I'm so sorry! I was totally on hiatus for more than a year! I actually forgot that I saved this chapter on my laptop and when I browsed through my documents to delete unimportant files, I found this! Well, thank you for my readers who still waited and here is a quite long chapter for all of you!
Disclaimer: I do not own OHHC. I only have the rights to my plot and original characters
P.S. This chapter may be a bit long because this chapter presents an important part of Setsuko's past.
Staring absentmindedly at the passing sceneries from the car's tinted window, Setsuko sighed as she placed a free hand underneath her chin and let her chin rest around it.
'It's been a long time since I went back to Ouran' she thought to herself.
She was a student of Ouran every since she was in her kindergarten and it suddenly came as a shock to everyone when she decided to drop out during the end of the semester on her last year in middle school.
She sighed again and closed her eyes as she rolled down the car's window to feel the fresh breeze of the early autumn wind on her face. The sound of crunchy yellow orange leaves falling along the pavement of the quiet rode they were driving in as well as the occasional chirps of birds that were perched on the branches of the trees lining the road pavement instantly brought her back to that time.
'Yes, it was this time of the year.'
'It was in the early autumn season when I felt something I never thought I would ever feel…'
'It was this time when I met him….'
(3 years ago)
The sign of autumn was slowly but surely coming around as the breeze was getting chillier and the once lush green leaves of the trees turning into yellows, oranges and brown. The students of Ouran academy were bustling around as usual, talking about the recent rise in the stock market, bragging about the increase in shares, predicting on whose business will soon go bankrupt, shrieking over the latest autumn/winter collections that designer brands recently released…. It was just a typical day.
However, what Setsuko thought to be typical turns out to be the total opposite.
As she was walking down the grand hallways of Ouran Academy, she was stopped by group of girls of whom she recognized where part of the ballet club.
"Fujiwara-san, did you hear the latest news?!" one of the girls in the group exclaimed towards her.
Setsuko lightly raised her brow in irritation. She wasn't one for gossips and if god forbids that this one is one of those…
She made her way towards them nonetheless, for the sake of obligation.
"A new student will be coming to Ouran!" the blonde girl from the group exclaimed with a high pitched voice.
A new student… Neither surprising nor something to be excited about. He or she will just be another rich brat from some wealthy family. Another arrogant kid who will be walking down the same hallways she was walking on.
However it came as a surprise to her when a ginger haired girl added.
"Not just any new student! A scholarship student! I heard that he or she was accepted through the dance scholarship program!"
A scholarship student from the dance scholarship program? It must be some quite a feat for the dance scholarship program was hard to claim.
'It is certainly interesting….'
(Fastforward)
The members of the ballet club were left to practice on their own until Madame Eleanor, their ballet instructor returns with the new scholarship student. They were practicing together with their satin pointe shoes to the music of their complex ballet routine. Well, except for one person….
"Why does she get the special treatment?!"
"Just look at her stuck up face! If her father wasn't my father's business partner, I would love to ruin that arrogant face of hers!"
"Honestly, she's nothing like her angelic sister at all! Just look at Setsuna-chan, she's so sweet and humble yet that harpy sister of hers takes all the credit!"
Harsh whispers from the ballet dancers circled around the room as one lone dancer was practicing a different, more difficult and advanced routine at the edge of the room opposite to where the other dancers were practicing.
Setsuko ignored all of the comments and insults directed at her as she continued to practice with grace and preciseness that made her the object of envy among the girls at the ballet club.
"How could she continue with a straight face like that when she just get treated special because she's Madame Eleanor's favourite?!"
"Yes, just the same as always. The backdoor girl! I heard she won the International Ballet Competition last month because one of the judges was her mother's colleague!"
"Wow, talk about shameless…"
Suddenly, the music of their routine stopped, the only noise being heard were that of the dancer's chatter and the music of Setsuko's different routine.
"Would all of you please stop saying such harsh things to my sister!" a female's voice exclaimed and all of them turned towards the blonde haired and hazel eyed female standing by the side of the cassette.
"Setsuna-chan…."
The girl, a first year in middle school glared at her fellow ballet dancers as she went towards the direction of her older sister, a second year in middle school who nonchalantly continued through her dance routine not noting any of the previous biting comments made by the girls in the troupe, as if she was in her own little world.
