The day of the performance for their music assignment had arrived. Almost everyone was excited and at the same time, nervous because of it. Despite all that, all of them anticipated each other's performances. Two classes would be using the auditorium at the same time. As for Class 2-C, they would be with Class 2-D. That was why the two classes were happy. It didn't come as a surprise to their music teacher since she knew that the two classes were in some sort of collaboration for some time now. Somehow, they made quite a team--a large team, for that matter.
When their hour came, the two classes headed to the auditorium in an organized manner. They went there in two straight lines. Upon reaching the place, they saw that several musical instruments were on the stage. There were also CD players and cassette players, even the complete sounds system--all of which were going to be used by the students for their performances.
And so the scary part began... or a least that was what everyone was thinking as soon as they sat on the chairs of the hall.
They saw the teacher get onto the stage and took the mic from its stand.
"Alright, class! Today you'll be performing your chosen songs so I want every one of you to perform at your best. Now we'll have to do it with the numbers you have on your hands. The ladies will perform first so better get ready. As for your numbers with your pairs, it will be decided after the individual performances. Are there any questions?" The teacher inquired as she looked around.
No one said anything which she took as a yes.
"If there aren't any questions, then the person who picked number one should come here on stage." With that, the teacher left the stage and the student with the number one came up.
Riya took a deep breath and looked at the paper in her hand. She got the number 19. But even though she was still far behind, she was undeniably nervous and a little scared. Kurama sensed this so he held her hand that made her look at him. With his gentle smile, she felt somewhat calmer.
All in all, Class 2-C and Class 2-D had 60 students. There were 28 boys and 32 girls altogether. As for the numbers that the rest of the group got, it was listed as follows: Yusuke got 34, Kuwabara got 36, Keiko got 26, Ayako got 29, and Kurama got 38. That means Riya would be the first among the gang to sing her song of choice.
The first 18 performers were all good as they were able to express their thoughts about the person they loved through the song they picked. They were given a chance to explain why they picked that particular song and to who, by any chance, they dedicate it. For Kurama, it was quite obvious as to whom he would dedicate the song he chose. The only problem was the title of the song itself. Same goes to Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko, and Ayako.
But the real mystery lies in Riya's song and to whom she would dedicate it. Even Kurama didn't know that. So they had to wait since it was their only option.
When it was Riya's turn, everyone in that hall went quiet. The maiden took a deep breath before she stood from her seat and went to the stage. She adjusted the height of the mic stand and took a stool that was on one corner of the stage and a guitar. Everyone waited for the teacher to give the signal for her to sing.
"Miyuzaki-san, could you tell us the title of the song and to whom you're dedicating it?" the teacher asked with a smile since she, too, wanted to know the answer to that mystery.
Before answering the teacher's question, Riya glanced over Kurama's seat and saw him give her a reassuring smile enough to calm her nerves. Soon after, she faced the students who were anticipating and anxious to hear her answer to the question.
"Today, I chose to sing the song titled 'Tell Me Where It Hurts' and I dedicate it to the person who's making me feel special even though I caused pain to him. In a way, I know I broke his heart and I want him to know that I'm here and willing to ease his pain with all that I can. Like the song that I chose for this day, I want to do what I can to put back the pieces of his broken heart. That way, I could thank him for making me feel special and happy that I would cherish for the rest of my life," Riya said seriously but with a small smile on his face.
Riya soon positioned the guitar on her lap and got ready to play. But before that, she spoke once again.
"Someone told me that the true beauty of singing reveals itself when you truly sing that song for someone. With that, you could convey the feeling that lies within the song you've chosen. So I hope this song could reach your heart--" she paused before she sighed. "--Shuichi-kun."
Not only surprised reactions filled the hall but also cheers and applauses. As for the person mentioned by the maiden, he was looking at Riya intently with eyes slightly opened wide because of surprise. But a few seconds later, he managed to recover and decided to listen to Riya's song. Not only him, but also the others decided to do the same thing.
Riya started playing the tune of her chosen song on the guitar followed by her singing the song... with all her heart since she dedicated it to Kurama.
All this time, Riya could tell that the pain she unconsciously inflicted on Kurama's heart hadn't faded until now. His eyes were telling her that. So she wanted to remove that pain. She couldn't bear to see him sad whenever he was alone. But she planned on doing that not only through the song but also something else.
Something she knew that would convey her true intentions of fading the pain in the fox demon's heart. She wanted to do it in any way she could.
Kurama might not have been crying in a literal sense, but Riya could feel that his heart still does. She could tell that he was not going to stop crying anytime soon, not until she could figure out the main reason why would he be extremely hurt because of her declaration.
She had to know the reason for her to do what she could to make it go away. After all, she was already in love with him. Her love might become the perfect cure for that heartache of his end.
