xX Chapter Two Xx
xX Not Suitable For Very Cool Rock Bands Xx
xXx
"P-Pardon?"
Wait a minute.
I think I mistakenly heard Anna ask if I'm interested to join their band.
I should clean my ears. I probably have too much earwax stuck in there.
And maybe dust it a bit too. There's probably some dust bunnies that got in there.
Because there is an absolute impossibility that I would actually be part of a band—and I didn't want to be in one.
Why am I so opposed with the decision to join Hotaru's band, you ask?
I had an older brother, Rei Serio Yukihira. I looked up to him so much that there were times that I listened to him more than our own parents. He promised that he would always stay by my side, that he would never leave me.
But one night, he had a heated argument with our parents. He wanted to study in Alice Academy of Performing Arts, but mom and dad didn't want him to. They mentioned something like 'cutting all ties with the people there' but maybe that's just me.
So he got his things, ran away and became one of the most successful people in the music industry.
The day he ran away, the day he walked away right in front of my eyes, was the day my trust in him shattered.
At the moment, I don't know what happened to him. I don't care what happened to him, but at the same time, I do care.
I didn't want to repeat my brother's actions, so I stopped playing the acoustic guitar and any other rock and pop instrument, and found solace in classic music. I tried forgetting that I used to love bands like Boys Like Girls, Paramore, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and turned to people such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin and Claude Debussy.
They saved me from my depression when the person I loved and trusted the most walked away from me and left me.
Hotaru knows this so nu-uh, no way in freaking hell do I want to turn back to rock and pop music again.
And it was because of classical music that I met him…
A smile crept unto my face when I thought of him, the first man who made my heart pound so fast it's nearly inhuman and make me feel fluttery butterflies in my stomach.
And the first man to break my heart to pieces.
I shook my head, shooing away the thoughts of him when he used to be in my life.
"Uh… I don't think I'm as good as you guys," I mumbled, rubbing the nape of my neck nervously.
"Come on, Mikan," Anna said. "You're great!"
I sighed. "Thanks for the compliment, but even if I am good—as you keep insisting, I don't think I can."
Hotaru raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think so, moron?"
I sighed. "Hotaru, I'm a pianist, a classic music kind of girl."
My beat friend blinked. "You came here to enroll to the classical music section?"
"Yes, I did," I answered. "One of the principals saw me and offered me a scholarship to this school."
"So you listen to Mozart and Beethoven and all that?" Anna asked.
"Yes," I said. "I'm not a rocker girl, okay? I'm sorry."
Returning the guitar, I walked out of the room and left them with their own thoughts.
xXx
Murmurs erupted around me as I walked along the halls of the school. I stopped in front of my locker, my name written on a gold plaque.
Opening the locker with my given combination, I placed some of the things I didn't need into my locker.
I tried ignoring the comments my schoolmates were saying. Unfortunately, I get more ticked off with each one.
"Who is she?"
I'm a new student, idiot. Isn't that obvious?
"More like what is she wearing…"
I suddenly felt self-conscious and looked down at what I was wearing.
I wore a striped white and grey sweater and a long floral print skirt with leather knee high boots. My hair was tied in two low braided buns.
"Is she an old lady or something?"
I sighed and walked to class C-A, the classic music class for advanced students. All noise died down when I stepped foot into the room, replaced with murmurs and whispers as I sat at the very back of the classroom.
"Class, settle down now," a calming voice echoed the classroom.
A man in his early thirties walked into the classroom. He has brownish-gray hair and eyes that look nearly closed. He wore a white button up shirt and a black blazer with dress pants and leather shoes.
"Okay class," the teacher said calmly but kindly. "I am Noda-sensei but you can call me Nodacchi and the reason why I'm introducing myself is because I believe we have a new talent. Er… Miss Mikan Yukihira?"
I gulped and raised my hand nervously. All eyes turned to me.
Nodacchi smiled. "Welcome to Alice Academy of Performing Arts!"
I gave him a small smile and nodded in thanks.
"Would you mind playing for us?" he asked, gesturing to the piano beside him. I gulped and shook my head, standing up and nervously walking down the aisle of the classroom to the piano. Every step I took suddenly became heavier as I neared the percussion instrument.
I slowly placed my hands on the keys. Taking a deep breath, I played the first few notes of a piece she had in mind… until I flunked it by pressing keys harshly, emitting noise and not music.
I stopped and blushed in embarrassment as the class snickered at me. Oh gosh, can this day get any worse?!
"Now, now class," the teacher said. "She might be nervous. It's alright Yukihara-san, you may go back to your seat."
I sighed and stood up, walking to my seat.
"Clair de Lune? One of the easiest pieces and she can't play it? How lame," one of them said that stabbed my heart.
"Wow, why is she in the advanced class? Much more, in this academy for the gifted," one of them commented, loud enough for me to hear.
Okay, that drew the line.
I know I deserve to be in this academy. My passion for classical music is more than enough proof of how much I value playing the piano.
