Hello Everyone! :D I would like to let you guys know that this story was from the "Special A" manga - bonus story "Incomplete Chorus" in vol. 1. Also, I made Yuzuyu and Marika a little older in order to fit the characters I need for this story. But they're younger than Satsuki and Ayumi.
Oh and yes, this is a one-shot so no need to wait for chapters and such. :)
Incomplete Chorus
Usually, high schools got all the attention for their achievements. Only except, here in this middle school, it's famous for its chorus.
"Kippei."
The older high school student merely gazed up at his girlfriend Kokoro. "Eh? Nani?"
"If you don't hurry up…Yuzuyu-chan will be upset if you don't meet up with her at the middle school building. Her club should be done by now."
"Eh? What time is it?" He asked in confusion, glancing over at the nearby clock before dashing out of the classroom. "I'm gonna be late!"
"Oi! Kippei! Watch where you're going!" Mai glared, who happened to be one of Kokoro's friends. Thanks to him, the papers that were once in her hands were now onto the floor.
"Gomen…" Kokoro sighed, kneeling down to help her friend pick up the remaining papers.
Aki, another one of her friends, grinned. "Ne, it wasn't your fault, it was Kippei-baka", as she giggled at the new nickname she had just developed for him. Boy was he going to look forward to tomorrow. Pausing for a moment, she kept quiet hearing music and a melody in the background.
As if they were reading her thoughts, the two also remained quiet to listen to the sound of music. "Ah, the middle school chorus club is practicing…" Mai commented, realizing where it was coming from.
It was true, the middle school was basically right next door to the high school. Well, except for the division between the two schools part. Either way, the music room was closest to the high school so usually both schools could hear them practice.
"The accompaniment is a bit unusual…" Kokoro added, noticing that there was a slight difference in today's practice.
"Uwah…they always sound so good!" Aki smiled dreamily.
Of course. Out of all the others, practice is always harder here than in any other chorus…Even though it IS just a club.
"Ah!" The redhead spoke again. "Kippei-baka's brother! What was his name again? Satsumi-kun? Satskuki-kun?"
"Satsuki-kun." Mai corrected.
"Right. Anyways! Satsuki-kun is playing the violin, it's so beautiful!" she continued on praising the group. "Oh! And it seems like Shin-kun left his classes early to help the middle school chorus out."
Kokoro nodded. It's a violin and piano accompaniment, "that's" what sounded different today. She had to admit, Satsuki would never play the violin at home. Or at least whenever Kippei was around, or when she came over to visit. As for Shin Tabata? Well, he "is" Kippei's friend, so it wasn't a surprise to hear him play the piano instrument. Wonder why the middle school didn't have their own pianist…
But even so….
"Oh." Aki pipped up the awkward silence. "She's ruining it again."
Ruining the practice again. As in she, a girl. The one person in the chorus who sings off-key. Most of the time. Alright…ALL the time.
"KUBOTA!"
The girl who was called out, jolted from the sudden outburst and froze immediately, waiting for the negativity.
Ayumi Kubota - Average middle school student who tries to get over her stage fright by joining the chorus club. If you get to know her, she's really a gentle character.
Shin slammed his hands on the piano, as a dark atmosphere collected around him. "You're flat again!" He paused. "How are you always off-key?! To begin with…what part "are" you singing? Soprano? Alto? Huh?!"
"Uh! Um…"
"Now now, Tabata-kun…"
"Sakashita, don't even try getting involved with this!" Shin glared and gazed back over to that "girl", "Kubota…"
"N-Nani?" The girl asked timidly.
"Go do three laps! While you're at it, do three sets of twenty sit-ups too!"
"H-Hai!" The girl bowed and ran out of the classroom. She sighed in shame.
Truthfully, I've never been able to express myself very clearly. I sweat a lot and shake when I sing in front of people…
"Oh, they're making Kubota-san run again." One of the students commented seeing the same girl run around the track field.
"Go Kubota-san! You can do it!" A couple of students cheered her on, while she blushed in embarrassment.
But…I really love singing.
