Yes! I managed to make it within the three-day mark!
So apparently you can associate more than two characters with a story now. But it doesn't work. (T_T) At first I thought I had hit the jackpot because it seemed like the perfect solution for how to make this story and "Just a Little Holiday Blackmail" searchable. But unfortunately, I discovered that you can only add up to four characters. So I added everyone but Keiichi to "Just a Little Holiday Blackmail," but only the last two characters (which happened to be Len and Ryoutaro) are searchable and show up underneath the summary. It lies! (T_T)
Ok, moving on.
First up on our roster, we have Ryoutaro Tsuchiura singing (by a 50% majority in the polls) "I'll Never Break Your Heart" by the Backstreet Boys: youtube…com/watch?v=br9RLAhVKvY. I'd have given you the link to the music video, but their clothes are a little outlandish. XD Haha, Nick's electric blue pants. XD
I sort of have a choreography video: youtube…com/watch?v=_m5vH8jAyTs. It's footage from their concert in Japan. I only used it a little bit though.
"Hah…" Ryoutaro sighed as he walked home at dusk. It had been a long day.
"Tsuchiura-kun?"
He looked up in surprise to meet a pair of pale gold eyes. "Hino?" He smiled. "What're you doing here? Isn't your house on the other side of the school?"
"Oh," she brushed a strand of cherry red behind her ear, "since finals are coming up next month, Mio, Nao, and I decided to start a study group. All of us have different things that we need help with," she grinned, "and it's more fun this way."
"Do you actually get any studying done?" he teased.
"Yes, yes," she giggled. "We actually study." Looking at him curiously, she asked, "Do you live around here?"
"Ah, yeah," he pointed, "about three blocks that way."
"That's not far from Nao's house." She placed a finger thoughtfully on her chin. "I wonder why you two have never run into each other before."
"I have soccer both before and after school."
"Ah, that's true. Sounds tough."
He shrugged. "You get used to it."
"Are you coming back from soccer practice now?"
He turned bright pink. He'd come back from practice all right, but it wasn't soccer.
"Oh!" she smiled teasingly at him. "It looks like I've stumbled across something good."
"Shut up," he muttered, but it was good-natured.
"But if it wasn't soccer, what were you doing?" she wondered aloud, her eyes dancing with mischief. "Perhaps…you were dancing?"
He was slightly taken aback. "Who told you?"
"Eh?" she looked startled. "You're doing another concert?"
His face took on a martyred look. "Yeah…on White Day."
"Oh," she gave an apologetic grimace. "Sorry! It was supposed to be a joke. I never expected to actually be right."
He shrugged. "You would've found out sooner or later. It's no big."
Kahoko really looked sorry. "I suppose, but still…." An awkward silence hung in the air. "I guess I'd better get home. I'll see you at school Tsuchiura-kun."
"Wait," he glanced up at the flickering street lamps, "I'll walk you back."
"Oh no!" she protested. "You've already walked all the way here, and you must be tired."
"It's fine," he waved away her protests. "It's not safe to go wandering around on your own at night."
"It's really fine," she insisted. "The streets are well-lit."
"It'd make me feel better."
She sighed, but felt grateful inside. "In that case, thank you."
As they walked, they kept up a moderate stream of conversation, talking about school and other things. But when Ryoutaro offered to accompany for her for an upcoming recital, she suddenly went quiet.
"Tsuchiura-kun…you're a saver, aren't you?"
"Huh?" His left eyebrow winged up. "I don't know about that. I don't have a stamp collection or anything."
She shook her head. "No, not like that; I mean people." All she got in return was a blank look. She just smiled mysteriously and looked ahead of her. "You rescue people, like me." She blushed a little and turned her eyes away from his surprised look. "Ever since that time on the stairs when you saved me from falling, you've been helping me. Throughout the whole competition, you've always been friendly, concerned about me, and sometimes your anger was just what I needed to snap me out of a slump." Her eyes were warm and full of gratitude. "I think I did my best to go as far as I did in the competition because you were there for me."
He stopped and stared at her in astonishment.
"Ah," she blushed, "sorry, I'm babbling."
"Uh, no, it's fine…" he furrowed his brow and forced his feet to continue moving, "but…what brought this on?"
Her eyes went pensive with a touch of sadness around the corners. "I think…I'm feeling a little nostalgic or something. With Tsukimori-kun leaving for Vienna and Yunoki-senpai and Hihara-senpai graduating, it feels like I'm losing half of the important people who were with me throughout the competition…and…I want to let everyone know how grateful I am to them for all they've done for me before it's too late."
"Hino…." He reached out to her.
But before he could do or say anything, she smiled and chirped, "Looks like we're here."
He was a bit startled. Where had all the time gone? He didn't generally space out like that. Not being aware of his surroundings was characteristic of Shimizu or Hihara-senpai. He internally made a face. He hoped that part of their personalities wasn't rubbing off on him.
She smiled up at him. "Thank you again for walking me home…and thank you for listening. I'll see you at school!" she waved as she walked away.
For a minute, he just stood there before shaking his head and heading back with a little smile. "Hino…I should be the one thanking you."
