Sorry for the delay. I pounded out the top section of this chapter easily, but I really struggled with the performance half. Whenever I tried to visualize the performance section of this song, I couldn't get rid of the image of Nick Carter sending the camera a sultry, smoldering look. Kazuki Hihara is awesome and my favorite character in the whole franchise, but you just can't smolder while blushing like you're getting paid to do it; it just doesn't work. Ryoutaro can smolder; Azuma can smolder; Keiichi can stare at you in a way that gives the same end result as a smolder; Len could smolder if he took his usual "Get out of my way peasant" look and made a couple modifications; but Kazuki cannot smolder. So smoldering was not a helpful image for this song. (x_x)
I'm still not in love with what I've written, but after struggling with this for almost a month, I'm willing to accept what I've managed and move on with my life.
Winning 50% of the votes cast, here is Kazuki Hihara singing the Backstreet Boy's "All I Have to Give." I'm not especially crazy about the bridge section, so this is the radio edit. I guess it kind of works out that this is the version that was available on the Japanese release of the CD.
Because they do a fade out in the song, the ending will sound a smidge different. I listened to them doing it in concert on a few different occasions and tweaked it accordingly. So if you're wondering where those last lines are coming from, now you know.
I also didn't really like the associated dance, so no original choreography this time. I might take a few steps here and there, but for the most part, the choreography won't be the property of the Backstreet Boys and their affiliates.
And the Grammar Nazi in me changed the lyrics a little bit. I saw no reason to allow the English language to be butchered when the correct verb had the same number of syllables. XD
And now, without further ado, the Backstreet Boy's "All I Have to Give": youtube…com/watch?v=pj6FCKm8dhM
Kahoko started a bit when a hand waved in front of her face from above. Leaning back, she was greeted by Kazuki's cheerful smile. Grinning, she pulled her earbuds out. "Hello Hihara-senpai."
"Hi Kaho-chan," Kazuki beamed down before moving to sit on the bench beside her so she wouldn't strain her neck too much. "Whatcha listening to? A new piece for your violin lessons?"
"No actually," she blushed a little as she held up a Backstreet Boys' CD.
"You like boy band music Kaho-chan?" Kazuki asked in surprise. Now that he thought about it, he didn't really know what kind of music she liked outside of the classical realm, but it never occurred to him that anyone other than Amou-chan actually listened to that stuff.
"Umm…I guess, like a lot of other people, you could say I'm a recent convert."
"Oh?" he cocked his head to the side. He obviously didn't get what she was implying.
She hid a smile and explained, "After your guys' concert, you could say a bit of a boy band bug bit the school."
"Oh…I see." He scratched his head in embarrassment then suddenly looked at her in curiosity. "So then…does that mean that you liked the concert Kaho-chan?" At her surprised look, he quickly backtracked, misinterpreting her reaction. "I-I mean, you obviously didn't enjoy that one part," she turned bright pink, "b-b-but, umm, did you, uh, y'know, enjoy the rest of it?"
She smiled reassuringly at his entreating face. "I had a lot of fun watching you, Hihara-senpai." She grinned. "I thought you all looked really cool. It was like you were an actual professional boy band. If you guys had put out a CD, I would've bought it even if you weren't my friends."
"Ah, thanks," he flushed in pleasure. He beamed down at her. "I'm so glad you had fun."
"Did you have fun senpai?"
"Mmm…not at first. I was really nervous," he confessed. "I'd never done anything like that before. But as the concert progressed and the audience got into it, I kind of caught some of their enthusiasm and it became fun." He leaned back a little and stared thoughtfully at the sky. "I suppose when you think about it, at its core, it's not that different from performing with my trumpet. I was just using a different instrument."
"That's a good way to think of it," Kahoko agreed.
They sat for a little in comfortable silence before Kazuki turned back to her. "So, what song were you listening to Kaho-chan?"
She offered him an earbud. "Would you like to hear?"
"Sure," he accepted cheerfully and plugged it in. About thirty seconds in, he snapped. "Oh, I know this song. It's…what was it called…?" He scrunched up his face in concentration. "Oh yeah! 'All I Have to Give,' right?"
"You listen to boy band music too, senpai?" she asked in surprise.
He blushed bright red. "Not-not exactly. Since we were always singing those songs for the concert, they'd sometimes get stuck in my head. So when they were really stuck, I'd listen to them on the computer to help get them unstuck. And since associated songs would pop up, I'd end up hearing them," he explained. He shrugged a little as he admitted, "Some of the songs aren't bad."
"What's one that you like?"
"Mmm…" he brushed some hair out of his eyes as he thought about it, "one that I've heard recently that I thought was cool is called, 'Juliet.' Not sure why, but even though the group pronounces their name, 'Element,' they spell it, 'LMNT.'"
"I don't think I've heard of them. I'll have to look the song up later."
