Aoi was, by all means— her means, at least— a casual prodigy. That was to say, on her first birthday, Aoi had picked up a violin bow and had never put it down since.

Her teachers over the years had compared her to famous violinists, praised the precision in which she drew her bow, and were somehow always awed by how she could play any piece after only hearing it once. Life had always been scores upon scores to practise, writing compositions and more compositions for contests, not to mention all the shocked faces she had to see every time she breezed past any challenge. 

Aoi had long gotten used to it.

Granted, if she hadn't selected the violin, she would have ended up playing another instrument anyway. Her mother, a renowned singer, was determined that her child would also enter the field of music, and had nothing but musical instruments laid out for Aoi's erabitori. According to her, Aoi would be the musician of the century, revered for ages to come.

And Aoi's big break would come during the annual Saino Festival.

A government-organised event, the festival gathered the nation's brightest youth to celebrate and showcase their abilities. Each school would send their representatives in fields such as performing arts, design, and science as well as contribute marching bands for the parade. Talent scouts came from all over Japan, some even internationally, to witness the skills displayed by young geniuses barely out of school. Many industry hopefuls had gotten their opportunities this way, and Aoi's mother expected the same of her.

Dressed in her school uniform of a sleek blazer and a checkered skirt, Aoi stood outside the gaping gates of the old school building, invitation letter in one hand and violin case in the other. Her thin lips were pursed together, her long hair loose in the wind. Under a fringe, her eyes scanned over the school's connected blocks, each one uniquely patterned with drab paint cracks and green moss. The metal arch above her head read Seishin Senior High School, and even that was decorated with rust. Long out of use, the school was this year's selected hub for the Saino participants to rehearse for one week before the actual festival was to take place.

Aoi was late, but for some reason, she couldn't be bothered to hurry. The school seemed to draw her in, yet her insides recoiled like they always did before a show and refused to give in, leaving her rooted to the spot.

Footsteps approached behind her, rushed but light-footed. Aoi turned around, and saw a girl of her age. She wore a different crest on her blazer and her raven hair was bound into a tight bun, yet her eyes sparkled with the rascality matching her movements. The girl came to a stop in front of Aoi.

"Looks kind of sad, doesn't it?" she tilted her head towards the school, a half-grin playing on her lips. When Aoi didn't respond, the girl dipped into a quick bow. "Miyazaki Noriko, ballet dancer."

Aoi reciprocated the gesture. "Tsukada Aoi, violinist."

"You don't seem eager to go in."

Aoi looked at the school again, trying to decipher the churning within. "I... I'm nervous. I think."

Noriko laughed. As with girls like her, it came out as a lovely, melodious sound.

She grabbed Aoi's hand. "Come on, we'll check out the grounds together."

Aoi's feet resisted. "We are late."

The other girl merely beamed at her. "It's the first day, we can just say we got lost. After all, it's a big school. Now come on before someone catches us!"

Reluctantly, Aoi let Noriko drag her into the compound, ignoring the twisting in her stomach that seemed to grow by the second.

The first place they arrived at was the main hall, where the sound of projected voices rang within. The wooden doors creaked when opened, but Noriko managed to slide them open just enough for the two of them to peek through.

A bespectacled boy with a shaved head was running up and down, waving his arms at the exasperated actors on the stage at the end of the hall. "First practice of the day and everyone's forgotten their lines!"

The lead actor sat himself down at the side of the stage, glaring at his director. "I messed up one word, Gin. One word."

Noriko nudged Aoi. "They're wearing the same crest as you. You know them?"

Aoi nodded. "Of course."

'Of course' was an understatement. She often walked past the school's theatre room on her way to classes, hoping to catch a glimpse of Saitou Hirotaka, also the lead actor currently dealing with Gin's fit. If she happened to be lucky, they'd lock eyes and wave at each other before Ginji's screeching would recall Hiro's attention.

"That one word could be all the talent scouts hear! It'll ring in their ears our entire play! And then they'll pick another troupe to sponsor!" Ginji fired back, tugging at both of his ears as he hopped up and down like an indignant bunny.

Noriko elbowed Aoi again. "The leads are cute."

