Act V: Not much of a dancer
On the evening of the dance, Len waited for her near one of the imposing pillars at the entrance to the Blue Pearl Hotel where the event was being held.
She had told him she would come in a taxi.
Len looked at his watch: it was seven o'clock, and many people had started arriving. It was a warm evening so he didn't mind staying outside actually. He could even make out a few bright stars in the sky.
Suddenly, a car stopped in front of the steps and another bright star came into view...
Wearing a knee-length short-sleeved dress of a very attractive burgundy colour, with matching square-heeled sandals and hair clip, she looked…
Effortlessly cool…
"Hi there! Nice venue, isn't it?" she commented cheerfully as she climbed the steps towards him.
Len seemed in a daze and didn't reply. At that instant, he couldn't help but wonder if guys had fallen for Miss Goldilocks in the past, only to find that they couldn't cope with her overconfidence, her wit, her speed and…
"Len, aren't we going in?" she said looking at him with curiosity.
"Yes, I'm sorry…"
The hotel's grand hall was tastefully decorated with flowers and gilded mirrors. The major part of it was reserved for dancing but there was sufficient space at the back where the organisers had decided to position the small round tables that could accommodate four or five people each.
As Len and Nami passed by, many of the guests who recognised him or who were acquainted with his parents stopped them to have a chat. Nami didn't seem to mind... Actually she hugely enjoyed talking to people, he remembered. It's not that he didn't like people himself, it's just that socialising was never Len's forte, and probably never would be…
He glanced to his right and saw an even larger group of guests, surrounding his mother. She noticed him and smiled in his direction. It was only natural that she would want to be introduced to Nami, he thought, but then… the latter would probably go into hyper-journalistic mode and who knew where that might lead.
Len took a deep breath and caught hold of Nami's arm.
"Do you want to dance?"
She looked at him with a dubious expression.
"Dance? Well, okay… I guess it's fine until Kaho arrives…"
They made their way to the dance floor where a number of couples were already moving gracefully to the gentle music.
She put her hand on his shoulder as a new song began.
"Isn't this Blue Danube?"
"Yes."
"Then this shouldn't be too hard… I hope!" she quipped cheerfully.
As Len led the dance he noticed that she kept her eyes on the floor, watching his feet and trying to synchronise her own movements… with only moderate success however, especially when the music picked up pace.
She raised her head suddenly.
"Hey, you're surprisingly good at this!" she exclaimed.
He would have accepted the compliment if it wasn't for…
"Surprisingly?" he repeated.
"Well, for someone who's never liked socialising and prefers to focus entirely on practicing his violin…" she explained.
Of course it was the truth but part of him was annoyed.
"How about you? Why are you surprisingly poor at this in spite of your superior social skills?" he asked rather coldly.
For a moment, she was taken aback.
"I… I guess it's because I don't usually dance at parties; I'm too busy taking pictures or interviewing people…"
"But I may as well take this opportunity to improve, right?" she added as she flashed a smile at him.
Len's gaze softened.
"Yes, it just takes practice…" he replied more kindly.
They stayed on the dance floor for what seemed like a long time. Nami felt that she was getting the hang of it and often laughed as they waltzed from one part of the room to another. Len's parents watched them from a distance and smiled at each other.
"That was fun" she stated as they sat down at a table and were brought some refreshments by one of the waiters in attendance.
She gratefully leaned back in her chair and enjoyed the cool drink in her hands.
Len had taken off his blue-grey jacket and gazed towards the entrance to the hall with a rather vacant look as he drank. She observed him thoughtfully.
Time to draw some confessions out of him!
"Len?"
Her voice startled him out of his reverie.
She placed her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands.
"Why did you lie to me about Kahoko?"
"What do you mean?"
"On the plane, you said that you didn't miss her. But, in fact, the two of you are really close. No, don't try to deny it; I know that the overwhelming power of the Violin Romance is at work!" she explained, all the while smiling slyly.
Len's eyes widened. Violin Romance?
"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Amou-san. Hino and I are just friends… The reason I said I didn't miss her was because we always kept in touch. I wanted to follow her progress with the violin…"
She narrowed her eyes.
Is he genuine or not. His voice sounds so, but his cheeks are suspiciously pink.
"But she came to pick you up!" she insisted.
"Isn't that what friends do?'
"Well… it may have seemed like a friendly reunion, but I'm sure you were restraining yourselves because of my presence, right?!"
"Amou-san, I don't have to argue with you." He said with a sigh.
She frowned.
"You really mean to say that you're not in love and there is no violin romance??"
His eyes looked at hers steadily.
She fell back onto her chair.
"Could the legend be untrue?" she spoke almost to herself but he heard her.
"…Actually, there might be something in it…"
"Huh?"
He was looking towards the entrance again. Nami turned her head to follow his gaze.
She blinked; did she just see a red-headed figure somewhere? No, two red-headed figures!
