First attempt at a Misao/Soujirou fic! Feel free to correct me in any mistakes. But please give it a chance. And review :)
Misao sat in the middle of her bed, cross-legged with her guitar sitting her lap. Music sheets lay strewn on the floor and across her bed. Lyrics scribbled on napkins and take-out menus also cluttered her already crowded bed.
Frustrated, she strummed an angry chord. The noise vibrated throughout the room.
Why couldn't she put together a simple song?
It used to come so easily to her. When she was feeling nostalgic or wistful, she'd sit down with a pen in hand and she'd write a song. Then she put together a tune by adding chords and adjusting the words so the lyrics would fit.
But now…her mind was a complete blank. The feeling to write a song, or even play a song was totally gone.
Misao Makimachi, currently 16 years old, was a musical artist. She wasn't an all-time famous artist, but she was good enough to possibly be one. She was experienced with both the guitar and piano, and gifted with a wonderful voice.
But lately, she hasn't been able to put her talents to use. Her ability to play a song seemed to go on hiatus. And it irritated the hell out of her.
Suddenly, her cell rang. "A Public Affair" blared from her phone as she fumbled around the papers to answer.
"Hello?" she answered a little breathlessly.
"Misao!" a cheery voice replied.
"Kaoru!" Misao greeted back. "Thank God you called. I was about ready to burst into a fit."
"Why, what's up?"
Misao sighed. "I can't write a song."
"What are you talking about? Of course you can! It's your specialty!"
"I don't know anymore Kaoru…lately I couldn't string a simple verse together. It's like…I'm out of ideas or something. Like the wheels in my mind have officially stopped turning."
"Oh please. Don't say that! You're just in need of an inspiration. That's all." Kaoru tried to reassure her best friend since elementary school.
"But there's tons of things around me to get inspired from! There's that carnival…there's the rain…there's even that stupid tree in my backyard. But nothing gives me the vibe to pick up a pen and write."
"Well, you can't rush into these kinds of things. Sometimes you'll have to wait for it to find you, and not the other way around. So just be patient, okay? Something will come around, I promise.
Sighing once more, Misao closed her eyes. "Thanks, Kaoru. You're the best."
Kaoru giggled softly. "Of course. You're my best friend after all."
Misao smiled. "So, you must have had a reason to call other than to bother me, right?" she asked, her voice teasing.
"Well, considering how I have no life other than to productively spend my time hogging the T.V. and eating Pop-Tarts, I thought I'd give you a ring. Is that so hard to believe?"
Misao snorted. "Actually yeah, it is. You never call me without a reason."
Kaoru had to laugh. "Okay okay. So you've caught me. I've called you to ask a favor, actually."
"Ask away."
"Well…you know how my team made it to the championship game?"
"Yeah..?"
"Well…we need a halftime entertainment. And…Ivolunteeredyoutobethesingerforthehalftimeshow." Kaoru said in a hurry.
Misao blinked. "Wait…what?"
Kaoru blushed a little. Thank goodness they were over the phone. She twirled her hair nervously around a finger. "Well..uh…you see, I…um…kind of…volunteered you to be the singer for the halftime show…?" she finished off lamely.
It had to register in Misao's mind for a while before-
"WHAT!"
"Misao! I know that was rather rude and brash of me to do but I thought it'd be a good idea for you to y'know…broaden your horizons? And a GREAT chance to show off your skill to the school and-"
"KAORU, ARE YOU INSANE! I CAN'T PERFORM IN FRONT OF A STADIUM PACKED WITH PEOPLE!"
"Well actually…most people leave for a bathroom break or for a snack during halftime…"
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT! KAORUUUUUU!" she huffed.
"Misao…I'm sorry. I really am. If there was anything I could do, I would withdraw you from the show."
"Well, there's no need for that. I'm not performing!"
"Oh, Misao! I already promised them that you'd play! Please? Please please please please please? I'm begging you on my hands and knees and ready to burst into tears, PLEASE?" Kaoru pleaded desperately.
