I want to thank everyone again for the support of this fiction, it is still coming as a bit of a surprise (I shouldn't have underestimated the Fuyuumi chan fanbase =P) Lol I am endeavouring for more of a presence from Kanazawa (thanks to the prompts from sakR9!!) so hopefully things will be more interesting now that Fuyuumi, Sensei and Shinobu can interact!

Regards, Eia

Chapter 3

Fuyuumi couldn't stop fidgeting. Her fingers were wrapped so tightly around the kerchief in her hand that her knuckles were actually showing up white.

She dared another swift glance at Kanazawa beside her. But he didn't notice her watching him from beneath her lashes. His eyes were staring straight ahead at the road; his concentration going all towards driving.

She dared to allow herself a moment to consider his face. His straight jaw was lined with a day's growth of stubble, and there were little crows feet at the edges of his amber eyes, probably from all his smiling.

His skin was much more tanned than hers too. She compared the pale creamy hands twisted in her lap to the much larger and sun kissed fingers that were curled around the clutch stick, she wondered if the skin on top was smooth or rough to the touch…

"Sorry again to make you come all this way with me. But the new stands we ordered for the club arrived and I wanted some help sorting it out. You didn't mind did you?"

Fuyuumi glanced up suddenly as Kanazawa's eyes shifted from the road to her. She felt a flush redden her cheeks the longer his gaze held onto hers.

"N-no of course not, I was happy to help sensei!"

He smiled warmly at her words before turning back to the road. Fuyuumi's heart skipped a beat and she was glad he wasn't looking at her when she swallowed nervously.

It had been a while since she had been in this car. Her memories were mingling with the current moment as she tried to drink in all she could; the smell of aftershave and air freshener, the little trinkets that lined the dash, discarded pens and empty cigarette packets, the Chopin cd that was playing softly in the background. She tried to find something personal about all the contents of his car as she sat quietly in the passenger seat.

She had been shocked when he had asked her to accompany him on a trip to the music store after school. Her excitement and nerves were making her tongue tied though and she feared that her presence might be awkward or boring for him.

She tried desperately to think of something to talk about. The stands look good, very sturdy; did we only pick up four because of new members? It's not too far a drive from the school to the music shop is it? It seems a shame… I wouldn't mind riding for a bit longer with sensei…

"I am glad Fuyuumi-san decided to join the orchestra club. Ousaki is a very competent student; though I shouldn't really call him a student after all he has been graduated from Seiso for almost three years now. But I was worried that he might need some help over the break. He still has his part time job and studies at the university to take care of, and I know that Fuyuumi-san is very good with organization and management."

"Ah, thank you very much Sensei." Fuyuumi mumbled, embarrassed by his sudden praise. She felt Kanazawa glance over at her again but she didn't have the courage this time to return his stare.

"Actually you and Shinobu are a little bit alike; you're both very quietly competent. That is why I took him on as an intern I guess, and why I always bother Fuyuumi-san to help me. Perhaps I shouldn't be so troublesome."

"Its not troublesome for me at all I really love helping Sensei out!"

Kanazawa glanced over in surprise at her sudden outburst. Fuyuumi recalled herself and covered her mouth in embarrassment. She had sounded far too eager; she was going to make a fool of herself soon.

But Kanazawa only smiled at her again. "Well I am glad to hear that I am not troubling Fuyuumi-san at all. Sometimes I am not always too sure about Fuyuumi's feelings because you are so quiet and composed. I worry that even if I did put you out you wouldn't say anything to me. So please be sure that if you ever feel overwhelmed, about anything, that you tell me."

Fuyuumi felt words of gratitude clog up in her throat. She only managed to nod seriously as a reply, her hands finally relaxing in her lap. The only thing that seemed to overwhelm her was Kanazawa's concern.

"Ah, here we are."

Fuyuumi felt a little disappointed as they pulled into the academy's entrance. She had enjoyed being alone with Kanazawa, even if only for a short errand such as picking up some music stands. He just had a way of making her feel so…warm, like coming home to something familiar and comforting.

