Liebestraum (Kurama X OC)

Chapter 10: Un Sosprio (Or, literally, a sigh)

For the next ten days, Asuka did nothing but study and practice her piano piece. While out for a walk one afternoon, Asuka stumbled upon a music shop that primarily sold pianos. After she tried her audition piece on the white baby grand piano in the main foyer, the delighted owner insisted she come by and practice again. It was good for business, he said.

Math, and certain portions of science were an uphill battle. The gap between ignorance and competency seemed to widen the more she studied. The night before test day Asuka had a panic attack, and she also had one in the morning. She had to get into Meiou, otherwise all the effort Kurama spent tutoring her would be a waste.

When she opened the door to leave on test day, Asuka was surprised to see Kurama walking to her door. She thought he'd meet her at school.

His eyes widened as he observed her.

"Yeah," Asuka said with a horse voice.

Without saying a word, he stepped forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. His calm, comforting ki coursed through her body, and Asuka closed her eyes, tempted to curl into his chest for further relief.

"You can do this," he said softly. "I believe in you."

Her head hung limply, but she acknowledged his words. It was impossible to feel anything beside calm.

They walked together to school as the sun peaked out behind a cloud. The weather was just beginning to cool down from the hot of summer. Soon it would be time for sweaters, but not yet. When they entered Meiou, Kurama escorted her up to the Dean's office for her test.

"I'll be outside," he said with a smile. "The hard part is first. Do what you can, and the rest will attend to itself."

Asuka gulped, and turned toward the door. She paused for a moment before lifting her slender hand to slide the door open. A man with shortly cut peppered hair and fine wrinkles at the edges of his eyes beckoned her to come in.

"Hello Asuka," he greeted. "You are right on time. I am Misagasi."

She bowed. The loose strands of her hair fell forward and her fake glasses slid down her nose. "Thank you for the opportunity to try out for your scholarship."

He gestured to the chair, and Asuka sat, taking a pencil out of her bag.

"Your entrance exam is timed, so please take care not to spend too much time on a particular problem. You have two hours to complete the test. Any questions?"

"No, thank you."

Misagasi handed her the test and told her to begin. Asuka breathed in deeply, then opened the page. It was in a similar format as the practice exams she'd been taking. She would answer the easy parts quickly in order to give more time for the math and science sections. As with her other practice tests, Asuka found Japanese, foreign language and reading comprehension easy. She slowed down through science and crawled through math.

Half the battle is in my mind, she tried to remind herself. I have to stay positive and not get overwhelmed. I can do this. I can do this.

The buzzer went off on the Dean's desk which forced Asuka to stop. She got through most of the math problems, but not all of them, and she worried how that might affect her score.

"Thank you, Asuka," the Dean said taking the test back from her. "If you'll head down one flight of stairs and walk through the doors to your left, you'll find our music room is just down the hall. The teachers are waiting for you."

Asuka bowed and thanked him before sliding the door open. She found Kurama sitting with his legs crossed, reading a book. His deep green eyes met hers, and he searched through them to find how she did.