Chapter 4
Author's note: Oh my, has it been more than 1 year since I last updated? Thank you for all your support and my apologies to have made you wait for so long. Here is Chapter 4, enjoy :)
"Miss...excuse me...I would like to take a look at this set of bow string please", a young student waved his hand impatiently in front of Kahoko's eyes. At last her eyes flied open, slowly registered her surrounding..did I seriously just fall asleep while on the job?! Kahoko apologized profusely to the customer, still he did not seem to be all that appeased, throwing her one last annoyed look before walking out of the store without buying anything.
Kahoko knocked herself on her forehead. If the manager knew he would have scolded her for sure; he was an old-man of mid 60-s, owner of this small music instrument store. He was fussy and cared more about profit than music; the pay was pathetic, but Kahoko could read music books when there was few customers, most importantly she can use the sound-proof room at the back-end to practice before rushing to her next part time job.
Even though Kanazawa-sensei had said she could use the practice rooms at school even if she was gen-ed student, Kahoko had declined his kind offer; he did not ask her the specific reason why, but he seemed to understand.
There were just too many haunting memories there at the practice room, and she could not bear the looks and the and the talks of those music students.."She deserved that for not knowing her place, I knew it, there is no way someone like Tsukimori-kun could be remotely interested in her"..a group of female students whispered, but not before ensuring it was loud enough for Kahoko to hear.
"Don't mind them, they were just jealous", Ryou had told her firmly. "Well, there is no reason to get upset now, isn't there? What they said was true" Kahoko countered flatly.
Ryou opended his mouth as if to object, but then decided against it. Recently they were not as close as before, Ryou seemed to be keeping some secret from her, Kahoko had tried to get him to open up to her to no avail, and eventually that created the unbridgeable distance between them.
For the past one year, Kahoko had thrown herself into practicing music like a mad person. In order to earn enough money for her music lessons, among other expenses, Kahoko worked 3 different part time jobs, while maintaining her (not so stellar) grades at school. Kahoko's mother did not approve of her studying violin, so she had to worked in secret. The one time Kahoko mentioned about taking music as a major in University, her usually gentle mom was livid " Do not speak about having a career playing violin professionally to me again, do you understand Kaho-chan? I forbid it". Why her mom was so against her choice of music career, Kahoko had no idea, but she did not wish to upset her mom any further.
Of course, giving up music was not an option either. She was most alive when she played her violin, it was her soul mate; all the anguish and sorrow she could not share with anyone, the strings understood, it soothed her soul, and her intense emotions in turn brought out the most hauntingly beautiful sound she never thought she was capable of.
Ironically, unbestknown to Kahoko, after "the incident", or rather "because" of it, her violin sounds had found a new depth.
"Hino-senpai's sound has changed, but I can't really figure out what exactly. It is better, and I was not referring to her techniques alone" Keiichi remarked in his usual dreamy tone, as he and Kanazawa leaned against the wall, listening to Kahoko's playing in one afternoon
"It is still her style, free and expressive, but there is a tinge of sadness that wasn't there before. It made her sound more complex. Shimizu-kun, all the greatest artists in the history are tormented souls and there is a reason behind that"
Keiichi shook his head slowly "If I were Tsukimori-senpai, I would never make her sad...How could he leave her all alone like that. I looked up to senpai a lot before, but not anymore"
Kanazawa-sensei took a long drag of his cigarette, his eyes distant as if he was gazing into his long distant past "Shimizu-kun, you are still too young to understand. Sometimes the person who walked away is the one that hurt the most"
Kahoko threw herself into practicing music not only because violin alone could grant her reprieve, but also because she had a promise with herself to keep. Every time she was so tired she thought of giving up, a little voice at the back of her head kept whispering...if you give up now, you prove everything Tsukimori said was right all along...and just like that, she gathered what was left of her remaining energy, picked herself up and kept going.
...But I should really catch up on some sleep this weekend if I don't want to die young...Kahoko washed her face, hoping the cool blast could keep her awake until end of her shift today. Suddenly, for a moment everything turned pit black and she had to grip the sink bench hard to keep from swaying.
The door bell rang, some customers must have entered the shop...Common now Kahoko! Now is not the time to faint. Kahoko gritted her teeth and pushed herself up, plastered the most professional sale-person could manage and stepped out.
"Yes how can I help you?"
