@Kurosawa87: Lol it is an important event to get to know their past and possible future
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Here I am back again!! With another chapter!! It's long but it will give out a LOT of information that will help you discover where they stand and what they will do in the upcoming chapters! As always thank you for reading!
Chapter 16*Knock knock*“Riho-chan, may we come in?”
The young girl stopped her pencil work as she let her parents into the room. For the past couple of hours she has been rough sketching smiles. The idea does ignite in her a fiery passion but the results of each and every drawing lacks a certain something to actually satisfy her. Maybe this small interruption by her parents can put her hands to rest a bit before continuing on her work.
“There’s something we need to talk about Riho-chan.”
Seeing her parents take a seat on her bed with a serious tone worried Riho a bit so she decided to put her whole attention towards what they had to say.
“When you were at the hospital, the doctor advised us to take you to a psychologist for a bit.”
“A psychologist…? But…Why?”
“It’s nothing too serious, but the doctor wants to make sure you don’t have another accident like you did on the roof at school.”
Connecting the small dots of information her parents had given her, Riho could only come up with one conclusion as to why she had to go to a psychologist. If that wasn’t enough, the parent’s worried faces indicated that they did think something was horribly wrong with their daughter. Riho took a sharp intake of air before crossing her arms and glaring at her parents.
“I’m not crazy enough to want to jump from the school’s rooftop. That…I don’t even know how it happened… But I’ll tell you now; I’m not going.”
The young parents feared this answer from their daughter but they knew that forcing her would only make everyone’s mood sour for a long time. Instead, they chose to clarify a couple of their daughter’s thoughts. They would make the dots she previously connected in her mind; clearer.
“We know you wouldn’t just jump from the rooftop Riho-chan. But the fact that you have no idea how it happened worries us. So maybe with these visits you can find out what went wrong.”
It wasn’t a lie or a way to convince her to go to the psychologist. It was mostly something to get Riho’s mind to recognize that those flashes she’s been having lately weren’t normal and that it is best to get them checked out. She knew her parents were always honest with her but she was afraid of what she would find whilst visiting the psychologist. Her parents didn’t say another word after that and left her alone once again in her room.
‘I need to make a decision. Worrying won’t get me anywhere.’Risa sat alone on her apartment’s couch after taking a shower and she listened to the voice message Miki had left her telling her that she would borrow her baby grand piano for the funeral. She hadn’t been home in 3 days…the longest she’s been apart from Miki in a long time but this specific situation needed deep thinking.
‘It’s been five long years…Should I reveal myself and perform at your funeral Tsunku-san? Am I brave enough to do that…? She’s going to be there…Can I face her?’She stood up from the couch and went towards her dresser to look for a box where she stored some of her most precious treasures. After retrieving it, she sat on the bed and emptied its contents. Feeling around, she took a guitar pick that had the letters R.N engraved on one side and the ‘♂’ symbol on the other. That guitar pick was the first gift she had received when she was blinded 5 years ago and Miki was the one to read her the note that came attached to it. A simple message that changed her outlook on the future and helped her move forward, a message she still remembers to this day.
-Not many know the real reason you left. But remember; I never consider myself part of the ‘many’. Music is something you feel and hear so just because you have lost your eyesight doesn’t mean you have to give up on this beautiful talent you have. Create because you’re brave Niigaki-san: Never forget.’- She quickly changed her clothing and put the trusty guitar pick into her pocket before going out of the apartment. Risa couldn’t even believe she was about to miss her opportunity to finally give the man who changed her life his long overdue birthday present.
‘Tsunku-san…give me your strength.’Ai had already mingled around and started menial conversations with old music classmates that were reunited to play at the funeral. But still she was nervous since her vocals were one of the main for the event. And something sparked her curiosity even more; the piano didn’t have a player. Every student that had received a song list had a specific part to play and she had noticed that nobody was in charge of the piano.
‘Who is supposed to play the piano? Terada-sensei…? I remember her piano skills in theatre as she helped us with the musicals.’She walked towards the piano set in the center of the platform that served as a small stage. There, she saw a peculiar mark on it. The black baby grand piano glistened under the local’s light and its gold accentuates contrasted perfectly with the silver words engraved on the top part of the piano.
