Clair de Lune

The Piano (Part I)

The tension was still in the air for the next few days but didn't last as long as a week. The lieutenant leaving the house before even the sun had risen and coming back only in the dead of the night was the cause of this. Also after first short conversation and few failed attempts at making small talk and offering his help to either of the three women, he didn't try talking to either one of them again. To the sisters this made coexisting with him a lot easier and at least from Kaoru's point of view returned a bit of that homely feeling to her childhood home.

The townspeople were also getting used to the new troop as well. It didn't take nearly as long as it took for people to get used to the first troop that stayed in this small town. This troop was no longer sea of nameless faces, now there was the butcher's blond, the gravedigger's green eyes, the Kamiya's lieutenant and many more. Laughter started filling the streets once more, as young kids - who were too young to tame their curiosity - started playing with German soldiers and young women - who hadn't been in the presence of young, attractive men, since the beginning of war - joked around with them. This sight made the mothers and wives of the French soldiers who died in the front lines, or were still imprisoned in labour camps frown. They could understand the kids - their souls were far too pure to know hatred - but they just couldn't comprehend how those young women could so shamelessly flirt with their enemies!

It took a month, but eventually the routine usual previous to the troop's arrival resumed in the Kamiya house as well. Today Megumi was out of the house, visiting the farmers living in her husband's lands - as Sano was a heir to a quite well-off family of landlords - and collecting the rent. Tae was busy taking care of her sick niece named Tsubami and the lieutenant was never around anyways, hence today Kaoru had the house all to herself.

After Kaoru was done eating her breakfast she tiptoed to her father's study, where the German was staying. When she, Megumi and Tae were hiding all the valuables she locked the piano and hid the key to it in a book which was laying on top of the instrument, completely forgetting that the item belonged in her father's study. She had cursed herself for this blunder up until now and even as she went up the stairs Kaoru felt the uneasiness of entering the room while the German soldier was staying there.

When Kaoru turned the doorknob a creaking sound echoed throughout the house and it almost made her shiver. She opened the door completely and left it ajar behind herself as she took first steps into the enemy's territory.

Kaoru drank in the sight of the room before her. It was a lot tidier and had a lot less personal items in it than Kaoru could have expected. To be told the truth the only things indicating that this no longer was just her father study were the bed - which herself, Megumi and Tae brought up the stairs just a month ago - a leather traveling suitcase, a riding crop left on the said bed and a tiny mirror which, along with a razor, were abandoned on the windowsill. She could also smell a faint scent of cigarette smoke. Kaoru figured that he doesn't spend enough time here to make the room smell like him. This lack of lieutenant's presence made it a bit easier for her to look for the book.

She scanned the bookshelves from afar, looking for a leather bound Shakespeare's collection of sonnets. Thankfully to her, Tae seemed to have put it where she always puts it - in the right corner of the top shelf. Kaoru sighed and hurried to grab the book.

Just as Kaoru took the book into her hands she heard a loud barking accompanied by the sound of heavy footsteps outside. She panicked not knowing what to do. Should she just run and hide in her sister's bedroom? But wouldn't that lead to him thinking that she was doing something incriminating in here? Then maybe she just should stay here and calmly explain the whole situation. But what if he doesn't believe her? Kaoru reckoned that whatever consequences she would end up facing it wouldn't be pretty. He wasn't even supposed to be here, damnit!

While Kaoru played through the various scenarios in her head - unfortunately none of them ended well for her - the German officer made it to the doorway of the room. Kaoru turned and saw a large white dog by the man's side and a look of confusion and surprise on the soldier's face that seemed to equal her own. Though that expression didn't stay on his face too long as only moments later he started radiating something similar to anger, yet not quite it.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed out. The soldier's eyes seemed to abandon their previous warm purple hue and turn into liquid amber like colour, but Kaoru blamed this on the lighting.