Secret Guardian
-chapter eight-
A/N: So, chapter eight already, eh!? Not a bad word count for having started writing this story three days ago! Hahaha I've been writing like a madwoman since this is my week off from work! (Working part-time is good in some ways? Lol) I hope you all are enjoying this story so far, and if so... REVIEW! And if not... REVIEW! I love constructive criticism. -bows-
In other news, I'm splitting this story up into three parts, as you'll see from the new title on chapter one. After chapter nine, we'll have a year time skip and part two will start! I'm not expecting this story to be any more than 35 chapters in length, although the chapters seem to keep getting progressively longer... aghhh, my poor fingers...
Anyway. ENJOY!
I stared at myself in the mirror, fussing with my newly cyan-streaked, messy bangs. I grinned.
"Thanks for helping me with this, Ai-kun," I said, turning and hugging the stoic youth. "I couldn't have done it without you!"
"Technically, that's a lie. You could have done it by yourself, but it would have ended up as a complete catastrophe," he said mildly, still tinkering with his synthesizer even though he didn't have the sound on. He seemed to be very fond of it. I gave myself a mental pat on the back for my gift choice.
I shrugged. "Well, either way, I owe you one now."
"Just pay me back with your music."
"Ah! That's what you always say! I must have given you a good thirty or so songs by now. Haven't you had enough of them by now? I'm sure they must be getting boring already..."
"No," he said firmly, making me look at him with a bit of surprise. His voice went back to its usual calm tone as he elaborated, "I enjoy your music. It makes me feel...warm."
I stared at him for a minute, wide-eyed. That was a rather bold statement for someone who said they couldn't feel emotions; someone who collapsed when they thought too much about strong emotions like love. Heck, it was practically a love confession, coming from the cyan-haired android.
I grinned, squeezing him tighter.
"Ai-kun! Tell me more about how you feel all lovey-dovey towards my music!"
"I never used those words, woman."
"You might as well have, though!"
"Not in the slightest."
I sighed, letting go of Ai and flopping down on his bed on my back, staring up at the ceiling.
"Man, I'm gonna miss you when I go back tomorrow," I said, feeling depressed at the thought of another few Ai-less months. I sat up suddenly as I realized something.
"AH! I'm gonna miss your twelfth birthday!" I cried. "You're gonna be old by the time I see you again!"
Ai sighed.
"So overdramatic..."
I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly.
"What? I can't help wanting to celebrate my best friend's birthday with him!"
Ai tilted his head, looking at me like he wasn't entirely sure what I'd just said.
"Best...friend...?" He gripped the front of his shirt. Ah, crap. I really hoped what I said wouldn't make him overheat again. I didn't like seeing him like that last time. It was kind of scary, not knowing if he would wake up. It was like Aine all over again...
"What are best friends...?"
I blinked at him.
"Hm?" I tapped my chin with my index finger. "Well...best friends are the closest of friends. They do pretty much everything together, and even if they end up living a long way from each other, they still keep in touch and think about each other a lot... Best friends share their feelings and secrets with each other, and they cheer each other up when they're feeling sad... They know what each other's likes, dislikes, and habits are... Even when they annoy each other, they know they still care about one another..." I trailed off, trying to think of anything else. "That sort of thing, I guess? That's what best friends are. To me, anyways." I laughed softly, rubbing the back of my neck and hoping my explanation was clear enough for my robot friend. Man, Ai sure liked to put me on the spot like that a lot...
"I see..." Ai said quietly, though it looked like he was still trying to process the information I'd given him. "So you are my best friend, after all."
"Really!?" I said. I mean, it was one thing to think someone was your best friend, but it was another thing to have them feel the same way and confirm it. I grinned happily. "That means a lot to me, Ai-kun!"
Ai stared at me for a moment, as though he was trying to figure me out.
"I don't understand, though," he said. "Why do you call me your best friend? You know I'm an A.I., I'm not a human. Isn't that somehow...strange, for you?"
"Well, it was at first, but then I just sort of...got used to it, I guess? The fact that you're just a little weird," I joked. He didn't laugh. I shrugged it off. "To be honest, I don't find you all that different from anyone else. You're less expressive about your feelings than most people are, but...you still have things you like, things you dislike, certain habits and hobbies and strengths and weaknesses. You learn things really quickly, but that's not to say that you learn without working at it, because you do. You put a lot of effort into doing things and achieving your goals, and I admire that in you." I smiled at him. The look he was giving me was a little weird compared to his usual look. Almost... softer, somehow. "So yeah, I call you my best friend. It's not strange to me." I laughed. "I'm the strange one, if anything."
Ai laughed softly. My ears perked up at the sound. I looked and found he was...smiling!?
Did I break Ai-kun again!?
"Well, you're not wrong about that, at least."
"AH! Ai-kun, was that... was that a joke!?"
He shrugged, turning back to his synthesizer.
"Who knows?"
"GAH! You're so confusing, Ai-kun!"
