I've updated! Thanks for those who reviewed! You are blessed =)
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His #2:
"Being puerile meant being careless, that's why I always have to clean up her mess"
No one in this world is perfect, only God. Everyone perfectly knew that, but when the issue is tackled upon being perfect on a certain aspect, Tsukimori Len was a supernatural being with his violin. From childhood, it wasn't easy being the prodigy he was today; he started off from being the ignorant to becoming the talent of his own generation. His story was a hit to everyone who was interested in his past life and youth, he was just the ideal inspiration to them. The perfect role model for his music, but with his lifestyle or sort, he didn't win their sympathy over that.
After all, he wasn't that all perfect. He only had a God-given talent with playing an instrument, however, someone knew him better.
So Wednesday wasn't the best day for Kahoko Hino, at least she wasn't the only one tolerating it. There were maybe a billion other people who may suffer along with her and it maybe even a lot worse. But that wasn't always a pleasing thought whenever it came to mind. It happened so fast—first off, she woke up eating a dozen pancakes which started her day great then now, here she is tormented by her mentor's pettiness because of her "ineptness" when it came to her music playing. She knew that she wasn't that great compared to Tsukimori, but she wasn't that bad—was she?
Fine, she had her flaws for the last 2 hours. Big deal? Everyone makes mistakes, right? Apparently her tutor was just the typical perfectionist and much of that was already to blame. Yep, Wednesday was just another miserable day of her life.
"Hino, will you focus?" Len said, shaking Kahoko from her thoughts, "we've been running this piece over and over again but you still can't get it right"
"Ah. Sorry, Tsukimori-kun" She responded instantly, waving her bow right behind her as a distraction, "It's just really, really hard to play. Can we do something easier instead?"
His eyebrows shot up "Easier?"
"Well, not that if you mind though" She replied evenly and Len glared at her, his eyes remaining furious and cold as Kahoko met her glare with a cool gaze of his own. She knew how this worked; he'd glare at her for a few moments, while she'd make an educated as to why he was in the mood she as in, before crumbling and telling him what had put him in the mood and confirming his guess.
They've been doing this for quite some time already. And it wasn't the easiest job there is to deal with a guy like him, mind you. Kahoko had to perfect her eyes matching his and luckily, hours and hours of starring at her reflection in the bathroom had successfully paid of when she finally got the hang of it. Some force of habit to look at him with the same way he was looking at her. It was like she was making him look at himself—even if he had to be red haired or not. The expression was all the mattered anyway.
The way practice had started was dreadful. A few hot punches then now a sermon to deal with, there was nothing more of a torture than this.
There were times when she loved their practices, but surely this wasn't one of them.
"Yes, I do mind. We started with this and we'll end it that way. No compromise" He said and she only gave him a hard stare before sighing and nodding. That had meant what he said—no more compromise.
She hadn't got to him yet, but she will soon. She always does. A little practice of hers that paid off too.
"Aww…Tsukimori-kun, but I'm telling you that it's really hard! I can't do it. Can we please change the song?" Kahoko asked, leaning against the table filled with music sheets and looking at Len pleadingly. Like that would work.
"You really are a confusing person. Before, you keep on running to me for lessons to mold you into this prominent violinist you've always dreamed of, but now that I'm giving you what you asked for you start complaining. What do you think am I supposed to do now, huh?" Len said sounding sure of himself, watching with disinterest as she rolled her eyes.
"Don't exaggerate, it's not like I want you to stop teaching me. I know what pressure is and I got it. All I need are the lessons suited for my level, not yours" She said sounding firm but he shook his head wildly, obviously disapproving her point of view with his.
"How will you learn if I teach you all the things you only know?" He said dryly and Kahoko shook her head.
"That's how every musician starts right? Wasn't that how you started out?" She said and he laughed at the look of slight perplexity in her eyes. Kahoko glared at him and Len shook his head.
"Whoever told you that must be dense. That doesn't how things obviously go" He said when Kahoko stared at him incredulously.
"Then how does it work then?" She asked and Len ran a hand through his already disheveled hair and looked at her.
