Summary: Kakashi smiled, amused. "You'll have to lead, then." Naruto stared at him. "You're playing too?" —A duet with his most brilliant student. The music of Tango was beautiful, fascinating and wildly wicked. Naruto moved with the music... and the music moved.
AN: Written for the KakaNaru writing meme on our LJ comm, prompted by ladywinterfic. The prompt was duet. I was (and still am) offering ficlets from my music AU (my other fic, Concert, Coffee and Flowers, is also from the same AU) but I kinda got inspired and this fic really... grew. ^^;;
This AU draws on my more-than-ten years of learning music, especially learning the violin, and also my experience in a string ensemble. Which means that I definitely know what I'm doing when I write for this humongous music AU. (and sidenote, if you know me in RL, please please please don't mention this fic. Ever. I'll die of embarrassment.) It's my first time writing a piece of fiction that really goes in-depth to the music without being overly technical, but I hope you'll like it. (:
In this AU, Kakashi is the violin tutor for his old school's youth string ensemble. He's pretty famous internationally as a solo violinist, and also played with several world-renowned orchestras before coming back to tutor and guide these violinists-in-training. He conducts the ensemble when Tsunade is busy, and also performs in concerts once in a while. Naruto is a scholarship student at the school, which is actually a division of a very prestigious conservatory, and a member of the ensemble.
Naruto is Kakashi's only one-on-one student, however, because Kakashi isn't interested in teaching anyone else. Thus, the two of them are quite close.
Dedicated to ladywinterfic. :3
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Losing by a head, instant violent love
Of that flirtatious and cheerful woman
Who, swearing with a smile
A love she's lying about,
Burns in a blaze all my love.
—Por Una Cabeza
Kakashi glanced at the small alarm clock on his upright piano, and smiled. "Alright, that's almost all for today's lesson."
"Almost?" Naruto blinked at him, looking curious. His teacher hummed absently as he opened one of his many files of music scores, and took out a set.
"New piece for you to learn, and it's purely for fun this time." He set the three pages onto the music stand. "Have you heard of this piece before?"
"Heard of it?" Naruto beamed in delight. "Tango Por Una Cabeza is one of my favourite pieces! You've mentioned it before, y'know."
"I have?" Kakashi raised his eyebrows, surprised. "In any case, you can practise this during your free time and I'll hear it next lesson – "
"I've tried playing this by myself, actually..." Naruto muttered, looking faintly embarrassed. "It's really nice and not too hard, too – eh, until the second half, at least."
"Give it a try now, then." Kakashi picked up his own violin. At the boy's surprised look, he added, "You might as well, since you're already familiar. Would you prefer first or second?"
"Eh? Oh right – um, can I... take the first violin part? I think I'm okay with the fast passages..." Blue eyes scanned the music quickly, almost glowing with excitement.
He never changes, does he. Kakashi smiled, amused. "You'll have to lead, then."
Naruto stared at him. "You're playing too?"
"We'll be missing a few parts in the accompaniment," Kakashi shrugged. "But it sounds better with both melody parts."
"O-okay." The serious-faced blond raised his bow in preparation, and breathed in deeply, moving his violin slightly to the left as the starting cue. Kakashi watched him closely and breathed along, following the lead to begin.
The first section was fairly soft. Naruto looked a little nervous at first, but kept his bow arm steady like Kakashi had taught him. The vibrato was also quite nicely done, the silver-haired man noted. It added warmth to the tone, and there was a certain spice to it which was what defined the music of Tango. You've come a long way, Naruto.
Having memorized the music a long time ago, Kakashi had no need for the score, and was free to observe Naruto as the two of them played.
There was a look of intense focus in the boy's eyes, but also a small grin of delight as he leaned with his body on the long notes, dragging them out to their full value and bringing out the lushness of the tone. Naruto was one of the incredibly talented few to whom music came as naturally as breathing, as though he lived in music and music lived in him. He always played with so much expression, yet none of it was overly exaggerated or faked. He moved with the music, and the music moved.
He took a moment to wonder at the sheer beauty of the two melodies, and how the composer arranged everything just so that they would fit together perfectly. The imitation between the two musical lines, the harmony of the notes and the crossing of melodies were made all the more fascinating by the blond, who lead the music with a smile of growing confidence.
The first section ended with a slightly cheeky last phrase, before both violinists launched into the next section with the four bold, firm notes of the brief transition bar. While the first section was melodious and lush, the second section was defined by its brilliance and fiery passion.
Naruto demonstrated his ability to surprise yet again when he did not blast out the sound like most people would, but still paid attention to the quality of the tone despite the intensity of the loud and heavily accented melody. The rhythm was a rather confusing one for inexperienced players, but the two of them had no problems. Naruto was his student, after all. Kakashi admired the way the blond pulled on the last notes of each phrase, leaning away from his bow's direction to maximise the note length, and ending the phrase with a graceful toss.
