Chapter Five:
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Sora groaned, rubbing her temples. "I'm never drinking again." She and Leon sat on a pair of barstools in the townhouse's kitchen. Marie and Jacques left an hour before to attend to business. The couple would be back in a few hours, but not before the acrobatic partners needed to leave for the airport.
"It's a bad idea on an empty stomach," Leon said. He held out his hands, his left with a couple of Advil and his right a full glass of water. "Take the medicine and drink the water. You'll feel better in a short while."
Sora snatched the headache medicine and swallowed them. Then she greedily gulped down the water. "Thanks," she said with a faint smile. She set aside the empty glass and held her hands out with her fingers extended towards Leon. Her fingernails were a vibrant lavender color, as were her toenails. "At least my manicure and pedicure look good, don't you think?"
"I especially like the color," Leon said.
Her cheeks burned with a blush. Sora hoped it wasn't too obvious that she chose light purple — the color of Leon's eyes. "Marie said that she and Jacques will choreograph a dance for us. We just need to pick out three songs for them to montage together. They'll record themselves dancing it and send it to us."
"Excellent," Leon said. "We can video conference with the Beaucamp's while we're in Japan. Learn any intricacies that might be hard to identify in the video."
"Japan is fourteen hours ahead of Montreal," Sora pointed out.
"We can always wake up early," Leon suggested.
"Or stay up late," Sora said with a smirk. "When do we need to leave for the airport?"
"We'll need to walk to the bus station," Leon said. He glanced up at the digital clock on the microwave. "That will take about fifteen minutes and then it's a forty minute ride to the airport. So, we'll leave in an hour."
"I'm all packed. Maybe we should just leave now," Sora suggested. Now that her headache was abating, she suddenly felt nervous sitting in the empty house alone with Leon.
Leon held our his hand. "Dance with me?"
"To what song?" Sora placed her hand in his.
"I'll sing one of my favorites. It's a famous song in France called L'été indien." Leon started humming a catchy rhythm, perfect for a slow dance and Sora followed his lead.
Then, he began to sing.
"On ira où tu voudras, quand tu voudras
Et l'on s'aimera encore, lorsque l'amour sera mort
Toute la vie sera pareille à ce matin
Aux couleurs de l'été indien."
Sora had no idea what Leon was saying, but it was definitely romantic, and he had an excellent singing voice. Leon's attention was intensely focused on her and it felt as if the lyrics were some sort of secret message.
Leon ended the song with a dip, supporting Sora's weight in his strong arms. His silvery hair fell in a curtain around them. Her heart hammered in her chest. The dance wasn't physically exerting, but something about the emotion Leon put into the words of the song excited her.
"Wow, you can really sing! What's it about? This L'été indien?" Sora asked.
Leon settled Sora back on her feet. "It's about falling in love during an Indian Summer in America," he explained.
Sora's heart continued to pound rapidly. Leon sang to her about falling in love in America? Did he mean anything by it, or was it just a song?
She wasn't a complete fool and sometimes there were moments when she thought she caught Leon looking at her strangely. She stepped away from the warmth of his arms and busied herself taking the discarded glass and taking it to the kitchen sink to wash. "What's an Indian Summer?"
"It's an autumn with summer-like weather." He reached up and gathered his long hair, pulling it from over shoulders to hang straight behind his back as usual. "Well, not in L.A., but in other parts where the seasons change."
"Like in Montreal?" Sora asked. She looked at Leon over her shoulder. Marie had told stories about the rapid change in weather in Canada. The weather was wonderful in the summer and for about two weeks in the autumn. Then a long winter would settle in and without proper winter attire it was a harsh and deadly environment.
"Yes, like Montreal," Leon agreed, his tone matter of fact. "I'll gather our things and we'll start for the bus station. We might as well get to the airport early."
As she watched him walk away, Sora couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment that the dance and serenade were over. However, her and Leon's adventure was really just beginning.
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There were no delays and their flight to J.F.K. airport landed promptly mid-afternoon. Leon ordered them a taxi to their hotel on Times Square, which was only a short walk away from Broadway. Sora's eyes widened as she tried to absorb the sheer size of New York City. It reminded her of Tokyo with the crowds of people, but the buildings in downtown soared into the sky.
"I always thought Layla preferred nature to something like this," Sora said quietly. She was anxious to see her old mentor, but knew it would be another day before they could meet.
"After spending a few months here, I imagine an escape to nature is something anyone would desperately need," Leon said. He stretched his arm across the back of the taxi's seat, casually laying it over Sora's shoulders. He gestured with his free hand towards a particularly tall building. "That's the Empire State Building."
Sora snuggled against Leon, his warmth helped ease her discomfort at the sheer size of the metropolis. "In Tokyo, we have parks everywhere."
