The slick company car pulled up in front of the doors of the studio building and Kuu's face lit up as he rose from his seat and headed straight for the doors. Opening them himself, he slid into the seat and visibly relaxed, stretching out and meeting the nearly white, pale blue eyes of the other occupant in the car. Sai sat with her arms crossed and her bright red hair up in a messy bun.
"Good evening, Ms. Akai." He said with a lazy smile. She blinked once at him before huffing and greeting him in return.
"You as well, Mr. Hizuri." She didn't speak after that, refusing to respond to his myriads of questions concerning her job and what she was so busy with on a Saturday night. After thoroughly ignoring him, Sai finally let an exasperated breath go and glared at him, shutting him up.
Once they arrived back at his hotel, she marched up to the elevator, leaning gloomily against the side and refusing to make eye contact. They reached his room and she placed her belongings on his couch, making a beeline for his kitchen to get the meal over with. Because of her rush to be in and out, she failed to examine the room and the new items it contained.
Chuckling under his breath, Kuu walked passed the kitchen doorway and into the living area of the penthouse suite, where two large packages sat waiting for him. He opened them as quietly as possible, any noises he made masked by the sounds of cooking emanating from Sai's rushed motions.
Gingerly, he pulled out a multitude of instruments, compliments of Lory, and placed them about the room, smiling deviously at them. Knowing her, if he not only asked her to play, but then forced her to play, she would be so furious with him that she would cry to Lory who would then leak her discomfort to Ren. It was a shoddy plan, and it might backfire on him, but it was the only way he could see his son being motivated enough to speak with him.
He wasn't afraid to wield his knowledge of her past and the aversion she'd developed towards all the brass, wind, and string instruments that now dotted his living room, especially towards the violin. If he could manipulate her enough in this aspect, though, he'd surely lose his chance to connect with her, and that alone was enough to make him doubt what he was about to do. Looking around, though, he realized it was too late to back out now. This was for his son.
Shaking his head to rid it of any second thoughts, he walked back into the dining area and waited for her to come out with large plates of food for his dinner. She delivered as promised, and walked towards him with a suspicious look on her face.
"Why don't we dine in the living room tonight?" He asked her, his lips slowly turning up into a cruel smile.
Seeing this, Sai grew a bit nervous and asked him, "Why would we do that?"
He waved a hand nonchalantly and replied, "That way you can entertain me."
A look of horror passed over Sai's features and she reeled backwards, "Look, I don't care what you threaten me with, you perverted old man, I won't-"
Seeing she'd taken his words entirely the wrong way, he rushed to contradict her, "No, no! Not like that!" He said, his steely and wicked demeanor cracking as he began laughing. Further confused with his reaction, Sai leaned backwards and took a step back. Kuu held up a hand to stop her and tried to explain, "Here, come with me. I'll show you what I meant." He managed between gasps of air and bouts of laughter.
The redhead was extremely hesitant to follow, still worried for what was awaiting her, but she looked into the humor and amusement in the actor's hazel eyes and nodded, taking uncertain steps after him. They entered into the living space and Kuu gestured outward, shifting Sai's gaze to the center of the room, where a great many instruments of all kinds sat waiting.
Her eyes widened and then snapped to his, questioning why on earth those were there. He smiled again, the devilishness back. "No." Was all she said, setting the plates down.
"Yes." He said back, not backing down.
"No. I refuse. I won't do it. I see you're taunting me, and I don't know if this was your bright idea or Lory's, but I will not do it."
"You remember why you're here in the first place, don't you?" He asked, narrowing his eyes and regarding her with indifference, watching her flinch, "You're here because I have leverage on you. You don't get a choice in this matter. You're playing."
With that, he took a seat and began to eat the food she'd set down, still impressed with how high the quality was for how quickly she'd made such a large amount. Still not hearing anything from the talent who stood frozen where he'd left her, he added, "You'll play if you want to stay on my good side. You're pushing it as it is with all the attitude."
Her face twitched slightly and the temperature in the room seemed to pitch as her anger rose, her fingers curling into fists as she tried to control it. Taking a step forward, she picked up the instrument she hated most but knew best, the violin.
"Good girl," she heard from behind her and she turned to regard the man sitting and enjoying his meal with that stupid grin plastered on his face.
"I'm not doing this for you." She told him, raising the violin to her shoulder and tuning it. "I'm doing it because I care about the people I've met and they care about me. I won't risk those relationships because some pompous idiot thinks he can screw it up."
Kuu nearly spit out the water he was drinking when she called him a pompous idiot, just like she had when she was little. She hadn't changed that much after all. He had to fight the the warm smile from appearing on his lips when he thought of how much she'd grown though, finally accepting people back into her life. He needed to be poker faced for this, or she'd see through his bluffs for sure.
