Chapter 7: A Day Out

She looked up into startling red eyes and a rowdy bush of deep purple hair. He was smiling at her, not just the eyes, but truly smiling, as he wrapped his arm around her petite form and continued caressing her arms.

"Etou-san?!?!?" She said disbelievingly, and squirmed against him as she tried to free herself from his grasp. "You don't like it? I did tell you I liked you enough. Oh well…" Etou Kiriya sighed and let go of her, but continued sitting beside her.

"All I remember is you saying that you don't like my music!" Kahoko said angrily as she tried to sit as far away from him as possible.

Kiriya looked at her with serious eyes. "I did take back my words, Kahoko. And I did say that I don't regret listening to you the first time you played. Your playing is undoubtedly unpolished, but different in its own way. I mean good different, not bad different."

Kahoko looked at him, astonished. "You never supported my playing before! I do like the way you play though, wish I could be like that…I know I have said this before…" She looked into her hands on her lap as she spoke.

Kiriya's eyes widened on hearing that. Then he smiled at her. "You need time. You will be good." He ruffled her hair playfully. She looked at him, shocked. Etou Kiriya of all people, giving me what seems like a compliment??

He looked at her expression and laughed. "I can give compliments sometimes, you know. Especially since you do like the way I play." He continued smiling at her. Then he changed the topic. "So how is your training with that guy going on?" Kahoko answered, "Well he left to study in Germany. My aunt is teaching me right now."

"Anyone I know?" He asked. Kahoko went stiff for a moment. "Okay…so it is someone in know." Kahoko shook her head. "I am not telling." He looked at her curiously. Then he sighed. "Allright, fine. As you wish. Do you need pointers in anything? I heard that the concours participants are taking part in a promotional concert for the school. I am thinking what will happen to the school's reputation if you are to play like that…"

His sentence was cut off as she glared at him angrily and got up. "My stop is here. Goodbye, Etou-san." Him praising me…what was I thinking?? Bloody idiot…

She got down and started walking in a huff. She stopped when she felt an arm around hers. She turned back to see Kiriya, holding her arm, an amused expression on his face. "Let me walk you home." He didn't stop to hear her say anything after that. He simply took her hand in his and walked to her house.

"Your temper down yet, Kahoko?" he asked her. "Do you mind letting go of my hand, Etou-san?" He looked at her and smiled mischievously. "I don't mind holding it. You shouldn't either." Kahoko glared at him before looking away. The gall of this guy…I would have hit him with my case if only I knew that it wouldn't be damaged that way…she thought, getting irritated.

"So do you wanna practice tomorrow? I don't mind, my exams are over and I have free time." He asked her. She looked at him and sighed. "If only you didn't rub it in, I would have said yes." His expression was unreadable when she looked up at him.

"Allright then I will see you tomorrow. Meet me at the park tomorrow at 10. Don't be late." He said as they stopped in front of her house. Kahoko looked at him disbelievingly. "I didn't say yes! Besides, you didn't apologize."

His eyes widened at her words. Then a smile graced his lips as he suddenly pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the cheeks. A very wet kiss it was as well. They stood like that for what seemed like eternity to her. He then put his forehead on hers and said, "Will that do for an apology?" He smiled widely at her reaction---eyes widened in disbelief and cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He then let go of her and turned on his heel to go back. But before he left, he turned back and said, " I apologize. You really look lovely today, and I couldn't resist that, Kaho. Well see ya tomorrow!" He waved and went in the direction of the bus stop.

Kahoko stood rooted to the spot. "Was he drunk????" She mumbled at his retreating form.

"No I am not and I am aware of what I did." She looked up to see him standing a few feet away from her, his profile half-turned from her. He laughed at her expression and left.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts before going inside her home. Tomorrow is going to be one long day…she sighed inwardly.

………………………………………………………………………….

The alarm rang, blaring it's irritating tone, as Kahoko pulled the covers further up her head. "Oh man, I just went off to sleep!!! What's the goddamn time?!?!?" Sighing in defeat, Kahoko slowly peeked out from under the covers and shut the alarm off. Seeing the time, all sleepiness disappeared; 9:15 AM.

