Ultra A/N:
This is an alternate retelling of Bridging the Gap. It's uploaded here as it was meant to be read before I realized I was getting nowhere with this plot. This story ends at Chapter 8; I do not plan to continue writing it.
Chapter 4: Old Habits Die Hard
A/N:
A solo flight is what I'd like to call the next chapter. Here, we take a peek into Tsukimori's head – and I'm nervous already. I was never good at characterization, but I'll do my best to keep him as ice cube-y as possible. I might end up just rambling, as usual.
Disclaimer:
I do not own La Corda d'Oro; the whole concept belongs to Kure Yuki-sensei.
Previously:
Chapter 3: Reunion Season
"I'm fine, thanks-"
"No, let me help you up," he said, gently grasping her shoulder.
"Noo, it was my fault really," Kahoko said, waving a hand at the man. "I didn't look where I was going, that's why I hit you…"
The man had stopped talking. Opening her eyes, Kahoko looked up and saw topaz eyes staring at her, shocked. She heard herself gasp. There was no mistaking his face, his hair, his lips that were slightly parted in surprise.
"Len?!"
Chapter 4: Old Habits Die Hard
"Kahoko?"
Tsukimori Len was speechless. It was worse than he had imagined. He had been worried that they would meet again, especially now that she had become quite famous, but to bump into each other, literally, in a place such as this, at this most inopportune moment… It was too ironic.
He realized his hand was still on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry," he heard himself say as he took back his hand. "Can you stand up?"
Kahoko nodded, and gingerly got to her feet without touching him. They stood apart from each other, still not speaking, avoiding each other's eyes.
"Ummm, it's been a while," Kahoko said, a brave stab at breaking the ice.
Tsukimori didn't reply.
"You seem well," she added awkwardly, gesturing at him.
"So do you," was all he said.
It was true. She looked exceptionally pretty, even in this dark corridor. Her long, red hair gracefully hugged her shoulders, although a few unruly strands framed her face and rested on her hollowed cheekbones. Was it just his imagination or did she seem taller? Maybe it was because she carried herself differently, more confidently than she used to in years past. Even her taste in clothes had become more refined: she was wearing an elegant green cocktail dress paired with a white bolero and strappy black stilettos; the whole outfit reeked of luxury. Was this really Hino Kahoko?
"Jaa," Kahoko said, jolting Tsukimori back to reality, "I'll go now."
Tsukimori Len stood stock still as Kahoko marched past him with her head down. He stayed rooted to the spot long after her footsteps had faded completely, stood with his hands balled into fists.
Hino Kahoko. He never thought seeing her again would make him feel like this.
With heavy footsteps, he marched towards the Tokyo suite, determined not to let their chance meeting affect him too much.
"Oi, Tsukimori," Sato called out as he walked into the room. "We've been waiting for you. It's your turn to sing."
Tsukimori shook his great blue head.
"That means he doesn't feel like singing," Oribe translated for the rest of the group. "If you don't mind, I'd like to sing again-"
"Mou, Shuichi," Hinata playfully complained. "You've been singing the whole night!"
"Well if Tsukimori here isn't planning to sing, I'll graciously cover for him-"
Tsukimori sat on the plush scarlet couch in front of the large plasma screen and surveyed the scene before him. There were more or less thirty people in the Tokyo suite, but he was familiar with only four faces. Sato, perched on a stool near the wine bar, was chatting animatedly with a group of starstruck college girls. Oribe had gotten to his feet, microphone in hand, and was now preparing to sing another sappy ballad amidst the cheers of his freshly formed fan club. Hinata was quietly conversing with a handsome yuppie in one corner of the room, laughing a bit too loudly every few seconds. Takishima was walking towards him, holding two glasses of red wine.
"What's wrong?" he said, offering Tsukimori one of the glasses. "You look depressed."
"It's nothing," Tsukimori said, accepting the proffered wine.
"Come on," Takishima chided. "It's easy to see you're bothered about something. Your face is actually showing some emotion – it's pretty big, huh?"
Tsukimori chose not to answer. Instead, he downed the contents of the entire glass in one go.
"Oi, oi," Takishima warned. "Why are you drinking so recklessly all of a sudden?"
Heavily setting the glass on the low coffee table, Tsukimori maintained his silence and continued to brood. Takishima sighed.