Riya smiled as she sang the song along with the melody from the guitar, followed by her glancing at the person to whom she dedicated the song. Kurama was on his seat, now with a smile on his face as he listened to her singing truly for someone. He was glad to know that he was that 'someone' who was making her special.
That was because she was special and she always would be no matter what happens from then on. Nothing could change that in his heart. At least, that was what he thought.
All of the students there concentrated on listening to the song since it defined Riya's intention to be with Kurama and ease his pain. Besides that, they liked the song she chose. She was singing it with a good expression etched on his face. Even her emotions were clearly expressed within the song's lyrics.
Yusuke and Kuwabara couldn't help but envy Kurama for having Riya in his life. The girl tried to tell the fox in many ways and based on the song, she was willing to love him (again). Ayako and Keiko were smiling as they listened to the song. It was so obvious that Riya fell in love with Kurama once again and this time, it happened in a matter of two weeks which was pretty ironic.
But that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered to them was for Kurama to realize the maiden's feelings.
Kurama couldn't remove the smile on his face as he listened to Riya singing. Her angelic voice would forever stay in his heart as she truly sang for someone - for him - despite how things turned out between them. And a picture of her as she was playing the guitar while singing was one of the perfect pictures to remember over and over. He just hoped someone would bother to record Riya's performance and lend him a copy of it.
When he glanced to one side of the hall, he chuckled silently when he saw Yumi holding up a video camera. It looked like his wish was granted since he knew that the blonde was fond of taking pictures and videos of her friends' important moments, just like Riya's performance at the moment.
When Riya was done playing the last chord of the song, silence filled the room for a few seconds before fairly loud applause was heard. She smiled when she heard that as she placed down the guitar on the floor, especially when she saw Kurama clapping. Upon standing from the stool, she bowed in front of them and went down the stage.
Sitting beside Kurama, Riya faced the said redhead and smiled genuinely before speaking. "How was it?"
"The answer was already evident, right?" Kurama said.
"Well, I wanted to hear the answer directly from you."
It took a while before Kurama decided to abide by the maiden's wish. He faced her with a gentle smile.
"You did great. Honestly, it was really beautiful. The way you sang the song, your emotions were vividly expressed. Though I must admit, I was quite surprised when you said you dedicated that song to me... even though you couldn't remember me at all..." Kurama's face went serious after saying that.
Riya sighed and faced the stage to watch the next performer. She clenched her hand placed on her lap soon after.
"It might be weird to say this to you right now but... there's a part of me saying that you're someone really important to me. It's just that I couldn't figure out how important you were to me before. I've been trying hard to remember most of what I've forgotten but I really couldn't. So I said to myself that even though I may not be able to remember our past, the least I can do is to treasure and cherish what we have today. That way, we have created new memories together. One that will never fade away," Riya said seriously and faced Kurama with a smile. "Right?"
No words came out of Kurama's lips after hearing that. Soon after, memories came rushing into his mind since Riya spoke the same familiar words before. But then he recovered and nodded as a response to what Riya said. It was later followed by holding Riya's hand and gripping it slightly tight.
They continued watching the other performers and sometimes, they gave their opinions about those performances. Even Keiko, Ayako, Yusuke, and Kuwabara's performances weren't spared from their comments and opinions. Each moment that passed, they felt comfortable in the company of each other, and talking to Riya like that made Kurama calm.
When it was Kurama's turn to perform, Riya gripped his hand, as if saying that he could do it. He smiled as a response before standing up to go to the stage. One of the students assisted him in putting a CD in the player containing the instrumental of the song he chose to perform. Of course, the students went quiet once more as they watched Kurama on the stage.
"You can start whenever you're ready, Minamino-san. But you have to answer the question first," the music teacher instructed.
Kurama nodded as he took the mic from its stand and sighed inwardly before speaking., glancing in Riya's direction.
"The song I chose to sing today has something to do with the past that has always been special to me for five and a half years. This song that I chose to perform today is titled "Remember December" and as the title implies, December was the month when it all happened. It was the month that changed my life. The reason for that? It's because-" he paused before glancing at Riya once again. "-I met the woman I consider special to me in so many ways. It was just a short-time meeting by chance. But that chance meeting changed everything about my life. You might not be able to remember this now or maybe not at all, but that's alright. Like what you said to me a while back, we have today for us to cherish. We'll create new memories together, ones that will always stay in our hearts and ones that will be worth remembering for eternity. This song is for you, Riya."
When Kurama looked once again at Riya, he saw her eyes slightly open wide as she placed a hand on her mouth. Sure enough, it was a surprise for her to know that she met Kurama before. But how come an unknown incident would take all of those memories from her mind? She was even more surprised upon learning that he alone held on tight to it. He didn't care about the pain, as long as it won't leave him forever. Kurama held on to her, to his memories with her, no matter how hard it would have been for him because she forgot about him all of a sudden.