Her smile froze in place when she realized who was in the store.."Yunoki-senpai?"
"Good evening, Hino. That uniform suits you so well" Azuma smiled. Usually this smile was enough to send his fangirls into raptures, but Kahoko simply tilted her head sideway, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. His famous charm was completely lost on this girl.
Azuma could not help but let out a helpless chuckle.
"What do you need Yunoki senpai?"
"Why is it wrong for me to be in a music store? I'm a music student too"
"Sure...but you played the flute, and this store sells exclusively string instruments"
"I have taken an interest in violin, there is no rule against that right? could you show me around"
"Yunoki-senpai...we both know that's not true. You quit Seisou university last year, and started managing a small branch of your family business".
Dropping all his nonchalant pretense, Azuma relaxed his posture and let his true self show. He inched forward toward Kahoko menacingly, until she was back against the wall. "You are absolutely right. My fledging business is indeed tiny compared to what my elder brother is managing. But, I can still buy this store with a cash cheque and make you jobless in a blink of the eye"
Kahoko calmly stared into his eyes, unfazed. Her courage and passion were what had fascinated him since the beginning. Azuma slowly traced a finger on Kahoko's lips, all the while locking gazes with her.
Finally Kahoko averted her face away, mumbling "Hihara-senpai was really depressed when you quit the academy"
Azuma turned Kahoko's chin to make her face him again "What about you? Were you sad when I quit?"
"I was. You know I love hearing you play the flute."
"That's all? Only the flute?" Azuma asked, trying his best to masked the excitement in his voice.
"Yes. What else can there be?"
Maybe Kahoko was mistaken, but as Azuma dropped the hand on her chin and back away, his fist seemed clenched for a brief moment.
"If you don't intend to buy anything, can you please leave, I need to close the store now" Kahoko did not mean to chase Azuma away, but she could feel another wave of dizziness hitting her; Azuma had carried her home that Christmas night, just as much as she felt grateful, she felt humiliated and stupid, and the last thing she wanted to do was fainting in front of Azuma, again.
Yet, it was exactly what she did. I will worry about this later...Kahoko thought as she finally succumbed to the oblivious darkness.
Kahoko never had a better sleep, it must had been hours because it was really bright outside, indicating that it had past noon time.
She blinked once, twice, before registering that she was, in fact, not in her room at home.
Everything from the blanket to the wall was white. Her armed got needled with an attached IV drip nearby. This must be the hospital ...why am I in the hospital?
Kahoko quickly bolted upright as realization hit her...Oh no no no, please God, do not let Yunoki-senpai be the one who brought me in here. Once was enough.
But it was too late, there is no mistaking whose that mocking voice coming from the door was
"Ah look, the Sleeping Princess is finally up"
Kahoko turned around, her face scarlet-red. "Ano..good mor..good afternoon Yunoki-senpai...uhm...did you bring me in here?"
"Who else could it be? Why do you always have to faint when I am around. Do you have any idea how heavy you are?"
His eyes were twinkling with mischief. He relished in teasing her mercilessly, Kahoko realized, but there was denial he was the one who helped her when she needed the most. Despite herself, smile tugged at Kahoko's mouth corner.
"Yunoki-senpai, you know I never meant to do that. Perhaps it is you who always choose my most humiliating moments to appear, and tease me relentlessly after that. Do you have any idea how exasperating that is?"
Azuma put a hand on his left chest, feigning hurt "Ouch, all that for the knight in shining armor who came to rescue you. Really, miss Hino, I need to have a word with your mother about that attitude of yours when she comes over." He gave a the reproachful look a teacher scolding her student, and managed to coax laughter out of her.
Kahoko's cheerful mood was short-lived, however, the mention of her mother reminded her of the fact that her cover might very well had been blown up.
"Yunoki-senpai, did my mother know I was working part-time at that music store?"
"I presume so, it would be hard to clear my name if I had been with the very unconscious you at anywhere but right in the middle of your part-time job"
Kahoko dropped her head groaned.
"You don't like that? Then you are going to hate this news even more" Azuma said
Kahoko arched one eye-brow as if to as "what could possibly be worse than this?"
"Your part time jobs, you don't need to come for work anymore "
"You mean I was fired?" Kahoko gaped in shock. She had known that her employers cared only about profit, but to fire her just for missing one shift was too much.
