Kapitel 15: Chapter 15: Yuzu's Reveal
Yuzu for once was standing at the door waiting for Mei to get ready, she although had been up far longer before Yuzu still wasn't quite ready to leave.
"Mei common, it's the first music lesson you don't need to take anything, they will provide you with anything you need, so hurry up before you're late." Yuzu waited rather patiently for Mei, she was by no means in a rush to leave, she didn't have anywhere to go. Mei had suggested they leave together and split ways when they got down the street, as Mei was still under the impression that Yuzu was meeting their friend Tyler.
Yuzu obviously couldn't say no as it was her excuse to get out of this music lesson, she thought she would just go with Mei to start with then go to a cafe or call Harumi. Tyler had told Yuzu he had gone to visit his family over the break and wouldn't be back until school started up again, something she neglected to tell Mei, which she was now thankful for. She had texted Tyler earlier today, explaining that she really didn't want to go to a music lesson with Mei and needed an excuse not to go, she didn't want to lie to her friend, so like Mei, he got as much of the truth as possible.
Mei walked down the hall, an extravagant smile on her face. "Yeah, I know that I guess I'm just nervous, but I'm so happy I can wait to try playing it." Mei was practically skipping around the house getting her things together. She was dressed in dark grey jeans, a long sleeved shirt that was buttoned up to her neck, and just for extra precautions, she had applied makeup to guarantee Yuzu's marks wouldn't be shown to anyone.
"Okay, let's go...Yuzu, thank you again for doing this. I know you didn't really seem overjoyed about going but I really appreciate that you're trying it for me." Mei gave Yuzu a smile and peck on the cheek as she walked out of the door. Yuzu was stunned, she thought she had played the part rather well last night. Following Mei out of the apartment, Yuzu took Mei's hand after locking up.
"I don't know what you are talking about Mei. Yeah, last night I wasn't jumping up and down but I was just having one of those days ya know? I am really excited to learn I promise, now you don't need to keep thanking me I honestly haven't done anything to deserve it. You just need to make sure you have fun and enjoy yourself, okay?" Yuzu said in a cheery tone. She was still upset about it but her resolve to make Mei happy was impenetrable, for the first time in years Yuzu was thinking about, or at least mildly entertaining the idea of the piano without crying. She had stayed up quite late last night thinking things through, several times a tear had threatened to spill over, but she had refrained from getting out of bed and instead held Mei closer. She was now confident she would be able to go with Mei without breaking down, all she had to do was focus on Mei, and her beautiful smile, that in itself was enough to stop Yuzu from crying.
Mei smiled at Yuzu as they walked along the street, she really was the best girlfriend Mei could ask for, she wouldn't change a thing about her.
"Okay, if you say so."
As they neared the street they were supposed to part on Mei spoke up,
"Are we meeting up after my lesson or will you be finished your lunch date before then?" Mei questioned as she moved to face Yuzu, prepared to go her sperate way. Yuzu, however, had a moment of panic, "Emm, uh no I'll meet you back at the house, Tyler is only visiting for the one day, it's only going to be a quick lunch. We should be finished long before your two-hour class is. So I guess I'll just see you at home at about half three, then you can tell me all about your day?" after quickly collecting her thoughts Yuzu had come up with a reasonable excuse for Mei not to meet up with her and Tyler.
"Oh okay, I'll see you then, tell Tyler I said hello, goodbye," Mei gave Yuzu a short kiss before walking away, eagerly awaiting her lesson. Yuzu played the part and started walking in the opposite direction, pulling her phone out she dialled Harumi's number and hoped she would pick up. She didn't really want to go back to the house right now, and although she had just left the two a day ago she really needed to talk to someone right now.
"H-Hey Yuzu, what's up?" Harumi answered slightly short of breath, and Yuzu could hear slight muffles in the background.
"Hey, is now a bad time? You sound like you're running or something?" Yuzu asked slightly concerned she had caught her friend as a bad time, but the reply she got made her cheeks turn pink, listening on the phone she got Harumi's delayed response.
"What of course not, we always answer the phone no matter what right, wait a second I'm on the phone uhhh Matsuri, mhmm, will you stop I'll be back in two seconds... Sorry Yuzu, I hope you didn't hear that she is being clingy as always. What's up?" Yuzu heard the sound of a door closing and Harumi sighing.
