Categories > Anime/Manga > Gravitation > Butterfly Boy
Author's Notes (A/N) at the end of the chapter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Butterfly Boy
Track Two: Hatching
Excerpts from ‘Sparkle and Shine: the True Story of a Rock God’ by Yuki Eiri
“Everyone always said that he had the voice of an angel, but it was the teen with the face of one that convinced him to do more than just sing to himself or to Kumagorou, his pink plushie rabbit.”
Yuki Eiri
~~*
“ “Messenger boy,” “the short kid,” “the messy-haired lonely kid,” “the kid with the pink bunny,” “the shy boy,” “the slow boy,” he was known by these names and worse while he was in school.
Only one person outside of his home knew that he was more than those names. Only one other knew that he actually was more than “just another future high school dropout,” as our music teacher used to refer to him. And that one had the belief that “the small, shy teen that hid behind his bookbag” would one day emerge from the egg he was in into the butterfly boy that is now worshipped by millions.
I was that one.”
Seguchi Tohma, President of N-G Productions, lead keyboardist for Nittle Grasper, and Sakuma Ryuichi’s oldest friend
~~*
After that first time in the Seguchi’s music room, Tohma would often invite Ryuichi over to tutor, talk and sometimes just to hang out together, even though Ryuichi still avoided going into Tohma’s bedroom, instead choosing to do schoolwork in the kitchen,.
And just as often, after they had each done their respective assignments, the pair would adjourn to the said-same music room.
Realizing that his much smaller friend didn’t know many of the classical songs that he was fond of playing, the platinum-haired boy began at first to obtain the lyrics to the songs they listened to on a classical music station on the family's stereo, but Tohma quickly realized that doing so was unnecessary. For after hearing a song once, the mossy-haired teen would pick up the lyrics on his own merely by listening. Having so quickly memorized a song, Ryuichi would sing along while Tohma would sit on the piano bench and listen, enraptured as the small but highly talented boy and the voices coming from the radio echoed throughout the sunny, brightly lit music room.
At first, when he sang, Ryuichi would stand as still as a tree, his arms at his side as if afraid to move. But as the pair watched music videos, the shy teen would sit close to the large TV set in the living room and carefully watch the movements of the Japanese, American and British artists that often sang and danced their way across the screen.
A few weeks after the immersion into music videos, Ryuichi began to move as he sang, his lithe body easily mirroring the various dance moves that he had learned from the hours of watching, while Tohma played the songs on the ebony grand piano in the music room. And as he did, the transformation the shy boy was undergoing would bring a proud smile to the face of the blond.
The egg that had been Sakuma Ryuichi hatched during summer break.
~~~~*
As the pair grew closer as friends, as well as due to his blossoming feelings of love, Ryuichi’s formerly shy self became more confident as he went about delivering messages when school resumed.
It was the teachers that first noticed how the adolescent no longer bashfully curled into himself whenever he carried their messages back and forth, how he stood taller, even though he was still the smallest boy in both buildings. He still took his bookbag with him everywhere, but instead of hiding behind it when spoken to; he began to carry it at his side like the other students did, and sometimes spoke back to the teachers when spoken to, his voice quiet but confident.
Soon the students too began to notice that the mossy-haired teen seemed to carry himself as if he had more self-confidence. He still only spoke to Tohma instead of to them, but he did speak, which was a dramatic change from the silent boy they were all used to.
Every day while eating lunch together, Ryuichi and Tohma would sit away from everyone else and consume their meal, speaking in low tones to each other. When spoken to by any of the other students, Tohma always did the talking for the pair while Ryuichi, still somewhat shy despite the transformation he was undergoing, hid behind his much larger friend to peek out and watch the goings-on.
One early August afternoon, Ryuichi was delivering a message from the secretary to one of the math teachers after classes had ended for the day. As the mossy-haired teen walked, he happily swung the arm holding his ever-present bookbag that hid Kumagorou, his plushie friend, for the shy teen knew that at the front gate underneath a shady tree that sheltered him from the intense summer sun waited his new best friend, his keyboardist…his tenshi, Seguchi Tohma.