"Setsuko onee-san, don't take their comments to heart. You really are a talented dancer and they just envy you for your talent." Setsuna said to her sister with a sweet, understanding voice. She looked towards Setsuko with a soft gaze and gave her older sister an angelic smile.
Setsuko returned her younger sister gaze once with her cold periwinkle eyes but never stopped dancing.
Setsuna slightly lowered her gaze and bit her lip in sadness at her sister's cold gaze on her but her sweet smile returned nonetheless as she placed her hand on her sister's arm in a caring way.
"Onee-san, no matter what anyone says, I always believe in you." She spoke once again in her soothing voice.
"How gentle and kind Setsuna-chan is…"
"She's practically an angel for putting up with her sister's distasteful attitude.."
Comments on how kind and gentle Setsuna is filled the dance room as compared to the previous stabbing ones directed to her older sister.
Finally, the music of Setsuko's routine came to a stop. She then turned her direction towards her sister who was looking at her with tender-filled sisterly gaze. Her periwinkle ones which she inherited from her mother never wavered a bit as she looked at her sister with the usual emotionless gaze.
"Onee-san…"
"Shut it, Setsuna."
Her cold voice as well as her equally cold reply rang through the walls of the painfully silent dance room. The dancers' eyes widened at the harsh display of Setsuko in return to Setsuna's comforting words.
"Setsuko onee-san…" Setsuna muttered as she stared, wide eyed at her sister's short but sharp reply.
"All of you know that practice is essential especially for the upcoming performance at the annual Autumn Performing Arts Presentation. If you have time to waste as to dilly dally and squabble like a bunch of buffoons, use that time to practice your routine before you make a fool out of yourselves in front of the school's chairman and board of directors." Setsuko sharply stated to the dancers and went towards the direction of the cassette playing the dancer's routine and pressed the resume button.
The dancers all stood in astonishment at Setsuko as they kept all of their harsh comments to their selves in sympathy to Setsuna who was looking down at her satin pointe shoes, looking as though she was using all of her willpower to stop tears from flowing down her round, hazel eyes.
"Onee-san, why are you always so cold to me?" Setsuna whispered in a soft, melancholic voice as a single tear escaped from her eye and dripped down her cheek. Biting her lip in sadness and resignation, she went back towards the other ballet dancers who resumed their dance routine.
A few minutes later, Madame Eleanor went back to the dance studio with a handsome guy with slightly long light blue hair bordering to white that is approximately an inch pass his shoulders, accompanying his soft light blue hair was a set of enchanting cerulean blue eyes framed by thick lashes. His looks were handsome, not a hot and macho type of handsome but an androgynous type of handsome almost leaning feminine.
The female dancers and even some guys blushed at the sight of the female-like male standing in front of them.
"This is Yamamoto Kazuya-kun. He'll be part of our ballet club from now on." Madame Eleanor's sharp and elegant voice stated as she urged the new member of the troupe to introduce himself.
"Umm…. N-Nice to meet you, I-I'm Yamamoto Kazuya." He said with a shy, soft voice and bowed deeply towards his fellow dance members.
"How cute…. Is he the dance scholarship student?"
"I never thought it was a male. At least we have another guy in our troupe."
Madame Eleanor searched through her group of dancers and her eyes finally settled to her secretly favourite student, Setsuko.
"Setsuko-chan, come here for a second." Madame Eleanor said to her student who was quietly standing in the corner of the room where she held her individual practice.
"Hai." Setsuko replied and made her way towards her ballet instructor.
"As the principal dancer of the ballet club, I would like to entrust him to your care. Teach him the ropes and guide him to make his way easily around here." Madame Eleanor requested.
Setsuko slightly frowned. 'Great, another whining kid to babysit.' She thought to herself and grimaced at the fact that she would have to allot time from her precious practice in order to guide a seemingly socially awkward brat. However, she just signed in resignation knowing that there is no point in arguing with her ballet instructor.
"I understand." Setsuko replied and gave a cold gaze towards Kazuya whose eyes widened and his body tensed from the pressuring gaze of the principal dancer of Ouran's prestigious ballet club.
