Reaching for the Stars
Part III, Chapter 5
'Hey, hey, hey…" I warned as Ryuji Takasu got on my bike, "Are you absolutely sure you want to ride on my bike?"
"Why not?" Ryuji asked, "Your bike's practically a two-seater and Yuusaku's isn't."
"Well… why don't you ride with Kushieda-san?" I suggested as I released the bike brake, "She's got a two-seater too, you know… and her bike isn't kept together by duct-tape and haphazard welding…"
In a normal situation, a sane man would probably have made a choice that prioritized his safety after all. However, we weren't exactly in a normal situation.
"But… you can't share a bike with a girl…" Ryuji said shyly, "I mean, wouldn't that be awkward?"
True… true. Minori probably wouldn't find it weird, being the weirdo-slash-tomboy that she was. The mere thought of it though just knocked the living daylights out of Ryuji here. It reminded me of that time my friend Francis had to share a bike with my sister Ritsu back in the day. She didn't mind at all, but Francis was flabbergasted to say the least… Sheesh, us guys need to get a hold of ourselves... these girls are humiliating us out there!
"Hurry up you two." Yuusaku said as he and Minori stopped their bikes in front of us, "The music store won't be open all day, you know."
"Almost ready…" I said, strapping my things onto the bike, "There. Let's go."
With that, the four of us headed off to downtown Ohashi. Today was the day Minori Kushieda was going to pick out her bass guitar and everyone was more than happy to help out. If I remembered correctly, wasn't it only supposed to be me and Minori heading out today? Earlier today, Yuusaku and Ryuji found out about it and were eager to tag along. Since they had nothing else to do, they figured they might as well come along with us. How nice of them… but did they really know anything about bass guitars? I'm guessing they're just there to hang out… but the more the merrier right? I mean Ritsu never really helped Mio-senpai out when she was picking her bass – it's probably the same concept here.
"So, is Yamanaka-sensei really going to help me out too?" Minori asked as the three of us pedaled in formation.
"Yeah." I said, "She's a music teacher after all – she'd happily help her students with anything vaguely related to music."
"But ain't picking a bass guitar a little out of her league?" Minori asked, "I mean, she's a classical music teacher after all… but I do get the feeling classical ain't the only thing she likes…, know what I'm saying?"
Somehow, that all made sense to me. A month of exposure to Kusheida-radiation and I was already able to decipher a good deal of her mentality… at the expense of adopting some of it as my own.
Kusheida-radiation aside though, Minori is usually an excellent judge of character but she was way off this time. Picking out a bass guitar wasn't out of Sawa-chan's league. In fact it was her league and she was a professional. She may have been on the punk extreme end of the spectrum, but she was a professional nonetheless. Minori didn't know that, and it was probably better to keep it that way for now. I had a promise with Sawa-chan after all, sealed in rock n' roll – keep her identity secret and she'll keep mine as well. Tis' a fair deal.
Halfway to our destination, my reluctant passenger then tapped my back and called my attention.
"Hey Satoshi. D'ya mind if you go a little slower?"
"Eh?" I asked, slowing down a little bit, "What's up? Something you want to talk about?"
"I've been meaning to ask you something lately dude…" he confirmed, his hesitation growing exponentially as he made sure we were out of earshot of our companions, "What'cha think of Minori?"
What did I think of Minori? Hah! Hey dude, don't get me started on Minori – I'd spend a whole day talking about her. She was, without a doubt, the strangest and most eccentric person I knew aside from Yui-senpai. Everything she says and does amazes me, but that's not necessarily a good thing now, is it? Spend a whole day with her in her full-throttle mode and it'll be a sight to behold. However,
"She's a cool girl." I said honestly, "Sure, she's crazy, but she's one hell of a friend. You'll probably need to take a course on her lingo to understand her completely, but that's just her, you know?"
"I see…" Ryuji said, probably thinking the same thing. "Then…"
"Then?" I prodded, wondering why he was fidgeting so much
"Do you like her?"
Whoa, what? Me, liking Minori? Heck no! As pretty as she was, I wouldn't be able to stay sane with someone like her as my other half. It's like asking me if I wanted to go out with Yui-senpai or something… though I wouldn't have minded dating Ui if I had the chance*… but, meh. Asking me something like that was like asking me if I wanted to risk attending Freudian psychiatry sessions for the rest of my life.
"She's just a friend." I replied plainly, "I know we're together all the time, but hey, she's fun to be with. That's all."
"Oh, okay." Ryuji replied, a tinge of relief evident in his voice
"Why'd you ask?" I asked, "You wouldn't happen to like her now, would you?"
My bike companion then fell silent. I got him hook line and sinker. He then gulped and admitted that he did like Minori. No wonder why he was so eager to know I didn't plan on dating her.