As he approached the teachers’ lounge, he heard their radio playing an American song…and not just any song, but his favorite rock group’s song, his most favorite song in the world, the self-same one that the golden boy had played for him on the ebony piano earlier that summer. The olive-haired lad couldn’t help himself, he began to hum along with Freddie Mercury’s silvery voice, and before he realized it, the lyrics to ‘A Kind of Magic’ once again burst forth from his tiny body. Closing his eyes, he stood outside of the lounge’s door and sang as if his life depended on it.
The eight teachers inside at first wondered where the extraordinary voice that they were privileged enough to hear was coming from, so most of them sat, captivated in their seats and listened to the serenade.
However, Shiozu-sensei the music teacher managed to emerge from his stupor to rapidly seek out the owner of the voice that not only matched the voice on the radio, but also was able to harmonize with it perfectly, as it did during the choruses. Quietly as to not startle the owner, he opened the door and peeked out into the hallway to see the “slow boy,” that was the school’s messenger belting out the song, his eyes closed, his bookbag in one hand and the message to be delivered in the other. The music teacher’s jaw dropped while the other teachers, also curious, snuck up behind Shiozu to also witness who it was with the heavenly voice as the song wound down and ended.
The smallest boy in both school buildings opened his eyes to realize that he now had an audience of eight teachers staring at him as if he had suddenly grown a second head.
Blushing furiously, he handed the nearly forgotten message to the math teacher, bowed low and quickly turned around to leave, at first walking quickly, then running as if the hounds of hell were chasing him.
And as the teachers’ eyes followed the shy boy as he made his way down the hallway, the music teacher realized that he just might have been wrong about the “slow boy,” that he had previously written off as a ‘nobody going nowhere fast.’
~~~~*
The next morning, a message was sent to Ryuichi (for a change) when he and Tohma passed through the school’s doorway to go to their respective classes. Puzzled, the mossy-haired boy refused to answer to the music room, where the message told him to go. Instead, he choose to head straight to his classroom. Tohma tried to tell him that he had done nothing wrong, for of course the tiny boy had explained to him what had happened when he appeared for the long, hot walk home the day previously, red-faced and out of breath.
So while attendance was being taken, Ryuichi sat in his assigned seat, hid his face behind his long bangs and stared at the desktop, only moving to raise his hand like always when his name was called.
The classroom door opened as the last name was read and Shiozu-sensei, the cocky music teacher walked in through the door; striding over to speak with the homeroom teacher as if he owned the classroom. Whispering between themselves, the homeroom teacher nodded as he called Ryuichi up to the front of the class, the other students whispering to themselves about the boy being in a “world of trouble.”
Having tuned out the other student’s chatter like he normally did, the olive-haired teen was startled when he heard his name called a second time that morning. Not used to hearing himself called more than once a day, Ryuichi quickly looked up; his face blanching as he realized that the one who had called his name was one of the teachers who had heard him sing the day previously.
Feeling as if he was heading to the gallows, Ryuichi slowly picked up his bookbag and stood at his desk as the homeroom teacher directed him to follow Shiozu-sensei out of the room. The arrogant man walked toward the door and through it as if he expected the boy to automatically follow him. Yet, when the music teacher turned around in the hallway to speak to the teen, he realized that he was still alone. Peering back inside of the classroom, he noticed the small teen still stood by his desk as if afraid to move, the other students as well as the homeroom teacher staring at him.
Shiozu-sense realized for the first time in his seven year teaching career and his previous career as lead guitarist in the popular local band Hell’s Bells that his arrogance wasn’t going to work on this shy boy. So after taking a deep breath and counting to ten, he called out gently to Ryuichi, who looked up at him with a terrified look in his eyes. Not having paid much attention to the “future high school dropout” before, the music teacher was briefly surprised to see Ryuichi’s startlingly deep blue eyes, which he had always assumed to be brown since they were normally hidden behind the teen’s long olive-colored bangs whenever he spoke to the boy.
