Red Strings ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Fifth String

As soon as she was home, Kurenai put the stereo on and played her favourite piano piece, Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2. That was her 'I'm happy and I feel good' theme. She kicked off her shoes, dancing a little to the melody and was humming along with a smile on her face.

Watching her were two spectators with very different reactions.

Although a rare occurrence, Ayako instantly recognised that this was Kurenai happy. Naturally, she was smiling too. She had led a difficult life, and not much could make her smile and dance so happily like this, especially nowadays. Aoi, on the other hand, had never seen his sister like so. To say it was creepy seemed like an understatement. He somehow felt as if she was a villain dancing on the hero's grave.

"Is Kurenai okay?" Aoi asked, watching as his sister was skipping up the stairs.

"Hm? Oh, Miss Kurenai is perfectly fine. In fact, she's happy," Ayako explained. "This is her happy song. She plays this whenever something good happens. I guess the date must have went well."

"The date my father set up?" Aoi asked, very obviously skeptical. Even Ayako paused to think a little. Now she was confused too. When Kurenai came down having changed into her home clothes, Aoi decided to bite the bullet. "Did the date go well?"

Looking at him with big eyes, Kurenai smiled before shaking her head. "Absolutely not. I ditched him."

"That's not very polite," Ayako frowned.

"Father is going to be furious."

They seemed to have their priorities different.

"First of all, he was rude to me and kept touching me without my permission. I am perfectly justified to leave him. He's lucky I didn't punch him to hell first," Kurenai stated, then looked at Aoi. "And father only said I had to accompany him to the ballet. He never said I had to watch it with him."

"Then...why are you so happy?"

Kurenai was quiet for a minute or so, as if she did not realise that she was happy. Then, she perked up once more with a bright smile. "I met someone very interesting."

-Next Day-

Standing a few feet from the entrance, Honoka was holding two cups of coffee and waiting for someone. She checked the time on her watch; he should be arriving soon. And there he was, turning the corner and walking towards the hospital. With a quick check of her appearance, Honoka ran up to Chishiya as if she had just arrived too.

"Good morning, Chishiya-kun," she smiled, offering the coffee to him.

"Morning," he said, taking the coffee. What was her name again? Kyoko?

"How was the ballet last night?" she asked.

"It was alright, better than I thought."

Chishiya was known to be the ender of all conversations, never allowing one to continue with the short replies he would give. Honoka was determined, however. It took her so long to build up the confidence to finally talk to him, she was not about to give up here.

"How about we go and watch another one together? I know there's a Russian ballet company coming to Japan on tour, and they'll be performing The Nutcracker."

"Why would I watch another ballet?" Chishiya asked, stopping suddenly.

"Oh...well, it doesn't have to be the ballet. Maybe we could watch-"

"We have quite a busy day ahead of us," he interrupted, keeping a smile on his face. Though if he were to be honest, she was irritating him a little. "Let's get to work." With that, Chishiya threw the full cup of coffee she gave him into the bin next to where he was standing before walking off without Honoka.

Although embarrassed, Honoka was more determined than before.

After two years, she was finally able to have a private conversation with him. Surely with more work, she could break down that wall of his.

Rushing to get ready for the day, Honoka was one of the few medical students chosen to accompany a benefactor of theirs on a hospital tour today. Chishiya too. They gathered at the entrance after changing into their scrubs with the director, and the head of neurosurgery. Ten minutes of waiting later, a Bentley was parked outside the entrance.

Chishiya recognised the car.

The driver got out of the car, coming around to the passenger side and opened the back door for the passenger. Stepping out in a bright red off-the-shoulder asymmetrical A-line dress paired with black heels was the woman from last night. Only then did it click in Chishiya's mind.

Chuya.

That was what the manager referred to her as last night. Chuya as in the Chuya Group.

"Welcome, Miss Chuya," the director grinned, walking up to the woman with his hand held out. She took his hand and shook it politely. "This is Doctor Hamada, she's the head of neurosurgery. And these are a few of our current medical students. Very promising doctors."

Kurenai greeted Doctor Hamada and when her attention was directed to the medical students, her smile brightened at a certain person. She ignored the director, walking past all the other medical students and stopped in front of Chishiya.

"Hey handsome, we meet again."

"We meet again."

"You never told me you're a medical student."

"Do you have a thing for doctors?"

"Hm...I have a thing for you," she smiled, pressing her finger on his chest. "I told you you're my type, didn't I?"

The atmosphere had become awkward while everyone was watching as they were flirting with each other. The director looked at Doctor Hamada as if asking for help on how to proceed. The other medical students were whispering to each other, giggling like they were in high school. Except Honoka.

Who was this woman? How did Chishiya know her?

She was standing so close to Chishiya that if anyone were to accidentally bump into either of them, they would kiss. She was boldly touching Chishiya too, something that Honoka could only dream of.

"This is Miss Chuya Kurenai," the director said, introducing the woman to the rest. "She is one of our biggest benefactors."

"My father is your benefactor," Kurenai corrected him. "He's busy today, and I'm simply here on his behalf to see what you have been using our money for," she smiled. "Shall we get on with the tour then?"

Leading the way, the director was walking in front of Kurenai while telling her the history of the hospital. She was not interested, however. She never was to begin with; coming here was simply a duty she was fulfilling for her father. Now though, she was distracted by something else. Or well, someone else.

Hooking her arm around Chishiya's, Kurenai walked beside him. Behind them, Honoka was sending death glares her way, though Kurenai did not notice. She was much too busy talking to Chishiya to notice.

What frustrated Honoka, and what hurt the most however, was not Kurenai flirting with or touching Chishiya. What hurt the most was the fact that Chishiya seemed invested in their conversation when just this morning, he could not be bothered to say more than ten words to her in a sentence. It hurt even more to hear what others were saying.

"When did Chishiya meet a Chuya?"

"Damn, he got himself a sugar mama."

"They look really good together though."

"Yeah, like one of those power couples."