"Well, not exactly, I told them on behalf you resigned". Azuma said, taking a step back consciously. Knowing the red-head, she would never come down without a fight, especially when he did, in fact, take the liberty to make decisions for her, an absolute no-no with someone as strong headed and independent as she was.
"And why exactly did you do that? You might not need to work hard, ever, since you were born at the finishing line, but you had no idea how much I need that job" Kahoko clenched the blanket between her fists, feelings torn between fury and gratitude. This man standing before her had always been an enigma, she never knew for sure where she stood with him and what his intentions were.
"Because I am going to make you an offer you can't refuse. I was about to tell you and let you resign voluntarily but then you fainted, a pity" Azuma countered softly, he even had the nerve to wink at her.
Taking Kahoko's silence as a cue to continue, Azuma laid out his proposal
"As you already knew, I left Seisou to start my own business. It is a music production company and I would like to offer you the position as our first classical music trainee. Your music lessons and training would all be taken care of, free of charge. When you are ready to debut and perform professionally, I would take 90% of your earnings."
"90%?" Kahoko's eyes widened "That's akin to exploitation Yunoki-senpai"
"Hino, here is a concept that might be foreign to music students but unfortunately, you have to grasp soon - it's called bargaining power. And right now, your bargaining power is, let me see…" Azuma pretended to calculate for a moment "…zero". He finished succinctly.
"Or I could just walk away and leave you alone with your amazing offer" Kahoko replied without missing a beat.
"and then go back to what? doing menial part time jobs, earning meagre salaries to support yourself, and yet barely have enough health to practice music. Hoping that one day you might be able to catch up with Tsukimori? Let us be honest with each other Hino, that's one wild dream if there is ever one and you know it"
Azuma knew that his words had hit home when Kahoko's defiant look melt away, exposing her vulnerability. Len had always been her Achille's heel, an unpleasant fact that Azuma had to acknowledge despite him feeling like he just swallowed a bitter pill.
"I…I…" Kahoko tried to search for words, but like so many times before, she could not, not in front of Azuma Yunoki. She didn't even bother asking how he came to know about her most private goal, a burning desire that she shared with no one, not even with Ryou. Yet, as wicked and mischievous as he was, he always seemed to see right through her feelings.
"Alright, I'll admit it. I can't win against you. I will think about your offer, but only after you come clean and tell me honestly, why me? the one person who, like you said, has nothing to offer you in return" Kahoko asked.
"I'll be honest with you, because God forbids, you might be the only person in the world I can do that" Azuma chuckled bitterly and Kahoko was reminded of his terrifying grandmother, she could not help but feeling her anger melting away, giving place to empathy, and even remorse when she remembered she had told him he was born at the finishing line earlier. "I decided to take a chance on you because I see a fire in you that's like no other, I understand once you have set your mind on some thing you will achieve it, no matter what. I value that more than any sort of musical talents other people might have."
"I'm not foolish enough to believe that's all that matters, Hino" Azuma pressed on, knowing full well what Kahoko was about to say "it doesn't mean anything if you have no sort of talent whatsoever, but the truth is…"
Azuma came closer and looked Kahoko straight in the eyes, holding her hand in his. Kahoko tried to pull back but Azuma held on tighter, ignoring her protest "the truth is, Hino, you have got potential. You might not be confident in yourself enough to see that, but if you think my music taste is worth anything, then trust me on this. Reaching Tsukimori's level is indeed a wild dream, but if it's you and me, we might be able to make a miracle happen. So do us both a favour and take a chance on yourself, Hino."
Despite herself, Kahoko smiled and momentarily forgot that Azuma were still holding her hand. She never knew how much she needed a little reprieve, some sort of encouragement from somebody, until she heard him. She had been fighting a battle against self doubt since forever, and even though her friends had been kind, she was afraid that they offered encouraging words out of pity, and not the truth; after all, she would be the first to admit how crazy her goal sounded. However, Azuma was different, he might be the incarnation of the devil, ruthless and never minced his words with her; yet, she was always able to find comfort in the fact he spoke the truth, no matter what.
"I took your dole eyes full of adoration as a yes?" Azuma flashed her his famous confident smile that screamed I had won.
"Not so fast, mister" Kahoko laughed and squatted his hand "I still need my mother's approval before I can sign the papers"
"You are 18 years old, Hino, you can make decisions for yourself. Oh wait, isn't that what you have been doing all this time" He arched a knowing eyebrow.