"We don't have enough time to discuss that. We've already wasted much time" He said warningly when he saw her open her mouth to say something.
"But I should know how you started out with the violin. That way, it'll be easier for me to learn it" Kahoko insisted with her argue
"I will tell you, but not now. We are loosing time, Hino" Len said irritatingly while she only stood firm with her poise
"Why won't you tell me now? We have all the time tomorrow and the days after that! Besides, there is no chance for me to even perfect this song. It seems so impossible!" She called back and he stared after her, wishing she had been slightly more helpful. Running a hand through his hair again, Len drew a breath.
"That's why we're studying it. What's so hard about that?" He said and ignored the annoyed look that flitted across her face, which told him that she'd expected him to say yes to her request.
"Well, I am a beginner and—"
"This is all becoming futile if you keep on insisting the things you want. It's only a waste of time, Hino. Practice is finished" Len cut her off firmly and she blinked at him, utterly surprised that he'd said that.
He started to pack his violin into his case and gathered all of his music scores while Kahoko stood there in guilt watching him starting to leave her. He didn't face her when he walked out of the room, abandoning a fairly hopeless red head behind him. Kahoko stood there knowing that somehow she had hurt his feelings and didn't mean to by any chance because she really couldn't perform a song that hard! Gah, that didn't matter now. Her mentor walked out on her and she couldn't let something like this slip away from her without doing anything.
She placed her violin down on table and ran after him out of the room, she could see him and wasn't that far away. She couldn't believe him she was chasing him and people were there to see her for the second time, but then again, that didn't matter. It didn't bother him to know that his student was right behind, assuming to ask for an apology, and when he felt himself being turned around forcibly, there he saw her with a staid image but with eyes so palpable. It was so hard being around him. Well, not always but when he tried to push people away from him just like right now, she had no idea what to do to let her in again. 2 months behind closed doors alone, he should've adapted to her by now—but it's becoming the total opposite.
They weren't really friends, nor were they enemies either. Everything was complicated and yet, she couldn't sacrifice this moment of hers just now.
He fully faced her and she could only look at him disbelievingly. He waited for her to say what he needed to hear but when the silence took on for about a minute, he started to walk away from her again.
A moment like these was when Kahoko couldn't take. Moments when she knew she was helpless and alone, it sounded so cliché but she'd been there when her father walked out on their family when she just 7, and looking at Len right now, those scenes play back in her mind. That day when her world was going to change because of a simple mistake felt all too familiar with her at this very moment. Inside her, somewhere deep and isolated, a twinge of pain hit her and it was all confusing why.
"Wait!" She called after him
But he kept on ignoring her with no avail. This time, she started to feel frustrated and would confront him with everything she had to tell him. Len walked down the stairs and she followed him; what Kahoko didn't know was what happened next after that when all she saw was pitch black
A light.
There was a white light above her, shinning and blinding her eyes as she slowly opened them. Where was she? Why was her head hurting so badly?
Kahoko felt her legs numb and reflexively shot up from the bed. Her eyes wandered everywhere and saw her right leg wrapped around in a white bandage with a little stain of blood, she tried to move it but it flared with pain. She detached herself from the sheets and sat at the edge of the bed. It was clear that she was in the nurse's clinic but what happened? How the hell did she even get here? She tried to remember but only made her head ache all the more.
She searched for her bag and the violin but it wasn't—wait, violin? Where was it? Weren't they having a lesson earlier in the music room? Could it be that—?
"Are you ok?"
He came visible to her when he sat on the stool right next to her bed, which was about 3 feet away. The more she got confused when she saw him carrying her things and placed on the table. He looked at her and examined her leg, it seemed alright now. At least the bleeding had stopped minutes ago when she was still unconscious, he looked away and leaned against the wall, sighing with distress and little bit of content now that she's awake.
Thank God she was okay. This girl was just a load full! Who knows what'll next happen next to her.
"What happened?" Kahoko asked and Len glanced at her with his head still resting by the wall. He answered her after giving a meaningful glare.