“Come Sakuma-kun, we haven’t got all day,” the music teacher said in a quiet voice as the rest of the classroom waited to see if he would follow. Ryuichi stood, took a deep breath and blew it out, taking first one tentative step, and then another toward the front of the classroom. Walking as if he was made of wood, he followed Shiozu-sensei out of the room and down various hallways to the music room. The music teacher, not having a class so early in the morning, led the frightened boy into the room and instructed him to wait by the well-worn baby grand piano, which he did.
Taking a seat, Shiozu-sensei waggled his fingers and began to play popular and well-known choir songs while Ryuichi stood, silent. After playing for 20 solid minutes and waiting for the boy to begin to sing, he stopped playing and glared at the teen. Taking a deep breath, the music teacher sighed and again mentally counted to ten before he asked, “Why won’t you sing for me, Sakuma-kun? I heard you yesterday. I know you can.”
Still silent, Ryuichi hung his head and mumbled as he drew up his bookbag to his chest.
Shiozu-sensei amazingly kept his famous temper and mentally counted to twenty before he asked the small boy to repeat what he had earlier said.
“I only sing for Seguchi-sempai,” he repeated in a quiet voice.
“But you sang yesterday,” the hot-headed teacher said as he raised his voice to remind them both, causing Ryuichi to curl further around his bookbag.
“That…was because that’s my favorite song,” Ryuichi explained.
Shiozu-sense thought for a moment before he ordered the teen to “Wait here,” while he strode out of the classroom. Returning a short time later, he was followed by Tohma, who wore a confused look upon his face, only realizing what was going on when he spotted the quiet boy standing by the piano.
“Seguchi-kun, you will play his favorite song and Sakuma-kun, you will sing,” the teacher ordered the pair.
“I’m sorry Shiozu-sensei. I can play, but sing he will not do,” the blond said, gazing at his friend who had hid behind his bangs and looked like he was about to faint.
“And why not, Seguchi-kun,” Shiozu-sensei exclaimed, finally beginning to lose his temper.
“Because Sakuma-san sings when he’s in a good mood. And right now, he seems to be far from that,” Tohma explained as he watched Ryuichi, who appeared startled at the mention of his name by the taller teen.
Gritting his teeth, Shiozu-sensei mentally counted to thirty before speaking.
“And what, pray tell, must I do in order to get him to sing, Seguchi-kun?” the music teacher asked in a tight voice.
Tohma gazed at his friend, no…his best friend for a long moment before answering. “Well, he likes ice cream…” he started as a mischievous glint flashed in his turquoise eyes for the briefest of instances. “Of course, he won’t eat any unless I have some too…”
Ryuichi stood stock still as if he was incapable of movement.
Shiozu-sensei stared at the pair, first at the beautiful and popular golden boy, then at the shy and introverted mossy-haired one before he gave a deep and very audible sigh.
“Fine. I will see to it that you both receive ice cream cones…AFTER he sings,” he replied.
“I’m afraid that won’t do, Shiozu-sensei. You see, I can tell that he’s not up to it at the moment, and thus will not sing until he is in a much better mood. And I know for a fact that right now, he is too nervous and embarrassed to even open his mouth, much less sing,” Tohma calmly elucidated.
Shiozu-sensei growled, huffed, and then left the room, slamming the colorfully decorated door. “I will be right back…and he DAMN well better sing when I return!” the boys heard through the door as he stormed away towards the cafeteria.
At the slamming of the door, Ryuichi fell to his knees like a marionette whose strings had been cut as Tohma gasped.
“I fervently suggest that you sing for Shiozu-sensei, Ryuichi-san. Or I fear what he may do next. His temper is legendary,” the blond told Ryuichi as he hurried over to the piano and sat cross-legged next to the frightened teen.
“I…I will sing…if you play piano for me Seguchi-senpai. I will sing for no one else, not even Shiozu-sensei,” Ryuichi whispered as he gazed deep into Tohma’s turquoise eyes. The older teen smiled and patted Ryuichi on the shoulder at that heartfelt statement.
“Just do your best, Sakuma-san. You don’t have to join any music clubs or anything if you don’t want to. I think he just wants to…mentally confirm something, that’s all,” the beautiful teen replied by way of explanation.