"Ohh I didn't mean to... You didn't have to pick up if you were doing that Harumi, it wasn't that important." Yuzu was thoroughly embarrassed, she was ready to say goodbye when Harumi gave a light chuckle to reassure her.
"Don't worry about it, we weren't doing it you just caught us getting started. But I already answered so just say why you called, it will probably just annoy her more if you called and said nothing," Yuzu could make out the playful tone in her voice and knew she thought it was quite amusing to tease her girlfriend.
"I just wanted to ask if you wanted to meet up for a coffee there was some stuff I wanted to talk about but obviously you are busy so I guess I'll be fine, tell Matsuri I said sorry." Yuzu said apologetically, but once again she was cut off by Harumi.
"Hey c'mon, you come before sex if you need to talk I'm there. Where about are you, oh and can Matsuri come? I think she will take it better if we both choose you over sleeping together, rather than me leaving her here alone." Yuzu was a little shocked at Harumi's words, but in a weird way, it warmed her heart.
"Yeah she can come, I'm close to that really big shopping mall, so can I just meet you guys at our regular place?" Yuzu's voice had perked up after confirming that she would have someone to talk to. If Matsuri was coming along as well that would mean she might get caught out, after all, she was with Yuzu when a lot of what she was upset about happened. Yuzu had already made the decision to go with her girlfriend to the lessons after today, but that didn't mean she didn't feel the need to rant to her best friend.
After saying a quick goodbye Yuzu headed to their favourite cafe and like she had expected got there before the other couple, she assumed it would take Harumi some time to actually get Matsuri out of bed. Knowing this she sat down at a booth and ordered her self a fresh, much-needed cup of coffee. Then in the next fifteen minutes, Yuzu saw the two girls walk into the cafe, Harumi was smiling contently; Matsuri had a sour look on her face.
"Hey Yuzu, sorry to have kept you waiting, we live just down the street and yet it took her this long to get ready," Harumi gave the grumpy pink haired girl a slight smirk before settling down at the table.
"Hi Matsuri, hope I didn't disturb anything important, I kinda just needed to rant. Or at least just someone to talk to who wasn't Mei." After Yuzu had finished it was evident that Matsuri had forgone her grumpy attitude as she sat down at the table, clearly intrigued by what the blonde had said.
"Oh, what happened? Is she still mad at you for whatever you did when we went camping? And where is she right now?" Matusri questioned as she tried to wave down a waiter. Catching the waiter the three ordered their drinks before they continued their conversation.
"We aren't fighting, quite the opposite actually. We are great at the minute, Mei is really happy cuz she asked me if we could attend piano lessons, something she was really hyped up for, and I said yes. So that's why she isn't here." Yuzu spoke in a somewhat low tone and failed to properly meet either of the two's eyes.
"What's wrong with that, shouldn't you be happy for her too? You look like your nonexistent cat just died," It was Harumi who spoke up as she slurped on her drink, totally oblivious to Yuzu's reluctance towards the piano.
"What?! I am happy for her! It's great she has finally found something she is passionate about that isn't reading, but it's just that she wants me to do it as well. I mean I will cuz it will make her happy but I dunno..." Yuzu trailed off as she didn't really know where she was taking her little ramble. She didn't want to sound like she was complaining, but she couldn't help it, she needed to get her feeling out in the open instead of in her head. Yuzu was confident that the two would keep her secret if she ended up spilling anything.
"So, I take it you made up this meeting in the spur of the moment, a final attempt to avoid going with Mei today?" Matsuri's usually smug face had stricken slightly as if she was taking the conversation seriously. Yuzu gave a quick nod before focusing on her drink, she didn't like lying to Mei, it gave her an uneasy feeling and now there where several more people that could blow her cover.
"Does it still bother you? I thought you got over that when we were younger, even if you still get upset about the piano why not just tell Mei? I'm sure she would understand, I thought you two were past secrets and sneaking around?" Matsuri's tone was a mixture of concern and scolding. She was worried for Yuzu but didn't like that her other friend was being lied to.
