Hello!  Hope everyone likes this chapter, too. I've put some notes at the end of the chapter (didn't want to spoil it!)

Disclaimer: RahXephon and its characters are the property of their respectful owners. This piece is not for profitable purposes.

Chapter 7: The Art and Music Club

I watch as Mishima gathers her things and places them carefully in her briefcase.  While I wait, I think about what happened at lunch, I'm still angry at Mamoru for bringing that up.  But, I realize that I'm also at fault to for having gone along with his plan.  I decide that I should start making up for my mistakes right away to prevent any more damage to our friendship.

"Kamina-kun?" 

I quickly look up and notice that Mishima has been waiting for me.

I smile at her and say, "Ah, sorry about that. Mishima, I'll give you a tour of the club rooms, if you'd like."

She smiles slightly and says "Sure, I'd appreciate it."

We say good bye to Asahina and Mamoru and I open the door for her and watch as she walks out.  She pauses in the hallway, waiting for me to close the door. Once again, we walk in silence, and the atmosphere seems somewhat awkward.

"Mishima?"

"Yes, Kamina-kun?"

"I know that you haven't decided for sure yet, but, well, I wanted to let you know that I'm glad you're considering joining the club I'm in."

She stops suddenly, catching me off guard. I notice her face shows a look of definite surprise.  She doesn't look at me, instead turning her face to look out the window.

"Th, thank you, Kamina-kun."  She stammers out.

We continue quietly until we arrive at the art room. As I am about to open the door for her, Mishima suddenly moves forward.

"I'll get that, Kamina-kun," she says with a smile. 

Once again surprised, I step back.

"Why, thank you, Mishima." 

I pass her as I step inside and wait for her to enter.   I stretch out my right arm to display the interior of the room.  

"Mishima, this is the art room, neat, huh?"

I watch as she gasps in surprise.  She scans the room quickly and then excitedly looks back at me.

"How wonderful, Kamina-kun!  There's everything, easels, paints, fancy colored pencils, those wooden human models, and even one of those things that spins for you to do pottery!"

I laugh at her excitement, as I watch her run back and forth, looking at and commenting on everything.  I lean against a desk as I watch.  I look at my watch and realize that club will be starting soon.

"Mishima, shall we go to the music club now?"

She looks up suddenly from the drawing she was admiring and says, "Oh, no, not yet, I want to keep looking."

I shrug and smile as I say, "Ok."  Mishima continues to look around, but suddenly stops when she notices a certain painting.  

She points at it and turns around to look at me.
"Kamina-kun, this painting looks like the sketch you did at the beach!"

Ah, I was planning to keep that as a surprise.  Maybe though it's better though that she saw it today.
"Ah, well, I thought the sketch was really nice, and I, well, I wanted to paint it in color…"

She runs over to where I am and says, "How neat!  Will you show it to me when you're done?"
"Of course, you'll be the first one I show it too." 

I am surprised because she seems to be blushing.

"Thank you, Kamina-kun," she says, surprisingly quietly.

Louder she says, "Shall we go now, Kamina-kun?"

"Sure, Mishima."

We walk out of the still open door and head towards the music room. I am glad because Mishima seems much happier now than before, she even seems to be singing a song.  I hope that she's forgiven me.

"La la, la la la la, la la, la la la la."

I realize I've never heard the song before she's singing, I wonder what it is.

"Mishima?"

"Yes, Kamina-kun?"

"What song is that you're singing?"

"Eep, was I singing, how embarrassing!"

"No, I thought it was a really nice song."

"Really?  It's my favorite! It's called Katun no Sadame."

"La la, la la la la, la la, la la la la."

"That's right, Kamina-kun, just like that!"

I smile as we sing it together as we head towards the music room.

This time, I open the door for Mishima and bow humorously as she walks through.  I look up as she passes, and hear her giggle.

"Here we are, Mishima, the music practice room."

"Wow, look at the size of this place!"

"Yeah, we have an orchestra and a band, so we need a lot of space."

She's acting like she was in the art room, looking at everything and commenting with excitement.  Without me realizing it, she has found her way back in front of me.

"Kamina-kun? Kamina-kun?"

"Uh, yeah?"
"Is something wrong, you were sort of spaced out?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine."

I think she caught me staring.  She smiles and scans the room again. 

She looks back at me and asks, "When will club activity time start?"

I look at my watch and respond,  "Hmm, just a few minutes.  You'll need to sign up with the conductor before it starts.  I think they need a pianist in the orchestra, so you should be all set."

"How exciting!  Thanks so much, Kamina-kun!"

Once again, I stupidly delay answering because I'm staring!

"Uh, yeah, no problem."

"You probably need to head back to the art room, right, Kamina-kun?"

"Yeah, I should probably get going."

"Thanks very much for the tour, Kamina-kun, I had a nice time," she says while smiling broadly at me.

"I'm, I'm glad, Mishima."  I say, returning the smile.
Embarrassed, I say, "I'll see you after club then?"
"Sure, Kamina-kun!  Bye!."
"Good bye, Mishima."

I exit the music room, glad the way things have turned out.  I hope that our friendship has been mended, and that it's still possible that it could one day be more.

Notes:

In episode 9, Katun no Sadame is the song that Haruka is listening to when she's cleaning her room and when she's on the boat with Quon and Ayato.  If you look at the headphones when Ayato is listening to the song, you'll notice it says the song that is playing is Katun no Sadame.  Also, it is the song that Haruka is singing when she's waiting on the temple steps.  Ayato hears Haruka singing it when he's falling through the sky in the temple.  He later sings it in the car to Haruka's surprise, and remembers that it is called Katun no Sadame and that it is associated with forgotten pleasant memories.  The two of them then sing it together.

In episode 26, Haruka once again sings Katun no Sadame, stating to Megumi that "Kamina-kun" liked the song, and so did she.

Next Chapter

At the End of the School Day