Chapter 3
Afternoon glow
The next day
It was lunch break and Marui was walking through the hallway to his classroom. He had left Hitomi with her brother. He almost reached his class, when he stopped in his pace. He looked out the window and spotted Midori sitting on one of the benches. She was staring at her violin case with a rather troubled look on her face.
Marui sighed, as he then walked into his classroom. He grabbed one of his cakes and walked out again. He had been planning to eat it after lunch anyway. So, he made his way to Midori.
Midori sat outside the building on a bench. She opened her violin case, as she continued to stare at the instrument inside. Her eyes gave off a soft, yet sad glow. She sighed and then closed it.
"I knew it. I just can't do this." she muttered to herself. Just then, Marui walked up to her.
"Nervous?" he asked. Midori perked up and then turned her head towards the red head.
"Marui-san." she said in surprise. Marui grinned widely, as he raised his hand.
"Hey. Why are you sitting here all alone?" he asked while taking a seat next to her. Midori followed him with her eyes until he sat down. She then started staring at the violin case again. Marui sighed and looked up at the sky.
"Why won't you stand up for yourself?" he asked. Midori gripped tighter onto her violin case, as she felt a bit tense.
"It's not that I'm scared. It's just that I don't have much confidence in myself. Every time I want to say something in return, my body freezes and refuses to listen to me. Then I think, what if I say something harsh in return, won't that person feel bad? What will be left for me then? I'm just afraid to hurt others and myself. Eventually, I end up involving other people into this. Even now, I got you involved…" she said. Marui stared at the girl next to him, as he then let out an exasperated sigh.
"So that's what you're so depressed about? I told you before, don't worry about it. You won't lose to her." he said with a smile. Midori sighed silently.
"It's not about winning or losing. To be more precise, I'm afraid of the performance itself." she said. Marui blinked stupidly.
"Huh? How can that be? Haven't you won a lot of contests in the past? You were performing in front of people. How can you be scared?" he asked confused. Midori sighed yet again.
"That's the problem. It wasn't a performance that depended on my results, I just did it because I enjoyed it. I didn't care where I would end up being, I just played the violin, so that others could enjoy it the same way I did. But this time…" Midori lowered her head even more. Marui stared at Midori for a while but then chuckled. Midori raised her head in an instant and then turned it to the chuckling volley tensai. She was confused.
"Don't worry. Just play like you always do and everything will be just fine." said Marui with a reassuring smile.
"But Hoshimura-san will be judging and if I don't convince her, then you'll-" said Midori but didn't get to finish her sentence because Marui placed his hand on her shoulder, smiling widely.
"Don't sweat it. Just have more confidence in yourself." he said. Midori looked away again.
"I just don't have it…" she mumbled. Marui smirked and then blew a bubble, popping it right afterwards.
"Actually you do. You just don't notice it." he said. Midori shot her head in his direction yet again.
"Huh?"
"You said it yourself. When you play the violin you let everyone else enjoy it the same way you do. You enjoy it and that's when your confident." he said. Midori got confused at first but then understood what he meant and smiled to herself.
"Eh, maybe it's like that…" she mumbled but then she chuckled and smiled widely, turning to Marui. "You're right. I feel better now. Thank you." she said. Marui smiled softly in return.
"Eh, do you're best today and don't think about others." he reminded. Midori nodded. The red head then pulled out his cake that he brought with him.
"I wanted to eat this during lunch. Wanna try?" he asked.
"Sure, why not?" she said chuckling at the boy. Marui opened the pack and it revealed a rather big piece of a whipped creamed cake with a strawberry on top. Midori's eyes sparkled.
"Maa, looks good." she wailed. Marui handed her a plastic fork, telling her to try it. The violinist took up his invitation and tasted it. She then said it was really good. Marui noticed that the teen was constantly staring at the strawberry.
"Do you like strawberries?" he asked. Midori blushed slightly, as the boy had guessed right.
"Eh, I love them. May I?" she asked politely.
Marui stared at her for a second. He then grinned at the aqua green haired teen and said that she could go ahead. He thought that she was cute when he saw that she was so fond of strawberries. They spent the rest of the lunch break together and before they knew it, the afternoon classes were already here.
Afternoon, right before the club activities
Midori was standing right at the school statue. She had her violin taken out, as she waited for Noriko to come. There were some onlookers already there (those who got the news about the showdown). Midori sighed, as she shot her eyes to the ground. She got somehow discouraged and nervous. Just then the red headed volley tensai came up.