"It's silly for me to still be upset about it, I don't want to show Mei that. I have been this way for years not even Mama knows about it. I would just feel like a crybaby for showing Mei, and if I did tell her she wouldn't go to her music lessons to try and make me happy. Also, I'm not completely lying to her before you say that, she found me crying last week after she mentioned it. I didn't tell her what the cause was but she knows that something has been bothering me since I was small." Yuzu was basically just ignoring Harumi by this point, trying to defend herself to Matsuri.
"Yeah she probably would, but if it's still upsetting you why didn't you say anything to anyone? Cuz you've really dug a hole for yourself now." Matsuri was sitting opposite Yuzu, a confused expression on her face. She knew why Yuzu was upset, when she was younger she had tried to help her 'older sister' but she thought Yuzu got over it years ago. She hadn't shown she was upset about it in just under a decade, or at least she hadn't to Matsuri.
"What the hell are you two talking about?" Harumi finally managed to get a word in, since the start of the conversation she had been pushed to the sidelines, she was the one Yuzu had called to talk to!
"What, Yuzu never told you? Hmf, guess that makes me the best friend," Matsuri made a mock flabbergasted expression before turning it to a smug smile."Hey don't say things like that, I never told you what we're talking about cuz it never came up and I don't make a habit of telling people. I mean outside of my immediate family, before I became an Aihara, I think Matsuri is the only one who knows, but that's just cuz I met her just after and she was like my little sister. It has nothing to do with friendship levels," Yuzu made sure to clear up Matsuri's little statement, giving her a small glare as she tried to reassure her best friend.
"Well, what can be so bad that happened years ago that you can't speak about now?" Harumi was still so confused, it was true that she didn't know much about Yuzu before she joined the Aihara Academy, but she always seemed so happy it sounded crazy that something would continue to upset her.
"Emm I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you...Yuzu?" Matsuri for once was stuck for words. It wasn't her place to talk about it but it appeared Yuzu hadn't spoken about it to anyone in years. Yuzu after several moments of contemplation gave a slight nod. I was the one that dragged them here, I'm not gonna get any advice if she doesn't know the whole story...
"But one condition, and this is for you as well Matsuri, you are sworn to secrecy I don't want any mention of this to Mei. Not even that we met up, I was supposed to be meeting up with our friend Tyler." Yuzu had a warning look in her eye that made both the two girls nod instantly.
"Well, I'm assuming you know that Yuzu's dad died when she was young?" Matsuri was now facing Harumi as she started to explain, "Yeah when you were like 3 or 4 right?" Harumi asked, nodding her head as her memory proved her right.
"Yeah, So before he died he played the piano, I never met him this is just what Yuzu said to me. He was really good, and he taught Yuzu how to play, and I know she doesn't look like it but she was a natural at playing. Something just seemed to click when her dad started teaching her, I didn't know someone so young could grasp it so easily. Anyways after he died Yuzu was really sad, her mum booked her lessons with another tutor but Yuzu would always come home depressed. After what three? years of this she eventually stopped attending lessons, and only occasional played in the house. The only reason I know how amazing she is is that she taught me what I know." Matsuri frowned a little at the recollection of the past.
"Wait so you're telling me you both know how to play the piano?!" Harumi was beyond shocked, her voice was high pitched and attracted the attention of several customers.
"Yeah, but Matsuri isn't the best, she didn't really work hard or have a natural talent for it. She was the worst student," Yuzu had a grin on her face as she remembered trying to teach the younger girl the piano.
"So the piano makes you upset about your dad?" Harumi saw that as the only reasonable explanation, but Yuzu had spoken about her dad loads to her without crying.
"No, no like I've said before I made my peace with my dad died years ago, I can visit and talk to him whenever I want. But the piano was something he left with me, he taught me how to play and we always had so much fun together when playing it. I don't even have a memory of playing it with him it was so long ago, but when I hear a piano it just makes me sad you know? I mean there was so much more he had to teach me, I remember being so happy when he would sit down with me and we would make the most beautiful music, it made my mom so proud. But when he died my mom thought that me continuing to learn the piano would be like honouring his memory, I thought of it more as betraying him. Learning under someone else made me sad." Yuzu had tears in her eyes as she spoke but she knew if she didn't say it all at once she wouldn't say it at all.
