Disclaimer: I don't own anything except this story of mine. La Corda D'Oro, as we all know, rightfully belongs to Yuki Kure and to Koei.
Title: "Unravelling Mysterious Events"
Author: tokiya-kun18
Beta-Reader: -sera-chan011- (Thank you very much for beta-reading this FanFic! ^ ^)
Fan-base: La Corda D'Oro
Pairing: All boys/Kahoko Hino, Keiichi Shimizu/Shoko Fuyuumi
Kahoko Hino was absent-mindedly fumbling with her pen. It was afternoon and she was supposed to be concentrating on the lessons. But no matter how much she wanted to do so, she couldn't quite help herself into feeling bored.
The final lesson of the afternoon was Maths, after all.
She wasn't fond of that particular subject albeit it was the one important subject she should really be attentively listening to. She herself and her grades were not so good when it came to numbers. She disliked Maths.
Stealing a glance at her friends, she found both Mio and Nao looking likewise bored. A frown showing disinterest was stuck on Nao's face while Mio pouted, trying to take all the equations in, but to no avail—she couldn't understand it clearly herself.
Looking over to her side she found Kaji, the only one who had been paying lots of attention to this class. A smile was plastered on his face as he raised his hand and answered the unheard-of question by the teacher. He winked at her when he got it right which caused Hino to blush and look away from him.
She wanted to at least escape this class before the teacher even notice her boredom.
"Three business partners who are Aideen, Brian, and Caroline, invest €30 000, €40 000, and €70 000 respectively. At the end of each year, 22·5 % of the profit made is placed in reserve and the remainder is divided among the partners in proportion to their investments.
"Number one: Given that in 2007, the profit amounted to €12 880. Calculate the amount placed in reserve, Hino-san," the teacher said, staring at her with a book at hand. Hino thought her teacher didn't notice, but unfortunately for her, she did.
"Um… It's… Uh…" Hino tried answering, but nothing came to mind. She was blushing with pure embarrassment by now.
"Well? I'm waiting, Hino-san," her teacher tapped her foot impatiently as she said so.
As if sensing Hino's danger from the prey, an announcement came. "To all the concours participants, please head to the Chairman's office immediately. Aoi Kaji from class 2-2, please head there as well. Thank you."
The teacher growled silently as she eyed two of her students. "You guys can go ahead," she said almost unwillingly.
Kaji and Hino arose from their seats, escaping the class quickly, and made their way to the Chairman's office.
.
.
.
"Hey, nice to see you again!" Hihara beamed, when the three Gen Ed's came to view. He smiled at them cheerfully like he always did, and waved his hands in the air playfully.
Kaji and Hino met Tsuchiura along the way and decided to walk together since their destination was the same. Nothing abnormal was found when Hino offered Tsuchiura to walk with them but there was something that told her that the boys were somehow displeased and unhappy with it.
"Nice to see you, too, Hihara-senpai," greeted Hino, making the said senpai smile wider. She glanced over Hihara's shoulder, seeing Yunoki a couple of steps away.
"Good afternoon, Hino-san, Tsuchiura-kun." Yunoki smiled politely, sending chills to Hino's spine, as he caught up with his best friend. "… and Kaji-kun." He didn't even look at the blond for more than five seconds before ignoring him.
"Hihara's quite excited so he ran, leaving me behind." He chuckled, making the light green-haired young lad blush.
"W-Well… You were a bit slow, Yunoki. And I wanted to…" Hihara trailed off, face burning further. He couldn't possibly say, 'And I wanted to see Kaho-chan quickly' in front of her other suitors, right? "I wanted to see everybody, and know why we're being called!" Nice excuse, Hihara, he inwardly told himself.
"I see," Tsuchiura and Yunoki weren't taking his excuse, and instead played along.
"Well, here we are," Kaji announced, knocking on the door. They finally arrived at their destination after a few minutes. Kaji glanced at the redhead beside him and nudged her on the elbow, causing her to break out of her trance.
"Huh?" Hino looked up at him, questioningly.
"Come in," a deep voice said from the other side of the door. Hino had comprehended with Kaji, so he opened the door, motioning her to go in first.
