I REPLACED THIS CHAPTER!
Chapter 14. Riddles and guesses of the youth
Kei Miura never made the first move – there was no need. Due to his irresistible good looks; breathtaking, angelic voice; and cool behavior, the rock star was spoiled by female attention from the time he was young. It was always like that – he had only to look at a girl with his big, violet eyes and she was already crazy in love with him. But even though he had dated many girls during his 18-year-old life, he had never been properly in love with anyone. All those girls seemed way too stupid for the heartbreaker as he knew that in fact, most of them loved him just for his pretty face and deep inside that fact pissed him off. But one day a fleeting encounter overturned his whole life and starting from that day, he wasn't in harmony with himself.
They met about half a year ago at one of many high society parties Miura had to attend, despite the fact that he always found them really boring. It was love at first sight. When Eri Hashimoto was introduced to him by one of his friends, he noted the girl was very beautiful and attractive. To say that he was amazed at her not asking his phone number and not showing any interest in him during the short conversation, would mean to say nothing – he was in shock. Never was he irritated like that before and that time he considered the blonde actress to be just too proud or to have a boyfriend already. Using his connections, he found out that she wasn't dating anyone at present, but neither the time they had met first nor any time afterward did the actress seem to like his company. All his efforts to impress her – though he would never admit that he wanted to – yielded no results. Evidently the stubborn girl didn't like him and it hurt his pride terribly. An annoying thought about him being acting like her ordinary fan came to his mind. But despite his decision to forget about 'that stupid girl', he continued to be concerned about her and he even managed to get the role of her crush in Twinkle Star.
He thought now that they had to work together she at last would give in. And again he found nothing but disappointment waiting for him. Not only did the girl not change her attitude towards him, the poor guy was completely defeated by her sudden interest in Kazuki – something like that was hard for Miura to grasp. So he ended up squabbling with her over trifles during their rehearsals and filming, being unable to express his feelings in a better way as it seemed impossible for his pride to say those three simple words, 'I love you'. And Eri's irritating attitude towards the green haired trumpeter didn't help his grudge since he was madly in love with the blonde violinist.
As for Eri, Miura struck her as a whimsical, spoiled boy who had no manners. At first she thought he liked her in his own strange and twisted way, but then she started to have some doubts about that as his criticism of her had become too rough and intense. She wasn't aware of the reason of his odd behavior, taking it as though maybe he considered her as his rival as the two of them were playing the lead roles in the movie, but still, Eri was the main star. But nevertheless she knew from somewhere or anywhere that he wasn't a bad person.
"Hey, what was that just now? A scene of jealousy?" grinned Shun Toda, entering the waiting room after Miura. Seeing that he was being ignored, he continued, "You know, you really acted like a moron."
"Shut up, already!" the violinist cut off, blushing.
"What? You're still gonna tell me that you feel nothing towards Hashimoto-san? Don't waste your time. I even know that you have her photos on your phone." Toda laughed evilly. Even if it didn't seem to be true, the two boys were childhood friends and grew up together as accidently they both happened to belong to the same talent agency, so they had to work together very often since they were little.
"How even dare you touch my phone without permission? !" yelled Miura, turning around and lifting his arm in order to punch the orangehead, but the boy was nimble enough to avoid his fist.
"Oh, it was just an accident! Hahaha!" returned Toda, his green eyes glinted with a smile. "You know, you're slowly, but surely becoming a stalker!"
This time Miura's fist reached the intolerable boy. "Ouch, that hurts, you know…" whimpered Toda, stroking his head to relieve the pain.
"What I feel towards who has nothing to do with you! What the hell is the difference to you anyway? !"
"Well, it do has something to do with me as I don't like when my friends fight, even more so over a girl," said Toda.
"Ha! Foolishness! I can't get it how you can be friends with Hihara! That jerk!"
"Your notion of him is just preconceived, he's not that horrible," the orange haired boy replied calmly. Kazuki and he became friends at once from the introduction party day as both had a sweet temper and played the trumpet, also they sat next to each other in the orchestra. Yet Toda wasn't as energetic and bright as Kazuki was, and he could restrain his emotions and actions better than his green haired fellow. "But I think you panic is unnecessary, as far as I can see, he's not after Hashimoto-san."