‘Music can give name to the unnamable and communicate the unknown. -Leonard Bernstein’But it wasn’t the words, or the fact that they were there. I was mostly the symbol at the beginning: ‘♂’. She went back and took her guitar and brought it close to the piano to compare both instruments. Her guitar was a gift by her deceased teacher and it had the complete opposite colors to the baby grand piano that stood in front of her. Her white falcon double cutaway guitar had a scripture in black after the same symbol, but hers reads:
‘Music is the language that allows me to communicate with the beyond. - Robert Schumann’“Takahashi-chan, we’re going to be starting now.”
The widow softly spoke to Ai and brought her out of her thoughts. She wasn’t going to focus on the owner of said piano at the moment but she had pretty clear idea as to who that person was. Still, they were given a specific time to come and play and if the woman in question hadn’t reached it must mean that she wouldn’t show up.
‘She won’t show up…I’m sure of it… Besides it was Fujimoto who brought in the piano.’*Crack!*Everyone’s attention was brought to the front door of the local as it creaked open and a female figure stood in the middle of it. The next seconds; the only sound you could hear was that of gasps followed by silent murmurs. Ai’s eyes widened after she recognized who it was at the door, and she couldn’t tear them away from the petite woman that at the moment held Fujimoto’s arm and slowly walked over towards the stage.
Risa wore a long white dress with a light green line on her waist and her soft curled long hair was held in a messy bun. Only light accessories adorned her figure but that didn’t matter at all since Ai was still glued on her face. She hadn’t changed at all in those five years they hadn’t met each other. The only difference was in the length of her hair, the regal elegance with which she carried herself, and unbeknownst to the other occupants in the room; her lack of vision.
“Please forgive my tardiness. But I’m ready to begin.”
Ai’s shocked gaze met Fujimoto’s and she quickly tore it away to concentrate on her guitar. Risa sat on the piano and cleared her throat before pressing the keys and birthing music right then and there. She knew the score and set list by heart so she just let her instinct take over as she played. A million thoughts ran in Ai’s mind but she wasn’t going to let it show so she began to play her guitar alongside Risa. Soon, the band accompanied them and Risa’s voice began to be heard over the speakers.
“I'll never forget you, wasurenai wa anata no koto. Zutto soba ni itai kedo, nee shikata nai no ne. Aa, nakidashisou…”
~Flashback~
“Well first years! Welcome to Tsunku-world! In here we’ll explore your talents and bring forward that musical nature that lies within you! But we won’t know where exactly it’s hiding within you so we have to look for it right?!”
Every single first year looked at the teacher as if he were speaking anything other than Japanese and their confused gazes brought giggles to the person sitting at the back of the classroom.
“Tsunku-san I think you lost them with that speech!”
The teacher laughed and beckoned for the girl to come to the front of the classroom and introduce herself. She had a short boyish cut and a small freckle adorned her nose. But it was her smile that had caught the attention of the other students. Niigaki Risa 3rd year student at Morning Esko, future plans: go to college and study music so she can compose songs for the one she loves and teach others about that art.
“What Tsunku-sensei means is that to understand your talent you must know who you are. And the best way to do so is by creating a song based on your deepest feelings.”
“Yes, and this will be your introductory project. You will choose everything in the song; music, lyrics…everything. But don’t worry; both Niigaki-san and I will help you along the way. This project will be the first quarter of your semester grade. While you create your piece we’ll study about music.”
That had caught their attention and raised the excitement levels of all the students in the room and they were already taking out their notebooks and writing lyrics for their project. Ai was tuning her guitar when suddenly Risa had approached her with a curious expression. When she noticed the other’s presence; Ai bowed her head and introduced herself.
“Nice to meet you Takahahsi-san. Say, it’s interesting that instead of going over lyrics for your song you went ahead and picked up your guitar.”
Ai cast her gaze downwards since she thought she was being scolded by her sempai but Risa just smiled and told her that it was fine if she liked doing it like that because every musician is different. The girl then stood and approached other students in the room but something fell out of her pocket. Ai tried to stop her but when she saw that it was fruitless she opened the piece of paper. Over it was a music staff with notes scribbled on there and a clear title that read: ‘Romantic Ukare Mode’. Said piece was then placed in her own pocket when she heard the teacher clear his throat and speak once again.
