Thanks By Bek (princess_dexter)

• Title: Thanks
• Pairing: Azuma Yunoki x Kahoko Hino
• Rating/Warning: Set after episode 14, so SPOILERS TO THAT POINT. Not explicit ones, plot-wise, but character-wise, yes sirree. Rated PG for beautiful molestationTM.
• Summary: It was his fault for coercing her, his fault for intimidating her, and most definitely his fault that she was so flustered from his attentions it was impossible to concentrate. [18coda theme 5 - fermata]
• Disclaimer: Doesn't own La Corda.

The familiar tingle in her fingertips was muted today, her senses still recovering from the overwhelming events of the day before. Generally the hum of the magic violin was something that pervaded even over the vibrations of her playing, but it was almost impossible to discern today and she had a fair idea who to blame. It was his fault for coercing her, his fault for intimidating her, and most definitely his fault that she was so flustered from his attentions it was impossible to concentrate.

"Aahhh!" she cried, untucking her violin and resting her hands on her hips. "Yunoki-senpai!"

A low chuckle came from behind her and Hino's blood froze in her veins. "How flattering, Hino-san. Your thoughts are resting upon me, it seems."

Wah! she thought, whirling to face the last person in the world she wanted to see. Her traitorous heart sped up at the sight of his smiling face, and she wondered, not for the first time, how someone so beautiful could be so ruthless inside. "Y-Yunoki-senpai," she stammered, unable to keep the alarm from her voice. He noticed it immediately, of course, and his smile grew and changed, widening into the smirk only she had had the privilege of seeing. He tilted his head in an action his (ignorant!) fangirls would probably squeal over, but Hino, infinitely wiser, recognised it for what it was: a probable precursor to cutting words and some inappropriate touching. And she'd had quite enough of those to last a lifetime, so she refused to be taken in. Regardless of how pretty he was.

He moved forward and she braced herself, dropping into a half-crouch and brandishing her bow at him like a dueling sword. They both stared at it for a moment, and then Yunoki laughed, bending over and hugging himself, his forehead nearly getting scraped on the tip of her bow. Hino hurriedly retracted it, her cheeks flaming, before marching stiffly to the bench where she'd left her things. Fitting the violin back into its case, she determinedly ignored Yunoki's mirth. She was well aware she had looked ridiculous - no need to rub it in, she thought crossly.

Eventually he stopped, sighing in a satisfied sort of way. Hino stiffened but didn't turn around, busying herself with her piles of manuscript and pretending not to be aware of his footsteps as he walked across to the railing. She'd shuffled the music into alphabetic order by title, and was just beginning to separate into composers when he spoke again, his voice tinged with amusement and slightly hoarse from laughing so much. "I apologise for acting so badly, Hino-san," he said, and she blinked at an actual apology coming from his mouth. "Your reaction was just so...unexpected."

She set the sheaf of music on the violin case and turned to face him, ignoring the striking way he'd positioned himself, leaning artfully against the wrought-iron rail. "Yunoki-senpai," she replied as haughtily as she dared, "if you apologised for every bad thing you've done to me lately, we'd be here all afternoon."

He raised a careless eyebrow and she berated herself for speaking before she'd thought things through. Be careful, me! she advised herself. Don't forget who you're dealing with. Pushing himself off from the railing, he advanced on her, long, graceful strides bringing him to her side in a second. Hino's spirits sank. Ah, never mind. Too late.

Swallowing, she looked up at him, reminded uncomfortably of a similar encounter in the same place, only he didn't have her against the wall this time. And then yesterday, when he'd convinced her to help him, trapping her against the railing and making her feel faint...

Why do I come here to practice, again? She really needed to find a safer place to play.

He smiled and her (foolish) heart skipped a beat, unaccustomed as it was to such a specimen of beauty. This was bad. Her defenses weren't working. She needed to get away from him, and fast. Hino inched backwards carefully, hoping he wouldn't notice, but of course it was in vain.