"Yo, Kobayashi. Why the long face? I thought you were into this." said Marui smiling as usual. Midori raised her head and a smile appeared the instant she saw Marui.
"No, just a bit nervous. I thought you wouldn't come. Hasn't tennis practice started yet?" she asked. Marui blinked for a second but then smiled.
"Our practice starts a bit later. I just couldn't miss this. Just relax and play your violin like you always do." he said in a reassuring tone.
Midori's eyes started glowing, as she smiled softly. She got encouraged by Marui's words and wanted to do something for him. The least that she could do now was to follow his words and don't give up.
"I see you came, Kobayashi-san." said Noriko with an arrogant expression already decorating her face. Both Marui and Midori turned to the brown haired teen.
"Hello, Marui-san. This will take a while. Don't run off after this ends, I will have you help me out with some things." she said in a sinister tone. Marui's eyebrow twitched. He then smirked and popped his chewing gum.
"Hn. We'll see about that." he said smirking in full confidence at Noriko. "Good luck, Kobayashi." he patted Midori lightly on the shoulder. He walked to the side, becoming a spectator this time.
The crowd grew by the second. The tennis regulars were also there. They got curious about it, as some of them just thought of killing time before practice. Hitomi pushed through the crowd to find her friend Marui. Niou and Hiroshi stood right across them on the other side.
"I'll let you start off with a classical piece of your liking. You may start, whenever you're ready." said Noriko, as she smirked evilly. Midori took her stance. Taking a deep breath, she started playing a slow tune. It had a soft sound. Some of the spectators whispered to each other.
"If I'm not mistaken, that's one of the 'Four Seasons' by Vivaldi." said one teen.
"Eh." the one next to him agreed.
"Winter…" whispered Marui more to himself than anyone else. Hitomi threw a surprised look at him.
'Bunta-kun?' Hitomi asked to herself.
Noriko's eyebrow twitched. "Okay, stop. Everyone can play Vivaldi's 'Winter' in largo (very slow). Don't give me the elementary school level." said Noriko. Midori stopped playing and looked at her, waiting for her request.
Just then Hitomi widened her eyes, as she then stared at Marui. He actually got the theme right. She got suspicious.
Noriko grinned evilly. "I told you before, I will make you go through every classical piece that comes to my mind. Let's start then." she said. Midori put her violin to her chin. Noriko blinked in stupidity. She had thought that the aqua green haired teen might pull out some notes or something.
"Hey, don't you need notes for that? Don't tell me you've memorized every single one of them?" asked Noriko with slight sarcasm. Midori glanced quickly at her but just as quick cast her gaze back to her violin.
"Yeah, something like that." said Midori indifferently. Noriko gritted her teeth.
"Fine. Handel's 'Minuet'." demanded Noriko. Midori took her stance and started playing the requested song. Some of the spectators whispered again. She was good, they had to admit. Noriko smirked, as she stopped her.
"Paganini's 'Caprice'." was Noriko's next request.
Midori only got to stop for a short while but switched to that song right away. Noriko widened her eyes, as she stared at the girl playing the violin. She didn't expect her to change to a song so quickly. Midori didn't even think about it. The onlookers were also awed by this. Midori followed the tune and the rhythm perfectly.
Noriko got already irritated and this time named a piece while Midori was still playing.
"Vivaldi's 'Summer' in presto (very fast)." barked Noriko.
Midori lifted her eyes for a second. She then made an interval and switched to the requested song. It changed to a much faster tune. The spectators couldn't follow the movement of her hands.
Noriko gritted her teeth. This ticked her off. She would not accept anyone better than her. She was the only one who could play this piece perfectly or so she thought. Noriko plastered a sinister smirk and narrowed her eyes. She already had something in mind.
"Bach's 'Toccata and Fugue' in D minor." announced Noriko, as she folded her hands. Some of the by standing musicians exchanged glances in surprise. Noriko smirked victoriously because this one was not easy to play.
Hitomi looked around and noticed some of the spectator's confused looks. She switched her gaze to Marui and noticed that the red head had a serious look on his face. He knew that this one was hard. He glared at Noriko but then glanced at Midori who already made a slight interval and switched to the song. Marui widened his eyes, as he opened his mouth in surprise.
Noriko's expression turned to that of disbelief and shock. She unfolded her arms. The brown haired teen started boiling in anger. She made a furious face expression. She balled her hands into fists and pointed at Midori.
"Violin Sonata in G minor!" echoed Noriko's voice through the song.
Midori widened her eyes. She then stopped playing, finishing in mid song. She didn't ruin the last sound. No, she just slowed it down. There was dead silence for a while until Noriko smirked arrogantly, putting her hands on her waist.
