Disclaimer: The usual
A/N: Oh look at that, I got very inspired today, here is chapter 7 thanks for all the reviews ^.^
And in case you haven't seen it on my profile I have an announcement. Currently I am looking for a talented artist I could commission the portraits of my famous Villians.I am looking for someone that draws manga style and will be willing to compromise to draw my favorite characters from my fics. It is a project I have in mind because I intend to build a website soon. I can't say I will be willing to pay handsomely because I am kind of broke but I will be willing to pay for the efforts. If anyone is interested please feel free to send me an email with some samples of your work. ^.^ Thanks!
Lesson on Love
By auraluna7
Chapter 7: Spring weather
Michiru dropped her high heels and sat on her bed, she rubbed her neck tiredly. The ride to the dorms had been a silent long one, she had felt like the obvious third wheel and she had forced herself to smile when her friend waved goodbye to her from Haruka's car dressed with Haruka's clothes and feeling so comfortable around Haruka it made Michiru's stomach turn.
Fine, so Kasumi was going to have her fun with Haruka. But she was not defeated, Kasumi was like a cat playing with a mouse, but Michiru was not going to sit down and watch her taking Haruka away from her. Not before Haruka had the chance to see who she really was if after all then she decided she wanted Kasumi then and just then Michiru will step away, but the bidding was just starting.
Brushing her hair behind her back Michiru got off her dress and after taking a long shower she decided to go out and enjoy the spring sun. The warm season was just starting and sitting under the sun to draw all morning will be the perfect balm to heal her battle wounds.
Dressed in a light blue silk spring dress and strap sandals Michiru walked out of her room and found a spot on the college campus gardens. She sat on a bench next to a sparkling fountain, the soft wind carrying the scent of the first spring blossoms. She let her hand trace the scenery around her, the tender leaves on the trees, the fountain with its Greek Muse emptying a never ending vase, the droplets of water shining on the sunlight.
She knew she had been there a long time, her back was getting stiff but there was still so much to see, so much to draw. Her pastel chalks glided on the surface of her sketchpad and Michiru couldn't put them down. "Hi."
Michiru looked up from her work, suddenly blinded by the sunlight she had to place a hand over her eyes to distinguish the face of the person talking to her. The woman had a cheery voice, Michiru notice first her bright smile, a string of perfect teeth showing, then she noticed the cute freckles on her face and the shiny green eyes. "Hi…" The girl looked familiar and Michiru tried to remember where she had seen the smiling redhead.
"I didn't know you attended this school." Michiru smiled still trying to match a name to the face. "You don't remember me do you? Erm… awkward. We met last night, I saw you across the garden and I knew it had to be you. I'm Rain; I was with your friend last night."
Michiru smile twisted slightly, now she remembered; this was the moron that gave Kasumi the pill. "I see."
"Yeah, well…" Michiru noticed the apologetic blush on the redhead's face and she thought the girl was kind of cute. "Is she ok? I had to come ask you…"
"She is. Not thanks to you though, you should be careful what you give to random strangers. You could have killed her."
Rain looked embarrassed and Michiru switched her stern look for an amused one.
"Oh Rain, what did you do now that this young lady is giving you such stern look ah? Excuse me Miss, is this blockhead bothering you?" Michiru and Rain turned to look at the woman speaking to them, Michiru surprised found herself facing Rain's identical twin.
"You guys are twins?" Michiru thought right after she said it out loud that was quite a stupid question but the second redhead smiled brightly at her.
"Not identical, I am so much better looking than her. Let me introduce myself, I am Hail, Hail Tenki. And this hippie looking idiot is my sister Rain, although I think you already met."
Michiru couldn't help to smile as Hail gently took her hand and placed a gallant kiss on her hand. The twins had the exact same face but their looks were certainly different. Rain wore ragged jeans, sneakers and a white T-shirt all of them stained with paint, her long red hair tied up in a pony tail. Hail on the other hand wore black pants and a matching tailored jacket, a pristine white shirt without wrinkles matching her dashing outfit, her red hair framing the flawless face.
"Hail and Rain? Are those your real names?" Michiru couldn't resist asking, they were quite unusual names. Hail hung her head embarrassed.
"We have parents with a funny sense of humor. Our father is a weather scientist."
"Oh." Hail sat down next to Michiru.
"So, what did my sister did to earn such a stern look from such beautiful eyes?" Michiru blushed slightly.
Looking annoyed Rain sat between Hail and Michiru. "Hail go bore someone to death somewhere else I was talking here with Mi…chelle?"
