Premise: How Miki and Juri became friends.

~

The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship

“Excuse me.”  Miki Kaoru stood before the captain of Ohtori Academy's Fencing Club, Juri Arisugawa;  she was taller than Miki, but then again most people were, especially anyone in High School, which Juri was.  Miki himself was still only in middle school, despite the college level curriculum he was taking; he had a slight build and blue hair, Juri was imposing and imperious with cold eyes and perfectly curled ringlets of orange hair; Miki felt a bit like a peasant boy in the presence of a noblewoman.

“Yes?  What is it?”  Juri just kept looking at him, waiting for him to continue.

“Miss Arisugawa, I am Miki Kaoru, middle school freshman, and I would like to join the Fencing Club.”

“Miki?”  Juri looked down a moment.  “Miki?”  She looked back in his eyes, hers were wider now.  “You wouldn't happen to be the same Miki Kaoru who plays piano, would you?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact I am.”  Miki watched Juri's expression lighten up, her eyes warmed up.

“I thought so; you seemed familiar to me, but I never imagined that someone like you would want to join the Fencing Club.”  She smiled now.

“I'm familiar to you?”  Miki raised his eyebrows; it seemed odd to him that someone like Juri had noticed him.

“Yes, I've listened to your playing quite often.”  There was a fond, nostalgic look in her eyes, she was looking back in time at her own memories.

“Oh, I see.”  Miki supposed that wasn't odd; whenever he played music by himself in the music room, there were always a few people who stood outside and listened; Juri must have been one of them.  “And, you said you never imagined someone like me joining the fencing club; why?  What sort of person do you think I am?”

“A gentle one.”  She said quick and easy, the words came naturally off her tongue.  “Your music is very soft and meek, pure.”  Juri paused.  “In order to fence you must be fierce and aggressive, nothing at all like the music you play; so why do you want to fence?”

“Well, I suppose it's because I don't want to be so soft and meek anymore.”  Miki looked down at his feet, felt the pink on his cheeks.  “The truth is, I haven't been able to make my music be the way I want it to be, so I thought that if I tried something new, something I've never done before, than maybe I could find it again.”

“Find it again?  Find what?”  Miki tried to understand Juri's expression, he failed; there was some emotion, some memory that he just couldn't comprehend or grasp, like he'd somehow managed to touch on something deeply personal within Juri.

“...My Shining Thing.”  Miki looked up.  “I lost it a long time ago, I want to find it again, and be strong enough that I won't lose it again.”  A vision, a memory of when he and his sister were small children, playing piano together, until he ruined everything; he couldn't stand to see her now after he'd ruined her.

“Hmm.”  Juri stepped close to him, she looked him up and down, Miki felt seized by those eyes of hers.    “All right; let's get you sized up for a uniform.”

“Do you mean that, Miss Arisugawa?”

“Of course Miki.”  She smiled at him again.  “But please don't call me Miss Arisugawa.”

“Um, then how about Miss Juri?”

“Yes, I rather like that.  Now come along Miki, I've got a lot to teach you.”

“Yes Miss Juri!”  Miki felt his heart beat fast in his chest, he was going to be strong, at long last he was going to be strong, he'd be able to find his Shining Thing and keep it and then he'd share his music with Juri, the one who'd made him strong.