When they were all in, they realised they were the last batch to arrive. Shimizu and Fuyuumi were sitting on the couch, while Len stood across the room, arms folded in front of his chest. Kanazawa and Ousaki were standing near Kira, staring at the last pupils. Kaji noticed that Kanazawa was looking a bit pale than his usual skin colour, and his eye bags were fairly noticeable but he later shook the idea off his head and thought it was only tiredness causing it.
Kira shifted his weight on the chair and instructed them to take a seat. They followed and directed their attention to Kira.
"Pardon the urgency of my calling but I need to inform each and every one of you," Kira stated, staring from one another's eyes, "that there had been a message sent here, addressed to the people who participated in the concours and their accompanists, Kaji-kun, Kanazawa-san, and Ousaki-kun." He brought up a white envelop containing the letter and passed it around. "I have already told your accompaniments about this matter and they agreed to go. I assume you too will as well?"
"Yes," they all said, giving the white envelope back to Kira.
"But for what, may I ask, Kira-rijichou?" inquired Len, frowning and staying at the exact same position as he was found earlier.
"It involves your future, Tsukimori-kun," Kira said. "Some of the best musicians are going to be there and they were the ones who planned this. They chose Seiso Academy from above all schools in Japan to witness the standards. You may never know if you're going to be picked or not by the maestros and famous musicians."
"Hn." Len nodded as he started to register in his mind the words stated.
"Any more questions?" asked Kira. At this, Tsuchiura raised his hand. "Yes?"
"When are we going to the manor?"
"Good question—yet the bad answer to that is, 'tonight'," Kira plainly said.
"Tonight?" almost everybody in the room exclaimed.
"I do hope all of you don't have any plans for this day. If you can't go then don't; but if you want… then go," stated Kira. "This meeting is dismissed. Get yourselves ready and I'll see you later at seven."
.
.
.
Everybody arrived a quarter before seven at the Academy.
Almost.
Hino and Fuyuumi were the only ones they were waiting for. Their accompanists and the boys were chatting animatedly as a black limousine came to view. The door opened, revealing a flushed Fuyuumi and a crimson-coloured face Hino.
The others wondered what was wrong with them but Hino insisted it was nothing, taking Fuyuumi's hand in hers. The two girls approached Nami Amou soon after and complained something about 'girls and their puberty' being talked upon the phone.
"Heh heh…," Amou giggled, causing Hino to fume in anger. "Hey now, it was only a joke! Chillax, Hino-chan!" was all Amou could say before bursting into laughter.
"It wasn't funny, Amou-san," Hino said, lightly shaking the fainted Fuyuumi. "I mean, saying those and about boys… and… and…" Hino trailed off, her face steaming with the thought. "Why did you even bring it up in the first place?"
"For fun," replied Amou as she shrugged. "And well…"
"No! Please, don't say it!"
"Oh, OK. If that's what you want, heh heh."
"But, I was thinking… what are you doing here, Amou-senpai?" Fuyuumi suddenly asked, gaining balance from Hino's hold.
"To take pictures! Kira-rijichou asked me to do it," she grinned, tapping her camera at hand.
"Oh," mouthed Fuyuumi.
"Uh oh," face-palmed Hino.
"Hey guys! Come on! Let's go!" Hihara shouted excitedly, interrupting Amou's soon-to-be-whine. The two girls sighed in relief as they made their way to the bus and sat down.
Hino made sure that she and Fuyuumi wouldn't be sitting too close to Amou. She was definitely up to something, Hino thought as the transportation moved.
.
.
.
Everybody was stunned to see a massive manor standing before them. The trees and plants surrounding the whole place were incredible. The grass and hedges were well-trimmed and the flowers were in full bloom. The gardeners might have been really exhausted keeping them beautiful, Hino thought.
Kira walked first, followed by the students and Ousaki. Kanazawa was still looking pale but pushed himself in to catching up with the others.
Once inside, all of them—excluding Fuyuumi, Kaji, Kira, Len, and Yunoki—gaped in awe. It had a centre block and two wings under hipped roofs. While the interior reception rooms were spacious and impressive, the exterior did not seem to have been fully finished. It lacked the details usual for a house of this type and a semi-circular portico to frame the entrance, as originally planned, was never built. Instead, a porch had been extended into the driveway to provide some protection from the north winds. Chandeliers were also hung from the ceiling, forming straight lines across the room.
