Okay FINISHED finally, i went over and over and then back over this chapter so many times, trying to get it right and i still have some problems with it, anyway, i'd like to see some more of you reviewing. My luffly faithful reviewers were there as usual and i LUF THEM ALL, but i like to hear from other people. Even if you have something critical to say, because i'm always trying to improve what i do. So please.
I'm not saying i won't update until i get reviews but i would like at least 6 really, it just helps me get an idea of what you all like/don't like about the story and i can make it even better :)
Disclaimer: I WANT TO OWN IT BUT THEY SAY I DON'T (CRIES)
The music was getting steadily louder, and was fairly depressing, it sounded vaguely familiar, so it was probably some old classic piece that Seiya had heard maybe once. He sat for a few moments just listening, trying to place it, and then he stood and walked quietly towards the studio door. Why he crept along the corridors, he did not know, the music was loud even to him so there was little to no chance that whoever was playing it would hear him, still he swept silently down the long halls, following the sounds of the chilling melody.
It led him eventually to one of the lowest levels of the building, and it was becoming all to clear how loudly whoever it was was playing if he could hear them easily around 4 floors up, in fact as he neared the door where the sound was emanating from he had to cover his ears with his hands to shut out the sound slightly. Hands firmly clamped in position he gently pushed the door with his shoulder, it was ajar and swung open easily… not what he had been expecting and he hung back awaiting the inevitable sudden stop in the music and then the loud yells of whomever he had disturbed. But it didn't happen, apparently they were to absorbed, so curiosity overtaking common sense once again he moved forward into the doorway and peered at the figure sat in the darkened room, with only the light coming from a small lamp shining on the keys. He blinked a couple of times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, then reached out a hand to pinch his arm to make sure he wasn't having a dream… nightmare… whatever. But he soon had to come to the conclusion that sat behind the grand piano was the unmistakable and ever surprising Haruka Tenoh.
He watched her for a few minutes not really thinking, just listening. It briefly occurred to him to feel rather sorry for the poor piano, apparently she was not in the best of moods. Still she hadn't missed a note yet. He didn't recall anyone ever mentioning that she was a world-class musician, as well as a top racer, on foot, motorbike or in a car, and a Sailor Senshi. He shook his head groaning inwardly at the irony of finding yet another thing that she out did him on, and there he'd been taking solace in the fact that, okay, maybe she could kick his ass (sadly proven on more than one occasion), maybe she could beat him in a race of any kind (see previous brackets), and maybe she had an equally if not occasionally sharper wit, but at least he could still excel in music when she could not. Apparently the world wasn't feeling very fair towards him.
It was then however that he noticed that while her left hand was pounding away mercilessly at the keys, the right one remained perfectly still. He frowned preparing to feel even more hard done by (it was just ridiculous if she could play this well with one hand) when he noticed that behind her sat a CD player and he sighed with relief and felt a small triumphant feeling in his stomach. A small smirk played across his face and he leant against the doorframe. He gave a cough, but apparently it was far to quiet get through to her.
"You know that's cheating," He said loudly. Her head snapped up sharply and he winced as her hand pushed down hard on the keys in her surprise, making a very loud dischord. He held back a laugh at the expression on her face. However the shock soon evaporated and turned to that oh so familiar glare. The music from the CD continued to play.
"What the hell are you doing?" She snapped irritably.
"Apparently the same as you… trying to sort my head out…" he replied, she turned back to the piano and started at the keys.
"What makes you think I need to sort my head out? I'm perfectly fine,"
"Tell that to the poor piano you've been beating up,"
Haruka rolled her eyes as Seiya walked further into the room; he reached the CD player and looked down at the case beside it, he picked it up and turned it over, scanning the back and finding the name of the song that was playing. They were silent for several minutes.
"What made you leave your thoughts and come poking your nose in here?" Said Haruka when the silence became too much for her to bear. Seiya gave a small laugh.
"I thought I'd check out who the talented but secretive piano player was… but like I said it's cheating to make people think you're good by playing just the one part,"
Haruka glared again, first at him, then at the CD player then down at the useless hand in her lap. She moved it closer to her hoping he hadn't and wouldn't notice it, all she needed on top of his inevitable taunts about her apology, was for him to know that she had then driven her hand through a wall out of frustration about it.
"Maybe so, but I still play better than you can sing, with one hand," she said turning to face him again.
"Ouch, that hurt," He laughed, and Haruka's frown started to become a look of confusion.
Was he being conversational, friendly, or just trying to put her off her guard, Haruka didn't know and she didn't care to right now. She was starting to wonder why he hadn't mentioned that afternoon's… incident.
