AN: I'm not dead! ^-^; *sighs* ....ok I so don't like this chapter, especially the ending, but oh well. I might re do it later, tell me what you think! *pocky to all reviewers*
And yeah Sparda, FR forever! (Forgot to say it last chap XD)
Translations: Ja ne - See you later
Posted: May 4, 2003
Part Five
He struck a wrong chord again and sighed in frustration. He didn't think he was ever going to be able to finish the song. He didn't know what it was, but even after working on it for the rest of the morning he still couldn't find a right note. With another sigh he set aside his guitar, carefully placing it back in its case. He was about to go fix a sandwich when there was a knock on his door.
He went over to open it, about to tell whatever businessman was trying to sell him something to go away, when he was greeted with the sight of reddish-brown eyes and dark green hair. He blinked, recognising the boy as the one he was told played the synthesiser. What was his name again...? Ah yes, Suguru.
"Fujisaki-san?" he asked, somewhat surprised to see him. He stepped away from the door and motioned the boy in when he nodded. "What brings you here?"
"The doctor said it might help you remember if you spent time around the people you'd forgotten," he replied. He didn't look that happy about being there, though from what Shuichi had told him, he always looked like that.
"I see... Well," he said, closing the door. "I was just about to make some lunch. Would you like something?"
Suguru shook his head. "No thank you."
Hiro gave an embarrassed smile and rubbed the back of his head, somewhat at a loss on what to do. "Well, how about we go do something?"
"Aren't you going to eat?" the boy asked, shifting his weight to his other foot.
No, Hiro decided, he definitely did not look like he wanted to be there. He shrugged. "I can pick something up from a vendor," he replied.
Suguru shrugged and nodded. "Where do you want to go?"
Hiro glanced to his guitar and tried to think of someplace he could work on the song. "How about the park?" The boy tilted his head slightly before shrugging and heading to the door. He sighed mentally; it was going to be a long day. He grabbed his guitar case and followed after, grabbing his keys off the counter as he passed and locking the door behind him.
"Why'd you want to go to the park?" Suguru asked when he caught up.
Hiro blinked before he shrugged with an embarrassed laugh. "You asked where I wanted to go and the first place I thought about where I could play my guitar was the park. We can always go somewhere else if you don't want to go there..."
Suguru shook his head. "The park is fine. It's usually quiet."
Hiro glanced at him from the corner of his eye; he had a feeling there was a deeper meaning behind that statement, but he didn't ask, instead he looked back to watch where he was going.
They made their way to the park in silence. Hiro clenched and unclenched his fist on his guitar case; it wasn't exactly an uncomfortable silence, but it made him feel... awkward, almost like Suguru was unconsciously analysing him. If there was one thing Hiro hated, it was being judged. He wasn't about to be a hypocrite though, so he mentally ran the song through his head until they arrived at the park.
He glanced at Suguru as he headed to a stall selling hotdogs. "You want something?" he asked. The younger boy shook his head. "Not even a coke?" he asked, ordering a hotdog and water. Suguru glanced up from where he had been scanning the park, raising an eyebrow in what Hiro interpreted to be a slightly annoyed expression.
"I'll take water, I guess," he replied, reaching into his pocket.
Hiro waved a hand at him as he ordered another water. "It's the least I can do for you trying to help," he replied, handing the beverage over before picking up his own and moving into the park. Suguru took it and followed, a slight frown marring his features; he wasn't used to being treated like that.
They found a shaded spot that wasn't too crowded and took a seat, another silence falling between them.
"Ne, Fujisaki-san?" Hiro asked a few moments later, crumbling the hotdog container into a ball and setting it beside him. He looked up when Suguru glanced at him briefly before going back to surveying the park. "Did someone besides the doctor ask you to come?"
"Why do you ask?"
He shrugged. "You don't seem like the type who would go out of his way without a push." Suguru looked back at him, eyes narrowed slightly, though whether in contemplation, annoyance, or budding anger, Hiro couldn't tell. "I didn't mean it like that!" he quickly added, waving his hands with a sweat-drop. "I was just... making an observation..."
Suguru frowned slightly and took a drink of his water. "Actually, Mr. K suggested I come..." he said after a moment.
"Ah. You don't have to you know," he replied, taking out his guitar.
The other boy shrugged, taking another drink of water before leaning against the tree he was sitting near. He glanced over out of the corner of his eye when Hiro started playing, tilting his head slightly; he hadn't heard that song before.
It was an upbeat song, but there was an underlying tension to it. It made him think of how Hiro must feel, not being able to remember anything, but he doubted the guitarist could have written an entire song in one night. So what had he been thinking about when he had written it? he wondered.
He glanced over when the older boy apparently hit a wrong note and stopped playing. "Something wrong, Nakano-san?"
Hiro sighed. "I can't get this song to work. I've been working on it since this morning," he replied, playing a few random notes.
"When'd you start it?"
He shrugged. "Not sure. I found it in the bottom of my guitar case," he replied, unconsciously changing the melody he was playing.