"Michiru." Michiru moved a bit to her right, there was barely any room for the three of them in the bench.
"You don't know her name?" Hail and Rain seemed to forget Michiru was there looking at them amused.
"I… shut up."
"Step aside and let me show you how you treat a lady."
"You don't even know why I was talking to her."
"Obviously it was something stupid because she was looking at you like gum on the bottom of her shoe."
"Yeah well, no one asked for your opinion."
Michiru cleared her throat, both sisters looked at her. "Should I leave you two alone?"
Both sisters jumped off the bench, Rain shook her head. "No, I am sorry Michiru. I just really wanted to ask you about Kasumi. I met Michiru and her friend Kasumi last night Hail, and I was not too bright with her friend so I was here asking Michiru about her, if you must know."
"Like I said, she is fine."
Rain smiled relieved, she was actually pretty worried. "Good. So you are a freshman here? I haven't seen you around campus much and well I am sure I will remember you if I had."
Michiru smiled at Rain. "I am a senior."
"Huh? You are? Are you new here?" Rain seemed dumbfounded, she was a senior in The Arts major and she was sure she knew everyone on her program.
"I am a senior on the High School program."
"Oh I see." Rain had the good sense not to ask how come she met the High school senior at a bar, but she was sure curious about it. "Art's program?"
Michiru shook her head, she noticed Rain giving a curious look at pastels on her lap. "I am on the Music Program."
"Oh really?" Hail stepped in again, she smiled quite pleased. "I am a senior as well…in Music Major. I play the Cello. And you?"
"Violin." Hail gently asked Michiru for her hand again. Doubting a bit Michiru lent it to her. Hail looked at the soft hand, the long fingers elegant and straight.
"I will love to hear you play sometime." Michiru took her hand back and tried to not look too overwhelmed by the twins' attention.
"Can I see your pastels?" Rain smiled at her, a different smile than Hail's, she had a warm friendly smile, while Hail's was the smile of someone that knows herself beautiful and charming. Michiru nodded and lent her the drawings. "Maybe you should consider a double major, this are really good."
"Thanks." Michiru stood up, it was late and she was getting hungry. "Well I have to go."
"Wait." Hail brushed Michiru's figure with her emerald eyes, she had noticed the beautiful face and the deep blue eyes but right now she had a look at the elegant silhouette of the girl and she was even more pleased to meet her. "Can I invite you and your friend Kasumi over for dinner tonight to make up for whatever my sister did to her? I could not do any less."
"Sorry, Kasumi is…tied up tonight. And it is ok."
"I will give you my phone number anyways." Hail took a pen from the inner pocket of her jacket and wrote her phone number on the palm of her own hand.
Michiru looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "You wrote your own phone number in your hand, how is that going to help me?"
"Well I was hoping perhaps you could hold my hand until you felt like calling me, and then you could just look at the number."
The violinist laughed sincerely for the first time that day, she had forgotten how fun flirting girls could be. She had even forgotten about how sad she was that morning. "Mmm no, I don't think that is going to work. Maybe in a piece of paper will be better."
Nodding Hail wrote her phone number in a piece of paper; Michiru put it on her pastel chalks bag. "Well it was nice meeting you… see you later."
The twins saw Michiru walked away slowly, Hail sighed softly at the sight of the perfect long legs. "Where was I when you met that angel?"
"You were being an overachiever practicing your Cello while I went out clubbing." Hail nodded softly.
"I see."
"She is not going to call you, you know that right?"
Hail looked at her twin sister; she wiped a smudge of paint of the girl's cheek. "Yes I know, but how hard can it be to find a High School senior on our own school with bright aqua hair?"
"You should have seen her friend."
"If you liked her she probably looks like a doll, but I doubt anyone could have a pair of eyes like Michiru's and it is the soul of the girl that counts…not that the wrapper of the candy can't be pretty, but the sweetest thing is inside."
"Oh Hail, you met the girl for a whole five minutes."
The girl shrugged, still looking at the violinist walked away. "She is an angel, I just know it."
-0-
The afternoon sun turned into golden light filtering through the windows of Michiru's room. She stood up in the middle of the room, the violin resting on her shoulder , she didn't want to admit it but she was struggling with the position of her hand, Michiru really wanted to try and change her posture, but the thousand times she had played in the wrong position made it terribly hard for her to do so. She sighed softly, she hated to admit defeat, wiggling her fingers she tried to place them on the right part of the neck and started playing again.
