Flowers of the Future

Past - Meeting

(Maki's POV)

I couldn't believe what was happening right now... Why did she make me go through with this? My hands were hovering above the keys of the piano, shaking to the elevated beat of my heart. Umi was sitting next to me, fervently taking notes in her notepad after every measure of music. She had suggested working together like this in order to more finely tune the composition to the lyrics and vice versa. My mouth was dry, my breathing heavy, and my play notably more sloppy than usual. I desperately wished that she wouldn't notice or that she would chalk it up to stage fright, but as she studied my hands so intently, I almost lost consciousness. Did she have any idea what she was doing to me?

This all started when that annoyingly peppy girl with the orange hair, Honoka Kousaka, accidentally heard me play one day. She got on my back about school idols and wanted me to compose a song for them. One of her friends was really good with words supposedly and would write the lyrics. I would have felt pretty bad about outright rejecting her, especially with how enthusiastic she seemed about the whole ordeal, so I begrudgingly composed a basic track. I even listened to their first performance and while the costumes and dance routine were nice, I found myself captivated by the words. They were able to breathe life into a lifeless melody and allow it to soar far higher than it would have on its own. I realized that whoever the lyricist was, her talents would be wasted on my songs if I continued to halfass them, so I tried harder and put my heart into them, like a coded love letter that hopefully the songwriter would be able to decipher. The lyrics continued getting better to match the music's quality in an effortless harmony. Before I knew it, I ended up joining that school idol group and I learned the name of my muse: Umi, whose prim, marine blue hair did her name justice.

Those memories were like a movie that kept playing in front of my eyes, when I should be focusing on composing music. When she was preoccupied, I would shoot a couple of glances in the direction of her face just to observe the jade-colored eyes bounce from one side of the page to the other and back again. The sight took my breath away; the focus and dedication to her craft was tangible and I did not want to be outmatched by her. Composing with her felt like we were both deeply engaged in a mesmerizing tango, passion seeping from the seams, the seams of a rehearsed, calculated dance routine. Before I knew it, I had found my footing in this dance and it felt like my fingers were dancing over the keys, in tune with my heart and with hers, as the lyrics also started flowing more naturally and quickly. It was music.

---

"Do these lyrics remind anyone else of Maki?" Nozomi suddenly said upon inspecting the latest song. Her comment made my heart skip a beat. In my fantasies, I had been dancing that tango together with Umi, but the thought that she drew inspiration from me as I did from her... My face turned red like a tomato.

"Maki-chan is blushing! What's this about, nya~?" Rin added, causing me to avert my face altogether. It was likely just my imagination anyway. Umi would probably coldly reject the notion, telling everyone to stay focused instead of talking about such nonsense.

"W-what are you trying to say?! The lyrics are... like they've always been. I-I suppose observing Maki so closely may have... influenced me somewhat... But don't get any funny ideas!" I noticed Kotori and Honoka staring bewildered at Umi, before exchanging a cheeky look with one another. What was going on? Why did she react so uncharacteristically... embarrassed? Could it be... were the lyrics actually about me?

No, I wouldn't be provoked so easily by vague and indirect confessions. If she was really in love, she'd have to say it to my face. I wasn't going to get my hopes up over nothing.

... and yet, the look of her flushed cheeks as the others were laughing at her overly defensive retort was fanning a flame in my heart that was undeniably getting stronger.

---

"Ever since we began writing songs together, I feel like they've turned out much better. Your compositions are definitely improving." It was one of the things I appreciated most about Umi. When I was playing in front of her, she didn't shy away from giving constructive criticism, rather than handing out hollow and baseless compliments. However, I couldn't deny the real reason why I had shown such rapid improvement: she was my muse.

I wanted to test Umi. "It's because of you", I said matter of factly.

The remark threw her off initially, but she quickly regained her composure: "I'm flattered to hear you say that, but I hardly think my criticism is that helpful."

"That's not it. It's because of your lyrics and the determination in your eyes and how they make me feel. It's thanks to you." Umi was at a loss after hearing that, her eyes wide and her mouth agape, as if she wanted to say something but the words couldn't escape her mouth. I furrowed my brow and intensely stared into her eyes. It felt like a stand-off, as I was trying to get her to look away before my heart would get the better of me and tear down my confident facade. Truth be told, my heart was racing, nearly beating out of my chest. I wanted nothing more than to take her into my arms and... and...

"I-I don't think I really... I'm just... writing lyrics." She began looking elsewhere in the room. "It's your music that inspires me, i-it's the other way around." She tried meeting my eyes again, but this time it was I who had averted my gaze. How was she saying something like that so innocently? Did she have any idea what she was doing to me? "A-anyway, I really must go. I have archery practice now. Thank you for another inspiring session, Maki." Back to being so formal, as if she hadn't just pierced my heart with one of Cupid's arrows. It was getting harder and harder to contain this flame. I wanted to release it, for her to receive it all. Receive all of my love.

---

I figured she was going to pull a stunt like this at some point today. She seemed more on edge, distracted, as if she was continually rehearsing the steps of a plan in her head. The session was clumsy as a result and I would have been more upset about it too. These sessions were a rush, the most in touch with music I'd felt in a very long time and I wanted Umi to take them seriously too.

A stupid smile covered my face though as I kept reading the final lines of her note in my trembling hands, over and over.

I have not been oblivious to our dance

I have been deciphering your love letters

And I think it's time to finally ask the question

Would you like to go out with me?

They were terrible lyrics, but... these words were exactly what I wanted to hear.