As if sensing their arrival, three to six girls entered the room, greeting them good evening. Kira glanced at the students, nodding to them and introducing the ladies. Everybody was broken up into groups and was assisted to their assigned bedrooms.
Hino, Fuyuumi, Mori, Shouji, and Amou were all to be in one room. The lady assigned approached them with a smile before self-introducing herself to the group.
"Good evening, my name is Caterin. I'll be escorting you to your respective room now; please follow me."
They nodded, walking behind her. Hino saw Kanazawa's colours drain off of his face, muttering an almost inaudible 'Caterin'.
Did he know her? she thought, catching up with the others as they went upstairs. She couldn't quite take her eyes off Kanazawa in the process. Worry soon painted Hino's face as she felt that something was awfully wrong.
.
.
.
"When are they going to meet the musicians, Kira-san?" Ousaki asked, once everybody had gathered in the elegant dining room, eating their supper.
"Next week is what's written down here," he held up the paper, re-reading it and sighing. "But we had to get them ready for this."
"And who are they, Kira-rijichou?" Shimizu asked, drowsily rubbing his eyelids.
"You may have heard some of them. One of them is Misa Hamai," Kira stated, while Tsuchiura and Len almost choked on their drinks.
"Misa Hamai-san!" bewildered, Tsuchiura asked.
"Yes, her."
"This may be a good opportunity to be chosen as her student, right, Tsuchiura-kun?" Yunoki chuckled lightly.
"Ah."
"Wow, meeting Tsukimori's mother again! I can't wait." Hihara jumped at his seat, excitement still burning inside him.
"I can hardly wait for it," frowning, Len said.
"The others? Who are they?" asked Hino curiously.
"I don't know for sure," Kira said. "The only person they told me was Hamai-san; the rest is a surprise."
"So, we're going to perform for them, and our past accompanists are our accompanists once more?" asked Tsuchiura.
"They serve much of a better purpose, Tsuchiura-kun," said Kira. "They have their own roles in this."
"Which is?"
"A secret. They're the ones to only know of it."
"…" Tsuchiura remained silent, shutting his mouth completely and getting back to eating.
"Is anyone opposed to the idea? No? Good. I'll be speaking to the accompanists in private later. Meet me in the living room, understood?"
"Yes, sir," they answered in unison.
"More drinks for that one, sir?" Caterin asked Tsuchiura, showing him the water jug at hand.
"Sure," was his reply.
"I'll be heading out for a while. See you later, kiddos," said Kanazawa, rising from his seat.
"Eh? Where are you going, Kanayan?" asked Hihara.
"To smoke." Kanazawa walked out of the room, leaving them watch his trail.
.
.
.
The wind blew furiously outside the manor as the moon's light illuminated the surroundings. Trees dancing gracefully yet the way it swayed made it seem that its peace had been disturbed. Branches shaking in fear and leaves falling violently to the ground. Rain seemed attacking the weak living things hard as they caused loud, uncomfortable noises.
The night seemed miserable. Chills would run down the spine of someone watching this scene.
Something told this person that a very unfortunate event would be taking its place from the very inside of the oblivious manor.
"Has anyone seen Kanazawa-sensei?" Mori asked, scanning the room with a very wary expression. One of her hands clutched into a fist under her chin. A frown painted beyond her beautiful feature.
"Eh? Uh… No, I haven't seen him," Hihara replied as he worriedly watched Mori's movements. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him around ever since he said he'll be going out for a smoke." He nervously scratched the back of his head as he felt all of the others' eyes on him. "Is there something wrong, Mori-chan?" curiously, Hihara asked. His eyebrows furrowed as he continued to observe the said teen.
Mori bit her lower lip, not sure how to answer it properly.
"He's probably sleeping in his room," Tsuchiura half-answered and half-guessed in Mori's place. She met his eyes but he turn away in an instant, unknowingly offending her. "What?"
Tsuchiura questioningly raised an eyebrow as the others switched their attention from Hihara to him. "Kanayan did look really tired when we arrived, you know." He was tempted to give out a sigh, but kept it inside him.
"Maybe you are right, Tsuchiura-kun, but still…" Amou, who had been unbelievably quiet for a while, finally spoke up. "Don't you think it's a little bit strange for him to just disappear and never come back?"
"Amou-san!" Hino cried out, suddenly tensed with the whole conversation.
