I N N O C E N C E (Shu Sakamaki)

Chapter 5

"What are you doing?"

She was snapped back to reality as Shu's hand held her wrist tightly. Her eyes were wide with shock, as she realized that her thoughts somehow became the reality.

"Do you wish to touch me that bad, girl?" He asked, with a smirk plastered on his face.

Manami's face grew hot as she tried to maintain her usual calm demeanor. She cleared her throat and looked to the side, away from the judgmental eyes of the Sakamaki. "No, but you reminded me of a Doberman Pinscher. And since I absolutely adore the Doberman Pinscher, it became an instinct."

"Doberman Pinscher?" Shu questioned, as his eyebrows slightly furrowed at the thought that he merely reminded her of a dog. "You really are daring."

"I wouldn't say so, I just speak the truth, that's it." She said, pointing at the scales on the chalkboard. "You drew that?"

"Yeah." He said, folding his arms.

"You know, if you ask nicely, I could play you a piece or two." She said, resting her chin on the palm of her hand, staring at Shu with a teasing smile.

Shu didn't like that, but his curiosity of hearing her play was making him more and more desperate. "Play."

"I guess that's the nicest you'll ever be..." She sighed, as her mind raced for all the possible choices of the songs she could play. Surely not the Flight of the Bumblebee... [A/N: IF YOU CAN PLAY IT SLOWLY, YOU CAN PLAY IT QUICKLY - TWOSET FANS WHERE YOU AT?]

Finally landing her mind on the right piece, she looked at Shu expectingly. "Do you have a full size violin?"

"Yeah." He looked at the dark brown violin which laid neatly on the table, as if it had been just used.

"Thank you." She nodded, picking it up and placing her shoulder against the shoulder rest.

Shu observes her every move. Resting her chin and picking up the bow, her stance and positioning were perfect. She played around with the strings, making sure that they were tuned, as she inhaled deeply. He found himself mesmerized in her, before the bow jumped off the string, and just with a couple of notes he was able to know exactly what she was playing.

Paganini's Caprice 24, the infamous piece known for its difficulty. He listened to her every note, hearing the crescendos, the dynamics and the accents that she purposely included in order to give the song a meeting. He noticed her change up the length of the notes a couple of times, as well as the way she performed the vibrato. He didn't know if it was just him, but she made the piece sound dangerously heart-wrenching.

Her expression changed with every note that she played. First, her eyebrows furrowed, then her expression became playful as she jumped through the quick staccato notes, lowering her stance along with the piece. This made him smile at the thought that she looked so invested.

Things were starting to line up. Surely it was her, no other way she would know how to play such a hard instrument on her own, and on the level of almost a professional.

Finally, it came to the end, as she ended on the down bow, exhaling as if she held her breath the entire time she was playing. Shu waited until she was looking at him to give her a satisfied smirk.

"That wasn't that bad, was it?" She asked desperately, trying not to sound curious but yet, coming off that way. "Whose violin is this anyways? It projects nice sound. I bet the woods is from 1800s, must have cost a fortune."

"It's mine." He said, standing up and walking over to Manami intimidatingly.

Manami took a couple of steps back, prioritizing the safety of the instrument over herself, as she placed it on the table the furthest away from her and Shu.