Prior Acquaintances
Chapter Two: Similarities and Discoveries.
Footsteps echoed on the pavement; a ragged breath made itself be heard. The young boy materialized from the corner, slowing to a halt a few steps later. Gently setting down the large case he carried, he leaned against the adjacent wall, waiting to catch his breath.
"Why am I even running?" he thought. "Today's no different than any other day." Then a memory from the night before resurfaced in his mind...
{{RoterRitter Hey, meet again tomorrow at the same time? It was fun talking to you :) you seem more interesting than all those other fools :- P}}
Ah, yes. He wanted to talk to her. Talk to who was possibly the first person to take an interest in him since... since the death of his mother. One could admittedly say his grandparents took interest in him, as he lived in their home... but that was only a façade, he knew. They seemed to limit themselves to taking care of him, not actually caring for him. He had the impression they handled him as they would handle a precious vase.
He longed for some actual interaction... someone he could talk to. That's why he was hurrying back, he told himself.
He was also running about ten minutes late.
Which he was, of course, immediately badgered for as he finally logged on.
----
RoterRitter You're late! Be glad it's Saturday, otherwise I'd already be in school!
Momoku Gomen, gomen, I just came back from my cello lesson.
RoterRitter You play the cello? Hey, I play the violin :) How long have you been playing?
Momoku A bit more than half a dozen years, I guess. Although I'm not that good.
RoterRitter I'd rather judge that myself, thankyouverymuch. And I'd say that if after 6 years of practice, you're not good, then you should never have tried to play it. Either that, or someone would've already told you to stop :-P
Momoku Hrm…how long have you been playing the Violin?
RoterRitter 'Bout the same amount of time, actually. Although I KNOW I'm good. Everybody tells me that ;)
-----
Shinji let a small grin spread on his face. He could definitely see a trait of her character emerge, as it had in their prior discussion. She definitely wasn't afraid of displaying her opinion of herself.
-----
RoterRitter Say, you wouldn't happen to have a recording of your playing, would you?
Momoku No…I don't even know how to do that.
RoterRitter I'll walk you through it, so you can send me an excerpt :) I'll record and send you one of mine, too…
----
She explained how to set up the computer's built-in recording device, and then both set off to make a recording. Although Shinji's piece was technically shorter than his correspondent's, he made a few mistakes, which prompted him to start from the beginning each time. He guessed he was just nervous, as this was his first time he played for an audience. It was a rather long-distant audience, but still someone else than his Sensei.
As he finished off his piece, he shut down the recording device, and proceeded to send the file to his chatting partner. She had already sent hers, and was waiting quite impatiently.
----
RoterRitter Ok, here ya go. What do you think of it?
RoterRitter …still there?
* RoterRitter pokes
Momoku Gomen, gomen, it took me a few tries to get it right…
RoterRitter Ah, ok. Have you listened to mine yet?
Momoku not really, I just barely got finished with recording mine now…
RoterRitter Bah. Start now! :-P I'll listen to yours when it's done.
----
He opened the file, and blinked as he heard the first tones coming from it. Not an instrument, but rather, a voice… it had a melodious quality, and a distinct accent he couldn't quite place.
"OK, here's my piece. It's Bach's Partita Three for Violin Solo, Gavotte in Rondo."
Sounds of an uplifting and joyful violin melody filled Shinji's room. Every note was like a flow in a river, smoothly gliding along. Not an error to be heard, not a fault he could discern. Had he not remembered it was only a playback, he would have stood up and clapped.
----
RoterRitter ….Not that good, he says. I'd say you pray pretty damn well! That was great! Not a single error I could hear.
Momoku Really? Arigato…
RoterRitter Although I'm somewhat disappointed I didn't get to hear you, yourself :-P
Momoku Gomen. I didn't think of it at the time...
RoterRitter S'alright. And stop apologizing already! Anyway, how'd you like my piece?
Momoku It was excellent. Every part of it.
RoterRitter What, me or the violin? ;)
Momoku …both?
RoterRitter Hehe. Knew you'd like it ;)
Momoku Although I couldn't really identify your accent…I heard something, but I can't tell what exactly it was.
RoterRitter Most likely German, dummkopf. As I said, I live here, and was born here, so quite naturally I speak the language.
Momoku Yet you speak Japanese…?
RoterRitter …my mother was Japanese.
Momoku….was?
RoterRitter I'd rather not talk about it, please.
