The Accompanist

Chapter 30: Shut Up and Kiss Me, Idiot

As the sun faded behind the cracks of the blackout curtains, Boutarou got tired of practicing. He made it through the tough parts of Chopin's first Ballade in a couple of hours. The coda was a beast, but Sayaka knew exactly where and how to correct him. More than a sadist, she was like a super teacher. He now realized most pianists would kill to have someone that understood their abilities as deeply as Sayaka understood his piano playing.

But at the same time, she was a slave driver, not letting him move on until she knew he was playing it up to performance level. He had to repeat certain sections over. And over. And over. The parts that he had trouble with before made him particularly frustrated. Frustrated enough to request a food break.

He yawned, stretched, and walked the few steps it took to get to the half-sized fridge. There wasn't much. Just a cup of pudding, some beer, and a few sad looking green onions. We're underage... Why does he have beer? With a sigh, he closed the fridge and opened the cabinets. A few snacks sat on the shelves, but there wasn't anything with enough nutritional value to make a meal.

"Hey Sayaka, what do you want for dinner?"

"Anything but pizza," she called back more weakly than expected, flopping her arms above her head and immediately regretting her decision.

"Oi," he said, closing the cabinets. "Be careful."

"Sorry..."

"I guess I'll just call Isuke... It's not like I have the pizza delivery phone number memorized."

"Good point..."

As he walked back over to the phone, he began to feel a strange clouding in the air. Like imaginary fog that was growing thicker by the minute. And then he realized. If he was done playing piano... What were they going to do until dinner got there?

Clearing his throat, he decided to cross that bridge when he came to it and dialed Isuke's number by melody.

Isuke picked up before the first ring could even finish sounding. "Perfect timing. I was just about to call you."

"...Huh?"

"We're coming over there. Sayuri and Katsumi defected to our side. They're willing to hand over evidence that would put Mr. Kurata in prison for a while. And in order to get it, we need you to play piano with Sayuri."

"...Play with her?"

Now Sayaka was also tuned into the conversation, albeit, she could only hear Boutarou's responses.

"Practice with her. For her competition, or whatever it is. We'll guard you until you get into the music studio she picked out, but after that... It'll be up to you. Good luck. We can't pass up this opportunity."

"But what about--"

"Sayaka? Me and Dad are going to watch her. You don't have anything to worry about. Dad even has experience with her type of injury. Mr. Nakagawa and a few of his clan members will be guarding you. Shiki is going to be with your mom and little sister. We're being as careful as we can. So we need you to go into that music room with her for an hour."

"Isuke, I--"

The droning beep signaled the end of the call before he could finish his sentence. Boutarou hung the device back in its spot on the wall. He slowly ran his fingers through his bangs and pulled on them, his eyes looking past the floor and out of focus.

"...What's wrong?"

What was wrong? Everything was wrong. Sayuri wanted him. Alone.

He was fairly certain she didn't just want to practice. And... He'd have to agree to it? This was... This was wrong. This was all wrong and messed up.