Melody of the Heart
Chapter 21 – Practice Part 2
The weather was wonderful. The sky was bright and clear, a cool wind was blowing to add to the light breeze from the ride. The new upgrade to his reliable bicycle that he had just installed the night especially for this occasion now seated the most important person to him – his beloved Yuki.
Keeping his eyes focused on the road, he couldn't help but steal a couple glances back at her. The wind was blowing through her hair, and she looked as lovely as usual sitting 'side saddle' on the new bike passenger seat. He'd even wrapped it with some old leather from a beat up cushion from the restaurant, since the metal bars wouldn't have been very comfortable.
It was her birthday, and he intended to treat her like the princess she was to him.
"Are you mad at me for asking you to skip class, Kei?" she asked, her matter of fact tone belied the dismay she was feeling at possibly upsetting her childhood and best friend.
The smile could be heard in his voice, "Not at all. It is your special day. And I did say we could do whatever you wanted."
"It is a lovely day out," she replied, enjoying the breeze.
As they rode into the shopping heart of the city, more than a few passersby noticed them.
"Wow, check out that girl on the back of the bike!"
"That lucky bastard's got him a hot one."
"Oh! I wish I could be in her seat!"
"What a lovely couple they look."
"Years ago, I used to ride your grandma around like that. How nostalgic."
Neither of the objects of those comments heard any of them, although Kei did notice the number of guys that turned their heads or stopped to stare at Yuki. He frowned a little at the guys that were with other girls that still let his passenger draw their eyes.
Men really can't be trusted. They'd only hurt her. All they want is a pretty thing show off as a trophy.
"You're frowning," Yuki's voice cut through his thoughts.
"Sorry, I don't like it when guys that already have girlfriends admire you with their eyes," he apologized, though his words did not match his tone.
She laughed, a sweet singsong laugh, "Right back at you, Kei. There are tons of girls, attached or unattached, who hate me because I'm close to you."
"Well, those girls at school should know better than to try anything to you. I'll take down anyone who tries to hurt you – male or female."
Yuki laughed again and said in a playfully sarcastic tone, "How gallant of you. Though quite misplaced, since, I assure you, I can hold my own well enough. I am a cop's daughter, you know."
"I'm glad you realize you are a cop's daughter and not his son. Which is precisely my point - you're still a girl, you know," Kei retorted using the same tone she did for her last statement.
Kei knew his friend was glaring at his back through narrowed eyes that said, "You're a girl too!" even without looking at her. He just smiled. This was an age old quarrel between them. And one or two special days in a year wouldn't change that.
Quite simply, Kei had to remain a man, regardless of what Yuki felt she could handle. Kei could not be exposed, since Yuki's father had so carefully erased his original existence to keep him safe. Having lost so much already at such a young age, he was not going to let them lose anymore. That meant, staying a guy and keeping her safe.
"Well, it doesn't help the matter that you treat me differently than all the other girls. Add that to the fact that we live together under the same roof, the number of girls at school that hate me must be…" she trailed off as thinking, and continued, "Just about all of them."
"Nah, about 50% of them revere you from a distance, and 25% envy you for your looks and brains. Sorry, I think I can only claim credit for about 25% of them," Kei flashed a grin at her.
"And for that 25% I'm pretty sure I've already told them clearly that we are just childhood friends."
Yuki rolled her eyes and said, "Like that ever changed any of their minds."
Kei masterfully parked the bicycle along the sidewalk of their lunch destination. He'd picked out a simple noodle house called Ramen-ya that had a selection of ramen and other Japanese dishes that made for an economical, tasty and healthy lunch.
After allowing her to gracefully disembark the vehicle, he dismounted himself and locked the bicycle before walking with her into the restaurant.
The young hostess got a good eyeful of the male eye candy, and inwardly cursed the pretty girl he saw her come in with. But she was on the clock, so she reminded herself that there were other fishes in the sea and politely greeted them. As she led them to a table, she overheard Kei continuing their conversation from outside.
"Hey, maybe I could just get a real girlfriend, so they'll really know that we're just childhood friends who live together." The hostess smiled and began planning how to get his attention now that she knew he was available - she did so like the lookers.
She could not hide her shock and alarm at his counterpart's response to that statement, "Or you could find yourself a real boyfriend."
The hostess quickly recovered and excused herself, letting them know that their server would be right with them. As she walked away, she shook her head and thought how true the saying was that all the good ones were either taken or gay.
"Great work, Yuki. No doubt the hostess thinks I'm gay now," Kei said, shaking his head in resignation.
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Not dwelling on the loss of a good looking man to the 'other team', the said hostess began reminiscing about a good looking gentleman that was here with not one, but two ladies about a week ago. She'd surmised that the younger one was a sibling or relative and was gauging how close he was with the other female. She'd been more than happy to be the object of his attention while he took care of the bill for the ladies since it meant that he was… open to opportunities.
No sooner had she finished wishing he'd drop by again soon did she see him walk through the hanging door cloth that had the words 'Welcome' on it.
"Kitami-san! What a pleasure to see you again so soon!"
"Ah, my dear Mayumi-san, I told you last time to just call me Taki," the man flashed her a wide grin.
"Oh, you know I can't do that while I'm at work, Kitami-san," she blushed prettily, a skill she'd practiced in front of the mirror many a times to be executed at will, while deliberately hinting at a hopeful off-work excursion with the man.