“This road to write your own song can be rocky at times but let’s have your sempai sing her first year composition so that you could get inspired by it. She titled it ‘Never Forget’.”
~End Flashback~“Kioku nante tanjun da ne, dakara kanashimi sae mo omoide da ne. Kitto mata aeru yo ne, kitto waraiaeru ne; kondo deau toki wa hitsuzen.”
Ai’s guitar solo had come up and the atmosphere at the funeral had changed to a familiar one surrounded by the music Tsunku loved so much. Then, every single student on the stage began to sing along Risa and the last part of the song conveyed every single person present’s feelings and it brought tearful smiles to them. There wasn’t a dry eye in the local as the song came to a close but it was Risa’s final words what officially opened the ceremony and made everyone understand the fact that he will always live in the music he loved.
“Tsunku-san. Arigato.”
Now, it was Ai’s turn and she expertly plucked her guitar. Said action caught Eri off guard since she had never once seen the woman play, even though she saw the guitar countless times in their closet, and it has been years since she had last heard her singing. Said happening was a bit more surprising than seeing Risa for the first time in five years and as Ai began to sing; the memories of the first time she had heard her do so came back into her mind.
~Flashback~
The first quarter of semester was coming to an end and everyone’s song was close to complete. Risa had overlooked almost all of the student’s work alongside Tsunku but it was one particular student who hadn’t asked for her help at all during the project. This new generation was greatly talented and the teacher was very proud of their individual projects.
So proud in fact that he spoke with his wife and the principal to get a spot at the school’s theatre and do a performance with all the songs. At said performance he, accompanied by Risa, his wife and some of his friends will grade the songs and performance.
“Ladies and gentlemen; now that we’re here there’s another surprise. Since this is a project for the music class I promised them a grade for the song. But actually I’ll give out another grade according to the performance and confidence in it.”
The crowd’s roar after his words was the cue to begin the set of performances. And when the first person came out, Eri jumped in her seat from the excitement. Ai came out with a microphone and a turtle teddy as the music began to play. It was a symbol for Eri to pay attention because that song was clearly dedicated to her.
A squeal came from the crowd as they thought about the lyrics and their cuteness. But not everyone was pleased. Risa sat up straight and held onto her seat so hard that her knuckles went white. Eri saw this clearly since she was sitting right behind the girl and the strange look the girl besides her gave her made her wonder about their relationship. But still her attention went back to Ai who was dancing and singing her own confession for Eri.
~End Flashback~After Ai finished singing her song, a couple of renditions from the Beatles came and went and the band then took a short break. When the break came, Risa was guided by Miki towards the front of the building.
“I…Risa…”
Risa caressed Miki’s face and smiled at her before nodding her head. The art teacher couldn’t believe her lover had already sung at the funeral and that she had chosen to attend. But she also knew that Risa wouldn’t miss this. They both knew that it’s been too long. She shouldn’t hide anymore. And with that thought in mind, both held hands and reentered the local.
“Miki-chan, can you tell me who’s here?”
“Many people… but Nakazawa, Iida, Terada, and Takahashi are here…”
Miki whispered to Risa who only nodded but as they kept walking further a tap on both their shoulders caught their attention.
“Niigaki-san…”
The tap on the shoulders came from the school’s principal who held a smile for both women. She knew that Risa would attend the funeral since it was a request from her favorite teacher and she was truly grateful and happy to see her once again. Both Miki and Risa bowed to the teacher yet the latter kept her gaze focused on the ground as she said her softly spoken
‘hello’.
“I see your music has gotten even better than before Niigaki. I just hope your history abilities went through the same change. It will certainly sadden you former history teacher if you still think China’s capital is
‘Chan Pon Chan’."
Nakazawa’s laugh and small joke lightened the mood and the women giggled at the mistake once made by a young Risa. Menial conversations were made about how long it has been since they’ve last seen each other but clearly they were still dancing around the elephant in the room.
“Niigaki, I know why you haven’t shown yourself these past 5 years. But as of now you will not keep your head lowered. It’s not what the crazy old man had wanted for you. So; head’s up Gaki!”