Taking a deep breath, I turned and walked back to the piano, making sure I glare at the girl who made that comment and started playing Comptine d'un Autre Été: L'Après Midi composed by Yann Tiersen.
I poured all my feelings into the piece and felt myself smile in content as my fingers glided across the keys of the piano.
I felt my eyes water at the emotional piece. A piece so full of emotion, a piece so beautiful.
As the piece ended, the entire classroom was silent, so silent that you could hear a pin when dropped. I wiped the tears in my eyes as I looked down.
Slow clapping was heard. I turned and saw Noda-sensei, looking at me in awe and giving me an applause.
The entire class seemed to follow his action, applauding for me. Some with awestruck expressions, but many with tears in their eyes.
"Wonderful playing, Miss Yukihira!" Noda-sensei exclaimed, wiping a stray tear from his eye. "The piece may be simple, but it takes a certain emotional maturity to play it as more than just notes, and more of as feelings reaching out to other people's hearts."
"There is a tendency that a person may play it too fast or too heavily that may lead to not being able to play the piece properly. There are times that it takes months for one to perfect the piece, to capture the emotion," he explained. "Wonderful, Yukihira-san, wonderful! Definitely a great addition to the advanced classical music class!"
The bell rung, making me notice the one hour time period that has passed so suddenly.
I took my bag from my and smiled at the students who complimented my playing.
I realized I was the only one left in the classroom. As I walked to the door, looking at the piano made me stop.
Can't play Clair de Lune, huh?
I placed my bag on the floor under the piano and began playing Clair de Lune, the melody flowing around the room… and without knowing, outside the classroom as well.
"Piano, huh?" a voice by the door said.
I stopped playing and snapped my gaze to the person by the door.
Silver locks and blue eyes looked at me in amusement.
Right in front of me was a member of Crimson Ivy.
Right in front of me, was Youichi Hijiri.
xXx
"What's up with your outfit?" he questioned, walking towards me. "Are you living in the twenty-first century?"
I stood up and backed away from him. "O-Of course, I am. This is just… something I'm comfortable with."
"Really, flower girl?" he snickered.
I raised an eyebrow. "Flower girl?"
"That ugly skirt print will forever be imprinted in my mind," he said. I looked down at my floral print skirt and scowled.
"Annoying ass. Leave me alone," I grumbled and started to walk away. He grabbed my arm and yanked me towards him.
I landed with an 'oomph!' on his hard, muscular chest. I looked up and saw him smirking.
"You don't know who I am, don't you, flower girl?" he stated, tilting his head to one side.
"You're Youichi Hijiri from the band Crimson Ivy, so what?" I said. "Now please, let go of me."
He seemed baffled by my reply and loosened his hold. I huffed and stormed away from him, walking to the cafeteria.
The whole place seemed to quiet down when I stepped foot into the cafeteria. All eyes were looking at me and roaming down to what I was wearing. It's not that bad!
"Mikan!" one voice called. I turned and saw Anna, waving me over to the table she was in. Hesitantly, I walked to her table.
"Sit with is," the bubblegum pink haired girl insisted, letting me sit between her and Hotaru. As soon as I sat down, the noise erupted once again.
"Girls, this is Mikan Yukihira, the girl I was talking about with the nice voice!" Anna said. "Mikan, this is Nobara—our keyboardist, Misaki—our rhythmic guitarist, Sumire—our drummer, Nonoko—our disc jockey, and Aoi—our manager-slash-fashion agent."
I smiled. "Nice to meet you."
"Hey!" Misaki—the girl with carmine pink hair greeted. "I'm Misaki, nice to meet you! We'll be great friends."
"I'm Nobara," the girl with ice blue, wavy hair and gentle blue eyes smiled. "I hope we become great friends."
"Hello, Mikan-chan!" the girl with straight, midnight blue hair greeted me. "I'm Nonoko, nice to meet you!"
"Sumire," the girl with short dark green hair that has distinctive curls and matching dark green eyes. "And… we need to do something with your fashion sense."
"Agreed," a girl with black hair and beautiful ruby red eyes. "I'm Aoi, by the way," she said as she smiled.
I pouted and looked down at what I was wearing. "Is it really that bad?" I sighed.
"Yes," Hotaru said bluntly. "Frankly speaking, I don't know how that happened to your wardrobe."
"Well, I didn't want to stand out or whatever…" I mumbled.
"Then you just caught everyone's attention with that sense of style."
"Maybe we should go shopping," Aoi suggested, sipping her orange juice. "Would that be okay, Mikan-chan?"
I smiled. "That would be nice."
"It's settled, then!" Sumire clasped her hands together. "We'll get you a complete new wardrobe… and probably a spa treatment."
"Uh… why a spa treatment?" I asked.
"When was the last time you plucked your eyebrows and upper lip?" she asked. "And had a facial to get rid of those nasty blackheads?"
"Wait," I said as Anna handed me a glass of orange juice. "We're supposed to do that?"
"Idiot," Hotaru sighed.
"Okay, okay, spa and shopping, got it!" I said, standing up. "I'll just go to the buffet ta—Ah!"
"What the fuck?!"
