Face the Music
Author: Erenoll
Summary: Nokoru thought of hiring an extra staff in his office. Suoh was against it and Akira was delighted. But then again, simple things that ought to remain simple got complicated when a mysterious, lonely girl got the job.
Author's notes:
This is actually my first ever fic in ff.net so pls be kind. Also disclaimers apply. Hope you like it!
Chapter I: The Job Advertisement
"What is the meaning of this?"
Imonoyama Nokoru lifted his blond head from the paper he was reading and smiled, his beaming azure eyes meeting the hard golden orbs of his enraged secretary, Takamura Suoh, who was stomping his way towards his desk crossly that afternoon. His eyes widened as the other boy stopped and decided to place himself behind his desk, heaving. He looked down only to see Suoh clutching a piece of paper in his hand. Seeing that, his smile broadened.
"My," he exclaimed delicately, habitually taking out his white paper fan from its mysterious hiding place. He opened it and purposely covered his lips, hiding the amused smile on them. Suoh braced himself upon seeing the sudden action. Taking the white paper fan out only meant one thing, he thought, and that was Imonoyama Nokoru will try anything to worm his way out of this mess… and there was no way in this world that Takamura Suoh will let him do that!
"It sure is a fine Wednesday afternoon, Suoh," Nokoru continued, his lips partly hidden. "What's with the annoyed look? Is there something bothering you?" he asked, unfazed. He raised his eyebrows innocently at the other young man's direction.
Hearing the guiltless tone of his voice, Suoh problematically placed his fingers on his temple as if having one of those impending headaches he used to have in times like this. "Kaichou," muttered Suoh with gritted teeth. He placed the piece of paper on Nokuro's desk and sighed. "Don't tell me you don't know this," he said with exasperation.
Nokoru's eyes then traveled from his face to the paper Suoh left on his desk. Putting his fan down, he gingerly picked it up with his right hand, leaned comfortably against his soft leather chair and read it, feigning interest. Suoh stood there behind his desk, motionless, watching his blue eyes darting from left to right. It was unusually taking their brilliant president a long time reading the simple note on the paper and it increased Suoh's suspicions even more. He was about to rouse Nokuro from his seemingly absurd thoughts when suddenly, the blond boy abruptly snapped his fan closed.
"I know what this is!" Nokoru exclaimed triumphantly, his lips alight with a laugh. Suoh raised his eyebrows expectantly, waiting for him to continue. Nokuro picked the paper up again, this time putting his paper fan on the table.
"Hai?" Suoh asked, waiting.
Nokoru laughed. "This is THE paper!" he exclaimed excitedly, "successfully manufactured by the Science Club using dried leaves instead of trees." Suoh nearly fell over with the answer. Nokoru shook his head in wonder, giving the piece of paper an awed glance. "Truly, the Science club did wonders again. Who would've thought using dried leaves? Just think of how many trees that could be spared with this invention, ne Suoh?" he asked, looking at his now fuming secretary.
"I was referring to the note," Suoh answered instead with forced patience. He pushed the paper to his direction. "The note in your distinguishable, unmistakable handwriting," he continued.
"Ah ha, ha," Nokuro laughed, this time nervously *sweat drops*. Seeing that was enough to confirm Suoh's suspicions. He sighed tiredly. He was becoming sick and tired with Nokoru's eccentric behavior.
"Kaichou," he muttered, this time with defeat. He then again, found himself placing his fingers on his temple, now, really feeling the slow beginnings of a headache.
"I just thought we needed the extra hand," said Nokoru quickly. Then he looked around him. "As you can see, there are so many backlogs. I just thought that—"
"It was of your own doing why you are having so many backlogs," remarked Suoh sharply. "If you only—"
"But you never give me breaks!" Nokoru half whined. "You're stricter than the Chairman!" Actually, he never really did understand why Suoh could be so anal about paperwork and stuff. It was like he never got over his heartbreak over Nagisa, he thought. Now thinking about that, he had to have a serious talk with Reiko to loosen this guy a bit, his thoughts added impishly.
