Music Theory || Kyoya Ootori

~~Symphony #12: Fortissimo ~~

    Natsumi notices something different the moment she wakes up. There's several things she's noticed about her daughter as she grew up: she didn't have the best health, she isn't an outgoing person, and her daughter may be gifted on the violin but she's terribly tone deaf.

    And the first thing she hears is her daughter's atrocious singing. She sits up from her bed and rubs her eyes. She had a long night of editing and is craving for caffeine. What she would give for some coffee right now.

"Dear!" Natsumi hisses to her husband. He hums absentmindedly in response. "Oh for goodness sake, dear, pay attention would you?! It's about Kanade!"

Kazuko glances up from his phone, adjusting his eyes from the screen's brightness, "What's wrong?"

"Look!"

    He frowns and quirks an eyebrow at his wife's antics and reluctantly does as he's told.

"Is she... humming?" Kazuko asks skeptically. He's heard his daughter's singing before and suffered from an ear bleed afterwords. "Why?"

"I don't know!" Natsumi wails. "She's been acting different all morning!"

    Both parents stiffen when Kanade steps into the room with a bright smile on her face.

"Hi, Mother! Hi, father!" Kanade greets enthusiastically. "Morning!"

"Morning," they greet her in unison cautiously.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

"Breakfast?" Natsumi repeats slowly. Her daughter has never taken an interest in cooking before.

"Yup! I'm making some right now!" Kanade exclaims cheerfully.

    Natsumi pokes her head out through the kitchen doorway, eyeing her daughter suspiciously. This is too good to be true. Is there some kind of holiday she didn't know about? She cries out as flames burst from the pan. The other cooks scramble to turn the stove off, shouting over each other frantically.

"A-Actually, dear," she tells the teenager. "We'll be just fine! Leave this to the professionals. "

"Can do!" Kanade agrees, smiling sheepishly. She grabs her book bag and violin case off the table. "See you both after school!"

"Do you think this is a phase?" Kazuko asks as soon as she's out of earshot.

"I certainly hope so! I can't risk the house burning down, " she answers. "Oh, Naoko-san!"

    An elderly woman in a pink kimono comes rushing towards the to concerned parents.

"Yes, Fujishima-sama?" she asks.

"Please make us some strawberry pancakes," Natsumi says as she fans herself. "We're gonna need the energy boost."

"Right away, Fujishima-sama!"

"Are you craving sweets again, honey?"

"I'm always craving sweets, dear," Natsumi says.

"Well, I'll be off to work now," Kazuko says, frowning as his eyes read over a message. "I'll be needing those pancakes on the go."

    He kisses his wife's forehead and is out the door as soon as one of the cooks gives him a plastic bag.

    With her daughter at school and husband at work, she has this time for peace and quiet. Maybe she'll buy some more commoner's Pocky to help motivate her to write her blog.

☆☆☆

    When she goes to the host club the next day, she finds herself in a tropical paradise. There were palm trees everywhere, nature sounds filled her ears which she assumes is coming from a computer, and fruit baskets were placed on the counter tops. As she takes her seat, she sees a flyer on the table.