Without knowing, hot tears streaked down Riya's cheeks made Kurama look away and decide to start the performance. After all, the song he chose to perform today was meant for Riya and no one else. Perhaps this way, she would be crying not because of guilt for forgetting him but for a different reason.
The music started playing and Kurama heaved a sigh once more before he remembered Riya's words.
"The true beauty of singing reveals itself when you truly sing that song for someone..."
And so, with those words echoing in Kurama's mind, he began singing the song he chose for him to recall the memories of him and Riya once more.
That one moment in his lifetime which happened one ordinary December, to be specific, Christmas Eve, undeniably left a mark on his heart. Kurama met a girl who called his Snow Rose magical which made him decide to eternally preserve that magic by giving it to Riya. The Snow Rose led him to find her once again after five years.
Who would've thought that it would come to this? Even Yusuke who was Riya's cousin and acting older brother (forget the fact that they were just about the same age, only Yusuke was a few months older than Riya) didn't know that part of his life... of her life... No one knew that up until now, not even Hiei or Yumi who happened to be his and Riya's close friends respectively.
Kurama decided to glance at Riya's seat and he was inwardly surprised to see her teary-eyed but with an encouraging smile. Her amethyst eyes were glowing with so many emotions he couldn't name from his position at the moment. No more tears were falling which gave him relief.
Looking at Riya's face reminded him of so many memories they had together, all of which had begun with that chance meeting during the celebration of White Christmas in Hokkaido. And he would remain holding on to it for as long as he could because he knew moments like that would never cross his path the same way twice.
As the other students continued watching Kurama's performance, they could feel a sense of sadness, longing, and love in his singing. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko, Ayako, and Yumi were some of the people who knew that more than anyone. But despite the pain and sorrow that Kurama felt, they were proud of him because the fox remained faithful to love Riya even though the maiden had no memories of him at all.
The unbreakable faith residing in Kurama's heart remained his temporary source of strength to overcome this. And now that there could be another way to retrieve Riya's lost memories, that faith would never fail him no matter what.
All Riya could do at the moment was to smile as she admired him while singing that carefully chosen song. A song that reminded him of that meeting that she couldn't remember no matter what she does to do so. She wanted so bad to remember Kurama; she just didn't want to show that to her friends.
She thought she would be okay with this. But definitely, she was wrong. Being unable to remember the very person she knew was important to her life was enough for her to hate herself in a way. But she couldn't do anything at all. Creating new memories together with him without the memories of the past wasn't okay for her.
And it would never be.
Crying would never help her so she has to smile for his sake. Her smile was one thing that Kurama needed for him not to be driven insane because of what he had felt after the battle.
For now, that was the only thing she could do for him. To smile.
When the song was over, Riya was the first one to clap at Kurama's performance, surprising the said fox. Soon after, the others followed made Kurama smile. He then thought he wasn't that bad when it comes to singing, just like what Riya told him during their practice.
Kurama went down the stage and sat beside Riya.
"You held on to it, huh? Even though it was hopeless..."
He frowned when he heard that from Riya but it soon faded when she faced him with a smile. Her smile was more than enough to melt his heart.
"I always will... no matter what happens from now on..." Kurama said with determination before holding her hand.
"I know you will," Riya replied.
After all the students performed individually, they picked a number from the box provided for the duet performance. From one to thirty, Kurama and Riya got 23. Yusuke and Keiko got 14. Kuwabara and his partner got 16 while Ayako and her partner got 19. But before the duet performance started, they were given a 45-minute break to refresh, do a last round of practice, and prepare for their performances. During that time, the music teacher already graded her students and decided which individual performances would be chosen for the Rose Festival's closing celebration.
Riya headed outside for a while since she received a call from Mari regarding her lunch and one other stuff that Kurama shouldn't know first. While Yusuke, Keiko, and Yumi were having a conversation of their own which Kurama, Ayako, and Kuwabara found a little strange but they decided to ask later. That was when Keiko received a message on her phone.
"She'll be needing help regarding the invitations," Keiko said without looking at Yusuke and Yumi.
"But we have to keep the invitations first just until the duet performances are over," Yusuke suggested.
"I'll do that. Just worry about your performances. I'll bet she's going to be the one to invite Kurama personally," Yumi said with a smile. And with that, Yumi left the hall. Yusuke and Keiko went back to their seats.
Ayako and Kuwabara approached the said pair.
"What was that all about?" Kuwabara curiously asked.
But Yusuke just grinned and Keiko was the one who answered.
"You'll find out later," Keiko said with a mysterious smile that made Ayako and Kuwabara looked at them quizzically. Kurama remained silent as he waited for Riya but he, too, wanted to find out what the conversation was all about.
But he chose to wait. Perhaps Riya or Yumi could explain that.