Miura gave him a mistrustful glare, but Toda continued, "That cute red haired girl with him today, I think Hihara takes note of her, judging from the way he looks at her and talks to her."
"And you think I should be happy to hear it? I'm not interested in what he likes or dislikes."
"Really? Then nice! I'm not saying anything else. Just wanted to help you." Toda shrugged his shoulders.
"I appreciate your kindness, Toda, but, really, I don't need your help." With that Miura finished the conversation.
Kahoko blinked several times. Kazuki's kiss was so quick that before she had time to react, he had already pulled himself away from her.
"I-it's nothing," she babbled, being completely embarrassed. "B-bye!" The blushing girl turned around quickly, trying to hide her red face, and walked away.
"Did I just… kiss Kaho-chan?" Kazuki slowly raised his right hand to his mouth and slightly touched the bottom lip. His own sudden action surprised him and he grew totally red in the face. "I just wanted to thank her… What has come over me? How did it end up like this – me kissing her cheek? ! My own body doesn't seem like it needs to ask my mind for permission before acting! What does she think of me now? !" He felt that he was losing his head as all these questions were spinning in his head. "But… but her cheek… it was so soft and warm…"
"Kazuki-senpai! Come on, Kurokawa-sensei is calling us!" Eri came running to him and, grabbing his arm, dragged to the others.
"Ah, yes," the boy let himself be led as his thoughts were so far from what was happening around him right now.
Kahoko was looking out the window pensively as she sat on the bus on the way back home. Watching the sunset paint the sky, buildings, and streets with golden-orange and red colours, her mind finally settled down. "No need to over think it. It was just a friendly kiss, right? Kahoko, stop it already! Stop expecting something beyond friendship from him! Didn't you hear Hashimoto-san's words? Can't you see you're not the only girl he cares about! Maybe… probably he likes Hashimoto-san even more than… me. Oh, again! Why do I even compare myself to her?" She bit her lip in vexation. Touching her cheek with her hand, she remembered the feeling of Kazuki's gentle lips on it. "But… but his lips… they were so tender… It's strange, but somehow it wasn't unpleasant… Still, I don't get it why he had to kiss me."
*(^_^)*
"Kaho-chan, please, wait!" cried Kazuki, grabbing Kahoko's hand. "Please, listen to me!"
"No, let me go! I don't want to talk to you!" the red haired girl tried to snatch her hand away, but the boy wouldn't set her free.
"Kaho-chan, listen! I-I love you!" holding the girl tight, the green haired boy bent down and caught her lips in a passionate kiss.
"Hi-Hihara…senpai…" Kahoko slowly closed her eyes.
"I always have," Kazuki pulled away and looked straight into Kahoko's eyes.
"Hihara-kun!" the girl was looking at him in shock.
"Will you love me back, Kaho-chan?" the boy asked in a pleading voice. "'Hihara-kun'? Isn't it 'Hihara-senpai?''
"Hihara-kun! !"
"Kaho-chan?"
"Hihara-kun! ! !" Kazuki heard someone was yelling in his ear and he finally woke up. Raising his head, he saw Kimura-sensei stand at his desk and shake his shoulder.
"Kimura-sensei?" the boy blinked. "So it was just a dream… I wish I could see it 'til the end though…"
"Woke up at last?" Kimura-sensei asked, frowning.
Kazuki quickly looked around and realized that he had fallen asleep during the Math lesson. Yunoki and some other students were looking at him with concern. "I-I'm terribly sorry, sensei!"
"What are you thinking sleeping in classes? How are you going to pass your entrance exams? There're only two months left!" the angry teacher scolded, and before Kazuki could say something to justify himself, she commanded, "Come to the Math room after classes."
"Hihara, are you all right?" asked Yunoki when the lesson was over. "Did you go to bed late yesterday?"
"Yeah, a bit," replied the trumpeter. "Why did I have to fall asleep in Math of all classes?"
