It was a normal day at Seiso Academy. The sun shone brightly, its rays hitting the statue of a winged fairy with curly hair. Students chattered amiably as they walked towards their respective buildings- the one for the general education students, and the one for the music students. Hino Kahoko, a gen-ed student, was walking towards the school like everyone else when a handsome, blue-haired music student her age approached her. "Ohayo, Tsukimori-kun!" she said cheerfully. The stoic music student nodded in return. "Kanazawa-sensei told me to look for you. Apparently, he has big news for all the concourse participants."
The two teenagers walked to the faculty together, turning quite a few heads as they passed other students.
"Is that the famous Tsukimori Len with Hino Kahoko? Are they dating now?"
"You don't suppose the violin romance has actually come true!!"
"Omigod, this is such a juicy scoop!"
"Damn, that Hino-san sure is lucky to have snagged such a cute guy!"
All the comments made Hino blush and Tsukimori scowl. He silenced the rest of the students with his trademark glare that could unnerve even the strictest teachers in Seiso. "So, uh, Tsukimori, how are you these days?" asked Hino, trying to have a pleasant conversation with her serious companion. "It's none of your concern, but my mother is planning on taking me with her on her tours around Japan."
"Wow! That must be very exciting for you!" exclaimed Hino, genuinely happy for him.
Tsukimori simply shrugged.
There came an awkward silence as Hino tried to think of what she could say next, when Tsukimori abruptly said, "I'm sorry. I'm not very good at conversing with others. You know that I spend all my time practicing the violin. Don't bother trying to start a conversation with me."
Hino was stunned. This was the first time Tsukimori had said something personal to her. It was a pleasant surprise. She gave a small smile and said, "That's okay. I could teach you to be more sociable, the same way you help me with my violin playing."
When all the concourse participants had been assembled, Kanazawa-sensei said to them, "The principal wants to give you guys another vacation. Winter break is coming, and apparently he has a friend, who owns a ski resort in Kyoto. The ski resort man's name is Nakamoto Kyouya. Nakamoto-san would gladly give all of you—and me, free lodging if you would play a few songs every night there as a group. Of course, if you're all going, I have to go too, as a chaperone." "WAH! A SKI TRIP!" exclaimed Hihara, "I CAN'T WAIT! THIS IS GONNA BE SOO MUCH FUN! Although I don't really know how to ski…but, but AH! YUNOKI! YOU'VE BEEN ON SKI TRIPS BEFORE RIGH--" The green haired senpai was cut off by a loud sigh from Tsukimori. "Frankly, I don't see the point in all these outings as a group. I still have to practice. Kanazawa-sensei, please tell Nakamoto-san that I appreciate the offer but I'm too busy for such useless things as 'vacations'." Kanazawa sighed. "Tsukimori, it's only for a week. Besides, you can play your violin there, since all of you would be asked to perform at the lodge." A snort came from the side of the room. The blue haired violinist glared at the source of the noise, Tsuchiura. "Don't bother sensei. Elite-music-student-sama absolutely HAS to play the violin all the time," said the moss-haired student. Kanazawa sighed again. Why did I become a teacher again??
Tsukimori was about to retort when the lavender haired teacher cut him off.
"Look, Tsukimori, the concourse is over. Why don't you cut yourself some slack and relax a little?"
"Sensei, just because the concourse is over doesn't mean I can stop practicing. Unlike some people, I don't have a lot of time to waste." Only Tsukimori could pull of that unique tone that could sound polite and cold at the same time.
"Time to waste?? Tsukimori, instead of practicing the violin all the time, why don't you try learning how to cook?" an angry Tsuchiura shot back.
Hino sighed and shook her head. Those two will never get along, will they?
She looked over at Fuyuumi and Shimizu, the two youngest participants in the music competition. Shimizu was, as usual, fast asleep, his head of curly blond hair resting on his arms, oblivious to the growing tension in the room. Fuyuumi looked nervously between the pianist and the violinist. On the other side of the room, a calm Yunoki sipped his tea and said, "Hey, hey, stop arguing, you two. Tsukimori-kun, you can always practice in your room while the others are skiing and having fun. Everyone is free to decide what they want to do in their free time, as long as they perform at the lodge too, right, Kanazawa-sensei?" Yunoki looked over at the teacher, who seemed to be too exasperated to say anything and simply nodded. "Well then, that's settled. Besides, I have a feeling Tsukimori-kun would not want to disappoint the principal of Seiso Academy, right?" The indigo haired musician slyly looked at Tsukimori, revealing, for a few moments, his true self. The disgruntled 2nd year gave a slight nod.
"Well then, see you all next week!"