He felt his eyes go wide when Naruto switched into a high, delicate passage with a tender yet wildly wicked melody, and a sliiiiiiiide up to the highest note which had no right to sound as scandalous as it did.
The rest of the music seemed to fly past, as Kakashi took over the melody line while Naruto supported it with a series of rapid broken chords, with the notes zigzagging their way up into the high registers before plunging back down at a dizzying pace. Brilliant, Kakashi thought. Absolutely brilliant. The piece suits him.
The blond obviously relished in the sheer virtuosity of the passage, and tackled it head-on despite the technical difficulty of the rapid runs. Their roles switched again, and the main melody was given back to the Naruto before it slowed to a deceptive calm on a single long note.
Then a tiny transition before the main theme's return, a slow and careful tease with a fragment of the original melody. Naruto lead each note with a light lift of his violin, which Kakashi followed, perfectly in sync. The cello should play the countermelody here, he mused absently. But it's perfectly fine without, too. The music moved to its final build-up before its last section, another passage of almost violent passion and virtuosity. The two melodies chased each other up and down and across all four strings, finally slowing near the end, not out of fatigue but more due to satisfaction.
A delicate and carefully-balanced harmonic note, played as softly as possible with the finger barely touching the thin string instead of pressing all the way down in the usual manner, before Naruto inhaled deeply on his last lead... into the final explosive chord.
fine
In the small silence following the end of the music, those blue eyes shone brightly, and within them a fire burned with such intensity that Kakashi felt he should be scorched –
But he wasn't. It was warm, a comfortable sort of warmth Naruto always seemed to emit.
"You've really improved," he smiled, a little breathless, and wondered why he felt so amazed.
Naruto blushed, still unused to the praise which came more and more often during his recent surge in progress. "It's really nice playing this piece with you, Kakashi-sensei. Most people don't bother paying close attention to the dynamics and tempo... and especially the phrasing! In the end they just screw up the whole style of the piece... But you're way better than that." He beamed.
Kakashi put his violin back into its case, and waited for Naruto to do the same. "I've been wondering if this piece could be played for our ensemble's concert this year," He remarked casually. "How'd you like to lead the first violins?"
Naruto gaped at him. "SERIOUSLY? But are you sure I'm good enough for that – "
"It's what you've always wanted, isn't it?" He patted the boy on the head. "I believe you can handle it just fine. And I did say this piece is meant to be for fun, after all. It might be a lot of work, but I think you'll find it quite enjoyable."
"I LOVE YOU KAKASH-SENSEI YOU'RE AWESOME THANK YOU SO MUCH!"
...Knowing how excitable and enthusiastic the blond was, he really should have expected the flying tackle hug.
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'fine' is an Italian term meaning 'the end', used in music to indicate the end of a piece. It is written above the last bar. (:
(Kakashi is... really really fond of Naruto, who fascinates him and always manages to make him smile. Naruto pretty much idolizes his sensei, and between the two of them there are small bits and pieces of feelings which they poke at, but there hasn't been a realization... yet. ^_^ Naruto pretty much taught himself and somehow managed to learn how to play the violin on his own, until Kakashi came along and took him under his wing. He was seriously shocked that the boy had never been taught properly and also amazed at how far he came on his own. Is also suspecting that Naruto is related to Minato, because of the physical resemblance and the MUSIC GENIUS GENES. XD)
The piece referenced in this fic is a piece of tango music, Por Una Cabeza. That translates as By the Head (of a Horse). It was used in several movies, including The Scent of a Woman. The version of the piece I used cannot be found on YouTube, unfortunately, but if you go there and search with the keywords "perlman tango por una cabeza" you'll find an absolutely brilliant version of this piece. ALL HAIL PERLMAN. HE'S ONE OF THE BEST VIOLINISTS EVER. *_*
And just for fun, there are actually lyrics for Por Una Cabeza too. It's an absolutely beautiful piece of Tango music. *_* Here's a translation of the (Spanish) lyrics:
Por Una Cabeza (By the Head of a Horse)
Losing by a head of a noble horse
Who slackens just down the stretch
And when it comes back it seems to say:
Don't forget brother,
You know, you shouldn't bet.
Losing by a head, instant violent love
Of that flirtatious and cheerful woman
Who, swearing with a smile
A love she's lying about,
Burns in a blaze all my love.
Losing by a head
There was all that madness;
Her mouth in a kiss
Wipes out the sadness,
It soothes the bitterness.
Losing by a head
If she forgets me,
No matter to lose
My life a thousand times;
What to live for?
Many deceptions, losing by a head...
I swore a thousand times not to insist again
But if a look sways me on passing by
Her lips of fire, I want to kiss once more.
Enough of race tracks, no more gambling,
A photo-finish I'm not watching again,
But if a pony looks like a sure thing on Sunday,
I'll bet everything again, what can I do?
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I hope you enjoyed this fic? ^_^ Reviews would be lovely. I might even answer a question or two about this AU, which refuses to stop growing...
~rakku(: