Fanfic No. 3. I'm a fan of Amou-san, so I wanted her to star in this fic.
Disclaimer: I do not own La corda d'oro characters.
Scoop
Act I: Impromptu concert
"Your attention please; Japan Airlines would like to inform all passengers awaiting flight JA 61 to Japan that the flight will be delayed by two hours for technical reasons. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding."
"Mou! Two hours… What I'm I gonna do? I don't have much money left to spend and, besides, I've already done plenty of shopping these past weeks and already bought souvenirs for everyone at home… Oh! Well, I guess another leg stretch wouldn't hurt… and some hot chocolate as well."
Nami Amou got up from the bench she was sitting on, gripped her travel bag and made her way towards a coffee machine. She couldn't help looking around the boarding gate area at the other people waiting for the same flight as her. Some of them were grumbling about the delay, while others looked resigned. There were children asleep on their parents' shoulders. One man with pale blue hair sat on the end of a bench with his arms crossed and a violin case at his feet.
Violin case? Blue hair? Could it be?
"Len Tsukimori?!"
He had his back turned to her, but Nami felt pretty sure she recognised the famous violinist who once won the intra-school concours at Seiso and then went on to study music in Vienna.
She crossed the space separating them with trepidation.
"Tsukimori-kun, it really is you!" she exclaimed upon seeing him face to face, "shitashiburi!"
"A…Amou-san?"
"Fancy meeting you here in Heathrow airport!"
She sat down next to him and queried: "are you living in London?"
"No, I've only come here for a couple of concerts."
Of all Seiso alumni he could have met by chance in an airport, it had to be her. That journalist… was she going to ask him for an interview? Somehow he couldn't think of a way to escape politely, and she would probably follow him all over the airport in any case... Len resigned himself to the situation.
She smiled at him.
"I see, you must have gone all over Europe since you graduated… How cool…
As for myself, I studied journalism after leaving Seiso and worked in Tokyo for a year. It was a great experience but I badly needed a break, and when one of my university friends who moved to London invited me this summer, I jumped at the chance."
"London is so big though… too bad I didn't know about your concerts or I would have attended one of them!"
She got out a small notebook and pen from her bag. "Still, I'm glad we met today, perhaps you could tell me more about your time in Vienna."
"Amou-san, I'm not giving you an interview" he said politely but firmly, arms still crossed.
Mou, Mou! I guess the direct approach won't work with him. Perhaps I should ask questions more covertly.
"Okay, fair enough. Would you like some hot chocolate? I'm just getting some from the machine. I won't be long."
"I'm fine!"… but she was already gone.
When she came back she found him sending a text message on his phone. Then he snapped it shut and put it back in the inner pocket of his suit.
For a while they were both silent as they sipped their drinks. She stole a glance at him. He had not changed much, she thought, there was still the same aloof expression on his otherwise handsome face.
Strangely, he was the one to break the silence.
"So you did become a journalist…" he said thoughtfully.
Her face lit up: "Mochiro! It was my dream since I entered high school and I wouldn't have given up for anything in the world." She smiled. "Although a reporter's job can be pretty intense sometimes, I do love it. And I do enjoy travelling and meeting people, whether they are celebrities or not."
She continued to explain about her job and he stared at her. She seemed genuinely committed to her passion and that was something he could actually relate to and… respect. Perhaps… perhaps he had misunderstood her during their time at Seiso. Back then, her persistence just annoyed him… Now he saw her in a new light.
"By the way, you must be a celebrity too Tsukimori-kun…"
"Not really."
"Why? Didn't anyone recognize you here?"
"…"
She jumped up suddenly.
"I say, you need some publicity, Tsukimori-kun!"
"No, I don't…"
Too late, she had already stridden forward and clapped her hands to get the attention of the people sitting close by. In a delightful accent she announced in English:
"Good afternoon everyone, excuse me for this sudden interruption but we have amongst us one of Japan's most gifted violinists; his name is Len Tsukimori, and I hope you will join me in encouraging him to perform for us today while we're waiting for our flight!"
He gasped. People were murmuring and looking expectantly in his direction.
"Tsukimori-kun, just treat it as practice!" she winked at him.
Len just glared at her but eventually he found himself getting up. He took his violin out of its case, tuned it, bowed in the general direction of the audience and started to play. The gentle sound rose amidst the background noise in the airport lounge. He played the most popular violin pieces he could think of, from the repertoire of Mozart, Beethoven and Paganini.
Slowly, passers-by stopped in their tracks, a few people came out of the shops nearby and approached, as if drawn by the beautiful sound. Nami couldn't help smiling when she saw that quite a small crowd had gathered to watch the impromptu concert.