"Now, everyone I would like to discuss the performance regarding the annual Autumn Performing Arts Presentation. The performance by Ouran's ballet club is the highlight of the event so I would like everything to be absolutely perfect and impeccable. For this year, I would like to have "Anastasia" as our performance. All of you know the story of the grand duchess and her childhood friend, Dmitri, right? Therefore, there is no need for unnecessary explanations." Madame Eleanor stated.
"Oh! This sounds interesting! I thought for sure we would do Don Quixote!" a redhead girl exclaimed in surprise.
"Don Quixote might be too much for the event so I think Anastasia is quite appropriate." Setsuna said with a cheerful smile in contrast to her sister's stoic expression.
"Now, for the cast of the performance, I would like to have Yamamoto-kun as Dmitri. This will mark his first performance in Ouran so I would like to give him this opportunity. No arguments from the guys here, right?" Madame Eleanor asked and the male dancers shook their head. She then turned towards the ladies.
"Of course, for the part of Anastasia, I would like to give it to Setsuko-chan." She stated, her gaze directed towards the ballet prodigy.
"Eh? She gets the main role again?!"
"Didn't she also play the main role in Cendrillon last year?!"
"This isn't fair!"
The harsh hushed whisper of the female dancers towards his now mentor greeted Kazuya's ears for the first time. He looked at Setsuko with worry in his eyes but it seems like she's not bothered by one bit.
"Quiet! Now, since many of you disagree for Setsuko to be given the main role, I would do an audition for the other characters as well as for the part of Anastasia." Madame Eleanor exclaimed to the chattering girls.
Immediately the chatter quieted down with approving gazes from the other dancers.
"Now that that is settled, I would prepare an audition piece for the characters and by the end of the week, our characters should be finalized." Madame Eleanor said and with nods of approval from the dancers, the club activities ended and they were free to go home.
Kazuya watched as his fellow dancers made their way towards two dressing rooms adjacent to the dance studio to change back to their uniform. He took a glance at Setsuko and noticed that she went back to where she was when he first saw her.
He saw her do some stretches and Kazuya wondered if she wasn't going home yet.
"Umm…" he mumbled shyly towards his mentor.
Setsuko stopped stretching and turned to look at him. "What is it?"she asked with a sharp tone that made him slightly flinch.
"Aren't you going home?" he asked.
"What does it have to do with you?" she retorted with a cold voice that made Kazuya even more nervous around her presence.
"Well, it's just…." He was about to say something when a beautiful girl with straight blonde hair and cheerful amber eyes went towards them.
"Onee-san, it's time to go home. I notified our chauffer to wait for us by the entrance." The girl said in a sweet, soft voice.
'Eh? They are siblings?! But they look nothing alike!' Kazuya thought to himself in surprise as looked back and forth towards the two polar opposite siblings.
"Go home without me." Setsuko simply replied to her sister as she finished her stretching and went towards the cassette to play the music for her routine.
"But we don't get to go home together anymore. It's either you stay late practicing or you go home together with Kyouya-kun. Come on, we haven't spent time together in ages!" Setsuna pleaded to her sister with a childish pout that seemed adorable to Kazuya.
However, Setsuko paused for a moment to look at her sister and glared at her.
"Stop being such a brat, Setsuna." Setsuko said without any hint of warmth towards her younger sister who was asking for her company.
Setsuna's eyes widened a fraction but then she looked down and quietly bit her lip.
"I-I understand, Onee-san. I'm going ahead." Setsuna then turned around and walked away.
'That was harsh!' Kazuya thought and looked at Setsuko who proceeded as though nothing happened.
"So, what are you still doing here? Are you not going home too?" Setsuko asked without even glancing towards Kazuya.
"Eh? Umm… but you are my mentor and... and d-don't you think it's appropriate if we get to know each other?" Kazuya replied with a nervous smile.
Setsuko let out an exasperated sigh. "And how does being a mentor relate to getting to know each other. I just have to teach you the ropes and we are done. Now, will you quit disrupting me because I have had a fair share of people interrupting me today and I don't want to add you to the list. Now, go home!" she replied with a hint of annoyance.
Kazuya flinched at her harsh tone and bowed.
"Yes, I'm sorry for interrupting you."
