Chapter 1

It was the day of his graduation, the day he would be free from the binds of grade school forever. In four months, he would have already found a job. In four weeks, he would be turning eighteen. In four days, he would be meeting the director of a movie. And, as if all that was not overwhelming enough, by the time four hours were over, he may never get to see Kahoko Hino again.

Kazuki Hihara thought for sure that his brain would leak out of his ears. Just to make sure that it didn't, he would clamp his hands over his ears nervously every few minutes, wishing he could scream. He didn't think that he would be able to stand sitting in this classroom for four more hours—he was already fidgeting uncontrollably. Four whole hours. He thought furiously. Four hours until I must see Hino.

His pencil shook in his hand. Though he was supposed to be writing a reflection on his high school years, his mind was constantly wandering off somewhere else. Maybe I'm not as accomplished in music as Len is, He thought, Or as tall and strong as Tsuchiura. And I suppose I'm not as popular as Azuma-san or Kaji-kun…For a dreadful moment, his heart wavered and the courage drained out of his body. Though he had known before what he was going to say, the shock of reality made him forget, but only for a second. But I will do anything to have you, Kaho-chan. Kahoko…I love you.

Kazuki sat there, in the midst of all of the students, being the only one leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling in a daze. Kahoko. He thought. Even thinking her name made him feel giddy inside. A loud, booming voice stunned him out of his lovely daydream. "Alright, class. Pencils down." Kazuki looked up, and saw, to his horror, that the teacher was collecting papers. "I hope you all had a lot to write about, now that you are nearly finished with high school. This will be your final grade of the school year."

What?! Kazuki shot up in his seat. He hadn't realized how much time had gone by. He only remembered writing a few sentences down on his paper, none of them very interesting or well-written. Crap! He thought, as the teacher came by and picked up his paper. "Kimoto-sensei, I need more time!" He said, clawing at the papers in Kimoto-sensei's hands.

"Hihara, I gave you two and a half hours to write this paper. For most others in this classroom, that is more than enough." Kimoto said sternly, moving on to collect more papers.

Kazuki, having nothing to say in response, slumped down in his seat miserably. He caught the pitiful gaze of Yunoki Azuma, the best friend who always made him feel worse about things. Why does he always do better than I do? Kazuki thought, wanting to beat himself up. How can he be so popular, along with being smart and organized? He could almost hear the gears turning in his head. He pouted. It's so hard to have a best friend who's perfect.

"You have the rest of the class period to do whatever you wish. After all, you will be high school graduates by the end of the day." Kimoto-sensei announced. The whole class cheered happily, and Kazuki slumped down in his seat further. By the end of the day, I will have missed my chance if I don't act immediately after school ends.

"What's wrong, Kazuki? You look really down." Azuma said, towering over Kazuki's desk. He sat down on it tidily. "I hope you're not worried about what's going to happen after high school." He smiled warmly.

Kazuki sighed. Where do I begin? "You know Kaho-chan?" He whispered timidly. He sighed again, but with more frustration this time. How can I tell him this? "I…I think I love her." Kazuki winced as soon as the words left his mouth. Oh, god. Azuma's going to hate me…

Azuma's smile faltered, but returned quickly, perhaps even brighter than it was before. "I know." He stated tersely. Azuma caught Kazuki's puzzled expression. "Don't act as if I'm stupid. I'm your best friend, Kazuki. Of course I'd have noticed by now." He laughed, and Kazuki cringed. "But I don't understand why on earth you'd be acting so strangely. If you love her, tell her."

"That's not as easy as you think it is." Kazuki snapped, with maybe too much devotion.

Azuma laughed again, a pretty, pure sound. It sounds like his flute playing… Kazuki noted, for the billionth time since they had met. Azuma spoke, traces of his laugh still lingering in his words. "Of course it's not! It's nerve-wracking for me, just watching you. But your condition is far beyond nervousness." He pointed out. "You seem very worried about something, and I am beginning to wonder just what that something is."

Kazuki stared at his pencil, rolling it between his index finger and his thumb. "It's Len." He choked out.

"Len? Why are you worried about L—"

"It's not just Len. It's Tsuchiura-kun and Kaji-kun, too." Kazuki whispered fiercely. "I think…I think that they all like her." He said, and sighed, relieved that he had finally been able to tell someone of his feelings.

Azuma was startled by Kazuki's behavior. "Kazuki, it shouldn't really matter."

"But it does." Kazuki said, folding his arms. The bell rang, saving him from an awkward conversation with Azuma. "Bye, Azuma. I'm still going over to your place for dinner next weekend, right?"