Misao sighed loudly. "Fine. But you owe me BIG time on this one."
Kaoru squealed. "THANK YOU SO MUCH! You won't EVER regret this! It'll be fun! Just watch."
"Yeah yeah…" she murmured a reply and then muttered an excuse to go and hung up.
Misao closed her eyes and fell back on her bed. She was in no position to play any song whatsoever. She decided she'd go ahead and perform something she didn't write herself. Her lack of confidence in her skill lately really brought her down.
Surfing through her notebook, she pulled out a music sheet. She nodded in approval as she sat at her piano and began practicing the song she selected.
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"What?"
"Yeah well…we need someone for the girl's soccer game to be the halftime entertainment. And nobody volunteered so far so I thought I'd go ahead and refer you…"
"HIMURA!" A young man said exasperatedly.
The said man, Kenshin Himura smiled sheepishly. "Soujirou…please?"
Soujirou Seta sighed. Shutting his colbat eyes, he nodded.
Kenshin smiled in relief. "Thanks buddy. I owe you one."
Soujirou chuckled slightly. "Ah, well. Anything for a friend."
Kenshin nodded. "The game is tomorrow night at 7. You should probably be there by at least 7:15 to set up the things you need."
"Just give me a piano, and I'll be good."
Kenshin nodded once more. "Okay. See you there then."
Soujirou shook his friend's hand as he began his departure. He had to go home and practice a song to perform.
Soujirou Seta, 17 and a senior in high school was extremely talented at the piano. He also, was lucky enough to be blessed with a beautiful voice to make many girls fall head over heels in love with him. Unbeknownst to him, he had an unofficial fan club that a group of girls put together out of their love for him.
Back at his apartment he pulled out a stack of papers from his desk and shuffled through the music notes and finally made a selection. He decided it was fairly simple enough, and besides, he hasn't played that song for quite some time now.
Seating himself at his piano in a nearby corner, he began to practice his song.
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The Next Day
Misao began to get ready for the game. It was 6:30 and she was supposed to perform in a little more than an hour.
Instead of tying her waist-length hair into her trademark braid, she left it down for this evening's performance before throwing open her closet. She settled with a knee-length black skirt, with almost-tattered looking ends and on top she wore a decorative black corset. She slipped on a pair of black heels with straps that weaved up her think ankles and clasped on a thick neck choker, and finally slid some black bracelets on her delicate wrists. Donning her lips with a blood-red shade of lipstick and smearing a smokey colored shade of eye shadow on her eyelids, she nodded in approval at her reflection. Okay…so maybe the outfit went a little over the top. But if she was going to perform for one night, she was going out with a bang. Finally brushing a light amount of blush, she was done.
Grabbing her black bag and her keys, she stumbled out the door of her apartment and into her car, where she drove off to the high school stadium.
She reached the stadium at about 7:25 and wandered into a side door that Megumi, Kaoru's cousin, had pointed out to her since Kaoru was playing in the game.
Inside the room was a black grand piano waiting for her to play on. Walking over to it, Misao traced a finger along the sleek surface of the piano. It was perfect. She'd always wanted to play on such a beautiful piano. Sure, she had one back home. But it wasn't as grand as this one.
Suddenly the door jerked open and a young man with messy dark brown locks stumbled in. He looked up and blinked his colbat eyes in surprise.
"Um…excuse me, miss. But I was told that this room was for the halftime performer only."
Misao frowned. "Yes…exactly why you should get out now. I'm the halftime entertainment tonight."
Soujirou also frowned. "What are you talking about? My friend told me that he referred me to perform tonight."
"Are you sure you're playing at the right championship game? My best friend promised me to play tonight."
They stared at each other for moments. Misao took this time to study this man in front of her.
He was tall, and dressed in black slacks and a white collared long-sleeved shirt. The top buttons were left unbuttoned, slightly revealing his bare chest. He had on a black jacket that he left unbuttoned. A black tie was swung carelessly around his neck. All in all, he was given the casual, yet sexy look. His messy dark brown hair adding to the effect. He had a pretty shade of light blue eyes that was currently staring into hers. Misao blushed slightly under his gaze. He was pretty handsome and she couldn't help but be just the slightest bit attracted to him.
