Chapter 6
Christmas was just around the corner, and Hoshi was walking in the busy city with Michiru. Taiko had gone to work since they needed the personal and Taiko needed the money. The two were looking past shopping windows while walking arm in arm, Michiru wearing a long winter coat in a pretty strange shade of blue and green, which ended at a little bit under her knees, where her blue jeans were seen over a pair of beige walking shoes, while a yellow-green-blue and red scarf was wrapped around her neck. Hoshi on the other hand was wearing a white winter jacket, which ended at her waist and a pair of black jeans, which ended in a pair of black walking shoes, and a polo shirts collar appeared around her neck at the jacket opening. A half-year had passed by since the great happening at their house, and Taiko hadn't said a word about it, while Hoshi didn't mind in talking about it either. The two walked past a music store were Michiru stopped, pulling her mother back to the window.
"Your CD's out!" Michiru cheered in a low voice, not wanting people to stare their way, which they already were doing, since they both were rear in their beauty. "And it looks like it's selling well." She added while she looked at Hoshi with shining proud eyes.
Hoshi just smiled at the window, seeing her first out come when coming to music. Her CD had been mentioned in several newspapers and music shows on the TV. Star shine over water was a real hit, and it made Hoshi happy, since Michiru was more prouder over the fact that her own mother was growing on the music branch. "Glad that you are happy sweet heart." Hoshi pointed out and soon looked at her watch. "We still have time." She said suddenly, while a mysterious gaze appeared in her eyes, which rested on Michiru.
"What's that?" Michiru blinked and just gazed at her mother, before the fact that they hadn't bought anything the whole day.
"Close your eyes and I'll take you there. But you have to trust me all the way." Hoshi noted with a safe smile.
Michiru looked at her mother and soon held onto her arm with both hands. "I always trust you mother." She whispered while leaning her head against Hoshi's arm.
Hoshi just smiled over the beautiful ten-year-old, who was growing up right before her eyes. Hoshi wasn't afraid of loosing her anymore, since she had seen the past and the future now, and she knew she would make it on her own. Hoshi soon walked off with Michiru following every move that she made. They walked down the street and soon they stopped outside an instrument store, to which Hoshi opened the door and helped Michiru in. They walked to the counter were a young woman was standing, wearing the stores shirt and a pair of black pants.
"May I help you?" The young woman smiled at them, and soon her eyes widened a little. "Oh my god! Hoshi-sama!" She gasped and quickly bowed towards Hoshi.
Hoshi just smiled at the young woman. "I'm here to pick up the present I ordered last week."
"Yes! Yes of course!" The young woman bowed several times, almost throwing out the words before she ran into the back room, only to run back a second later with a violin case in black leather, which she placed onto the counter, before taking a slight step back.
Hoshi looked at Michiru who had done as she had been told, and was now biting her lip a little. "You may open your eyes sweet heart." Hoshi whispered gently.
Michiru opened her eyes and as she noticed the violin case on the counter, her eyes shined up like stars. "Mother!" She gasped as she slowly took of both her dark blue gloves, before placing her right hand onto the violin case.
"I thought it was time for you to get a new violin, which isn't borrowed from school." Hoshi said with a gentle shine over her face. "And I think my violin isn't worthy of your talent anymore."
Michiru looked at Hoshi with large shining eyes for a while, before she looked back at the violin case, which she slowly opened after studying her name on the top. And there it was, her very first and own violin that was hand made to look like a classical violin, in gentle brown wood.
"You like it?" Hoshi smiled while looking over her daughter, with a gentle smile.
"I love it..." Michiru whispered while a tear ran down her cheek, while she gently touched the strings to the violin.
Hoshi just smiled at Michiru for a while before she looked at the young woman behind the counter, who was also crying. "We'll take it."
"Yes ma'am!" Sniffled the young woman and quickly dried her face in her hands, before she took out some papers, which Hoshi signed. "Hope you'll play beautiful songs on that violin, miss Suteki." The young woman sniffled once more, talking to Michiru who closed the violin case.
"I will..." Michiru nodded with yet another tear running down her cheek. She soon picked up the violin case, and Hoshi helped the girl put the straps over her shoulders. I'll make you proud over me mother. I promise! Michiru thought with a smile towards Hoshi, who dried her tears.