It was the first day back at class after the winter break, and I was already running late. And I do mean running. I huffed and puffed as I ran at a full sprint down the hallway towards Hyuga-sensei's classroom, my mind screaming that I was definitely not in good enough shape for this as I went. I skidded into the classroom just as the buzzer rang to signal the start of class, breathing a huge sigh of relief. (And then going back to trying to catch my breath. Running is hard work, especially first thing in the morning!)
"Mura-san, take your seat," Hyuga-sensei said, giving me a look that was equal parts annoyed and amused. I bowed apologetically and scurried over to my desk, flipping open my notebook and textbook at the same time.
"Now, I trust you all did the assigned reading over the break," yes, Hyuga-sensei, Ai-kun made sure of that; the slave-driver, "so we'll start with a pop quiz!"
The entire class groaned in defeat.
Thankfully, the quiz was easy enough. It was mostly stuff we'd learned before the break, with only a few questions from the assigned reading. So while it would still be really obvious if you didn't do the reading over the break, I doubted anyone would outright fail the quiz. And honestly, if they did, how the heck did they get into S Class in the first place!? Seriously...
After we handed in the quizzes, Hyuga-sensei did a little lecture on arrangements and how they could change even the most basic composition into something amazing. I found myself grinning cheesily at the thought. That was something I had been working on the past few months, and now that I had the microphone Ai had given me for Christmas, I could work on it even more since I would be able to record all the different parts I was thinking of and play around with them while being able to actually listen to what it would sound like, instead of just imagining it. I was really looking forward to it. Have I mentioned how much I love music yet?
When the bell rang for lunch, I scurried into the cafeteria and sat down at my usual table, only to be all but mauled by Yamato and Kira. (Okay, I might be overstating it a little, there. It was more like they both glared at me and demanded to know why I refused to meet up with them over the winter break.)
"Hey, hey, calm down, you mother hens," I said placatingly. It didn't ease their Looks of Death in the slightest. "Ehehe..." I laughed nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. "Sorry? I kind of promised my best friend I would hang out with him over the winter break, though, seeing as I never get to see him during the school year..."
Kira raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Yamato.
"Wait, him?" Yamato said, giving me a weird look. "Your best friend is a guy?"
It was my turn to give him a weird look. "What, and that's strange to you how? I mean, both of you are guys, and you're my friends... Besides, no need to get jealous over it. He's not even twelve, yet," I said with a shrug.
"Oh, good," Yamato said, relaxing a bit before straightening back up. "Wait, your best friend is an eleven-year-old!? Isn't that a little weird!?"
I waved him off. "Ai-kun doesn't act like he's twelve. If anything, he acts like he's a stoic seventy-year-old geezer."
"And that's less weird than being friends with an eleven-year-old!?"
Kira nodded his agreement.
"Ah, come on, guys... so mean..."
Kira bopped me lightly on the head, and I grabbed the place he had hit, trying to protect it. I was just about ready to ream him out for it when he held out a small, neatly wrapped gift to me. A second gift appeared next to it, and I saw Yamato holding it out from across the table, resolutely not looking at me, though I could see his cheeks were a little pink. So tsundere! I cooed mentally.
"You guys..." I said, gently taking the gifts from them. "I...I didn't get you guys anything! I didn't realize we were doing a gift exchange, neither of you told me! Aw, now I feel bad..."
Kira patted me on the head, shaking his head as if to say I didn't have to get him anything. Yamato just scoffed, but said nothing.
"I...I know!" I said as an idea came to me. "I'll write each of you another song! How does that sound?"
Kira smiled.
"Yeah."
I looked over at Yamato. He was pouting a bit, but he gave me a smirk when our eyes met.
"Hm. I guess I'll accept that."
I rolled my eyes at him.
"Careful, I might end up making it a waltz if you're not nice to me..."
"You wouldn't dare!"
I smirked, carefully opening both of their gifts. Kira had given me a pair of blue ear buds for my music player, and Yamato had given me the latest CD from one of the rock bands we both listen to. I grinned.
"Aww, what a pair of saps..."
They both scoffed.
I sat in my room, fiddling with the ukulele my parents had bought me for Christmas. I liked the bright, cheery sound of it. It made me think of friendship and sunny days at the beach.
Which, ironically enough, was where my entire class was right now.
It was almost time for us to start working on our graduation auditions, which, of course, meant picking partners to work with. I was in a bit of a pickle already, because both Yamato and Kira had told me before we even arrived at the beach to "mingle" with our classmates that they wanted me as their partner. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great that both of my friends wanted me as their partner and all, it meant there was no way I would be without a partner. The problem was that I really hated the idea of choosing between them. Both Yamato and Kira had a great presence, lots of charisma, and they made really great lyrics for my compositions. They both had the potential to be top idols, I thought. I didn't want my composition to be the deciding factor between which one got scouted by an agency or not, though. I don't know if I would be able to bear it if I chose one of them and then the other didn't get scouted because they got stuck with a composer that didn't know their personality and strengths as well as I did.