Momoku …Ok…
RoterRitter Make sure to record your voice, sometime! I want to hear how you sound :-P
RoterRitter It's only fair after you've heard me ;)
----
Shinji raised an eyebrow at the quick change of topic. "Apparently, her mother is a very sensitive topic," he thought. He decided he'd return the favor. Turning on the recording device, and trying to remember everything from all the German classes he'd ever taken, he spoke what could best be described as a horrible mangling of the German language. He was aware of that, but thought it was the effort that counted. He just hoped he'd gotten the grammar right.
"Ich hab Suiten fur Violoncello Solo nummer Einz gespielen, von Johann Sebastian Bach."
----
RoterRitter What's this? Another file?
Momoku I'm returning the favor
RoterRitter …?
RoterRitter Oh, you mean the recording. Great! I'll be able to hear ya! ^_^ There, now to open it.
RoterRitter ……
Momoku Did I say something wrong?
RoterRitter …I'm wondering whether I should be amazed that you actually tried to speak German, be laughing for how horrible your German was, or be angry for how badly you managed to mangle my language :p
Momoku …That bad?
RoterRitter It's ok, I forgive you ;) 'cause you sound nice. :)
Momoku Arigato…or rather, Danke?
RoterRitter ^_^
----
Glancing at the clock, he saw that several hours had already passed, dragging him into late hours of the night. Despite this, he returned his gaze to the screen and continued typing back to his companion about what they liked... what they disliked... They spent hours discovering more about one another. At least, they learned what the other chose to reveal.
Hours later, he lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He'd found out…that she and he couldn't be more different. They seemed to have widely divergent interests and preferences. This, however, was not a drawback, rather, an advantage. They could learn more through each other's interests. For instance, she had mentioned a German rock band, called Rammstein. She had even sent him a few songs. Normally one to prefer classical music and j- pop, he found the tunes and beats of the songs rather interesting. The interest in them increased as she translated the lyrics, which actually had a meaning, unlike most western songs of the times. She, on the other hand, learned a number of recipes for several Japanese dishes.
All in all, he realized as he lay on his bed, he had been enjoying himself. He could talk to her, he felt, even of more important things, if and when such a time would come.
She had also said that he had a nice voice. Did that mean, she liked just the voice…or possibly, him? Sighing, he rolled over on his futon. Wishful thinking, he thought. No one could ever really like him.
Chapter Two: Similarities and Discoveries.
Footsteps echoed on the pavement; a ragged breath made itself be heard. The young boy materialized from the corner, slowing to a halt a few steps later. Gently setting down the large case he carried, he leaned against the adjacent wall, waiting to catch his breath.
"Why am I even running?" he thought. "Today's no different than any other day." Then a memory from the night before resurfaced in his mind...
{{RoterRitter Hey, meet again tomorrow at the same time? It was fun talking to you :) you seem more interesting than all those other fools :- P}}
Ah, yes. He wanted to talk to her. Talk to who was possibly the first person to take an interest in him since... since the death of his mother. One could admittedly say his grandparents took interest in him, as he lived in their home... but that was only a façade, he knew. They seemed to limit themselves to taking care of him, not actually caring for him. He had the impression they handled him as they would handle a precious vase.
He longed for some actual interaction... someone he could talk to. That's why he was hurrying back, he told himself.
He was also running about ten minutes late.
Which he was, of course, immediately badgered for as he finally logged on.
----
RoterRitter You're late! Be glad it's Saturday, otherwise I'd already be in school!
Momoku Gomen, gomen, I just came back from my cello lesson.
RoterRitter You play the cello? Hey, I play the violin :) How long have you been playing?
Momoku A bit more than half a dozen years, I guess. Although I'm not that good.
RoterRitter I'd rather judge that myself, thankyouverymuch. And I'd say that if after 6 years of practice, you're not good, then you should never have tried to play it. Either that, or someone would've already told you to stop :-P
Momoku Hrm…how long have you been playing the Violin?
RoterRitter 'Bout the same amount of time, actually. Although I KNOW I'm good. Everybody tells me that ;)
-----
Shinji let a small grin spread on his face. He could definitely see a trait of her character emerge, as it had in their prior discussion. She definitely wasn't afraid of displaying her opinion of herself.
-----
RoterRitter Say, you wouldn't happen to have a recording of your playing, would you?
Momoku No…I don't even know how to do that.
RoterRitter I'll walk you through it, so you can send me an excerpt :) I'll record and send you one of mine, too…
----
She explained how to set up the computer's built-in recording device, and then both set off to make a recording. Although Shinji's piece was technically shorter than his correspondent's, he made a few mistakes, which prompted him to start from the beginning each time. He guessed he was just nervous, as this was his first time he played for an audience. It was a rather long-distant audience, but still someone else than his Sensei.