Raising the bow and finishing the tuning, Sai readjusted her grip and silently allowed herself to be impressed by the quality of the instrument she now held. It was finely crafted and resembled the one that sat in her studio that very moment. It was comfortable resting on her shoulder, and she allowed herself to relax for a moment.
Taking a deep breath, she began playing. It was nothing too special, just a soft, chipper tune that floated through the air with an eerie gentleness, almost manifesting as a physical force in the room as it reached Kuu's ears. He stopped eating for a moment as he listened, finding the simple tune oddly swaying, moving him in ways he wasn't ready for it to.
After a few moments, he realized with a shock that he'd been so easily enraptured by her music that he hadn't even noticed. She'd always been talented, but he truly hadn't expected this from her. Shaking himself out of it, he remembered he was supposed to be bullying her in this scenario, not actually enjoying himself.
Snapping loudly, he interrupted her piece and caught her attention. "Alright. Switch it up." He demanded bluntly, watching her face twist in confusion and in disbelief. "That one's getting boring," he stated, despite how much he genuinely wanted her to keep playing.
Holding her tongue and simply breathing in and out twice to calm her anger, the redhead stooped down and picked up a silvery instrument she identified as a flute. She hadn't played it in a long time, but remembered it fondly from her childhood. Tuning it by ear, she placed her lips delicately on the mouthpiece and continued her chipper piece from earlier.
Before she'd even gotten to the end of the first verse, Sai heard Kuu snap his fingers again and froze in place, clenching her teeth together as she hovered above the instrument. "Too abrasive." Was all he said, gesturing for her to pick something else.
Clamping down her frustrations at the man's actions, she placed the delicate item down as softly and as carefully as she could, trying to keep her hands from shaking from her suppressed emotions. Going off of his minimal advice, she chose an acoustic guitar which should be gentler to fit the meal.
She chose a different tune now, one more tense and high strung, still gentle enough for his liking, but finally displaying the inner wrath she was slowly losing control of. Before she could even get into it, she heard the snap she'd been nearly waiting for and her control shattered. Glaring at him as she set the guitar aside, she looked at him with crossed arms to hide her trembling appendages.
"The guitar is too simple," he told her, making her bristle further, "Try the piano!" He offered with a slight shrug and a fiendish smile. That she did, too. Sitting in front of the instrument, she abandoned any and all efforts to try and please him with her music and plunked out a violent and angered tune.
Completely taken aback, Kuu sat up as the atmosphere in the room changed completely, filling with a heavy, dark sense of rage. Clearing his throat, he called out for her to stop and abruptly she paused in the music, not even turning to look at him. "I take my words back. Do the violin, again. I liked that best." He tried to match the tone he'd been before, but was aware it had come out higher and displayed the unease he felt when accosted by the physical brutality of her notes.
Turning slowly, the color of her eyes seared and pierced him with a vicious glare and she rose wordlessly and picked up the familiar object, placing it again on her shoulder. Letting a deep breath go, she attempted to cool her anger and the notes she played came out terse and quick, but without the vexation of her previous display.
Swallowing, he knew it was dangerous to anger her further, but he had to do it, so he cleared his throat and she stopped, almost expecting his interruption that time. "I want a lower range of notes," he said, pointing to the cello.
With her last shred of calmness, she placed the string instrument down and walked to the cello, tuning it with tense, fast bow strokes. Once it was satisfactory, she began playing and the fury within the notes returned. She moved so quickly, her bow strokes flying back and forth as the tune froze the room over with her irritation at his antics.
Hearing these, chills shot down the blonde actor's spine and he found an actual fear resting in his upper chest. He knew she wouldn't hurt him, but there was still a panic that accompanied such an intense atmosphere. Gulping it down, Kuu forced the words out of his throat as he said, "Go back to the violin," interrupting her playing completely. "That's the one you're best at."
She set the bow down, leaning the cello carefully against the sofa and approached the aged actor. He could tell she was seething and her eyes held a barely subdued, murderous rage deep within them. He did the only thing he could think of in the moment and once she was close enough, he whipped his hand up, finger poised and at the ready to flick her forehead.
Instantly, her demeanor changed and her hand flew up to protect herself from the oncoming pain his flick had always brought. She hadn't done something like that in years, not since she was very small and he would flick her when she was mean to him. Her immediately, automatic response to his motion stuck her in a way she wasn't expecting and she actually laughed.
Equally as surprised with both her motion and the sudden laughter, Kuu lowered his hand and simply stared at the redhead. She let loose a gentle sigh and swung her hands up in defeat, turning on her heel and heading back towards the violin. She picked it up, fully expecting to need to switch several more times.