"Oh, there's a park here," Leon assured her. "I'll take you there after we check in. It's a bit of a walk, but after so much time sitting around at the airport and on the plane I think we could both us a good stretch of our legs."
Their hotel had a billboard in front of it advertising for a production of Madame Butterfly. The show's first performance was the next evening, but great expenses were taken to publicize. Sora took one of the complimentary chocolate chip cookies at the reception desk. While Leon spoke with the receptionist, Sora's eyes wandered around the the lobby. Potted plants were in every corner, leather furniture filled the center, and a giant aquarium took up an entire wall.
"They, um, didn't have anymore doubles. You don't mind sharing a queen bed again, do you?" Leon asked.
Sora turned back towards him and smiled. "It doesn't bother me. I'm the one with the cold feet."
Leon flashed her a smile. "It's almost amusing to wake up with a couple of ice cubes rubbing against my bare calf." He confirmed their room with the receptionist and Sora ambled over towards the aquarium.
She was surprised to see that koi fish were the inhabitants of the giant tank. She counted eight of them. They ranged in colors from gold, white, orange, black, and blue. They weren't as big as the koi in the ponds outside of the temples where she grew up, but they were just as pretty.
"We're on the sixteenth floor," Leon said, standing behind her. "Are those koi?"
Sora nodded. "I've never seen them in an aquarium before."
"This is New York. I'm sure, before we leave, we'll have seen a great many unusual things here," he said. "Let's go."
Sora followed him to the elevator. Once inside, she bit into the warm, gooey cookie and hummed her approval.
"Good?" Leon asked, punching in the button for their floor.
Sora held her cookie out to him. "You want a bite?"
Leon shook his head. "No, thanks. I prefer to be more selective about my food."
"It's really delicious," she said, in a sing-song voice. "You know you want to try it. We're in New York City! You can live a little!"
With a resigned sigh, Leon leaned forward and took a bite out of the proffered cookie. He hummed his own approval as he chewed the warm, sugary goodness.
Their room was spacious. A queen sized bed dominated the center of the room, a chest of drawers and armoire were on either side of it, a desk was near the wall-length window, and a chaise lounge chair was in the corner. Sora entered the bathroom to wash her hands and was impressed by the duel sinks and massive shower. The amount of space astounded her and she worried how much Leon paid for the room on short notice.
"Shall we go explore the Big Apple?" Leon asked, standing in the doorway to the bathroom, watching her in the mirror.
"Leon," Sora said, turning towards him. "This room, it looks expensive. Are you sure you can afford this?"
"The ICF championship paid very well," he said with a shrug. "Besides, I plan to freeload off your family for the next several weeks in Japan."
Sora chuckled. "All right, let's go and see this big park you mentioned."
"Central Park," Leon corrected.
They walked briskly down the streets of Manhattan while the summer sun shown warmly upon them. Musicians lined the streets, as did people in giant costumes as beloved video game and cartoon characters — Mario, Pikachu, Elmo, and Hello Kitty.
"Oh, we have to take a picture with Hello Kitty!" Sora squealed, tugging on Leon's arm.
He frowned down at her. "Why? It's not really a giant cat. It's probably some smelly, overweight person, sweltering inside that ridiculous suit."
"Even more reason! The poor guy is probably miserable in that costume! Besides, Yumi would love to see a picture of us with Hello Kitty. She's really big in Japan."
"Are we doing this for your baby sister, or for you?" Leon asked with an arched eyebrow.
Sora scratched the back of her head and smiled awkwardly. "Well, I kinda really like Hello Kitty too," she admitted.
With an exacerbated sigh, Leon agreed. He took Sora's hand and led her through the throng of people to the Hello Kitty costumed person. "May we take a picture?"
Hello Kitty nodded at them. Leon waved down a set of parents with a pig-tailed toddler who looked like she wanted a picture with Hello Kitty as well. "Would you like me to take a picture with you and Hello Kitty? And then you can take a picture for my friend and me?" he asked them.
"Yes, that would be great," the mother said with a relieved smile. The father handed Leon his expensive Canon EOS Rebel digital camera. His eyes widened at the sight of it.
"Let me," Sora said, taking the five-hundred dollar camera from him. She waited for the family to pose around Hello Kitty and then took a couple of pictures of them. The little girl kept repeating "cheese" and looked so cute! The father dropped a five dollar bill into the bucket at Hello Kitty's feet.
Leon handed his phone over to the father and opened the camera app. "You just push the button at the bottom," he started to explain.
"I know, young man. Pose with your girlfriend and I'll take a good picture," the father promised.
Sora and Leon posed with Hello Kitty, standing on either side of character. Sora held her hands up in peace signs and smiled happily while Leon stood stiffly with a faint smile of amusement. He dropped a bill into the collection bucket and while Sora took his phone and looked at the picture.