"Well you know what? I didn't want this job in the first place. So if you're here to perform, then be my guest and I suppose I'll go and be on my way now-"
"Misao!" Kaoru called at the doorway. She was panting slightly, her bangs plastered to her forehead from sweat, and her cheeks were flushed a little from exertion.
"Kaoru? What's going on-"
"Soujirou!" a male voice interrupted.
"Kenshin? Kenshin…what is the meaning of this?"
"Misao, come on. You have to perform now."
"Whoa, hold on there. Soujirou here is playing tonight." Kenshin turned to Kaoru.
"What are you talking about? I promised Misao to the team to play tonight!" Kaoru's sapphire eyes flashed angrily.
Misao looked at Kenshin. The first thing she noted was that he had an unusual shade of red hair that was tied into a high ponytail. She also noticed that he had an angry shade of amber eyes that were currently glaring at Kaoru.
"Kaoru, look. If uhh...what's your name again...Soujirou, here wants to perform, then I'll just go and-"
"What's going on here?" another male voice entered the picture.
"SANO!" both Kenshin and Kaoru shouted at the incoming man.
"I promised Misao to the team that she would play, but this stupid guy right here said-"
"I had referred Soujirou to play for the evening's performance, but this annoying little girl-"
"LITTLE GIRL?" Kaoru screamed. "Oh, you've got it coming you infuriating jerk!" And she launched herself at the redhead, only to be restrained by her long-time friend, Sano.
"Calm down you guys. We don't have time for this! If I don't get someone onto that field right now, I am never going to hear the end of it from Megumi. She's the showtime coordinator, and I promised her a show!" Sano said. He ran a hand through his spiky brown hair. "Look, if you guys aren't going to work it out, both of you just perform, okay?"
He left no room for argument as he stepped back outside to the field, microphone in hand. Before anyone could protest, he announced the showtime news to the audience.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems tonight we have a special performance from not one, but two very talented artists! Let's hear it for Misao Makimachi and Soujirou Seta!"
Stepping onto the field, Misao and Soujirou both waved their hands to the crowd. The audience screeched their cheers and 'I Love You, Soujirou!' screams could be easily distinguished.
"Seems like you're quite popular with the ladies," Misao muttered.
"I should tell you the same with the guys," Soujirou replied, noting the catcalls and whistles.
"First up, Misao Makimachi!" Sano roared excitedly into the microphone.
Misao blushed a little. She didn't expect to play first. Gathering her notes and music sheets she walked as gracefully as she could towards the center of the field. Explosions of cheers and applause reached her ears as she turned to her audience on all sides of her and waved.
As she was prepping herself for the performance, Soujirou grasped her arm. "Good luck," he whispered into her ear. She shivered against his presence.
Someone rolled the piano on a cart towards her and then helped lift it off and onto the ground. Attached was a microphone that Misao adjusted to her liking as she seated herself before the piano.
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Just like I practiced, okay? No big deal. Just like before…except with a thousand screaming people watching and listening to me…No! Don't think about that…everything will be fine. You've done this so many times before. This is no different.
And with that, she began to strike her opening key.
Crashed on the floor when I moved in
This little bungalow with some strange new friends.
Stay up too late, and I'm too thin
We promised each other it's till the end
Soujirou looked at this young woman, named Misao. She really was a beauty. Her outfit totally dressed the part of her song. It had an air of mystery in it, along with something else that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Her eyes were partially open, and the words kept pouring out of her blood-red lips, her small hands flowing over the keys,
Now we're spinning empty bottles it's the five of us
With pretty eyed boys girls die to trust
I can't resist the day. No, I can't resist the day.
And Jenny screams out and it's no pose.
'Cuz when she dances, she goes and goes.
And beer through the nose on an inside joke.
