Chapter One

-❤- Prelude Op. 32 No. 5 -❤-

"Do you know where I put my violin case?" Kageyama stood in the doorway of his new dorm room with a frown. Unpacked boxes were lying folded in the corner waiting to be taken to the recycling, and everything was perfect, except... his violin. "I swear I brought it up earlier."

His mother poked her head around the door-frame. "Oh. I put it under your bed."

Kageyama clicked his tongue in annoyance and ducked down as his mom skipped back off down the hallway. Getting on his knees, he dug around under the bed before retrieving his violin case and dragging it out. Inside, his violin was still in pristine condition, the wood that he polished every day still shiny and perfect.

His father had given it to him on his seventh birthday. He'd wanted to learn violin for several years, but his family hadn't had enough money to buy one or pay for lessons. When his dad got a new job, the first thing he did was buy Kageyama a violin and set him up for lessons.

Only a few short months later, his father was killed in a car accident. The violin was still Kageyama's most treasured possession—the last connection he had to his dad, and the object that sparked his passion for music. Every time he picked it up and set bow to string, he felt like his father was still with him, and that was perhaps the greatest gift of all.

"Tobio, this is the last box!" His mother trudged back into the room loudly, startling him out of his nostalgia. He quickly packed his violin back in the case and stuck it under the bed again, standing to take the box from her. "Thanks. I probably couldn't have moved all these without your help."

She laughed and ruffled his hair. "Well, I am your mom, silly." She gave him a fond smile and pulled him into a tight hug as soon as he'd set the box down. "I'm going to miss you, Tobio. Promise you'll come visit every holiday?"

"I promise, Mom." He pulled away and gave her a reassuring smile. "It's not like I'm moving to another continent: It's just music school."

"Yeah, yeah," she snorted, shoving him away jokingly. "Cheeky kid. I've gotta get going now. Call me as soon as you're settled in, okay?"

"Mmhmm. See you later, Mom." He watched her go, smiling as she blew him a kiss over her shoulder. As soon as she was out of sight, it dropped and he let out a sigh. Flopping down on the bed face-first, he buried his face in the pillows and stared at the wall. It was still a little surreal that he was actually staying at one of the most prestigious fine-arts schools in the world.

Just last week he'd been finishing his high school exams, and now here he was at Karasuno Academy of Music. It made him excited, scared, and ecstatic all at once. To think that he'd have a chance of becoming a pro violin player was a dream come true. He was afraid if he went to sleep that night, it'd all be a dream in the morning.

Sliding off the bed, Kageyama grabbed his violin and ran a finger along the smooth wood. "You andme dad," he whispered, resting his hand on the strings. "Here we go."

"Welcome to Karasuno Academy of Music. I will be your tour guide this evening. Everyone, please stay close to me. We have a tight schedule to keep. Now; up we go!"

Kageyama joined a large gathering of new students on the quad as they started up the stairs towards the main hall. The tour of the campus would no doubt take a while considering the sheer size of the school grounds, but Kageyama figured it would probably be good to know his way around—though he had considered skipping.

Now he was seriously regretting deciding to come because their guide was the type that stopped every few seconds to point out some part of the school and spout off a ton of historical nonsense about architecture and whatnot. The tour would probably be done by the time everyone had shriveled up and died of old age.

As they moved into another section of the school—a hallway lined by intricate pillars—and their guide stopped once again to address a mural painted on the marble ceiling, Kageyama paused a few feet back from the rest of the group with an irritated sigh. He was seriously considering making a run for it when a faint sound coming from one of the branching hallways caught his ear.

It was melodious, soft, and beautiful, sending shivers down Kageyama's spine. Someone was playing the piano.

Shooting a wary glance at his tour guide to make sure he was in the clear, Kageyama edged around a pillar and out of sight. As soon as his group wandered off down another hallway, Kageyama breathed a sigh of relief and allowed himself to still, tracking the source of the music. Lilting, exquisite; he followed the perfect notes down the shadowy hall and towards a door at the very end.

He'd never heard music this way before. The song he recognized—Rachmaninoff's Prelude Op. 32 No. 5—but he'd never heard it played like this. The song itself wasn't particularly sad, but the way this person played it was dark and haunting, and it made Kageyama feel like he was about to burst into tears. Who was playing this way?

The cracked door loomed in front of him, lit by a spot of sunlight from a skylight above, and Kageyama paused outside, holding his breath and peering through the door's window to peek inside. A lone boy sat behind a grand piano, his back turned to Kageyama and his head bowed. His hair was like a shock of sunlight, bright orange and spilling everywhere. His pale fingers seemed to barely touch the keys, but somehow still produced such a heartbreaking sound.

Kageyama was so entranced listening to the boy play that he leaned forward more than he meant to and the door made a loud squeak as it opened a few more inches. He let out a string of swears under his breath and pressed his back against the wall in anticipation, but nothing happened. The playing continued, and Kageyama slowly poked his head back around the doorway to see that the boy hadn't moved.

He sighed in relief and quietly crept forward, listening to the last few notes of the song as he eased the door closed. He hadn't been spotted. Not that it really mattered if he was, but he didn't want to seem like a creep. Still, this boy had real talent. To take a song and completely change the way he had was... amazing.

"...and heading back this way, we'll see the west wing, which is filled with music rooms that you students may rent out to practice as you see fit."

Letting out a silent string of curses, Kageyama ducked behind a pillar and tried to make himself as small as possible as the tour group looped back around and passed down the hallway just inches away from him. As the last few people skittered by giggling, he slid around the other side of the pillar—just in time to see the boy closing and locking the door.

He froze like a deer in headlights, but the boy still didn't seem to notice him, tucking the key in his pocket and walking down the hallway with a stack of sheet music in his arms, completely oblivious. Kageyama, feeling like he'd dodged a bullet, sank down to the floor and held a hand to his chest. That was close...

Glancing back down the hallway, he ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. I didn't see his face. He propped his chin in his hand and frowned at the floor, his reflection staring back up at him from the freshly polished surface. I wonder if I'll see him again...

"Hey, you!" Kageyama's head jerked up at the sudden exclamation to see a teacher striding down the hallway towards him with an accusatory glare. "Why are you sitting there? Get to class at once!"

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" He popped to his feet and darted around the corner, hoping to find his way back to his dorm before any more instructors caught him loitering. Still, even as he walked and his panic died down, the music from earlier haunted him like it was still being played, and the melody stayed with him no matter how far he traveled.

Somehow, Kageyama got the feeling this wasn't his last encounter with that strange redheaded boy.

A/N: First chapter, so this one's a little short, but I really wanted to write this so here it finally is. I was playing around with some music AU ideas and this was my favorite one. Hope you guys enjoyed ^-^