Chapter 6 (Yuiren)

Footsteps echoed off the walls of the long, deserted hallway as the evening sun began to set outside the windows. The school was growing quieter, not that this particular corner of it was very loud to begin with. Yuiren sighed contentedly – by some stroke of good fortune, she'd been blessed with a room that was far from the busier parts of Saotome Academy, and for that she was grateful, not being much of one for noise. There was, after all, plenty of that at home.

To say she didn't miss her family though, after a week here, would be a lie. She had been one of many for a long time, and now she was on her own. She was actually a little homesick, especially for her sister Hikari, and even the furry stowaway she'd found stuffed into her bag didn't do much to ease the pangs.

Well, at least her first week had been relatively quiet. She'd heard about the bullying incidents against Hijirikawa Masato's fiancée (sorry, Hikari) and about the apparently haunted empty classrooms from which random shouts of "BARRELS!" and "NO NO NO NO SENORITAS EVERYWHERE!" had been sounding every day or so for the past week (after classes were over for the day), followed by bouts of maniacal, high-pitched cackles of laughter.

And all Yuiren had to show for her first week was finding out she'd been placed in the B class, according to her entrance exam results, and a disappointment that was quickly turning into determination to claw her way up and out into a higher class. She might not have the talent for the S class (her brother would have had, though) but she was sure that she herself could and would make it into the A class at least.

There was just the one chance – the audition exams, which were supposed to be a surprise in the coming week, but which somehow the whole school was buzzing about. And Yuiren was determined to ace them.

It was a good thing she heard more things when she was being quiet than people realized she did.

Reaching into her bag for her keys – the cute skirt she'd chosen to wear today was not exactly convenient when it came to things like pockets – Yuiren opened her room door, and smiled as she spotted the head of long purple hair slumped over a pile of books on the writing desk inside.

Oh yes, how could she have forgotten her roommate? That had been a sufficient example of culture shock when she'd first arrived and settled down in her room…

Upon arrival, she'd entered without knocking, and had been startled to find her roommate already inside and in the middle of changing, shirt held high overhead as they stripped. Yuiren had brothers, she knew what girls her age were supposed to have and not have, and no amount of stunted growth could explain the …. flatness… of the chest she saw. Shock had widened her eyes and made her drop her things, and suddenly her roommate noticed her, noticed what she had noticed, and she'd been dragged into the room before a closing door and pinned against the wall by a very hard, very malebody.

Well, at least if you looked up close.

Right now, even in sweatpants and a loose-old shirt, her roommate looked very feminine with a slender body and delicate features, with even a smattering of makeup on her face. And of course, the long light purple hair that reached down to her back, even longer than Yuiren's own shoulder-length black locks (this week, her highlights were green, just because).

Quietly, Yuiren entered the room. Even after a week, and even though it felt like they were slowly adjusting to each other, she still remembered her first meeting with Horikawa Jun and was appropriately cautious.

- "Y-you're an… otoko!" Yuiren had barely been able to splutter the words, since Jun had an arm across her throat, choking her. "Who are you and why are you in my room?"

"Because, sweetheart," Jun had drawled, with the faintest trace of a Kansai accent, "This is my room too. I'm yer new roomie. Surprise."

"But -"

"Look, this ain't exactly the way I wanted to meet ya, okay?" Jun's brow furrowed, the first sign of actual agitation appearing in his fierce amber eyes. "You weren't supposed to know – nobody's supposed to know I'm a guy. The idea is that Horikawa Jun is a girl who wants to be an idol and that's the end of it. Y'see…"

Yuiren had started to choke, and startled, Jun released her, and Yuiren had slid down the wall in shock, one hand clutching her neck.

First day in a new school and she almost got throttled, go figure. –

But Jun had explained everything to her later.

- "I wanna be like Tsukimiya Ringo," he explained, sitting on his bed, finally with a new shirt on. "'The very picture of a maiden!' - It's my secret dream… but my whole life I've had this tough guy image and no agent I approached would take me on. So I came here. I dressed up in my sister's extra clothing and enrolled, and I passed as Horikawa Jun, female idol-course student. And I figure… maybe this way I can make it. I've never gotten this close to seeing my dream become my reality." –

Yuiren had been secretly impressed – and maybe a little touched – by Jun's story, and had readily agreed to keep his secret for him… if he kept hers for her. And so the trade-off had been made, and she had found that even though he was a guy – and apparently, strangely straight – he was a gentleman in every sense of the word.

But in fact, sometimes Jun was more feminine than she was. He had more makeup than her, for example, and when she caught him practicing his dance for the upcoming audition exam, she was floored by just how good a dancer he was. And when he'd spotted her wardrobe – keeping his promise and saying nothing about the Starish poster she'd hidden right inside the door, nor the old teddy bear hidden at the bottom corner – he'd cooed over her skirts and accessories and even asked if he could borrow some stuff.