"Yes. My sister is very excited about seeing you." Azuma smiled his delicate, porcelain smile, but Kazuki felt that it was only a half-hearted smile. Azuma's gentle, soothing tones became very serious, and his features turned to stone. "Let us keep in close contact, shall we?" With that, Azuma pushed past Kazuki and out the door, leaving Kazuki very startled. What's up with him?

Kazuki tore through the mass of students who were celebrating the end of school. He was glad that those years on the track team were really paying off now. Although his trumpet would have weighed him down some on normal occasions, it felt as light as a feather to him as he made his way across campus. I'm going to see Kaho-chan. He told himself repeatedly, for it was the only thought that kept him from tiring.

He searched the practicing rooms, first, knowing that Kahoko spent a lot of time there after school these days. Before he opened each door, excitement would build in his chest. After he closed each door, disappointment took over. But despite these few discouraging incidents, his energy never faltered, and he ran back outside, hoping to find his love in the regular department. I'm going to see Kaho-chan.

Maybe she's saying goodbye to all her friends. He decided. Yeah, that makes sense. His heart was racing in his chest, and instead of each step tiring him more, each step seemed to energize him. One step closer to Kahoko. He thought, grinning so hard it was beginning to hurt. He wanted so badly to throw his head back and laugh his heart out because of the excitement, but he didn't have the time. Instead, he put the extra energy into running faster. I'm going to see Kaho-chan.

Girls from the regular department mobbed him, wondering why the star from the ad for the new Wave mp3 player was there. Ignoring them, he made his way into the main building, quickly tracking down class 2-2. He skidded to a halt at the door, took a deep breath, and opened it, expecting to see Hino. But to his great disappointment, nobody was there except for her teacher.

He shook the frustration off quickly, although he could feel himself tiring. I'm going to see Kaho-chan. His heart thudded in his chest, his cheeks burning. He was going to tell Kahoko that he loved her. And though he did not know for sure where she might be, he had a pretty good guess.

He was back in the practicing building. He flew up the stairs to the roof level, getting sure now that Kahoko was on the roof. Now, the only thing standing between him and his love was the metal door that led to the rooftop. He took a moment to breathe, making sure his hair and clothes were neat. Then, taking a deep breath, he wrapped his fingers around the doorknob…

I'm going to see Kaho-chan.

…He pushed the door open. He saw her—the beautiful, shining red hair that tumbled down her back—and took a step out onto the terrace, even though her back was to him. He swore he could see fuzzy pink borders around the edges of his vision, and observed her dreamily.

He saw something move. An arm was wrapped around her, hugging her. It was only then that he became aware of another person. His Kaho-chan was in the arms of someone else. And to make matters worse, she was kissing that person. The romantic haziness of his vision suddenly snapped into a sharp, painfully clear way of seeing. He could see every detail before him in crystal clarity, how the man Kahoko was with was wearing a Music Department uniform and had blue hair, how she leaned into him, the way he pulled her tighter and deepened the kiss. Her beautiful hair billowed lightly in the breeze, her arms wrapping around the body of her lover.

Wait…Kazuki gasped inaudibly. Blue hair?! He could feel his knees buckling, his heart shattering, and decided to leave before either of the two could notice him. He slipped back into the building, closing the door quietly behind him. Leaning all of his weight against the door, he slumped to the floor, shaking uncontrollably. Though it had been cold the whole day, he felt the iciness of the air sting his cheeks with twice as much ferocity now than it had before. Even so, his forehead was burning up, and his eyesight was blurring…

"Ah!" A worried voice exclaimed. "Hihara-senpai?!" Kazuki saw someone rushing to his side. "Kazuki! What's going on? What happened?" The voice asked. Kazuki felt his energy fading. "Kazuki, tell me what's wrong. Now." The mystery person leaned down and lightly slapped Kazuki's face. Kazuki caught a flash of dark green hair.

Kazuki's heartbeat slowed back to normal, and his vision went black. He could only hear the faint tingling of Ryotaru's voice in the distance. Kaho-chan…why? He felt his body being shoved out of the way and the door being opened. An eerie silence was quickly followed by yelling, although he couldn't make out the words. He knew when Ryotaru was yelling, and he could tell which voice was Len's. And then he heard Kahoko's voice, soft and beautiful among the others.

In the last few moments before he lost consciousness, he thought, Hino, I love you. I will never give you up.

Author's Note:

Hi everyone, and thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. The next chapter will be out as soon as possible. For those of you who have read my profile and want to know why I am writing a KazukixHino fic, it's because I wanted to try something new. So yes, I'm not following my word.

And for the new La Corda fans, please review! I really want to know what you think. And don't flame this story because it's a KazukixHino fic, since I'm okay with pretty much any pairing in the series. I don't take flames!

I look forward to writing the second chapter and to reading all of your feedback. Thank you!

~kazukiluvr