"You don't deserve it," he answered curtly, waking Nokoru up from his thoughts, thoughts that if Suoh ever found out, he would never hear the end of it. He was so sure that the blue-haired boy would give him a thrashing as well for extra measure. "And besides, you've been having so many breaks, in fact too many these past few weeks. Can't you tell by the vast amount of paperwork sitting behind you?"
Nokuro turned his chair around only to see the enormous stack of papers all lined up behind him. He shook his head, turning once again to the irritated Suoh. "My, I never thought they could accumulate that fast!" he exclaimed, this time with full, sincere wonder.
Suoh closed his eyes tiredly, taking a deep exasperated breath. It was no use. Imonoyama Nokoru would never change, he thought. Apparently, his dislike of doing student union jobs went with him all throughout their elementary days till they reached high school. He was constantly being plagued by mountains of overdue paperwork and not to mention, Suoh's endless nagging for him to finish the job. It was quite a wonder actually how the cheerful President of the Highschool Student Council could tolerate him. Was he so used to all the nagging and pushing that he was able to build a tolerance for it, he found himself asking. Or was it that Nokoru just had this patience of a saint? Either way, it never failed to make Suoh stop sometimes and think about it twice.
"Come on, Suoh," Nokuro said suddenly, his voice cajoling. "I think it's a good idea! It will give one lucky student to experience what its like to work with the Student Council," he continued. "And besides, don't you think that this is one of the best ways on how we can reach out to them? You know, let them know how we operate, make them involved and stuff like that?"
"You mean to say let them see how you slack off and slink away from your job," Suoh rephrased flatly. When Nokoru just gave him one of his sweet, winning smiles, Suoh just came to a sudden decision that arguing with him will be useless. That smile told him that he would do what he damn pleases to do and he knew better than to disagree with him. Eccentric as he was, he was sure that the odd President knew what he was doing. Spending almost all his life with him made him come to that sudden conclusion. But as to what Nokoru was trying to accomplish as of now, that he couldn't figure out— as of yet.
"You don't know the chaos this will bring," Suoh answered slowly. "You're looking for trouble."
Nokoru raised his eyebrows. "I've only posted a couple of this around campus, Suoh," he replied, gesturing on the paper. He opened his fan again and slowly began moving it up and down till a soft breeze wafted to his face. "And what do you mean by trouble?"
Suoh opened his mouth to answer but before he could, the huge double doors of the office suddenly burst open. The two boys turned their attentions to the door, both surprised. Suoh gasped upon seeing a very tired and heaving Akira, trying his best to close the door.
"Kaichou!" Akira Ijuin called out helplessly. He had both of his hands splayed against the doors and Suoh could clearly see female hands and arms flailing wildly behind the partially opened entranceway, trying to get past through. Immediately, Suoh made his way to him and applied his full weight against the door, adding pressure. He could hear the eager and excited female chatter and babble outside, all of them demanding to see the President, no doubt to inquire for the new job position.
Suoh faced the President crossly. "This kind of trouble," he answered with irritation. And with one last push, he was able to successfully close the door without hurting one sticking arm or hand or two. Akira, upon hearing the loud banging sound of the closed door,
hurriedly bent down to lock it. With the task done, the genki youth leaned against the door, heaving a tired but grateful sigh.
"Just a couple?" Suoh asked sarcastically, looking at the flyer. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited for a "decent" answer.
Nokoru nodded earnestly, his blue eyes becoming wider than usual. "Yes, truthfully," he answered, standing up from his seat.
"Then how do you explain that mob outside?" Suoh asked, referring to muffled noise just behind the closed door.
Nokoru shrugged and shook his head. "Word sure travels fast," he answered simply. The vague answer made Suoh's frown deepen even more. Akira, after taking several deep breaths, straightened up and looked from Suoh to Nokoru and back again, contemplating about the situation.
