Special thanks to:

LittleBottle, fantasyXXdreamer001, and DANHK: thank you very much for adding this story to your favorites and story alerts! =^_^=

kazuki-senpai: thank you so much for your review! Wow! I can understand your hate for Eri... but poor Len! You hate him so much?:)

I can't wait to read your first fanfic here on fanfiction site! Do your best! I want to become your reader so much! +^_^+

LittleBottle: Thank you very much for reviewing! Thank you for your encouraging words! I'll keep hoping for getting five reviews for one chapter! Wahahaha! (^_^)V I'm waiting for your new chapters of No Choice!

tentsubasa: Itsumo arigatou gozaimasu! *^_^* I hope you'll update The Journey soon!

Here's chapter 12! I hope you enjoy it! ^^


Chapter 12. First love

Kahoko almost choked on the juice she was drinking when she heard her mother's words. "Mum, what kind of joke is this? That's impossible!"

"Why are you so certain?"

"Because we're friends! Best friends," Kahoko replied.

"Oh, that doesn't exclude the possibility of him being in love with you. You know, falling in love with a best friend is something that happens often between friends."

"No-no-no!" Kahoko denied strongly, but then asked, "Eh, really?"

The mother nodded. "One of them just hides his feelings for the other."

"No way…" Kahoko muttered. "I'm sure he's not in love with me, but if he really were…" She felt strange as this thought flashed across her mind.

*(^_^)*

"Kaho, why are you constantly looking at your phone?" Nao asked as the lesson ended. She noticed Kahoko look at it several times during the lesson, "Are you waiting for a text from someone?"

"Em? Ah, no, I'm just checking my email box," replied Kahoko. Looking at the phone a hundred times a day to see if she had gotten Len's reply had become a new habit with her.

"Email? From whom?" Mio asked with curiosity.

"From Tsukimori-kun," said Kahoko with the guilt in her voice.

"Tsukimori-kun? You two write to each other?"

"Y-yes, but he's replied only once since we started…"

"I see," Mio said thoughtfully. "I thought it was from Hihara-senpai…"

"Huh? Why would it be?"

"Who knows!"

Kahoko was walking down the corridor of Seisou Academy when she saw from the window the familiar green head of her senpai walking across the school yard. She went closer to the window to have a better look of him. Kazuki seemed cheerful as always, he was crying something to Yunoki, who seemed to lag behind.

"He's doing well as usual," she thought, smiling. "Most likely he's persuading Yunoki-senpai into coming with him somewhere. I don't know why, but I always get into a good mood every time I see his cheerful smile…"

"You know, falling in love with a best friend is something that happens often between friends."All of a sudden she remembered her mother's words.

"Oh, why have I remembered this now? !" Kahoko shook her head. "But what if he really were…were in love with me?"

"Hihara-senpai is absolutely in…" appeared out of nowhere, Keiichi Shimizu's soft voice broke off her thoughts.

Kahoko glanced at him standing by her side in surprise.

"…in a good mood today…" finished the sleepy kouhai.

Kahoko sighed, pacified. Giving him a smile, she asked, "Why are you saying this, Shimizu-kun?"

The blond haired boy looked through the window. "Weren't you looking at Hihara-senpai just now?"

The senior felt the blood rise to her face. "I-I wasn't!"

"Is that so?" Shimizu's turquoise colored eyes met her golden ones. Kahoko didn't respond.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm envious of him… I wonder if I were your senpai instead of kouhai, would you look at me as well?.." he said, hardly audible.

Kahoko couldn't hear him clearly. "What did you just say, Shimizu-kun?"

"If I were more mature, taller…" Shimizu didn't seem to listen to her.

"Shimizu-kun?" Kahoko blinked, not understanding his gabble.

"That's right, I need to become like him," saying that, the boy turned and went away.

"First, Hihara-senpai, and then Shimizu-kun! Sometimes they act really strange …"

*(^_^)*

As Asano gave her a lot of homework, Kahoko went to the school library to search for some famous musicians' biographies that he told her to study. She decided to begin with Paganini's biography as his works were more-or-less familiar to her. Finding some books covering the biography of the violin virtuoso, she sat at the table and started reading.

"Studying Paganini's creativity?" Eri's friendly voice sounded close to Kahoko.

"Oh, yes. It's my homework," replied Kahoko, turning to face her.

"I read some books about his life in my childhood." Eri sat opposite to her. "They all were captivating like his whole creativity, I guess!"

"And what book have you chosen to read now, Hashimoto-san?" asked Kahoko, looking at a book in Eri's hands.

"This? It's about trumpets!"

"You can play the trumpet? ?"

"Oh, no! I just take an interest in other instruments like piano, trumpet, guitar..."

"How wonderful it is that you're interested not only in violins!"

"You think so?"

"Of course! I hardly find time to play my violin, not to mention to read books about other instruments!"

Their conversation was interrupted by a new message alert sound. Both girls looked at their phones, it was Eri's one.

"How many times do I have to tell him not to bother me when I'm at school!" cried Eri as she read the message. "Stupid Miura-kun!"

Kahoko just checked her email again.

"By the way, Hino-san, did you write to Tsukimori-kun?"