As he finished off his piece, he shut down the recording device, and proceeded to send the file to his chatting partner. She had already sent hers, and was waiting quite impatiently.
----
RoterRitter Ok, here ya go. What do you think of it?
RoterRitter …still there?
* RoterRitter pokes
Momoku Gomen, gomen, it took me a few tries to get it right…
RoterRitter Ah, ok. Have you listened to mine yet?
Momoku not really, I just barely got finished with recording mine now…
RoterRitter Bah. Start now! :-P I'll listen to yours when it's done.
----
He opened the file, and blinked as he heard the first tones coming from it. Not an instrument, but rather, a voice… it had a melodious quality, and a distinct accent he couldn't quite place.
"OK, here's my piece. It's Bach's Partita Three for Violin Solo, Gavotte in Rondo."
Sounds of an uplifting and joyful violin melody filled Shinji's room. Every note was like a flow in a river, smoothly gliding along. Not an error to be heard, not a fault he could discern. Had he not remembered it was only a playback, he would have stood up and clapped.
----
RoterRitter ….Not that good, he says. I'd say you pray pretty damn well! That was great! Not a single error I could hear.
Momoku Really? Arigato…
RoterRitter Although I'm somewhat disappointed I didn't get to hear you, yourself :-P
Momoku Gomen. I didn't think of it at the time...
RoterRitter S'alright. And stop apologizing already! Anyway, how'd you like my piece?
Momoku It was excellent. Every part of it.
RoterRitter What, me or the violin? ;)
Momoku …both?
RoterRitter Hehe. Knew you'd like it ;)
Momoku Although I couldn't really identify your accent…I heard something, but I can't tell what exactly it was.
RoterRitter Most likely German, dummkopf. As I said, I live here, and was born here, so quite naturally I speak the language.
Momoku Yet you speak Japanese…?
RoterRitter …my mother was Japanese.
Momoku….was?
RoterRitter I'd rather not talk about it, please.
Momoku …Ok…
RoterRitter Make sure to record your voice, sometime! I want to hear how you sound :-P
RoterRitter It's only fair after you've heard me ;)
----
Shinji raised an eyebrow at the quick change of topic. "Apparently, her mother is a very sensitive topic," he thought. He decided he'd return the favor. Turning on the recording device, and trying to remember everything from all the German classes he'd ever taken, he spoke what could best be described as a horrible mangling of the German language. He was aware of that, but thought it was the effort that counted. He just hoped he'd gotten the grammar right.
"Ich hab Suiten fur Violoncello Solo nummer Einz gespielen, von Johann Sebastian Bach."
----
RoterRitter What's this? Another file?
Momoku I'm returning the favor
RoterRitter …?
RoterRitter Oh, you mean the recording. Great! I'll be able to hear ya! ^_^ There, now to open it.
RoterRitter ……
Momoku Did I say something wrong?
RoterRitter …I'm wondering whether I should be amazed that you actually tried to speak German, be laughing for how horrible your German was, or be angry for how badly you managed to mangle my language :p
Momoku …That bad?
RoterRitter It's ok, I forgive you ;) 'cause you sound nice. :)
Momoku Arigato…or rather, Danke?
RoterRitter ^_^
----
Glancing at the clock, he saw that several hours had already passed, dragging him into late hours of the night. Despite this, he returned his gaze to the screen and continued typing back to his companion about what they liked... what they disliked... They spent hours discovering more about one another. At least, they learned what the other chose to reveal.
Hours later, he lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He'd found out…that she and he couldn't be more different. They seemed to have widely divergent interests and preferences. This, however, was not a drawback, rather, an advantage. They could learn more through each other's interests. For instance, she had mentioned a German rock band, called Rammstein. She had even sent him a few songs. Normally one to prefer classical music and j- pop, he found the tunes and beats of the songs rather interesting. The interest in them increased as she translated the lyrics, which actually had a meaning, unlike most western songs of the times. She, on the other hand, learned a number of recipes for several Japanese dishes.
All in all, he realized as he lay on his bed, he had been enjoying himself. He could talk to her, he felt, even of more important things, if and when such a time would come.
She had also said that he had a nice voice. Did that mean, she liked just the voice…or possibly, him? Sighing, he rolled over on his futon. Wishful thinking, he thought. No one could ever really like him.