"I hoped you would like it." Hoshi whispered as she stroked some strands of hair from Michiru. "You're worth it. I know."
Michiru nodded with a proud shine over her face, gently blushing face. I promise I'll make you the proudest in the universe! She thought now before she wrapped her arms around Hoshi, now crying against the woman's shoulder.
Hoshi hugged her daughter back with a warm shine over her eyes, and soon they walked out of the store, leaving the young woman behind the counter still crying.
Michiru was helping Taiko with the Christmas three in the living room, while Hoshi was fixing in the kitchen. Taiko was tired after a whole day of working, but she was happy to be with her family again, even if she tried her best not to stare at Michiru, thinking of the event earlier that year. Taiko was wearing a white blouse and a pair of baggy jeans, which sat pretty well on her. Michiru was wearing a gentle blue v-collared shirt and a pair of blue jeans.
"Want to put the angel on top, pumpkin?" Taiko said as she hung up a small crystal ball on a branch.
Michiru smiled at the woman and walked over to the sofa, were a small box was lying. She opened it and smiled gently over the crystal angel lying there. She slowly picked it up and looked at Taiko, who pulled her hair from her face while studying the three. "Why have you been quiet since you got home, Tai-obasan?" She asked carefully as she walked over to Taiko.
Taiko swallowed hard and slowly turned to look at the girl over her shoulder. "I..." She stopped in her sentence as her eyes were captured in Michiru's. "Em... I guess I'm just tired, kitten." She continued after a while of just staring.
Michiru's gaze turned wondering and a bit sad, knowing that it wasn't only that. "You're thinking of Neptune, aren't you?" She whispered after a while of gazing at the angel in her hands.
Taiko's eyebrows started twitching. She can read minds too? She thought suddenly, but threw the thought away as fast as it had appeared in her head. "No, kitten. I'm really tired after the day. That's all. Really!"
Michiru nodded a little and soon looked at the woman again, who slowly picked her up, while holding her as high as she could over the floor, so that Michiru could put the angel onto the top of the tree. It sat perfectly on the top, at which Michiru smiled. "There."
"Perfect!" Taiko smiled as well as she put down the girl. They stood by the tree for some time under silence, just gazing at their creation. "We make a pretty good team after all..." She whispered after a while and slowly placed her hand onto Michiru's shoulder. "And about that woman in your room... or what ever it was." She said after a while, ending up with a sigh.
Michiru looked at her with an asking gaze.
"Let's put that behind us, alright?" Taiko continued and was now smiling at Michiru.
Michiru smiled back and nodded. "Let's do so." She agreed and walked closer to Taiko, who hugged her tightly.
"Darlings! Time for dinner!" Hoshi shouted from the second floor.
"On our way!" Taiko and Michiru sang together and soon walked up the stairs, and into the dining room, where Hoshi had set the table. The small family of three sat down by the table and started their Christmas dinner, talking about Taiko's day and about the young woman in the music store, who had been left behind her counter crying. They sat by the table until everyone's stomachs were filled, and after a while Taiko was making coffee and Michiru was making tea for herself. The plans for the rest of the evening was to be spent by the TV, watching the news and other Christmas shows, until people were ready to go to bed.
As the three had sat down in the living room, and got comfy the phone started ringing.
Taiko and Hoshi sighed, thinking the same thing: We should have taken the phone of the hook. Michiru placed her teacup on the coffee table and got up from the armchair, she was sitting in. "I'll answer." She said, having a slight feeling of what the two were thinking. She ran over to the phone hanging by the staircase and picked it up. "Suteki's. Michiru here." She answered.
"Good evening miss Suteki." It was a man's voice and he sounded very nervous, while people were shouting in the background. "Is your mother available at the moment? It is very important."
Michiru looked at Hoshi and Taiko, who were looking at her over the sofa's back. "Mother, it's for you..." She said, holding the phone towards Hoshi. "It's important."
Hoshi sighed and gave her coffee cup to Taiko, before she walked over to the phone and took the phone from Michiru. "It's Suteki Hoshi, hello?" She replied in the phone as she placed it to her ear.
"Suteki-san, this is Tenoh-san's assistant. He wanted to ask you for a major favor." The man said quickly. "It is very important and urgent."
