I'm starting to think I should just avoid putting due dates on my chapters/stories altogether as I just seem to keep making a liar out of myself. I'm slowly becoming a person of no integrity. (T_T)
I'm so sorry for the very late update. A combination of traveling, visiting with friends who will be moving to the other side of the country soon, work, and writer's block is to blame, but mostly it's that the Million People of Corda game is a complete and total life-eater. They have had…four different limited-time events almost back-to-back, and of course they feature all-new story lines that are related to current events in Japan and will only be here for the specific two-week window they've carved out. (;-_-)
The most recent one was for Marine Day, a Japanese national holiday that's observed the third Monday in July (July 21 this year). I was thinking of passing on this one after almost killing myself for the Midsummer Night's Dream event (where all the guys switched bodies for a day) since I wouldn't really be able to play the first two days because of traveling, but when they said that Kahoko would be going on a date to the seaside with her guy of choice, I just couldn't say no. And I'm so glad I didn't! Kazuki's route was to die for! The falls, the stares, the hearts pounding out of control, sweet words in the sunset *happy sigh*—I absolutely loved it! And Yousuke's route was really sweet too! A combo of the two would've been the absolute dreamiest seaside date ever! (^_^)v
Okay, now on a more story-related note, the song this time is Steven Curtis Chapman's Cinderella. There are so many beautiful videos of fathers and daughters dancing to this song (like this one with a father and his three daughters aged 6, 12, and 20 [youtube…com/watch?v=-eYTziR6h-8] and again at 8, 14, and 20 [oldest daughter couldn't come to the show]: youtube…com/watch?v=4GgHZDlzLyU). I seriously just cried and cried watching/listening to them.
Here's the official Youtube video: youtube…com/watch?v=nrWMBC6yoME
Here's a Youtube alternative: vevo…com/watch/steven-curtis-chapman/cinderella/US 82Y0900011. (Delete the extra space between the US and the rest; I can't get this thing to not do it.)
Kazuki snuck a look at his youngest child clad in a light pink T-shirt and hot pink shorts as she blithely swayed and tripped around his study in a strange pattern that was only known to her.
Kasumi had always been a little different. In a family of musicians, she was the dancer. His mother-in-law thought it might be the way the Hihara athleticism had decided to manifest itself. Well, however it came to be, unlike her siblings, she'd never been fascinated with the instruments that produced music, nor, in some sense, had she even really been interested in music for its own sake. Music was simply a setting for dancing.
She spins and she sways to whatever song plays
Without a care in the world
He tapped his pencil on the desk as he grimly looked at the blank paper in front of him. If he couldn't raise more money for the music program, he'd be out of a job!
And I'm sitting here wearing the weight of the world on my shoulders
He closed his eyes and clutched his hair. With three children, he couldn't afford to be unemployed! Kaho-chan could pick up more solo work, but he knew with every new thing she took on, between all the different practices, she'd get that much less time with family, and only getting to see the kids a few times a week would kill her.
It's been a long day, and there's still work to do
He mussed up his hair in agitation. He had to think of some awesome fundraisers. Why weren't the ideas flowing? Usually coming up with fun ways to help people interact with music was a cinch.
She's pulling at me saying, "Dad I need you!"
"Dance with me, Daddy!" Kasumi called gaily from where she was doing an energetic prancing whirl in the corner.
"I'm sorry, honey, but Daddy's busy." He gave her a regretful smile. "Why don't you play with your siblings?"
"But [t]here's a ball at the castle, and I've been invited," she insisted as she ran over to tug on him. "And I need to practice my dancin'."
"Kasumi…now isn't a good time."
"But no one else can be Prince Charming," she wheedled with those big golden eyes of hers that she knew he could never resist.
His heart melted into a puddle.
"Oh, please, Daddy, please?" she begged.
With a sigh and a smile, he let her pull him to his feet. "Alright."
"Yay!" she screamed as she thundered down the hall hollering for her siblings. He laughed when he heard his wife scold her, telling her to use her indoor voice. His heart already felt lighter.
By the time he made it out to the living room, Kanae and Kazuya were in place at the violin and piano, respectively, with Kasumi beaming happily with her arms stretched out to him. And with a tender smile, he took her hands and they began a lively skipping dance.
So I will dance with Cinderella
With a large grin, he spun and swung her in large circles, sending her green hair flying as she laughed in delight. Once she came back down, she jumped back into his arms and wrapped hers around his neck. Beaming at her, he cocked her on his hip and rocked and swayed in time with the music.
While she is here in my arms
A strange look crossed his face. Had she always been this heavy?
"Daddy, what's wrong?"
He shook his head and smiled affectionately at her.