He quickly made his way towards the door when he heard a moan of pain coming from Setsuko's direction. He turned around with a worried expression and found Setsuko sitting down the polished oak wood flooring, cradling her right ankle as if in pain.
"Are you alright, Setsuko-san?!" he rushed towards Setsuko's direction to know what the problem was but he was immediately swatted off.
"I told you to go home, didn't I?! Sto-"
Before Setsuko could even finish her sentence, Kazuya crouched down to her level and gently inspected Setsuko's right ankle.
"You sprained your ankle for quite some time now." He said, observing the purple looking bruise on her ankle.
Setsuko glared and looked away from Kazuya. "It's nothing that I can't manage." She replied and swatted off Kazuya's fingers that were inspecting her injury but they were in vain.
"How come you didn't say anything? My guess is that you probably sprained it yesterday because it's starting to form a bruise." Kazuya inquired worriedly. He looked at Setsuko with his kind cerulean eyes filled with worry.
"….."
Setsuko remained quiet and she finally looked at him directly. Kazuya's eyes widened for a second as he finally had a full view of Setsuko's enchanting periwinkle eyes.
At first, he thought they looked nothing but cold and unemotional but now that he have had the chance to finally look at them properly, there was something more that he could see aside from his earlier impression of them.
He didn't notice that he was quite shamelessly staring at her when Setsuko coughed to get his attention.
Immediately, Kazuya flinched in surprise and finally noticed that he was openly staring at his mentor and a pink blush slightly crept up his cheeks.
"Oh! I-I'm so sorry! I-I'll get some cold compress for you so wait a minute!" Kazuya dashed off before Setsuko could even protest.
Setsuko raised her eyebrows in curiosity at the weird behaviour of the new member and she looked down as she remembered his gaze on her.
'His eyes looked certainly pretty…' she thought to herself. Suddenly, her eyes widened in realization of what she had just thought and quickly exclaimed to herself to snap out of it.
Soon, Kazuya returned to the dance studio with a cold compress from the male's dressing room. He quietly made his way towards Setsuko and was about to place the compress on her injury when Setsuko stopped him.
"I can do it by myself." She stated indignantly.
"Please let me do it for you." Kazuya replied with a gentle tone and without further hesitation, pressed the cold compress to Setsuko's injury.
Setsuko flinched from the sudden feeling of coldness on her injury and Kazuya immediately apologized.
The two were quiet for a while without anyone uttering a single word when….
"Fujiwara Setsuko"
"Huh?" Kazuya looked towards Setsuko questioningly.
"Fujiwara Setsuko. That's my full name."
"Oh… W-Well I'm-" Kazuya was flustered by the sudden introduction of his mentor and was about to introduce himself back.
"Shut it. You already introduced yourself awhile back. You don't need to repeat yourself." Setsuko said with a sharp tone.
"Oh, okay…."
The awkward silence continued between the two of them until Kazuya gasped and dropped the compress.
"What's wrong?"
"W-Wait! You're THE Fujiwara Setsuko?! The youngest champion of the International Ballet Competition in Advanced Division?!" Kazuya exclaimed in shock.
"Huh? Yeah. What's the big deal?" Setsuko asked monotonously.
Kazuya was even more shocked that she treated it as if it was nothing.
"I never thought that you study at Ouran. So that's why you looked familiar when I first saw you…" he stated shyly. He then resumed on pressing the cold compress on Setsuko's injury and expected another round of awkward silence when….
"**Grumble**
It was the sound of stomach grumbling. He looked down but knew that it wasn't his so…
"Setsuko-san, are you hungry?" he asked his mentor whose eyes widened and immediately turned away from his gaze. Kazuya didn't know if it was just the sun's rays hitting on them but he made out a light pink flush across Setsuko's cheek.
'No, it's not the sun. She's blushing.' He thought to himself and smiled in amusement as he thought of how adorable her face is right now.
'Wait?! What am I thinking?!' he immediately chastised himself from even thinking that his mentor was cute when he remembered that he had some bar of chocolate on his bag.
Quickly getting his bag, he rummaged through it to find what he needed and handed it to Setsuko.
"Here. It's a bit soft now though and I know that you aren't really used to this commoner brand but I hope that this will suffice." He held out his family sized milk chocolate bar to her.