Michiru only stopped when she heard the door close and she turned around to find Kasumi, the blonde looked at her doubtful, in her hand holding a bag from Michiru's favorite bakery. "Hey."
"Hi. How was your day?" Michiru placed her violin back on the case, Kasumi still on the doorstep.
"Interesting. Are you mad at me Michiru?"
"For throwing yourself at Haruka like she was the last bottle of water in the desert? Yes. But you had the right to do so, so I shouldn't be."
Kasumi stepped closer to Michiru, she handed her the small bag. "I bought you cookies."
Taking the small bag, Michiru looked into the gray eyes. "Are this, 'sorry I slept with the girl you like cookies'?"
The blonde shook her head smiling. "They are 'sorry we both like the same girl cookies'. We didn't do anything, she wanted to talk, can you believe that? Talk, I mean have you seen me?"
Michiru didn't want to admit the relief she felt when she heard Kasumi talk. "Oh?"
"Yeah, but…I think we should talk. Michiru, how badly do you like Haruka?"
"Badly enough not to let you win by default. I intend to fight this battle to the end."
"I was afraid you will say that." Kasumi sat on her bed; still looking at Michiru she looked serious. "So do I. I like her a whole lot and this …me and you liking the same girl has happened before but I never saw you so into anyone, and well, you are my best friend. What are we going to do?"
Michiru took a cookie off the bag and took a bite out of it; she sat next to Kasumi and shared the cookie with her. "I don't know, friendly competition?"
"Until what?"
"Until one of us is actually dating her? And then graceful defeat for the loser?"
Kasumi nodded, biting down the half cookie Michiru offered her. "Are we really mature enough to do this?"
"I doubt it."
"Yeah I knew you will say that too." Michiru took another cookie and smiled, she loved fresh baked cookies.
"So talk hum? About what?"
"Stuff." Kasumi sighed and got off the tomboy's clothes, she had spent the whole afternoon battering her long golden eyelashes and rubbing her leg against Haruka but the pianist just wanted to talk, talk, talk. At least she had mentioned a second date. "I should have just printed a Biography for her. Can I have another cookie?"
Michiru smiled and closed the bag. "Nu uh, you already had your try and what's left is mine, cookies …and Haruka."
Kasumi laughed, and pulled her friend's sleeve until the girl finally barged into giving her another cookie. "You are in a terribly good mood, did something happened while I was gone?"
"Nah, there was some rain and some hail, you know…spring weather."
"Hail? You're kidding me; it's been sunny out there all day."
With a mysterious smile Michiru finished her cookie. "Well we were not in the same place Kas..."
-0-
Monday afternoon right after the clock marked 2 p.m. Michiru entered Haruka's classroom, she had run after her last class to change her uniform for a lovely A-line blue dress, a headband with a blue matching bow on her hair.
"Hi."
"Miss Kaioh." Haruka was not exactly sure where was she standing with Michiru, Kasumi had bluntly told her she was sure Michiru was pissed at them both for ditching her Saturday, Akira was right, there was no good way of dating two friends.
"What happened to Michiru? I thought we were done with formalities, but if you wish, I can call you Miss Tenoh."
"Wouldn't it be Professor Tenoh?" Haruka's tone was playful, Michiru smiled at her and grabbed her violin, she walked to the piano making sure her hips sway enough to make the fabric of her dress dance.
"If I refuse to call you professor will you put me in detention?" Haruka smiled surprised, the tone on Michiru's voice was low and sexy.
"Would you like that?" Michiru smiled and placed the Strad Violin on her shoulder.
"Ready to teach me a lesson, Miss Tenoh?" Haruka smiled and shook her head she sat at the piano and placed the music sheets she had for Michiru to practice that day. It was the violin and piano version of her song Muse. "And this?"
"I thought maybe we could play it for the ensemble."
"Ok. Well let's give it a try."
The musical piece proved to be a challenge for Michiru, it was something new she had never played before and it was also hard follow the piano, but after a few tries the notes were starting to fall in place. For the next 45 minutes neither of them talked about anything but the piece, Michiru was proud of herself, Haruka had nothing to object about her posture and despite the difficulty of the piece she was not as tired as she could have been.
After what seemed like the hundred time they had gone through a particular part of the song, both musicians turned to look at a person knocking on the window. A redhead girl standing outside the classroom smiling at Michiru.
"Do you know her?" Haruka wondered why was there someone knocking on the window and Michiru smiled.
