NOTES: I do not own any rights to Aoi-san's original manga, or Studio Ghibli's production of the manga on to the silverscreen. This is the cutest manga ever. If you can buy the book, buy it! It's worth reading more than once.

I decided to stick to the theme in the Ghibli film, and made Seiji a violin maker as opposed to an artist. That's the Amasawa Seiji I liked first, I guess. Alas! I'm too old for him…. -.-;

--Kero.

Chapter 2: The Soul's Refrain

"Shizuku!" exclaimed Yoko with a sigh of relief. "You're here! Thank goodness." Her childhood friend had grown into quite the beauty; and having carefully avoided the sun's harmful rays with a hat for ten years had very little freckles to speak of. Yoko was wearing a chic outfit that was a casual business suit and skirt with matching heeled shoes and her long shiny hair was neatly bound up with a smart looking clip. It was the look in the music industry, especially in the fashionable Shinjuku District.

"How could I not come? You always make it sound like life and death; I can never tell," grumbled Shizuku. Her friend laughed merrily in response.

Having graduated from the same university as Shizuku, majoring in music theory and piano, Yoko had done well for herself. Out of school, she voiced a few anime characters as a seiyuu through some music connections, she gained popularity among anime and gaming fans as she was quite good looking. She tried her hand at songwriting and was an immediate small-time hit. Soon after, Victor Entertainment recognized her talent as a song writer, and now Yuko wrote lyrics for Japanese drama series and shows. Her current project was a very long drawn out soap opera that needed a new theme song every season. It was already operating into it's fourth season. Not difficult to believe that they were short on talent and fresh ideas as most of the original and extremely popular cast had dropped out and started other projects.

"Kusanagi-san, this is the friend I was talking about. She and I were in the chorus club in junior high together and we're from the same town. Shizuku, this is the general manager of Studio B, Kusanagi Ota-san," introduced Yuko.

"Oh, Tsukushima Shizuku? You're quite a popular writer nowadays. My son reads your books avidly. It's a pleasure making your acquaintance, Tsukushima-san," said the manager. Shizuku tried not to laugh at his '70's disco attire and bowed politely, instead.

"Pleased to make you acquaintance. I hope I can help you, Kusanagi-san," responded Shizuku. "What is this project you so desperately need assistance on?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, it's a song that Yuko has penned rather last minute for us. The producers absolutely hated the first one and fired that songwriter immediately. Then, the lyricist left in a huff as well. Apparently, they were lovers," whispered Kusanagi-san as an aside, with a sour look on his face. Shizuku nodded at that juicy bit of gossip and let him continue.

"But Yuko has now penned a beautiful melody and we have no lyrics for it."

"Please tell me the story. I don't know much about music theory, but if you can give me a story, I can try put it to words for you," suggested Shizuku.

"She's very good at this," chimed in Yuko excitedly.

"I'm rusty," sighed Shizuku, giving a grimace to her friend. "I wish you wouldn't build me up to others like that, Yuko. They may be disappointed."

But Kusanagi-san continued to talk, apprently heedless that a conversation was going on behind him. "….So the main plotline is like this: two childhood sweethearts made a promise to one another, but they grew apart and eventually lived very different lives. One is about to get married, and the other is rather a playboy. They meet again under fateful circumstances, but both are resisting the possibility of the old relationship coming into bloom again. This song is a song of LONGING!" said Kusanagi-san in a weird, dramatic pose.

Shizuku shot a glance at Yuko, Is this guy for real? Yuko only smiled apologetically.

"Oh, I get it. A song of longing…" said Shizuku in brief summary.

"No! It's a song of LONGING! LONG-ING! It comes from the gut! Say it with me!" said Kusanagi-san, taking her hands in his and squeezing them excitedly.

"Long…ing…" said Shizuku, puzzled as to why he pronouced the word with such emphasis but repeating the accents corretly as he had done.

"Yes! Exactly!" he said, heading off in the direction of the elevator and compulsively pushing the button for the door to open. She scratched her head in puzzled amusement.

"This story should strike a chord with you, Shizuku. Whatever did happen between you and Seiji-kun?" asked her friend delicately, still smiling her cheerful grin. Shizuku took a thoughtful pause as they waited a little ways behind Kusanagi-san for the elevator.

"We just grew apart, I guess," said Shizuku simply.

"That's unlike you to understate the obvious," frowned Yuko. "Didn't he ask you to marry him at one point?"