She got up, grabbed Len's arm and started walking swiftly through the crowd.
------------------------------------------------------
Kahoko noticed them arriving and pointed them out to her partner.
"Ah, Tsukimori-san, Amou-san, it's nice to see you again!" he greeted cheerfully.
"Ousaki-senpai…"
Nami's face showed that she was totally mystified, while Len merely looked a bit annoyed at the manner in which he was dragged. He bowed to his fellow violinist.
Nami recovered enough to smile weakly at the couple.
"I'm surprised you recognised me Senpai…"
"Of course, you were in the journalism club, weren't you? And you became friends with Kahoko during the time of the concours."
"That's right!"
-----------------------------------------------------
When Len and Ousaki started a conversation on their respective careers, she seized the opportunity to talk to Kahoko in private.
The latter knew what was coming: an interrogation!
"So… he calls you Kahoko now… are you two dating?"
"Nami, I'm sorry to have kept it from you but it's only been official for a month now…"
"Okay, I'll forgive you… but I was so confident that you and Len were in love that I started to fantasize about covering the wedding, you know." She made a face while Kahoko smiled. She could easily imagine the kind of headlines Nami had in mind.
"I'm sorry about that… and as for Tsukimori-kun… he… he is one of the best friends I could ever hope to have. I only wish that he was as happy as I am…"
Much later that evening, Len and Nami danced together again. Her blue eyes twinkled as she watched Kahoko and Ousaki who were also on the dance floor. The four of them had actually had a good time as they shared a table for dinner, and talked about Seiso and their plans for the future.
Now she started thinking that Kahoko and Ousaki's wedding might be just as interesting to cover. Ousaki was so kind that he would probably allow her to be the official photographer, whereas Len… Would Len even have invited her? Maybe...
"You knew about them, didn't you?" she asked.
"She told me…"
"Well, I guess it really was my mistake… but at least, I did learn a few things about you… For instance, you never lie, you can keep a secret, and… you're a surprisingly good dancer!"
"…"
"Hey, at this point you're supposed to say 'you're not so bad either…' you know!"
"You just said I never lie, Amou-san!"
She huffed.
He looked at her thoughtfully.
"Can I ask why you're friends with Hino? You don't seem to have many things in common."
"Who said I wasn't interested in music?" she countered.
"But if you really want to know… it's probably because she sees some good in us that we don't always see ourselves… or others for that matter…" she smiled and looked at Kahoko who waved back.
The event finally came to an end and guests started leaving. Kahoko and Ousaki bid a cheerful goodbye to their friends at the entrance of the Blue Pearl. Nami called for her taxi and Len waited politely with her. He stood in the shadow of a pillar leaning slightly against it, his arms crossed, watching the play of lights on her wavy hair.
"Aren't they sweet together?" she sighed.
"Amou, are you in a relationship at the moment?"
"Eh? Why do you ask?" And did he just drop the 'san' from my name?
"It's just that you seem to have a lot of time to worry about other people's romances… Is it because you don't have your own?"
She tried to read his expression but failed because of the semi-darkness that surrounded him.
Turning her head away, she retorted haughtily:
"I'm afraid you don't stand a chance, Tsukimori Len, so why be curious?"
Len somehow managed to disguise a laugh into a cough.
"Is that so?" he replied "I thought we looked rather cool together…"
She turned around.
"By the way, if you're still looking for a job, I might need a PRO when I go to Osaka…"
If only they didn't involve her, she would have considered each of his incredible statements as a scoop. Yet, right now, this smooth-talking Len was making her feel nervous and her face grew red.
"Ano… how about… how about asking Kahoko and Ousaki to join us, huh? The more the merrier…" she answered trying not to sound as flustered as she felt.
"Sure."
Her taxi had arrived. "I guess I'll be going then, ja ne…"
Len watched the car disappear into the night.
She didn't take him seriously now, did she? If she did, that would be… interesting?!
Wait, what was he getting himself into? And he used to run away from that girl!
Things do change, huh?
He sighed, but there was the faintest trace of a smile on his lips as he went to find his parents who were still inside the hall.
When he reached home that night, he felt his phone buzzing in his coat pocket. One new message…
"Hey, thank your parents again for inviting us, it was lovely! Did you have fun? Hino."
"At times…" was what he texted back.
" I see :) Gambatte Tsukimori-kun!!"
"Whatever… goodnight Hino."
Kahoko switched off her phone.
"Goodnight Tsukimori-kun!" she said out loud as she got into bed and snuggled under the covers.
Tsukimori-kun and Nami... Well, I guess it's just as unexpected as Ousaki-senpai and I!
Things do change, huh… She smiled. How she loved the world right now!
The end
Author's note: I hope I didn't alienate too many Len-Kaho fans with this story... In any case I'm sure they'll be dancing together in chapter 63 or 64 of the manga :) Isn't that something to look forward to!?