Amidst The Dissonance

A Day to Forget II

"Kaede? A-are you okay?"

She ignored his question, still trying to control the heat radiating from her cheeks.

"S-seriously! Did I say something wrong?"

No response again.

"Kaede..." In an instant, Shuichi walked over and grasped her arm again. The pianist let out a quiet gasp as he tugged lightly and pulled her closer to him.

"N-no..." she finally responded. "You didn't do anything..." Her voice was barely audible, but she refused to raise it. "I-I was just thinking..."

Dissatisfied with the answer, he gripped her arm tighter. Kaede let out a small squeal and pulled her arm back, trying to break free of his grip. For someone who seemed so nervous and delicate, he sure knew how to maintain a firm grip when he wanted to.

"S-Shuichi, you're hurting me..." she strained.

"Ah!" Panicked, he let go of her and stepped back, nearly tripping over his own feet. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you, I promise! I was just--"

"Shut up, Saihara." she suddenly snapped. "I know you didn't mean it."

His panicked apologies immediately ceased as he stiffened up. The pianist jerked her arm around for a bit before turning to face him; her tone relaxed as an apologetic smile glimpsed by. "Ehehe, sorry for snapping. I just didn't want you to panic over something trivial."

Shuichi put a hand to his chest in an attempt to steady his heartbeat. "T-that was scary. I feel like that method is going to backfire one day."

"I know." she sounded guilty now. "But hey, if it works for Mikan, the biggest anxious mess the world has ever known, then it'll probably work for other people, too."

He couldn't help but snort lightly. "Is that your logic?"

Kaede flushed. "W-well, it still worked on you, didn't it? S-so, why does it matter what kind of logic I use?!" Her voice began rising with every question that she burst out. "I-if I'm being stupid, then be a man and admit it already!"

Terrified, Shuichi grasped the collar of his jacket. "A-ah! Y-you're being stupid! T-that logic is foolish!"

In any other instance, those words would've made Kaede furious, probably humiliated as well. But right now? She just felt relieved. She exhaled a quiet chuckle and placed her hands behind her back.

"See? Not bad, was it?"

The detective glanced at her in disbelief. "I-I'm surprised you're not upset about what I just said."

Lightly shrugging, she began swaying her hips back and her forth. "I could already tell you felt that way; I just wanted you to say it."

Her skirt swayed back and forth as it followed the movement of her hips. With the way the fabric swung in both directions, it almost succeeded in creating a hypnotic rhythm. A rhythm that someone's eyes would easily take notice of.

A rhythm that someone...might focus on for a few seconds too many.

Shuichi pulled his hat further downwards over his face; the last thing he wanted to do was to stare downwards. Or focus on the magenta folds of her skirt. Or focus on the musical rhythm she moved to. Or focus on--dammit! He was focusing on her skirt again! Why was he focusing on it like that? It was just a piece of clothing, after all! So why couldn't...why couldn't he stop glancing? Why couldn't he focus? Was...was it really a hypnotic motion after all? It had to be; why else would--

"Hey, Shuichi? Did you hear me?" Kaede waved a hand near his face.

"A-ah!" the detective squeaked and shoved his hands into his pocket. His eyes snapped up to focus on her gaze. She seemed frustrated, but he couldn't read any signs of embarrassment or anger. He relaxed slightly; she must've not noticed him looking.