"Taki, quit flirting with the lady and let's get seats already." To Mayumi's dismay, he was with the younger girl again. Taki smiled at the hostess apologetically, and let her lead them to a booth as she mentally cursed the plain looking brat for her intrusion.
She was about to continue chatting up the man when her boss's voice flowed out towards her from behind the counter.
"Mayumi-san, please come to the back and help me with these menu covers."
Her horoscope for love today must have been 'Very Unlucky'.
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It was five minutes later when Taki and Miki placed their orders for ramen and Miki got straight to main point for their luncheon meeting.
"You should know her as well as me, Taki," she started, "Why you still have to ask for my opinion for her birthday present is beyond me."
"Don't be like that, Miki-chan," Taki said in a whiny tone, "I'm already giving you a ride and buying you lunch. I'm just looking for a little insider information."
She'd contemplated the reasons for a spontaneous call from Taki last night, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what he wanted from her, considering Saria's birthday the coming weekend.
"Yeah yeah, so what did you have in mind?"
"There was a new cosmetic set from that brand she likes so much, Giordano," Taki said, going through his mental 'Saria's birthday present' list.
"Nope, she already got that," Miki interjected with her comment on that option.
"See, this is why I have to ask you. It's not like she tells me these kinds of things. Okay, how about some violin varnish?"
"No on two counts. One, you got her that last year, and two, you got her the bulk sized one, so she doesn't need more for a while," she responded, her eyes expressing her disdain at that choice.
"What, I thought she'd go through that a lot faster than that," Taki said, bringing his hands up in a surrender pose as he defended himself for thinking to give Saria the same thing as last year.
"OK OK, how about tickets to the NHK Symphony Orchestra playing at the Tokyo Opera City next month?" Taki continued.
"Hmm," she pondered, "That'd be a good one. I'm assuming you'll get her two so she doesn't have to go alone."
"Right," he replied. He went quiet for a few, before he asked, "Does she have a guy friend you think she'd be asking?"
A tiny spark flickered in the back of Miki's mind. This was the first time she'd gotten a hint from Taki that he was… concerned with whom she'd have chosen to go with. Deciding to prod a little, Miki replied, "No, I don't think so, and I'm not really interested so I'm probably not going to go with her even if she asked me."
"Hmm," It was Taki's turn to ponder. Meanwhile, Miki observed his expression. She couldn't say that his expression had any indication of a special meaning and was a little disappointed. She was even more disappointed when he moved on and said, "Well, I don't want her to feel down if she can't find someone to go with her, so how about tickets to Fuwa Sho's concert next weekend? Wouldn't you like to go with her for that? I can actually get some really good tickets for that one, and maybe even back stage passes."
"Fuwa who?" Miki answered, rolling her eyes, "I don't even know what genre that is, let alone who that is."
'Hmm," he said again.
When he remained silent a moment more while he thought up other ideas, Miki decided to give him a push in the direction she figured Saria would eventually thank her for, "Why don't YOU take her to orchestra show?"
At his unconvinced look, she continued, "You can even make it into a full day event. Specialized chauffeur service picking her up, taking her to dinner, and then going to watch the symphony."
"Being treated special on her birthday like that and going to see a good show? I think she'd really like that," she ended her advertisement.
"Hmm," he said once more. She waited for him to decide on that, hoping to figure out if Taki really did have special feelings for her cousin. When he agreed that that would actually be a great gift and that he'd do that, Miki was hopeful yet skeptical. He didn't quite say it was a date, but she wondered if Taki really even thought of it as such.
Before she could worry about it too much, their orders arrived and Taki had completely changed the topic back to her lack of music industry recognition to not even have heard of the latest pop music star whose concert he'd have been able to get tickets for.
She just wasn't interested. Nothing against the guy, she's sure the music had to be some sort of good since he's a star, but more so than idolizing a person, she just enjoyed music. Especially when they come with a story, like in a game, or in a scene, or an animation cinematic.
Intermittently throughout the meal, their conversation continued, in between delicious slurps and vigorous chewing. Miki could hear some voices travel to them from the booth behind theirs, but could not make out the words. Then she heard one of the voices singing, not words, but notes, a familiar song that she hadn't yet placed.
Taki recognized it in a heartbeat, and lifted his head from his bowl mid-slurp abruptly, startling the younger girl. He finished his slurp and listened for a couple beats more. It was Chopin's La Chanson de l'adieu, also known as Etude.
Intrigued, and he wasn't the only one, as he could see heads turning from the other tables as well as waiters, he wondered where the impromptu vocal performance was coming from. Setting down his chopsticks, he told Miki he'd be right back, and got up from his seat before she could ask him where he was going.
As he moved to the source of the singing, he was about to make his appearance while exclaiming his recognition of the song in a none-too-quiet voice, but the words were startled into inexistence, as did the music, when he recognized the beautiful lady whom the voice belonged to.
"Kanae-chan?"
AN: Dun dun dun! Cliff hanger! How will they react to meeting someone who knows them? How hard will this make their practice? All this coming soon... after the holidays... In the meantime! Have a Merry Xmas everyone! Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'll be out of town myself for the holidays so probably two weeks before i get Part 3 of the Acting practice out ;)