"Na Suoh," Nokuro began finally, his tall frame walking towards them. "You shouldn't treat ladies like that, ne?" He hand his right hand inside his trouser pocket and his left remained clutching the fan.
"That is the least of my concerns right now," Suoh answered when Nokoru reached them. "If I let them through, God knows what could've happened."
"What is going on?" Akira suddenly piped up. The two boys turned to him, quite surprised to find him there. Although almost shooting up overnight, being one of the tallest in the campus, Akira's voice never changed a bit. It still has the small, feminine lilt to it, making his overall façade cheerful every time he spoke. Most people couldn't really tell but then again, Suoh and Nokoru, having spending almost a lifetime with Akira, could really distinguish the difference. Not that they minded, of course, and most especially the ladies. They thought it cute and appealing.
Akira frowned wonderingly. "I was nearly eaten out there!" the youngest of the three exclaimed. "I was just on my way here when I noticed several ladies standing by the door as if waiting for something or someone," he recounted, "and before I knew it, they were rushing towards me, pushing and demanding that I let them in!" Then he looked at Nokoru and then at Suoh. "What is going on?"
"Apparently, this guy here thought it would be a swell idea to get an extra hand," Suoh answered smirking. "He distributed flyers about a job opening all around campus."
Akira frowned, turning to Nokoru. "Kaichou," he began. Then to their surprise, Akira clapped his hand, truly delighted. "That is a good idea!" he exclaimed.
Nokoru laughed. "I know, Akira! Isn't it splendid?" he exclaimed. Suoh, feeling completely defeated, shook his head and heaved a tired sigh. Leave it Ijuin to encourage the President's eccentricity. Well, Akira was the only one who could really understand
and tolerate Nokoru's odd behavior anyway… He looked sideways, the faint voices of the two men reaching his ear. Apparently, they were excitedly discussing on how to conduct interviews for applicants, planning when and where, the qualifications… he sighed. There was really no sense in arguing with them now, he thought.
He walked towards Nokoru's desk to arrange the papers strewn all around the place instead, determined not to take in any part of it. He as was about to get a bunch of it from the stack when he heard Nokoru's voice calling him. He stopped and turned around to face him, his face wondering.
"Na Suoh," began Nokoru happily. "Do you think we should get a man or a lady?" he asked.
"I think we should get a lady," piped in Akira who walked towards Suoh who was standing behind the desk, eyeing both of them grimly. "Ne, Takamura-senpai?" he coaxed. It was clear to him that Nokoru was trying his best to build up Suoh's interest in the plan. By merely asking his opinion about the matter, Nokoru was hoping that Suoh would just decide to let the matter go and join in. It was always the three of them anyway. Plans and decision would never work with just the two of them.
"I don't know," came Suoh's haughty reply. He immediately turned his attentions to the paperwork in order to avoid looking at the pitiful, puppy-eye look Nokoru was sporting now. He could tell that their beloved President was desperate now. He knew better than to look at those piteous blue eyes that could melt even the coldest of hearts.
Akira frowned at this, concerned. He was used to Suoh's cold disposition but sometimes he couldn't help but wonder. Haven't they influenced him a bit? After all they were together during the elementary days but still… he shook his head. It was no wonder why his relationship with Nagisa didn't work out. They were together most of their elementary days but when they reached Highschool, Nagisa was able to obtain a scholarship to study music in the States. Apparently, the couple decided to get on with long distance relationship but like the others, it didn't turn out well. It was just a matter of time before Suoh received word that Nagisa met someone else and was sorry about everything, for breaking his heart and for leading him on. He was not entirely sure if that was the real cause of the break up but that's what he heard. Anyway, Suoh was able to forgive and forget. Now he was going out with someone who could really handle is aloofness rather well. Yukishiro Reiko, a nice but spirited, street-smart lady, was able to capture his lonely heart.