"Why not listen to it now?" He pulled out his cellphone and waved it at her with a wink. "I've got it right here."
"Are you sure you don't like boy bands, Hihara-senpai?" she teased. The martyred look he gave her was so childishly pouty it made her break into uncontrollable giggles that subsequently made him crack up as well.
"Only some of the songs," he reminded when he finally managed to catch his breath.
"Yes, yes," she nodded with a final giggle. As music poured out of his phone, she eagerly leaned in.
He flushed as he stared down at her, her face hovering not far from his. "So close! Her face is so close!" he panicked.
"This is so fun! I like how upbeat and straight-forward it is," she beamed up at him. Suddenly looking concerned, she leaned in even closer. "Are you feeling alright Hihara-senpai? Your face is kind of red."
As she reached to check his temperature, he jerked back at the contact, falling off the bench and onto the hard concrete. "Wah!"
"Senpai!" She peered down at him with worried eyes. "Are you okay?!"
With a nervous laugh and a furious blush, he rubbed his aching behind. "Y-yeah, I'm, umm, I'm fine. S-sorry about that. I must've eaten too much or something."
Shaking her head at him as she hid a smile, she waited for him to rejoin her on the bench. "You're so weird sometimes, senpai."
"Ahaha…" he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. Deciding a change in subject was in order, he gave her a curious look and asked, "So what's your favorite song?"
"Actually," she tapped the CD player, "this is one of my favorites."
"'All I Have to Give'? Really?" his eyebrows shot up. "Isn't it kind of sad because the guy is in love with a girl who has a bad boyfriend?"
"Mmm…I suppose that's true, but don't you think his love is very pure in a way?" His eyes widened a little as he listened to her talk. "He acknowledges that there are other people, like that boyfriend, who may be able to provide her with a comfortable life or be better for her in other ways, and he admits that compared to them, he has nothing of value to give her." She looked out at the blue sky absently. "All he has is the love in his heart. That's all he has to offer." She frowned a bit. "I've heard a lot of songs with this kind of love triangle going on, and in many of them, the guy is telling the girl how she's so much better than that other guy and how she deserves better and how that guy is no good and stuff like that."
Kazuki nodded, recalling a few songs like that.
She smiled when she saw that he was following. "What I like about this song is that he doesn't trash talk the other guy. He points out some examples of things that boyfriend does that aren't good, but at the heart, he's just telling her that if she needs him, he'll be there for her because he loves her. I mean, he does want her to leave that guy and be with him, but he's fairly non-pushy about it."
"Wow," he was really impressed, "you've really thought about this."
"I like to pick apart lyrics," she said with a slight shrug, downplaying his compliment despite the little thrill of pleasure.
"Hey, Kaho-chan."
"Hmm?"
His face was serious as his eyes intently studied her. "Do you want a guy like that?"
"What?!" she squeaked as red blazed across her face.
"Ah, sorry! That was too personal wasn't it?!" he backpedaled, his face aflame. "I-I shouldn't have asked." Standing before the situation got even more awkward, he made a beeline for the door. "I'll, uh, I'll catch you around, okay, Kaho-chan?" As he banged the door behind him, he slid down and held his head in his hands. "Stupid, stupid, stupid Kazuki! Why'd you have to go and ask something like that? Why don't you ever think things through before opening your mouth?!"
On the other side, Kahoko just stared at the door for a minute trying to comprehend what had just happened in the last five seconds. Eventually, she just shook her head a little and leaned back so she was looking up at the sky. She hadn't really minded his question that much even if it was kind of embarrassing. I mean it was sort of the next obvious thing to ask. She would have answered him if he hadn't taken off like there were rabid dogs snapping at his heels. Giggling a little at that mental image, she smiled and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Who wouldn't want to be loved like that?" she wondered aloud, unknowingly causing a pair of amber eyes to widen behind the door.
~ (^o^) ~
As the music changed, the five grooved around the stage, avoiding the stagehands in black who efficiently placed five mike stands in their proper positions and walked off.
Since there was only one soloist left, all eyes followed the tall trumpeter as he moseyed his way to the front. Like the first two, his outfit was on the casual side: white suit jacket over an untucked, solid-color slate blue hooded shirt with white jeans and sneakers.
Kazuki's eyes zoned in on his destination as he did a little spin. When he heard from Amou-chan that they were doing individual solos this time, he had known immediately what song he wanted to do. She had been understandably skeptical when he first asked if he could do this song instead of having her choose one for him, but in the end, he had won her over. While there were some sections that were very him, Kaho-chan didn't have a boyfriend, bad or otherwise, so it was a bit of an awkward fit. But the heartbeat of the song, those were his true feelings. As he arrived at his mark, he took a deep breath and hoped that she'd hear that.
Placing his microphone into its clip, Kazuki earnestly promised, "I don't know what he does to make you cry / But I'll be there to make you smile." His voice was endearingly honest as he admitted, "I don't have a fancy car / To get to you I'd walk a thousand miles."