Setsuko stared at it for awhile and gave the chocolate a glare.
"You don't want it? I guess you really don't eat these type of convenience store bought chocolates"
"No, it's not that." Setsuko quickly replied to disperse the misunderstanding. She continued to glare at the chocolate in silence as if she's having a silent war with the sweet thing.
"That thing is worth 1200 calories and 100 grams of sugar. That's two hours worth of treadmill and an hour of crunches." She mumbled to herself but nonetheless, it was heard by Kazuya who wasn't expecting her comment at all and gave out a laugh.
"Hey! Who are you laughing at?!" Setsuko snapped towards him with a now obvious blush on her cheeks.
"No, it's nothing hahahha!" Kazuya laughed even harder and Setsuko bit her lip in frustration.
"Give me that!" she quickly snatched the chocolate from him and unwrapped it.
"I thought you didn't want it?" Kazuya asked, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes from the previous laughs he had awhile ago.
"I never said I didn't want it. I was simply stating that this is literally a bar of calories and sugar." Setsuko responded as she took her first bite of the slightly soft but not melted milk chocolate bar.
She sighed in bliss at the familiar sweetness of the chocolate and the creaminess of the milk.
Kazuya smiled at the expression of happiness portrayed by Setsuko.
"You look like you've never eaten chocolate before." He commented which made Setsuko look at him.
"I've never eaten one in almost a year."
"What? How is that possible?!"
Setsuko sighed and took a big bite of the chocolate.
"You see, maintaining a light weight is a key to a ballerina's success." She took another bite of the chocolate. "So, if it means sacrificing any of these heavenly treats then it's fine." Another bite.
"It sure is rough for female ballerinas" Kazuya commented and watched as Setsuko took another big bite of the chocolate.
"You'll see tomorrow. Come by the cafeteria and there is a set of menu strictly prepared for the ballet club. It's dreadful especially the ones for females. It's nothing but a bunch of leaves and grass." Setsuko replied.
"Oh, I doubt that I can even afford the food in here. Even the uniform is ridiculously expensive!" Kazuya exclaimed.
"Yeah, but the boy's uniform is better that what we wear. It's horrendous that I can't even bring myself to like it one bit." Setsuko replied in a humorous way.
Kazuya paused and stared at Setsuko who was busily munching on her chocolate with eyes glittering with contentment and a slight smile peeking through her lips.
He never thought she could look that way when he first saw her and even in the pictures he saw of her, she was always looking so stoic that one may mistake her for a wax figure instead of a person.
But now, seeing her soft gaze as she innocently devoured the chocolate, she seems like a completely different person. A warm and gentle person….
His heart thumped at the sight of the unusual expression of his mentor.
Right now, he would never even believe that she was the same person who looked so detached from her fellow dancers, the person who acted so coldly towards her own sister, the person who threw biting replies at him…
She just looked so different from what he saw earlier that it made him wonder if what he is seeing right now is the real Setsuko.
He was brought out from his musings when he heard a gasp coming from Setsuko. He turned to her direction and saw that she had her eyes wide as if in surprise and fear.
"What happened?" he asked worriedly, hoping nothing wrong happened to her.
"I-I.."
"What is it?"
"I-I ate it all…"
"Huh?" Now Kazuya even looked more confused. Setsuko glared at him and bit her lip.
"I ate all of the chocolate! A family sized one at that!" she exclaimed in frustration. She turned her gaze to him and glared even harsher.
"It's your fault!"
"Eh? How is it my fault?" Kazuya asked questioningly, nothing making sense to him at all.
"You kept on chatting with me and distracting me that I never noticed I'm eating more than what I am supposed to eat!" Setsuko replied in an uncharacteristically petulant way.
Instead of getting angry at her accusation, Kazuya felt like he wanted to laugh from the uncharacteristic behaviour of his mentor.
"Hahahha! You really are funny, aren't you Setsuko-san? To think that a bar of chocolate can make you act so differently from before!" Kazuya laughed with tears in his eyes as he doubled over in laughter.
Setsuko glared at him lightly and then turned her gaze away from him with a slight blush on her cheeks as she deemed the need to stop this conversation unless she wanted to bring shame on herself even more.
