Day 1 (Music): A Memorable Night
Sora and Takeru were standing outside the box office, in a long line to buy tickets for one of Yamato's favorite rock bands.
"I had no idea The Black Cats had so many fans." Sora exclaimed as she took a look all over the line ahead and behind them. "I can't even see the beginning and the end of this line."
"I know, right?" Takeru followed her suit. "It's been years since they came to Japan for the last time, so fans were waiting a really long time for this moment."
"I have no doubt about it. I'm afraid we won't be able to get tickets and let Yamato down."
"We'll be fine." Takeru walked towards the street to see where they line started and then returned to her side. "I'd say we're a little before the center of this line and, since the concert is in a stadium, there will be thousands of tickets on sale."
"That's a relief. Do you know this band, by the way? I feel like I'm going to make a fool out of myself on the concert because I have no idea what their songs are."
"Hasn't Yamato showed you any of their songs?" Takeru asked surprised. "I know quite a few, but I haven't listened to them for a while. I need to see if they have some new stuff and catch up, so I won't be too left out during the concert."
"I don't think he has." Sora tried to remember it. "At least, I don't remember it. I don't usually like heavy metal music."
"Yeah, they're pretty heavy for me too. But we can catch up on it together if you want to."
"Really?" She couldn't help but smile. "I would love that!"
"Great."
"Takeru, do you think he's going to like it? I'm a little apprehensive with this."
"Of course he will! It's his favorite band, who wouldn't be happy with that?"
"Yeah, you're right. He's going to be thrilled and so happy."
"I know." Takeru grinned. "What if we make it a birthday surprise for him?"
"A birthday surprise?" Sora asked intrigued. "What do you have in mind for this?"
"We can keep it a secret until the day the concert is due and then tell him."
"What if he decides to buy a ticket on his own and gets it?"
"That would be a problem. We'd have to keep an eye on him all the time to make sure it doesn't happen."
"How are we going to do that, though? We all have our jobs and colleges and can't keep track of him all day and night."
"You have a good point. We'll just have to trust it will work. Besides, he has been saving some money for taxes and basic needs, so I suppose he won't be able to afford a ticket for this concert."
"And neither do we, on that matter. It's a good thing we can pay for it little by little."
"I agree. But hey, his reaction will be worth anything. I can already see how it's going to be."
"Me too. He's going to be so happy to see them so close. I can easily say it's going to be the night of his life."
"Absolutely." Takeru glanced to the box office again. "We're not that far now."
"Oh great. I was getting tired from being up non-stop."
.
Takeru was laying on his bed in the bedroom he shared with Yamato in their father's apartment while Sora was in the same position, right next to her boyfriend, who was using his laptop.
"I can't find any good songs to play." Yamato complained after looking through his playlists.
"Brother, why don't we listen to that band you like?"
"Huh?" He looked at Takeru with his eyebrow raised. "The Black Cats? You don't even like them."
"I like some songs, but today I really feel like listening to them."
"Do you mind it?" Yamato looked down at Sora, who nodded in agreement. "Alright then."
He put his laptop aside after playing his The Black Cats playlist and Sora rested her head on his chest. At first he let his arm fall around her but then removed it when a drum solo was playing. He pretended to be playing in air drums.
"You should learn how to play drums." Takeru suggested after he looked over to Yamato's bed. "I think have no doubt you'd be amazingly good at it."
"I think so too." Sora pulled away from Yamato and stared at him. "I often catch you either playing air drums or guitar, but the latter you already learned, so…"
"Maybe I should, who knows?" He shrugged. "I just think it would be insane to play drums in this song."
"Is that your favorite song by them?"
"No, but it's one of them. My favorite one isn't that heavy, it's more like a ballad. A love ballad."
"They actually have a love ballad?" Sora tried to hide her blushing by glancing at Takeru, though she knew Yamato could still see her anyway.
"They do and it always reminds me of you." He reached down for her hand and laced his fingers with hers. "It's an amazing song."
"Really? I want to listen to it, can you put it on?"
"Sure." He leaned over his laptop and scanned through his playlist, looking for the song. It didn't take him long to find it. "There you go."
The first chords made Sora lay her head on her boyfriend's shoulder and close her eyes as they filled her ears. Takeru turned to his side and watched as his brother followed her suit and couldn't help but think they had such a strong connection. But then again, he thought it was always like this, ever since they met for the first time.