"You shouldn't overwork yourself, otherwise you'll get sick, Hihara."
"I'm ok, Yunoki! Don't worry about me!" the green haired boy smiled at his friend. "I can't tell Yunoki that I couldn't sleep well because of that kiss…"
So now Kazuki was sitting in the Math room, doing his homework as Kimura sensei left him there, saying, "You're not going home until you finish it. Now I have some business at the teacher's office, so try to do all the exercises right until I return."
He had just finished the next exercise when he stopped writing and looked through the classroom window. "What a disaster! Instead of going to see Kaho-chan I have to sit here, alone, and do these boring exercises!" He sighed. "I really want to see her…"
"Hihara-senpai?" the voice Kazuki wanted to hear the most at the moment sounded, diverting him from his thoughts.
Turning his head to the door, he cried surprisingly, "Kaho-chan! What are you doing here? !"
"Kimura-sensei made me stay after classes for not doing my Math homework correctly," sadly replied Kahoko, entering the room and taking a seat at a desk next to the one Kazuki was sitting at. "What about you, senpai?"
"Ehm, me too. I was punished for sleeping in class," explained the senior. Watching her sit next to him, Kazuki immediately tensed up as he remembered their parting yesterday.
"So we're companions in distress!" exclaimed Kahoko, smiling at the trumpeter. She pulled out her textbook, copy-books, and writing instruments.
"Ah, y-yes," said Kazuki, thinking to himself, "But it's not distress to me anymore if Kaho-chan's here too! And it looks like she's not mad at me for kissing her yesterday…"
"Well, then let's do our best to finish our homework as soon as possible!" said Kahoko, opening her textbook.
"Yes," Kazuki replied.
Both students concentrated on their homework, or at least one of them did, as Kazuki couldn't help but shoot glances at the girl beside him. "It's such a strange feeling to be together with her in the classroom and do homework as if we're classmates! I guess we won't be able to be as close as we are right now once I graduate from Seisou Academy…Oh, damn, she's so cute… I absolutely can't focus on my Math!"
Suddenly, Kahoko lifted her head from her copy-book and occasionally caught Kazuki's thoughtful gaze. "What is it, Hihara-senpai?"
"I-it's nothing! Sorry!" Kazuki cried out in response, guiltily, and turned his head away at once, suddenly finding the clouds outside the window very interesting to look at. "Kazuki, stop staring at her! Again, I'm acting like an idiot! Focus on your Math, fool!"
Kahoko looked a bit curious, but said nothing and the two of them just returned to their homework once again. After a while, Kazuki exclaimed, stretching himself out, "It's done!"
"Well done, Hihara-senpai!" merrily cried Kahoko. Sighing, she added, "And I still have some more exercises left to do…"
"Hmm, did Kimura-sensei give you so much homework?"
"No, just the last two exercises are too knotty!" replied the girl, dejected. "Oh, but they must be easy for you, senpai, since you had already learned this topic last year!" with this, Kahoko's eyes shone with hope. Glancing at the door of the classroom, checking whether their cruel teacher was about, she asked, "Maybe you can help me with it?"
"Eh? Ah, sure!" Kazuki immediately answered; then chuckling, he remarked, "Though Math really isn't my strong point… But let's see if I remember anything from the last year's Math curriculum!" And the boy moved his chair next to Kahoko's so they both were now sitting at her desk.
"Thank you, Hihara-senpai!" Kahoko pushed her copy-book towards Kazuki, letting him have a better look at it. "This problem and that problem are the ones I can't solve!"
Kazuki bent closer over her notes, not noticing their foreheads almost touched and his curls slightly brushed against Kahoko's red locks as all his attention was paid to the task. However the girl did notice this all, she caught her breath as she inhaled the very pleasant orange scent of his hair. And again, her heart pounded faster as she cast a covert glance at the green haired boy beside her.
"I think I can solve it, Kaho-chan! Look, you just used the wrong formula," Kazuki said, taking a pen from her right hand and starting to write, "The right formula must be something like this."
