Salut D'Amour

Measure 9: Thanks but No Thanks

KAHOKO'S POV

***

"Break your engagement with this monster."

I knew that Yunoki-senpai had a dark side which he really likes to hide and is really scary but to actually call him a monster is...

"Just kidding!" Akira-chan suddenly laughs and I am unnerved. Eh? Akira-chan stops laughing and wipes a tear from her eyes and pats my shoulders. "Just kidding. I don't even know this guy."

I laugh nervously but I got this feeling that her last sentence wasn't absolutely true. Before I could ask her about it, Yunoki-senpai swivels me out of the room with a majestic swing.

"We'll be going now." He smiles as he closes the door after a polite bow.

"Yunoki-senpai..." I mutter as we slowly walk our way towards the deck. 

"..." He makes a  sharp turn and we're heading to a huge pool. Up ahead of us I realize that I had consumed the whole day practically looking for the others and it was already almost sunset. Wow...I must have been so lost. Suddenly, Yunoki-senpai stops as we are a meter away from the edge of the pool which has a fountain at the center of it.

"Ano...Yunoki-senpai..." I try to break the tension off but instead he lets out a sigh and looks at me. His expression was clearly displeased and I get this feeling that he's already in 'dark-mode'.

"Do you know her?" He asks and I stop to breath.

"No...She just.." I try to explain but he snaps.

"What else did she tell you?" He draws me close and I can feel his breath as his face is so close to me. He locks his eyes with mine and I feel a sudden chill going down my spine. WHAAAAT?!

"Nothing!" I muster up the courage to break his stare. Also, I didn't want him to see my face go all red. Seriously, what was up with this person? He sighs and then chuckles.

Huh?

I take a glance at him and see that he's already smiling. Really...this guy..

"If Enuii-san didn't say anything else, then that makes things more complicated." He says this with  a smile which is really confusing. Hino confused.

"Eh? You know Akira-chan?" I inquire and he looks at me, shocked. "Eh...Sorry, I didn't..." I take a step back but he just looks at the pool.

"Nope." He composes himself. "But I know of their economical and musical standing. Haven't you heard of the Enuii Musical?" His face looks at me with the slightest tinge of interest and I shudder. Something about this Yunoki-senpai makes me want to believe that the nice side was too good to be true.

"No I haven't."

"Figures since peasants like you don't know a thing about the economy of Japan." He twiddles his fingers and fixes his tie. Oi, oi...who's he calling a peasant? "The Enuii Musical is the third largest and wealthiest company in Japan, selling musical instruments and doing all sorts of concerts. Frankly, their music selling company isn't that good but their mastery of the violin makes it hard to not associate their brand to their performance. I trust you've met Hikari Enuii?"

I blink my eyes and shake my head. "I haven't."

Yunoki-senpai sighs and looks at me boringly. "But you've sat with her today. Akira's mother, the famous violinist Hikari Enuii."

"EH?!" I stammer as I realize that I've been so unrespectful to a well-knowned person - a violinist to be worse - and I didn't take the liberty to ask for her name. Hino you lowly peasant. Then I hear Yunoki-senpai chuckle.

"Peasant as you are, I trust you had the face to show at least the basist sign of respect." He mumbles as I try to recall our conversation. "Anyhow, Hikari Enuii has been the uncontested violinist of the East for nearly a decade however..." His voice breaks off and i look at him who is staring at the clouds.

"Her career went down when another name came into the stage - Himai Misa." 

"Eh? Tsukimori-kun's...mother?" I ask, bewildered. Suddenly I remembered that Hikari Enuii did remind me so much of Tsukimori-kun's mother. Eh???? This is getting so confusing.

"Hai, Tsukimori's mother apparently garnered the public's confidence as her music, in contrast with Hikari Enuii's, was more of the romanticist side which paved the way for more concerts. Soon Hikari Enuii was out of the picture and it was already Himai Misa." Hearing that, I looked at the pool and see Tsukimori-kun's face. No wonder he was so pressured. For his mother to be that famous...He had to match up to her somehow.

"But Hikari Enuii wasn't about to give up without a fight so she introduced to society her beloved daughter, Akira Enuii, as a violinist as well, with the cutting edge of the Enuii Musical. Akira was beginning to gain the public's love because at a young age, she could play well. But then again..." Again, Yunoki-senpai's voice breaks and I look at him. "There was another more brilliant prodigy born."

"Huh?" I looked at him and he was already staring at the ocean.

"A year after Akira's popularity, the young son of Himai Misa proved to be a more promising prodigy. Playing skills that could contest that of an adult, the young Tsukimori was indeed a more splendid choice for the public. Cold-hearted and a genius - wasn't that the perfect instrument to gain success over the enemy?" Hearing Yunoki-senpai say that I stop and begin to think of this prodigy. Tsukimori-kun.

"Eh? But Tsukimori-kun isn't a coldhearted -" I protest and Yunoki-senpai chuckles.

"And so the Enuii Musical always came in second. The mother came ine second, the daughter came in second. And the Tsukimori's? First in everything they did. And so, the Enuii always hated the Tsukimori's and rumor has it, that they're out to get the Tsukimori's downfall." 

The last sentence makes me shiver and I find my heart stop beating.

"Yunoki-senpai...why are you telling me this?" I ask defiantly. I knew that this wasn't some 'I-care-for-you' advice because Yunoki-senpai would never do that to me. So it must be something else. He looks at me and leans forward. With a look of seriousness he whispers -

"Don't make the mistake of falling inlove with Tsukimori."