Tsukimori-kun sure was amazing!
Soon people started requesting pieces; a little girl asked him to play "God save the Queen" and he politely obliged. It was quite a nice melody to try on the violin and judging by the applause he received at the end, the listeners were really moved by his playing.
He bowed and walked back to his bench. Nami was clapping too. "That was great!" she said warmly. "You really should hire me as your public relations officer, you know!" she added as a joke. He put his violin back carefully in its case. Yes, it had been a good practice session but he was not going to condone that little intervention of hers earlier…
A middle-aged Japanese couple came to greet them. The man introduced himself as one of the sponsors of a new music festival in Osaka and explained that he would be honoured to have an "upcoming young artist like Tsukimori-san playing during the event". Len thanked him for his kind words, took his business card and promised to get in touch.
"You owe me Tsukimori Len! Not only have you landed yourself a job offer so to speak, but you've made yourself many new fans!" Nami was referring to some girls who hovered excitedly over camera pictures of Tsukimori-kun's impromptu concert.
He was about to reply curtly when another announcement was heard. This time it was good news, they would be proceeding with embarkation shortly.
She continued to chat while they queued to go through the passport check and out of the boarding gate. Soon they were entering the plane itself and were welcomed in by cheerful hostesses. "I guess I'll see you when we land" she said before proceeding to the Economy class compartment. Len was guided to his first class seat but seemed to hesitate.
"Umm… would it be possible for me to change seats with the young lady? She's a friend of mine and…"
The air hostess appeared to be very understanding. "Let me see what I can do. Please take your seat in the meantime…"
Five minutes later, she came back with a smile. "You'll be pleased to know that your friend will be upgraded to first class. Actually, the seat next to yours is free, so you two can sit together, and I hope you have a very good flight!"
When Nami was informed of the upgrade and taken to her new seat she was stunned. "When I said you owed me, I was only joking you know…" she said slowly.
"The seat was free."
"I see, thanks Len." She gratefully took the window seat, and flashed him another smile: "you don't mind if I call you Len, do you?"
"Suit yourself."
She removed her denim jacket, tied her seat belt securely and proceeded to flip through the on-flight magazines. I wonder if he will talk some more during the flight, she thought, I can certainly think of a question or two to ask him!
An hour later, the helpful hostess came by with the food trolley as it was getting close to dinner time. Nami asked her for the veggie meal and some juice.
Seeing Len's mild curiosity, she explained. "I try to be careful with what I eat, to keep in good health, especially since my busy schedule doesn't allow me to do as much exercise as I should."
He looked at her… She doesn't exercise much, yet she has a great figure and she seems to be bursting with energy. Her skin glows, her eyes sparkle, and her hair…
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"N-Nothing!" he turned to his own plate and tried to focus his attention on eating.
"How about you? How do you keep fit?"
He considered the question.
"Walking, I guess…"
"Walking…" she mused, "now that I think of it, I never actually saw you riding a car to and from school, unlike a certain upperclassman… Oh, do you drive by any chance? I got my driving license last year and I'm saving up to buy a car!"
"No, I don't."
"Really…" Perhaps he just wasn't very practical, she pondered.
"Never found the time to learn."
Ah, true. Len never liked being distracted from his music and easily showed irritation when he thought people were wasting his time. She remembered her past attempts to interview him about the concours during their time at Seiso. She chuckled. It was almost a miracle that he had not yet attempted to escape from her this time! Perhaps he had changed… a little!
It gradually grew quieter in the cabin as people began to feel sleepy and settled down for the long night ahead. Nami spread the available blanket down to her legs, loosened her hair band and tried to make herself comfortable in her seat. She looked at her neighbour. His seat was inclined backwards and he had already closed his eyes. He seemed more relaxed now than earlier.
"Len! Are you sleeping?..." she called softly.
"I'm trying to."
"Can I ask you something?"
"…"
"Do you miss her… Kahoko?"
"No… I don't."
She sat up immediately, burning with curiosity. He doesn't?
"Then… are you seeing someone at the moment?"
"I'm afraid you don't stand a chance Amou-san, so why be curious?"
That should silence her!
Len looked away so she would not notice his smile.
She huffed and looked away too.
That's not what I meant… Did Len think I asked because I'm interested in him? She blushed. No, he just wanted to avoid answering that sort of question!
Did he really not miss Kahoko or was he lying? But then again, it would have been embarrassing for him to say yes…
At last, her thoughts began to subside, and sleep overcame her… What would tomorrow hold?
To be continued.