Chapter 7 (Aria)
It had been three weeks since her fall down the stairway and Aria was pleased to note her wound had healed satisfactorily. Peeling the itchy band-aid off her nail, the celeste-hair sighed with flooding relief. Masato had bothered her enough about it over the past couple of weeks.
"I don't need you tagging along with me everywhere, you know," she'd reasoned one afternoon when they were on their way to the roof to have lunch. It was the one spot obscure enough, as far as Aria could fathom, and so she had made it her designated lunch area; at least until gossip died down. The celeste-hair had gotten so many eyes on her lately thanks to the circulating rumors—'facts', she scoffed—of their engagement it was disconcerting. The last thing Aria wanted was to be known for who she was 'seeing'.
"After you gave Jii the slip?" Came her fiancé's fancy retort. "I don't think so. Your father asked that I keep you close and I intend to fulfill his request."
The blue-hair turned to her, leaning his back against the railings and balusters positioned on sight to save any suicidal misfits from getting the wrong idea. Aria factored how the railings extended far above her in height and the balusters were too near-distanced one had to be a cat to wriggle through the skinny nooks. She sighed as the Hijirikawa scion eyed her with subdued challenge, daring her to protest yet again as he bit into his melon bread while managing to look cool and reserved as always.
Aria rolled her eyes at him—oh her poker-faced sweetheart—but left the argument to rest knowing he would not budge on the decision. She settled next to him then, digging into her own lunch.
Jii, Masato's ever-faithful personal butler, had tailed her those first few days after her 'accident', much to her chagrin. It was weird, having the older man shadow her every move due to her fiancé's preoccupation with her safety. She had asked nicely of him to stop and had approached Masato himself when it became only too clear Jii was not about to leave her alone. Her idol fiancé had refused her reasoning of course; that the girls had (surprisingly) apologized and Ren was confident they wouldn't try anything new. And so, Aria had promptly put her long legs to use, outrunning the older man so bad for the rest of the week Masato had been forced to relieve the poor soul and take her on himself.
The Ichijo heiress couldn't say she was particularly thrilled with that solution at first but soon found herself at ease with her fiancé's constant company. For a start, they had many things in common—the socialite family background, riches beyond the ordinary, parents who cared more for their careers than their children, the list went on. Also, it helped that he wasn't exactly sex-on-legs.
"What does the Principal want?" She changed tactics, figuring she'd ignore the matter of her stolen privacy.
"You know what," Masato replied nonchalant, then taking a sip of his chocolate milk, the only type of milk he could apparently stomach. Aria could not contain her disdained sigh. Owing to the school's non-ceasing gossip, they were in trouble with the Principal now. 'Darn non-dating rule'. Things were aggravated given Masato's status as a newly-debuted idol. Still…
"I don't think your father would let him expel me." And true to her suspicions, Shining Saotome had agreed to allow them to court in private as the Hijirikawa Group was the school's important client. The Ichijo Group's influence couldn't be denied either it seemed and the duo left his office with Aria feeling a weight lifted off her shoulders, knowing her idol dreams would see tomorrow.
"You are to abstain from all public displays of affection," she mimicked their wacko Principal's ostentatious tone when they were far enough and actually managed a laugh out of her usually stiff—'Gah, Ren!'—man.
Curiously, Aria noticed how attractive Masato seemed to her when he laughed, when he was happy. 'I can make him happy'. She blushed heatedly at the notion, immediately berating herself for such thoughts. She was with him because it was the only way her father would allow her to attend Saotome Gakuen and that was that. Besides, love wasn't an element to the idol dream. If Masato perceived her state he made no comment of it as he walked her back to her room and Aria was glad.
Tossing the useless band-aid into the bin, Aria made for the door as the bell signaling the end of morning classes rang aloud. It had been four days since her weirdly-appropriate musings regarding one Hijirikawa Masato after their meeting with the Principal and he'd mentioned wanting to officially introduce her to the rest of Starish during today's lunch.
True to his timely nature, Masato was waiting for her in the corridor outside S Class. He cast an acknowledging nod to Hyuuga-sensei before taking her by the arm and escorting her to their usual spot on the roof. On their way over, the celeste-hair couldn't help but mark his nervously combing his free hand through his hair and wondered what outrageous monstrosity she would be made to endure this lunch period.