"Well, you'll have to impress her then." I said laughing, "You'll have a pretty good chance today dude – picking out her first instrument is a big thing after all."
"Right." Ryuji said in an understanding voice, "Thanks man."
"No problem."
Ryuji was determined, I could tell that much. Exactly why he was so worked up however still escapes me. Imagining the two of them as a couple was a little strange – Ryuji was the silent type and Minori was the uber-enthusiastic one. However, I'm not exactly the best judge of character… I don't exactly have this 'Minori-radar' Minori says she has after all. Shrugging, I just pedaled on to catch up with the rest and eventually reached the music store. Parking our bikes in the nearby bike park, the four of us marched into the store to be greeted by a familiar figure.
"Oh, you guys are finally here." The figure said with a smile. It was Sawako Yamanaka, our new music teacher.
"Yamanaka-sensei!" Minori greeted happily, "Thanks for coming over to help me out. I'm totally new to this stuff, you see."
"No worries, no worries." Sawako reassured, "Picking out your first instrument can be a tough ordeal after all. Since you're going to be my student, I might as well help out."
She then turned to the rest of us and asked that same question she had asked me earlier that day,
"Would you happen to be planning to form a band?" She said intrigued, "One, two, three, four… that's enough members."
"I don't think so." Yuusaku denied calmly, "We're all still amateurs after all – we don't really have much experience playing instruments, let alone performing live. Except for Satoshi, that is – he's a seasoned drummer."
"Hey… don't put me to the spotlight, man…" I groaned
"But that's the fun thing about it, isn't it?" Sawako said, "When one first starts a band, of course everyone there will amateur - you're starting out from the ground up after all! That's why it'll start out as an amateur band. Forming a band from scratch... It's about the thrill of getting better and better and performing to test your limits… to see how far you can go… to see how different you can be… to see how you can stamp your name on the music scene without selling your soul to the record companies! That's what it's about!"
The impassioned teacher's speech reciprocated only silence from us four, making her realize her punk side was showing. She was just about to turn a pep talk into a punk rant against the major recording labels after all and the oppression of indie bands… I guess it'll take a lot of work to keep that side of her hidden…
"But enough about that, ahehe." Sawako said, giving a dry laugh to cover herself up, "We're here to pick out a bass for Miss Kushieda here, right?"
Luckily for her, Yuusaku and Ryuji were willing enough to buy her feint. The four of us nodded and she sighed in relief. We all then walked to the center of the shop where electric guitars hung from the walls in neat rows and columns.
"This is amazing…" Ryuji said, unable to believe the number of guitars in display all around him, "are those even guitars?"
Seems he didn't even know what they were…
"Of course these are guitars Mr. Takasu." Sawako said, picking up a Fender Telecaster, "These are electric guitars. You're probably only familiar with the acoustic ones."
"Perhaps…" Ryuji said, "but aren't they supposed to have holes? How will those things make sound?"
"They can still make sound too." Sawako said, strumming on the guitar, "But if you want to make it clearer, you plug it to an amplifier."
"Oh…" Ryuji said, slowly understanding the concept of the instrument
"But these are electric guitars," Sawako added, "we're looking for electric bass guitars today for Miss Kushieda."
"Yup." Minori said with a warm smile, "Like this one over here!"
The girl then picked up the first bass that caught her eye; a Gibson Thunderbird.
"The Gibson Thunderbird…" Sawako noted fondly as Minori put it on, "That's a work of art right there miss, and it's fairly inexpensive too."
"Precisely!" Minori said cheerfully, "It looked pretty and had a pretty price tag!"
She then turned to Ryuji to show him what she had been looking for.
"Here Takasu-kun!" She said, "This is a bass guitar."
"Whoa!" Ryuji exclaimed in disbelief, "That guitar only has four strings! Aren't they supposed to have six?"
Heh, this guy truly was an amateur. Well… everyone here but Sawa-chan was an amateur after all.
"Nope!" Minori said shaking her head, "Basses are really like this."
She then played a simple tune for him, but it only made him more confused than before.
"It's got a different sound from a guitar." Ryuji said. Clearly, he wasn't getting it. "It sounds lower and deeper, sorta..."
"Think of it this way, dude." I explained, "The bass is more or less the supporter of the band. They provide the bassline along with the drums that keeps the other musicians in track."
"Ah, I see…" Ryuji said, finally getting the hang of it.
"Here, why don't you see for yourself." Sawako said, handing Ryuji the Telecaster, "Do you know how to play the guitar?"
"Sorta…" Ryuji said as he put it on, "Just the acoustic though… my dad… uh… used to play, you see. It's a long story."