Aoi gave a non-committal noise.

Then she pulled Noriko behind the door before Ginji's eagle eyes could zero in on them.

"Who's there? Are you a spy from the other schools? You'll get no intelligence here!" Ginji's high-pitched voice shot down the hall.

"It's probably the wind, Gin." A voice that Aoi recognised as Ikeda Kimi's, the female lead, replied half-heartedly. "The school's so old, I'd expect a poltergeist or two."

"We'd better go," Aoi whispered, to which Noriko nodded.

As they left the main hall, they could hear Ginji's reply: "Well, who says poltergeists can't spy for the living?"

Giggling along the corridors at Ginji's desperate insanity, the two girls halted at the overgrown gardens, occupied by students in cadet uniforms and taekwando doboks. The cadets were fanned out in some fancy marching formation, while the taekwando students were practicing their most impressive kicks.

"I couldn't stand still that long," Noriko said, eyes twinkling in awe. She blinked, swiveling to Aoi sheepishly. "My teachers always complain that I can never be still for long. Helps in pirouettes, though."

Aoi wasn't listening. Her ears had caught the sound of fue notes, and she followed them, coming to a flight of stairs at the end of the block leading to the upper floor. She tugged a confused Noriko along.

As they ascended the stairs, the traditional flute notes grew clearer, sweeter. Pulled by the music, Aoi's legs ran faster until they reached the first floor. In the nearest classroom, three identical girls stood in a triangle, effortlessly playing smooth bamboo flutes. Upon noticing the newcomers, the girls stopped.

Aoi found her voice first. "That was beautiful."

"That melody... isn't it from that old Chinese series, Chen Qing Ling?" Noriko added.

The girl in the middle beamed. "You know that song, too?"

Noriko stepped into the classroom, excited. "My father had me hooked on that show. Wei Wuxian is such an inspiration!"

The girl chuckled. "I relate more to Lan Xichen, but I see where you're coming from."

The three flutists bowed and introduced themselves.

"My name is Yamasaki Rin."

"Yamasaki Shizuka."

"Hana."

Aoi and Noriko responded in kind before the latter rushed towards Rin and began chattering about the drama they had both watched.

"Do you prefer the novel or the series?"

"The donghua is the best for me, but the chibi version is simply adorable!"

As Shizuka and Hana joined in on the discussion of when Lan Zhan fell for Wei Ying, Aoi glanced at the room next door. It appeared to be some kind of storage room sealed with a metal grate, only that it looked empty.

Aoi stepped away from the classroom and moved towards the storage room. The metal grate was locked, but the wide bars offered Aoi the full view of what lay inside.

Nothing.

The entire room was dark, its other source of light being a window at the far end of it. The window, too, had bars on it, mirroring some sort of containment unit. Cobwebs hung from between those bars, so thick that the light from the window could barely penetrate some strands. When Aoi looked closer, the cobwebs blocked enough light to form a hexagonal pattern on the bare floor of the room. There were a few stray criss-crosses here and there, but the pattern was clear. The hexagons overlapped over each other, the strands thick at a few angles. Illuminated by the light, the pattern became a thousand glowing eyes that leered at Aoi, daring her to come closer.  The churning previously inside her had completely disappeared, leaving her at her calmest, like when she was about to draw her bow across her violin.

Aoi slipped one hand through the bars-

"Aoi!"

She withdrew her hand at the sound of Noriko's voice.

"What are you doing over there?"

Aoi didn't reply. Her ears were ringing.

Ssstupid girl...

A hand landed on Aoi's shoulder, and the girl jumped.

"It's just me," Noriko reassured her, peering into the room as well. "What's inside there?"

Aoi waited to see the dancer's response to the room, but the girl seemed no different. Noriko spun back to face Aoi, armed with her casual grin. Next to them, flute music started playing again.

"Rin and the others have gone back to practising." Noriko extended an open palm. "Do you want to go and see what other shows there are for the festival?"

Aoi's gaze flitted back to the room, but the pattern was no longer recognizable. Instead, all she saw were random cobweb strands.

She placed her hand in Noriko's. "Let's go."