"What is it?" Hoshi blinked while she looked at Michiru, who sat down on the staircase.
"Is there any possibility that you can come to Hibiya Park?" The man said after the reply. "One the music acts hasn't turned up, and we need someone to play for the Christmas show."
Hoshi's eyes widened a little, hearing the TV being turned on. She looked over her shoulder and noticed that it was the Christmas show that Music/Media Inc held every year, and Tenoh Ryoshi was standing on the stage with his wife. She swallowed hard.
"Can you? It would be a blessing for everyone if you could!" The man shouted now in the phone.
Hoshi closed her eyes tightly while biting her lip a little. "I'll be there with my daughter in two hours." She said as she opened her eyes, looking serious.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" The man echoed on the other end. "The dress code will be black and white. Please hurry!" Where the last words Hoshi heard, as she hung up the phone.
"Michiru, go to your room and put on that black dress we bought for your show at school. And get ready to leave with your violin." Hoshi said, looking at Michiru who was slowly getting up from the stairs.
Taiko jumped up from the sofa staring at the two. "What's going on?"
Tenoh Ryoshi was handed a microphone on the TV. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have just received great news!" He spoke with a shine over his face. "Miss Suteki and her daughter are to play on our stage tonight!" He added and soon the crowd started yelling and clapping.
Taiko's eyes widened as she heard the words form the TV.
"We'll be home as fast as we can." Hoshi whispered as she walked over to Taiko, kissing her quickly on the lips, while Michiru ran up the stairs. "Wish us good luck." Hoshi added wit ha gentle embrace before she ran up the stairs.
Taiko just stared at the staircase with large eyes. "What's going on?" She thought out loud and soon smiled, hearing Michiru and Hoshi running down the stairs from the top floor and out into the hallway, where after a while the door was closed with a bang. "I guess I have nothing to say about it." She sighed and took sip from her cup, as she sat back down into the sofa, putting her feet up onto the coffee table.
Michiru and Hoshi arrived at the entrance to the backstage an hour and a half later, wearing their most elegant clothing they owned. Michiru wearing a black dress, which she had gotten from Hoshi for her first concert for her school, under her winter jacket, while Hoshi was wearing a white dress, which was the most amazing she ever had been seen it, with it's short sleeves, under her black leather jacket. The two guards, who gave them directions to the back stage, where Tenoh-san and his wife were waiting, let them in. The show had started already and the first act was on, it being the children's choir.
Hoshi and Michiru found the Tenoh couple, which where waiting by the entrance to the stage with their daughter, who was to play the piano later on. Ryoshi shined up like a star in the dark sky, as the two walked over to them, carrying their violin cases. Ryoshi was wearing a black tux, while his wife was wearing a white and elegant dress. And their daughter Haruka was wearing a black tuxedo as well, in which she looked happier than in the dress she wore to the restaurant earlier that year. "Thank heavens that you came!" Gasped Ryoshi.
"We came as fast as we could, Tenoh-san." Hoshi nodded to the man, as she shook hands with him and then with his wife, ending up shaking hands with Haruka. Hoshi and Haruka changed gazes that felt like forever before they let go of each other's hands.
"I hope you have nothing against playing with our daughter." Note Mrs. Tenoh with a gentle smile as she shook hands with Michiru, while talking to Hoshi.
"Not at all." Hoshi smiled gently at the blonde girl, who was still staring at her. "Isn't that right Michiru?"
Michiru shook hands with Haruka as well, and as the two shook hands her eyes shined up gently. "No... not at all." She whispered while looking at Hoshi.
"Perfect!" Ryoshi smiled, charmed at the answer. The crowd outside started clapping as the children on the stage stopped singing. "I hope you both can Beethoven's 5." He said before he ran up the stairs to the stage.
Hoshi and Michiru changed gazes.
"I... I have to go to the piano..." Haruka said in a low voice, while her mother pulled the girls hair back.
"Good luck sweet heart. And do your best!" Mrs. Tenoh smiled at the girl who nodded at her mother, before running up the same stairs her father had gone. Mrs. Tenoh Sighed and looked at Hoshi and Michiru were standing by a table by the stairs, taking out their violins from their cases. "I wish you both good luck as well, and I am sure there will be a bonus for you Suteki-san after this fast jump in on the show."
