Hey, it's been... a long while. I'm sorry.
I seem to be incapable of writing long chapters. I just get impatient... But don't worry, I've planned out the content of every chapter, so it should be okay.
This chapter has been heavily influenced by Kin iro no Chord... though it's been a long while since I've watched the series.
Warning(s): This is shounen ai/yaoi. If there are any problems people have with this, go find something else to read. Also, just so you all know, I like classical music, and there will be many references to classical music and composers (without spoiling plot too much) in this story. You don't like, bear with it. Still don't like, I will politely tell you now, go find something else to read. Rated M for language, as for lemons, oi, I said this was my first time writing shounen ai/yaoi, so no. Although, depending on how stuff goes and whether or not people like it, it may happen... it does occur in my plot notes, but not sure about how much I will touch on that.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or settings from Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi, they all belong to Nakamura Shungiku. Obviously.
Chapter 5:
It was Yuu's first day out since, well, forever. Actually, only two weeks, but after that encounter with the Chiaki-look-a-like, he had been slightly paranoid that the world was out to get him. It had been the same routine—he'd get up after a few hours of sleep, drag himself to work, come back at midnight, and stay up until the wee hours of the morning for no particular reason. Finally the sensei he had been working with persuaded him to take the day off after he nearly removed his finger cutting toner. He had been completely at loss for what he would do with his day off, but being submerged in the crowds of Tokyo did something to a person. It was just as lonely, but the feeling drowned out certain unwanted voices in your head.
He walked past a young couple. The two were cute together—the girl was a delicate-looking thing, and as she gestured to her boyfriend, Yuu saw the suspicious glares she directed at the other women around, however the guy's adoring smile ensured the safety of her position. If only she realized it… Yuu turned his head and watched his reflection in the clothing store window frown. It disappeared as he turned the corner, and then returned two shades darker across the advertisement for women's cosmetics. He tried smiling, but the space of a smaller side street absorbed the attempt. There were less people here, and Yuu quickly ducked under an awning as he tried to make a decision; he could either continue drifting among the faceless people out window shopping on a Saturday or actually wake up and start actively distracting himself. Making a decision proved too difficult, and a rough elbow to the gut from a passerby knocked him into the side street.
Yuu picked himself up off the ground and slowly looked around. A mostly empty café waited by a bored highschooler stood between a hairdresser salon filled with old ladies and a tiny music store with a display crowded with instruments. Tear-filled indigo eyes flashed across his memory, and Yuu determinedly headed for the music store. As he reached the foot of the steps, the door swung open and a figure holding a large stack of sheet music tumbled down the stairs right into Yuu.
With oomph, he hit the ground, and for the second time in less than a minute, he was elbowed roughly in the gut as the owner of the sheet music landed heavily on top of him. Grunting, Yuu turned his head and blearily opened one eye—only to find himself staring into the very eyes that had haunted him since the day of the competition.
They weren't tearful this time, just wide with shock and confusion, but Yuu still found himself unable to look away. Chiaki… no, he reminded himself once more, this wasn't his mangaka, this was just a stranger that he kept bumping into. But even then, Yuu couldn't look away.
The honking of a car horn pulled Yuu and the owner of the indigo eyes back to reality. With a blink and a mumbled "sorry," the other guy hastily scrambled up and began gathering his scattered music, and after a few more seconds, Yuu joined him.
"Here, are you alright?" Yuu asked as politely and kindly as one could in such a situation.
Without turning his head, the other man nodded his head and took the offered sheets.
Rude, thought Yuu, and he was about to open his mouth and say so when the wind from a passing car blew the guy's hair away from his face. With a slight smirk, Yuu shut his mouth, for Tamura-san's cheeks were almost the same shade as a tomato. Cute. And without looking up, Tamura-san bowed quickly in Yuu's direction and practically ran off in the opposite direction.
"Be careful on your way back!" Yuu called after the retreating figure, still smiling. Really cute.