As a way to thank Tohma for his kindness, not to mention his love for the gorgeous older boy, in a bold move, the bashful teen placed his head upon the taller one’s shoulder. The platinum-haired boy, in response, slowly placed an arm around his best friend’s shoulders, and that’s how Shiozu-sensei found the pair when he returned with two ice cream cones as well as a few napkins.
Handing one cone and some napkins first to Ryuichi, then to Tohma, the teacher sat in one of the many audience chairs facing the piano and waited. Ryuichi glanced first at Tohma, next to the teacher as he sat patiently and finally to the cone before a shy smile graced his face and he began to lick at the melting concoction. The blond echoed the smile as he and Ryuichi locked eyes and began to eat his own cone.
Soon both cones were no more and with one glance into Ryuichi’s eyes, Tohma knew that there would be no more problems. The intensely radiant sparkle that he had seen only once before in the teen’s sapphire-blue eyes had returned.
Standing elegantly, the tall, pale boy glided over to the piano bench and took a seat. He wiggled his fingers to briefly warm them up before he began to play 'Moonlight Sonata,' as Ryuichi picked himself up from the floor and carefully placed the ever-present bookbag on the piano, close by. Closing his eyes, he waited as Tohma played, his mind clearing of the fear and the embarrassment as the soothing power of music flowed through his veins.
When Tohma’s delicate fingers began to play ‘Sara,' by the band Fleetwood Mac, Ryuichi took in a deep breath and began to sing the melodic rock song. Once again Shiozu-sensei was enraptured as the small teen’s perfectly pitched voice made its way to his trained ears, for he recognized the American tune as it had often played on the teachers’ lounge radio.
Tohma moved from the end of one song into the next, the duo serenading the teacher with ‘What A Fool Believes’ by The Doobie Brothers. Because both boys had their eyes closed and their backs to the door, neither one realized that they had been discovered, for a classmate had walked by and peeked in through the door’s window into the room on her way to the bathroom before running back to her classroom and quietly beckoned her fellow students to join her. And as they silently made their way to the door of the music room, they too were caught up in the magic that was Sakuma and Seguchi.
The short-tempered teacher recognized the next song the twosome played from hot, sweaty, alcohol-filled, passionate nights spent on the floor of local dance clubs; surrounded by others of the same ilk as the smallest boy in both school buildings belted out ‘Bad Girls’ by Donna Sommer before the platinum-haired lad’s talented fingers moved into Queen's ‘Don’t Stop Me Now,’ a true hard rock song. After that first time in the Seguchi's sun-filled music room, Tohma had acquired a recorded tape of the musical group Queen's songs, the little teen’s favorite band and had taught himself to play them on the family’s ebony grand piano. And as many a true fan has done, Ryuichi had memorized the tunes and often sang along while the older teen played.
Tohma at last played Queen's ‘A Kind of Magic,’ the favorite song of the tiny vocalist that Shiozu-san had first requested, watching as Ryuichi began to use some of the break dance moves that he had learned from hours and hours of watching and studying music videos in front of the Seguchi television. Flowing as if boneless, he jumped, spun, danced and moved, his mind concentrating, his closed electric blue eyes not seeing the audience of other students while he performed, ending the mini-concert by doing a split.
The spectators, their group having grown by leaps and bounds to number 50 plus, broke into thunderous applause, whistling and clapping as they practically fell into the room to congratulate the pair. Ryuichi blushed and ran to cower next to Tohma, grabbing his precious bookbag as he hid behind the blond while the students made their way over to shower the boys with their admiration.
Shiozu-sensei sat, dumbstruck with the idea that this minuscule boy that he had thought would amount to nothing and have a nowhere life would not only prove him wrong, but surpass him.
~~~~~~~~*
Tsuzuku
(To Be Continued)
~~~~~~~~*
A/N:
Japanese/explanations in this track:
*Sensei - title used when speaking of or to members of certain professions (lawyer, teacher, doctor, etc)
Songs mentioned in this track:
*'Sara’ by Fleetwood Mac http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttOBnmXFDtQ
*'What a Fool Believes’ by The Doobie Brothers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDWGKQcQ8zw
*‘Bad Girls’ by Donna Summer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA0NkYi3Y5U
*‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM
*‘A Kind of Magic’ by Queen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p_1QSUsbsM
~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Butterfly Boy
Track Two: Hatching
Excerpts from ‘Sparkle and Shine: the True Story of a Rock God’ by Yuki Eiri
“Everyone always said that he had the voice of an angel, but it was the teen with the face of one that convinced him to do more than just sing to himself or to Kumagorou, his pink plushie rabbit.”