Hoshi smiled at the woman and bowed her head. "It's the least I could do Tenoh-san." She replied before she looked at Michiru who picked up her bow from the case. "Let's do our best, sweet heart. And I know you will make me proud." She whispered, quickly kissing her daughter on the forehead.
"Promise!" Michiru smiled at Hoshi with a nod.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Ryoshi's voice was heard from the stage now. "As we promised, the change in our show is to begging! I am glad to present Suteki Hoshi and her daughter, miss Michiru, an upcoming star on our music sky! And my very own daughter will be playing with them!"
The crowd started clapping their hands and cheering.
Hoshi and Michiru took deep breaths before they walked up the stairs together, focusing on their task as hard as they could. They soon stepped out onto the stage, where the spotlights shined over them and Haruka, who was sitting down by the piano, making her self ready to play. "Good luck darling." Hoshi whispered as they stopped by two microphones that were placed onto the middle of the stage.
"Good luck to you too." Michiru whispered back and gazed over her shoulder, and at Haruka, who was looking at the piano.
Michiru and Hoshi placed their violins onto their shoulders, and under their chins at the same time, and soon Hoshi started to play a sonnet she had played several times since she was young, and learned to Michiru when she was six. Michiru soon joined in, playing just as well as her mother which made the crowd gaze at them with tear filled and amazed eyes. Haruka gaze at the two violin players for a while before she joined in, playing elegantly and gracefully on the piano. The trio where amazing and people just gazed at them, all probably thinking the same thoughts, while they shed some tears.
As the song died out slowly, and the musicians opened their eyes, now gazing over the crowd that slowly stood up at their chairs, clapping and cheering from the top of their lungs. Hoshi smiled and soon looked at Haruka who seemed a bit shy. "Michiru..." She whispered, who looked at her mother.
Michiru blushed gently and soon walked over to Haruka, taking her hand into her own. "Time for the bow." She smiled warmly at the girl who just gazed at her.
"I guess." Haruka swallowed after a while and soon they both walked over to Hoshi.
The three bowed towards the crowd, which only turned louder in their clapping and cheering as the spotlight was shining over them.
Christmas was just around the corner, and Hoshi was walking in the busy city with Michiru. Taiko had gone to work since they needed the personal and Taiko needed the money. The two were looking past shopping windows while walking arm in arm, Michiru wearing a long winter coat in a pretty strange shade of blue and green, which ended at a little bit under her knees, where her blue jeans were seen over a pair of beige walking shoes, while a yellow-green-blue and red scarf was wrapped around her neck. Hoshi on the other hand was wearing a white winter jacket, which ended at her waist and a pair of black jeans, which ended in a pair of black walking shoes, and a polo shirts collar appeared around her neck at the jacket opening. A half-year had passed by since the great happening at their house, and Taiko hadn't said a word about it, while Hoshi didn't mind in talking about it either. The two walked past a music store were Michiru stopped, pulling her mother back to the window.
"Your CD's out!" Michiru cheered in a low voice, not wanting people to stare their way, which they already were doing, since they both were rear in their beauty. "And it looks like it's selling well." She added while she looked at Hoshi with shining proud eyes.
Hoshi just smiled at the window, seeing her first out come when coming to music. Her CD had been mentioned in several newspapers and music shows on the TV. Star shine over water was a real hit, and it made Hoshi happy, since Michiru was more prouder over the fact that her own mother was growing on the music branch. "Glad that you are happy sweet heart." Hoshi pointed out and soon looked at her watch. "We still have time." She said suddenly, while a mysterious gaze appeared in her eyes, which rested on Michiru.
"What's that?" Michiru blinked and just gazed at her mother, before the fact that they hadn't bought anything the whole day.
"Close your eyes and I'll take you there. But you have to trust me all the way." Hoshi noted with a safe smile.
Michiru looked at her mother and soon held onto her arm with both hands. "I always trust you mother." She whispered while leaning her head against Hoshi's arm.
Hoshi just smiled over the beautiful ten-year-old, who was growing up right before her eyes. Hoshi wasn't afraid of loosing her anymore, since she had seen the past and the future now, and she knew she would make it on her own. Hoshi soon walked off with Michiru following every move that she made. They walked down the street and soon they stopped outside an instrument store, to which Hoshi opened the door and helped Michiru in. They walked to the counter were a young woman was standing, wearing the stores shirt and a pair of black pants.