"You should at least offer some sort of explanation," he said, ruffling his hair in frustration. "I came up with this event at the last minute and this is how you show your gratitude? I even invited some of my friends to hang out with us-"
"I never asked you to prepare all this-"
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please?" Sato called out, waving his hands in the air to attract the partygoers' attention. "Tonight's celebration is a welcome party for that ill-tempered man over there, Tsukimori Len. Please give him a warm round of applause as he returns to the motherland after six long years!"
Tsukimori felt rather than saw thirty pairs of eyes turn his way as cheers and claps resounded across the room. Despite himself, he suddenly felt self-conscious.
"Also, this event would not be possible without the generosity of Takishima Makoto, that dashing Casanova in the leather jacket, who graciously gathered all of us here at his expense," Sato continued. "For this, let's give him a warm round of applause and the continued patronage of Takishima Electronics," he added, making everyone laugh.
"For tonight's feature presentation, four breathtaking ladies from the Maradonna College of Music will perform for us a very special piece," he motioned towards his left, where the girls he had been chatting with earlier were setting up musical instruments. "Amidst the hustle and bustle of city life, a little breather is exactly what we need. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Maradonna ladies performing Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachmusik!"
On cue, the lights dimmed and a spotlight shone on the four girls. At first there was silence. And then-
They began to play. A rousing entrance… lively and melodious, the sounds sparkling and captivating everyone in the room. Except Tsukimori Len. He was watching their performance carefully. That one needs to improve her bowing. And she needs to be more faithful to the score. The third one has bad posture. But at least one of them is playing well…
Even he, however, could not deny they played in a charming manner. Despite their poor technique, there was something about their music that made people's eyes close as they bobbed their head to the rhythm.
Just like her.
Hadn't they played the same piece once? Many, many years ago? She had slipped up at first, but she managed to regain her composure in the second half. All she needed was a little more confidence.
Surprised at himself, Tsukimori wondered why it didn't hurt to think about her. He found he actually wanted to think about her, to engage in an old habit he thought he had long ago discarded…
"I'm leaving on the first flight tomorrow," he whispered as he played with her fingers. Seeing the look on her face, he smiled slightly and told her, "There's no need to look so sad. I promise to keep in touch…"
An odd, closed emotion flickered in Kahoko's eyes.
"I doubt we'll be able to contact each other often," she said sadly, her thumb engaging his in a playful wrestling match. "You have a completely different life to adjust to, after all…" Kahoko sighed. "In any case, you'll come home eventually, won't you?"
He stole a glance at her face. She looked forlorn, as sad as she was when she believed she had to give up the violin.
"Missing me already?" he asked lightly, reading her mind.
She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Are you teasing me, Tsukimori Len?"
In reply, he took her hand and softly pressed his lips against it. "Maybe."
She smiled. At that precise moment, a gentle breeze blew her hair around her face, the cherry blossoms dancing around her like pink-colored snow falling from the sky.
He thought she never looked more beautiful.
"I want you to come with me," he told her, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Come with me to Vienna, Kahoko."
Her rich brown eyes widened.
"B-but," she said, not meeting his gaze.
"If we weren't so young I'd ask you to marry me right now," he admitted, his face turning a deep shade of red as he looked away. "But based on your reaction, I guess I'll have to wait for some time."
"No, that's not it, I-"
"Exactly two years from now," he continued, straightening up, his face still slightly flushed, "meet me at this bridge at one in the afternoon. On that day…I intend to propose to you."
"W-what?!"
He smiled faintly, seeing the dumbstruck look on her face.
"At this moment, I am incapable of giving you the life you deserve," he said, speaking so low he was almost whispering, "But in two years' time," he paused, his gaze full of meaning, "I promise I will come back. And there will be no need for us to be separated again…"
"Len…"
"Kahoko," he said firmly. "I'm giving you two years to decide if you want to spend the rest of your life with me. If you don't want to, you can always not show up-"
"Tsukimori!"
"But of course I wish you'd be there," he finished, still smiling.
Kahoko was still flustered.
"You've really gotten cockier, you know?" she told him. Then, much to his surprise, she punched his shoulder playfully. "I'll take you on, Tsukimori Len. But only on one condition."
"Which is?" he inquired, grasping the hand that rested on his shoulder.
"Don't play any violin duets until I'm good enough to play with you."
This took him by surprise.
"Yes, all right," he agreed. "I promise."