As they both unloaded the stands Fuyuumi finally ventured to ask a question. "Is Kanazawa-sensei looking forward to the trip to Europe?"

"Well yes, I haven't been on a trip for a while, even if it is for a conference. Though hopefully I will have enough time to go site seeing while I am there!" Kanazawa laughed as they passed through the empty yard towards the stadium. Fuyuumi trailed behind him, following the line of his foot prints and marvelling at the size difference as she stepped into the indentations left in his wake.

"Ah! Kanazawa-sensei, Fuyuumi-san!" Hihara bounded forward excitedly, plucking the load out of Fuyuumi's hands automatically. "Oh, thank you Hihara-sempai."

Kanazawa shifted the load in his own arms to look at his watch with a raised eyebrow. "You're here a bit early aren't you Kazuki? You usually always arrive after set up."

"Oh that's my fault sensei, I asked him to come in early." A young man replied, stepping out from behind Hihara. Fuyuumi thought he looked somewhat familiar but couldn't recall if she had ever met him before. As she scrutinized him distractedly he suddenly turned to face her. Catching her stare he smiled, but Fuyuumi turned aside quickly with embarrassment.

"Ah, good thing you're here Ousaki. This is Fuyuumi-san, the first year student I was talking about to you. She agreed to help manage the Orchestra over the summer break in my stead."

The slim red head turned towards Fuyuumi with a smile, hand extended. "It's nice to meet you Fuyuumi-san, I am Shinobu Ousaki. Thank you for agreeing to help us out."

She swallowed her shyness and reached out to take a hold of Shinobu's hand. She was surprised by how large and warm his palm was as her fingers slipped in beneath his own. She could feel the hardened tips, calloused to a thick armour. He probably played a stringed instrument.

"The pleasure is mine." She replied in a voice barely above a whisper.

Kanazawa clapped his hands suddenly in the silence after the pleasantries. "Well I had better get going. I still have a few things to organise and I fear I am running out of time. But I will come back for another practice day before I leave to say goodbye."

Fuyuumi watched as Kanazawa shook Shinobu's hand and ruffled Hihara's hair playfully. For a split second she wondered what he would do to part with her. She doubted he would shake her hand, that was probably too masculine a farewell. And she didn't think he would ruffle her hair either (though she wasn't too sure just yet that she wouldn't actually enjoy it).

Instead he turned to her last, bathing her in the warmth of one his infamous smiles, which she so loved, and bid her; "Take care of yourself Fuyuumi-san, and don't push yourself too hard."

And then he was gone. Climbing into his car and driving off with a wave of his hand, leaving her to face this strange new world.

--//--

"Alright, and this is where we keep all the bulky musical equipment like the chairs and stands, and in that room over there is a small office where all the records are kept. There is a little computer and a printer in there also so most of the time I make up rosters and announcements from here, though the printer is a little old and tends to break down a lot."

Fuyuumi nodded gravely as Shinobu gave her a quick tour, explaining to her all he could before practice. "We usually always practice in these rooms because it's big enough for our members but not as big as the auditorium. Some of the newer members find it more comforting, it can be a bit intimidating practicing in that empty theatre. Though I am sure I don't have tell Fuyuumi-san that, as I recall you were one of the participants in the concours this year. You play the clarinet don't you?"

Fuyuumi paused for a moment, surprised by the direct question. "Ah, yes sempai."

Shinobu smiled at her shy formality. "You don't have to call me 'sempai', Shinobu is fine." Fuyuumi tried it out at his prompting with a blush. "O-ok…Shinobu-san."

"It's a shame that we already have so many clarinets, but you don't mind just accompanying on the piano do you?"

"No sem - I mean Shinobu-san, I don't mind."

Fuyuumi stood to the side and watched as the members for the orchestra began to trickle in one by one. She soon found out from listening to the other conversations that most of the new members were actually amateur musicians just looking for a way to participate and further their skills. Some of them didn't even have their own instruments and borrowed some off the school. They were mostly gen-ed students, and she was surprised by how easily everyone got along.