"May I help you?" The young woman smiled at them, and soon her eyes widened a little. "Oh my god! Hoshi-sama!" She gasped and quickly bowed towards Hoshi.
Hoshi just smiled at the young woman. "I'm here to pick up the present I ordered last week."
"Yes! Yes of course!" The young woman bowed several times, almost throwing out the words before she ran into the back room, only to run back a second later with a violin case in black leather, which she placed onto the counter, before taking a slight step back.
Hoshi looked at Michiru who had done as she had been told, and was now biting her lip a little. "You may open your eyes sweet heart." Hoshi whispered gently.
Michiru opened her eyes and as she noticed the violin case on the counter, her eyes shined up like stars. "Mother!" She gasped as she slowly took of both her dark blue gloves, before placing her right hand onto the violin case.
"I thought it was time for you to get a new violin, which isn't borrowed from school." Hoshi said with a gentle shine over her face. "And I think my violin isn't worthy of your talent anymore."
Michiru looked at Hoshi with large shining eyes for a while, before she looked back at the violin case, which she slowly opened after studying her name on the top. And there it was, her very first and own violin that was hand made to look like a classical violin, in gentle brown wood.
"You like it?" Hoshi smiled while looking over her daughter, with a gentle smile.
"I love it..." Michiru whispered while a tear ran down her cheek, while she gently touched the strings to the violin.
Hoshi just smiled at Michiru for a while before she looked at the young woman behind the counter, who was also crying. "We'll take it."
"Yes ma'am!" Sniffled the young woman and quickly dried her face in her hands, before she took out some papers, which Hoshi signed. "Hope you'll play beautiful songs on that violin, miss Suteki." The young woman sniffled once more, talking to Michiru who closed the violin case.
"I will..." Michiru nodded with yet another tear running down her cheek. She soon picked up the violin case, and Hoshi helped the girl put the straps over her shoulders. I'll make you proud over me mother. I promise! Michiru thought with a smile towards Hoshi, who dried her tears.
"I hoped you would like it." Hoshi whispered as she stroked some strands of hair from Michiru. "You're worth it. I know."
Michiru nodded with a proud shine over her face, gently blushing face. I promise I'll make you the proudest in the universe! She thought now before she wrapped her arms around Hoshi, now crying against the woman's shoulder.
Hoshi hugged her daughter back with a warm shine over her eyes, and soon they walked out of the store, leaving the young woman behind the counter still crying.
Michiru was helping Taiko with the Christmas three in the living room, while Hoshi was fixing in the kitchen. Taiko was tired after a whole day of working, but she was happy to be with her family again, even if she tried her best not to stare at Michiru, thinking of the event earlier that year. Taiko was wearing a white blouse and a pair of baggy jeans, which sat pretty well on her. Michiru was wearing a gentle blue v-collared shirt and a pair of blue jeans.
"Want to put the angel on top, pumpkin?" Taiko said as she hung up a small crystal ball on a branch.
Michiru smiled at the woman and walked over to the sofa, were a small box was lying. She opened it and smiled gently over the crystal angel lying there. She slowly picked it up and looked at Taiko, who pulled her hair from her face while studying the three. "Why have you been quiet since you got home, Tai-obasan?" She asked carefully as she walked over to Taiko.
Taiko swallowed hard and slowly turned to look at the girl over her shoulder. "I..." She stopped in her sentence as her eyes were captured in Michiru's. "Em... I guess I'm just tired, kitten." She continued after a while of just staring.
Michiru's gaze turned wondering and a bit sad, knowing that it wasn't only that. "You're thinking of Neptune, aren't you?" She whispered after a while of gazing at the angel in her hands.
Taiko's eyebrows started twitching. She can read minds too? She thought suddenly, but threw the thought away as fast as it had appeared in her head. "No, kitten. I'm really tired after the day. That's all. Really!"
Michiru nodded a little and soon looked at the woman again, who slowly picked her up, while holding her as high as she could over the floor, so that Michiru could put the angel onto the top of the tree. It sat perfectly on the top, at which Michiru smiled. "There."