And I'm so excited, I haven't spoken.
And she's so pretty and she's so sure.
Maybe I'm more clever than a girl like her.
The summer is all in bloom.
The summer is ending soon.
It's alright
And it's nice not to be so alone
But I hold on to your secrets
In white houses.
Soujirou could tell she was really getting into the song. A slight smile adorned her pretty lips, one heel was tapping to the beat of the song, as her upper body kind of moved in tune with her song.
Maybe I'm a little bit over my head
I come undone at the things he said
And he's so funny in his bright red shirt
We were all in love, and we all got hurt
I sneak into his car's cracked leather seat
Smell the gasoline in the summer's heat
Boy, we're going way too fast. It's all too sweet to last
It's alright.
And I put myself in his hands
But I hold on to your secrets
In white houses
Love, or something ignites in my veins
And I pray it never fades
In white houses
He took the time to study her for a moment. She looked absolutely ravishing in that black corset. It was strapless, revealing her pale, thin shoulders and dipped a little in the middle to show off some cleavage. The front of the corset was laced closed by a thick black ribbon. It hugged her curvaceous figure. Just looking at her, Soujirou felt a strange feeling of desire stirring in the pit of his stomach.
My first time
Hard to explain
Rush of blood, oh
And a little bit of pain.
On a cloudy day
It's more common than you think
He's my first mistake
Now, Misao looked a little melancholy. Her sweet voice captivated all. The stadium was amazingly quiet as they listened to her performance.
Maybe you're all faster than me
We gave each other up so easily
These silly little wounds will never mend
I feel so far from where I've been
So I go
And I will not be back here again
I'm gone as the day is fading
On white houses
I lie
Put my injuries all in the dust
In my heart is the five of us
In white houses
And you, maybe you'll remember me
What I gave is yours to keep
In white houses
In white houses
Misao looked up and towards Soujirou's direction. She caught his steady gaze and she gave him a small smile, in which he gave a little smirk back.
In white houses
As she played the finishing note the stadium roared with cheers and applause once more, except this time louder. Screams and shouts burst in the air and Misao breathed a sigh of relief. She did it. It was over.
Turning on her seat to get off, she was surprised to see Soujirou standing right besides her. He reached out his hand and she took it, totally caught off-guard by his courtesy. Standing her up to her feet, he bent down and pressed a light kiss to the back of her hand.
"That was a beautiful performance…Miss Misao," he murmered into her ear, his hot breath tickling her neck.
Misao blushed once more. "Thank you. Good luck to you…Soujirou."
Sano took the spotlight again. "That was amazing, Misao!"
The crowd roared their agreement. "And now! Last but not least, we have Soujirou!"
The girls screamed their hearts out as he grinned and waved.
Soujirou flashed Misao a quick smile before taking her place and sat down at the piano. He began playing his opening notes before taking breath and finally singing his song.
It's her hair and her eyes today
That just simply take me away
And the feeling that I'm falling further in love
Makes me shiver, but in a good way
All the times I have sat and stared
And she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair
And she purses her lips, bats her eyes and she plays
With me sitting there slack-jawed and nothing to say
'Cause I love her with all that I am
And my voice shakes along with my hands
'Cause she's all that I see and she's all that I need
And I'm out of my league once again
Misao just watched in awe. He was amazing. His voice was so smooth and so…just so beautiful. He played the piano very well. Better than her, in fact. She knew that she couldn't pull off a song like this. No, not like him.
It's a masterful melody
When she calls out my name to me
As the world spins around her, she laughs rolls her eyes
And I feel like I'm falling but it's no surprise
'Cause I love her with all that I am
And my voice shakes along with my hands
'Cause it's frightening to be swimming in this strange sea
But I'd rather be here than on land
Yeah she's all that I see
And she's all that I need
And I'm out of my league once again
While he wasn't singing, Soujirou took this time to look up at the girl. She was staring at him, her pretty emerald eyes wide, and slightly teary. Her blood red lips parted. She caught his eye, and he smiled. He almost wanted to laugh when she blushed and looked away, hastily wiping the wetness out of her eyes. She was an adorable one, this little girl was.