"You fell off the stairs and you hit your head hard. Although, your leg got a scratch and you were unconscious so I immediately brought you here. You don't remember?" He asked after several seconds of staring at him wordlessly.
"I do now that you told me" She said massaging her head and felt the bump, "But it still hurts"
"You still need to rest before you can ditch this place and with your leg's condition I don't think you can walk right yet. Your fall was quite bad" Len replied and Kahoko shot him a confused look before she realized what had happened before that.
"I was calling after you but you didn't listen. If you would have happened to just turned around this wouldn't have happened" She snapped up at him, forgetting that she'd been mad at him only minutes before.
"If you weren't always complaining I would've walked out and you wouldn't be chasing me down the stairs" He told her, his eyes daring her to argue with his logic.
"But the song choice doesn't compromising with my skills. You should've known that" She said crankily, angry that he hadn't accepted her sense and that she was arguing with him when her condition was vulnerable.
"You blame me for this? You were—"
But Len was lost for words. He shouldn't argue with her when he knew this was just going to be futile like earlier. He sighed again and turned his head to the other side, closing his eyes and finding his composure. Kahoko knew it was wrong to fight at a time like this and maybe should just admit her mistake. Ugh, times like these really aren't her best and she hated it.
Starting now, she hates Wednesdays
Looking at Len, she knew he was mad at her and words wouldn't describe what the hell he actually felt towards her now. She only had to apologize, that's it and it'll be all over. Hopefully.
"I'm sorry" She said and her face hid behind her thick red hair.
He turned again to her with the same expression a while ago but couldn't see her sincerity as her eyes were hidden from him. She wasn't used to apologize to anyone, especially to him, so it was hard. Not everything was always okay for her; they were bullies and exams to pass and being in the clinic right now added up to her misery. He had a fair share of his faux pas and yeah, she did deserve his apology too.
"Accepted. And…I'm sorry as well"
She stared at him skeptically, "Huh?"
"We both have our faults. But at least you know where you went wrong" He said and she turned to him and grinning. Realizing it herself that it was really her liability.
"Fine. If that's your way to making me the person I wish to be, then I'd just have to go with it. I wouldn't have to debate with you anymore" Kahoko said with a half-smile, she turned her eyes from her lap to Len's and the half-smile faded when she saw that his eyes were completely unreadable. She wasn't sure whether it was the look in them that she'd never seen before or the fact that it was the first time she'd never been able to read his emotions that unnerved her, but she knew that it was the first time she'd ever had to avert her eyes from his gaze. After a moment of silence, he spoke.
"Good. Starting from today, you will not veto with whatever I choose" He said and Kahoko jerked her head with shock
"What? That's totally—" He gave her a murderous glare even before she had to start another argument, "Totally fine with me, if that's what you say" She said and Len grinned at her teasingly.
And she absent mindedly returned the smile at him, despite that she had lost her line of reasoning. It only felt good to know that he was here taking care of her and her leg didn't hurt like before— the pain had eased.
Like the pain inside her chest.
"And one more thing Hino" He said and Kahoko looked at him with questionable eyes
"What is it?" She asked
When their eyes had connected, something made her feel unusual. But considering the idea was already crazy itself. He didn't care. He'd probably never cared. She'd just imagined he had, had hoped that some part of him cared because he kept coming back to her. He could've done this to her maybe because he felt like he needed to and nothing asides from those feelings wouldn't even matter to him, so imagining that it was must've been something more was the closest as Kahoko could ever get. It had been obvious to everyone except for him, and he'd spent more time with her than nearly anyone at school. It wasn't love—not that Kahoko ever thought about it until now, but those feelings were far from that. She knew it was. They weren't really friends so it was hard to judge what the real deal actually was between the two of them. A very complicated situation.
"Next time," Len said leaning back in his seat, "try being more vigilant because it's hard to always keep an eye on you when we both have a life to actually live"
"Well, I try" Kahoko said and he ran a hand through his hair as he stared at her.
"Then try harder. God knows what might occur next if you keep on being so careless"
People make mistakes and no one was perfect. But he was there to always correct her.
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