Ryuji's dad? If I remembered correctly, I never once saw Ryuji's dad in my whole stay here in Ohashi. It was only Yasuko and Ryuji living in the quaint Takasu residence after all, but they also never mentioned him either. It was probably because I never asked…
"Okay, here goes." Ryuji said, fretting a major chord and strumming the electric guitar like an acoustic. He played a classical tune, the chorus of an old Spanish love song and everyone watched him with intrigue. His fingers weren't very agile and often unintentionally muted a string or too, but this was probably since he doesn't really play much in recent time. However his fingers knew the chords and his hand knew how to strum at the strings. He wasn't a stranger to the guitar.
"Kushieda-san," Yuusaku said, "your turn. Follow him."
"Right." Minori said with a smile. Recognizing the pattern Ryuji was playing, she played along and followed his rhythm. Before long, those four bars of classical music had become an entrancing melody – they were in sync. The song ended soon enough and Minori faced everyone with a determined face.
"I've decided – I'm getting this bass."
"What about you Mr. Takasu?" Sawako asked Ryuji, pointing to the Telecaster hanging over his shoulder, "Are you getting this one too?"
"I dunno…" Ryuji said, "I don't exactly have money to spend on these kinds of things."
"Ah, that's a shame." Sawako said shaking her head, "You've got the chops of a guitarist, young man. When you played, I saw a hidden passion just waiting to be seen… like a ghost wanting to be revealed..."
"Uwah~!" Minori suddenly gasped, covering her ears, "GHOST? WHERE?"
Sawa-chan… that was a terrible simile to use in front of Minori… Aside from her eccentricity and energy, she was quite the fraidy-cat when it came to the occult. Sawako and Ryuji were aghast by Minori's panic attack and Yuusaku and I, her friends who knew about this, were quick to get on damage control.
"Never mind that. Ahehe." Sawako said, scratching her face. We calmed Minori down eventually and she paid for the bass. She also added an amplifier, a cord and a guitar case and she was ready to go.
"50,000 kinsu!" Minori cried passionately as she slammed her brown salary envelope onto the checkout counter, "The Mysterious Files of Labor have brought me victory today! WAHAHAHA~!"
As much as Ryuji and Sawako were curious about the files, they decided not to ask about it today. Minori got her bass and she was happy – that was enough to satisfy them for now. Minori then turned to Ryuji and said,
"Don't be afraid to show what you're good at. If you really like doing something, then do it! If you just keep things to yourself, it'll never grow."
"Right. Thanks."
Everyone then went on their separate way and I found myself giving Ryuji a ride home again. All throughout the trip, he was silent and didn't say a word as if he was contemplating something. I decided not to delve into it too much - it was none of my business after all. If he wanted to tell me about it, then he would. I should let this one slide.
We then reached the rent house after a while. He thanked me then headed straight for their apartment. Ryuji locked the door behind him then got into his room. He put his things neatly aside then went before the his sliding closet in his room. He slid it open and rifled through the many things he had kept there - the poetry he had dedicated to Minori, the mix tapes he had made in the past and a lot of other things he had accumulated throughout the years. Then, in the deep, dark corner of the closet, he found it - an old acoustic guitar in poor condition. All the strings were rusty, threads struck out from the strings and quite a few of the strings themselves were broken. This was his father's guitar, a testament to the one time Ryuji ever saw his father.
"Mom used to tell me stories about you, dad." Ryuji said to the guitar as he picked it up, "She would always go on about how cool you were and how high up you were in the Yakuza… She told me this because you were never around. I hated you."
The young man's grip on the fretboard tightened, but loosened as he took a deep breath,
"Then there was that one time I saw you… pinstripe coat and tie, fedora, Cuban cigar, the smell of high quality alcohol, and those eyes… those damn eyes I inherited from you. I felt ashamed to have you as a father… but then, you showed me this. You knew I was pissed off at you, so you didn't say a word to me. You just played that guitar… that Spanish tune that is still with me today… You left your guitar here and you taught me how to play. Then, the next day, you were killed… found floating in the Sea of Japan, with those damn magazines under your coat mom always talked about. I knew they weren't enough to protect you from stabbing, but… at that point, it wasn't funny for either of us. However…"
Ryuji said as he bit his lip,
"Now… I guess I have to thank you. Dad. This is the one thing I inherited from you that I can truly appreciate… the one facet of you that reminded me you weren't a heartless Yakuza drone, but a human being. Only now do I realize it… Thank you. If only you were alive... I might have acted differently, but it's too late for that. Rest in peace."
Ryuji then sighed.
"I should get new strings."
To Be Continued
Author's Notes: Here is a big thanks to all my readers - whether you be a follower of Time Out! Substitution or Reaching for the Stars (or Red Dawn - c'mon, someone out there has probably read it all XD). Writing for you has been truly wonderful and I look forward to finishing all these stories for you all! Thank you very much!
though I wouldn't have minded dating Ui if I had the chance* - reference to my other work 'Time Out! Substitution!' and the upcoming sequel 'Full Court Press!'