Golden (Sugawara Koushi x Reader)

Il

A/N:

I'm not a musician, just a very big fan of all kinds of music - and I so with I could play the piano- so I apologize in advance if any of my descriptions are unaccurate.

All of my respect and love to all of you musicians out there.

Also, the Game of Thrones OST is one of my favorites out there so that's where that came from.

Her hands were gently gliding along the keys, the soft tune she was playing surrounded her in the silent room. Long, dexterous fingers pressing each of the keys perfectly to create a sound that was both calming and exhilarating at the same time.

The energy she felt, coming directly from her core was flowing through her whole body as she swayed gently to the rhythm of the song as it reached its peak making it so that the world dissolved around her. The tempo of the song went up as her fingers danced rapidly back and forward. She breathed out slowly as she pressed the final keys, slowing down her tempo, her eyes closed as her fingers rested lightly on the last note.

"Wonderful" a familiar voice said from behind her with a soft clap and she turned around to face her piano tutor. The white-haired man smiled kindly at her and she blushed at having completely forgotten she was not alone in the classroom.

"Sakamoto-sensei" she bowed, "thank you, but I think there's still some room to improve, there were some keys that I didn't quite reach on time"

"True enough, but I believe you're more than ready to move on to more complex compositions" he said, walking up to her. Despite his age, Sakamoto-sensei was a tall man and even standing up she had to crane her neck slightly up to be able to look him in the face. His warm smile never left his face as he sat down on the bench next to her with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "the recital is coming soon, there will be representatives from many important Liberal Arts and Music Academies from all over the country there"

She knew, she was well aware of it and her heart hadn't been particularly calm lately thanks to it. Koushi was doing all he could to help calm her but the gods knew the poor boy also had his own important tournaments to stress about. She felt guilty about not being able to fully support him as the recital grew closer and preparations and rehearsals became more intense.

"I want you to join the orchestra for the final piece" Sakamoto-sensei looked at her earnestly. The smile had faded and in its place was an expression that she knew left no room for her to argue. His mind had been made up. She felt like she both paled and blushed at the same time as her stomach filled with butterflies at the thought. She hadn't ever played in a full ensemble. The closest she had been was when she had helped the school theatre kids when their official pianist had gotten ill at the last minute during last year's Cultural Festival.

"A-are you sure it's a good idea?" she asked, looking down at her hands, "I mean, I wouldn't want to take Higurashi-san's place as the official pianist for the orchestra"

"She has left the Academy, transferred to a University in the United States" the man next to her explained and she swallowed thickly. Higurashi Kaede was the best pianist she had ever seen live in the Miyagi prefecture. Morioka Musical Academy had become one of the greatest in the northern side of the country and it was in no small part thanks to her talents bringing up the whole ensemble. "There is no other student in this academy that I think could take her place other than you, you'd have a solo piece and the final piece along with the orchestra"

She mulled over her options for a second. She could say no, just take the solo that she had already rehearsed for and be done with it. She knew that she'd still be able to call the attention of some of the recruiters with it. Humility was a virtue she possessed, but she was also aware that she wasn't just an average piano player -she had worked hard all her life to get to where she was and along with her talent, her dedication had been fruitful-. Nonetheless... playing with an orchestra would probably help her quite a lot as well. Recruits were interested in people who worked not only alone but with big ensembles of musicians. Not everyone could rise like that and there was a big chance of getting lost in the crowd -especially with wind or chord instruments, that tended to be in focus in such performances- but with the piano she could really bring the whole orchestra together.