"I…guess. I don't know what she is doing out there."
Hail had spent the last hour finding in which classroom Michiru Kaioh took her soloist lessons, when she finally spot her with the new teacher, who had a reputation of not being particularly severe, she dared to knock on the window. The violinist walked to the window and opened it, looking at her questioningly. "Yes?"
"Is this your last class?"
"Mmm, it is." Michiru tried not to smile, she didn't wanted to encourage the redhead to stalk her around campus, though she found quite amusing seeing the cellist with her impeccable clothes half climbing on a flower pot.
"Can I come in and listen?" The green eyes always seem to be smiling at her.
"Did you consider knocking on the door?"
"You could have refused to open, I knew you will see me here, making an ass of myself and open the window."
Michiru laughed softly. "I don't know if you can come in."
"How about you find out and then afterwards you let me take you out for an early supper?"
"I am not hungry."
"I am risking my life here, climbing flower pots to take a look at your beautiful eyes and listen to you play, is there anything I can get from you? "
Michiru pressed her lips together, she really shouldn't smile. "Like I said I don't know if you can come in, but if it means that much to you I could leave the window open."
"If that is all I can get from you today Miss Kaioh, I will gladly take it." Michiru shook her head and walked away from the window, Haruka looked at her awaiting an explanation.
"A friend of yours?"
"An acquaintance, shall we continue?" Haruka nodded and took a last look at the redhead peaking on the window.
"Is she coming in?" She tried hard to hide her irritation and Michiru laughed softly.
"Ignore her Haruka, unless it makes you jealous, in which case keep your eyes on her."
Haruka forced herself to keep her eyes on the piano, and she and Michiru went back to playing, the tomboy dying to find out who this acquaintance of Michiru could be, because she knew a lot about life to know the redhead had her eyes on Michiru, and she didn't liked it at all.
-0-
So Michiru's grand plan of seduction hadn't work, the musical ensemble was turning to be quite difficult and after the window incident Michiru had no chance to flirt with Haruka as she had planned, it was not wise to flirt bluntly with a teacher with a college student hanging at the window.
It didn't however escaped her eye the fact that Haruka refused to lift her eyes from the piano after Hail Tenki showed up at the window and asked her out, Michiru wondered if the blonde was jealous and the thought made her smile. She had double practice with Haruka the next day; she will try the seduction act again tomorrow.
With that thought on her mind Michiru stepped into the hallway and started walking towards the dorms, she felt someone catching up with her steps and she wondered if she had left something at Haruka's classroom again, but when she turned around she found Hail. "You again."
"Wow, I think people welcome colds more warmly than that. I am good looking you know?"
"You are getting me in trouble with my tutor, isn't that enough for me to be annoyed?"
Hail took the heavy backpack from Michiru's arm, carrying it. "Let me help you with that. And that is such a lie, your tutor only had praise words for you, which is good because I heard it was the first time you played that song and it sounded really good."
"You think so? I think I keep skipping the beat of the piano, seems to me I am going too fast."
"Try a metronome, I mean I am sure you use one now and then but I what I mean is try listening to it for a while and think of the piano, then try following it. I could help you."
"Oh yes, convenient. What is it that you want Hail?"
The redhead stopped, she tilted her head and looked at Michiru. "Well, right now I really want a sandwich. But my guess is you mean what do I want from you. Right?"
"Yes."
"I certainly won't mind hang out with a hot violinist, I want to hear you play a song you love, I want to hold your hand and see if it is a soft as it looks and maybe with a bit of luck I want to know you better."
Michiru liked the sincere tone of Hail. "I am not available. You can hear me play a song I love and we could hang out in group scenarios but no holding my hand on the sunset or anything like that."
"You have a boyfriend?" Michiru shook her head. "Girlfriend?"
"No. But there is someone I like, like I said I am not available."
"Ok. Good, can we be friend then? I would love to have someone to talk about music."
"This is a music school, talking about Music is what we do."
Hail smiled and walked again towards Michiru, the couple started walking down the hallway again. "For sure, but they are not as hot as you."
"Are you always such a flirt?"
"Only with you…and other females." Michiru laughed, she handed the redhead her violin case.
"I want a sandwich too, call your sister, group scenarios starts today."
Sighing Hail carried Michiru's things. "Oh fine, you bring a friend I will bring my dorky sister…"
(Mhmm hot twins ahoy. I wonder what will happen next…. Oh lol I should know shouldn't I? Well you will find our soon. Review!)