Yuki Eiri
~~*
“ “Messenger boy,” “the short kid,” “the messy-haired lonely kid,” “the kid with the pink bunny,” “the shy boy,” “the slow boy,” he was known by these names and worse while he was in school.
Only one person outside of his home knew that he was more than those names. Only one other knew that he actually was more than “just another future high school dropout,” as our music teacher used to refer to him. And that one had the belief that “the small, shy teen that hid behind his bookbag” would one day emerge from the egg he was in into the butterfly boy that is now worshipped by millions.
I was that one.”
Seguchi Tohma, President of N-G Productions, lead keyboardist for Nittle Grasper, and Sakuma Ryuichi’s oldest friend
~~*
After that first time in the Seguchi’s music room, Tohma would often invite Ryuichi over to tutor, talk and sometimes just to hang out together, even though Ryuichi still avoided going into Tohma’s bedroom, instead choosing to do schoolwork in the kitchen,.
And just as often, after they had each done their respective assignments, the pair would adjourn to the said-same music room.
Realizing that his much smaller friend didn’t know many of the classical songs that he was fond of playing, the platinum-haired boy began at first to obtain the lyrics to the songs they listened to on a classical music station on the family's stereo, but Tohma quickly realized that doing so was unnecessary. For after hearing a song once, the mossy-haired teen would pick up the lyrics on his own merely by listening. Having so quickly memorized a song, Ryuichi would sing along while Tohma would sit on the piano bench and listen, enraptured as the small but highly talented boy and the voices coming from the radio echoed throughout the sunny, brightly lit music room.
At first, when he sang, Ryuichi would stand as still as a tree, his arms at his side as if afraid to move. But as the pair watched music videos, the shy teen would sit close to the large TV set in the living room and carefully watch the movements of the Japanese, American and British artists that often sang and danced their way across the screen.
A few weeks after the immersion into music videos, Ryuichi began to move as he sang, his lithe body easily mirroring the various dance moves that he had learned from the hours of watching, while Tohma played the songs on the ebony grand piano in the music room. And as he did, the transformation the shy boy was undergoing would bring a proud smile to the face of the blond.
The egg that had been Sakuma Ryuichi hatched during summer break.
~~~~*
As the pair grew closer as friends, as well as due to his blossoming feelings of love, Ryuichi’s formerly shy self became more confident as he went about delivering messages when school resumed.
It was the teachers that first noticed how the adolescent no longer bashfully curled into himself whenever he carried their messages back and forth, how he stood taller, even though he was still the smallest boy in both buildings. He still took his bookbag with him everywhere, but instead of hiding behind it when spoken to; he began to carry it at his side like the other students did, and sometimes spoke back to the teachers when spoken to, his voice quiet but confident.
Soon the students too began to notice that the mossy-haired teen seemed to carry himself as if he had more self-confidence. He still only spoke to Tohma instead of to them, but he did speak, which was a dramatic change from the silent boy they were all used to.
Every day while eating lunch together, Ryuichi and Tohma would sit away from everyone else and consume their meal, speaking in low tones to each other. When spoken to by any of the other students, Tohma always did the talking for the pair while Ryuichi, still somewhat shy despite the transformation he was undergoing, hid behind his much larger friend to peek out and watch the goings-on.
One early August afternoon, Ryuichi was delivering a message from the secretary to one of the math teachers after classes had ended for the day. As the mossy-haired teen walked, he happily swung the arm holding his ever-present bookbag that hid Kumagorou, his plushie friend, for the shy teen knew that at the front gate underneath a shady tree that sheltered him from the intense summer sun waited his new best friend, his keyboardist…his tenshi, Seguchi Tohma.