"Perfect!" Taiko smiled as well as she put down the girl. They stood by the tree for some time under silence, just gazing at their creation. "We make a pretty good team after all..." She whispered after a while and slowly placed her hand onto Michiru's shoulder. "And about that woman in your room... or what ever it was." She said after a while, ending up with a sigh.
Michiru looked at her with an asking gaze.
"Let's put that behind us, alright?" Taiko continued and was now smiling at Michiru.
Michiru smiled back and nodded. "Let's do so." She agreed and walked closer to Taiko, who hugged her tightly.
"Darlings! Time for dinner!" Hoshi shouted from the second floor.
"On our way!" Taiko and Michiru sang together and soon walked up the stairs, and into the dining room, where Hoshi had set the table. The small family of three sat down by the table and started their Christmas dinner, talking about Taiko's day and about the young woman in the music store, who had been left behind her counter crying. They sat by the table until everyone's stomachs were filled, and after a while Taiko was making coffee and Michiru was making tea for herself. The plans for the rest of the evening was to be spent by the TV, watching the news and other Christmas shows, until people were ready to go to bed.
As the three had sat down in the living room, and got comfy the phone started ringing.
Taiko and Hoshi sighed, thinking the same thing: We should have taken the phone of the hook. Michiru placed her teacup on the coffee table and got up from the armchair, she was sitting in. "I'll answer." She said, having a slight feeling of what the two were thinking. She ran over to the phone hanging by the staircase and picked it up. "Suteki's. Michiru here." She answered.
"Good evening miss Suteki." It was a man's voice and he sounded very nervous, while people were shouting in the background. "Is your mother available at the moment? It is very important."
Michiru looked at Hoshi and Taiko, who were looking at her over the sofa's back. "Mother, it's for you..." She said, holding the phone towards Hoshi. "It's important."
Hoshi sighed and gave her coffee cup to Taiko, before she walked over to the phone and took the phone from Michiru. "It's Suteki Hoshi, hello?" She replied in the phone as she placed it to her ear.
"Suteki-san, this is Tenoh-san's assistant. He wanted to ask you for a major favor." The man said quickly. "It is very important and urgent."
"What is it?" Hoshi blinked while she looked at Michiru, who sat down on the staircase.
"Is there any possibility that you can come to Hibiya Park?" The man said after the reply. "One the music acts hasn't turned up, and we need someone to play for the Christmas show."
Hoshi's eyes widened a little, hearing the TV being turned on. She looked over her shoulder and noticed that it was the Christmas show that Music/Media Inc held every year, and Tenoh Ryoshi was standing on the stage with his wife. She swallowed hard.
"Can you? It would be a blessing for everyone if you could!" The man shouted now in the phone.
Hoshi closed her eyes tightly while biting her lip a little. "I'll be there with my daughter in two hours." She said as she opened her eyes, looking serious.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" The man echoed on the other end. "The dress code will be black and white. Please hurry!" Where the last words Hoshi heard, as she hung up the phone.
"Michiru, go to your room and put on that black dress we bought for your show at school. And get ready to leave with your violin." Hoshi said, looking at Michiru who was slowly getting up from the stairs.
Taiko jumped up from the sofa staring at the two. "What's going on?"
Tenoh Ryoshi was handed a microphone on the TV. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have just received great news!" He spoke with a shine over his face. "Miss Suteki and her daughter are to play on our stage tonight!" He added and soon the crowd started yelling and clapping.
Taiko's eyes widened as she heard the words form the TV.
"We'll be home as fast as we can." Hoshi whispered as she walked over to Taiko, kissing her quickly on the lips, while Michiru ran up the stairs. "Wish us good luck." Hoshi added wit ha gentle embrace before she ran up the stairs.
Taiko just stared at the staircase with large eyes. "What's going on?" She thought out loud and soon smiled, hearing Michiru and Hoshi running down the stairs from the top floor and out into the hallway, where after a while the door was closed with a bang. "I guess I have nothing to say about it." She sighed and took sip from her cup, as she sat back down into the sofa, putting her feet up onto the coffee table.