I sighed, picking a few more notes on the ukulele. The music reflected my mood as the notes turned more and more depressing. Apparently, even a cheerful instrument like this can be made to sound like that, huh? I huffed. I wondered briefly what kind of advice Ai would give me if he were here. He usually gave pretty sound advice.
Go with the most logical choice, I could almost imagine him saying.
I shook my head.
I guess I know who I'm picking, then...
I slowly plucked out the composition I had made for Kira on the strings of my acoustic guitar. I felt like a crappy friend for deserting Yamato when he asked for my help with the graduation audition. After choosing to go with the person I figured was the "logical choice" according to my imagined advice from Ai, I apologized to Yamato saying and told him my choice, only to have him give me the cold shoulder. He didn't even sit with the two of us at lunch anymore, choosing instead to sit at a far table by himself. It hurt that he was acting so betrayed. I hadn't meant to hurt him like that. I sighed, letting my hand go limp and accidentally hitting a sour note in the process. I cringed.
What could I do to get Yamato to forgive me? Every time I tried to talk to him, to try and apologize again, he just brushed me off and walked away. I didn't want our friendship to end that way, with such a big misunderstanding between us.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I looked down at my guitar, thinking. Then it hit me. I stared at my guitar for a moment, wide-eyed, before laughing.
"Hah! Why didn't I think of that before?" I said to myself, quickly changing the key I was playing in to something... sharp. I needed something with a little edge for what I was going to do.
It didn't take long until I had poured all of my emotions into the song. I quickly wrote down the notes on the blank music sheet next to me, determined to complete my task tonight, even though it was already quite late. I packed my guitar away the moment I finished copying the notes to the sheet, quickly making my way to the room of the composer that was paired with Yamato for the graduation audition. Whether or not they would share the sheet with Yamato was all in their hands, I thought as I slipped the sheet under the door, knocking and quickly running around the corner so I wouldn't be seen, but there could be no mistaking the fact that it was intended to be for Yamato due to the fact that I'd scratched the kanji for his name at the top of the sheet.
I sighed, not sure if I wanted to head back to my room this late at night and risk waking up my roommate, seeing as she was a very light sleeper and got upset when I disturbed her sleep. Frowning, I decided just to nap on the couch in the music room instead, curling up in a ball on the soft cushions and setting the alarm on my phone to go off when it was a decent enough hour for me to go back to my room and get ready for class.
Needless to say, when I woke up and went to class the next morning, I was already beat. I kept stifling yawns behind my hand despite the interesting topic Hyuga-sensei was covering (tremolos and trills, when they work best and how to perform them), and I even almost nodded off when he got one of the other students to play a classical piece on the piano. (Hey, I like classical as much as the next person, but when I'm already feeling tired, it puts me to sleep!)
When I dragged myself to lunch, I felt like I might just fall asleep in my soup. Kira had to shake my shoulder once to keep me from falling over, I was drooping so much.
"You should nap after this," he said, seeming genuinely concerned. Probably that I would start sleep-walking back to my classes and end up tripping into a hole and dying. Well, knowing my luck... just kidding.
There was a thunk as someone dropped their tray down across from mine. I blinked blearily, only for my eyes to shoot open.
"Yama-chan?" I said, confused. "Aren't you busy...I dunno...not talking to me?"
Yamato gave me a look that said, "we'll talk later," but just shook his head and started eating his soup. I smiled, tucking into my food a little more eagerly, feeling more awake now that Yamato wasn't avoiding me like the plague.
When Kira left to go back to class, I was about to take his advice and head to the nurse's office to see if she would let me miss a few minutes of class to sleep there, but Yamato caught my wrist, tugging me back.
"Yama-chan?" I asked, squinting up at him. It was getting hard to keep my eyes open again.
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Look, I know I was kind of cold to you, and I'm sorry," he said. I opened my mouth to respond, but he lifted his hand to stop me. "No, just let me finish. I was hurt that you picked Kira over me, especially since I've known you a little longer than he has. I only realized what a jerk I was being to you when my partner gave me the music you wrote for me."
I panicked a little, waving my hands and trying to deny his claim.
"No, you don't fool me for one minute, little Shinako," he said, glaring at me half-heartedly. "I know your music when I see it-or should I say, feel it." He gave a little half-smile. "It's good. I'll make sure to honor it with lyrics that are just as good as the composition is." He ruffled my hair, and my brain shut down momentarily before he clapped me on the shoulder, guiding me out into the hallway. "Come on, I'm taking you to the nurse's office to get some sleep."
I sighed, relieved.
"Thanks, Yama-chan," I said, smiling up at him. "You know why I chose Kira, though?" He looked down at me and shook his head a little, so I elaborated. "Because even if you didn't have my song...I knew you'd do great. You always give it your all."
Even through my squinty, tired eyes, I could see him blushing.
"Er...right," he said awkwardly, not making eye contact. "...Thanks, Shinako."
I grinned.
"Aww, Yama-chan! You're so cute when you blush like a red tomato!"
"I'M NOT BLUSHING, DAMN IT!"
