葉をさがしてSearching for you
Chapter 4
Last Time on 葉をさがして:
The woman who was sitting in the middle stood up and smiled, "Anna, congratulations. From today on, you will be Real Record's new artist."
"What?" Anna cried in disbelief and her tone lightened up considerably, "you chose me?"
Anna stood there like a statue but her mind was racing, thinking of the possible scenarios in which she and Yoh would meet. She was so much closer to him, and maybe, if luck was on her side, she'd be able to get the chance to talk to him really soon. Deep down inside, Anna was ecstatic.
Eliza looked at the blonde girl with a gentle smile and figured that Anna must be overwhelmed at what just happened. After all, any normal girl would be taken aback; but Anna was not your average girl. As Eliza gracefully walked over to Anna and pulled her into a warm hug, Anna instinctively stiffened.
"Don't worry," Eliza assured her. "My husband Faust and I will personally manage your career. We'll make sure to take things slowly, one step at a time, to ensure that your transition into an idol career will be as smooth as possible."
Anna frowned. 'One step at a time'? That's the last thing that she wanted. If anything, she would prefer to stand on stage the very next day to perform! She needed to get to Yoh as fast as possible and find out the real reason why he hasn't contacted her since his reappearance.
"That won't be necessary; I can even start today if you have work for me." Anna replied curtly and edged away. Eliza was too close to her for her liking and was making her uncomfortable.
Upon hearing that, Mr. Yamashita laughed a hearty laugh and bellowed, "we sure found ourselves a special talent, didn't we Faust? Go ahead and send all the other girls home. We've decided on Anna."
Faust nodded in agreement and walked out the room to tell the other candidates that the audition has officially ended.
After about twenty minutes, Mr. Yamashita stood up and gestured for Anna's attention. "Alright, let's head to the conference room outside to sign some paperwork and to discuss your debut plans. Follow me, please."
Mr. Yamashita and Eliza led Anna outside through the waiting room and past the main elevators toward a grand hallway that would lead them to the conference room. Anna noticed that the last of the contestants were filling into the elevator to leave.
As Anna walked past the elevator, she casually glanced inside only to find fiery red eyes meeting her own amber orbs. If it were any other person beside Anna, he or she might have shivered under the intensity of Jeanne's stare, but being the Ice Queen that she was, Anna returned Jeanne's glare with fierceness of her own. Even as the elevator doors closed shut the two of them never broke eye contact.
The four sat around the oval conference table with papers sprawled all over the tabletop.
"And... that's the last of the papers!" Eliza said enthusiastically as she gathered and organized the signed contract papers.
Anna dropped the pen on the table and crossed her arms over her chest. "So when's my first public appearance?"
"My, aren't you eager," Faust commented but fell quiet when Anna gave him a cold stare.
"Well Anna," Mr. Yamashita said, "Is there anyone in particular that you want to work with? I noticed you sang Hao's song for your audition."
"Yes, I want to work with Yoh… I mean, Hao!" Anna blurted out, words all in a rush.
Mr. Yamashita laughed, "Aren't you lucky! Hao is coming to Japan to do a concert in two and a half months. He's signed under Real Records in America so I'm sure I can squeeze you in the concert to do an opening act for him."
"Really?" Anna exclaimed. She was so excited at her fortune that she lost her normally cool composure.
Mr. Yamashita nodded, "That can be arranged. Hao can bring up your popularity as well, it'll be a win-win situation."
"But Anna, you will have to work really hard these coming months. If you want to be a part of the concert, we will have to work every day, probably even through the weekends. Are you sure you will be up for this?" Faust asked, making sure that Anna is aware of her responsibilities.
"Faust is right," Mr. Yamashita added. "We will need to tailor-make your debut song and recorded it within two months, and then you will need to do rehearsals during the remaining time… it will be stressful for you."
"Don't worry about me, I can handle worse." Anna replied coolly.
"And now, on to our entertainment news. It seems that Real Record will debut a new artist named Anna Kyoyama next month. When reporters asked what this new pop star is like, Mr. Yamashita, the director of the music division of Real Records, revealed one word, "different." However, Mr. Yamashita did let us in on some of the upcoming plans for this young artist. It seems that Hao Asakura, from the America division of Real Records will be coming over to Japan to do a joint concert that will showcase the debuting Kyoyama… what a show it will be!"
The brunette boy who was currently lounging on a lavish armchair switched off the TV and tossed the remote onto the neighboring coffee table. The room was well furnished and amongst some of the more expensive looking furniture were some peculiar looking items that had a distinctive Native American style.
"Anna…" he mused, and repeated the name as if to see how it felt to let the name run off his tongue.
He felt a figure shuffle by his side and he looked down past his armrest. "Nice nap Opacho?" he asked with a smile.
Opacho, who was curled up like a cat on a rug with a large star pattern, nodded. Still half asleep, she rubbed her eyes and looked up towards the boy. The boy smiled and patted her on the head.
"Kanna?" he called out towards the door.
"Yes, you called?" a tall, blue-haired girl entered the room with a bow.
"How much did you know about the collaboration with that Anna girl from Japan?"
"Quite frankly, not much I'm afraid. The Director insisted that she will be a great hit and told me to schedule her into your concert."
The boy was silent and Kanna took that to mean disapproval. She quickly asked, "Do you want me to cancel her part? The Director, of all people, should know that you won't do anything that you don't like. I'm sure he won't dare object."
The boy stood up and chuckled. "No, it's fine Kanna. I'm actually looking forward to our meeting. Anna…"
Next Time:
"Yoh?" Anna shouted as she quickened her pace to catch up with the brunette. "Yoh! Yoh! You look at me when I'm talking to you!" she said angrily and reached out to his shoulder to pull him to a stop.
Author's Note: Who is excited for the Yoh/Hao appearance? This story has been in the back of my mind for a long time, I know. I'm glad that people are still interested! I know where I want to go with this story and how it's going to end so I promise that I will finish this story (and it WILL be EPIC)! Please read and review