"Yes, I wrote him… and he even replied," Kahoko answered.

"Really? Oh, then I'm glad for you!" Eri cried.

"Em, thanks." Kahoko smiled shyly.

"Though anyway, I was sure he'd send a reply…"

"Why?"

"Because I've always thought he liked you," Eri simply explained.

"WHAT?" Kahoko cried as she stood up from her chair.

"Shh, please be quiet, Hino-san! We're at the library after all!"

"I'm sorry." Kahoko sat down again.

"But why are you so surprised? You don't agree with me?"

"I…I never thought about it…" mumbled the redhead.

"That's strange! I thought you liked him back…"

Hearing this, Kahoko's face turned red like a tomato. "It's not like that!"

"Oh, really? Then I'm sorry for my mistake…" apologized Eri, "Mmm… then do you like Kazuki-senpai?"

"Not him either!" indignantly denied Kahoko, but for some reason she felt as if she had lied just now.

"Emm… sorry! You two seem to be very close, so I thought… "

"We are just good friends!"

"Ok-ok! I got it, I'm sorry again!"

"What about you, Hashimoto-san? You're pretty close to Hihara-senpai too!"

"Ahah, do we look like we're good friends?"

"Yes, very good friends."

"Do you think I became friends with him too quickly?"

"Huh? No, I can understand it as you two are associates, so it seems natural to me."

"Actually, I became his friend not just because we work together and go to the same school."

Kahoko was listening intently to her interlocutor.

"It's a bit of a secret, but he reminds me of one of my former classmates during middle school. When I first saw Kazuki-senpai I even confused him with that classmate!"

"Oh, do they look the same?"

"Yes, exactly the same! Look!" Eri gave her the photo with her and the aforementioned green haired boy.

"Wow! This boy looks as if he were Hihara-senpai's twin!" Kahoko looked amazed, taking the photo. "How did you first meet Hihara-senpai? Probably at the studio?"

"Yes, but it wasn't the first time I saw him."

"How come?"

"Haha, you know, it was on TV when I first saw him!"

"You mean that commercial for a music player with the trumpet background music?"

"Yes, you saw it too? At first I thought the boy with the headphones was Haru-kun! But then I remembered that he had nothing to do with acting, so it couldn't be him. And then I met Kazuki-senpai because of the shooting of Twinkle Star."

"Hmm…how interesting! What about their personalities? Are they similar too?"

"Mmm… no, I'd rather say they have absolutely different natures. Haru-kun was taciturn, calm and unsociable; he didn't have many friends although he was popular among girls… But yet he was naturally kind like Kazuki-senpai… In the other hand, Kazuki-senpai is so nice, friendly and cheerful that it's impossible not to become his friend!"

Kahoko felt the warmth in Eri's voice as the blonde girl began to talk about her old friend from middle school.

"So that Haru-kun was your good friend?"

"Mmm… he was my classmate and my first love, unrequited love," Eri said, smiling.

"Oh, this is sad… But why? Did he have feelings for another girl?"

"I don't know if he did or not. We entered different high schools as I had to move again because of my shoot and until the very end I just couldn't find the courage to confess to him."

"So you left without letting him know about your feelings? !" Eri's words surprised Kahoko.

"Yes, now you can see – I'm a shy girl in fact!" laughed the actress.

"Wow, that's surprising to hear…" said Kahoko thoughtfully.

"Yes, I know, people around me usually think that I'm fearless. Hino-san, I hope this all will just stay between us two, ok? Eri asked as another student came to the table they were sitting at.

"Ah, sure!" called Kahoko and the girls stopped their conversation. "So Hihara-senpai reminds her of her first love… I wonder if Hashimoto-san regrets that she hadn't confessed to that boy…"

*(^_^)*

Aoi Kaji was sitting in the classroom with Kahoko explaining to her the new Physics' topic as she didn't understand it quite well during the lesson.

"Is it clear now?" Kaji asked, smiling sweetly.

"Un! Thank you, Kaji-kun!"

"You are welcome, Hino-san!"

"Kaho-cha~n! ! !" A loud cry sounded and the two General Department students heard someone's fast pace. The voice wasn't unknown to Kahoko; she turned her head to see the one who called her name and saw the bright face of her senpai.

"Kaho-chan! What are you doing tomorrow? !" Kazuki blurted out; his eyes sparkled with excitement. It was evident that he ran here as he was out of breath.

Kahoko blushed. "Is he asking me out on a date? !"

Kazuki noticed her confusion as she didn't answer immediately; also, Kaji gave him piercing look.

"Ah, um… Kaho-chan, may I see you for a moment?" he asked then. "I have something to tell you!"

The girl nodded slightly and they went out of the classroom. Kaji was just lost in conjectures.

Kahoko lifted up her eyes to Kazuki. "What is he going to tell me? Could it be he's really going to ask me out?"


Thank you for keeping reading this story!

Ah, all I need is time... time to type my next chapters as I already have almost all the story (even the last scene) in my mind! Sometimes I feel like my mind is going to crush because of that! O_O

Well, I like my next chapter! You'll see it later! ^_~

Dear readers! Let me hear your views on this chapter!

Please review! *_*

Published: 07-15-11