Michiru and Hoshi arrived at the entrance to the backstage an hour and a half later, wearing their most elegant clothing they owned. Michiru wearing a black dress, which she had gotten from Hoshi for her first concert for her school, under her winter jacket, while Hoshi was wearing a white dress, which was the most amazing she ever had been seen it, with it's short sleeves, under her black leather jacket. The two guards, who gave them directions to the back stage, where Tenoh-san and his wife were waiting, let them in. The show had started already and the first act was on, it being the children's choir.
Hoshi and Michiru found the Tenoh couple, which where waiting by the entrance to the stage with their daughter, who was to play the piano later on. Ryoshi shined up like a star in the dark sky, as the two walked over to them, carrying their violin cases. Ryoshi was wearing a black tux, while his wife was wearing a white and elegant dress. And their daughter Haruka was wearing a black tuxedo as well, in which she looked happier than in the dress she wore to the restaurant earlier that year. "Thank heavens that you came!" Gasped Ryoshi.
"We came as fast as we could, Tenoh-san." Hoshi nodded to the man, as she shook hands with him and then with his wife, ending up shaking hands with Haruka. Hoshi and Haruka changed gazes that felt like forever before they let go of each other's hands.
"I hope you have nothing against playing with our daughter." Note Mrs. Tenoh with a gentle smile as she shook hands with Michiru, while talking to Hoshi.
"Not at all." Hoshi smiled gently at the blonde girl, who was still staring at her. "Isn't that right Michiru?"
Michiru shook hands with Haruka as well, and as the two shook hands her eyes shined up gently. "No... not at all." She whispered while looking at Hoshi.
"Perfect!" Ryoshi smiled, charmed at the answer. The crowd outside started clapping as the children on the stage stopped singing. "I hope you both can Beethoven's 5." He said before he ran up the stairs to the stage.
Hoshi and Michiru changed gazes.
"I... I have to go to the piano..." Haruka said in a low voice, while her mother pulled the girls hair back.
"Good luck sweet heart. And do your best!" Mrs. Tenoh smiled at the girl who nodded at her mother, before running up the same stairs her father had gone. Mrs. Tenoh Sighed and looked at Hoshi and Michiru were standing by a table by the stairs, taking out their violins from their cases. "I wish you both good luck as well, and I am sure there will be a bonus for you Suteki-san after this fast jump in on the show."
Hoshi smiled at the woman and bowed her head. "It's the least I could do Tenoh-san." She replied before she looked at Michiru who picked up her bow from the case. "Let's do our best, sweet heart. And I know you will make me proud." She whispered, quickly kissing her daughter on the forehead.
"Promise!" Michiru smiled at Hoshi with a nod.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Ryoshi's voice was heard from the stage now. "As we promised, the change in our show is to begging! I am glad to present Suteki Hoshi and her daughter, miss Michiru, an upcoming star on our music sky! And my very own daughter will be playing with them!"
The crowd started clapping their hands and cheering.
Hoshi and Michiru took deep breaths before they walked up the stairs together, focusing on their task as hard as they could. They soon stepped out onto the stage, where the spotlights shined over them and Haruka, who was sitting down by the piano, making her self ready to play. "Good luck darling." Hoshi whispered as they stopped by two microphones that were placed onto the middle of the stage.
"Good luck to you too." Michiru whispered back and gazed over her shoulder, and at Haruka, who was looking at the piano.
Michiru and Hoshi placed their violins onto their shoulders, and under their chins at the same time, and soon Hoshi started to play a sonnet she had played several times since she was young, and learned to Michiru when she was six. Michiru soon joined in, playing just as well as her mother which made the crowd gaze at them with tear filled and amazed eyes. Haruka gaze at the two violin players for a while before she joined in, playing elegantly and gracefully on the piano. The trio where amazing and people just gazed at them, all probably thinking the same thoughts, while they shed some tears.
As the song died out slowly, and the musicians opened their eyes, now gazing over the crowd that slowly stood up at their chairs, clapping and cheering from the top of their lungs. Hoshi smiled and soon looked at Haruka who seemed a bit shy. "Michiru..." She whispered, who looked at her mother.
Michiru blushed gently and soon walked over to Haruka, taking her hand into her own. "Time for the bow." She smiled warmly at the girl who just gazed at her.
"I guess." Haruka swallowed after a while and soon they both walked over to Hoshi.
The three bowed towards the crowd, which only turned louder in their clapping and cheering as the spotlight was shining over them.