"It's such a shame I can't afford buying tickets for their concert." Yamato spoke with his eyes still closed. " I really wanted to see them live, it must be amazing. I guess I will have to wait for the next time they come back, whenever that is."
"Aww I'm sorry to hear that." Sora said softly. "But I hope they don't take too long to return again. I think you should have the opportunity to see your favorite band at least once. I can't even imagine how that must be like."
"Me neither. I only get to know what it's like to be on stage and not the other way around."
"Okay, I take it back. I have a clue about how it's like. But still, it must be the most special feeling seeing a bad you've been following for years."
"I think so too. Hopefully I'll get to witness it sooner than I think." He rested his head over Sora's.
"You will, I'm sure."
.
A week before the concert, Takeru went to Sora's apartment after texting her and not receiving a reply. He rang the bell and looked at the view from the hall, waiting for her to answer to the door.
"Takeru?" She asked surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I texted you. Didn't you see it?"
"No, I'm so sorry." She stepped aside so he could walk inside. "Please come in! I hope you don't mind the mess, I'm doing some cleaning today."
"Oh, sorry. I had no idea. I can come back later, or we can talk on the phone."
"Don't be silly." Sora smiled kindly at her soon-to-be brother in-law. "You came all the way here."
"Okay, so… it turns out the company responsible for bringing The Black Cats to Japan is the one that Kimi works at. I was telling her how much Yamato loves them and she said she would try to give us backstage access."
"Oh wow, did she get it?"
"Yes, she did." Takeru replied with a wide grin. "She had just called me to say it."
"Oh my God!" The woman exclaimed. "That would be so cool! Yamato'd be so thrilled about it."
"I know! He's gonna freak out."
"I am excited myself right now. By this time next weekend, we'll be about to go to their concert."
"I feel the same way. I've been listening to them everyday since that day at his apartment. I memorized all of their songs by now."
"That's a very smart thing to do, I might do it too." Sora put two her locks of her hair away from her face. "You know, now that we are getting a backstage pass, we can tell Yamato about the concert and keep that as a surprise. What do you think?"
"I think you we could keep everything as a surprise, though it will be difficult to keep the truth until we get to the stadium next weekend. But you are having a hard time hiding this from him, aren't you?"
"Yes!" Sora couldn't help but laugh. "I'm desperate to tell him, because I really want to see his reaction. But at the same time, I like the idea of surprising him with a birthday present like this. So I really don't know what to do."
"Hasn't he purposely talked about it with you?"
"Not since then. I think because I haven't listened to The Black Cats since that time, but I'm sure he would question me if I had."
"Can you keep it a secret for this week? It's the last one."
"Of course. And then tell him on the day of the concert?"
"Yeah, except the backstage part."
"Alright."
"Great." Takeru smiled. "I should go back now, so you can continue cleaning your apartment."
"I'll walk you to the door." Sora walked past him towards her front door and he followed her closely. "Thanks for coming by and for jumping into this plan with me. Yamato's going to have his best birthday ever."
"He sure will. You don't need to thank me. I'm amazed about how you always come up with surprises for special dates for Yamato. It's really inspiring."
"I feel flattered to hear that." Sora blushed a little. "Remember to thank Kimi for me."
"I will. So see you next weekend."
"Sure. Bye."
.
Yamato arrived at Sora's apartment on the day of the concert with some food for them to eat at night and walked towards the hall. He couldn't help but notice she was listening to The Black Cats rather loudly. "Sora?"
"I'm in my room." Sora's voice echoed around. "I'm a little busy right now, come here."
He was completely taken aback by her the exact moment he walked into her bedroom. She was wearing a Black Cats T-shirt, jeans shorts and black sneakers. She had black make-up in her eyes and red lipstick on her lips and her hair tied in a high ponytail. He couldn't remember seeing her dressed for a rock concert before, not even when he was in his school bands.
"What's going on? Why are you dressed like this?"
"Come here, baby." She went to sit on her bad and tapped on the place beside her for him to sit down. She grabbed his hands softly and looked at him. "There's something I need to tell you, but you have to close your eyes and put your palms up first."
"Okay." Yamato was beyond suspicious with the whole situation, but closed his eyes anyway.
Sora then grabbed a ticket for the concert inside her purse and placed in on his hands. His eyebrows raised when the paper came in touch with his hands.
"You can open them now."
"What is this?" The question came out of his lips before he realized it. Of course he knew what it was, but he was beyond confused.