"Oh shit, I gotta meet Etou-san at 10!!" She exclaimed as she sat up. As soon as she sat up she felt tired. If truth be told, she had only gotten sleep at 4 AM, because she had been tossing and turning, thoughts on Kiriya and his actions the evening before. Determined to get up, she pushed herself towards the bathroom to freshen up.

Kahoko was dressing when her mother shouted from downstairs. "Kahoko, are you up yet? A friend of yours is here to see you!"

"Coming!" She almost ran downstairs thinking, who could be here today?? Can't be Mio or Nao, mum knows them. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, staring at her "friend". It was Kiriya.

"Good morning, Hino-san. Are you ready to go?" Kiriya enquired pleasantly.

"Y…Yes… I am ready to go. Thank you for picking me up, Etou-san." She passed him to wear her shoes. "Bye, Okaa-san! I will be home by evening." She said to her mother, who was standing there.

"Alright. Have fun!" Her mother gave her a wink.

She stared at her mother and sighed. "Kaa-chan, this is not a date---"

Her mother cut her off. "Oh, you don't have to explain to me!" Kahoko sighed in exasperation and exited the house.

"What exactly did you tell my mother??" Kahoko asked, once they were on the street. Kiriya looked at her and said, "Nothing much. I just told her that I was going to help you practice, and take you out after that."

"You WHAT??????????? How could you do that????" Kahoko almost screamed at him, losing her cool, not caring for the strange stares everyone gave her. Kiriya gave her a toothy grin and answered, "Well, I don't mind your company. I don't think you do much either, do you? Atleast that's what I believe after last evening."

She looked away from him, because she could feel her face heating up. He gave a low chuckle, after bending down and seeing her red face.

As they came to the crossing they halted. "Where are we going? I thought we are going to the park."

Kiriya answered, "We are going to my place. I am not going to take any responsibility for your novice playing if you play in that manner. After I hear you play and help you out, we will go to the park and you can play solo."

She winced internally at the ridicule, but said nothing.

………………………………………………..

Her eyes widened on seeing the apartment. It was beautifully furnished, with high ceilings, complete with a grand piano at one end of the living room.

"Let's go to the practice room." Kiriya led the way. "You have a practice room as well??" Kahoko squeaked out. Kiriya nodded. "That was one of the main reasons why my uncle bought this place. It's soundproof as well, so no one would be disturbed when and if I practice late into the night."

"I see…wait, you don't live with your parents??" Kahoko asked, noticing he omitted something. He suddenly grew stiff at her question. "No." he grew quiet after that and she didn't enquire any more, especially since he didn't want to elaborate.

The practice room had the same design as the living room, and it also had a grand piano at one end of the room.

"Let's start." Kiriya said, breaking Kahoko from her reverie. Kahoko nodded as she took her violin out and started playing Melodie.

As the bow drew across the violin, producing the first notes of the piece, Kahoko closed her eyes to concentrate. Kiriya kept his open to examine her playing stance. Her posture is correct…the hand should be a little more raised…her hands…they are so soft. He suddenly jerked himself awake from those thoughts. Dang! What the hell am I thinking? But yeah, she is damn beautiful, though I don't believe she realizes it as yet.

As she finished her piece, Kiriya nodded towards her. "It was quite good actually, but you need to raise your hand a bit more. Remember that the bridge of the violin should be parallel to the bow that is drawn across it. I think you missed the—uhm, 10th and the 16th beats, right?" he asked, now consulting the scorebook. Kahoko nodded. "No matter how hard I try I can never reach those bars right." She said dejectedly, looking at her violin.

"That's because you are putting too much pressure on the strings. And also you have to make the beginning sound a bit more grand. Let me show you…."

The next couple of hours was spent perfecting the piece. When she played the piece according to his instructions, it sounded beautiful. Kiriya gave her a wide grin, something that astonished her. "That was fast, Kahoko. Your playing may not be upto par, but you are surely a fast learner." She smiled back in return, not noticing that his breath caught in his throat just at the sight of her.