"Oh, and another thing-"
"Hm?"
"I know it's selfish of me to ask this much," she began, staring at her feet, "but can you promise not to fall in love with anyone in Vienna? I never thought I'd say this aloud, but," she inhaled deeply, blushing fiercely, "I can't stand the thought of you being with anyone else. I guess I want you all for myself," she added laughing.
Then suddenly, she sobered up. "Although I'll completely understand if you go out on dates with other girls. J-just try not to fall in love with any of them, okay?"
He stared, flustered as well. Then he held out his little finger.
"It's a promise then," he said.
It was her turn to stare, an unbelieving look on her face as she considered his outstretched pinky.
"What has gotten into you today-?"
"Just..!" he flushed deeper.
Seeing the expression on his face, she smiled happily and hooked her little finger with his.
"It's a promise."
"Tsukimori, you're spacing out."
He blinked and found Takishima staring at him, worried. It appeared the performance was over; Oribe had once again monopolized the microphone, and the volume of chatter was rising. Tsukimori couldn't believe he had let himself over-think.
"Sorry," he said, holding his hand up to his hair. "I was thinking of something."
Takishima frowned.
"That much was obvious," he stated. "Do you want another glass-?"
Too late. Tsukimori had already wiped out a glass of scotch that was on the table.
"What happened to drinking only red wine?!" Takishima exclaimed, truly alarmed now. "Oi, Tsukimori, listen to me. Tsukimori! Where are you going?"
He found himself on his feet, Takishima ogling him from the couch. Mechanically, his legs began to walk out of the room, past the worried faces of his friends.
"What's wrong with Len?" Hinata asked Takishima.
I'll tell you what's wrong with me, Tsukimori thought. I want to know why she stood me up. When she promised me she would be there-
"Oi, Tsukimori," he heard Sato call out. "Where are you going?"
I'm going to find her, and make her tell me the truth!
"Tsukimori," Oribe said, gripping his arm. "You're not drunk, are you?"
"No, Oribe, I'm not," Tsukimori assured him, completely aware that half the guests were now watching the scene he was making. "I just have to find someone …"
"There's no need," said a smooth, female voice. "I'm right here."
Startled, Tsukimori turned towards the voice, already knowing who it would be. Sure enough, there she stood at the doorway, in a little green dress and black heels.
"Erika-chan, hisashiburi!" Takishima called out, genuinely pleased. "So it was you who was tormenting Tsukimori the whole night. You sly old dog," he teased, ruffling his friend's hair.
"Erika-chan, how long have you been here?" Hinata said, approaching the newcomer. "You should have said something; we would have met you at the airport."
"I only got here last night, Aya-san," Erika replied, smiling. "I was planning to surprise everyone…"
"We're surprised, all right," Sato said, throwing an arm around the frozen Tsukimori. "Right, Ice Cube?"
"Come to think of it," Takishima said thoughtfully, as if struck by a sudden realization. "Tsukimori arrived this morning. He never said why he came back to Japan…"
"Don't tell me you came to follow Erika-chan?" Oribe cried, looking at Tsukimori with wide eyes. "This is more interesting than I thought!"
As their friends proceeded to tease and poke him, Tsukimori risked a glance at Erika. She had stopped smiling, but she was looking at him with a strange expression on her face.
"Have you fallen in love with me at last?" she asked softly, so he was the only one who would hear. Quickly, Tsukimori looked away.
He had never been one to lie.
A/N:
Gah! The cutesy-couple scene was a killer! If I had my way, I'd write pure comedy my whole life through. Sadly, the only things I can write are stories that pretend to be serious. And I can't even pull those off, wah. Writing Len is such a headache.
NB:
Nodame Cantabile fans will recognize Maradonna. I tried to remember the name of Chiaki and Nodame's school, but I couldn't, and I was too lazy to research via dial-up. Since Maradonna sounded official enough, I ended up using that instead. Oh, and yes, Ice Cube and Friends are a cheap rehash of the world-famous F4.
Next:
Chapter 5: Disaster at the Konbini
"Mou, Nami-chan," Mio complained loudly, unsteady on her feet. "The tissues are here; where are you going?"
Kahoko paled as her friends disappeared behind the noodle section.
"Will they be okay?" she whispered to Ryoutaro.
"I'm pretty sure they will be," he replied. "Do you want to buy something?"