Suguru gave a small smile as he recognised it as Hiro's solo in Rage Beat. "It seems your subconscious still remembers some things even if you don't."
Hiro cast him a questioning glance. "What do you mean by that?"
"That's one of our latest songs that you're playing."
He stopped his fingers, a curious expression appearing on his face. "What's it called?" he asked, unconsciously picking up the song again.
"Rage Beat."
"Aa..." A silence fell between them again, not exactly a comfortable one, but it wasn't really uncomfortable either; it just sort of existed. Hiro glanced down and concentrated on the song, listening to it as his fingers seemed to play it of their own accord.
Suguru leaned his head against the tree and closed his eyes, letting the music seep into him. He loved the sound of guitar; he would even buy heavy metal to listen to just for the guitar solos. On some level, he could relate to the usually angry sounding music, but most of the time he tuned everything out but the guitar; like now. He relaxed into the music and without meaning to fell asleep.
Hiro played through the entire song, pausing only briefly before he started playing another just as unknown yet familiar one. Even though he didn't have a clue as to what the words were, he knew he was playing the song correctly by the way it sounded. And he could tell it was his song by the way he felt while he played it, a sense of peace falling over him.
He didn't know how long he played, but when his arm finally protested and he looked up, he saw it was about mid-afternoon. He sweat-dropped slightly, turning to Suguru with a sheepish grin. He blinked when he found the smaller boy asleep against a tree, tilting his head slightly as he watched him for a few moments. Even in his sleep Hiro thought he looked... lost, for lack of a better word.
Sighing, he put away his guitar before he leaned over to gently shake the boy awake. "Fujisaki-san..."
Suguru stirred, moaning quietly as he opened his eyes, glancing around in momentary confusion. He blinked, rubbing his eyes as he realised where he was before glancing up with an apologetic smile. "Gomen, I didn't mean to fall asleep."
Hiro shrugged nonchalantly. "You must have been tired," he replied with a small smile. "Are you ready to go, Fujisaki-san?"
Suguru nodded and stood, brushing his pants off as Hiro picked up his guitar case and stood as well.
"Are you hungry?" the taller boy asked, tossing his bottle and hotdog wrapper into a trashcan on their way out of the park.
"No," he replied, feeling somewhat awkward. He glanced at his watch. "Actually, Nakano-san, I should get going. Do you want me to accompany you home?"
Hiro shook his head. "I'm sure I can find my own way home. See you tomorrow at practise?"
The younger boy nodded. "Ja, matta," he called, heading down the street in the opposite direction of Hiro.
The red haired boy turned and headed back to his apartment, absently rubbing his shoulder off and on until he arrived. He pulled out his keys with a quiet sigh, unlocking the door and pushing it in to set his case down inside. He kicked off his shoes and tossed his keys on the counter, the bottle of painkillers catching his eye when they landed next to it.
He was sorely tempted to take one at that moment, but he wasn't about to get addicted to the things. He knew how dangerous they could be, so he resolved to take them only if the pain got bad enough he couldn't see straight. Picking up the bottle, he opened the cabinet and set them inside before he pulled out a small pot to make some ramen.
When the water began boiling, he dumped in the package of instant noodles, poking at them in mild boredom as he waited for them to cook. He started in surprise when the phone rang, setting down the fork and going over to answer it. "Moshi moshi."
"HI~RO~!" came Shuichi's voice, sounding infinitely relieved.
"Hey Shuichi, what's up?"
"Why haven't you been answering your phones?! I must have called you at least 182 times!" the boy cried.
Hiro sweat-dropped. "Ah, gomen Shuichi, I went out. I guess I forgot to grab my cell," he replied with a nervous laugh.
"You... went out? Are you sure that was a good idea? Where'd you go?"
Hiro was tempted to roll his eyes, but he resisted, going over to make sure his ramen didn't overcook instead. "I went to the park with Fujisaki-san," he replied.
"Fujisaki? Hum, that's weird..."
"Why?"
"Well for one he usually keeps to himself."
"He said K-san suggested he come."
"Aa..." The singer fell silent for a few moments. "Well anyway, since I know you're alive now, are you feeling okay?"
"Hai, hai, Shuichi. I'm fine, just a little tired," he replied, dumping the noodles into a bowl.
"You think you'll be able to stand practising tomorrow?"
Hiro could almost picture the small frown his friend was sure to be wearing. "If I get tired tomorrow, I'll ask to leave, ne?"
"Sure you will."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
Shuichi laughed. "Come on Hiro, you know you'll just grit your teeth."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because you're afraid of K," he replied matter-of-factly.
"Anyone would be," Hiro muttered, causing Shuichi to laugh again.
"Ja, I'll pick you up for practise tomorrow, ne?"
Hiro sighed, knowing that saying he could make it on his own wouldn't change the boy's mind. "Hai, see you tomorrow then."
"Ja ne!"
"Ja." He hung the phone up and dumped the seasoning on the ramen. He ate quickly, setting the dishes in the sink and lying down on his bed when he realised just how tired he really was. He was asleep by the time his head hit his pillow.