It's her hair and her eyes today
That just simply take me away
And that feeling that I'm falling further in love
Makes me shiver but in a good way
All the times I have sat and stared
As she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair
And she purses her lips, bats her eyes and she plays
With me sitting there slack-jawed and nothing to say
'Cause I love her with all that I am
And my voice shakes along with my hands
'Cause it's frightening to be swimming in this strange sea
But I'd rather be here than on land
Yeah she's all that I see
And she's all that I need
And I'm out of my league once again.
Soujirou ended the song, and the audience went into an uproar.
Standing up, he walked over to Misao and took her hand. She smiled and sniffed slightly. A lone tear escaped and slid down her cheek. Gently wiping it away, he smiled back. Misao was so embarrassed. But the song was amazingly beautiful. It just brought out so many emotions in her.
He led her out onto the open field where the audience was still cheering and screaming their heads off. Soujirou bowed, all the while holding her hand. Misao gave a small, awkward curtsy because she was all too aware of the warm hand occupying hers. She could feel herself blushing hotly. But she couldn't help it. She wasn't used to so much attention all at once.
Frightened by this stranger's boldness, she retracted her hand from his, pretending she had something to wipe out of her eye.
Kaoru bounded up to Misao and hugged her best friend fiercely. "Misao! I'm so proud of you. You did it! You really did."
Misao smiled a watery smile. She was still in shock. She almost felt like she won some kind of award. "Thank you, Kaoru. I couldn't have done it without you."
Kaoru grinned. "You are so dramatic." And hugged her again.
Misao looked over her friend's shoulder, over to where Soujirou stood. He was laughing at something that Kenshin said. He must have felt her staring at him again, because he suddenly looked over at her. He seemed to excuse himself from the redhead and began walking towards her.
Panicking, Misao released herself from Kaoru. "You have a game to get back to. So go back to your team! I'll go watch from the sidelines, okay?"
Kaoru nodded. Misao was right. She did have a game to get back to. The score was currently tied 1-1. And she totally wanted to win this game.
Turning to get back to her team, she ran into none other, than the annoying Kenshin Himura. Pretending she didn't see him, she jogged right past him.
"Wait." Kenshin grabbed her wrist.
Kaoru frowned slightly. "I have a game to play. So could you kindly let go?"
"I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I didn't mean to make you mad," he said sincerely. His amber eyes searched her sapphire ones for forgiveness.
Kaoru blushed a little. "Uhm…it's alright. I'm sorry too. I got a little out of control," she said awkwardly.
Kenshin smiled a bit. "Well good luck with your game! And if it isn't too much trouble…I'd like to take you out somewhere after." When he saw Kaoru's mouth gape startingly, he hastily added, "to make up for everything."
Kaoru blinked in surprise. "Oh, it's okay. You don't have to make up anything to me…" she trailed off as she looked into his eyes. She couldn't say no. "But I'd love to go out somewhere with you. It'd be fun!"
Kenshin nodded and smiled once more. "Okay, I'll see you after the game." And he walked off to watch from the sidelines and to find his friend, Soujirou.
Speaking of Soujirou, Kenshin knew that his buddy was interested in that Makimachi girl. He could tell in the way he watched her perform. He also noticed that the girl was shy one. And by the looks of it, Soujirou was scaring the hell out of her. Kenshin chuckled when he saw Misao try to wedge herself behind some guy and the wall behind him. Unluckily for her, Soujirou found her.
Misao picked a nice wall in her mind and mentally bashed her head against it. How stupid was she to try and hide from the man by hiding behind some stranger. That has got to be the stupid thing she's ever pulled off. Of course she was found. She could run, but she could not hide.
The man she was hiding behind gave her a strange look and then moved away.
'Damn! So much for stealth…'
"Hello, Miss Makimachi," Soujirou said politely. He tried to hide his amusement as she suddenly jumped at his presence. She sure was a funny one.