When the room was fairly crowded Shinobu stepped forward and began to organise the rabble. "Welcome to both new and old members, I am glad too see so many of you here. Just a few quick announcements before we begin, practice schedules for over the break haven't quite been finalised yet. A few people came forward and told me some of the preliminary times were a bit conflictive so we have shuffled it around a bit to try to suit everyone. But next week on Tuesday will definitely be the first holiday practice and I will have the final timetables made up for everyone by then."

Fuyuumi was surprised by how easily Shinobu gained everyone's attention. His voice was not loud, but it carried through the room and had instantly garnered everyone's concentration.

"Also a lot of you have probably heard that Kanazawa-sensei won't be here for the majority of the summer practice, but he has nominated a very talented first year student to assist in his stead. So be sure to come up and introduce yourself properly at some point, but this is Fuyuumi Shouko."

Shinobu stepped aside, his hand extended towards her, beckoning her forward. She felt her face flush as every eye suddenly turned towards her. She bowed deeply, more to hide her face then as a formality, and tried to greet them with a loud steady voice. "I-it's a pleasure to meet you all; I hope I can be of assistance over the summer break."

She heard more than a few people return her greeting, but didn't dare look into the audience when she straightened back up. She hoped no one noticed her knees shaking. But she didn't have long to worry about it for soon Shinobu was in charge again, organising everyone into their places so that they could begin practice.

--//--

"I'm home!" Fuyuumi slipped her shoes off at the entrance as her voice echoed through the house. She paused in shock as suddenly a voice replied to her greeting.

"Is that you Shouko?" A tall woman sauntered out from the dining room, a long thin arm wrapped around a slender waist. Fuyuumi looked up at her mother with shock. "I didn't know you would be back so early Mother."

"Yes well the Foster deal fell through so I didn't see the point in staying." Her eyes shifted quickly to the clock mounted on the wall. "Aren't you home a bit late? I thought the summer break was about to begin."

Fuyuumi followed her mother as she retreated back into the dining room. The table was littered with piles of papers and sprawling manila folders. She seated herself at the head of the scattered mess and picked up a half empty glass of red wine.

"Oh well, Kanazawa-sensei recommended that I join the school Orchestra club over the summer holidays."

"Oh that's nice."

Fuyuumi stood behind her mother for a few minutes more, but her mother's head remained bent over her papers and she didn't venture to speak again.

Fuyuumi collapsed on her bed upstairs, not bothering to close her door behind her. She knew what her mother would be like for the rest of the night. Chances were she would fall asleep in her chair, empty wine glass and scattered papers still out.

Fuyuumi thought about the days events as she pulled her clarinet case onto her lap, undoing the little silver clasps and retrieving the bits and pieces of her instrument. It hadn't been too bad, a bit embarrassing at first but it had gone much more smoothly later.

She had mostly just accompanied on piano like Shinobu had said, but some of the girls in the clarinet section had actually come up and asked her for help with fingering. She had actually been able to show them quite successfully, and afterwards they had thanked her quite openly. It had made her feel happy.

She had asked Hihara later about the amount of beginners in the orchestra. "Well that was Shinobu's idea; he had discussed it with Kanazawa to allow for more amateurs to be allowed to join. He thought it would generate more of an interest in music amongst the gen-ed students and would help them get along better with the music students."

She considered Shinobu again for a while. He used to be a student at Seiso three years ago, but she really didn't know much more about him than that. He was Kanazawa's intern but surprisingly she hadn't really met him until today. He seemed nice enough and she could vaguely recall having seen him with Hino-sempai. Were they friends perhaps?

Fuyuumi put the reed to her lips and closed her eyes. Her thoughts began to dissipate as the notes flowed from her clarinet. It was so easy to just 'be' when she played. She tried not to think much at all, just to feel the music as it came to her. This feeling of peace when the notes came together so effortlessly and the anonymity with which they bonded, it was these reasons why she loved music so much.