Bells tinkered sweetly as Yuu cautiously pushed open the door to the music store. The first thing he registered was that it was bigger than he had originally thought, for the crowded shelves he saw from the window obscured a larger room from view. Slowly, Yuu entered inside, gazing in wonder at all of the instruments hanging off of the walls. Violins meant for all sizes hung off a rack attached to the ceiling, and every sort of instrument you could think of was crammed into the surrounding shelves. Trumpets, clarinets, ukuleles... he even saw what looked like a kazoo. As he headed around the corner into the larger room, what he saw made him gasp. The ceiling here was much higher, and every wall was lined with shelves full of sheet music. But that wasn't what made caught his gaze. No, Yuu stared down the neat rows of upright pianos to a slightly raised platform with the largest grand piano he had ever seen in his life. It gleamed in the light filtering in from a small window, and Yuu found himself remembering Tamura-san's performance in Tokyo performance hall.
"She's a beauty isn't she?" An old man quietly spoke from beside Yuu. Startled, he turned to look and found himself staring at the same old man from the audience two weeks ago.
He continued without looking at Yuu. "She's a concert grand, a D, and the most glorious instrument ever to have graced these walls. Has the sweetest high notes, but what's really special is that lower register. So rich and colorful…" Here he sighed. "It's a pity that she's ended up here. There's almost no one who understands how that price tag can't cover even half of her worth."
He finally turned. "What business brings you here? Do you play?"
Yuu was caught off guard. Why was he here anyway? He knew next to nothing about classical music. In fact, until that day two weeks ago, he couldn't even think about it without feeling sleepy. When he saw the store from outside, he'd been curious. What he'd seen in that concert hall made him wonder about that other world Tamura-san had taken them all to. Though he doubted that some tiny, dusty music store could take him there, he wanted to enter that vast space Tamura-san's music had taken him to again.
"I don't play, but I was wondering where I could find a copy of "La Tristesse" to listen to?"
"Chopin?" Here the old man's white eyebrows went up. "Young people these days normally don't take the time to appreciate real music anymore. Did you have an artist in mind?"
Again Yuu didn't know what to say. This wasn't his world at all. His world was with the rush of deadlines and release dates. What was he doing here? "Ah… no, nevermind. Haha, sorry. I, uh, guess I should go…"
The old man smiled. "New to this? It's alright if you don't know. Classical music is overwhelming—it's got hundreds of years behind it after all. I've got someone in mind for you. Wait here." And with that he disappeared behind a shelf.
Yuu sighed to himself in relief. He didn't really want to admit it, but that old man's behavior during most of the contestant's performances had scared him.
"This one. There's more on this than just "La Tristesse, but we can listen to it if you'd like." He offered a CD to Yuu.
Yuu awkwardly laughed. "It's alright, I'll trust your judgment on this. Could you ring it up for me?"
As he waited by the cash register, Yuu noticed a poster up advertising some sort of charity performance. The fifteenth… Saturday… Tamura Akio. Tamura? He must have made some sort of noise then, for the old man laughed.
"That brat is really something. He's been a regular at the shop for years… ever since he was in high school. I'd let him play on the pianos in the back, though never on the grand. I used to tell him that he could only touch her when he was worthy of it… it used to make him so mad." He chuckled here. "But I'll tell you, he's getting closer and closer to it. Music is a lonely life. You have to be strong enough to bear that loneliness, and that brat is one of the toughest kids I know… and the most pigheaded" he added as an afterthought.
As if remembering Yuu, the old man gathered his composure. "If you can, you should go see him play."
Yuu smiled. "I think I will… thanks for your help."
"Nothing to it. Glad I could help. Make sure you come again sometime, you might just catch him practicing in the back... he was here earlier today."
Nodding, Yuu picked up his CD. The fifteenth was it?
Maybe he would go.
Thanks for reading :)
Please review! Hopefully chapter six will come relatively soon.