"So after I quit my lessons, I eventually stopped playing it in the house. After about two more years I told my mom to get rid of the piano that was in our house. Ever since then, whenever I heard classical music, which is what we used to play together, I would feel a sort of emptiness. Not from missing my dad but from the music itself, as if there would always be a part of it missing? I know it doesn't make much sense, it doesn't to me either, which is why I can't tell Mei. She will see that it brings about bad memories for me and stop wanting to play, I can't let my feelings get in the way of her learning something new. But I am going to have to put all my feelings aside as Mei wants me to go to the lessons with her," By the end, Yuzu was wiping her eyes with her sleeve and waiting for one of the two to say anything.
After several moments Matsuri spoke up, as Harumi still seemed to be hung up on the fact that both her best friend and girlfriend could both play the piano and failed to mention it to her.
"It's not that hard to understand, it was probably just the loss of your dad that you feel when you hear that type of music. Why don't you just tell Mei what you told us, and say that she can still do the lessons alone?" Matsuri still couldn't see why Yuzu was choosing to hide this from Mei, she was an understanding and kind person when she wanted to be and would probably know just what to say to Yuzu right now.
"Because if I do that she will stop playing. You should remember from when we were younger that if you are serious about learning the piano you need to play it every day. Which means that she will most likely buy a piano and play it when she's at home, you can't learn an instrument if you only practice 4 hours a week you would never get anywhere. So it wouldn't matter if she still attended the lessons without me, she would still be doing it when I'm home, and Mei knows this so she wouldn't continue. She already told me that yesterday." Yuzu was slumped in defeat in her chair, slurping her drink. Mentally stuck on a crossroad.
"Well, can you still play?" Harumi asked, wanting to be part of the conversation again.
"Yeah I think so, I remember how to read sheet music and my hands often just play on surfaces anyways, I mean I haven't touched a piano in years but I'm pretty sure I can still play, why?" Yuzu was slightly confused, she didn't really get where Harumi was coming from right now, how was this going to help her?
"Well if you absolutely aren't going to tell Mei and are set on going to the lessons why not just focus on something else while you are there and occasionally listen in. That way when the instructor asked you to try something you can just do it quickly and then go back to not being interested?" Harumi seemed quite proud of her idea, Matsuri scoffed.
"Yeah, cuz that's totally going to look like she has never played the piano before." Even at Matsuri's sarcastic comment, Yuzu was considering it, she had planned to do something like that anyways.
"Ha, or she could just have a quiet word with the tutour before Mei gets there," Matsuri continued to mock her annoyed girlfriend but what she said caught Yuzu's attention.
"Actually I could do that, that way she wouldn't ask any questions, and when I don't interact much I can just get her to play it off as 'that's just the way some students learn,' ahh that was a great idea. Thanks, Matsuri!" Yuzu was beaming now, feeling she had a solid plan in place.
'There are so many ways which this can go wrong' Matsuri thought to herself. "Are you sure about this Yuzu? You aren't the best at keeping secrets and if Mei finds out that you lied to her about something like this, it's going to hurt her, I don't want to see that happen. I still think you should let her know," Matsuri said, still frowning at the blonde.
"What are you talking about? I don't like lying either which is why I'm so bad at it, but this is for Mei. She was happier than I've seen her in ages going to that lesson, I am not being the one responsible for taking that away from her. Why are you being so prudent anyway? Just smile and be happy, we have a plan. She won't find out, remember what I said about not telling Mei, I'm serious about it." Matsuri only nodded in response, still disagreeing with what she planned to do.
"Sorry for making you guys come here to listen to me rant, but I really just needed to tell someone," Yuzu smiled sheepishly, Harumi, however, was ecstatic
"I can't believe you are a piano prodigy, you make me so proud, I want to hear you play something," Harumi was giving her biggest puppy dog eyes to Yuzu who lightly rolled her eyes.
"That's a bit far, yeah I understood and learned with ease but prodigy is a bit much. And I haven't played since I last taught Matsuri when I was about 8 or so," Yuzu said her face and ear pink from embarrassment.
As Yuzu spoke about playing the piano with her closest friends, she found that it wasn't as hard as when she thought about it alone. She wasn't on the verge of tears, nor was she thinking about her dad or how unpleasing her later lessons were. She was happy sitting in conversation with the two, would this be what it would be like if she told Mei, would it actually make things better?
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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Rangliste 
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Stein