"Wanna grab some lunch? We can practice in the park after that." Kiriya asked her.

"Sure!" She replied happily.

………………………………………………

"That was really good! Thanks for the duet! Maybe we should play together some time, it would really be nice." Kahoko said happily to Kiriya, who was standing beside her, and who looked equally astonished by her words, if not more.

They were near the ocean, letting the cool waters wash their feet. It was almost sunset and it had been a long day. They had lunch at a nearby restaurant and Kiriya would not let her pay. Then he surprised her by doing a duet with her at the park.

Kahoko looked out into the evening ocean, the sunset bathing it in hues of orange. She looks so happy…Kiriya thought to himself. He then rubbed his neck and began, looking out into the ocean, "I was five when she died."

Kahoko looked at him questioningly, and then she understood what he was talking about. His mother. "She was a violinist, like me. In fact, she was my first teacher. Her music was always heartfelt, something I craved to achieve. But her death made it hard for me. My father, out of depression, started drinking. One night he was heavily drunk and was coming home, when a truck hit his car. He died instantly. That's when Uncle Akihiko took me in. I continue to practice mostly because I feel it keeps me closer to my mom." He smiled at her wearily.

She looked away, tears blurring her vision. Here he is, having lost BOTH his parents, but still practicing the violin… yet still I cannot make myself play the piano without having painful memories back.

Her musings were cut short as he slowly rubbed the tears off her cheek, and ruffled her hair. "Hey, it hurts I know, but I am not crying, why are you…"

He stopped mid-sentence, realizing suddenly that he had awoken some painful memories in her, when she looked up at him. Then she smiled at him.

"You are really brave, Etou-san. You remind me of my dad. I used to play the piano when I was younger, and he was my teacher. When he died, I really could not take the flow of emotions and I stopped playing. Mostly because the memories hurt a lot, and I was a kid. My sister tells me 'face your fears', but it is easier said than done. But I tried playing it the other day. I have to admit, it felt really good. Even though I love the violin more." She smiled on seeing his astonished look.

"Don't tell please. I don't want to give people reasons because that is a closed chapter for me and I want to move on." She looked at him pleadingly, and he smiled at her, silently promising to keep her secret.

"So what was your mother's favourite piece?" She asked, smiling back at him.

"'s Salut D'Amour. It's an easy piece but I really like it…hey what are you doing??" Kiriya asked, seeing Kahoko walk back from the ocean and open her violin case. "Want to play a duet?" She asked, getting into position. Kiriya was baffled by her request, but then smiled at her. "Sure." He replied.

As the notes started emanating from the gentle touches of the bows on the violins, a beautiful music was created. Every note seemed as clear as crystal, one could feel the notes as they heard it. When they both finished, they were greeted by the sound of applause from the crowd that gathered to hear them. Both of them bowed together, and Kahoko smiled warmly at him.

Unable to resist any longer, Kiriya tilted her chin up and bent down to capture her smile in his lips, shocking her in the process.

Unbeknownst to both of them, one guy, whom they both knew very well, stood clenching his fist, staring at the kissing couple.

Author's note: Whew! Chapter no. 7 complete! As many of you readers may have realized, this fanfic is nearing it's end. I have not decided upon how many more chapters I will be writing, but it will not be more than two. I put up a poll on my profile page, which asks whether you want an epilogue to this story or not. So please vote and lemme know your wishes. About this chappie, I was completely influenced by the latest chapters of the manga, so I added my little touch to it. Etou's character is nice, a little shady so he seemed perfect to be introduced here. About the music,Salut d'Amour, Opus 12, is a musical work composed byEdward Elgarin 1888, originally written for violin and piano. He composed it as an engagement present for Alice Roberts, to whom he was engaged and originally named it 'Liebesgruss', which means 'Love's Greeting' in German. Personally, it is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have heard till date. After reading, press the big green button and type a few words about the story and your opinion on it. Happy reading!!