Chapter One - Attack of the Sparrow

"Damn you!"

Lili jerked in surprise, and if it weren't for his magic he would have toppled down the tree where he had been precariously perched a few seconds ago. He was a little annoyed that his sleep had been interrupted by the noise but was a little relieved that it wasn't those blasted birds attacking him again, thank the stars. Finally, curiosity got the better of him, so he shook the sleep away and floated towards the commotion.

Two boys rushed past him, missing his right wing by inches. Lili scrambled out of the way and carefully alighted on a branch above the two, eager to hear more of what they had been arguing about. This should be interesting enough to make up for a boring Monday morning, he thought with a mischievous grin.

His broad smile is soon wiped off his face when a body slammed against the tree, causing Lili to teeter dangerously on a thin branch to refrain from landing face-first on the ground. He soon realized that the safest place for him would be on the air, afloat, and from there he assessed the situation.

"Are you done now? You do realize that I have better things to attend to." Calm. Monotone.

"We'll be done here as soon as you realize that jerk move you did back there!" Throbbing nerves. Angry. Very angry. Life expectancy = 30 years, give or take a few.

"You have a lot of free time. Which, for a General Education department student like yourself, is understandable. I don't have that kind of luxury."

"And that's supposed to make you that important, eh? So important that it's all right to step on other people's feelings. Why? Does it make you feel better about yourself? Makes you feel less shallow?"

"Your shallowness is so thorough, it's almost like depth. Now, step aside," said the boy whose hair was blue, all nonchalance. Lili had to admire his unruffled expression, despite getting his back slammed against a tree and all. "Hino is not a child, and if she has any drop of professionalism in her at all, she would realize that the comment was meant for her to take note of and improve on."

"You didn't have to make a scene in front of all those conference participants, though!" the taller boy exclaimed, and Lili recognized him as Tsuchiura Ryoutarou, the one who was selected as a performer after he became Hino Kahoko's accompanist for the first selection. Lili ought to know, he was responsible for the whole ruckus. "You, the professional musician, should know that there are ways that you could make comments on her performance without deliberately embarrassing her in front of other people! There is a big difference between commenting on and humiliating someone else!"

Lili recognized the other boy, too, the genius violinist who won the intra-school concours a few weeks back. Tsukimori Len. Hmmm. Rivals, eh?

"The only difference that I am seeing here.." sighed Tsukimori, showing how thin his patience has now become,"..is that Hino listens to the comments and works on correcting her mistakes. I do remember commenting on how emotional you have been getting lately, and I see you still haven't done anything about it. You have become quite the nuisance here, getting all worked up in behalf of Hino. Musicians receive criticism all the time. Get a grip on yourself."

Ah, Hino Kahoko. She was, after all, the only girl who had been able to see, let alone hear, the music fairy for the longest time. Lili guessed that both boys meant well for the girl, both showing their concern in their own ways. And Lili knew that they would guide her and music, provided they didn't kill each other first.

"You're a hypocrite," the pianist finally said after an intense staring contest, finally letting go of Tsukimori's collar. He turned away in disgust, giving the violinist some time to move away from the tree and smooth his blazer down. "Hino's done nothing but help you. You've done nothing but to do your damnedest in making her feel small, like she'll never amount to anything. You knew what she had to go through to perform well earlier, and yet you had to act all high and mighty and reduce her to tears in front of all those people. Typical Tsukimori."

Tsukimori 's hands dropped to his side in surprise at Tsuchiura's words, his face showing the faintest sign of remorse. "I never—I did not—"

"You idiot," said Tsuchiura quietly. "She's trying really, really hard to keep up with you. I don't know why, perhaps I will never understand why, but I do know this— If you could only see Hino the way I am seeing her now, maybe you would quit acting like a self-centered jerk and start taking a good look at her. People might tell you otherwise, Tsukimori, but you are nothing but a sad excuse for a human being, and you could always trust me to cherish every misconception I had about you."

And with that, he stalked out of the garden, leaving a troubled violinist behind.

'If you could only see Hino the way I am seeing her now, maybe you would quit acting like a self-centered jerk and start taking a good look at her.'

Lili settled on a nearby branch, trying to make sense of everything he just heard. He has always been convinced of Hino Kahoko's potential despite having zero knowledge about music before he'd presented her with the magical violin. Her troubles had become his troubles as well, her struggles became his struggles while she wrestled with the fact that she had become part of the concours. He was with her every step of the way, seen or unseen. He had been very proud of the girl when she slowly picked herself up after her strings had snapped and speculation after speculation ran rife. Nevertheless, she had finally come to terms with her love for music and the violin and he was more than pleased with her determination to become a better musician.

If you could only see Hino the way I am seeing her now...

Tsukimori stood there for a long time, lost in his own thoughts, while a devious plan slowly formed itself inside the fata's playful mind. Lili grinned at his evil idea—so evil, in fact, that he could not wait to make it happen. He waved his magic wand and flew back to the company of the blooms and the tress.

Moments later, Seiso Gakuen heard the bell toll on its own—for the second time.

I suddenly had some time on my hands and decided to watch La Corda d'Oro, Primo Passo again after all these years. The anime isn't like anything I've ever seen. And the duet—I get worked up just thinking about it. I love this anime soooooo much. Ah, so much for reminiscing. Enjoy! 3