Tainted with Crimson
Chapter Thirteen
Yumi walked silently to Rei's desk. Her heart was pounding at the speed of light in her chest. The girl had prayed that at least someone would not have left, but apparently everyone wanted to get out of school as fast as possible. The former vocalist sighed and mentally braced herself for whatever was to come. She was almost a hundred percent sure that Rei Hasekura knew her secret and this was probably why she had called her here. So many thoughts rang through the girl's head, but she refused to give in. After all, becoming even more anxious was not a very good idea and was definitely not going to do her any good.
What Rei requested, however, was the exact opposite of what Yumi had expected. So many ways and scenarios of different confrontations rang through her head, but nothing even came close to the words that escaped from the music teacher's lips.
"I am sorry for asking you to do this, Yumi-chan, but since you are close to my cousin and the others of the so-called "replacement project", I figured you could help me out with the equipment."
Yumi gaped like a fish. She had expected so many different things and had braced herself for anger, dissatisfaction, disappointment, hell, even resentment, but this surpassed every last bit of what her imagination had managed to come up with. The brown-haired girl could only nod automatically as a guitar was handed to her. She was asked to carry it to the music department's practice room. And seeing as this was her escape route, the girl had quickly complied. She was now on her way unsuspecting that this was actually part of the ex-assistant manager's scheme.
The brown-haired girl gently touched the frame of the guitar. Her slender fingers then moved to the strings and she could not help the giggle that escaped her lips, when the tips of her fingers brushed the strings, emitting a barely audible sound. The pigtailed girl gasped and quickly looked around. Frantic movements ceased completely once she had concluded that aside from her, there was no one else in the hallway. A sigh escaped her lips as she laughed silently at herself. She could not believe how pathetic she was. Yes, she had managed to start playing again and she had succeeded in getting back to her old self again, meaning her talent had reawakened. Yes, she was quite skillful when it came to playing most of Crimson's songs. Yes, she had even managed to play some on the piano, but despite all of that, no one aside from Yuki, had heard her. And to say that she was still self-conscious about it would be an understatement. Then her thoughts drifted to another thing she still had not dared do – sing.
Another bittersweet laughter came out of her lips. She could not believe how ridiculous all of this was. She was a musician for peat's sake! And yet she was afraid of singing. She had never uttered a single faint sound, which could be considered an attempt to reach a certain note, in three freaking years if not more. Moreover, she was afraid of not being able to sing like she could for her voice was unique. It was a strange mixture of bitterness during the lower tones and sweet heaven when she reached the high ones. Yes, Angel was better and her voice did sound more magical and breathtaking when it came to the highest notes. And yes, Anastasia's voice as well could not be outshined when it came to singing the lowest tunes of their songs, but there was just something most people found in her voice and considered, dare she say it, enchanting.
Soft piano tunes could be heard from the practice room and that broke the pigtailed girl from her reverie. The former girl yelped slightly, but luckily for her, it was so faint the person playing the sad song had not heard her. Yumi walked in slowly and as silently as she could.
She held the guitar close to her chest, her hands gripping its neck tightly. Yumi was not going to let her cover slip. Not when she was just about to hear none other than Sachiko Ogasawara sing and play at the same time! It was definitely something she had been waiting for a long time. To say that this performance did justice to all those fantasies, though, would be a huge understatement.
It was a marvelous performance. Pale, slender fingers moved gently around the piano keys, hitting every each one of them at the right time creating a beautiful yet sad melody. The soft tunes were plain in the beginning, but despite that, they held so much meaning. It reminded Yumi of something painful. It signaled betrayal and acute pain because of it. As the song progressed, the notes grew slightly higher and a note of relief yet sorrow could be experienced if one listened closely. But as the song drew for an ending, so many emotions came into view, that Yumi could hold back her tears. Anger, despair, loss, confusion, hatred yet desperation at not being able to stop loving the person as well could be heard. The last few bits of the melody suggested a new theme – that of possible forgiveness – but as the ending actually came, tears trickled down Yumi's cheeks as she heard the hopelessness of it. And the words that stabbed her heart like daggers and drew out her blood drop by drop were unbearable. Yumi could not believe it. She could never even have considered such a marvelous piece to have such a tragic story behind it. Though it was true that beauty was almost all of the time drawn from pain and suffering, so many conflicting emotions brought out the brilliance of the song. Because describing even one strong emotion was difficult, and this melody was in perfect harmony with the war of feelings going on inside the author's heart and mind.
