of pure beauty and grace. "And please, you can just call me Maki."
"M-Maki-san." She wasn't able to drop the more formal honorifics, but it was closer than before. "A-Ah! I-I'm Riko. S-Sakurauchi Riko."
"It's nice to meet you, Riko." Maki had been right: there was no doubt that this room had the power to change lives. It was important enough to repeat, because she truly did feel that her life had changed in a big way. She had fallen in love.