Her expectations were dead on; switching again and again, the actress worked her way through nearly every instrument in the room, and as she played them, the chill that had settled in the space let up slightly. Over the course of the night, Kuu finished his meal but kept her playing. Before he knew it, the room had gone back to normal, her anger no longer heavy and lingering, and his demands more of inquiries, gentle and excited to hear her play.
Once the music had gone full circle and was now lighter and more gentle, he found the words slipping out of his lips before he could stop them, "You play much better when you're thinking of your audience."
She looked up at him, surprised that he'd spoken those words with such kindness in his voice. Finding his face softer and more gentle, she realized he'd stopped bullying her long before and was now enjoying her music to the fullest extent, his original intentions forgotten. Tilting her head, her eyebrows dipped down and she looked at him in confusion.
"Music should be inspired by things that make you happy and by people you want to make happy." He told her, resting his chin on his hand and watching as various emotions flitted across her face.
The moment he mentioned making music for people she wanted to make happy, a face immediately popped into Sai's mind. Without meaning to, surprise registered on her face as she pictured his face, his dark hair falling into his eyes, covering their deep brown hue as his lips lifted into a genuine smile, making the skin by his eyes wrinkle with happiness. It was a smile that he only showed around her, one he made only when he was completely relaxed. It made his features light up and it always made her heart pound. Then again, a lot of what Ren Tsuruga did made her heart pound.
She buried her physical reaction to seeing his face, but allowed the warm emotion to envelop her as she again picked up her violin and raised it. Letting it influence her playing, she played three sharp, quick notes and then allowed the tension remaining in the room and the fierceness of her playing to melt away into a giddy, sweet melody. As the gentle tune filled the room, she allowed further images and memories of the actor fill her mind, and the music turned even more tender and warm.
Unable to help himself any longer, Kuu stood up and drifted over to the large piano she'd played and sat behind it, cracking his knuckles before running his fingers along the ivory keys, accompanying her. As their melodies mixed and blended, each taking moments to play the melody of a nonexistent song while the other complemented their tune.
Their interlacing rhythms and melodies grew lighter and gentler together, with Sai laughing and smiling joyously whenever Kuu hit a wrong note. She would correct him gently and they would continue playing, the warm and sweet music filling every corner of the room and making them both genuinely happy and fully enjoying themselves.
When they eventually finished, he sat back on the bench and shook his tired hands, a soft smile on his lips. She let out a content sigh and set her violin down, turning to him with a guilty grin. "What?" He asked, curious as to her face.
"Well, I feel bad for being angry, now." She told him honestly.
He laughed brightly, holding a hand in front of his mouth, "Don't." He told her, watching her tilt her head. "I was sort of trying to make you angry."
Her own lips raising, she chuckled at that and asked, "Hate me that much, hmm?"
"No!" He insisted, racing to find an explanation that she would accept, knowing he couldn't reveal to her the truth. "I just…"
"It's okay." She told him, "I've never been all that nice to you. You have the right."
Her words gave him an idea, "No, that's it, actually. I wanted you to open up to me, so I figured I would try doing something counterintuitive." He said sheepishly.
"You thought making me hate you for being rude, insensitive and a bully would make me like you, even when I didn't like your genuine nature as a child?" She scoffed, looking at him with cocky disbelief, "Yeah, right, Kuu."
"In hindsight, not the brightest idea," he admitted, "But look! It worked!"
She laughed genuinely and held her forehead with her hand, "Oh yeah, sure."
She turned and glanced over her shoulder, "What is that supposed to mean?" He asked, following behind her with the dishes she'd left.
"It means I don't believe you, old man," she said teasingly, sticking her tongue out.
"Does that mean you want me to tell you the truth then?"
She peered at him a moment before shrugging, "Hey, it's not my business, even if you tried to make it mine."
"What?" He asked, having fully resigned to telling her.
"If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. I'm grateful for what you did, no matter the reason. So if you honestly would rather keep it a secret, I won't stop you." She turned after placing the dishes in the sink and added, "But, if you do want to talk, I'll listen."
He thought for a moment as they cleaned up and eventually decided to tell her a half truth, but before he could work up the courage, she was already packing her things up. "Wait," he told her gently, and she paused before picking up her tote, her icy eyes questioning. "Stay for coffee." He told her, waited for any sort of response.
Unsure of what to do, Sai let the strap of her tote fall and watched him in curiosity, eventually asking, "Why do you want me to stay? That wasn't the plan."
"The plan, if you recall, also didn't include playing a violin-piano duet and genuinely enjoying time together."
She considered this and shrugged, supposing he was right. "Alright. But I have a meeting right away in the morning I have to be at, so I can't stay too late."
He nodded and led them both back into the kitchen, preparing coffee while she waited silently behind him, still curious.