"That was in junior high, Yuko! People continue to grow up after junior high. Unlike you and Sugimura-kun, Seiji and I grew apart. He was in Cremona intensely concentrating on his violin making craft for seven years before I got to spend any real time with him. He had to go back to finish it anyway. He had stopped writing me for months at a time… He had mentioned that he met a musician named Genevieve there….I don't know what came over me, but because that woman was able to spend more time with him than me, I got upset over something really stupid….And…I met Asuma-kun during our last year at university…."

"Didn't you explain to Seiji that Asuma was just a friend?" asked Yuko.

"It's not as easy as that, Yuko," she sighed.

"So you did have feelings for Asuma-kun?" asked Yuko quietly.

"I'm not sure. To this day, I'm not sure if it was just the pressure of graduating, or getting out my first novel…or just loneliness that the distance had caused to well up inside of me. I wanted nothing but Seiji but Asuma was always there to console me. Seiji misunderstood it when he came back and then grew really distant before he left, and I don't think we've spoken since. And I still hate myself for having wasted that time I did spend with him. But I don't think I ever forgave him for thinking of me as being unfaithful and vice versa."

"Goodness, Shizuku, now THAT'S a drama. Don't you think it's time you crossed the distance and made up with him?" sighed Yuko with exasperation. "Isn't he coming back…ever?"

"I don't know. I don't know what he's up to anymore," said Shizuku quietly. She felt the tremble in her voice and hated herself for it.

"But, you still care about him, don't you?" said Yuko, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I've been forcing myself not to care these two years, Yuko," said Shizuku. She hadn't realized how miserable she had been until those words were uttered from her lips.

"OKAY LADIES!" said Kusanagi-san. "Into the elevator, chop-chop. We've gotta get this song out and give it a try by today. I'm counting on you to work your magic, Tsukushima-san!"

"I'll do my best," said Shizuku with a slight bow. The small creative team went to the lounge next to the recording room and sat down on the comfy sofas for hours. As Kusanagi-san continued his diatribe about the emotions and feelings behind the drama with or without anyone listening to him, Yuko played a few bars of her song at a time on the keyboard especially brought into the room. Shizuku liked it immediately and started writing her ideas on her note pad. After a few hours, the notepad was almost empty and scattered and torn pieces of it were strewn all over the floor. Junior staff members continued to bring them coffee and refreshments and sandwiches from the nearby deli. By sunset, Kusanagi-san was exhausted and asleep on the couch in a fetal position, Shizuku was barefoot and pacing the carpeted floor, and Yuko's hair was quite undone from her hairclip as she played out the last bars of the song.

"I think we finally have it," whispered Shizuku, handing the final draft carefully to Yuko. She felt as if she were handing the Holy Grail over to her care. Shizuku had put her all into the lyrics, and they were not so much a synopsis of the storyline Kusanagi-san had so painstakingly relayed to her throughout the day, but a reflection of the darkness that had veiled her heart these past two years. Yuko's rather intentional mentioning of Seiji had awakened the old feelings again. But Shizuku was glad that her friend had drawn it out of her. Something had stirred and she needed to get it all out. These lyrics were the perfect medium to do it. Shizuku stole a glance at Yuko's expression. To her surprise, her friend looked as though she was going to cry. Immediately, Yuko grabbed Shizuku and pulled her close.

"Oh, Shizuku! I had no idea! How long you must have suffered like this! With no outlet for it until now…that's just like you Shizuku. I love it! I love this refrain. It's like your soul's refrain, echoing out into the darkness!"

"Yuko, you're strangling me…" said Shizuku, trying to wrestle out of her friend's clutches.

"Oh, sorry!" she said, letting go. "But these lyrics are really very good Shizuku. You're speaking from the heart. It's important that Seiji-kun hears this. I think…you should sing the demo," said Yuko with a single decided nod.

"Hey, wait a minute!" gasped Shizuku, trying to take the lyrics back. "Don't go making crazy decisions on your own, now! I can't sing it!"

"This is your heart's words; it should be sung in your voice," frowned Yuko.

"Do I look like a J-pop star to you?" said Shizuku, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth at her friend.

"That's a great idea, Yuko!" said Kusanagi-san out of nowhere. Before she knew it, he had snatched the lyrics out of her hand, dancing wildly around the coffee table. But Shizuku was too tired to argue with them. Right before she left, she was penciled into the schedule to meet them at the studio tomorrow morning to do the demo that would be sent to the producers.