Ayumi sighed tiredly from the three laps. Now, she just had to do her sit-ups.
I joined the chorus because…I thought I could sing as much as I wanted…as long as I was in a group.
But…it isn't working.
She sat up from her sit-up.
With all those people around me, I wound even worse. How awful is that?
Her face began to go red in remembering the many moments she'd had to face with everyone giving her that sympathetic look. Even Tabata-san must've been full of pity that maybe that's why she hadn't been kicked out of the club yet.
"This is no time to think about that!" Ayumi reminded herself, resuming back to her exercises. She stopped for a moment, hearing a familiar melody flowing behind her.
Standing up to peek into the window, she saw the one person who was making the beautiful music. "Katakura-kun's violin…" she smiled, watching him practice. "He's practicing by himself again today…"
Satsuki Katakura - Violinist genius, prodigy, popular among the school, quiet and kind character. He is also well known for being Kippei's younger brother and being Yuzuyu's cousin.
Of course…that's the other reason why I joined the chorus…
Ayumi closed her eyes, letting her ears hear the tune, she then realized the song, "Ode to Early Spring…"
…To hear him play his violin.
"I've never heard anything so beautiful before!" She thought happily and got an idea. "I want to practice too…" Gazing back and forth, around her surroundings, carefully… "No one's here? Good." She turned her back from the window and began.
With this amazing music…I want to sing.
"Spring is the name of the cool breeze," Ayumi began, singing softly while smiling.
Though she hadn't noticed, the violin melody in the background had stopped. Satsuki stopped playing as he heard an unfamiliar singing voice. He turned towards the window seeing the culprit who was currently, off in her own world.
"The nightingale in the valley-" But before she could continue on, she jolted again as the window behind her slid open.
Too scared to turn around, or basically, form any movement at all, she froze, staying put at her spot. The one and only violinist was behind her, and all she could do was just…say nothing for she was worried of what he might say.
"What's this?" Satsuki smirked, leaning against the window. "Kubota can sing."
By instinct, she began to shrink and within seconds, she ran away from him. "He heard me! My awful voice!"
--
"You're late!" Shin announced, giving Ayumi a whap with his baka fan that held 'Reserved for Kubota'. "How many laps did you run?"
"G-Gomenasai!"
"Now now, Tabata-san, she ran and did her sit-ups." Yuzuyu interrupted, interfering between the two.
"Eh? You're taking her side?" Shin questioned. Though, it wasn't really a question, more like a statement by his attitude. "You've got guts…" he muttered. "Do you girls want to run laps too?!" he threatened the others.
"Come on, let's go practice." Yuzuyu grinned as if Shin's words meant nothing to her. She gave an arm around Ayumi's shoulders and smiled. "You did fine."
She in return, gave Yuzuyu a small smile. Even if they were like that, always being the optimistic group, still didn't help bring her self-confidence up.
The chorus girls here are my friends. To me, chorus is like an oasis.
"Oi, Satsuki-onii-chan! Welcome back!"
He nodded at his cousin, Yuzuyu Sakashita. Even though she was only a couple years younger, she still considered him as an older brother. Especially if they were out in public.
Ayumi began to tense with a regret feeling. "Katakura-kun…"
"Eyah…I can't look him in the eye!" She panicked, turning away from him to make an escape route.
"Kubota-san."
Another jolt from the girl. He just "had" to call her out at the right time ne? She was definitely not in the mood to hear him try to criticize her now.
"Are you just pretending that you can't sing?"
Huh?
She took the courage to face him to see whether he was joking or not.
"Satsuki-onii-chan! Don't pick on Kubota-chan!" Yuzuyu glared pointing a finger at him.
Her friend Marika agreed, glaring at him too. Despite his looks. "Yeah! That's just rude! No matter how hard Kubota-san works at her voice training and breathing techniques, she can't do it!"
Little did they know that at this point, Ayumi was starting to shrink in depression.
"And it breaks her heart! It's so sad! She works harder than anybody else!" She continued rambling on.
"Um…Marika…." Yuzuyu tapped her friends shoulder to reveal a shrunk Kubota.