Yumi let out a soft gasp as Sachiko started playing again and she knew she could not the temptation any longer. This time the lyrics to this magnificent work of art were going to be revealed and Yumi could not help it. She waited patiently for Sachiko to start playing and once she had reached the second verse of the song, the pigtailed girl gripped the neck of the electric guitar determinedly and walked next to oblivious teacher. Sorrowful piano was joined by the burning fury of the other instrument. Though Sachiko was surprised, she could not help smiling slightly, when Yumi played alongside her. Both of them were quite talented, though Sachiko was better given the fact that this was her song and she had been playing a lot longer than Yumi. Despite that if everyone could hear the new version of the song, they would definitely agree that it was yet again an exceptional performance, but this time – two broken hearts played as one.
After Sachiko had finished playing, she felt as though something had changed inside of her. She could not put her finger on it, though, so she quickly dismissed those thoughts. But she could not deny that she felt lighter as though part of the huge weight she had to carry on her shoulders had been lifted. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips and soon transformed into a beautiful, genuine one. An equally true one formed on Yumi's face as well and the two stayed silent, feeling contented at seeing one another again. Contentment and ecstasy coursed through their systems. Happiness could be written in their eyes, though cerulean orbs were still partially clouded because of the pain.
A frown replaced Yumi's smile as her brows furrowed only to rise again. They were way past her fringe, when astonishment and shock occupied Yumi's heart. She could not believe what she had just done. She had played a song she had just listened to, making only a few mistakes, and she had done it in front of Sachiko Ogasawara of all people. As the entity of her actions hit her with their full force, another realization erupted inside the girl's mind and set her whole being on fire. She was in trouble. She was in huge, huge trouble. She had fallen in too deep and now there was no way to escape. She was trapped. Her wings had yet again been chained. She had fallen for Sachiko Ogasawara and she had just realized that.
Unable to take the shock, Yumi's body let go of the guitar as gently as she could and quickly went to one of the walls and slid down. She brought her knees up and held them securely around her body. The pigtailed girl buried her head in them and refused to look at Sachiko, who was now pondering on her own thoughts.
Speaking of shock and a certain black-haired woman, her condition was not that different from Yumi's. The only difference was that the teacher had suspected this long ago or to be exact two weeks prior and that was partially why she had taken a break. She had needed to clear her thoughts and just as she had thought she could come back, this happened. Sachiko was surprised she had not heard Yumi come in; but that feeling grew into shock once the girl had started playing with her. It was true that Sachiko had dreamed of performing with one of those three legends. Hell! Anyone who was involved with music did! But she had never once even considered those fantasies becoming real. And now her bewilderment had increased drastically. She did not know why she had felt so comfortable playing that painful song with
someone else let alone that somebody being Yumi Fukuzawa. This was far too much to take, but Sachiko was not going to let it slip or be kept in. She knew that Yumi did not only think of her as a music teacher. Hell! She did not even know what their relationship was. It certainly wasn't your everyday student/teacher relationship.
With newly found determination the divine angel walked to the pigtailed girl and embraced her, feeling the wetness of fresh tears on her jacket. However, she ignored it. She held on to Yumi until she felt the abrupt halt of the hot liquid. Concerned and bewildered blue eyes met with guilty and equally confused brown ones. They stared at each other for a second before Sachiko started caressing Yumi's hair gently. The girl found herself leaning into the touch, but stopped herself before falling victim to this spell. She looked Sachiko in the eyes and said, "I am sorry for bothering you. I was asked by Miss Hasekura to come here and put the guitar for the musicians to practice with. I did not know I was going to run into you, Miss Ogasawara."
Sachiko frowned and stopped her strokes to meet Yumi's gaze. The intensity in those sapphire eyes soon disappeared and was replaced with warmth. Brown eyes could not help but light up and after a second there was no sign of guilt or sadness in them. Sachiko sighed once she was satisfied that Yumi was indeed better and started walking to the piano. She sat down and motioned for the student to follow. The pigtailed girl was reluctant to do it at first, but soon complied. They found themselves sitting next to one another and awkward silence fall upon them.
Yumi heard the music teacher sigh through her nose and looked at the black-haired woman. Curiosity and confusion were written all over Yumi's face as she stared at a closed-eyed Sachiko. Her eyelids soon lifted and revealed cerulean orbs, which now held a darker shade of blue. Pain and suffering could be seen in them. Once Yumi had narrowed her eyes slightly, she was surprised and swallowed the lump in her throat. Whatever was bothering Sachiko was in that song and Yumi tried to remember and piece together what it could possibly be, but the teacher beat her to it. She looked out the window, her gaze falling on nothing in particular. It wandered aimlessly as though it was searching for something, but was blind and could not see it.
