THE ONE WHO MAKES HIM SMILE by Moon71

Chapter 2: Ayaka's Tokyo Adventure

Summary: Ayaka makes her fateful journey to Tokyo to confront her elusive fiancée, and runs into two interesting young musicians…

Author's Notes: I know Ayaka isn't everyone's cup of tea, so I'm grateful to all who have given this story a read. In particular I want to thank Imaybi1, Earthlight, Estelle Stafford and Bakayaro onna for such supportive reviews, and of course Vindalootoo for reading (and liking!) the story before I posted it!

As I said in the last chapter, I have mainly based this on the anime, but parts of this one in particular drew on the manga version too, especially of course the presence and character of Hiro's brother.

Looking back, I could see how stupid, how childish and reckless I must have seemed to Hiro and Shuichi that evening in Tokyo. I had told no-one I was going there – I had not even told my family I was leaving Kyoto. All I knew was that if I did not do something, I would go mad. It all seemed to be happening around me, without anyone paying much attention to what I might have to say.

Eiri was by all accounts refusing to come home, in spite of the best efforts of Mika and Seguchi-san. Uesugi-san was insisting Eiri would return but my father was growing restless and my mother had heard many stories of Eiri's promiscuity and was now questioning whether they should have agreed to the match in the first place. Mika still visited me, and each time she tried to reassure me that I could be the saving of her brother, but I could see that she was troubled. One time, when her husband accompanied her, I could see the doubt lying behind his oversweet smile. "I think perhaps Seguchi-san doesn't quite approve of the idea," I questioned boldly when Mika and I were alone.

Mika sighed heavily. "It's nothing to do with you," she said, "really it isn't. Tohma just isn't sure marriage is the answer for Eiri. Tohma loves Eiri," she added suddenly, "In an odd sort of way, more than he loves me."

She glanced at me then, but there was no embarrassment or bitterness in her face, only a gentle amusement. "It's not the way it sounds. If it was, do you think I would have let him take Eiri to New York? It's almost like the love of a mother for her child – and you know how obsessive a mother can be. Besides, he feels so guilty. He never says so, but I know he feels he failed me… he knew how worried I was about Eiri and he promised to look after him in New York, so when… when things went wrong…" She shook her head. "I should never have agreed to it. It wasn't fair to offload Eiri and his problems onto…" She caught herself then and said no more. I said nothing. I sensed she was lonely, that she needed to confide in someone. And if her husband was as deeply involved in Eiri's problems as she was, perhaps she was reluctant to burden him with her worries.

How, in light of that, could I burden her with mine? Besides, I had to separate myself from her, from the Uesugi family – even from Kyoto. Perhaps, just perhaps, if it was just Eiri and me, alone in Tokyo, perhaps he would see me in a different light…

And so I set off to Tokyo, a foolish girl thinking herself a grown woman. But I have never regretted it for a moment since. Well, except perhaps for when those horrible men began pestering me in the park…

All day I had been buzzing with excitement – it was an adventure, where everything was new. I'd never been to Tokyo before and I reasoned in my ignorance that it would not be difficult to find Eiri's flat. By the late afternoon, having travelled the wrong way on the underground for some time, then getting overcharged by a taxi driver before realising I had the name of the street wrong, the excitement was fading and I was hungry and tired and the light was failing. By the time I approached those men, I was desperate enough to ask anyone for help.

And that was when Nakano Hiroshi and Shindou Shuichi exploded into my life like a couple of brave samurai warriors protecting the meek (and stupid) from evil bandits. Actually it was Shindou Shuichi I noticed first, with his bright pink hair and his quick gymnast's grace. But it was Nakano Hiroshi who held my attention. His voice was low and confident – a little like Eiri's, perhaps, but so much warmer. My heart was beating very fast as he questioned me; unlike with Eiri, I was very conscious of Hiro's good looks. Not even the long, auburn tinted hair, which would have made my father run screaming for a pair of scissors, detracted from that – in fact, I rather liked it. When I looked at him I somehow knew it was all right to accept his help.

Of course they could not believe it when I told them I was from Kyoto. When I explained why I had come, Hiro said nothing, but Shuichi's eyes brightened just a little and I saw sympathy there. How ironic - I can still remember wondering if he was also in love, or if he just had a particularly soft heart.

Two boys my mother would probably have crossed the street to avoid – unemployed (by my family's standards), streetwise, their vocabulary full of slang, their heads full of pop-culture – yet they were both so kind to me and really seemed to want nothing in return. Except, perhaps, to hear me make appreciative noises as they boasted about their band and Shuichi even sang me one of their songs, offering me two complimentary tickets to their first solo concert (one for me, one for a special friend, he added with a friendly wink) that I was quite certain I would never get a chance to use. In spite of my doubtful situation, I found myself so glad I had made this journey, no matter what the final outcome.

After a while Shuichi seemed eager to leave and I was once again reminded that I had nowhere to spend the night. I could not ask them to walk me to Eiri's – it was so late now and besides, I was no longer sure about the address. Perhaps there was just something about Hiro that persuaded me to trust him – perhaps in the back of my mind I realised I just had very little choice.

As it was, there were no good hotels available for the money I had – even the money we had between us. The only places were of the kind Hiro insisted were not suitable for "a lady." In the end our wanderings were cut short by a phone call from Hiro's brother Yuuji, who was having a karaoke party for a few friends, some of whom, Hiro assured me in a gentlemanly fashion, were female.

The party lasted well into the early hours, but I admit I enjoyed it immensely. Yuuji was an actor, though he cheerfully confessed that he hardly ever got any work.

"I'm the despair of my family," he told me with a theatrical flourish, "they've long since given up hope! Hiro's all they have left… but Hiro's more interested in his music than in going to medical school…!"

Hiro glanced at me in embarrassment. "I guess I'm just not cut out to be a doctor," he mumbled.

"He's being modest, Ayaka-chan," Yuuji sighed, "Hiro is a straight-A student. But he follows his heart instead of his head, just like me…"

"I think it's always right to follow your heart," I replied with some feeling. As both brothers turned to look at me, I blushed and asked what we were going to sing next. In between songs we talked, mainly about Yuuji's bit parts and Hiro's music. All of the other friends were some sort of artists; as I listened to them I felt a pang of envy, and wished for a moment I could tell them my fiancé was a famous writer. But they probably wouldn't believe me, and besides, I didn't quite feel I had the right to claim Eiri as my own, at least not until I had seen him again.

Looking back, I wonder why we never heard Hiro's mobile ringing again and again. But perhaps the music was just too loud.

TBC