L o v i n g S R i v a l r y
Part One: The First Year I
September 2002
“Kagome!” Ms. Higurashi called,
looking herself over in her full-length mirror.
“Yes?” her daughter answered,
walking into her mother’s room while brushing out her silky black hair.
“It’s time to go!” her mother
rushed, brushing past Kagome as she quickly descended the stairs.
“Okay,” said her daughter
calmly, throwing the brush onto the bed as exited the room.
Today was the day of the music contest, a day long awaited
by Ms. Higurashi Hanako, a day silently dreaded by Kagome. Yes, she had practiced hard, but her voice
still was rusty, she thought, and she had not yet met the accompanist. Her mother had told her that her best
friend’s son played the piano splendidly and that she would have nothing to worry
about. Still, she fretted over everything. She was self-assured that she would do
horribly. Her voice, to her, was ugly
and hideous. In fact, she didn’t want
to take voice lessons, but her mother insisted. ‘It will make you a refined young lady!’ she had said. Sighing, Kagome quickly descended the steps
after her mother, trying to straighten out her sleeveless black dress. I look like I’m going to a funeral. Humorously, she looked down at her
outfit. She was basically clad in all
black except for her pale arms, one of which adorned a watch and silver chain
bracelet. A silver chain necklace
rested on her collar, a single light blue sapphire hanging from the center,
sparkling like her blue-gray eyes. Slipping
on her strapping black heels, she followed her mother out the door and into the
car.
Soon, they were off, Kagome’s mother chattering absently
about how great she looked and how pleased she’ll be to finally meet
Sesshoumaru. So that’s his name,
huh? Kagome pondered about the boy
she had only heard simple pieces of information about. Truthfully, she had known about him
for three or four years. It was only
this year, when the Hamada family had moved to Tokyo again, that she would
actually meet this fabled son of Hamada Miyako, her mother’s best friend. Kagome was amazed that the two women could
remain best friends even when living for so long so far.
“I really think you’ll like him,
Kagome,” Hanako said, eyes twinkling.
“I’ve heard from a couple people that he’s beautiful.”
Kagome started a bit at her
mother’s comment. “Beautiful?” she
questioned, her eyebrows furrowing together in confusion, “Isn’t beautiful used
to describe a girl?”
“It’s only what I heard, dear,”
her mother replied, glancing at her from the driver’s seat.
Then, Ms. Higurashi smiled. “I’m sure you’ll like him fine,” she said
warmly, pausing slightly, “Although I have heard that he’s quite…calm.”
“So? What’s wrong with being calm?” Kagome asked, curious as to what
this boy was like.
“You’ll see,” said Hanako
uncertainly, turning into a parking lot.
Kagome breathed out a sigh of relief, some of her
nervousness having gone away during the brief car ride. Perhaps she WOULD do well? Kagome stepped out of the car, swinging the door
shut behind her.
“Hanako!” she heard someone
call.
Kagome swiveled in the direction of the voice, as did her
mother, and her vision was greeted by a tall woman striding gracefully towards
them. Wow… The woman was absolutely gorgeous. Black hair fell to her shoulders, cascading
just below them and brilliant green eyes laughed with a never-ending
mirth. Her lips were upturned in a
friendly smile as she approached Hanako and Kagome. Hearing her mother gasp, she turned towards her, a questioning
look on her face. The two women hugged
and laughed cheerfully, chattering amiably about anything and everything. She must be Hamada Miyako. Kagome’s mother stopped talking as she
glanced over at Kagome.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, walking
over to her daughter, “Miyako! This is
my daughter Kagome.”
“Wow,” said Miyako, walking over
to her, “She really has grown from last I saw her!”
Kagome refrained from rolling her eyes. Adults.
“And what of your son?” Hanako
asked curiously, her eyes sparkling, “Sesshoumaru, was it?”
“Yes,” Miyako answered, smiling
widely, “He’ll be along shortly.” She
glanced up behind Kagome. “In fact,
here he is now.”
Kagome knew better than to turn around so eagerly, but she
did. Her jaw almost dropped to the
ground. Mom was right. He is gorgeous. A tall figure was striding gracefully
towards them. He looks a lot like
his mom. Kagome thought, recalling
both their tall build and graceful stride.
This boy, however, had long, flowing, silvery-white hair instead of
black. Though it was quite unnatural,
it really did suit him. Nothing would
go better with his bright golden eyes, dulled slightly with a look of
boredom. The boy seemed in a class all
his own, like he was above humans.
Kagome shook her head softly, shaking away the prejudiced thoughts. It’s true, though, probably. The way he carries himself says it all.
“Hanako and Kagome, this is
Sesshoumaru,” Miyako said warmly, gesturing towards her son, who now stood
beside Kagome. “Sesshoumaru, this is
Hanako and Kagome.”
Both the females bowed to him,
and he bowed in return. “Nice to meet
you,” he said curtly, his long silver hair falling over his shoulder.
Yup, Kagome thought sarcastically, he’s a snob. With that in mind, she remained silent as
they all strolled toward the building, where the judging and performance would
take place. I just hope he’s a good
pianist, like everyone says…
November 2002
I could already tell I was going to have a hard time with
this guy. He seemed to answer every
question that came his way with a don’t-ever-talk-to-me-again, an I’m-better-than-you-are,
or a do-you-think-I-care look. Either
that, or it would be a curt nod or blank stare that would eventually ward to
off with his amazing capability to hold a murderous glare for more than fifteen
seconds. And if you didn’t run off, he
would bluntly ignore you. Jeez! It seemed like the guy had some sort of
mind-reading capability or…or…something that would pierce through you
when he looked your way. AND THIS GUY
WAS MY ACCOMPANIST?! I really couldn’t
believe my bad luck. That is, until we got
to the practice room…
“Did your
mom drag you into this?” I asked conversationally, removing my jacket.
There it
was, the blank stare for at least five seconds before ‘his highness’ decided to
grace me with his oh-so-royal answer.
“No.”
Wow, he
even has a nice voice. “No?” I
arched an eyebrow.
“I came
willingly after being asked once,” said he, the Great One.
Even a
limited sense of humor. Smiling
amiably, I gestured toward the sleek black grand piano in the center of the
room, which was fairly large considering it was only a practice room. “Shall we give it a try?”
Not answering, he made his way (gracefully) to the piano
and tapped out a few keys before sitting down at the bench. He looked at me blankly. He didn’t bring his music, huh? He must be pretty damn good.
“Let’s start from the beginning, then. Okay with you?” I suggested. Thank God our parents were outside.
As soon as his slender fingers touched the keys, I was
amazed by the sheer grace and fluency of his movements and music. He was good…better than I had ever
imagined. I wonder if he practices a
lot? It would only seem logical for
one so perfect to be a natural, therefore not needing much practice at
all. But then again, I could always be
wrong, and it seemed that I always was.
Hearing the arpeggio that trickled softly as my cue, I made a silent
wish to the Fates that I would not mess up and seem so utterly mal-practiced to
my accompanist. I would’ve been
absolutely horrified had I made a mistake in my singing. Taking a deep, quiet breath, I started in
with a soft, yet projecting, voice.
Closing my eyes, I sang on, paying scant attention to
anything around me. Everything except
the lilt of the piano and my own voice dissipated into nothingness as my focus
wavered between the serene silence of it all and the words of the song. Before I had realized it, the song was
finished as was I, and Sesshoumaru was staring at me questioningly.
Blushing
slightly, I closed my mouth before mumbling, “How’d I do? I wasn’t really paying attention.” After all, focus on only the music or
nothing at all. If you let your mind
stay, you’ll screw up.
“Well
enough,” he answered curtly.
“Meaning I
need improvement?” I bit back scornfully.
Sending me
an effortless glare he answered, “There is always room for
improvement. Perfection does not
exist.”
Wise for
someone so young… “And what, pray
tell, do you think I need improvement on?”
“Expression.”
I hadn’t
thought about that…I guess that would be a problem with my eyes closed, now
wouldn’t it? “Do you have any
suggestions?”
“It is a
sad song, is it not?” he said monotonously, “A sad, perhaps wistful, expression
would be cause for effect.”
Damn. He says it so professionally, like I’m dumb
or something. I couldn’t help but shoot
a chaste, disdainful glare at him before continuing. “The beginning again, please.”
~*~*~*~*~
Sesshoumaru held the door open for me as we left the
performance room. Hell, the guy almost
had to push me out the door, I was so frozen with anxiety. Needless to say, his performance was
flawless, what I heard of it anyways, but I wasn’t so sure about mine. Then again, I’m never sure about
anything? So what the hell. I went to stand next to my mother against
the wall as we awaited the judges to produce the results. WHAT TAKES THEM SO LONG?! Glancing over at the other wall, where
Miyako was, Sesshoumaru stood calmly, coat draped over one arm as he, with his
usual cool façade, stared at the doors to the room from whence we had come. This guy is just too funny.
“How’d you
do?” Mother-dear asked.
“Fine,” I
answered, like every other answer I had given going to contests.
“Good!” she
exclaimed, smiling. “As long as you
tried your best!”
And got
a perfect score! Really, who does she
think she’s kidding? I nodded
silently.
The wooden door next to us opened suddenly, and one of the
judges walked out. A nameplate titled,
“Hello! My name’s Yuki,” was pinned
onto her sweater. Smiling warmly, she
handed the rubric to me.
“We all
really enjoyed your performance. You’ve
got a beautiful voice and a wonderful accompanist! You can go out to the front, there,” she said, pointing to a desk
down the hall, “to sign out and record your score. Thank you!”
With that, she disappeared back into the room, and another
person was called up. Blinking, I
turned the sheet so I could read it.
Fives were circled all down the columns, and at the bottom, the score
read 50/50. Wow…perfect… Looking up to Sesshoumaru, I flashed him a
rare smile. I guess some things are
more perfect than others in this world, Sesshoumaru.
[To Be Continued…]