" I suppose you wish to know what the song is about." Sachiko said as her eyes were now focused on Yumi. The pigtailed girl blushed slightly for being caught, but it was obvious and frankly, anyone in her position would be as well. People didn't write such songs for no reason. There had to be a story behind it! Yumi nodded and mentally slapped herself once she saw how hard this conversation was going to be, but Sachiko had guessed. And it seemed as though she was semi-ready to confide in someone. Yumi just wondered why her of all people and after such little time, but after recalling how long it had taken her to trust the blue-eyed beauty, she pushed the former thought out of her mind. She by far the last person capable of judging Sachiko for trusting someone way too fast. Hell! She had done it first. Now it was her turn to listen and not judge. Sachiko had been her solid rock when she had needed her, and now she was going to return the favour. After all, it was only fair, right?
A sigh escaped Sachiko's lips as she looked out of the window again. She closed her eyes and started with a different topic, " Shimako and I had a fight. I suppose I was too hard on her, but I think that you of all people would agree that once you've made a promise to perform, you cannot break it without a solid argument."
Sachiko looked into Yumi's eyes for confirmation and once she was granted with one, she continued, " Shimako has had a hard life. Once she turned three, she was forced to go to singing classes. Two years later the piano lessons came. Her future was determined long before she could make decisions for her life alone. And being the sweet-tempered and loyal daughter she is, she did not want to disappoint her father and followed the path he had chosen for her blindly. I think that I should not judge her for this. After all, to some point in my life, I
was the same. But that is far from our topic. Basically, I accused her of not keeping her word like a real musician would and condemned her irresponsible. Obviously, it struck a cord and then it was her turn to fume. She explained to me her situation in life and I mentally regretted doing or rather saying what I had said, but it was too late. She proposed a preposterous idea and I was completely against it. You apparently know of this having prior spoken to Yoshino-chan, correct?"
Yumi could only nod speechless. She was getting more and more pieces of the puzzle together, but this still left Shimako's part of the story hidden in a thick shadow. Yumi frowned slightly seeing as she had a lot more work to do if she wanted to save the Christmas Concert for Yoshino. The pigtailed girl then listened attentively as Sachiko proceeded to talk about the song.
"This song is about my past." She began a bit uncertainly, but then breathed in and out and continued, "I had the most wonderful relationship anyone could ever dream of. I loved and was loved back."
Yumi smiled at that, but it soon faltered, when she heard the words, " Or so I thought."
A gasp escaped her lips and she could not help but consider all of the possibilities those four words held. Her answer soon came, though.
"I was supposed to meet her, my petite souer, the one I loved, but she stood me up. I was so angry, I acted impulsively. I called her at least thirty times, but did not get an answer and after four restless hours in my home afterwards, I grabbed my keys and went to my car. The thunder and untypical torrential rain for my area was a warning, but I did not pay it much attention. All of my thoughts revolved around Eleanor and the pain she had inflicted with her actions, which I previously mentioned. I thought that she had gone through something, which she still had not told me about. I was getting a bit guilty for blaming her and being so mad at her. Imagine my surprise, when I came into her apartment with a box of her favourite chocolates only to find her asleep in a bed with another woman, both naked."
Another gasp came out of Yumi's lips as she covered them with her hand in disbelief. She could not believe what she had just heard. She did not know this girl, but she had heard of Lillian's soeur system and knew how close the two "sisters" were. She just could not take it in. How could one possibly hurt another human being this way? Why had Eleanor done that? What had caused it? Was it Sachiko's fault? But seeing the pained and angry expression on the teacher's face, Yumi doubted the answer to the last question was going to be positive. That was why she decided to listen tentatively to what was going to come next.
" I ran out of there. I was lost. She had been everything to me, including my life. She had always been there for me and had always pointed me in the right direction. She had always told me every little detail, every last bit of her day even if it was something trivial. Her feelings, her thoughts, her worries, her fears, her dreams, her likes, her dislikes, her past, her present, her future. I knew it all. My heart and my soul were an open book to her as well. And after we had combined them and had considered her and my future as ours, we planned to get married. We were planning to run away or that was what I thought, but then she kept on postponing. I know I should've seen it back then, but I guess that you really do need to be hit with reality straight in the face, to realize the truth. It turns out everyone had known except me. I was too blindly in love to notice any of the signs let alone do anything to protect my heart. The rest you can probably guess. I was a wreck after that for around six months. If it hadn't been for Rei, I would've never escaped the dark pit I was in. I didn't start drinking or smoking, or taking drugs. I just shut myself out. I shut the world out. I stopped eating, drinking, going out, living even. I hate the fact that I let myself fall so hard. I…I guess I was far too bruised and needed a way to let it all out so that was why I decided to start writing and this is what came out of it."