~ (^o^) ~
Unusually, the lights cued to silence, slowly illuminating a lone figure standing near the back of the stage. For a beat or two, all the eyes in the room took him in. At a towering 181 centimeters, Ryoutaro cut an imposing figure in his white suit jacket and matching low-rise jeans. An unbuttoned, pale aqua shirt spilled over his hips and paired with a charcoal black undershirt showed off a teasing amount of chest that raised the blood pressure of every red-blooded female in the audience. Finishing off the casually sexy outfit were a forest green woven belt and a turquoise pendant on a black band. Hearts rabbited in many a girl's chest as he slowly began to move in time with the music with the grace and power of a panther.
"Baby," his low, smooth voice caressed the words, sending shivers down the spine, "I know you're hurting, and right now you feel like you could never love again." Breaths caught as he sent his eyes searching in the dark for a pair of gold. "Now all I ask is for a chance to prove that I love you."
He smiled softly as he thought of the first time he had seen her. She had been falling like an angel in a flurry of paper. She had a habit of that: randomly appearing out of nowhere. He always wondered where she'd turn up next.
From the first day
That I saw your smiling face
Honey, I knew that we would be
Together forever
He couldn't say he had felt that exactly, but he had felt a connection. And it had only gotten stronger as the competition wore on.
"Ooh when I asked you out." Right, he had to get on that. Someday. When the time was right. "You said no but I found out / Darling that you'd been hurt." His eyes turned sympathetic. "You felt that you'd never love again." For some reason, she seemed to not think much of herself. He wished he knew why so he could dispel that garbage.
He swept a hand to his chest. "I deserve a try honey just once." He smiled confidently as he pledged, "Give me a chance and I'll prove this all wrong."
The other four slowly made their way onstage from the wings as he continued to sing, "You walked in, you were so quick to judge / But honey he's nothing like me."
They all joined together, gesturing and gazing out into the audience with soft looks on their faces as they swore, "I'll never break your heart / I'll never make you cry." Their eyes turned intense. "I'd rather die than live without you / I'll give you all of me / Honey, that's no lie"
Every girl's heart sighed at the romance.
I'll never break your heart
I'll never make you cry
I'd rather die than live without you
I'll give you all of me
Honey, that's no lie
He thought back on their competition days. "As time goes," she had unobtrusively pushed open the door he had shut firmly all those years ago,"By you will get to know me / A little more better," and the light had poured in. "Girl that's the way love goes." The music came back. "Baby, baby." He had forgotten how good it felt.
His eyes turned tender, and hearts fell at his feet. "And I"
"I," the others echoed as they swept their arms in.
"Know you're afraid"
"Know you're afraid"
The one who had been afraid was him.
"To let your feelings show"
"Feelings show"
No matter how deeply the jilt had cut, he couldn't give up music entirely. But he had shut it away, hidden it and trapped it in a cage of past bitterness.
"And I understand / Girl, it's time to let go"
And she had helped him set it free.
As they swayed behind him, the other four continued, "Girl, it's time to let go because."
"I deserve a try honey / Just once," they briefly came together.
Ryoutaro sang for the girl who had given him back himself. "Give me a chance and I'll prove this all wrong"
"Wrong you walked"
His eyes were steady and solemn. "You walked in, you were so quick to judge"
"Quick to judge"
The other four moved forward to flank him as they stated together, "But honey he's nothing like me / Darling why can't you see?"
Step touch.
I'll never break your heart
I'll never make you cry
I'd rather die than live without you
I'll give you all of me
Honey, that's no lie
The audience swayed in time with them.
I'll never break your heart
I'll never make you cry
I'd rather die than live without you
I'll give you all of me
Honey, that's no lie
As he geared up for his last solo of the song, he promised, "I'll never break your heart."
The others answered into their microphones, "No way."
How could he? "No way, girl"
"No how"
Thanks to her, he could face himself. "Make you cry"
"I…" they other boys sang underneath him as he called out, "Oh I, oh I, I swear."
Once again, there was nothing more enjoyable to him than playing piano. "Baby, I swear"
"No way"
"I could do that"
"No how"
"Cause I know I'll…"
And that was why this song was for her.
Coming together, they slid in boxes. "I'll never break your heart." Their hands lifted to their eyes. "I'll never make you cry." Abrupt side turn. "I'd rather die," other side, "than live without you." Face forward with snaps. "I'll give you all of me / Honey, that's no lie"
Again.
I'll never break your heart
I'll never make you cry
I'd rather die than live without you
I'll give you all of me
Honey, that's no lie
Their voices slowly faded until Ryoutaro was the only one left.
I'll never break your heart
I'll never make you cry
I'd rather die than live without you
I'll give you all of me
Honey, that's no lie
For some reason, whenever I think of Ryoutaro and Kahoko, the word friends blazes itself across my mind in big, bold letters. So hopefully this ended up more romantic than friendly. (^_^)
While I am not a Ryoutaro hater by any stretch of the imagination, I'm not really his fan either. But! I have to admit that imagining him in those clothes saying that opening bit of this song left me quite the fangirling mess. Anybody else with me? (^_~)