"Whatever. I'm going home." She muttered and was about to stand up herself when she was supported by Kazuya.
"You're still injured so let me help you." Kazuya said with a soft smile on his face. Setsuko said nothing as she was led away from her practicing spot towards the entrance of the female's dressing room.
She went inside the dressing room by herself albeit with a slight limp and quickly changed back into her uniform. She removed the hair tie that is keeping her long black hair in a tight bun and freed it, letting it cascade down her back in soft ripple like waves.
She quickly took her belongings and made her way out of the dressing room where she found Kazuya waiting for her with his brown satchel bag.
"You waited out here?"
Kazuya then turned his gaze towards Setsuko who just emerged from the dressing room and immediately, he was taken aback by the unusual image presented to him.
He never saw her with her hair loose. Even in the pictures of her during a ballet competition, it was always in an updo.
Now that he saw her, with her long wavy black hair flowing down her back, she seems really different from the uptight person he once deemed her as.
She looks so gentle and fragile and he didn't know why but he felt the urge to hold her hand in his.
'W-What am I thinking?! W-What?...' His mind was a jumbled mess as he stared at her a little longer.
He could still envision the innocent girl from earlier who was happily munching on her chocolate with no care in the world. He could still see that same girl who blushed and made a big deal about eating a family sized chocolate…
And suddenly, he felt that his heart was thumping in his chest once again.
'W-What is this?'
Along with the heavy thumping in his chest was a weird feeling of lightness. Like he's floating through air and….
"W-What is this feeling?" he whispered quietly to himself as he felt himself blush as he gazed at Setsuko.
He was then interrupted by the sound of ringing. He checked if it was his phone but it was not so it's probably Setsuko's.
Surely it was hers. Setsuko pressed the receive call button and put her phone towards her ear.
"Hello? Kyouya? What is it?"
'Kyouya? Isn't that a name of a guy?' Kazuya thought to himself as he unintentionally listened in to Setsuko's phone call.
"Huh? I'm still at the dance studio. Yes, yes, I already got my sprain treated. Yes, don't be such a worrywart, Mother Kyouya. Hehehe, No! Don't tell my mother that I ate a scoop of strawberry ice cream! Yes, I know. Alright, I'll wait for you here. Bye." The phone call ended and Setsuko turned her attention towards Kazuya who was looking at her with a weird expression on his face.
"You should probably go home for the day. Thank you for all your help today, I appreciate it." Setsuko said and gave a light smile towards Kazuya whose head was slightly turned downward.
"O-Oh umm… i-it's nothing…" he mumbled and bit his lip shyly.
Setsuko raised her brow slightly and a smirk made its way on her lips.
"Now you're acting all shy again, huh? Where's that guy who openly teased me for devouring a family sized chocolate?" Setsuko teased a little bit which made Kazuya flush in embarrassment.
"I'm so sorry about that. I-I was just carried away…" His words trailed off as he bit his lip harder in frustration.
Setsuko frowned a little bit at the uncharacteristic display of the new guy whom she just met today but mysteriously was able to loosen herself around him.
"Is something the matter?" she asked.
"H-Huh?! N-No! I-It's nothing! I-I…" he paused for a second and then looked up and gave her an awkward smile.
"W-Well… I was just wondering who 'Kyouya' is. From the tone of your voice you seem quite friendly with him…" he mumbled in a barely audible tone but Setsuko clearly heard it.
Her eyes widened in surprise at the curiosity of Kazuya.
"You listened to our conversation?"
"E-Eh?! N-No! W-well…Yes! But… I-I'm sorry! I just overhead your conversation! I-I'm really sorry if I offended you in some way!" Kazuya exclaimed and bowed deeply towards her.
"No, it's not a big deal. Well, Kyouya and I are definitely close. We've been together for as long as I remember." Setsuko replied with a sigh.
Kazuya straightened up and looked at her.
"So he's your bestfriend?"
Setsuko's gaze drifted away for a second. "W-Well you can say that but…." Her words trailed off for a moment.
"?"
"Well, actually, he's my fiancé." Setsuko finished what she was about to say with a slight chuckle.
"…."
Fiancé… that single word rang in Kazuya's ears. It was the only sound he was hearing in this big, spacious room. It was as if it echoed over and over again, repeatedly squeezing his heart so tight with every ring.