Kahoko jolted when accidently, his fingers barely touched hers when he took her pen. Kazuki turned to face her. "Did you get it, Kaho-chan? Using this formula, it's is easy to solve these tasks!"
"Y-yes, I got it! Thank you very much for explaining!" cried Kahoko, moving her chair away from Kazuki, who gave her a questioning look as she did so. The girl quickly finished her homework, trying not to pay attention to her senpai – it seemed that he wasn't about to return to his desk as he just stayed where he was and watching her write.
"Done!" cheerfully cried Kahoko.
"That's great, Kaho-chan!" Kazuki smiled.
"Wah, but we still can't go home, right? Kimura-sensei told me I can't until she checks if I did it correctly… And you, Hihara-senpai? Must you too wait for her?"
"Ah, yeah," replied Kazuki. "I forgot about that."
"What should I do? I have my violin lesson in an hour and I'm hungry…" muttered Kahoko.
"I know what we should do!" suddenly cried Kazuki, "We'll leave our exercise-books here and have them corrected by Kimura-sensei later! It's not our fault if she lingers somewhere! Now we'll just go home and have some food! You know, I have to hurry too – my rehearsal is waiting for me! And I'm hungry as well!"
"But it's not a good act to leave without permission," said the girl, hesitating.
"It will be alright, Kaho-chan! We'll write an apology note for not waiting for her return," assured Kazuki, winking at his kouhai. "Let's just escape together!" this said, and he gathered their exercise-books and quickly wrote the note.
Kahoko gave in and they both picked up their school bags and musical instrument cases in a blink and, trying to be quiet, got out of the classroom. Once they had walked down the corridor, they then tore at full speed until they were outside the school gates.
Panting for breath and smiling at their brave deed, they both now were laughing.
"You know, senpai, I have never escaped from my teachers before!" said Kahoko.
"I see! I think I had this kind of experience! Ahaha!" replied Kazuki with a cheerful smile on his face. "Well, we're free now!"
"Yes, but I think I will be late for my lesson if I drop by home now, so I'm going straight to the Philharmonia," Kahoko said.
"Oh?"thought Kazuki and then a bright idea came to him, "Kaho-chan, if that's the case, what about having a snack at my house? I was going to have some and then go to the studio. And the Philharmonia is but a step to my house, so it won't take you long to get there later."
"Eh?" the girl seemed surprised at his sudden offer. Immediately, she remembered her recent talk with Eri.
But Kazuki misinterpreted her vacillation and cried in an embarrassed voice, "Ah, if you're afraid of being alone with me, then don't worry – my parents and brother must be already at home!"
Kahoko blushed deeply at his words. "N-no, it's not like that! It's just… I feel uncomfortable to go… Your family will be disturbed."
"They won't be! I guarantee it! That's why, Kaho-chan, please, come with me! I'll make an omelette for you!" the green haired boy pleaded.
The red haired girl still hesitated, but the offer was so tempting that she couldn't reject it. "Well, then let me abuse your hospitality, Hihara-senpai!"
"Yay!" Kazuki was absolutely happy. Pulling her hand along, he cried, "Let's hurry or we'll miss our bus!"
Thanks for reading this story!
Special thanks to:
LittleBottle: Oh, thank you so much for your awesome reviews! ! ! +^_^+ Really, you make me day! Wahaha!
"And that Miura is starting to be another version of Len... Well they're both blue-haired violinist... "
Oh? Hm… I never meant them to be alike… Kei has dark blue sapphire hair while Len has light blue hair=) also their personalities are quite different too, aren't they? And, yeah, they both are violinists, but Kei is an actor and a rock singer in addition=P Does he still look like Len's another version? ^_~
kazuki-senpai: thank you very much for reviewing! I hope you like this chapter=)
Shanice1998 and Yuuna Kuran! Thank you very much for adding this story to your favorites and story alerts! Thanks a lot to ButterflyWave for adding this story to story alert!
tentsubasa: Itsumo arigatou gozaimasu! \^_^/
Dear readers, please review!
Published: 08-28-11