"Relax, Hino-san," he murmured, reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened and flushed again, considering for an instant the repercussions of replying, well, it would be a lot easier to relax if you stopped waylaying me in secluded places and proceeding to molest me, before determining such a remark would not be in her best interest. "I just wanted to thank you."

Her jaw dropped. "Thank me?!" That didn't seem right.

Yunoki looked wounded. "Yes, for your assistance last night. It may not have turned out as I planned, but I can't deny you helped a great deal."

Hino inched back some more. "Don't mention it!" she exclaimed, waving the gesture aside. "It was my pleasure. And now I have to --"

"So," Yunoki continued smoothly, sidestepping neatly and placing himself directly in her path, "I thought I'd come to determine how best to show my gratitude."

You could leave me alone! Hino's mind supplied, her heart speeding up again. "Er, chocolates?" she offered weakly instead.

He shook his head, glossy indigo strands flying from side to side. She watched the movement, fascinated, and wondered what hair products he used. "Inadequate," he declared. "They would not suitably convey my appreciation."

"Eh heh heh." Laughing nervously, Hino chanced a look over her shoulder. Maybe someone else would be coming soon - Tsuchiura and Hihara often stopped by to chat, and they used the roof for practice too. Or - she brightened - maybe she could summon Lili here by thought! If she concentrated hard enough, perhaps he'd appear and use some sort of fairy magic to get her out of this jam.

Yunoki was still watching her. "No other suggestions?" he asked, sounding vaguely reproving. "I'd expected something on a grander scale - as you know, my family is capable of providing quite a generous gift."

A thought hit her. "Clothes!" Yes, that would do quite nicely. He'd taken her shopping yesterday; if she just gave him a good enough answer he'd have to leave her alone. "Um, I really like new clothes and dresses. And stuff."

He blinked. "Too mercenary, and rather unlike you, Hino-san." Leaning closer, he lifted his hand from her shoulder and traced a line up the side of her neck, smoothing a finger along her jawline and stopping under her chin. "Try again."

Swallowing, Hino took another step backwards, watching with apprehension as he matched her movements, step for step. For only the third time, it registered that for all his beauty, he was still a boy, and he was bigger and taller and much stronger than she could ever hope to be. "I don't know," she whispered, her breath catching in her throat. "I don't know what you want."

He froze, his eyes widening at her words. "What I want?" he echoed softly, his gaze sliding past her and brow furrowing (photogenically) in thought. She still couldn't move - his hand cupped her chin, and he was standing so close she could feel the heat of his body through her uniform. He didn't have her trapped, per se, but it wasn't a position she could escape from either.

They stood that way for a few seconds more, although to Hino they felt much longer, since her heart was going at double-time, but eventually he looked back at her, eyes somehow both softer and more determined. "Hmm," he said consideringly, before bringing his face close and brushing his lips against her cheek.

She was already blushing (curse the Hino-family's fair skin!) but the skin his mouth had touched burned hotter still. She couldn't move, couldn't think - all she could do was feel. And then it was over and he was moving back, standing away from her, his expression unreadable.

He opened his mouth and then shut it again, and just like that, the spell was broken. With a murmured "thank you" he strode past her to the door, and Hino listened until his footsteps faded before crossing to the bench and flopping down.

Bringing a trembling hand up, she pressed it against her burning cheek. Why had he done that? To further intimidate her? To make her afraid? If so, he'd achieved both objectives...but on another level, he hadn't managed to succeed in either.

Her thoughts, already jumbled from yesterday's confusion, became even more chaotic as she dwelled on what he'd done. He was so...so...

"Aahhh!" she cried, flopping back over the bench until she hung upside-down. "Yunoki-senpai!"

She really had to find a new practice spot. The roof was far too dangerous these days.

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Credits

• Layout © Kaitou Icery
• Maintained by Kaitou Icery
• La Corda D'Oro characters and series © Yuki Kure, Koei, and Lala
• Crescendo © Since December 04, 2006
• Textures: Aethereality [dot] net and Celestial Star [dot] net
• Images: Redmadness Forum for the manga pics. The rest of the images/screenshots, I took myself from various episodes.
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• Part of my mini domain: Aternal Abyss