Author: Ren Kayashima
Genre: Family/Thriller/ Mystery
Rating: T
Summary: Rossi comes home to find Rori playing the cello with her friends.
Disclaimer: I really hate that I have to do this. I do not own Criminal Minds. The title and its characters belong to CBS and its original creator.
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Chapter Nine:
When Rossi came home from work he found Rori in the family room with Kenta and Kaoru. Rori held a cello in front of her. Kenta was playing the violin, while Kaoru was playing the baby grand piano. The trio together was playing Pachabel's Canon in D.
Rossi had yet to hear his daughter play any instrument. He observed her calm pleasant attitude as she pulled the bow across the strings. Her hair was pulled up in a pony tail and she played with her eyes closed. He sat down in a seat and listened to her play.
When the song ended Rori opened her eyes and looked at her dad. "Welcome home."
"That was great."
Kaoru turned and looked at him. "Why do you have a piano if you never play it?" he asked.
Rossi looked at the teenage boy, "How do you know I haven't played it."
"Because I had to tune it. If you don't play an instrument, you can't expect it to stay in tune." Rori answered. "It took most of the morning, but it sounds nice and pretty once more. It's hard to tune a piano, just so you know."
"None the less, it's obvious you haven't played this piano for a while," Kaoru stated.
Rori set her cello on its side and walked over to the piano. She played a couple of ragtime bars. "Do you play?" she asked.
"I know how to play, but I haven't because I'm almost never around to do so."
Rori sat down on the bench next to Kaoru and began playing Joplin's Entertainer.
"Joplin, is there anything you can't play?"Rossi asked.
Rori smiled and moved into Gavotte and then changed to flight of the bumblebee. "I'm sure there's something out there. Music's fun, so all the practice I put into it works out in the end."
"I haven't even heard you play and you've been here a month."
"That's because you leave the house at the crack of dawn and I start practice at twelve."
"You should hear her play the violin," Kenta smiled.
"No!" Rori shouted.
Kaoru frowned, "I don't understand your fear of playing the violin, and you're really good. It's been two years."
Rori looked at the twins. "I'm not playing the violin anymore," she stated before leaving the room. Mudgie came into the room to greet Rossi only to scurry away from Rori's angry aura.
Rossi looked at the twins. "Why doesn't she play the violin anymore?"
"She stopped playing after Christine died. Her mom was the one who bought her first violin." Kenta explained.
A minute later they heard the door slam. Kaoru looked at the top of the piano and picked up Rori's phone. "Fantastic, she left her phone."
"She'll come back, she just needs to blow off some of that Italian and Irish temper of hers," Kenta stated.
"So you know where she goes?" Rossi asked.
"Giles' Antique Bookstore." Kaoru said.
"She knows Giles?"
"Yeah, you know who Giles is?"
"Giles restored an old book of Christine's while we were married, they were good friends."
"Giles is Rori's godfather." Kaoru explained.
"Rori goes to his bookshop when it's too late to go to the cemetery where her mom's buried." Kenta finished.
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Rori entered an old bookstore. "Giles?"
A man in his early sixties came from a back room. "Rori how are you?" he smiled.
"I don't know. I'm… lost."
Giles smiled and headed back into the backroom. "I'll go make some tea, take a seat."
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"So what's troubling that brilliant mind of yours?" Giles asked leaning back into a leather wingback chair.
Rori sat in a large overstuffed red chair. She held a small decorated tea cup.
"I haven't played the violin since mom died. I wish I could but I know she's not around to hear it."
"How do you know she can't hear it?"
"She's dead Giles, last I checked, dead people don't have the ability to hear."
"I'd like to think, your mom is in heaven, watching you grow up."
"I don't know what I believe. I'm not religious, I don't go to church, I don't pray to a higher power, and the only hell I believe in is the horrid period of time known as finals."
Giles laughed. "You believed in your mom."
"I still do."
"Then that's all that matters. One thing I know, you're mom loved to hear you play the violin. It made her so happy to see you play the violin that one song had her set up for the month." Giles explained. "Now, why is it that every time you have a deep internal conflict raging inside you come to me?"
Rori smiled. "Because you're far wiser then I'll ever be, and you're my best friend."
"I'm too old to be your best friend, what would people say?"
"That's not true. Kenta's best friend is his grandmother."
Giles shook his head and sighed. "So how do you like living with your father."
"He has a big house."
"Be more specific. I don't know what you mean by that."
"I just can't imagine living by myself in a house that big. It must have been lonely. I'm glad I have three dogs in the house when he's on a case."
"You're lucky though, you have Kenta and Kaoru to hang out with. I've seen your other friends, they're a bit troubled."
"Aren't we all? I mean isn't everyone troubled at some point in their life"
"Yes, but if you haven't realized this already," Giles began, "You my little friend are a magnet for trouble."
"I am not."
"Yes, you are. Remember the Kindergarten Rebellion."
"How was that my fault?"
"You convince a bunch of five year olds to hire lawyers for longer nap time."
"I didn't do that. Mom did. We were with Kenta and Kaoru for open house. Naptime was the only time the two were together and I told them they should have a longer nap that's all. It was Mom that suggested the lawyer thing."
Rossi came in. "Giles the door was open."
"Long time no see. Have a seat; we're discussing your daughter's ability to attract trouble."
Rossi sat on a foot stool and looked at his daughter.
"I'm telling you the Kindergarten Rebellion was all mom."
"Rebellion?"Rossi asked.
"A bunch of five-year-olds wanted to have longer naps and mom suggested they get lawyers as a joke. The kids actually bought into it." Rori explained. "So that wasn't my fault, and I was never allowed to go to an open house again because of it."
"All right something else then. The Bangs Tantrum of ninety-five." Giles smiled. "I actually have video of that."
"They're my bangs and the evil mother of yours wanted to get rid of them."
Rossi looked at Giles. "You have home videos of Rori?"
"Yeah, Kenta put them all onto a DVD collection. I could give you my copies." Rori smiled. I actually have digital copies on my touch smart."
Giles looked Rossi over. "You're looking good Dave; can I get you some tea?"
"I'll pass, thank you though," Rossi answered. "Rori, are you okay. You were pretty upset earlier.
"I'm fine dad." Rori said. "I just need Giles to convince me I was being stupid."
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Author's Note: Chapter Nine is out and I'm already working on Chapter Ten. Remember to review you guys. Ten chapters out and there are only six reviews. Anyway, the next chapter is pretty important to the main plotline. So stay tuned and I'll be out with a new chapter as soon as I can. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Also, if you know exactly what songs I was talking about in the beginning. Mad Props. You've probably heard them all at some point in your life. The name doesn't matter.