Chapter 2

Picture still in hand, Kaho crawled out of the bush where she was deposited. She shrugged off the leaves on her shoulder and took in her new surroundings. She was no longer in her grandmother's attic but in Seisou's courtyard. Since it was a weekend, only the athletes and Oke Club members would be in school but she'd have to be looking to find them because she was alone and the courtyard was deserted.

She shook her head. After Lili and the magic violin, she had to believe that she attracted the magical. If the concours was Alice In Wonderland, she went down another rabbit hole...

Oh well, she sighed. Her grandmother's house wasn't far from Seisou. She looked at the photo in her hand and thought about using it for when she was late for school. She just had to figure out how it worked. She smiled at "Tsukimori" and said, "It's a nice day, don't you think?"

Lili's golden statue shone in the sunlight and she walked to it as if to meet him. She was suddenly nostalgic as she placed a hand on Lili's pedestal.

"It's the school, right Lili? You made it magic."

"What are you doing?" asked a curious female voice behind her.

"Urm, ah, nothing?" No, no coherent thoughts from this side, Kahoko.

She quickly pocketed "Tsukimori's picture" and extended her hand to try to save face by introducing herself to her new companion—a girl who wore a uniform that she hadn't seen in the district.

"Hello, I'm Hino Kahoko, nice to meet you."

The girl shook Kaho's hand. Her eyes were her most noticeable feature: they were large and brown with long lashes. She had straight bangs and her caramel-colored hair fell in soft curls.

"I'm Ruriko Ichida," she said. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, why aren't you in uniform?"

Kaho cleared her throat. Isn't it a weekend?

She tipped her head to the side and studied Ruriko's clothes. She wore a midnight blueskirt that was below the knee. The white blouse also had a blue accent. She had a red neckerchief. Whose uniform is she talking about? Then she spotted it...Seisou's Logo was embroidered on her collar.

Kaho held on to Ruriko's shoulders. It was the picture. She was sure she'd been transported to Seisou circa 1958.

"Are you ok, Hino-san?" Ruriko asked.

She was going to fall over but she steadied herself and resisted the urge to ask the date. The Gen Ed building looked like it was undergoing renovations...or maybe it's still being built. She scanned Lili's statue, then Ruriko's uniform, the Music school building, and Gen Ed.

Panicking, she ran to Gen Ed and peered inside the windows. There were no chairs, no other items that indicated the building was presently in use. It was empty.

Ruriko had followed her. "What's wrong Hino-san?"

I'm from the future. She heard the words in her head.

"Will you feel better if you sit down?"

Kaho squatted and hugged her knees. A shiny red Cadillac sped by the school's front gate.

A vintage car...

Ruriko had another suggestion, "You can sit in the auditorium and watch the concours and maybe it'll help calm you down. I still have to change for it too, so..." she trailed off. "I wanted to take a walk before the first selection starts but," she paused again. "I think we should head back."

Kaho's ears perked up at the words concours and first selection. "Concours," Kaho repeated slowly.

"You're a participant in the concours!"

Ruriko nodded nervously, surprised by Kaho's sudden exuberance.

Lili. I'll find Lili!

"I'm ok," Kaho said when Ruriko looked concerned. The solution to her problem was clear, so she got up and grabbed Ruriko's hands. "What day is it?"

"Wednesday," Ruriko answered.

She'd been transported to another day of the week. It was obvious since the school was having the first selection, which should be scheduled on a school day.

"Am I right?" Kaho asked. "Is it 1958?"

"Um, yes," Ruriko said.

If the question struck Ruriko as odd, Kaho had missed the telling look. She was comparing the Seisou she knew with the Seisou of the past: the auditorium's brown marble floor, the dark wainscoting of entrance hall, and the high ceiling of the 1950s had been preserved for its students—students like her who belonged in the future. It was surreal. Seisou was an old school after all and walking in the auditorium in 1958 made her feel as though she were truly a part of the school's history.

"What instrument do you play, Ruriko-san?" she asked when they were in the dressing room.

Ruriko was brushing her hair in front of the vanity, "I play piano. I'm not the best though."

Kaho could relate. When Ruriko dipped her head, Kaho placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to reassure her, "I can help you with your make up if you like. Maybe the inside can borrow a little confidence from the outside. Sometimes, you feel the way you look."

She smiled at their reflections in the mirror. The chance to listen to a concours from 1958 had its good points, right?

It's even better to get to play...

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There were five participants: a pianist (Ruriko), a cellist, one violinist, and two others with wind instruments, a flute and an oboe respectively. She tapped her finger on the list of names. Only Ruriko's name was familiar but she would match the faces with the correct names once she was seated with the audience. She'd pick a chair near the back just in case there was a problem with not being in the prescribed uniform.

Her plan to find Lili was beginning to take shape. It was probably a good idea to look for him while the performances were ongoing since there was a good chance he would be lurking somewhere near the person he'd picked to join the concours.

Hmm...which one is it I wonder, she thought as she surveyed the list a second time. She was backstage but apart from Ruriko, she hadn't spotted the other contestants.

Which one among the contestants had Lili pulled into the competition?

It couldn't be Ruriko, could it?

She realized then that none of the participants would be Gen Ed and inwardly booed herself for thinking that the contestant Lili had picked would have the same circumstances she had. Really Kaho...why did you think of that?

A loud crash interrupted her thoughts. Taking a peek before she rounded a corner, she saw a male student crawl out of a broom closet.

"Get away! Get away!" he shouted, backing into the nearest wall. Kaho hid in her corner and watched him. There was a look of terror on the poor—she noted a red cravat—music sophomore's face. Then a glowing ball of light drifted from the closet towards the now paralyzed young man.

Lili harrumphed and crossed his tiny arms against his blue clad chest. "I'm not a demon, a ghoul, or a goblin. I'm a fata! A fata!" He sounded indignant and insulted, much like he was when Kaho first met him. "I'm the fairy of this school and I said you're going to be a participant in the concours."

The frightened boy tried to reason with him. "But the first selection is already underway and I wasn't selected beforehand."

Lili spun in the air and flew close to the boy's face. Kaho thought that wasn't a good idea.

"But you can see me," Lili said. "So..."

She was right. It wasn't a good idea for Lili to move in too close. Lili was—because the move resembled more of a backhand than a swat—backhanded. He landed on the floor.

Oh poor Lili. But this thought was quickly followed with a frown. Ok, Lili, what's up with that? You made me think I was only one who ran away.

She came out of her hiding place and watched as Lili's ball of light chased after the young man through the exit.

She meant to follow them but before her feet could carry out her mind's orders, she was pulled into another nearby closet. It was dark and she tried to inhale properly to calm herself as the hand that grabbed her released its grip on her slender arm. A light bulb turned on and swung like a pendulum in front of her.

When she spoke her name, she recognized his voice immediately. She waited for the light to fix a steady beam on his face. When the bulb stopped swaying, she saw the boy from the photo in her pocket. He was standing in front of her with one arm on his waist.

It was him. It had to be him but she stepped forward to get a better look.

"Tsukimori-kun," she said, not believing her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

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Regarding Seisou's uniform: From what I understand, if you started out with a red cravat or red tie, you'd wear the same color cravat/tie for the next two years. In Hihara's flashback in the anime, his cravat, and Yunoki's too, was teal when he was in first year, which is the same color he should wear (because I don't think we've ever seen him wearing it as a third year) now that he's a senior. In this fic, I made Kaho assume that Ruriko and Jun are second years because they're in red neckerchiefs.