Removing the mike again, he hung off of the stand as the others step-touched with low snaps. "I don't care if he buys you nice things / [Do] his gifts come from the heart?" he tapped his chest. "I don't know," he shook his head and swept a hand to his chest, "But if you were my girl." His eyes closed as he expressed one of the deepest wishes of his heart. "I'd make it so we'd never be apart"
He tossed his head up with an intense swish of hair. "But my love is all"
"I have to give," the others joined in as they leaned their stands in toward each other.
"Without you I don't"
"Think I can live"
His hand reached out. "I wish I could give the world to you"
"But love is all I have to give," they sang all together.
"Give..." Kazuki swung back to the mike stand. "When you talk"
"When you talk"
He fixed his eyes solemnly out into the audience. "Does it seem like he's not / Even listening to a word you say?" he tapped his ear. "That's okay, babe," his eyes were so kind and sympathetic, "just tell me your problems." He fought to keep his blush down to a minimum as he touched two fingers to his lips and blew a kiss out into the dark. "I'll try my best to kiss them all away"
Pushing aside with his left, he continued, "Does he leave?"
"Does he leave?" the others mimicked.
He grabbed the microphone with both hands, his eyes filled with righteous anger and frustration. "When you need him the most?" No one deserved to be treated that way. "[Do] his friends get all your time?" He fell to his knees and wished with all his might that someday he'd matter enough for her to notice him, "Baby please / I'm on my knees." The others fell behind him. "Praying for the"
"Day that you'll be mine," they all beseeched the audience.
Quickly standing, they dramatically swept out their arms. "But my love is / All I have to give." They all rocked together.
"Without you I don't"
"Think I can live"
Five left arms rose up.
"I wish I could give the world to you"
Side steps with swinging snaps. "But love is all I have to give"
Spin. "Oh, to you..."
"Hey girl," the other four called.
"Hey girl," he sobered as the thought of all the times sadness had dimmed the beautiful sparkle of her eyes, "I don't want you to cry no more inside." He brought a hand back to his chest. "All the money in the world"
The others shook their fingers. "Could never add up to"
"All the love I have inside," he declared loudly before sliding right back into the chorus. "But my love is all"
"I have to give"
His eyes were full of passion as he remembered how she had planned to give up the violin. "Without you I don't"
"Think I can live"
He wanted to be stronger for her. "I wish I could give the world to you"
"But love is all I have to give"
"It's all that I have…" he crooned underneath.
"But my love is / All," lean side-to-side, "I have to give"
Grabbing mike and stand, they leaned far to the left. "Without you I don't"
Whip up. "Think I can live"
"I wish I could give the world to you"
They bobbed. "But love is all I have to give"
Kazuki looked up from beneath his bangs. "Give…" tender sweetness flowed out from his voice as he thought of her smiling face, "To you…."
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and let it rip. "All…"
"I have to give," the others called beneath as they swung back with the stands.
"Without you I don't"
"Think I can live," they clutched their chests.
"Give my world to you, lady"
"But love is all I have to give"
His eyes searched for the girl who had taught him what it truly meant to deeply care for another person. "That's all I've got to give"
It was true. The gratitude in his heart was all he had to offer. "But my love is all"
"I have to give"
Behind him, the others pulled their stands to the right. "Without you I don't"
And yanked them back again. "Think I can live"
He pulled the mike close to his lips. "I wish I could give the world to you"
The other four smiled and swept their arms over to direct everyone's attention to Kazuki. "But love is all I have to give"
He dropped down on one knee, and with a mixture of tenderness and fear in his eyes, he reached for the girl who unknowingly held his heart. "To you…"
The lights blinked out.
And that's the last of the individual songs. Whew. Almost no audience involvement this time, but I think I'm okay with it. Since I had to keep juggling who was singing during the chorus, I decided that it might be better to just focus on the performers and not worry so much about how the audience was reacting to them. It was a little sad though. Usually I can have at least one nice chunk where I don't have to do any formatting at all, but for this song, no dice.
It very belatedly occurred to me (as in a couple weeks ago) that I could have added *NSync's "No Strings Attached" to Kazuki's poll. Not that I think it necessarily would've won, but just to add some more variety. I mean, "But if you want it here's my heart / No strings attached," is like the story of his life. XD Oh, well. The Backstreet Boys' "As Long As You Love Me" would have also worked. "I don't care / Who you are / Where you're from / What you did / As long as you love me." Plus that chair dance they did in the music video was pretty awesome. Of course, I come up with all these ideas after they're no longer useful. XD
Group number coming up next! I intend to have lots and lots of audience participation in that one, so hopefully it'll make up for them being pretty much nonexistent here.
I just realized that I've forgotten to say this, but thank you to everyone who's added this to their favorites and alerts, and extra thank yous to those who have reviewed!