"That's a ticket for The Black Cats concert tonight."
"This I know, but did you win it in a contest or something?"
"No, baby." A smile appeared on her lips. "Takeru and I bought it as a birthday present to you. It's going to be a small anticipated celebration with just the three of us."
.
"I can't believe you did all of this for me!" Yamato was still surprised with his birthday present. He lost count of how many times he had said it already, and he was still on the line alongside Sora and Takeru waiting to go inside the stadium for the concert.
"How do you feel about it?" Sora asked with a smile.
"I'm so excited for it! This is the best birthday gift ever, wow." He looked at his ticket. "And you even managed to hide it for like three months?"
"It wasn't easy, though. It was killing me to keep it a secret every time I saw you because I really wanted to see your reaction."
"That's true, she would often complain to me about how she didn't think she would be able to hold it any longer, but she did and everything worked in the end."
"That's true." Sora nodded. "Were you suspicious about it though?"
"I found it weird that both of you would want to listen to The Black Cats all of a sudden, but I didn't put too much into it. It was only when I saw you wearing this current outfit and heavy make-up that I realized my intuition was right all along. Still, I didn't think you both had bought me a ticket to see them. They weren't cheap at all, especially at the front row."
"Don't worry about it, Sora and I have everything under control. We wait want you to enjoy the concert, alright?"
"Alright."
.
Yamato was beyond thrilled with the concert. Not in a million years would he think he would be seeing The Black Cats live, thanks to his brother and his girlfriend. He couldn't be happier and grateful for his life and people he loved.
"How are you feeling?" Sora stood in her toes and whispered in his ear.
"I'm so happy right now." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head softly. "Thank you so much."
"You're welcome." She smiled at him. "I love seeing you so happy like this. Happy birthday, baby. I love you."
"Thank you." He kissed her on the lips briefly. "I love you too."
A few more songs were played by the band and Yamato had the time of his life singing them out loud and sometimes even pretending to play air guitar and drums. Not too long after that, Kimi spotted the trio and walked to them, from the press section between the stage and the audience.
"Hey you all."
"Hey." Takeru leaned against the fence to greet his girlfriend.
"Everything is so crazy backstage, but I finally had some free time to enjoy the concert with you guys. Happy Birthday, Yamato. How are you enjoying the concert?"
"Thank you, Kimi. It's amazing, I can't believe I'm actually here."
"I'm glad to know that." She turned to Takeru. "I have to get back soon."
"I thought you were going to enjoy the rest of the concert here with us."
"I wish I could, but I'm working tonight. I just came to check how you were."
At that moment, the vocalist from The Black Cats came to the edge of the stage, more specifically, to where the small group of people was.
"Hey, you next to the woman with red hair." He addressed to Yamato, who pointed at himself confused. "Yeah, you. I've noticed you were pretending to play invisible guitar during some of our songs. Would you like to come up here and play one song with us?"
"What's going on?" Sora was also trying to understand what was happening and exchanged a surprised look with Takeru, who was just as clueless as her.
"Come here." The lead singer of the band spoke again after he realized Yamato wasn't going to move.
"Should I?"
"Of course!" Takeru encouraged his brother. "You have the opportunity to play with your favorite band in front of like fifty or sixty thousand people. You'd be crazy to let it pass. It's a lifetime opportunity."
"Alright." He tried to climb over the fence to get to the other side and was helped by Sora, Takeru, Kimi and some security guards.
Yamato couldn't tell what he was feeling while he made his way to the stage from the backstage. He was feeling excited and also really nervous. It was going to be a lot of responsibility to play for so many people, especially when he thought that playing for one or two thousand was already a lot. Soon the whole crowd started cheering when he walked on stage and both Takeru and Sora could tell he was blushing with embarrassment.
"How did that happen?" Sora lowered her gaze to her friends. "I'm still dizzy with this situation. It was all out of a sudden."
"You did this." Takeru's eyes were fixated on Kimi, who had a wide smile on her face.
"I did. I had access to them for a few seconds before the concert and told them about Yamato. They immediately said they'd love to have him on stage as a birthday present for him."
"You are so amazing."
"Thank you for doing this to him." Sora smiled with gratitude at her future sister-in-law.
"So I heard today is your birthday." The vocalist spoke again. "How about we all sing Happy Birthday to him before playing another song?"
The audience cheered and Yamato blushed even more. It was certainly a night and birthday he'd never forget.