"What's wrong? Afraid of the 'Devil's Trill'?" she cackled. Midori stared at her violin with a soft expression. The onlookers exchanged glances again and whispered to each other. Hiroshi adjusted his glasses.
"The Devil's Trill, huh?" he mumbled. Marui widened his eyes but then glared at Noriko.
"Hey! You're doing that on purpose! You can't even play it yourself that you make her play it!" called out Marui to Noriko. The brown haired teen smirked.
"Ha! It's your fault for even trusting her." retorted Noriko. Marui gritted his teeth.
"What was that?!" he started but stopped to give her a proper retort because Midori started to play again. He slowly turned to her, as he recognized the sound.
'The Devil's Trill…' he gasped in his thoughts. He stared at the aqua green haired girl in shock. It started with a slow intro and continued with a fast tune.
Noriko stared at the teen in shock. She couldn't move. She froze and stared.
"I can't believe that girl is playing the Devil's Trill." said one teen behind Noriko.
"Ah, to be able to play it at this level. Even Hoshimura-san has problems with it." said another one.
"You could never tell by her looks that she'd play such a piece." said Sanada.
"Ah, like an image of an angel summoning the devil himself." commented Yukimura.
"Cool song." said Akaya. Jackal sweat dropped and glanced at the curly haired teen.
"You only said that because of the title." said Jackal. Akaya grinned back at him, causing the dark skinned teen to sigh.
Midori was near the end of the song, when she noticed that Noriko didn't request anything else, more precisely, she couldn't. So, Midori made another interval in between and started playing a peaceful tune. It was calm and relaxing. The aqua green haired teen opened her eyes just a bit and noticed the peaceful and soft expressions surrounding her.
Marui smiled to himself, as he then chuckled softly at Midori, his eyes still on her. Hitomi closed her eyes and enjoyed the breeze.
"Such a gentle sound…" said Hitomi, smiling to herself.
On the other hand, Niou stared at the purple head right across the space. He watched Hitomi with a gentle look, as he just couldn't help it. He couldn't look away because at the moment, with the violin in the background, she was the only one he could think about. He just wanted to watch her from that distance.
Midori glimpsed at Niou and then at Hitomi. She then smirked softly to herself. She finally noticed it. Those two loved each other and she knew it now.
'I'll call this song 'Hitomi' then.' she thought. After a short while Midori stopped playing. Just when she opened her eyes, she heard a round of applause from the crowd. She stared around and then smiled. Marui walked up to her and placed his hand onto her shoulder. He grinned widely.
"See? I told you everything would be fine. Everyone enjoyed it. You were great." he said. This caused Midori to blush a shade of red. She then smiled back at him. Marui then turned to Noriko, who had her head slightly lowered. She was still angry. The red head took a few steps forward.
"I believe that the results are clear enough, Hoshimura. I hope you follow your side of the deal and never mention to anyone about Kobayashi's matter. That goes to everyone here! Got it?!" he called out louder and looked around. The onlookers nodded in agreement. Marui smirked and then turned his attention again to Noriko.
"Shut up. I will not accept this." she muttered to herself. Marui turned serious this time.
"Saa, let's hear it then, Hoshimura." he said. Midori walked up to the red head. She wanted to stop him from causing a disaster.
"Just shut up! I will not accept this!" hollered Noriko and slapped Marui. Midori gasped and stared in shock. She couldn't believe that Noriko used those hands to hurt someone. This made Midori angry and sad at the same time. Something snapped inside of her, as she rushed towards the two teens.
"Hn. What a sore loser you are. Just admit it." said Marui turning back to Noriko with an arrogant smirk. Noriko got infuriated and raised her hand to land another one.
"Shut up!" she yelled but before her hand reached Marui's face, it got stopped.
Midori held her wrist, as she made an angry face. Marui blinked and glanced at the aqua green haired girl next to him. He had never expected her to become angry. He couldn't even imagine her having that expression full of anger and sadness.
"What are you doing?" asked Midori in a serious tone. Noriko froze and stared at the teen. "How dare you use these hands to hurt someone?!" Midori raised her voice by a tone and pushed Noriko's hand aside.
"These hands are meant to create the sound that we want others to hear. Yet you use them to hurt someone. It's like hurting the violin itself. You and I are both well aware that the violinist's hands are their only treasure. No, it's our other soul. That's why you shouldn't use them to cause pain. It will only soil your soul." said Midori in a serious tone, yet there could be sadness and pity detected in her voice.