"Ack! G-Gomen, Kubota-san!"
"You don't have to apologize to her." As the group turned to look at the pianist who just reappeared behind them. "Katakura was just calling it like it is. Bad."
Ugh…Ayumi was definitely trying to avoid situations like this. Now her face was a deeper shade of red. "Ah…I-I'm sorry…"
"Why?" Satsuki spoke up again. "You're good. I heard you sing and you sounded really good back there."
The club members froze in disbelief in what the violinist was just saying. It's hard to tell if he was joking or not. Either way, Shin wasn't going to let that comment just pass on by without proof. Compliments only come in real talent, not just fake praises.
"Alright, let's hear you sing." Shin declared.
"Nani?!"
The pianist turned away to face the piano. "Don't look so shocked. If you can really sing, we want to hear it."
"I'll play violin, I want to hear you again too." Satsuki added, "We'll do "Ode to Early Spring."
Ayumi's face was deep red. Yes, she seemed to be an awful singer. But it was because she couldn't sing in front crowds. She wasn't ready for this!
Too late, the music had already cued as students around the campus began to recognize the musicians.
They…They want me to sing a solo with them? D-Demo…they're the best musicians in the school…and in front of everybody?!
Her chorus friends were already smiling at her and giving her verbal encouragement. That still didn't mean she could open up that talent of hers. Even when Shin glared and muttered, "Hurry up and sing!"
Thanks to all the peer pressure, she tried to let out a note, but it turned out to be another off-key note.
"Oh. Here we go again, it's pitiful but funny." Students would usually say when they heard Ayumi's voice. "She's terrible!"
Satsuki paused from playing his violin.
Oh no…I can't sing…anymore!
Shin immediately stopped playing, and stood up. "I knew it! She can't sing!"
I feel…pathetic.
"Tabata, let me work with her on my own." Satsuki intently said to him, patting Ayumi on the shoulder. "It's like she withers in front of you and can't sing anymore."
"Me?!"
He stared at Shin with a serious gaze. "Kubota can sing."
Shin froze. Never had Satsuki ever reacted like that to him. Especially if it had to do with dealing with Ayumi. "What are you saying Katakura?! Are you mocking me?"
"Go for it, Katakura!" The chorus students cheered in the background, followed by comments to Shin. "You're too hard on her!"
"What?!" Shin thought in shock. "I…I only meant……" and walked away. "Was I too hard on her?"
--
"I'm sorry for making you sing earlier." Satsuki quickly apologized as soon as he sat down next to Ayumi upon the roof.
"Oh no…it's alright!" She quickly answered, as pink color rose upon her cheeks. She was never good at having people apologize to her. It just seemed…awkward.
He gazed at the clouds above them. "It seems like you just have really bad stage fright."
She let her head down in shame, this was one she couldn't lie about. "Yeah…"
"What a waste, you're so good."
"Ah…um…I-I'm terrible! You must have heard wrong!" Ayumi tried to cover up.
By the look on his expression, he seemed irritated by her comment. "I'm quite confident about my hearing." He opened the violin case to reveal the instrument. "A method we use during violin practice is to think about the sound you want to make and vocalize it in your head." A slight pause came between them as he carefully took the violin out. "The sound I imagined was…just like your voice. There's no way I could have misheard that."
With that, he began to play the same song again.
Instead of saying anything, she sat there with her eyes closed listening to the melody.
My voice…sounds like this beautiful music?
The song continued on until the end. That was when Satsuki stopped and began to put his instrument back in its case again.
"Um…"
"Okay, well…that's all for today."
"E-Eh? I-I don't have to sing?" She questioned in surprise.
"Nope. You've practiced yourself to death during club. I know I forced you to sing back there, but…just sing whenever you feel like singing."
The look on her face was a blank expression.
He took hold of his instrument case and smiled softly. "Well, I'll meet you back here in the morning."
I feel like…I'm under some kind of spell.
--
Music Room 1
"Ugh, I don't want to do laps…" Marika began to complain before the club was ready to practice. Looks aren't everything I guess.
"Kubota."