"It's perfect!" She thanked the father and the actor before looping her arm through Leon's and dragging him along with her, while still staring at the photo on his phone's screen.
"Sora," Leon said, clearing his throat and planting his feet.
"Yes?"
"Central Park is the other direction," he said, pointing behind them.
Sora smiled sheepishly. "I must have gotten turned around."
The park was a beautiful, massive chunk of nature plopped right into the middle of the steel and concrete of the city. Leon led them towards a horse and carriage and spoke with the driver about a tour of the park.
"I've never been on a horse before," Sora admitted nervously.
"You're not riding bareback," Leon promised. "You'll just sit in the carriage with me as we look around Central Park."
She glanced at the prices printed on the side of the carriage and frowned. "I don't know. It's kind of pricey."
"It's something I always have wanted to do — take a horse drawn carriage through Central Park. Please, share in this experience with me," Leon said. He gripped the side of the carriage while the driver rubbed his horse affectionately behind down the neck. "Otherwise, I'll have to leave you standing here while I see Central Park from this luxurious carriage."
Sora's mouth gaped at him. "You would leave me behind?"
"Of course not, I'm just trying to show you how ridiculous you're being," Leon said with a smile. He reached down and gripped her waist, picked her up and set her in the carriage swiftly before she could protest. He climbed in beside her and laid his arm across her shoulders again. "Now, we'll relax enjoy the scenery."
The shade of the park and brisk breezes helped cool them off from the summer heat. They rode the carriage for a half-hour before getting out and walking towards a playground. There were fliers posted about a martial arts showcase scheduled the next day on Coney Island.
"We should check this out," Sora said, pointing out the flier.
"Sure. I was planning for us to visit Coney Island tomorrow anyway," he said.
"Oh! Let's go swing!" Sora rushed towards a pair of unoccupied swings.
"I'll push," Leon offered.
"There's another swing," Sora said. "I'd rather you sit beside me and swing as well."
Leon looked at the swing skeptically before he settled onto it. He tested the tension in the chains. "It seems stable enough."
"Do you see the guy on the monkey bars?" Sora asked. She pointed at the far end of the playground. A man with short blond hair was doing acrobatic tricks on the monkey bars, flipping around and then balancing on top of the equipment doing handstands.
Leon abruptly stood from the swing.
"What's wrong?" Sora stuck her feet into the ground to stop her momentum.
"I think I recognize that acrobat." He looked down at her and forced a smile. "You continue swinging, I'll be right back."
Sora pushed off the ground again and started to swing once more, her attention focused on Leon and the blond man. She saw Leon speak with him and then the blond looked towards her. She recognized him too!
At the zenith of her next swing, Sora released her grip from the chain and flipped out of the swing, landing gently on the balls of her feet. She took off at a run towards Leon and her former partner for the ICF competition.
"Impressive landing!" Yuri shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth.
Sora did a mock bow when she reached them the men. "I aim to entertain."
"Did you see the fliers?" Yuri asked. He held his arms out for Sora and she rushed in to hug him.
"For the martial arts showcase tomorrow?" Sora asked, stepping out of his embrace and catching the flash of annoyance that quickly vanished off Leon's face.
"Yeah," Yuri said. "I'm trying to convince Layla to go. It starts at ten in the morning, so there's no reason she can't check it out and still have plenty of time to prepare for the evening performance."
"Do you know what kind of martial arts?" Sora asked. "The flier didn't specify."
"The website is more helpful. It's a group from Japan. The top four in their respective martial arts schools will be there," Yuri explained.
"How do they determine the top four?" Leon asked.
"Tournament," Sora answered. "It doesn't mean they're the best, just the best that competed. The true masters are generally much older and don't do tournaments anymore. They're more interested teaching."
"You seem to know a lot about it," Yuri commented.
"I should. I was in Karate until I was sixteen," Sora said with a grin. She performed a basic kata. "Where do you think my flexibility and acrobatic skills came from? We don't have circus schools back in Japan."
"So, I suppose, we'll see you there," Leon said. "We should head back, Sora."
"Have you eaten yet?" Yuri asked. "There's a really good pizza place I know. You haven't properly experienced New York City unless you visit a pizzeria!"
"That sounds great!" Sora agreed. "And we can go to the martial arts showcase together!"
"Well, yeah!" Yuri exclaimed, a smug look when he glanced over at Leon. The blond really enjoyed egging on his rival at any opportunity. "Knowing that you're the martial arts expert, we'll need you to critique what's going on!" He started to lead them out of the park for the promised restaurant.
Sora reached for Leon's hand. "Let's go try some pizza pie!"
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A/N: *L'été indien is a song by Joe Dassin
Also, I'm happy to announce that shotgunhero is now my beta on this story!