"Uhh…Seta! What a surprise. I didn't expect you to stay…uh, is there something that you want..?" Misao stammered.
Soujirou smiled. "Actually, yes. I was wondering if I could take you out somewhere after the game. You know, like a celebratory for a fantastic performance."
Misao gaped openly at him. 'Did…did he just ask me out?'
Soujirou laughed. "I guess you could call it that. Is that so surprising?"
Horrified that she had spoken her thoughts aloud, Misao bowed her head in embarrassment. "Uh..sure. I mean, no it's not surprising...I mean, yes. No, no. I mean...uh. Yes."
Soujirou cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, you would go out with me tonight?"
Misao nodded shyly.
"Great! I think Kenshin invited your friend Kamiya. So I suppose it will be a double date?"
Misao inwardly sighed in relief. At least Kaoru would be there. And it won't be so awkward.
She nodded. "Okay, Seta. I'll see you after the game!"
Soujirou chuckled. "I would think that you're trying to get rid of me. And please, call me Soujirou."
Misao shook her head in denial. "Of course not! Why would I try and get rid you...that's ridiculous. And uh, you can call me Misao."
"Why thank you. And it must be your lucky day. Because I have to run now. I will see you after the game." He bowed a little and walked off.
Misao sighed and sank down to the ground. She tried to concentrate on the rest of the game. It was a pretty intense match. Neither team scored for the next 40 minutes, but in the last 5 minutes of the game, Kaoru scored a goal and the score was 2-1. Misao cheered loudly as the referree blew his whistle, signalling the end of the game. Kaoru's team won the championship!
The stadium was in an uproar again. And Misao stood up and screamed her head off along with the crowd. She was so proud of her best friend. She watched Kaoru as her team crowded around her and hugged their team captain for scoring the winning goal.
Kaoru was beaming. She looked to her side and caught Misao cheering. She waved.
Then she caught sight of another familiar figure. It was Kenshin. He was clapping and grinning and he waved at her. Kaoru just smiled back.
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After the award ceremony, Misao found Kaoru and launched herself at her.
"KAORU! YOU DID IT! YOU WON!" she screamed in her ear.
"I KNOW, MISAO!" Kaoru screeched back.
They hugged and squealed some more and they laughed together, just enjoying the moment.
Misao had completely forgotten about her on-coming date until-
"Great game, Kaoru!" Soujirou congratulated her with Kenshin right by his side.
Kenshin smiled at Kaoru. "Yeah, good game."
Kaoru flushed a little, reminded of her outing with Kenshin. "Oh, Misao. I'm sorry. But I have to go..."
"It's okay. We're going in the same direction. Soujirou here threatened me into a date with him, and apparently we're doubling up."
Soujirou protested. "I did not threaten you!"
Misao laughed. "I know. I'm only joking."
Soujirou laughed too. "Well if you had disagreed to go with me, maybe I would have threatened you."
Misao looked thoughtful for a moment. "Somehow, I don't believe that. Maybe the next time I'll deny you."
"So there'll be a next time?"
Misao blushed. "That's not what I meant!"
Kaoru interupted. "Let's just go guys. I'm hungry!"
Misao nodded. "Where are we going? I'll meet you guys over there."
"There's a restaurant close by. I think its called Tanaka of Tokyo, or something of the sort." Kenshin said.
Everyone nodded their agreement.
"Alright, it's settled then. Tanaka of Tokyo it is," Soujirou said. "See you guys later, okay?" And he grabbed his keys out of his pocket and walked off to the parking lot. Kenshin followed suit.
As Misao found her keys in her bag, Kaoru grabbed her arm. Misao looked up, and in unison they both said, "We need to talk."
"Call me." Kaoru raced back to the locker rooms to grab her things and Misao went to the parking lot.
The minute she got into the car, she pulled out her cell, dialed Kaoru's number, and drove off.
Well. That's it for now. Maybe a little bit boring, but aren't a lot of stories too?
Please review!