"What? Are you thinking that I meant he got kidnapped?" Amou snorted. "Kanayan's a big guy. Nobody, as in nobody, can knock him out and carry his body! Plus, he's also an adult; he can take care of himself."
"B-But, why a-are y-you guys speaking l-like he g-got into an a-accident?" stammered Fuyuumi, body shaking at the aura engulfing them. It was too tensed, so uncomfortable to be in.
"Fuyuumi-san," Yunoki said, earning the clarinetist's attention. "Don't you think this whole event is strange?" he asked in a gentle voice, careful not to scare her.
"Which part, Yunoki-san?" Kaji asked for the first time since the issue began. He had only been listening to the conversation silently yet attentively. He didn't want to interrupt anyone and instead, paid close attention.
"Hm… Well, for one, Kanazawa-sensei hasn't come back. It had been three hours since he was last seen." Yunoki glanced at the clock above the fireplace as he answered.
"Yes, he had been gone. But as Tsuchiura-kun had said, he may be already sleeping in his room."
"True."
"So, Yunoki-senpai, what's so strange about this event?" asked Shimizu. He got up from the couch he was lying on. He had fallen asleep playing Monopoly with Hino and Hihara earlier.
"The suddenness. I don't think Kira-rijichou would have agreed to this. And it says it was urgent. We could leave tomorrow or so, but he seems to be rushing it, which is not like him. And one more: meeting famous musicians. Why now? And why Japan if they could search for much better music students in Europe? It doesn't add up."
"Maybe they want to search for Asians?" Tsuchiura wasn't so sure about his reply.
Yunoki chuckled darkly, no trace of humour found in it. "I believe not. Are you saying they want to collect us for being different? As Asians? Hm… I don't think so. And besides, they could have searched other countries. Japan isn't the only Asian country around here."
"Yunoki-senpai does have a point," Len agreed.
"But I'm just curious, OK? What do you need from Kanazawa-sensei?" Hino asked the anxious Mori who was pacing across the room, now biting her thumb.
"We need him for Kira-rijichou's request," answered Mori, sighing. "Apparently, we searched for him outside for the past couple of hours and still… nothing."
"Oh," said Hino. "Do you want us to help out, too?" she offered.
"If it's OK with you guys…"
"Sure it is!" Hihara exclaimed, approaching Mori with a smile. "The more the merrier, right?"
"More like 'the more the faster'," said Kaji. "But the idea of Kanazawa-sensei sleeping in his room…"
"Ousaki-senpai went in there to check but found his bed empty," Mori nervously said.
The room fell silent after she mouthed it out.
"Kanayan's not in his room?" slowly, Tsuchiura mouthed.
"I'm afraid not."
"He c-could've gotten l-lost," said Fuyuumi.
"Have you checked the practise rooms?" suggested Len.
"He's not like you, Tsukimori. Kanayan doesn't play any instrument, you know," said Tsuchiura.
"No, we haven't," Mori answered Len's question, hopeful that maybe the Music Teacher could be found there.
Len nodded, sitting comfortably on the couch.
"OK! Let's go! —Ah, wait! Where are you going, Hino-chan?" Amou nearly yelled as she spotted Hino opening the door.
"Um… To the toilet," Hino blushed, looking down to hide it.
"Heh heh, I see." Amou giggled, all eyes turning on her questioningly. "Why don't you take Fuyuumi-chan with you?" Fuyuumi was currently approaching Hino as she said this.
"Sure." Hino nodded to Fuyuumi approvingly. "Be back in a few."
Silence.
Minutes passed since the two girls went out. Nobody spoke a single word and the silence was making Amou unhappy.
"Anyway guys, how about starting the search while I—"
"AAAAHHHHH! NNNNOOOOOOOOO!"
Amou trailed off mid sentence when they heard the familiar voices shouting in fear. Their eyes widening, body freezing in place, before they snapped back to reality and were able to move.
They all ran to where the screams were coming from. Tsuchiura and Hihara were gaining the lead while Mori and Amou were last. They were panting heavily, trying to catch their breaths when they got there.
But something was horribly wrong.
In the scene before them, blood was splattered everywhere.
Hope you liked it. Let's make the concourse participants detectives this time! See you all in the next chapters!
Edit: A zillion thanks to -sera-chan011- for beta-reading this FanFic! You rock! :~D