"Here you are," he said to her, handing the mug out for her to take with her dainty fingers. They walked back into the living room and sat down on chairs opposite a low table and she raised her eyebrows to show her silent inquiry.
Seeing that he was making no move to speak, Sai took initiative and said, "Thank you."
Kuu looked up in surprise, not expecting this in the slightest, "For what?" He asked dumbly.
She let a short laugh go and gave him a gentle smile, "For letting me be happy while I played music again."
"Well," he said, his sheepish grin returning, "I had to force you slightly."
Sai laughed again and waved her hand dismissively, "I probably needed you to, honestly." She was grateful to Kuu for his intervention, sure, but mainly she was grateful for his short statement telling her to play for what matters to her. That was what made her happy to play. And not just that, but the image his statement conjured. In fact, she realized what had really made her act the way she did wasn't the image or the statement at all, but the actor she'd ended up picturing.
Suddenly, she became aware of a burning desire to play for him, something she hadn't felt for a long, long time. Steeling herself at this realization, she was at first reluctant to be happy about it, not sure she wanted to go back to relying on people and music, slightly scared she would be hurt again, that something would get taken away. Taking a mere second to shake this reluctance away, Sai rationalized that she wasn't taking a step backwards by feeling this way, but rather a step forwards. This was a good thing.
Their conversations took on a casual, relaxed air and they spoke and laughed for a while while they sipped on their coffee. Without warning in the middle of their exchange, Kuu said, "I haven't had a sweet moment like this since my son left."
Sai froze at this, peering at him with curiosity and not sure how to proceed. Deciding she needed to say something, but still respect his privacy, she replied with, "Well, I'd be honored to call you a father."
Kuu's gaze snapped up at this, her gentle face giving a heavy contrast to how she'd avoided and scorned him as a child. She was now sitting with him casually, like they'd associated like this for years, acting almost like a daughter who was just catching up with her father who lived overseas.
Feeling pathetic in that moment, though, his joy at her simple statement was lost and he buried his face in his hands, saying, "I must have done something very wrong for my beautiful boy to leave me."
Her expression hardened at this and she moved over and placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, and her voice came out serious and confident, clearly saying to him that she knew what she was talking about, "Sometimes, Kuu, a person goes through hardships or experiences where they would rather be as far away as possible from those who care. Sometimes, the purely unconditional love of another can be more painful than anything when you're truly suffering. Someone who can't love who they are can't accept other's affections. That's just how it is.
"You have to wait until they're ready, as hard as that is, no matter how long it takes. If you rush it, or push it, you risk ruining all the progress they've made on their own. Your son is no different. When he realizes how much there is to love about himself, he'll find that he's deserving of your love again and will return to you. I have no doubt about that."
Kuu looked at her in astonishment and was honestly at a loss for words. The meaning of everything she'd just said sunk in and he began to relate it to the actions Kuon had made before he left, namely the distancing and the rejection of any affection his doting parents had tried to give them. The actor looked up into the pale eyes staring at him with a sense of warmth behind them and found that she was entirely right. He could see what his son loved about the woman, and he would be honored to be her father-in-law, that was for sure.
Shaking the wishful thinking out of his head, he found his mind drifting back to his memories of the teen he'd lost and tears gathered in his eyes, "I'm so sorry, Kuon…" he said ever so softly.
Watching his face twist in pain, Sai's heart tugged uncomfortably and she moved without thinking, punching him playfully in the shoulder. Kuu's eye jumped to hers in surprise and she said gently, "Don't worry, Kuu. Everything will work out, in the end. And if things aren't right yet, then you just haven't reached the end yet. Giving up won't help. Believe in him and believe in yourself." She scoffed slightly, "I know that sounds cheesy, I'm sorry."
Kuu vehemently shook his head and said, "No, no, not at all. You've really helped me, Ms. Akai. And after how much I inconvenienced you so much this evening, I honestly don't know how I can express my gratitude enough."
"How did you inconvenience me?" She asked with a laugh.
"By making you play all those instruments, oh, and forcing you to be here in the first place."
She smiled at him kindly and said, "But I'm indebted to you for allowing me to play, and I've really enjoyed my time with you so far. I would never call this an inconvenience. Shall we just call it even?"
He laughed back and nodded, "Sounds good. Thank you, Asa-" He started, before catching himself and looking at her, startled.
"Just Sai is fine," she told him gently, her smile forgiving him for letting her name almost slip.
He smiled back with relief, nodding, "Thank you, Sai. Shall I walk you out?"
She nodded with vigor and stood, gathering her things and thanking him one last time. He shut the door behind her and sighed in content, knowing that even though he'd failed at his original purpose, he'd gained something he wasn't expecting out of that evening. A daughter.