The lively welcome had Aria baffled but appreciatively so. Ittoki Otoya and Shinomiya Natsuki were the first to greet her, both in extensive animated-ness she assumed was as much a part of them as it was their stage personas. Kurusu Syo was a little more down to earth though flared up immediately when she mentioned his being shorter than she originally anticipated, proffering cackles from nearly all present. Ichinose Tokiya stepped forth to shake her hand when the laughter died and it was then when Aria distinguished a female presence other than herself amongst the group.
"Nanami Haruka," she introduced, and Aria recognized the small girl as Starish's well-talked-about composer, the girl whose written music was said to possess such awe-inspiring strength and character all six members of Starish had initially wanted to be her solo idol star. Yes, Aria heard the tales.
"I…um…heard a lot about you…from…um…Hijirikawa-san…and Jinguji-san," rambled the shy carrot-top and Aria found her timid stature charming in its own way. The girl clearly found her resilience in her music if Starish's melodies were anything to go by. It was something Aria understood well.
Soon she grew interested as to what Masato and Ren had said about her. She eyed her fiancé from the corner of her scarlet vision and noted with amusement his patently nervous expression. The celeste-hair would have questioned him openly about it too if not for Ren sidling up beside her and fashioning a rose in her hair, declaring her the lady of the hour and drove her over to the spread of food laid out on the blanketed floor.
Before long, all eight of them were munching on the heavenly delights catered from one of the Jinguji restaurant establishments within the area. "Pasta!" Aria had chirped in excitement, bear-hugging Ren for remembering her favorites. He and the others laughed at her extravagant reaction before seating themselves and tucking into the Italian edibles.
The flow of conversation amused her. It was easy to pick out the differing personalities within the group and it occurred to the heiress how trying it must have been for the lot to come together under one name—Starish. She descried, on their own, their solo presences' were ample to make them each a 'somebody' in their own right but bring them together and it took their star power to an entirely new level. And suddenly Shining Saotome didn't seem like such a blundering idiot anymore.
"You're so cute when you eat, Syo-chan."
"Oi! Don't call a man 'cute', Natsuki!"
"Ah, Ochibi, just eat your food."
"Shut it, Ren!" Oh yes, they proved an intriguing bunch.
Through conversation Aria learned the majority of Starish had bugged Masato to no end about how his 'fair' fiancée's introduction had become unjustly late. The celeste-hair recalled her fiancé's nerves and cracked up at the comprehension that him finally caving had resulted in this…very interesting luncheon.
"Ne, Masa, how did you two meet?"
Aria observed the man by her side blanch at Otoya's question. The red-head, along with Syo, had offered her the privilege of addressing them by first name since she had asked everyone at the gathering to call her 'Aria' instead of 'Ichijo-san'. Years spent in Vienna had made her partial to being addressed so formally by friends. Not all the guys expressed readiness to call her by name however.
"Our fathers are business partners," she answered for him, puzzling over why her fiancé was still awfully uptight despite the fact her meeting with his group mates appeared to be moving along somewhat smoothly. She caught him looking across at Ichinose and Nanami for something and her concern began to swell. Nonetheless, the questions kept pouring.
"How long have you two known each other?"
"What's Hijirikawa's imouto think of her new sister-to-be?"
"Have you done it yet?" Aria glared razor-edged at Ren on that one and Masato stiffened beside her. She turned to him again and was once more confused to see his growing edginess and wayward glances in Nanami's direction.
"Yum! Good thing Haru-chan got Masa to finally introduce Ichijo-chan cause that lunch was amazing," voiced Shinomiya, setting down his empty plate. Aria put two and two together—his nerves as he pulled her along to have lunch with Starish and Nanami, his nervous expression when Nanami had introduced herself to her, the escalating intensity of his nervousness as the group phrased embarrassing questions at them over and over in front of…
The revelation hit like a brick. God he was introducing her to them because she had asked it of him, and all at once Aria couldn't take it.
She stood with a jolt, her plate and cutlery plummeting to the floor with a reasonably loud ping. Ignoring the startled looks mirroring the shock she knew must be evident on her features, the heiress made for the stairs in a flurry, tackling two at a time. She ignored the frantic calls of her name. It was his voice and she bore in mind it was getting louder.
