Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Everyone in the room was quiet.

Well, there were only two people in the room.

That is, Kahoko Hino and Len Tsukimori.

What are they going to do now? Tsukimori thought. They can't stay stuck in this room forever. But… he can stay stuck with Kahoko forever. Wait, no! Stop thinking that! Tsukimori snapped back into reality when Hino called out his name.

"Yes, Hino?" Tsukimori said, more of as a statement than as a question.

"What do you suppose we should be doing now?" Hino asked cheerfully, with a smile on her face.

"Practice?" Tsukimori said, trying to sound uninterested.

"I suppose so too, but if we're stuck in here forever, what else would we be doing?"

"Practice even more."

Hino scowled playfully and returned fixing the couch. Tsukimori, however, was sitting on the piano chair. He was looking down at the piano. It was really pretty, compared to other pianos he'd seen. And he did know how to play a piece…

Suddenly music filled Kahoko's ears. She turned around. "Tsukimori-kun…" He was playing the piano! It was a pleasant sound, and a pleasant song, and a handsome pianist. Wait, no, scratch that last part. He was a graceful pianist. He wasn't better than Tsuchiura, that's for sure, but it was a pretty performance.

When Tsukimori ended, Hino exclaimed, "That was beautiful! Where did you learn to play the piano, Tsukimori-kun? And what piece was that? Teach me, please!"

Tsukimori just sat there, surprised at Hino's reaction. Had he really played that good? Of course not… But, it did feel good that he sounded good in an instrument other than the violin. So he does know music pretty well, and not only from the violin! Tsukimori smiled. It was a good feeling.

"Tsukimori-kun? What's that funny look on your face?" Kahoko said, giggling.

"Huh? Oh," Tsukimori said, returning to his usual stoic behavior. "Sorry about that."

"What do you mean, sorry? That was amazing! Where'd you learn that piece?"

He hesitated telling Kahoko. But, if he continued acting like that the whole time, he'll just continue being dull and insensitive to Kahoko.

"My mom used to play it over and over again, when I was young—way before I learned how to play the violin. I just simply watched her, and… I guess that's how I learned." Tsukimori said.

"Well, that was a pretty tune… Could you teach it to me? I'd love to know how to play that piece… even at the piano!" Hino said.

Tsukimori thought for a while, then motioned for Kahoko to sit beside him in the piano chair. When she did, he said, "Okay, Hino. Do you memorize the order of keys in the piano?" Kahoko looked confused. "I guess not, then." Tsukimori concluded.

He got up, went behind the chair and placed his hands over Hino's, so his stomach was pressed against her back. He felt her stiffen, and said, "Relax. I'm not going to eat you." Hino's shoulders went up, but eventually relaxed.

"Okay. So the first note is a La," he directed Hino's fingers to the right piano key. "And the second is a Sol," he directed it again. "Got that?"

Hino nodded, then Tsukimori continued. They did the rest of the song in almost more than an hour, as Hino knew nothing about the piano. But Tsukimori tried to be patient, and after all, doing this was better than doing nothing.

When he was done teaching the whole song, and Tsukimori made Hino play it, she sucked. He couldn't help but laugh, until Hino stopped playing.

"Are you laughing at me, Tsukimori-kun?" she asked.

"N-n-ooo…" Tsukimori said, trying to hide his smie.

"Well then you should laugh at yourself, because you're a lousy teacher." Hino said, poking Tsukimori on the arm.

"Really now?" Tsukimori said, laughing. "Well, you suck! You don't learn fast, and you can't play the piano!"

"Oh yeah?" Hino said, then she got up, ran around the room, and Tsukimori, foolishly enough, forgot about his usual behavior around Hino, and started running after her. It was a funny sight, actually, seeing the two run around the room. How odd would that be?

Tsukimori caught up with her, well, because he is a boy and he is a fit guy. He grabbed her by the waist, and before they knew it, they were both on the floor, laughing, Tsukimori's arm around Hino's waist, Hino on top of him, her back against his tummy. (no, they weren't facing each other. D)

They were laughing, having a fun time, until both of them were lying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.

"I've never seen you that happy, Tsukimori-kun!" Hino said.

"Well, that's the last time you'll ever see me do that again."

"You mean it's the last time you'll ever actually be a fun guy?"

"No."

"Well then what do you mean?" Hino asked happily.

"I meant… nevermind. Just pretend that this never happened," Tsukimori said.

Hino laughed. "That's silly."

"It isn't to me."

"Okay, Tsukimori-kun."

Then, something magical happened: The door opened.

"What the—" a voice said, and soon enough, Hino said, "Ousaki-senpai!"

"Oh. It's him. Thank god," Tsukimori said, getting up from the floor.

"What are you two doing on the floor?" Ousaki asked.

"Well, we'd also like to ask what took you forever to find us," Tsukimori said.

"What do you mean?"

"We got locked in this room since last night, Ousaki-senpai," Hino explained. "We had to sleep here over the night."

"What?! Why didn't you call anyone?"

"We didn't have any phone with us. We both forgot about it and left it behind," Hino said.

"You could always scream and bang the doors you know," Ousaki said.

"It's a soundproof room," Tsukimori said.

"Oh. Well then, I should write a note to your teachers whose classes you missed and… and, well, not let anyone use this practice room," Ousaki said, quite flatly. "Come on you two, let's get out of here."

So they got their stuff, headed outside the room, and for the first time in more than twelve hours, smelled fresh air.

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A/N : Sorry for the late update guys! Please R&R!