Ayumi turned to the caller and jolted again. A habit of hers now.
Shin sighed. "What kind of practice does he have you doing so early in the morning?"
She was close to shrinking in fear and disappointment. "N-Nothing…"
"Nothing?! What do you mean by that?! Hey!"
"Kubota, let's go!" Yuzuyu waved, as in a sign for her to escape the conversation.
It's true though. We really haven't done anything except talk about nothing in particular. Sometimes, he plays the violin for me.
Ayumi smiled softly remembering how they would sit on the rooftop and how Satsuki would just play music like no worries ever occurred.
We just relax…and that…makes it easier for me to sing.
Once she was back at the beginning to start another round of running, she had to stop to hear Shin call out to her.
"Go on, tell her! Now, now!" Yuzuyu scolded him from behind, pushing him towards her.
He gave Yuzuyu a glare before turning to her. He tried to find the words. "Look I…," Now his face had become red. Gosh, saying things like these just wasn't his kind of thing, but he had to say it, " I just wanted you to do your best."
Ayumi stared at him in surprise, and continued running.
He's done so much for me.
"Good job you said it!" she heard her friend compliment in the background.
"Shut up! Don't touch me!"
I'm scared but…I've got to be brave.
"Go for it."
"Eh?" She stared to the side where that advice was coming from.
"Just do the best you can." Satsuki added, as if he was reading her mind, while running beside her.
She began to slow down taking Satsuki's words into her mind. Then, she realized the way to go and ran all the way back to the start line. "Tabata-san!"
The pianist turned to look at the girl who ran back to where he was. "Please give me another chance to sing for you."
Do it now, or I never will.
He stared at her in shock. Was he just dreaming? Or was the girl in front of him who always sang off-key just say what he thought she said?
--
I still get really nervous. I have no confidence…
Ayumi gave out a sigh as the audience was starting to gather around. She could sing, she knew very well if… it weren't for her stage fright. Her eyes gazed over at the crowd. Could she really do this finally?
"You're fine." She heard Satsuki remind her. He held his violin out of its case and gave her a reassuring look. "Just focus on our music. It will surely guide you."
For once in such a long time in being in the chorus, a genuine smile began to show upon her face. "Yeah…"
"I'm fine." She told herself.
Shin looked away and focused on his music. "Pompous musician…" And began to play away, followed by Satsuki's violin.
I'm fine. Katakura said so. Just listening to his beautiful sound…makes me…feel like singing.
That feeling inside her made her sure that she was ready. She closed her eyes and focused on the voice inside that had been waiting to be heard. It was her cue. "Spring is the name…of the cool breeze…"
"Huh?" One of the students stopped from practice to check the music room windows. "Wow, who is that?"
"The nightingale in the valley…"
"That's an amazing voice…" Whispers in the audience began. It really was shocking to hear that coming from her.
"Timeless and without a sound…Timeless and without a sound…" Ayumi ended, and slowly opened her eyes to be surprised at the expressions she had received. "Eh? What's wrong?"
Everyone in the chorus held awe and teary eyed emotions. "Uwah! Amazing you can really sing!" and others were, "I actually cried!"
Shin sat on the piano bench in disbelief on what he just heard. Even "he" had to admit that the audience was correct about Ayumi Kubota. She didn't just have a singing voice, but an amazing voice. Regret slowly began to show as he remembered all the hard times he had acted on her. He would have to apologize to her later. "I'm speechless…"
"You really are!" Yuzuyu exclaimed from behind. She grinned to see his surprised expression due to the fact that he had just realized that she was right behind him and probably heard his comment.
Our Famous Chorus…
Satsuki smiled and stood beside the girl. "So how was that?"
Her face was red from embarrassment from the chorus' comments, still shaking from surprise. "I-I'm starting to get nervous now…"
"Well then," He began as he took her hand into his, "should we keep practicing together? Ayumi."
Has gotten even more recognition.
Ayumi turned to look at him. Was he just offering her to practice with him? Together? A contented look suddenly appeared as she replied. "I'd love to. Satsuki."
Incomplete Chorus / End