Chapter 1: Captivating

Yuu was asks if she may be able to help the student council if she still hasn't found a club to join to. With the encouragement of her friends and the lack of softball club in this school, Yuu reluctantly agrees to check it out. After the last class of the day, Yuu walks outside of her classroom building and examine the crude map drawing given to her. She had been walking for a while but still can't find the big pine tree as a marker for her to turn on the path to the right. She realized she had walk around the school's southwest building and stops. Getting irritated with her lack of sense of direction.

A cool breeze swept her way, and she welcomes it. Breathing in, it relaxes her, and she decided to try again. Inspecting her map and trying to look for landmarks to orient herself where she is to begin with. Determine to arrive to her destination without being late to meet the student council members, she began to walk the path of the next building.

-*+/

After their last class of the day, Touko immediately gathered her things and told Sayaka that she needs to run ahead to talk to someone. Sayaka knows that a boy had written and asks for a meet up. They will meet again in the student council building in thirty minutes. With nothing much to do and her mind occupied by something she doesn't want to think about, Sayaka walks out of their classroom and decided to go towards the music building as the path to the student council is just outside it.

Her mind is still going back to an image of Touko and some random boy, shaking her head she enters the music room, and she goes the studio piano sitting near the window. Sitting down on the piano bench she lifts the fall that covers the keys. Touko should already be with the boy who will confessed to her. She knows that this boy will be rejected by Touko, as the dozens before him. Touko's rejection stats is rising, she wonders if she will also be among that number. With how things are now she is positive that Touko will also reject her if she does confess. This thought made her chest contract for a bit.

Sayaka's right hand fingers hover over the keys and with one note, they started to play Clair de lune without her conscious prompting. When she heard the sad tones of the song, she realized what she's playing. This song had always comforted her, she continue playing as she muse where Touko is now and if that lonely boy will be comforted by the fact that he was rejected by the most beautiful and talented girl in the school. The girl that fills her mind. The girl that is not capable of love. The girl that's pretending to be perfect but is broken inside. She plays the song trying to convey her feelings, her trouble mind, her love for this one girl that she knows will never be able to love her back.

-*+/

When Yuu reached the building's edge, she heard a soft melody. Someone is playing a piano. She doesn't recognize the tune, but she knows it's a classical one. As she walks to the side of the building the sound becomes louder. Curious as to who is making this soothingly beautiful but sad melody, she walks near the windows where it is coming from. She reached the last window, it is open and peek through it, it is the music room, lots of different instruments adorn the walls. Various sizes of drums were stock on the side. Cymbals, trumpets, and numerous different size hardcases were neatly tuck away on a gigantic ceiling to floor cabinet with transparent glass. The blackboard was littered with musical sheets.

At the far end of the window perpendicular to where she is standing is the piano and a girl playing it. She has very light brown wavy hair, playing calmly with her head incline slightly to the side, though she's looking down at the keys, she doesn't seem to follow her fingers and there's no music sheet in front of her. Yuu concluded that the girl knows the song by heart and marveled at the fact that someone could invoke such a melancholy tune without even thinking about it.

Yuu had been standing there for a few minutes before she even realized it. She had been enthralled by the song and though the minutes had passed the melody doesn't stop, she figures it was just a long song. But she can tell that the melody was repeated over and over like in a normal song when a chorus was repeated multiple times. Not that she cares. It was the first classical song she ever heard live that accentuate such sad feelings.

-*+/

Sayaka noticed that she had been repeating the song for quite some time now. She smiles to herself. 'I guess there is just something about Clair de lune that calms me.' Thinking about Touko has always sets her mind into agonizing chaos. She doesn't want to be rejected but she also wants to be with her. She remembers the pain her senpai in Junior High gave her. Though she knows that Touko will never play with her feelings like that. She still feels the pain of not being with her the way she craves to be. She would rather stay as friends than confess and have Touko not want to be around her anymore.

She had known Touko for a year now and she knows her friend won't likely stop being friends with her. However, the thought of even the slightest possibility of losing her friendship is too much for Sayaka to handle.

After her fourth time playing the song, she knows that the boy would have had confessed and had been rejected already and she wants to tease Touko about it. As her song comes to a purposeful end, she stops with ease. Looks out of the windows and appreciate the wind that blows gently through them. She was about to stand up when she heard someone speaks.

"Senpai" a girl was standing outside by the window. Her pinkish strawberry blonde hair was made brighter by the afternoon sun. She has yellow ribbon. 'a first year' The girl's brown almost golden eyes were looking at her with admiration but with a hint of sadness. She knows that that sadness was not because the girl was sad but because of sympathy. This irritated Sayaka. She moves to get her bag and leave.

"Senpai that was incredibly beautiful." She said with ardent sincerity.

Though Sayaka isn't fishing for a compliment this still made her cheeks a little warm. When she didn't reply the girl continues.

"You are so amazing. I have never heard someone play something so touching." The girl keeps staring at her, though Sayaka thinks that this should make her feel uncomfortable the feeling didn't arrive. She couldn't think of a reply. The girl doesn't seem to be waiting for one. Then she blinks like she had awoken from her reverie. "I am sorry, Senpai." She bows at Sayaka and goes away running leaving Sayaka dumbfounded.

-*+/

'Idiot, idiot, idiot!' Yuu is shouting inside her mind as she runs away from the window. 'Why did I have to act so impulsively like that!' When Yuu looks up, she finally found the pine tree and run to the path to the student council. 'That senpai is so beautiful though. So feminine. Her long light brown hair almost dance behind her as moves. Then her face is to die for not to mention her alluring eyes. She's the most captivating person I've ever seen. Then she can play the piano on top of that!' Yuu shook her head as she tries to navigate the path. "This is not the time to be absentmindedly running into the woods. I might get lost again."

Yuu continues to run and saw a small structure at the middle of the grounds and a lone girl walking towards it. The other girl heard her steps and turns around to see her.

"Hello" the girl greeted her. She has long straight black hair cascading the length of her back.

"Uh, hello…" Yuu replied, she saw the red ribbon and added "…senpai" Yuu stops in front of her.

"Are you the first year that will help the student council?" She girl smiles sweetly at her.

"Huh, uh, yes."

The girl stops in-front of the structure and face her. "Welcome to the student council room. I'm Nanami Touko. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." Yuu replied.