"Well, no matter how stubborn I am, I do love and respect my mom, and I wouldn't go behind her back ever"
Azuma faked a cough that sounded suspiciously like "part-time jobs"
"Oh alright, I wouldn't go behind her back this time, not for something as important as this. Happy now?" Kahoko stuck her tongue out at Azuma.
Speaking of the devil, a gentle voice came with a knock at the door "Kaho-chan?"
"Okaa-san, I'm awake. Please come in"
"You silly child. Why do you always worry your mom sick..Oh I'm sorry…" Kahoko's mom stopped and registered the presence of the striking young man standing next to her daughter. This was only the second time she had met him, but she was just as impressed as the first time. Everything from his head to toe screamed eliteness and good upbringing. It would be nice if he were Kahoko's boyfriend, she had silently thought that.
"Good afternoon, Mrs Hino, I'm Yunoki Azuma, Hino's senpai at Seisou School. We've met before" Azuma greeted her courteously, every bit the gentleman everyone believed him to be. Kahoko averted her face away and he had a distinct feeling she was trying to hide a smile.
"Yes, of course, I remember you. You were the one who brought Kaho-chan home on Christmas Eve night. I didn't have a chance to thank you properly, and yet we have bothered once again." Her mom threw Kahoko such a scorching side look that almost made her want to scurry to safety behind Azuma's back.
"Oh please, Madam, don't mention it. It is always my pleasure to help others in need, especially since Hino is my kouhai".
This time Kahoko couldn't help herself and barked out a laugh. Both Azuma and her mom turned to look at her curiously so she had to cover up by pointing out at the window "Erm…the kids playing outside just did the funniest thing like you wouldn't believe". Inwardly, though, Kahoko was thinking if only her mom had known about that 90%-10% contract this seemingly angelic man had proposed a moment ago.
"Hora, Kaho-chan. Don't be rude. Have you thanked Yunoki-san properly? If not for him you would have been in danger" Her mom reprimanded sternly.
"Mrs Hino, please, it was nothing. If you would pardon me, I have some business I need to attend to urgently so I would leave you two alone to talk. You must have a lot of things to discuss about, right Hino?"
Azuma shot Kahoko a smirk … that's for laughing at me Kahoko… Kahoko tried to shake her head at him discreetly, but it was too late. Her mom had already turned to her "What is the matter Kaho-chan?"
"Oh please don't be alarmed madam, just this small offer I have for Kahoko. She would discuss in more details with you later. I really need to go, do excuse me".
Azuma turned around to fetch his coat, shielded away from Kahoko's mom, he quickly whispered into her ears "You're welcome Hino. I save you the hardest part. Let me know the good news within 3 days or my offer would lapse". Judging from Kahoko's glaring eyes, thanking him seemed to be the last thing she wanted to do at that moment.
After Azuma left, Kahoko patted her bed invitingly to her mom, she definitely needed to sit down for the news Kahoko was about to share "Okaa-san, please sit down. About that, I do have something I need to tell you". Plastering on a brave smile, Kahoko gathered her courage to tell her mom about Azuma's job offer. "The truth is…"
"No. The answer is no Kaho-chan". As Kahoko had expected, her mom objected furiously to the idea of Kahoko becoming a music trainee.
"But Okaa-san..I" Kahoko tried her best to rationale with her mom, but it was a futile effort.
"Enough! We've been through this before, and I told you multiple times that I don't approve you pursuing professional music career. Yet you lied to me and worked part time jobs while practising to the point of collapsing. Why? Kaho-chan, why must you be so stubborn and pained my heart so?"
"Okaa-san, please hear me out" There were tears in Kahoko' eyes, she regretted she hurt her mom so, but it was impossible to do what her mom asked of her, to give up music.
"I don't know how, or why, or when, but the violin has become a part of me, despite my best intentions. I can't give it up, not now, not ever. It's the path I chose and I'm willing to walk it till the end"
"I said no, Kaho-chan"
"But Okaa-san, at lease give me a reason why you objected so vehemently" Kahoko persisted.
"No particular reason, I just don't see a stable future for you, choosing music as your main career. Perhaps if you rest and stop playing violin for a while you will cool your head down and know that I'm right"
"Okaa-san, no you can't! Stop please" Kahoko gaped in horror as her mom confiscated her violin case
"Rest. Kaho-chan. We would talk later". and that was, apparently, all that her mom intended to say on the matter.