Yumi listened to the story and noted how bad everyone's past here was. She had defiantly
picked the best school to forget about pain and move on. The pigtailed girl reached out a hand and stroked Sachiko's, who held on to the girl tightly. They embraced each other. Though only two silent tears escaped from Sachiko's eyes, they were enough to let Yumi know how much this woman was still hurting. She wanted to help her. She wanted to know if there was any way she could ease the pain, make it less unbearable. Yumi hated how helpless and useless she was again, but the slight pinch on her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts and made her look at Sachiko or rather her silky hair. It was at that moment she noticed how soft it was and she could feel her fingers itching to stroke it and find out if it truly was what it appeared to be, but she brushed those thoughts aside. She moved back and looked Sachiko straight in the eyes. The woman smiled and said, "You're not useless, Yumi. You've actually managed to make the pain, how did you say it….less unbearable?"
Sachiko had let go of Yumi completely and now had her index finger tapping her chin lightly as she pretended to have a thoughtful expression on her face. The pigtailed girl gaped like a fish and was about to ask how the hell the teacher knew about this, when a playful grin formed on Sachiko's face as she said, "You voiced your thoughts, Yumi."
A stupid stuttered "O-oh" was Yumi's reply. And she mentally scolded herself a thousand times at how idiotic she must look right now with her face as red as a tomato. The thing that made her embarrassment worthwhile, though, was the fact that a hearty laugh filled the room. It was music to Yumi's ears. And it made her smile, the redness subsiding quickly. Sachiko soon stopped laughing and her eyes had that warm light in them again. Yumi was so happy about it, she let another one of thoughts slip, " You should smile more, Sachiko-sama."
Sachiko gasped and her eyes widened slightly as a small blush crept up her cheeks once she had realized that Yumi had addressed her by her first name. It sounded so right when it came out of the girl's lips and Yumi would not deny that it felt too good when it perfectly rolled out of her tongue.
Sapphire met warm brown. They gazed at each other and found themselves under a trance. Sachiko reached out a hand and gently stroked Yumi's pigtails again, while the former vocalist could not help copying the teacher's actions. The silky raven strands were so soft as they teasingly slipped out of Yumi's grasp. They found each other smiling genuinely at those small gestures. Both gazed at each other again, but soon Sachiko's eyes traveled downward and were soon followed by Yumi's. The pigtailed girl blushed slightly and mentally cursed for letting things get so far. But she could not back down even if she wanted to. She had been secretly dreaming, fantasizing and thinking about this for far too long and now that it was about to become reality, she could not stop herself.
The same thoughts were running through Sachiko's head. She had been tormented by images of Yumi for far too long and wanted to put an end to them. It was far too easy. They were now only inches apart and she could feel Yumi's nervous breath fanning her skin and sending small jolts of electricity wherever they touched her skin. Her hands reached up to cup Yumi's cheek and draw her in.
Yumi knew that she was being pulled closer into the death trap called love, but she could not stand it any longer. She gladly let Sachiko guide her to those much desired rosy lips. The Crimson Rose reached her own hand and touched Sachiko's cheek gently. Cerulean met chocolate brown for one last time before closing again. This was it. This was going to be the moment when everything changed. They had only mere millimeters between them and if one of them moved forward only slightly the gap was going to be closed. All of those deeply hidden emotions were going to erupt and let loose. Both of them were going to be freed and were going to give in to their desire. That is, if someone had not decided to try and open the door. At the sound of that, both Sachiko and Yumi abruptly pulled away only to have the pigtailed girl fall onto the floor. Both had crimson blushes on their faces, but gasped when they heard someone utter in an amused and playful tone with a sly grin on their face:
"Well, well, what do we have here?"
I am so sorry for the long wait. I tried to write this sooner, but had no time. I apologize for any mistakes I've made, but I wrote all of this in one go, so there should be errors. If not, then I am a magician. :D
Anyhow, I want to thank everyone who read, reviewed, followed and favourited. Also I do not own Maria-sama ga Miteru. If you want to know what song I'm referring to and want to listen to it so that you can understand better what Sachiko is going through, type in google this: Three Days Grace - Last to know.
I wish everyone a happy weekend and I hope you'll be satisfied with this chapter for now.
Thoughts, criticism, pointers on how to become better, or just simple praise or rambling :D (the latter being mostly what I do), you can leave in the review section and make me happy. I appreciate constructive criticism so feel free to leave it. : )
Until next time I update and/or post a story, my fellow readers!
~ QueenofRhymes ~