So yes, they had found a relationship that worked… even if things were still a little weird, having a guy who looked like a girl for a roommate.

But things could have been worse, so Yuiren took what came with her usual adaptability.

Jun woke up suddenly, just as she was putting her things away.

"Oh, hey cutie," he greeted sleepily. "Okaeri."

"Tadaima," she answered carefully. "Homework?"

"Uh-huh." He yawned again, covering his mouth in a delicate motion. "Oh hey, I didn't know ya had such famous friends, cutie."

Yuiren glanced at him in confusion. "I don't know anyone here," she pointed out.

"Knew ya had the poster, but had no idea you knew hotties like Ichinose Tokiya."

Suddenly more awake, Jun sat up a little to grin at her, pushing his hair out of the way behind his shoulder.

Yuiren gaped at him in a very unladylike manner, and the cross dresser giggled.

"Anyway, he came looking for you earlier. Didn't say why," he anticipated her next question, and waved her towards her own study desk, where he'd stuck a note written on scented, flowery-print note paper. "Just asked if you'd meet him tomorrow, by the fountain, before classes start."

And then, with an even bigger grin, he ended, "And he didn't notice I weren't a girl!"

Leaving her roommate to chuckle quietly to himself, Yuiren resisted the urge to roll her eyes and went to retrieve her message.

Ichinose Tokiya, of Starish, wanted to meet her?

Why? And how did he even know her?

She set off the next morning to find out. It wasn't known as the land of the rising sun for nothing – the sun was just rising when she woke up, and she walked down to the fountain wrapped in its gentle glow. The sun glinted off the dolphin pendant at her throat, as well as the silver charm bracelet she wore around her left wrist. Today she had to wear the school uniform, but her ribbon was slightly loose and she'd chosen some simple hair accessories – green, to match her highlights.

For some reason, she started getting nervous, the closer she got to the fountain. She could see a tall figure waiting there, silhouetted behind the dancing water, and a shorter one sitting beside him. Even though it was just his shadow, she recognized his dark blue hair. Her heartbeat sped up, and she fought the urge to blush - and why was there suddenly so much saliva in her mouth? – before taking a deep breath, swallowing, and rounding the corner.

Oh wow. It really was Ichinose Tokiya, and next to him was a reddish-orange haired girl she did not know.

"S-senpai?" She greeted him hesitantly, stuttering a little and executing a polite bow. "Ohayou gozaimasu! Er… you asked me to meet you here…?"

The tall teen turned to her, and she was surprised to see his lips curve into a small smile.

"Ohayou," he greeted her. "There's no need for formality between us, right?"

At her look of confusion, he frowned. "Sukunami Yuiren… you remember me, don't you? I used to come over to your house and play with you and your brothers… we were childhood friends?"

They were…?

Yuiren's eyes suddenly widened in recognition, and her hand flew to her open mouth as she stared at Tokiya, who suddenly looked uncertain. The girl had gotten to her feet beside him, and she went to stand by his side, reaching out to hold his arm as she too, watched Yuiren.

"You're… Oh my goodness, Tokiya-kun? No way!"

There had been a little boy she and her brother had used to play with, as kids, but that had been so very long ago, when they were in kindergarten. The boy had lived near them, and he was closer to their older brother Teru because they were the same age. They'd lost contact after he'd moved away with his family, and Yuiren rarely thought of him except when she thought of her childhood… and since her brother's death, she tried not to do that anymore, because it still hurt.

Tokiya slipped his arm around the girl's shoulders and drew her to his side. "This is my friend, Starish's composer, Nanami Haruka," he introduced.

Automatically, still a little shell-shocked, Yuiren bowed to the girl slightly. "It's nice to meet you."

"You, too," she replied, with a smile that lit up her stunning yellow-green eyes. "Ichinose-san was surprised to learn his childhood friend's sister was coming here to study… he told me you used to be close."

"I… he played more with my brothers back then," Yuiren answered honestly. "But.. he moved away, and we lost touch…"

"Oh, I kept in touch with your brother," Tokiya explained. "Yasuo-kun was better than Teru at replying emails and we managed to remain friends. I was shocked to hear what happened to him…"

Yuiren's world went on pause, and she swallowed deeply.

No. No, he mustn't. She had come this far, she had climbed this far out of the pit of desolation and grief, the pit that she had been locked in since the funeral, the pit of sorrow that had encaged her in her home for so long – he mustn't remind her of her brother!

She didn't want to fall back in…

"Yasuo-kun was a friend," Tokiya went on. "I just thought, if his sister's here… Well, if you need any help, you can come to me or Nanami at any time and we'll help in any way we can… hey, are you okay?"

"Daijoubu?" Haruka put in, and Yuiren glanced at her pale reflection in the water before turning back to them and nodding.

