Symphony

MysticShadowWanderer

Disclaimer: And Duane E. Scott, the elevator necromancer, was beloved by the people, and he was the kindest elevator necromancer that they'd ever met, and thus the peasants rejoiced. But Duane E. Scott had his own plans...

Third Movement

One of Kaoru's feet tapped the classroom floor idly as she half-listened to her professor's lecture. It was a large class, mostly because she simply couldn't afford to go to a smaller, more specialized college, even with the scholarship money she had received. Ever since her parents passed away... But it was better not to think of that, especially not at a time like this. It wouldn't do to start crying during a lecture in a psychological science class. One of the students near her turned to send her a glare and she quickly stilled her restless foot, choosing to instead drum her fingers against the denim at her thigh, which was noiseless and just as effective. Sighing silently, she tried to focus her attention on what she knew she would need to have memorized later. But the music was taking her over, and her heart ached to hear Kenshin play again. She knew it was wrong to be so fixated, and she knew that it would only hurt her in the end, but someone the thought didn't connect quite as well as it should. So she continued to allow herself to go over the notes in her head.

Class couldn't end early enough, and Kaoru rushed out, heading home to her apartment, which she'd been promised would contain a new piano by the time she was home from lunch. She smiled happily as she set her bag down on a bench and pulled out her portable CD player, placing one of the headphones in her ear comfortably. She flipped through the songs until she was pleased with her selection, and she walked off toward the Starbucks where she would grab a quick cup of coffee and maybe some kind of snack to tide her over until she ate a larger meal later. Beethoven's Minuet in G Minor streamed through her veins as she carefully wove her way through crowds of people to get to her destination. By this time in life, she was fairly good at getting from once place to another in a relatively quick manner. Of course, crowds were not her favorite thing to deal with, far from it in fact, but with the music she was playing, it seemed more bearable.

Stepping through the doorway to the coffee shop, she patted her pockets and frowned when she realized that she had no money with her today. That was slightly distressing, because it was her daily routine to get her coffee at Starbucks before going home to study and relax. It shouldn't have been very troubling but for the fact that she never forgot her money. Perhaps it was a sign that she was letting herself become a bit too preoccupied, she mused. But she disregarded that thought and simply shrugged, turning and heading for home. It wouldn't hurt to miss one day's coffee, anyhow. All that caffeine could hardly be good for her. Having the entire situation rationalized, she stepped out into the warm sunlight and strode off toward home.

A kind, smiling old man met her at her own door, and she couldn't help but return the smile, the excitement and happiness on his face spreading to her own.

"This was very nice of you, Tanaka-san," she said softly as she tucked away her headphones so that she would not seem rude to the man.

"It was no trouble at all, Kamiya-san," he replied cheerfully. "You were so kind as to entrust us with your apartment key, and this was the least we could do for you, my dear. I've seen how much you love the music, and it gives me hope for the future. I am most pleased to be able to oversee the placement of your new piano. You have passion, Kamiya-san, passion for the art of music. I think that you could go far."

Kaoru flushed at his praise, and was unsure exactly how to respond correctly. He smiled knowingly, and placed her key in her palm. With a gesture to the two men who were helping him with the heavy lifting and maneuvering of the instrument, he politely bid Kaoru farewell and left her with her new piano.

Shutting the door gently, he smiled at one of the men, his son. "That girl has something special. It's in her eyes. Even though she has never played, she is one of the most accomplished musicians that has ever set foot in our store, just because of her understanding. One can spend a lifetime learning technique and perfecting the mechanics and never earn that kind of understanding."
Kaoru dropped her bag on the couch and moved to stand beside her new piano. It gleamed in the light from the tall glass-paneled door and the large windows on her wall. Her hand stretched out to run over the sleek top almost reverently before she pulled out the bench and sat down before it. She placed her hands over the keys and was still.

There was no sheet music, nothing that she could play. Even if there was, she wouldn't know how to go about reading it. At least not well enough to play like she wanted to. She'd taken some music classes in high school, and she knew what the notes were and how to interpret them, but she had never played anything. Never had she even sat in front of a piano. It was as if she'd been afraid to, afraid that she wouldn't be able to accomplish a goal. In truth, it had never occurred to her to ask for piano lessons as a child, and when it finally did, the family was having so much trouble paying for her mother's medical bills that she had no desire to burden them with her wishes. She knew that her father would have tried to find some way to make it possible, but it would have been hard on him.

Reaching up, she brushed away a few tears. It was useless to think of that now. All the tears in the world could never bring them back, and she had to focus on what was in front of her. And what was in front of her was a beautiful new piano that practically begged to be played. With a deep breath for courage, she pressed down on the keys, moving one finger at a time until it sounded nice and the notes didn't clash.

Her fingers moved slowly, picking out a simple, childish little tune as it came to her. There were frequent sour notes, notes so close to one another that they rang out in discord, but through it all wound a deliberate but hushed, faint but honeyed melody that held fast and ran into her fingertips. It was there, in the memory of her hands, and when she silently pushed the bench back and stood up, it replayed in her head.

A small smile crept onto her face. It was fulfilling to play, even if it hadn't always been pretty to listen to, she'd still had something that was her own. For a brief moment, she'd been in complete control, dictating which note went where. She wondered if that was the same way Kenshin felt when he played. But if she was a dictator when she sat at the bench, then Himura Kenshin was a god. When it came down to it, she mused, that was perhaps what he was when he moved his fingers over the keys. He had the power to create, to change, to abolish completely. When he was sad, the keys rained, when he was happy, they played with the warmth of a sunny day. Were those not qualities reserved for gods?