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
"What could be wrong? I'm dancing with the prettiest girl at the ball."
Her smile could have lit up a third-world nation.
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella
He put her down and twirled her under his arm. And let her pull him around the room as she ran in circles.
With a laugh, he lifted her up high like a plane and spun around. Then, pulling her into a hug as the song finished, he rubbed noses with her. "And now, it is time for your bath."
I don't want to miss even one song
"What?!" She tried to wiggle away. "But I need to go to the ball!"
"No, you need to go to the tub," he countered playfully as he hauled his squirming child to the bathroom. "And you two have to wash up tonight too," he called back to his older children, "so you'd better get that homework done!"
His grin stretched even wider as he heard them groan with their mother laughing in the background.
'Cause all too soon, the clock will strike midnight
The house fell quiet as all the children slept in their beds. Once again at his desk, Kazuki wrote furiously, ideas streaming out of him in a torrent. He beamed when a pair of hands covered his eyes. "Hey."
"Hey yourself," his wife giggled.
He moved her hands off his eyes and pulled her down for a light kiss.
With a curious eye, Kahoko skimmed over some of his ideas and sketches. "These look good." She tapped one. "I think the school board will really like this." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Let me know if there's anything you need help with."
"Thanks," he grinned. Then, he went quiet.
"What is it?" Kahoko murmured as she snuggled up behind him.
"It just hit me again when we were dancing." He sighed. "Kasumi's in elementary school now."
And she'll be gone
~ . ~ . ~ . ~
Following family tradition, Kasumi attended Seiso Academy, but in their General Studies Department unlike her siblings. Kazuki had to admit was a bit of a shock to see his youngest daughter looking like a carbon copy of her mother (minus her hair color and style: short because it was easier to keep out of her face) when she put on her uniform for the first time her second year. It was pure coincidence that she was also a red scarf year, but still….
She was taking advanced dance classes at the community center, and when she graduated from Seiso, she intended to study dance in Tokyo. He was glad she'd still be close by, especially with Kanae studying music in Vienna and Kazuya leaving for a couple of years to further his trumpet studies in Germany. With all his children growing up and leaving, it was nice to know that his baby girl was still local. But he wished she were a little less popular with the boys!
With her father's friendly personality tempered with her mother's calmer nature, Kasumi was never at a loss for friends. Well, none of his children ever had been, but he would've preferred if his baby didn't attract quite so many of the male variety! It was worse than with her mother!
"Nuh-uh!" He shook his head with a pout. "No way."
"Why not?" Kasumi protested.
"We already had this conversation when you were ten." He crossed his arms over his chest. "No boys until you're at least forty."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, Daddy, be serious. Even you and Mom didn't wait that long. It's not even a real date. It's a music competition year, so they're holding a dance. He just wants a dance partner."
"Hah!" he barked as he pointed at her. "That's just what he wants you to think! Teenage boys are devious, I tell you!"
"So you were devious?" Kahoko broke in with a raised eyebrow.
"Wh-wh-what?! N-n-n-n-n-no!" he sputtered. "Of-of course not!"
"Well then, what's the problem?"
"B-b-b-b-b-but-!"
She says he's a nice guy, and I'd be impressed
"You know Etou-kun and his family," Kasumi added brightly. "He's a really nice guy."
"E-E-E-Etou?!" He looked ready to faint.
"Why don't you show your father your dress, Kasumi," Kahoko blithely suggested, temporarily ignoring her husband's meltdown. After about twenty-five years of marriage, you just learn to roll with some things.
"Y-you-you already have a-a dress?!" he wailed.
"Of course," Kasumi laughed from the stairs. She winked. "The dance is next week."
As soon as she disappeared into her room, Kazuki whirled on his wife. "No! She cannot go to this dance. I absolutely forbid it!"
Kahoko just smiled. "You let Kanae go."
"That was different! She was a competitor; she had to go! And, and she didn't, she didn't have a…a-a…a date." He spat out the word like it was poison.
"So…are you saying that all dates are bad?" she asked a bit wistfully.
His eyes widened in horror. "No!" He pulled her close to him. "Of course not." He earnestly searched her eyes. "It's just that-" he stopped up short when he caught the twinkle of humor in her eyes. Pouting, he petulantly declared, "This and that are totally different."
He heard a rustle of fabric behind him, signaling that his rebellious offspring had returned. He turned with an annoyed look in his eyes, and felt his mouth go slack.
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
"Well…" Kasumi fidgeted with the white flowing skirt, "how do I look?"
His eyes moved up and down, taking her in. With the cute little puffed sleeves and the flower broach on the deep maroon band, she somehow managed to look like a young woman and the sweet little girl of days past at exactly the same time. He gulped with slightly glassy eyes. "You look beautiful, sweetie."