"So does anyone else know that as well as a champion runner they're hanging around the one handed piano playing wonder?"
She froze. The question wasn't meant to hurt, but it did, none of the scouts knew, nobody had ever really known how well she could play, a few of her older and closer friends knew that she had had lessons, but the only person who had ever known the extent of her talent was…
"Michiru!" She snapped.
That shut him up, and she turned away, though out of the corner of her eye she saw him mouth 'oh'.
"I come here to practise… when everyone has left, Michiru was good friends with the owner of this building," She said staring at the music in front of her, and wondering why she was talking to him and not picking him up with her working hand and tossing him out of the room. Seiya watched her eyes following the lines of the music sadly.
"I used to help her prepare for duets," she added.
Seiya suddenly remembered why the music had seemed familiar to him. About a year ago, he had been dragged, very unwillingly, by Usagi (and Mamoru), Minako, Rei, Makoto, Ami and Taiki to a concert of classical music. Somehow Yaten had gotten out of it, and he was still bitter about that, however, about two hours in and he was half asleep when Minako had suddenly nudged him very hard in the ribs. He had looked up to see Michiru walking out onto the stage, which explained why Mina had agreed to come to a concert like this; the scouts never missed an opportunity to see their friend perform. She had done a couple of solo pieces and one accompanied by piano that had caught Seiya's attention. That piece.
"I think I heard her play it once," He muttered. Haruka nodded but continued to stare at the music. Seiya tried to search for a topic that would end the sad and slightly tense silence, his least favourite kind. However when your talking to a person who, until recently, used to be unable to stay in the same room with you for less than a minute without you or them beginning a fight, it was very hard to start a conversation.
"How long had you been standing there?" She asked and Seiya gave the smallest sigh of relief and placed the CD case back on the table.
"A while, but I couldn't help but listen you were playing so loudly, what have you got against that piano anyway," Was he imagining things or did she just blush slightly, maybe she was thinking the same thing because she automatically turned her head away so he was left staring at the back of her head. He hadn't noticed before but he was sure that her hair was slightly longer.
"I get… carried away in the music I guess," She admitted. Seiya nodded, more to himself than anything since she couldn't see him.
"I guess I know all about that, especially when we were trying to find our Princess," he said, at that time everything had been so desperate and rushed that the only time he had to simply drift away was when he was singing or when he spent time with Usagi, thinking back three years, it seemed so much longer, without all the threats and battles, life seemed to be dragging by at a snails pace and he had far to much time to think about things. There didn't seem to be any midpoint between the two. Taiki had suggested continuing education, but both he and Yaten had thrown that idea out of the window.
"Well," Haruka said suddenly standing up, "I just gonna, go,"
Seiya nodded "Sure, and maybe next time you'll have learnt the part for the other hand too,"
"Next time you make a comment like that I'll slam both your hands under the lid!" and she made her way towards the door, putting out her right hand to pull it wider then drawing it back immediately as if shocked. Too late, damage done.
"Tenoh, what the hell have you done to your hand?" she opened her mouth to give a good explanation but none were coming to mind and so she decided to simply say nothing and left the room.
After staring for a few seconds, Seiya crossed the room, and followed her out. Falling into step next to her.
"What did you do punch a wall?" he laughed, a sharp glare was his answer, and he stopped laughing. "Not really the smartest thing you ever did," he noted.
"Neither was not throwing you up the hallway the moment I knew you were eavesdropping, but apparently I'm just feeling stupid today," she retorted, and she threw him a confused look when he started to laugh…again, apparently he was unaware as to just how bad a mood she was actually in.
"That explains a few things," he said, she eyed him warily, waiting for him to expand, but he didn't.
"You don't have to expect every other sentence I say to be a put down," he said as they walked out of the building. Haruka half sighed, half growled, and looked up at the sky.
"I guess it's just habit by now," she said.
"I know what you mean, I guess we haven't quite got civilised conversation down quite yet," He sighed, "Although I think that this afternoon saw a major improvement on behalf of one of us… the others would be so proud of yo.ow!" Haruka slapped him around the shoulder.
"Will you stop that! I'm fragile,"
"Your such a wuss, besides if you ever tell anyone I'll beat you to a pulp," the way she said it, Seiya didn't doubt her for a minute.
"At least I can die knowing you'll never live it down," He said slyly. She narrowed her eyes.
