“PLEASE go rest. I will be up to check on you as soon as I finish tuning the piano,” Shindo repeated yet again as he wiped the music tray with the microfiber cloth reserved specifically for the piano.
Kujo and Takemi had already left the mansion. After seeing them off, Shindo escorted Satsuki to her room and helped ease her into the sofa to rest for a while. Held close to his chest, she seemed to calm down enough after half an hour that he felt comfortable leaving to tune the piano in the music room.
The grand piano in the drawing room was originally kept in the music room. It was Shindo’s duty to maintain the upkeep of everything Satsuki used. So the responsibility of keeping her piano beautifully tuned naturally fell on him.
But before five minutes went by, Satsuki slipped into the music room. Although not as pale as before, Shindo was still worried about her. He instructed the young lady to return to her room three times, but Satsuki refused to obey.
“No! I’ll wait for you to finish here. I want to stay with you, Shindo,” Satsuki insisted and sullenly turned her head away from him. If she felt good enough to throw a little tantrum, she must be feeling better.
With a light sigh, Shindo hung the microfiber cloth over the sidearm. He wiped the palms of his hands with a handkerchief as he approached Satsuki. Gently placing one hand on her cheek, he turned her head to face him.
“I just finished,” he reported, looking down at Satsuki lovingly.
Responding to his affection, she gazed up at him. “Shindo...” the sullen voice begging for attention that slipped from Satsuki’s lips was cut off as his lips sealed her mouth.
Their lips parted with a loud smack.
“I...was rather frustrated today,” Shindo confessed upon pulling away from Satsuki’s lips.
With her face flushed, Satsuki tilted her head to one side as if puzzled.
“When you played the piano with Mr. Kaido,” he went on.
Grabbing Satsuki by the waist, he effortlessly lifted her up and carried her to the piano. He sat her atop the music tray toward the upper register. Without thinking, Satsuki drew her feet together and held them up. The fallboard was left up, so she was afraid her shoes would get the keys dirty.
✦ ✦ ✦
“It was terribly frustrating...how perfectly in sync you two were...” Shindo continued as he slipped off her shoes. Holding both ankles in his hands, he slowly lowered them onto the keyboard.
Clang... Ting... At the sound of two beautiful clangs, Shindo began massaging her feet from her ankles down to the tip of her toes.
“I’m the only one who is supposed to be on the same wavelength as you...” he complained. Lifting Satsuki’s right foot with both hands, he kissed the tip of her toes.
“...That tickles...!”
Satsuki became an exquisite instrument for Shindo, her melodious cries reminiscent of breathtaking music. Yet behind the scenes of this joyful recital, something began to make its move.
✦ ✦ ✦
“THE hell?! What is going on?!” Kujo couldn’t help but cry out. “Why isn’t it working?! Come on!”
Kujo frantically hit the steering wheel of the car he was driving. The malfunction hit without warning. All of a sudden, the steering wheel refused to turn! Kujo desperately pounded it time and again! Each time, he shouted, “Move! Move, damn it!”
Seeing as the car was speeding along, his fear was perfectly warranted. If he couldn’t turn the steering wheel, how could he go around any corners? To make matters worse, the quiet road near Tsujikawa mansion was about to merge onto a busy thoroughfare. If he couldn’t get the steering wheel to unlock by then, the car would crash in the T-intersection!
No matter how hard he hit the brakes, the Speedometer stayed fixed where it was. Kujo felt as if he were trapped in a horrible nightmare. He could see the thoroughfare drawing near. The heavy traffic of speeding cars entered the edge of his vision, but his vehicle refused to slow down one bit.
“Graaaah...!”
✦ ✦ ✦
WITH a derisive grin, Takemi opened his eyes. He drove a short distance after leaving Tsujikawa mansion before pulling over. Leaning against the hood of his car, he watched something take place with his eyes closed.
“...That’s one down...” Takemi said with an impish grin. Looking up at the night sky, he declared, “...It’s finally started...Satsuki. About damn time!”