"Well, it was completely arranged by our parents and we know for ourselves that the two of us would die virgins lest we marry someone of similar standing. I am barely tolerable as you have probably seen earlier and Kyouya… you can say that he probably loves his stocks more than any lady in the world." Setsuko stated in a nonchalant voice as she went towards a velvet cushioned seat provided at the side of the dance studio. She sat on the plush seat as to not tire her injured foot any longer.
"I have always thought that a person marries for love." Kazuya replied in a soft, small voice.
Setsuko gave a small smirk of sympathy towards his direction.
"That is not how the world works for us. The money, the privileges, the extravagant life…. All of those are just mere compensation for what we have to give up. Our freedom…" She replied.
A moment of pregnant silence permeated the air, with only the sound of the chirping birds, the chatter of the students who were about to go home was heard. Kazuya's eyes drifted back and forth as he struggled to reply to Setsuko's statement.
Finally, when he was just about to speak, the door of the studio opened. The wooden door gave a slight creak as the two occupants of the room turned their attention towards the intruder.
"Excuse me." A pleasant voice of a male resonated across the room. Kazuya stared at the handsome stranger with curiosity as if raking his brain on where he has seen that familiar person.
"Oh, you're here." Setsuko said as she stood up from her seat with the help of the arms of the sofa as she put pressure to her other foot as to not strain her injured foot any longer.
"Yes, I already called my chauffer to wait out by the entrance so I can accompany you on your way home." The stranger replied as he placed his arm around Setsuko's shoulder to support her.
Kazuya just stood still, watching the two of them, unable to even utter a single word for he is afraid to ruin the perfect scene playing before his very eyes.
The two of them, Setsuko and that stranger…
They look so good together… perfect even.
The stranger, finally noticing the presence of another in the room looked at Kazuya with a curious gaze.
"You're the new dance scholarship student, Yamamoto Kazuya-kun, right?" the man said.
Kazuya's eyes widened as he frantically bowed deeply before the man.
"Y-Yes, I-I am! Nice to meet you." Kazuya replied with his head still bowed.
The young man, probably the same age as he gave out a small smirk and gestured Kazuya to lift his head.
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Ootori Kyouya" the man introduced and it all clicked in all of a sudden.
He has seen him before. He has seen him on the newspaper, on the television, on business and lifestyle magazines…. Ootori Kyouya, the youngest son of the CEO of Ootori Medical Group, one of the richest companies in Japan.
He never would have thought that he would get the chance to meet the son of the business tycoon here. Ootori-san, like every other sons and daughters of those people that he often see on business related prints and shows often seem so unreachable. It's like they live in two separate worlds when in reality, all of them breathe the same air.
Kazuya finally noticed that he had been staring at Kyouya for some time now that it was getting a bit weird. He lightly blushed from embarrassment and shifted his gaze towards Setsuko who was in the arms of Kyouya to support her injured ankle.
"Well, I guess that you already have someone who can accompany you, Setsuko-san." Kazuya said with a slight smile on his face, masking the feeling of something painfully tugging at his heart.
"Yes, thank you for everything that you've done. See you tomorrow." Setsuko replied with a rare smile of her own as she proceeded on her way out with Kyouya who gave a slight nod of his head to Kazuya in acknowledgement of the help he gave to his fiancée.
Finally, Kazuya heard the sound of the door closing. He just stood there, staring at the space previously occupied by Kyouya and Setsuko.
'Why do I feel this way?' he thought to himself as he ran his hand through his soft, whitish blue locks. He gave out a deep sigh as his eyes portrayed an emotion that can only be identified as sadness.
"She's so different from how other people thought her to be…" he mumbled to himself as he picked up his belongings. He have had heard of people talking about how much of a spoiled, cold-hearted and wicked brat Setsuko is. This was also prevalent with the other dancers who seem like they resent her to the core. However, it was far from the truth. She's nothing like what they make her seem to be. Not noticing it, a smile slowly crept up his face as he thought of tomorrow and how he would get to see her again.
Well, that's it for this chapter! I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Reviews, comments and criticisms as warmly accepted. Just click the review button or send me a PM. Thank you and have a great day! -Spark of Memories