Her smile radiated like the sun. "Really?"
He nodded. "Really."
She says, "Dad, the prom is just one week away"
She looked up at him hopefully. "You know, it's been awhile since I've done this kind of dancing…." She smiled winningly at him. "Will you dance with me now? Otherwise," she grinned, "I'm going to miss out on dancing with the best-looking guy I know."
"And I need to practice my dancin'"
His face pinkened in pleasure as her mother joked behind him, "Keep your hands off my man, you little home wrecker."
Both females laughed for a bit before Kasumi turned and held her hands out to him. "Oh, please, Daddy, please?"
He chuckled when he saw that his wife had already readied her violin. Sometimes, he swore the woman was psychic. So he gave into the inevitable and bowed with a flourish as Kasumi giggled and curtsied.
So I will dance with Cinderella
The two fell easily into a waltz, going from the box, to the turning box, into a traveling step, and an underarm turn.
While she is here in my arms
"You're pretty good at this," she complimented. "I'd figured you'd forgotten. The last time we did the waltz was—what?—a couple years ago?"
"I had a good teacher," he responded with a smile.
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
His heart warmed when he noticed she was wearing the locket she had gotten for her tenth birthday. Then, his eyes saddened a bit when he realized anew that that had been almost seven years ago.
"Dad?"
He shook his head with a small smile, blinking back the moisture, and turned the conversation to happier topics.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, I will dance with Cinderella
The two danced and swayed into the evening, laughing and talking, and eventually swapping out Kahoko with Kazuya when he came home from afternoon classes.
"Mom, make them stop!" he complained from the refrigerator during a water break as she cut up some vegetables for sukiyaki. "I almost can't feel my lips anymore."
With an amused smile, she poked her head out at the pair and stated, "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes." Her eyes twinkled. "At that time, this house will be declared a no dancing zone."
I don't want to miss even one song
Kazuki grinned at Kasumi. "Better make it count then." He swept her into a quick spin around the room that made her shout in surprised laughter.
'Cause all too soon, the clock will strike midnight
The day of the dance came, and Kazuki had to admit he was a bit thrown by just how much of a mix Tomoya Etou was of his parents. Considering that the boy had offered to bring his little girl home a whole hour earlier than her usual curfew, he was starting to admit that maybe he'd misjudged him (proving that Tomoya truly was as wise as his name).
Tears stung annoyingly at his eyes as he snapped pictures of them before they headed off. As he stared at the playback screen, his chest felt tight. When had she grown up?
And she'll be gone
~ . ~ . ~ . ~
The family of five snapped a picture together as they surrounded Kasumi holding her high school diploma. And a couple years later, a photograph of twenty-year-old Kasumi posing sweetly in an exquisite orange and white kimono with her coming-of-age ceremony certificate joined it in the family photo album. Playbills for her various lead performances also littered the pages of passing time.
She will be gone
~ . ~ . ~ . ~
Despite being under the watchful eye of her somewhat overprotective father, Kasumi was not…gifted with the copious amounts of denseness Kanae had inherited, so when Kasumi started dating in college, Kahoko wasn't anywhere near as floored as her husband. Nor was she that surprised when Hisashi Tsuchiura came to them a little before Kasumi's twenty-fifth birthday asking for permission to marry her.
Kazuki sat stiffly and stared at the clock. Tonight was the night. What would she say? When would happen when she got home? Where was she?! Surely she should've been home by now!
"Calm down," Kahoko laughed beside him where she was skimming a magazine. "You're making me nervous just watching you."
"Sorry, it's just-"
They heard the lock on the door click. And the moment he saw her face, he knew.
Well, she came home today with a ring on her hand
Throwing her arms around his neck, she squealed out her excitement and joy. "Oh, Daddy, look!" She flashed him her ring. "I'm engaged! Oh, Daddy!" She hugged him again and rushed over to her mother to tell her all about it.
He just turned and watched the two happy faces chatter in excitement. He was happy, but there was an aching hole in him that made him feel numb and detached from the scene beside him. It was so odd. He'd have thought having one daughter married already would've made this easier, but it was completely different.
Just glowing and telling us all they had planned
"Dad? Daddy? Hellooo? Anybody home?" Kasumi laughed as she waved her hand in front of his face.
He snapped out of his daze. "Huh? Sorry," he shook his head, "you were saying something?"
She grinned. "Hisashi-san said that since he knows how much I love to dance, if I'd like, we could do the traditional dances that they do in American weddings at the reception. You know, like the first dance, father-daughter, and mother-son."
"Uh huh." He nodded mechanically only half-processing the words.