As he approached the teachers’ lounge, he heard their radio playing an American song…and not just any song, but his favorite rock group’s song, his most favorite song in the world, the self-same one that the golden boy had played for him on the ebony piano earlier that summer. The olive-haired lad couldn’t help himself, he began to hum along with Freddie Mercury’s silvery voice, and before he realized it, the lyrics to ‘A Kind of Magic’ once again burst forth from his tiny body. Closing his eyes, he stood outside of the lounge’s door and sang as if his life depended on it.
The eight teachers inside at first wondered where the extraordinary voice that they were privileged enough to hear was coming from, so most of them sat, captivated in their seats and listened to the serenade.
However, Shiozu-sensei the music teacher managed to emerge from his stupor to rapidly seek out the owner of the voice that not only matched the voice on the radio, but also was able to harmonize with it perfectly, as it did during the choruses. Quietly as to not startle the owner, he opened the door and peeked out into the hallway to see the “slow boy,” that was the school’s messenger belting out the song, his eyes closed, his bookbag in one hand and the message to be delivered in the other. The music teacher’s jaw dropped while the other teachers, also curious, snuck up behind Shiozu to also witness who it was with the heavenly voice as the song wound down and ended.
The smallest boy in both school buildings opened his eyes to realize that he now had an audience of eight teachers staring at him as if he had suddenly grown a second head.
Blushing furiously, he handed the nearly forgotten message to the math teacher, bowed low and quickly turned around to leave, at first walking quickly, then running as if the hounds of hell were chasing him.
And as the teachers’ eyes followed the shy boy as he made his way down the hallway, the music teacher realized that he just might have been wrong about the “slow boy,” that he had previously written off as a ‘nobody going nowhere fast.’
~~~~*
The next morning, a message was sent to Ryuichi (for a change) when he and Tohma passed through the school’s doorway to go to their respective classes. Puzzled, the mossy-haired boy refused to answer to the music room, where the message told him to go. Instead, he choose to head straight to his classroom. Tohma tried to tell him that he had done nothing wrong, for of course the tiny boy had explained to him what had happened when he appeared for the long, hot walk home the day previously, red-faced and out of breath.
So while attendance was being taken, Ryuichi sat in his assigned seat, hid his face behind his long bangs and stared at the desktop, only moving to raise his hand like always when his name was called.
The classroom door opened as the last name was read and Shiozu-sensei, the cocky music teacher walked in through the door; striding over to speak with the homeroom teacher as if he owned the classroom. Whispering between themselves, the homeroom teacher nodded as he called Ryuichi up to the front of the class, the other students whispering to themselves about the boy being in a “world of trouble.”
Having tuned out the other student’s chatter like he normally did, the olive-haired teen was startled when he heard his name called a second time that morning. Not used to hearing himself called more than once a day, Ryuichi quickly looked up; his face blanching as he realized that the one who had called his name was one of the teachers who had heard him sing the day previously.
Feeling as if he was heading to the gallows, Ryuichi slowly picked up his bookbag and stood at his desk as the homeroom teacher directed him to follow Shiozu-sensei out of the room. The arrogant man walked toward the door and through it as if he expected the boy to automatically follow him. Yet, when the music teacher turned around in the hallway to speak to the teen, he realized that he was still alone. Peering back inside of the classroom, he noticed the small teen still stood by his desk as if afraid to move, the other students as well as the homeroom teacher staring at him.
Shiozu-sense realized for the first time in his seven year teaching career and his previous career as lead guitarist in the popular local band Hell’s Bells that his arrogance wasn’t going to work on this shy boy. So after taking a deep breath and counting to ten, he called out gently to Ryuichi, who looked up at him with a terrified look in his eyes. Not having paid much attention to the “future high school dropout” before, the music teacher was briefly surprised to see Ryuichi’s startlingly deep blue eyes, which he had always assumed to be brown since they were normally hidden behind the teen’s long olive-colored bangs whenever he spoke to the boy.
“Come Sakuma-kun, we haven’t got all day,” the music teacher said in a quiet voice as the rest of the classroom waited to see if he would follow. Ryuichi stood, took a deep breath and blew it out, taking first one tentative step, and then another toward the front of the classroom. Walking as if he was made of wood, he followed Shiozu-sensei out of the room and down various hallways to the music room. The music teacher, not having a class so early in the morning, led the frightened boy into the room and instructed him to wait by the well-worn baby grand piano, which he did.
