A Step Behind

Kahoko finished the last note with a trill, and gently released her bow.

She looked up at Len, her wide eyes begging for an answer.

"Horrible," he said flatly.

Kahoko pouted in disappointment, and began to wring her wrists.

"Your pizzicatos were sharp, and you completely overlooked the crescendos from measures 68 to 74." He pointed out in the score, and Kahoko followed his finger attentively.

"Sorry," she scratched her head apologetically, and picked up her pencil on the music stand.

Len glanced tiredly out the window overlooking the campus square. It was abandoned, and even the sun was beginning to blur into dusk.

"Hey, we should get going now—"

"Wait, hold on just a second…" Kahoko mumbled, rereading the score intently. "Dyanamics, dynamics. From 68 to 74, right?"

Len nodded quietly, and observed her as she studiously scribbled down her mistakes. Her golden eyes, her glossy hair, her delicate fingers – every part of her small frame seemed to glow in the late afternoon light.

"I…like Hino."

Len blinked.

"Damn," he cursed under his breath. Tsuchiara's voice was echoing in his head again.

Len frowned, frustrated.

Why did Ryoutaro like Hino?

And why would he tell him this?

But above all, why was he so bothered by Ryoutaro's confession?

The prodigy's jumble of thoughts was interrupted by the slam of Kahoko's violin case.

"Ano…thank you for your time again!" Kahoko bowed. "See you tomorrow, Tsukimori-kun!"

"Ah. Yes. Tomorrow."

Kahoko smiled, and closed the door behind her.

Len swallowed the heavy silence of the practice room and peered out the window. The sky was dimming, with streaks of purple hinting at night.

It's gonna get dark soon, he thought. Just then, he spotted at Kahoko in the quad below, her shadow stretched out across the cement ground. He gazed at her thin, lonely figure, and sighed.

"I guess I should walk her home again," he grumbled. "How bothersome."

Yet his heart raced with excitement as he grabbed his uniform coat and hurried outside to her.

Clutching his violin case in one hand and his school bag in the other, he stopped a couple yards behind her to catch his breath. Just a few more steps…He opened his mouth to call out her name.

"Hino!"

Kahoko turned, and broke into her usual smile.

"Tsuchiara-kun!"

Len froze, for it was not the sound of his own voice that Kahoko had responded to. Just a few steps ahead of him stood Ryoutaro – his shadow tall, broad, and confident.

"Just ended practice?" the pianist placed his enormous hand on top of her head. Kahoko nodded enthusiastically, and the two continued their way out the gate, unaware of Len's presence.

"I…like Hino."

Ryoutaro's words replayed in the prodigy's head once more, and Len buried his forehead into his hands. His face grew dark as he watched their shadows, merged into one, slowly fade out of his sight.

"He beat me to it this time," Len muttered, struggling to shrug it off. He stared painfully at the spot where Ryoutaro had stood a few moments ago.

"Will I always be…a step behind?"