Kahoko bit her tongue to keep her silence, knowing full well that another word would only infuriate her mom further. Yet, inside her head, she had already plotted multiple ways to get her violin back. Asking her to stop playing violin would be similar to asking her to stop breathing, already her fingers yearned for their companion. Kahoko could not imagine any universe in which she would not love the violin as dearly as she did. She owed it to her violin for the journey that she had gone through, and for the adventure she was about to embark on.
Yet it had already been three days, the last day for responding to Azuma's offer, and Kahoko still had not managed to retrieve her violin, let alone convincing her mom about her music's escapade. Her mom had kept a very tight watch on her, and she could not find a single opportunity to look for her violin.
"Alright. Desperate time calls for desperate measure. Here goes nothing!" Kahoko closed her eyes shut, not daring to watch the scene unfold. She poured a splash of scalding hot water of her foot and yelped out loud, sure enough her mom rushed into the kitchen
"Kaho-chan. What's wrong? oh my..why were you so careless?"
"Sorry okaa-san, I was just trying to cook myself some noodle" Kahoko said apologetically.
Her mom sighed "Come here, let me take a look"
Kahoko limped toward the kitchen table and let her mom inspect her injury, praying fervently that she did not discover it was a ruse. Her mom washed her foot with some cold water "luckily it's not too serious. I would just apply some salve on it and it shall be good"
If there is some salve left at all…Kahoko had taken care of that.
"Oh no, that's strange, I was positive there is still some salve left since last time. I would have to go to the pharmacist and buy a new tube" Kahoko felt a splash of guilt for tricking her mom, but she reassured herself that her mom would understand after all was said and done.
"Take your time, mom. I would wait quietly at home for you"
Her mom's eyes narrowed in suspicion " If I ever found out that you did this intentionally…"
"Of course not, mom. Hurry please, it's starting to hurt and I don't want to have an ugly scar there"
Her mom gave Kahoko one last warning before heading out of the door "Behave. Else you would be in so much trouble when I'm home"
Kahoko gave her mom a mock salute and watched her back until she was sure her mom had truly went far enough. She had about 15 minutes before her mom return, and thus Kahoko bolted to action. She was hoping if she could convince her mom to hear her playing once, she would understand that to Kahoko, violin career was not a whimsical decision, but was well and truly her passionate calling. Now if only I could figure out where my mom had hidden my violin…Kami-sama please help me. Kahoko prayed as the clock start ticking, only 10 minutes left, and yet her violin was no where to be found, even though she had searched high and low for it.
At that moment, as if a light bulb was turned on in Kahoko's mind…Of course, the most dangerous place is the safest place.
There was a small storage space under Kahoko's bed, where she, a natural hoarder had kept all her childhood toys, since Len left however, that was the place Kahoko locked away all her memories related to him, and the concourse. Their pictures together, the video of his last performance at the end of the concourse, it seemed just like yesterday when Kahoko was bursting with pride and happiness, her eye glued to the cam recorder, treasuring every magnificent moment of her beloved's performance. She had meant to burn all those mementos after he left, but for some peculiar reason she could not bring herself to, instead she shoved them in the box and decided to let time do its healing magic.
Her mom, while did not fully understand the reasons behind Kahoko's tears on that day, or many days following that, knew that the box held pieces of Kahoko's broken heart, and that it would be a long time before Kahoko had the courage to open the box again. That was why she most likely would have chosen that place as a safe place to hide away Kahoko's violin.
True enough, when Kahoko opened the lid, her beloved violin was there. However oddly enough, it was not the only one. Lying next to her own violin, Kahoko saw another violin case, of black colour, it had that terrible torn ang ragged look that implied the last time it was opened was ages ago.
Intrigued, Kahoko opened the case, to her astonishment, inside was an old violin, with a golden string, just like her own. Kahoko carefully lifted the violin up to inspect it further. The violin, though was old, showed no sign of wear and tear one would had expected. Instead, the wood still was able to catch the light in an exquisite way, proof that the violin was a masterpiece of a very skilled luthier. There was some small graving on the side of the violin, and Kahoko squinted her eyes to make out the words. However, as she manoeuvred toward the door to have better lighting, she realized a long shadow casted on the floor. Kahoko lifted her head up in alarm "Okaa-san…you are back"
—-
To be continued