Just then, Suoh spoke, getting his full attention again. "Why ask me?" he replied nonchalantly. "I couldn't care less if it's a girl or a boy—"
Akira's frown deepened. "Senpai—," he began.
"— as long as he or she will be able to help you. As in really help you finish the work not help you sneak off," he declared, finally smiling. Akira breathed a relieved sigh and turned to Nokoru who was now grinning from ear to ear.
"Yokatta!" Nokoru said. "I know you'll see it my way too, Suoh!" He then hurriedly made his way towards his desk and sat on his chair. He opened his desk to get a pen and a piece of paper. It made Suoh frown. This was actually the first time he saw their President eager to sit and do work on his desk. "We have lots of planning to do," he began excitedly. "We need to let them pass resumes, schedule interviews, review qualifications—"
His happy voice went on and on.
"Ara," Suoh thought tiredly. "He really sounded excited." He looked at the sparkling blue eyes of Nokoru as he animatedly discussed his plans to the thrilled Akira who was hanging on to his every word. He shook his head.
"This is going to be a long day," he said to himself.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What do you mean that you will revoke my scholarship? You can't do that! I need that scholarship!"
The Clamp school's registrar looked up from the paper she was reading and faced the furious lady standing before her sturdy desk sharply, one of her eyebrows up from the thick eyeglasses that she was wearing.
"Are you finished screaming at me, Miss Yamato Reina?"
The snappish tone of her voice startled the young lady. Had she been screaming at the school's office registrar? With that, she unclenched her fist and bit her lip. She looked down apologetically, trying her best to hold the tears from falling. The older lady sighed, placing the folder containing her school records down on the table.
"Look, Miss Yamato," the lady began softly. Reina looked up, facing her. "I know how hard this must be for you. But lately your grades, your performance—"
"I know but I can't'— I couldn't practice," she began almost tearfully. "My father, he sold my piano— there's just no way that—"
The school registrar shook her head. "I understand your situation but unless you can pull your grades up by the end of the semester—"
"How can I pull my grades up if I don't have a piano to use, to practice on?" she asked bitterly. "If you could just let me use the conservatory like an hour a day or—"
"I'm sorry but that's out of the question," the lady interrupted softly. "Unless of course you could get someone, a teacher or someone higher than that to give us a good recommendation for you to be allowed to use it for at least an hour or two, maybe we could make the appropriate accommodation."
Reina blinked her violet eyes. "That's all I need? Just a recommendation from a teacher?" she asked, getting her pen and paper ready incase there should be more. She would do anything to stay in school. She just couldn't go home, couldn't stand the thought of going home…
"Of course, having obtained that we will need your practice schedules and your class schedules," the woman continued, opening another folder from the pile beside her. Reina nodded, quickly scribbling everything down. Then the older lady looked up from her sharp glasses. "But that won't be easy, Ms. Yamato. I really cannot guarantee you that we will be able to give the most favorable schedule for you. Others, not only you, need to use the conservatory as well."
Reina nodded. "I understand," she replied softly. She couldn't care less what schedule they give her as long as she got her two hours in there. Beggars couldn't be choosers anyway.
The older lady nodded. "Very well," she said. "Then I'll be waiting for those papers?"
"Hai," Reina answered, preparing to leave the office. "Arigatou Gozaimasu!" And with that, she stepped outside and closed the door softly behind her. Once outside, she walked briskly away from the office, her purple eyes becoming all blurry with tears. If it hadn't for her father… she frowned as feelings of anger surged up inside her.
She was a good student, a brilliant pianist. She learned playing the piano when she was only five years of age, her young mother encouraging her till it became her life. She started with simple pieces then eventually moved to the classical ones by Beethoven and Bach and later on, when she got older, she could very well play the most difficult pieces of Chopin and Mozart. She would often play at recitals and concerts and it never ceased to amaze her how good she felt when she was there, on stage, playing her heart out, completely oblivious to everything around her. When she was seated there, nothing mattered except her and the music, the soft melody of her piano, enveloping her, creating a sweet, peaceful haven where no one existed but her and her music. And no sooner the Imonoyama Conglomerate and Clamp School discovered her talent and invited her to study in the Clamp School majoring in music, giving her full scholarship.