"…talked to his mother and she's already agreed…."
"Right."
"…I know six months isn't a lot of time-"
That snapped him out of it. "Six months?! The ceremony's in six months?!"
She says, "Dad, the wedding's still six months away"
She raised her eyebrows. "Have you heard anything I've been saying?"
He looked slightly guilty. "Umm…sort of?"
She and her mother shared and amused glance. They really should've known better.
"The whole family is going to New York because Tsuchiura-san is performing at the Lincoln Center. I've always wanted to go to New York to see Broadway, watch a show by the American Ballet Theatre, and stuff like that, so we were thinking we'd tag along and then split off and have the rest of our honeymoon."
He jerked a mechanical nod. It made sense.
"But I need to practice my dancin'"
"I know you don't really like to dance in public, but would you do a father-daughter dance with me at the reception?" She bit her lip. "Six months isn't a lot of time to prepare, but if you'd like, we could choreograph something or just wing it, whatever would make you more comfortable." Her sunlit eyes shone with hope. "Oh, please, Daddy, please?"
A twinge of bitter sweetness flickered in his eyes before he slowly stepped forward and gave a princely bow. Holding out his hand and looking up, he asked, "May I have this dance?"
"Oh thank you, Daddy!" Her face glowed as she curtsied and fell into his arms in a waltz hold.
So I will dance with Cinderella
Tears stung in his eyes as he and his daughter swayed together in a slow dance before all the wedding guests six months later.
While she is here in my arms
She had opted for a white reception dress not unlike the dress she'd worn for the Seiso ball with its simple, but graceful, flowing skirt. Her wedding band caught the light as they pulled back for a minute and he smiled tenderly. His little girl all grown up.
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
He gave her a little spin that elicited a small giggle, and suddenly, he was back in the living room swinging her around and around in the air with the rest of the family playing accompaniment with large smiles. And with a random waltz step, fourteen-year-old Kasumi was demonstrating for him the rise and fall of the dance after her first class at the community center.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, I will dance with Cinderella
A few glistening trails made their way down his face before he could stop them. She gave him a sweet smile and brushed the moisture from his cheeks.
I don't want to miss even one song
Blinking hard, he pulled her in for a hug and they rocked together with glassy eyes as they both fought not to cry. They both knew this would be the last time.
'Cause all too soon, the clock will strike midnight
"How're you taking it?" Takeo asked his son-in-law quietly afterward.
Kazuki smiled sadly at his father-in-law. They both knew that he was happy and proud, but…"I don't know which is harder," he sighed. "Kanae was my first, but Kasumi is the baby."
"It goes fast, doesn't it?"
He didn't answer for a while. Just as Takeo was about to leave, Kazuki suddenly turned to him. "Thank you."
He looked surprised. "For what?"
And she'll
Kazuki looked over at his children as they stood with their mother. Though her fiery locks had streaks of silver running through it, her eyes still sparkled with the life he'd always admired. "For letting her go so she could be with me."
The older man cracked a smile. "Go to them. They'll be leaving tomorrow."
Be
Tears swam in his amber eyes as they waved good-bye to all their children from the security gate.
Gone
Putting an arm around his wife, they watched the planes leave from the window. They smiled softly at each other. A whole new phase of life was opening up before them. With a tender look, he kissed her temple, and they walked back to the car hand-in-hand.
And this is the end. I have to admit, I think out of the three, this story is my favorite. It just flowed out of me more easily than the others for some reason, and I think things blended nicely for the most part.
My mom really liked the idea of this song as the father-daughter because she thought it would be good to dance to. I also thought it would be nice, but in the end, my husband and I ended up doing a joint father-daughter and mother-son dance because my mother-in-law really doesn't like to dance. She even tried to get out of it the day of! Isn't that funny? XD
Here's a picture of the dress Kasumi wore for the dance: i758…photobucket…com/albums/xx230/GoldheartJessy/Decorated images/girlintree…jpg. (Leave the space. If you have a smart browser, it will find it.)
Tentsubasa's Japanese Corner:
In Japan, wedding ceremonies are really more of a formality than anything because the couple is married once they both sign a marriage application and city hall sends them a certificate thingy. Then if they want to, they go and have their ceremony to formalize the deal to family (and friends).
So in Japanese weddings, they do costume changes. The bride will change from her ceremony clothes to reception clothes to traveling clothes. There might be one more set of clothes that I'm forgetting, but I know there are at least those three.
They also don't usually dance, but they do have entertainment for everyone to watch during the reception, so I figured I'd fudge it a little and have them do the traditional dances as part of the entertainment.
Sorry again for the late update, and I hope you enjoyed it!