Taking a seat, Shiozu-sensei waggled his fingers and began to play popular and well-known choir songs while Ryuichi stood, silent. After playing for 20 solid minutes and waiting for the boy to begin to sing, he stopped playing and glared at the teen. Taking a deep breath, the music teacher sighed and again mentally counted to ten before he asked, “Why won’t you sing for me, Sakuma-kun? I heard you yesterday. I know you can.”
Still silent, Ryuichi hung his head and mumbled as he drew up his bookbag to his chest.
Shiozu-sensei amazingly kept his famous temper and mentally counted to twenty before he asked the small boy to repeat what he had earlier said.
“I only sing for Seguchi-sempai,” he repeated in a quiet voice.
“But you sang yesterday,” the hot-headed teacher said as he raised his voice to remind them both, causing Ryuichi to curl further around his bookbag.
“That…was because that’s my favorite song,” Ryuichi explained.
Shiozu-sense thought for a moment before he ordered the teen to “Wait here,” while he strode out of the classroom. Returning a short time later, he was followed by Tohma, who wore a confused look upon his face, only realizing what was going on when he spotted the quiet boy standing by the piano.
“Seguchi-kun, you will play his favorite song and Sakuma-kun, you will sing,” the teacher ordered the pair.
“I’m sorry Shiozu-sensei. I can play, but sing he will not do,” the blond said, gazing at his friend who had hid behind his bangs and looked like he was about to faint.
“And why not, Seguchi-kun,” Shiozu-sensei exclaimed, finally beginning to lose his temper.
“Because Sakuma-san sings when he’s in a good mood. And right now, he seems to be far from that,” Tohma explained as he watched Ryuichi, who appeared startled at the mention of his name by the taller teen.
Gritting his teeth, Shiozu-sensei mentally counted to thirty before speaking.
“And what, pray tell, must I do in order to get him to sing, Seguchi-kun?” the music teacher asked in a tight voice.
Tohma gazed at his friend, no…his best friend for a long moment before answering. “Well, he likes ice cream…” he started as a mischievous glint flashed in his turquoise eyes for the briefest of instances. “Of course, he won’t eat any unless I have some too…”
Ryuichi stood stock still as if he was incapable of movement.
Shiozu-sensei stared at the pair, first at the beautiful and popular golden boy, then at the shy and introverted mossy-haired one before he gave a deep and very audible sigh.
“Fine. I will see to it that you both receive ice cream cones…AFTER he sings,” he replied.
“I’m afraid that won’t do, Shiozu-sensei. You see, I can tell that he’s not up to it at the moment, and thus will not sing until he is in a much better mood. And I know for a fact that right now, he is too nervous and embarrassed to even open his mouth, much less sing,” Tohma calmly elucidated.
Shiozu-sensei growled, huffed, and then left the room, slamming the colorfully decorated door. “I will be right back…and he DAMN well better sing when I return!” the boys heard through the door as he stormed away towards the cafeteria.
At the slamming of the door, Ryuichi fell to his knees like a marionette whose strings had been cut as Tohma gasped.
“I fervently suggest that you sing for Shiozu-sensei, Ryuichi-san. Or I fear what he may do next. His temper is legendary,” the blond told Ryuichi as he hurried over to the piano and sat cross-legged next to the frightened teen.
“I…I will sing…if you play piano for me Seguchi-senpai. I will sing for no one else, not even Shiozu-sensei,” Ryuichi whispered as he gazed deep into Tohma’s turquoise eyes. The older teen smiled and patted Ryuichi on the shoulder at that heartfelt statement.
“Just do your best, Sakuma-san. You don’t have to join any music clubs or anything if you don’t want to. I think he just wants to…mentally confirm something, that’s all,” the beautiful teen replied by way of explanation.
