Author's Note: Just a quick clarification (since it may not be apparent), this chapter takes place the school day (Monday?) after the previous one.
Azuma Yunoki was a study in contradictions. It was expected of him to be perfect, flawless, and gentlemanly. It was expected of him to succeed in everything that he attempted. It was expected of him to carry his family's name proudly, and to add to their honor and pristine reputation. At the same time, however, he was to remember his place. He is the third son, and thus not allowed to surpass his elder brothers. He must be completely submissive and obedient to his elders. He must not deviate from the plan.
To be perfectly honest, it made Yunoki laugh. Because underneath it all, he was a teenage boy. And that small detail was something that everyone seemed to forget.
Living up to his reputation had taken a toll in quite a few areas, and Yunoki needed release. Sure there was music, there was always music, but that wasn't something that belonged solely to him anymore. His had been forbidden from playing the piano, so he had taken up flute, but his skill and competitive nature had quickly thrust him back into the spotlight. Not that he minded, of course. That was how it had always been.
But what Yunoki was aching for was control. If he couldn't have a say in his own life, he wanted to have power over someone else's. He wanted to be important not because he had followed directions, but because he had set them.
But again, he was just a teenage boy. A high school student. There weren't very many options available.
One of the things that people didn't know about Yunoki was that he had an excellent imagination. Observers might believe that he already lived a perfect life, that he already floated around in a cloud of fantasy, but they were wrong. Yunoki was trapped within a box, weighed down by the burden of reputation of family and social responsibility and all of the nonsense that had him smiling and laughing and always being so polite and kind and, well, perfect.
But like any other boy his age, Yunoki had seen things, read things, tried things. He'd done what any other boy with more than enough hormones and just enough curiosity did. What he didn't appreciate was the feeling of shame that followed the relief of self-satisfaction. He felt debased. He was cut from better cloth than this. It was cowardly and shameful, wasn't it, to sit alone in his room, seeking pleasure?
Didn't he deserve to have someone else provide him with this?
But who? Hiring something was almost worse, and the idea of getting a girlfriend made him feel faintly sick. He tried to imagine any one of his "fans" in that position. They would be submissive and obedient, alright, but where was the fun in that? Not to mention how quickly the news would leak out. They would be more than eager to brag to their friends. It wasn't worth the emotional investment.
So what were his options?
Walking down the hallway, Yunoki laughed at something that Hihara had said. He covered his mouth with his hand in a gesture that seemed shy, hiding the smile that was supposedly the result of Hihara's joke, but in reality was because of the girl whose eye he'd managed to catch.
Fifteen feet away, Kahoko Hino froze in her tracks, her face turning red. Her abrupt stop caused a small upset in the hall traffic as a group of music students collided with her, knocking Kahoko's books to the ground. Yunoki turned away, saying something teasing to Hihara.
Yunoki had hated Kahoko from the moment he'd first laid eyes on her at the Concours. She was unqualified, undeserving of the privilege of participation. She was a general education student for goodness' sake! It was obvious from her form on stage that she had no idea what she was doing. She was a walking disaster. But despite all of that, she made beautiful music. Simple and unrefined, yes, but its effect on the audience was obvious.
There was something about her that set Yunoki's teeth on edge.
So when disaster struck, when she broke a string on stage and suffered from shock or nerves or amnesia or whatever it was that reduced what talent she had to nothing, Yunoki felt slightly elated. Not because she was making a fool out of herself onstage (though that certainly was an added bonus), but because he had gotten a glimpse into her character.
She acted sweet and innocent, but she was hiding something. And she was terrified that someone would find out. This, in Yunoki's mind, made her a perfect candidate for his attention.
Yunoki watched discreetly as Kahoko bent down and picked up her belongings, noting how the crowd in the hallway ignored her, walking past without offering assistance. A small part of him wanted to go help, but he remembered his place. He remembered that what he needed, above all else, was a sense of discretion in this matter.
Yunoki had gladly watched Kahoko Hino fall apart onstage because he realized that she was the solution to his problem. She didn't fawn over him the way the others did. She went largely unrecognized (or at least underappreciated and unrespected) by the musicians of the school. And she was pretty. Perhaps not beautiful, but nice enough on the eyes.
Yunoki excused himself from Hihara and turned and walked in the opposite direction, needing to step outside for some air.
He had to admit that this train of thought made him sound like some sort of sadist or criminal. But that wasn't the case at all. He wasn't planning on hurting her.
He just wanted a diversion from his everyday life.