The whole cafeteria was silent. I gulped and looked up, seeing a pair of crimson red eyes glaring at me and holding his stained shirt.
"I-I'm sorry… I-I didn't mean to—" I tried to use the clean napkin to wipe his orange juice stained shirt, but he pushed me away.
"Don't touch me, old hag," he growled at me.
I glared at him. "Gee, I'm sorry for trying to help!"
"Brother," Aoi piped in. "Calm down, she's a new talent."
"Leave her alone, Hyuuga," Hotaru said, wiping her trademark baka gun. "Or I'll shoot you."
"New talent, huh?" the Hyuuga guy chuckled. "What instrument do you play?"
"Piano," I answered.
"Oh," he rolled his eyes. "Classical music."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "What's that reaction supposed to be?"
"You're no match for rock," he said smugly.
I glared at him. "Just because classical music is my thing, doesn't give you the right to insult it."
"Oh yeah?" he said, smirking. "Can you even do rock?"
I hesitated to answer that question.
"What?" he raised an eyebrow. "Cat got your tongue?"
"She can so do rock, Natsume!" Anna said, standing up.
"And she can beat you," Misaki smirked.
"Misaki!" I hissed. "Anna, don't!"
"Oh, really?" Natsume smirked. "Then how about a battle?"
"No, no, they don't know what they're talking abou—"
"Deal," Nonoko said, standing up as well.
"Crimson Ivy versus Innocent Sirens? No way!" one of them, whom I recognized as Kokoro Yome during my tour with Anna, said.
"Oh yes way, Yome," Sumire grumbled, standing up and walking to my side. The same action was done by Anna, Misaki and Nonoko.
"We can so beat you," Nobara smirked.
"A bunch of girls like you?" another one of Natsume's members said, whom I recognized as Kistuneme, Crimson Ivy's disc jockey.
"Excuse me?" Hotaru's stoic voice rang in my ears. "A bunch of girls?"
The tone she was using was stoic, but had a deadly feel to it.
She is pissed.
"Natsume?" one of them called out as he entered the scene. "What's going on he—Mikan?"
I blinked. "Ruka-pyon?"
"Whoa, you're here!" he laughed, giving me a hug and clueless of the tension in the air.
"H-Hey…" I laughed nervously.
Hotaru sighed. "I almost forgot that my idiot boyfriend is your cousin."
Anna's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "They-They're cousins?"
"Y-Yeah," I said. "Father's side. That's why he has the same blue eyes as my dad."
"If you need any help with adjusting here in AAPA, you can call me, alright?" he smiled. "Just to make up for the four years we haven't seen each other."
I smiled nervously. "Alrig—"
"Ruka," Natsume Hyuuga's cold voice rang. "We're in the middle of something here."
Ruka raised an eyebrow. "What's going on here?"
"Mikan can so beat you, Hyuuga," Sumire smirked.
"Su-Sumire, th-that's not a very good idea…" I stuttered.
"Too much of a wimp, new girl?" Hyuuga smirked.
"Uh… Natsume? I don't think this is a good idea…" Ruka said uncomfortably.
"She can't beat us," he answered. "We're ten times better than her."
"Ruka-pyon's righ—excuse me?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at the arrogant douche in front of me.
"You heard me," he said smugly. "You can't beat us."
"Natsume, you don't understa—"
"Oh really?" I questioned again. "I… can't?"
"Here comes the prowess," Hotaru smirked.
"Impossible," Hyuuga corrected.
"Natsume, wait don't—"
"Oh, yes I can beat you," I smirked.
"Wait Mikan, please don't—"
"Shut it, bunny boy. She's finally agreeing," Hotaru told her boyfriend.
"Are you so sure?" he told me, stepping forward.
I stepped forward as well. "Name the time, place and event."
"Oh God, Natsume, wait—"
"Friday, AAPA Concert Grounds, The Opening School Concert," he answered.
"Hold up—"
"Deal," I said without hesitation.
He smirked. "It's settled. Good luck in losing, new girl."
"You'll be eating your words," I smirked.
As the Crimson Ivy band walked away, Ruka grabbed my shoulders.
"Mikan, are you out of your mind?!" he hissed. "We'll lose!"
"And what makes you think that?" I said. "We might lose."
"Yeah, but the problem here is that you're Rei Serio Yukihira's sister!" he cried, whispering the last part that only Hotaru and I can hear. "How can we beat that?!"
"I don't know," I shrugged. "Your problem, not mine."
He sighed and walked away, his shoulders slumping.
"Mikan," Hotaru said. "You do know what this means, right?"
I sighed. "I know… but I'm not going to lose."
She smirked. "That's what I thought you'd say."
I'll be transferring to the Pop/Rock music section.
You'll be eating your words, Hyuuga. This time, I'm not running away.
xXx
9 reviews, 9 favorites and 18 follows in ONE CHAPTER?! THAT'S INSANE OH MY GOSH I LOVE YOU GUYS! Thank you so much! :)
By the way, I made a few minor changes in the first chapter so please check that out :)
Until I update again lol
Mira xx
