Kousaka Reina brought her trumpet to her lips. She didn't need to read the music to play. She knew the piece by heart. No, instead she glared at the back of Tsukamoto Shuuichi's head, her gaze almost sharp enough to break skin.

"Reina-chan?" Kaori politely interrupted her silent murder-in-progress.

Reina lowered her instrument and waited for her upperclassman to continue.

"Your notes are a little... sharp. I think you need to relax more. Is everything okay? You seem very tense."

"I'm fine," Reina told her in a clipped tone. It was the truth, more or less. Reina wasn't the one Kaori should be worried about. It was going to be Shuuichi once Reina was through with him.

"You sure?" Kaori tilted her head, clearly not convinced.

Reina sucked in a deep breath through her nose. "Yeah. Fine."

Kaori gave her a small, tentative nod. "Let's try that part again, then."

Reina obliged – this time going over the vague details of her plan in her head. Having a plan of action calmed her, made her feel in control. She was going to ambush Shuuichi. She'd been bent on it since last night when Kumiko called her up in the middle of dinner. Reina had run to her room without even finishing and shut the door to listen to Kumiko cry on the other end for the next hour straight.

As fate would have it, her every opportunity to catch him alone today had so far been thwarted by random interceptors. But after club, she would get him. She swore it. She couldn't live another day, a fuming mountain of ire, ready to erupt at the slightest provocation.

Only a few more minutes. And then they were cleaning up, putting the desks back in order, returning their instruments to the music storage room. Once again, fate did not appear to be on Reina's side. She was going to have to create her own chance.

"Tsukamoto Shuuichi!" Reina called – her shoulders square, chin defiant – as she stepped into the hall after him.

Heads rotated in their direction. She hadn't really needed to raise her voice; he was right there. But it felt so good to yell at him. Shuuichi turned around slowly to face her.

"Kousaka-san?" He shrunk back as she stormed up to him.

"A word. In private."

He swallowed visibly. "Uh, sure."

She marched him into an empty classroom, and slammed the door shut behind them.

"So," Shuuichi cleared his throat. "What's up?"

"You have to ask?" Reina's eyes narrowed into slits.

It wasn't supposed to be a rhetorical question but it became obvious pretty quickly he had no intention to answer it. Shuuichi avoided meeting the daggers her eyes were slinging at him. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at her. There was a tremor running up his leg. It was good seeing him squirm.

"You dumped Kumiko." Reina folded her arms tightly over her chest.

He winced. "Look, it's really not-"

"Why?"

Shuuichi sighed. He ran a hand through his hair. His brow creased. He was getting annoyed despite his discomfort. "That's between me and Kumiko. It's really not any of your business."

"It is my business when Kumiko calls me out of the blue to cry into my ear. What the hell, Tsukamoto? I thought you were crazy about her."

"I was-"

"Until you got bored and ripped her heart out."

"I didn't get bored!" Shuuichi was yellow now too. Reina was a bit surprised. He continued, "It's just... When we actually started dating, it wasn't..."

"It wasn't what?"

"...what I thought it would be."

Through a crack in his irritated expression, Reina caught a glimpse of sadness. She chewed her lip. But she couldn't allow herself to feel sympathy for the enemy. Not after she buried her own feelings for the sake of Kumiko's happiness only to watch her get hurt instead.

"What's that supposed to mean? You've known her forever. It couldn't have been that unexpected."

"Well it was, okay! I'm sorry!" He held his hands up in the air in surrender.

"Apologize to Kumiko, not me."

"I already have a million times!"

"It's not enough," Reina growled. Her arms fell to her sides, her fingers curling into trembling fists. "It's not enough," she repeated quietly, lowering her gaze to the floor. Kumiko's sobs echoed off the walls inside her head.

"I'm sorry." His voice is soft too. He dropped his hands.

"I'm so mad." Her eyes grew hot and she could feel moisture at the edges. "I'm so mad I could punch you."

"...If it will make you feel better."

"What?" Reina blinked at him. She wasn't sure she heard him correctly.

"Punch me... if it will make you feel better. And you can give me one for Kumiko too." He raised a hand to the back of his neck.

Reina didn't hesitate. She strode up to him, letting her anger guide her movements like instinct. "This one is for me." Her left fist met his chest. He stumbled back a little. "This one is for Kumiko." She hooked in the arm with her right. A lot harder this time.

Shuuichi flinched, hissing between his teeth. He clutched at his arm where she had struck him. She hoped it would leave a mark. Then she spun on her heel, tore the door open, and left him nursing his new bruise. She didn't know if he would have said anything else. But if he did, she didn't want to hear it.

She glanced down the hallway in either direction, wondering if Kumiko had witnessed it, or had been waiting for her. She was nowhere in sight. Just as Reina was about to head toward the stairs she noticed the door to the music room was still open. Had someone forgot to lock it up? She walked toward to check to see if anyone was still in there. Reina's heart twisted in her chest at what she saw inside.

Kumiko was standing in front of the shelf that was home to her euphonium. It was packed in its bag, and Kumiko had her fingers curled loosely around the carrying strap. She stared at the instrument with lifeless eyes.

"Kumiko?" Reina reached a hand towards her, hovered just above her shoulder – afraid Kumiko would crumble at her touch.

"I can't decide," Kumiko said, her voice dull. "Whether or not to take my euphonium home or not. I don't know what to do."

"Kumiko."

"I don't know what do do." Her words are choked. Tears swelled over her eyelids, spilling onto the hand that was holding the bag. "Help me, Reina. I don't know what to do."

"I'm here." Reina stepped closer. Her fingertips rested feather-light on Kumiko's arm.

"I liked him for so long." Kumiko pawed at her face with her free hand. "He was my best friend for years and now he won't even look at me. What did I do wrong?"

"You did nothing wrong," Reina told her sternly, stepping between Kumiko and the shelf. Her hip bumped Kumiko's forearm, which was still outstretched to the hold the euphonium bag's strap.

"Then why did he leave me?"

"Because he's an idiot."

"It still hurts," Kumiko croaked, squeezing her eyes shut. "Even if he's an idiot."

"Everything will be fine. It's painful, but these things just take time."

"It doesn't hurt any less than it did yesterday."

"Kumiko." Reina grabbed either side of the other girl's face. "Repeat after me: 'I'm going to be okay.' "

Kumiko sniffed a little, her nose stuffy from crying, and opened her eyes to meet Reina's steady gaze. "I'm going to be okay."

"You're going to be okay," Reina repeated.

"Promise?" Kumiko searched her face, her teary eyes pleading with her.

Reina pulled her into her arms, tucking Kumiko's head into the crook of her neck. She pressed her cheek against the top of Kumiko's head, one hand idly stroking Kumiko's hair. "Promise."

-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Thank you for reading! Feedback is much appreciated! If you are interested in following the other seven deadly sin fics as I write them, please subscribe to me as an author and not the fic itself. This fic will not be updated with the other installments. They will be posted as separate fics. Thanks again!