Everyone stared at Midori in dead silence, even Noriko. Her words finally sunk in and she made a flushed expression.
Midori was still angry. She glanced at Marui and noticed that his left cheek was a bit red from the slap. Midori suddenly grabbed Marui's wrist and dragged him towards the washbasins. The crowd slowly scattered and left Noriko to think about her actions.
Both teens sat on a bench. Midori had told him to sit down, while she took out her handkerchief and placed it under the cold water. She then sat down in front of him and put it onto his slightly swollen cheek. Marui squinted his eyes in pain. That damned Sanada was at fault because of this pain. He had received a slap from his fuku-buchou two days ago.
"Gomen. Does it still hurt?" asked Midori with worry written all over her face. She placed the piece of cloth as gently as she could. Marui smirked lightly.
"Iie, arigatou. Even so, I'm surprised that you actually got angry at her. I was wondering how you would look like when you get pissed." he said. Midori blushed at his statement and looked away.
"Well, I just didn't like that she raised a hand against someone. Especially such a nice person as Marui-san." she said timidly. Marui chuckled.
"You're the kind one, Kobayashi." he said. Midori blinked at him in confusion.
"Even too kind. Even though you could tell her off real good or yell at her or whatever, you still gave her a proper lecture and left her to realize what she was doing." he said with a soft smile. Midori looked away.
"You think so? I guess I wanted her to see her mistake and change it before it's too late. It would be a pity if such a good violinist disappeared." explained Midori. The red head smirked lightly. Midori then stood up and placed the cloth under cold water again. She sat down again and placed it onto Marui's cheek.
"Anoo, Marui-san?" she started.
"Hm? Nani?" he asked.
"There is something that I wanted to ask you since yesterday. If I had lost, what was it that you would have to do for Hoshimura-san?" she asked. Marui raised his eyebrows.
"I noticed that you knew the classical pieces that I played and even recognized the Devil's Trill. Does you knowing this has something to do with Hoshimura-san's request?" asked Midori once again. Marui sighed.
"Ah, it does. I used to play the piano in elementary school and Junior High. When I was in my second year in Junior High, I finally quit it and focused on tennis." he said.
"Why did you quit?"
"Because I got fed up with it. Well, I wasn't bad at it and even competed in several contests. When Hoshimura heard me play the piano once, she found me good at it and asked me to be her accompaniment for her violin. I declined and ever since she won't stop begging me to do it. I heard her play a million times and that's why I said that you wouldn't lose. I might not look like it but I do have some sense in music." he said. Midori stared at the red head. She took away her handkerchief from his cheek.
"I see. But if-"
"Even if you had lost, it wouldn't have been a big deal for me. I guess I have to thank you anyway." he said grinning at her. Midori chuckled slightly.
"I really didn't do anything. I should be thanking you instead for the encouragement." she said.
"No problem. Still, I'm glad you finally found the courage to stand up for yourself." said Marui and put his hand on her head. Midori blushed and blinked.
"Iie, I didn't. I thought I stood up for you instead." she said. Marui chuckled.
"No, you did it for yourself as well." he said. Midori blinked in confusion.
"No, that's not-" Marui cut her off.
"When you stood up for me, you already did it because you didn't like it and her actions hurt you. You protected your beliefs and feelings. Protecting your friends is the same as standing up for yourself." he said with a wide smile. Midori blushed and lowered her head. Her eyes started glowing.
"Friends, huh?" she mumbled and then raised her head. "Then… We're friends, right?" she asked with uncertainty. Marui smirked gently.
"Of course we are. Don't you want me as your friend?" he asked.
"Iie, quite the opposite. I would love to be friends with you." she said with a shining smile. Marui was happy at her reply.
"Then I'll call you 'Midori-chan', is that okay?" he asked politely. Midori nodded.
"You can call me Bunta, if you want to." he said. The aqua green haired teen shook her head gently and grinned.
"Iie, I'll call you 'Marui-kun'. I'm not used to calling someone by their names in such a short period of time. I hope that's okay with you…" she said timidly. Marui laughed to himself and agreed. He then perked up, when he felt a dark and menacing aura coming from the courts. He sweat dropped.
'Sanada…' he thought. He stood up in a flash and grabbed his bag.
"I have to get to practice or I'm dead. I'll see you next week, Midori-chan!" he called out and waved while dashing towards the courts.
Midori waved in return and chuckled to herself. She started to like it here in Rikkai. She thought that she wouldn't get to meet anyone who would want to be friends with her. She was even surprised that the volley tensai was so friendly to her. They had become friends and she was happy that he gave her the courage that she needed.