It thrilled her and she immediately accepted, thinking that this kind of opportunity only knocked on one's door once. Besides, her family didn't have that much money to send her to a very prestigious, high-status and prominent school such as Clamp, so what have she got to lose, right? From then on, she went here, juggling between studying and playing. Actually, it was her playing that got her through. She admitted that she was not a good academic student and it was only her playing that's been keeping her head afloat in this school. And it went on like that… till her mother died.
It was a tragedy.
Her father, after losing her mother, lost interest in his life as well. Their family business went bankrupt; he became a drunkard and sold almost everything they owned. He forgot the only daughter he had and purposely ignored her. When he tried selling her most prized possession, her piano, her father nearly beat her to death. And from then on, during his drunken rage, he would, for some unknown reason, remember that he had a daughter and beat her senseless till she couldn't take anything anymore.
That's when her grades began to drop, her music already forgotten, her dreams shattered. She knew she should go to the authorities on the abuses and the beatings but for some reason, she couldn't do it. She felt so scared, so afraid and so alone.
And now this.
She angrily swiped the tears away, hindering her chance to see the beautiful golden afternoon just before her. She had to do something, anything. But then again, who would even think of giving her the recommendation that she desperately needed? Lately, her teachers weren't so impressed about her playing since she hadn't practiced for nearly a month. She was so busy doing odd jobs here and there just to support herself that the thought of playing and practicing became the least important thing for her. And what about her academic grades? She shook her head. No hope in that as well. She was about to sit on the cold floor of the school hall and half-minded to bawl herself out when a gust of wind suddenly blew at her face, trying its best to dry her tears.
She looked down to hold her skirts, preventing it from lifting up with the wind when suddenly a piece of paper caught her attention. Frowning, she bent down and picked it up.
"Nothing, just a piece of scratch paper somebody carelessly dropped."
She was about to throw it into the nearest trash can when the words "Job" and "Opening" caught her eyes. Frowning, she looked at it again, scanning its content quickly. Apparently, the Highschool Student Council is need of an extra staff. Her eyes brightened. Then it suddenly darkened. What does she know about student union jobs anyway? She was not good with computers and stuff, what could they possibly see in her worth hiring for? She looked away, half-thinking of throwing the flyer into the trash where it belonged. But then, her hand refused her brain's command t move. She stood there, dumbly looking at the paper, having second thoughts.
"This may be the only chance that you would get."
"But I don't know—"
"You can learn!" her brain stubbornly coaxed. "What's the harm in trying, ne?"
Then a tiny smile curved at her lips. Yes, what's the harm in trying? Backing away from the garbage can, she tucked the piece of paper carefully in one of her books when an idea hit her. She could apply for the job and ask the Student Council for the recommendation she badly needed in return, right? Of course, the Student Council wouldn't turn down a hopeless case such as this, right? And what's more, if she could get lucky, having this job would stop her from taking odd jobs outside campus. She could dedicate most of her time inside the school!
"I'm going to give it a try," she said to herself determinedly.
She knew it was not going to be easy though. Knowing who the three members were and the reputations they had. She knew them since they were in elementary and now she was so sure that a hundred "female" applicants were already there, breaking their office doors down, females who were more beautiful, skilled and talented than her, someone who was really built for the job. But then again, she was a fast learner, wasn't she? And she couldn't give up trying.
This was her only hope.
And with that last thought, she quickly made her way towards the Council's office, determined to have the job no matter what it takes.
End of Part I
Author's notes: What do you think? Should I continue? I know there's an OC in the story but I promise you, I won't turn her into a Mary Sue… I'm just a little uneasy with Mary Sue characters… hehehehe ^_^
Till next time then! Please review! *waves*