"If you dare…"
He grinned. "Okay, I'll tell you what, you minimise your bragging at every opportunity about how you always beat me, and I won't mention your moment of conscience this morning… again," he stopped and held out his hand to shake on it, she raised her eyebrows,
"Oh like I'll agree to that,"
"I know, you love a good brag, but will it ever be the same again once they know what a…"
"Fine!" She frowned and shook hands, "Bribery!" She grumbled and Seiya smiled again.
"It's a cruel world eh," Haruka rolled her eyes at him. "Ah get over it, in a few years crystal what ever will come around and you'll be to busy to brag anyway, or else we'll both just forget"
"Oh great only a few years," She said with mock enthusiasm, which quickly died, "Let's just go,"
Seiya stood there for a few seconds, as if waiting for something, "What!" she said exasperated. Seiya jumped and turned his head away to hide the fact that he was about to laugh.
"You're um… still holding my hand,"
Haruka's immediate reaction was too leap back as if she'd been shot through with ten thousand vaults, her second reaction was to slap his hand, and her third to start marching away.
Seiya gave a small cry of protest, although he was almost doubled over laughing.
"That hurt you know," he stuttered out.
Haruka simply kept walking, fuming in silence. Finally gaining some control over himself Seiya hurried after her.
"You know it wasn't my fault, why should I get my hand slapped?"
"I felt like it, besides I already have an injured hand,"
"Also not my fault,"
"Maybe not technically,"
Seiya rolled his eyes, though half-heartedly.
"You did that before," He said, and she gave him a questioning glance, and then quickly changed it to a glare that said she didn't remember and she didn't care.
"I stopped you falling, in the car park at the supermarket,"
"Oh right," she replied, as she recalled the incident, yeah she'd been pretty rude, but hey that's just how she was… still she'd accidentally apologised for that so there was no need to go into it. She rooted around in her mind for a snappy retort; sadly none came to her and the silence was getting longer, so she went with, "What are you still doing here?" It wasn't her best, actually probably her worst. She cursed herself.
"I'm walking," He replied,
"Oh very clever, you know what I mean!"
"Alright, it just so happens that my house is in this direction." He paused "I could ask what you're doing here, since yours… is in that one," He pointed over his shoulder and Haruka stopped walking. She looked around her, it wasn't so easy to tell since it was dark but it was pretty obvious, now that she looked around, that he was in fact telling the truth. Sadly by stopping and looking around she had totally blown out of the window any chance that she could say she wasn't going home anyway, she knew it, he knew it, and she could tell he was waiting for her to try and deny it. So she wouldn't, she now had two options, mild surprise, and shouting at him. Or else she could knock him out and cause him to forget today had ever even occurred… on second thoughts maybe just the shouting, besides all this 'friendly banter' was beginning to freak her out a good shouting match would put things back into place.
"You IDIOT!" she shouted. For a few seconds he simply stared at her in surprise. Then he came to his senses.
"What?!" He snapped.
"All this time you knew I was going the wrong way and you didn't say anything!"
"Oh right it's my fault should have known," He frowned, what was her problem anyway, he was trying his best to be nice…ish to her, he'd even said he wouldn't tell anyone about her apology which he could tell she was fuming about and was probably the reason behind her bandaged hand, and yet she just had to be so damned irritating.
"It's not like you weren't looking where you were going or anything," he continued.
"You and your moaning about your bloody hand!"
"WHAT? ME?"
She turned away and started to march in the direction of home.
"And taking trips down memory bloody lane," She shouted back, smirking slightly, knowing there was a look of absolute outrage on his face… ah normality.
Seiya stared after her, half mad and half… no wait he was all mad. She rounded a corner and he still stared. Then blinking he came around and turned to storm off in the other direction. He was going to have words with Mina, and Yuki, this was entirely their fault after all. He stopped; and sighed, realising it was his own damned fault for actually agreeing to be nice in the first place, and her fault for being so damned infuriating.
Oh YAWN, i'm so tired, 9 hours till operating does that to ya. Anyway i'll reply to my reviews then say goodnight.
PriestessHelene: Cheeseyness can be good :P, but i thought i'd go for a more depressing theme, since it's more fitting and actually i was feeling that we were leaving Michi out quite a lot.
Jaycee: Thanks for reviewing i'm glad you're enjoying the story :)
bibi3758: Let me assure you, playing the piano with a bad hand does in fact hurt, i play piano and i tried it once... bad idea. But anyway you have your answer :P
Sailor-ahiru: Anything CAN happen, a point i keep trying to make to these Mamoru/Usagi fanatics who complain about pairing Seiya and Usagi because 'It wouldn't happen in the Manga/Anime' (can we say "No Imagination") And i'm glad you found those patches, i have a few at the moment for other stories but you're correct, updates are better.
Any who Goodnight.