Kaoru yearned to be able to express herself with such mastery. As a general rule, she didn't let her emotions show freely, because those emotions could be used against her and used to hurt her. There was no one that she could really confide in, because her time was nearly completely devoted to school, and occasionally to her art. She glanced at the paintings and drawings that hung in various places in the room. Those were all the self-expression she had, and to anyone but her, it was unlikely that they'd make much sense or be very affecting. But music... music could strike right at the heart of a person, no matter whether they knew the composer or not. And if she could put her feelings into the keys, then maybe she could attain some peace of mind.

She sighed as she grabbed a bottle of water and an apple from her refrigerator and went out onto the balcony. Biting into the fruit, the sharp crunch satisfying and the juice sweet, she fleetingly mused that this was much healthier than her typical midday snack. Again she sighed, returning to her earlier thoughts to wonder why exactly it was that she didn't have many friends in her life. It wasn't that she was an unfriendly person, because she was exactly the opposite, but for some reason she'd never connected with anyone, at least not in her adult life. Maybe it was because she'd first been so busy just trying to survive and now she was intent on her studies, trying to prove herself as a worthy contribution to society. Or maybe she just couldn't make friends after her parents' deaths, because it lingered too much. She wasn't sad all the time, but she wasn't happy all the time, which seemed normal. And she had a few friends here and there, though they weren't all that close.

She berated herself momentarily. She got by just fine, she reminded herself. Here she was, a industrious, productive college student that was on the road to one day becoming a fine psychiatrist, and she had a good job that, even if it was only three days a week, paid well and was rewarding. Now she had a lovely piano and an instructor that she was sure would be wonderful to learn from. What more could she ask for?

Someone to confide in. Someone who would help her through the sad times and let her cry on their shoulder. And it wasn't much to ask for, she knew. Just one person...

"But it's better not to let that trouble me right now," she said to herself, closing her eyes to drink in the cool breeze and the warmth of the sun on her face. "It's not so bad, and I'm living a good life, so I shouldn't complain. After all, there are so many people who need more help than I do. It's unfair to be unhappy with my life. Besides, with time things will get better."

Most of her believed that, but a small part insistently plagued her. She shoved that away and continued to eat her apple. For some reason, it tasted better today than it usually would have. Something about the sun and the sky and her newfound delight with her piano made everything seem as though it was fine for the moment. Or maybe it was just a good season for apples; she sighed. Thinking like that would bring her down.
Groaning slightly, Kenshin tossed and turned fitfully. The way he was twisted in his sheets was causing him to panic in his sleep, unable to tolerate the feeling of entrapment, even though he knew he could easily escape. His eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright, breathing heavily with his heart pounding.

Those dreams again... it was always the same. There was always so much blood, and he was always the cause. And he hated it.

He threw the sheets off and stretched slightly, throwing his legs over the side of the bed. Maybe a glass of milk would be helpful. And perhaps a cookie. Standing, he took a moment to clear the dizziness from his head at the sudden movement, and then padded softly out of his bedroom and into the kitchen. Because of the spotlessness of the room, he quickly found everything that he wanted and was seated at the kitchen table a mere five minutes later.

Dipping his cookie in his milk, he frowned when he left it in too long and it crumbled and sank slowly to the bottom of the glass. If that was the way his luck was going to be, maybe he should call in sick tonight. But his thoughts were only half serious because he was rarely ill, and he never called in sick. It wasn't that his job was so important to him that he felt the need to be there, though it paid well, but his sense of responsibility, and guilt, wouldn't allow him to miss days frivolously. He worked the night shift as a security guard at a private museum with an extremely overprotective owner. It was an easy task, compared to his last job at least. He cringed as he thought about it. The nighttime work was familiar to him. He just prayed that the owner would never call upon him to kill, because that would be the end of that job.

"Never again," he murmured, not for the first time and certainly not for the last.

He'd worked for the government when he was younger as one of their top assassins. And while he'd never really liked to kill, not like some people he'd met, he'd gotten used to it. He didn't know if he would have ended up enjoying it if he'd kept the job long enough, but he knew that if he had, he would have probably killed himself by now. The work had gotten to him eventually, like a slow poison, and he'd quit. All he wanted now was to live peacefully and play the piano, which helped him keep his sanity.

"And have a cookie," he said glumly as he sat staring at his ruined milk. It didn't seem worth the trouble to get another one, because it somewhat spoiled the pleasure of eating it to have to make so much effort to get it whilst knowing that he was only getting another because he destroyed the first one.

Kenshin liked cookies, they reminded him of the few good things he'd had in life. They also reminded him of childhood, which he'd mostly missed out on. Orphaned at a young age, he'd been taken in by a strict but, mostly, kind man who'd trained him in swordsmanship. It had been a hard life, but he'd learned a lot about himself and about morals, and he couldn't complain.

He sighed; it seemed he was always ruining his cookies these days.
A/N: Aw. He just wanted a cookie... :sniffles: That's definitely a metaphor I've never used before... cookies... Hm. Anyhow, this chapter appears to be steering me toward two things. A) More angsty feelings brought about by self-examination (Did you know that the existentialist definition of "angst" is something along the lines of the deep, unhealable sorrow attained by realizing one's own existence. :doomandgloom: And probably something about the futility of it all. Oh weep. Oh heartache.), and B) More romance (yay! we all love fluff!) In truth, I'm going to be cutting back on the fluff in this story. I like it as much as the next person, but... well... just trust me. I know what I want out of this, and it doesn't call for fluff. Anyhow, I'm off to go... with the flow. Or something like that. I think it's incense-and-bed time for me. By the way, find the song "Into The Darkness" by No Motiv. Good stuff...

BY THE WAY! Updates are going to be less frequent now, because school has started and my brother's an asshole. Sorry folks... Also! I'm starting work on a new story called "Provoking Dragons," just so you know to keep a lookout :grin: It won't be posted for a while... I want to get it really started before I post. So... yeah...