The high spirited words made Risa smile and she did as instructed by her former teacher. Her lover was unsure about the whole situation but a gentle squeeze on her hand calmed her down. Miki didn’t really know the exact reason Risa had wanted to be apart from everyone, but this scenario was quite nostalgic for the both of them.
“Ah! Takahashi! Have you greeted your former classmate and co-star?”
Both Risa and Miki flinched after Nakazawa had called for Ai but they held their composure as the woman in question approached them with Eri by her side. For a couple of seconds everyone went quiet and Ai’s gaze stuck to the floor as Eri’s searched Risa’s face.
“Good afternoon Takahashi-san. I would have half expected Tsunku-san to have chosen your first original piece: Romantic Ukare Mode.”
Ai flinched at the stress Risa had made on the word
‘original’ but she just nodded and asked Risa how she had been these past five years. Miki noticed the tense atmosphere surrounding them as well as the bitterness with which her lover had spoken about the first song Ai had made for her project.
Ever since that evening the girl had performed; Risa had always been guarded in front of her. She half expected said tension to diminish after so many years without meeting each other but she was quite wrong.
“Say, Niigaki-san; you studied music in college didn’t you?” Nakazawa, who seemed unfazed by the tension within the group, innocently asked Risa as she pounded her fist on her opened palm.
“Yes…piano and composition…why?” Risa didn’t know where her teacher was getting to but she had learned to never question Nakazawa and just answer. Well…that and to never talk about age, marriage, and those dreadful and unsuccessful ‘
omiai’.
“Well then, think about it. We are lacking a music teacher as of now and we all know just who would be perfect for that position. And not to sound desperate but Tsunku always talked about leaving his position to you if you ever wanted it.”
Risa turned serious once again and even without her vision she could sense everyone’s shocked expression as well as hear the silent sigh Miki gave. But nevertheless she did think about it for a second and the possibility of teaching music was a great opportunity to finally work doing what she loves instead of being a simple telephone assistance office lady.
“I’ll think about it Nakazawa-sensei.” It was a simple and ambiguous reply but Nakazawa knew that she would undoubtedly accept the offer.
Another set of instrumentals had ended right then and Risa asked Miki to take her back to the stage so that she could perform one last solo song for her teacher.
‘This is it. I’m sorry I couldn’t give it to you for your birthday but I won’t keep it for myself anymore.’Already sitting in front of the piano; every single person present turned their attention towards Risa and she softly spoke into the microphone the fact that this was a song she had promised him 5 years ago and that she had titled it:
‘Mikazuki’.
“Zutto issho ni ita futari de aruita ipponmichi. Futatsu ni wakarete betsubetsu no hou aruiteku.”
The sad tune echoed across the local and Risa immersed herself in her song and looked deep within her soul for the strength to get her message across.
This was the first time she played this song after she had written it and she never thought that it could apply so much to the actual situation.
“Samishisa de afureta kono mune kakaete. Imanimo nakidashi souna sora miagete. Anata wo omotta...”
Memories of the reason why she had actually written the song as well as memories of the incidents that led her to delay her gift for five long years brought tears to her eyes. But here she was finally singing it after she was given a great offer.
‘Tsunku-san…you put my name up there hoping that I would show up and play today didn’t you? You planned all of this so that I could inherit your job…’“Kimi ga inai yoru date: sou no more cry mou nakanaiyo. Ganbatte irukaranette, tsuyoku narukaranette. Kimi mo miteiru darou: kono kie souna mikaduki. Tsunagatte irukaranette, aishite irukaranette. Mikaduki ni te wo nobashita kimi ni todoke kono omoi.”
By the time the melody came to a close; Risa had a tearful smile on her face and a decision was made in her mind. She would make him proud and she would look for her eternal happiness in the beautiful world of music he loved so much. Her own crescent moon won’t be stuck at that state anymore; she will finally fill it up so it can shine brightly over the darkness she’s been shrouded in these past five years.
‘Thank you: Tsunku-san.’ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
There! Chapter 16! PS: Pay attention to the songs
oh and Risa did sing Mikazuki at a dinner show with Ai. It's one of my favorite renditions of the song
Topic: Another chance, Chapter 16 (august-12-2012) (Read 11889 times)