"I… daijoubu," she answered, weakly. "Demo… I… after my brother's… after he… I couldn't cope. I can't… I just can't. Senpai," she turned to address Tokiya. "Thank you for your offer. It's good to see you again."

And then, unable to bear it any longer, she bowed to them both hurriedly and turned to leave. Her feet took her to the music rooms – she no longer felt able to attend breakfast – where she flung herself into the first empty room she found and slammed the door shut behind her. Again, her heartbeat had turned frantic, panicky, as memories swamped her and a sudden surge of resurfacing grief threatened to overwhelm her once again, drowning her in darkness.

It wasn't that she couldn't think of Yasuo. It was that it hurt to remember…

Shutting her eyes lest the tears come, she mindlessly began to move around the room, her fingers flying over any surface she encountered – the desk, a cupboard, a wall, the piano… and then she felt wood, and a familiarly-shaped object, and she seized it the way a drowning person would a life ring.

Was this… Was it…

The burning behind her eyes slowed, and when she was reasonably certain she wasn't going to bawl, she slowly opened her eyes… and smiled.

A violin. The music rooms had many instruments for students to use, and this was one of them. Yes. The wood felt smooth and cool and reassuring in her hand, and not wanting to think anymore, she lifted the instrument into position, took up the bow, and gently coaxed it to sing.

Lost in her music, Yuiren lost track of time, of place, of everything but the songs, and the comfort they brought to her still-aching heart. Her soul was frayed at the edges, ripped in half, but the music was a balm to her wounds, and it soothed her the way nothing and no one else had been able to since her brother had died. They plugged up her memories and helped her not to think or feel. Peace filled her as she played, for who knew how long, and eventually, she returned to herself, and became aware that the sun was now high in the sky, and she was no longer alone.

A boy with flaming red hair was sitting in the window seat nearest the piano, and he had his eyes closed, listening. When the music stopped, he opened his eyes, revealing a gaze as red as his hair.

Yuiren hesitated, uncertain, but he turned a huge grin on her and exclaimed, "That was really good! You play really well!"

She wasn't sure how to react, still a little lost, but eventually she smiled and bowed. "Arigatou gozaimasu, senpai."

He didn't know her, but she saw his face on her poster every morning. This was…

"I'm Ittoki Otoya!" he introduced himself unnecessarily, and Yuiren blushed.

"I know," she responded simply, and smiled. "I'm Sukunami Yuiren." She started to bow, then winced as her shoulders protested.

The boy nodded sympathetically at her. "You've been playing in here for hours," he informed her. "I came in ages ago, but you didn't even notice. Didn't wanna disturb you, so I just sat down and listened. Your teacher was looking for you, he came in, too, but he decided to leave you be. You were, uh, crying a little. While you were playing."

Yuiren dipped her head. Oh. Belatedly she felt the stickiness of tear tracks on her cheeks and wiped at them with the back of her hand. "Oh," she said, softly. "I'm sorry."

He blinked at her, then shook his head with an unexpectedly gentle smile. "Sorry? Nah. You don't have to apologize for being sad."

It was the first time anyone had ever told her that. Surprised, Yuiren looked up at him, but he simply grinned again and got to his feet, dusting off his school pants.

"Look, if you ever need… you know, to talk, or a friend to listen to you, you can come find me," he said, in an open, friendly manner that brought a tendril of warmth to touch Yuiren's heart. "Or if you ever need it, I sure won't mind being an audience for your music. You're amazing with that," and he nodded to the violin she was still holding lovingly in her hands. "I'll be around. My friends and I, we have a group, but we still have lessons and practice here. Just ask around for Ittoki, and you'll find me."

He headed for the door. "I have dance practice, so I have to go, but – whatever was troubling you, don't let it get you down, eh? And I recommend apologizing to Kyo-sensei for skipping class – he's a nice guy, he'll understand. Ja ne!"

Unable to help herself, she waved as he left, and lowered her hand slowly once he was gone. Setting the violin back in its place, she slowly sat down at the piano seat … and smiled.

Ittoki-senpai's burst of enthusiasm, exuberance and cheerfulness was infectious… and it seemed that it had been just what she needed. The darkness had been creeping up on her - she had felt it, and before, only her music had been able to keep it at bay. But now…

But it made sense. Like the sunlight pushed the darkness aside, Ittoki had helped shine a bright ray into her, and now her heart was light. And though the darkness lurked still, she felt that she could climb out of the pit again and face another day.

Looking out past the open door, she smiled again, fingering her pendant, and whispered, "Arigatou, senpai."

Author's Note: Ahhh! Yuiren's cheesy ending! Thanks to Clover for the recent review on the last chapter. Please stay tuned and R&R if you have a heart everyone. ^^

Disclaimer: All of Miki's gaming moments has references to PewDiePie. He's awesome. Go watch. Do it. Now. By the way, we don't own.