DULCET

Prelude

Mass of student body piled by the school grounds one fine morning in spring. Voices of these teenagers created the noise, almost covering the harmonious tweeting of the birds that soars in the clear blue sky. Despite the gentle breeze that passes by, they're completely into the current school activity concerning their extra-curricular. They didn't pay any attention to the nature's exquisite beauty, shrugging the fallen pastel pink petals that overlaps the green trees. They stepped on those that had fallen as they continued their journey to their desired clubs.

A blue-eyed girl with raven locks locked her gaze at the small floral figure that freely sways in front of her. Her small hand stretched, reaching out at the fallen with a melon bread on her hand. She took a bite on the sweet pastry, eyes in fascination at the pink color that dropped on her palm. Her shoulder-length hair swayed when the breeze passed by and she gasped; the sakura petal was blown by the wind. She remained sited beneath the old oak tree, sighing ever-so lightly as she leaned her back on the wood. A small smile made their way on her face as she inhaled the warm breeze.

"Hana-chan, there you are!"

Her ears perked at the call of her first name. She turned her head to the left, seeing a running figure approaching her spot. Blinking, she wondered why the girl looked irritated.

"Jeez, I've been looking everywhere for you but here you are, sitting like an old man."

One brunette with hazel eyes grumbled at her nonchalant manner. Hana, the blue-eyed girl, swore that she heard the girl compared her to a relative with a lackadaisical attitude. She almost giggled as she remembered who that was, making the girl pout at her reaction. Said girl remained standing, looming at her figure with a hand rested on the hip. Hana offered her melon bread to the brunette with a small smile.

She tilted her head. "Want some, Tsubaki?"

The aforementioned young lass squinted her eyes dangerously, but Hana was unfaze at the indirect threat and stayed still. She didn't retract her hand, not until Tsubaki took one from the bag that she offered. When the brunette did so and slowly opened the wrapper, Hana smiled a little bit wide than the previous one and looked up at the blue dome. She exhaled before giggling softly. Tsubaki choked on the bread, heavily coughing that change Hana's current mood to worry.

"Are you okay?" She stood up and started slapping Tsubaki's back, albeit a little bit hard that needed.

Tsubaki felt the slight pain from the raven's palm that with each slap causes her to slightly stumble forward. Hana can be small but she can hit. When it subsided, Hana began drawing circles on the brunette's back seeing as she doesn't have her water bottle with her. It worked for Tsubaki that sighed in relief.

"Thanks, Hana-chan." Tsubaki wiped the small drool that escaped.

Hana just hummed in response, bending her body to pick up the fallen bag from the ground before looking up at the sky again. Just like that, it seems like nothing had happened before she choked on herself. Tsubaki carefully but hastily finished the melon bread, throwing the wrapper in the garbage can nearby. When the brunette looked back to where the old oak tree proudly stood, she found no sign of raven locks.

"Eh? Hana-chan?"

Hana, without a word, left the tree. She held the bag in her hand and finished the melon bread before taking another one. In long strides, she reached the main building of Shiratorizawa and entered. Hana stopped by the lockers, noticing the number of students inside. With a few turns for her code, she opened the small metal door and took out the white uwabaki inside for her brown loafers. She did this with one hand, shutting the door with a correct amount of force before blending with the other students roaming inside the building.

She passed by multiple classrooms with a few students staying inside. She had also passed by the faculty, greeting a teacher who suddenly came from nowhere before continuing the embark of her journey in search of one particular room that will satisfy her crave. No, it's not the Home Economics Class. It's not the kitchen either. As much as Hana loves baking, there is one field she can proudly say that she excels at.

Alas, she finally found the room. Looking at the placard on top of the door frame with glowing blue eyes, Hana gently - excitedly - slid the door opened.

She found it.

Upon realizing that Hana left her for the second time, Tsubaki was left in mild irritation. Well, just when she thought that she finally had hold of the raven is when it immediately disappears like a bubble popping in mid-air. She raked a hand on her short brown hair, sighing before leaving the old oak tree behind. She merged in with the other first year students like her and Hana, wandering around with endless chatter about various stuff. She clutched at the application form in hand, her mind thinking of the nonchalant girl she call relative.

I wonder if Hana-chan joined a club. She thought as hazel eyes meekly glanced at the wooden poster being raised in the air.

Feeling a little lost and lonely, she lightly shook her head and turned to change her path. Only to bump into a rather large figure wearing the prescribed school uniform for males. Tsubaki made a step back, rubbing her nose who made a contact with the unknown lad's white coat.

"I'm sorry." She bowed, unable to look up.

"I'm sorry, too." He said and walked passed her.

She wasn't able to know which of the guys on the ground was the big wall when she raised her head. There were a large number of guys still lounging on the school grounds, surrounding most of the sports club that the Academy has and all she knew is that there was another lad behind calling him "Wakatoshi-kun". Somehow, the name rings a bell but unable to pinpoint where and when. But Tsubaki shrugged it off with one thing on her mind.

Now, where's the Music Club?

Hana skipped when she entered the music room with glee. The smile widened on her face at the presence of the grand piano positioned in the middle of the room. She raked a hand, touching the edges before landing on the fall. She lifted it up, giggling as she did so. Hana looked at the black and white keys lovingly as she slowly positioned herself on the piano stool. Her fingers remained on top of the keys, unmoving. She hummed, softly caressing them as if they're human or her dog, Genichirou.

As the students on the grounds were busy for club applications, a girl named Hana, played the piano to satisfy the unwinding crave deep in her heart. They chatter and laugh whereas she remained quiet on the stool with just her fingers and feet moving in a rhythm. Melody engulfed the what used to be a silent room, the sweet sounds of the piano embracing the pianist and the lonely four corners. Soon, it reached the outside world through an open window.

Another breeze paid the students a visit, soft and mellow but warm and welcoming. The pastel pinks slowly detached themselves on the twigs, wanting to be one with the ground and with the help of the breeze, they made it to the cold, hard ground. Birds had tweeted, flying on top of the students' head, being one with nature. A guy with light-colored hair followed their destination. His brown eyes followed them like a binoculars before it closed. He inhaled deeply with a smile painting his lips and a positive thought about spring.

"Eita-kun?" He heard his teammate call.

He looked at the redhead waiting at him by the main door. The others had already gone inside. Eita shook his head and approached the redhead lad. He placed an arm on his teammate shoulder, a dorky grin making its way on his face not minding the protest of the jubilant red. But his mind wandered back to when he was watching the birds. It's not about how they flapped their wings or where are they headed but the soft sounds coming from nowhere.

メモ:

Hello.

― デボラ