Aria could have sworn she raged every negative emotion under the sun in that brief moment racing down the stairwell—Anger. Hurt. Grief. Disgust. Surprise. Betraya—she halted mid-step. 'Betrayal?' Why did she even feel that? Aria rubbed at her temple in detached bewilderment. He was using her. She knew that. Heck she was using him too. 'So why…?'
"Aria! Wait!" Masato yelled, coming to a panting stop several steps above as she struggled to come to terms with the rational behind the way she felt about all this.
"You like her," she deigned, the pain in her own voice astonishing her more than she was willing to admit as she turned to face him.
Aria didn't know why but she wanted to see it, to see the truth come apart at the seams at her statement and there it was, reflected in his purple eyes—the shock of her knowing, the deep affection he had for the Starish composer, the torment of its unrequited-ness and the despair of his loss. And for the first time in forever Aria knew that the man who stood before her was Hijirikawa Masato at his most raw.
"I knew you had your reasons," she began, hating the tremor in her voice. "But to think it was this…"
She'd captured snippets of his 'unbecoming' over the past weeks. She'd learned to read him, the constant by her side, but this…
"Aria…"
…this 'lost boy' standing before her, whose feelings and emotions were so bare she could not mistake them…
"Why Masa?"
…was new. "She didn't choose me." And it unnerved her that he was so in love with Nanami Haruka that he dared to use her like this.
"So that's it—I'm your stupid fallback girl."
"Aria, that's—"
"You say you have no desire to marry me so what's with this arrangement, Masato? Am I some…some tool to make her jealous? So you can win her heart from Ichinose-kun?"
"That's not true!" 'Lies!'
"Then what is?" But he refused to tell her.
Masato shook his head fervently. "Why are you even angry? You don't want this engagement either!" He brandished and Aria faltered. He had stumped her there.
Why was she angry? Why was she hurt?
But even as she thought it Aria was beginning to see her emotions for what they were—she was starting to accept it, their engagement, and it dawned on her that while she hadn't calculated a relationship with him into her life she had grown fond of his companionship these past weeks. In her eyes Masato had become her best-friend figure. She recalled the bullying incident, the gossip, the group's interrogation on the roof, everything they had braved together in spite of the short span of their reunion and how he was always by her side. She had become accustomed to being called his girl…but what had he done…
"You insult me," Aria blurted before she knew. Masato seemed pained by her words but she was beyond care. He opened his mouth to say something but shut it again, then renewing his effort and failed when the booming voice of Shining Saotome invaded their exchange through the school PA system.
"Good morning, minna-san," the Principal announced in his usual ostentatious tone and Aria didn't know whether to be grateful or annoyed by his interruption. "Saa, I trust everyone is having a very good lunch break. So good they won't mind the mid-semester exams next week."
Aria heard muted cries of disbelief from below and then some. So it seemed not all students were tuned into the school's eclectic grapevine.
"Moan all you want minna-tachi but the exams shall threaten to eat you all alive unless you start prepping for it, baby! Class senseis will be handing out Briefs after lunch, which reminds me, lunch period is over so shimmy on back to class. Mwahahahah!" And the speech ended before 'Owing to Love' came on the school radio. A distraction, but one Aria found resonate with her idol dreams and she calmed, suddenly knowing what to do.
The heiress glared daggers at her fiancé as he refused eye contact before breathing deep, relenting. Aria knew a little of how the exam process worked. It would serve as a platform for her, because just like Nanami Haruka, Aria conveyed herself best through music.
"You'll be there to watch me I assume."
"Yes," he murmured, though she didn't need his confirmation. Aria left him to his thoughts on the stairs, determined to get back to class.
Honest to god she didn't know why he agreed to their engagement if he was still pining for another girl, especially since he wasn't even making an effort to get over Nanami, if that had ever been his aim. Sure he'd made it clear the night of their Miai that he had no intention of marrying her and she had been glad by the mutuality of their desires. But still, such weak reasoning—it was no excuse for having played her like a fool…
Aria seethed with anger and confusion. Her emotions were in turmoil but she knew she would soon have the chance to vent those chaotic feelings constructively. Oh she was going to sing it for the world. Indeed, Aria was going to set fire to the rain.
Author's Note: Oh-oh! Trouble in paradise? Please R&R if you love Utapri!