As a way to thank Tohma for his kindness, not to mention his love for the gorgeous older boy, in a bold move, the bashful teen placed his head upon the taller one’s shoulder. The platinum-haired boy, in response, slowly placed an arm around his best friend’s shoulders, and that’s how Shiozu-sensei found the pair when he returned with two ice cream cones as well as a few napkins.
Handing one cone and some napkins first to Ryuichi, then to Tohma, the teacher sat in one of the many audience chairs facing the piano and waited. Ryuichi glanced first at Tohma, next to the teacher as he sat patiently and finally to the cone before a shy smile graced his face and he began to lick at the melting concoction. The blond echoed the smile as he and Ryuichi locked eyes and began to eat his own cone.
Soon both cones were no more and with one glance into Ryuichi’s eyes, Tohma knew that there would be no more problems. The intensely radiant sparkle that he had seen only once before in the teen’s sapphire-blue eyes had returned.
Standing elegantly, the tall, pale boy glided over to the piano bench and took a seat. He wiggled his fingers to briefly warm them up before he began to play 'Moonlight Sonata,' as Ryuichi picked himself up from the floor and carefully placed the ever-present bookbag on the piano, close by. Closing his eyes, he waited as Tohma played, his mind clearing of the fear and the embarrassment as the soothing power of music flowed through his veins.
When Tohma’s delicate fingers began to play ‘Sara,' by the band Fleetwood Mac, Ryuichi took in a deep breath and began to sing the melodic rock song. Once again Shiozu-sensei was enraptured as the small teen’s perfectly pitched voice made its way to his trained ears, for he recognized the American tune as it had often played on the teachers’ lounge radio.
Tohma moved from the end of one song into the next, the duo serenading the teacher with ‘What A Fool Believes’ by The Doobie Brothers. Because both boys had their eyes closed and their backs to the door, neither one realized that they had been discovered, for a classmate had walked by and peeked in through the door’s window into the room on her way to the bathroom before running back to her classroom and quietly beckoned her fellow students to join her. And as they silently made their way to the door of the music room, they too were caught up in the magic that was Sakuma and Seguchi.
The short-tempered teacher recognized the next song the twosome played from hot, sweaty, alcohol-filled, passionate nights spent on the floor of local dance clubs; surrounded by others of the same ilk as the smallest boy in both school buildings belted out ‘Bad Girls’ by Donna Sommer before the platinum-haired lad’s talented fingers moved into Queen's ‘Don’t Stop Me Now,’ a true hard rock song. After that first time in the Seguchi's sun-filled music room, Tohma had acquired a recorded tape of the musical group Queen's songs, the little teen’s favorite band and had taught himself to play them on the family’s ebony grand piano. And as many a true fan has done, Ryuichi had memorized the tunes and often sang along while the older teen played.
Tohma at last played Queen's ‘A Kind of Magic,’ the favorite song of the tiny vocalist that Shiozu-san had first requested, watching as Ryuichi began to use some of the break dance moves that he had learned from hours and hours of watching and studying music videos in front of the Seguchi television. Flowing as if boneless, he jumped, spun, danced and moved, his mind concentrating, his closed electric blue eyes not seeing the audience of other students while he performed, ending the mini-concert by doing a split.
The spectators, their group having grown by leaps and bounds to number 50 plus, broke into thunderous applause, whistling and clapping as they practically fell into the room to congratulate the pair. Ryuichi blushed and ran to cower next to Tohma, grabbing his precious bookbag as he hid behind the blond while the students made their way over to shower the boys with their admiration.
Shiozu-sensei sat, dumbstruck with the idea that this minuscule boy that he had thought would amount to nothing and have a nowhere life would not only prove him wrong, but surpass him.
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Tsuzuku
(To Be Continued)
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A/N:
Japanese/explanations in this track:
*Sensei - title used when speaking of or to members of certain professions (lawyer, teacher, doctor, etc)
Songs mentioned in this track:
*'Sara’ by Fleetwood Mac http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttOBnmXFDtQ
*'What a Fool Believes’ by The Doobie Brothers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDWGKQcQ8zw
*‘Bad Girls’ by Donna Summer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA0NkYi3Y5U
*‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM
*‘A Kind of Magic’ by Queen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p_1QSUsbsM
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