Bronze: True Heart 4
by K.Huntsman
Shibuya Productions Recording Studios
Takafumi opened the door back into the studio and paused, slightly surprised as a melody flowing from his keyboard greeted him. Hanano was sitting at the expensive instrument, fingers dancing over the keys, producing a nearly-hypnotic flow of notes that somehow transcended what Takafumi had thought the song could become. He closed the door quietly, not wanting to break the musician's concentration as he just stood and listened.
Hanano's silver-violet eyes were closed as he played through the song, lips voicing the words silently until he suddenly paused and frowned. "No, it's not right..." he said in English, opening his eyes and studying the sheet music in front of him. "What's wrong here?" He examined the score intently.
Takafumi coughed a little, to let the American know he had company. Hanano looked up from the music and seemed a little surprised to see him there. "Oh, you're back, Yoshiya-san," he said. He frowned. "Didn't you just leave?"
Takafumi looked at the clock on the wall. "We left over an hour ago," he reported, raising an eyebrow as he looked back at the teenager.
Hanano blushed almost as red as his hair at that. "I... don't know time when the music comes to me. I have been playing - I hope you don't mind?"
He shook his head. "Not at all. What did you do to that song to make it sound like that?"
"Umm... I made it... different. I cannot speak it well enough; come see?"
Takafumi obeyed, coming closer, curious. When he saw the settings on his keyboard, his eyebrows raised. "What did you DO?" he demanded, staring. He'd never even thought to try these settings on this song.
Hanano shrugged. "Played with the sound. I changed the music a little too; do you mind?"
"No!" Takafumi examined the sheet music, saw the minute changes sketched onto it, pencil on top of pencil, and smiled. "How did you do this?"
Hanano shrugged. "It is my gift; the music is like a sick person, and I am like a doctor. I try to help it to be well. I... hear what is not right with it."
"No kidding." He looked at the teenager. "I think you're better at this than I am."
"No." Hanano shook his head. "I cannot make music from nothing, as you can. I can do the words, yes, but the music itself I cannot... begin. Only help."
When Kouji returned to the studio, he found Hanano perched on a stool near Yoshiya's keyboard, singing the lyrics to Unknown Fantasy as Takafumi played in a minor key in a way that was strangely haunting. Though the song would suit his voice equally as well as Arin's, Kouji found the strange thought in his head that perhaps it might be best suited to neither of their low ranges, but instead to a more feminine voice. Something a little higher, maybe.
"Perhaps a little there..." Hanano said, breaking out of the song. "It does not sound... good."
Kouji laughed to himself at the obsession the two were displaying with the music. They worked well together. "I trust you two know it's six o'clock and you're the only ones left here?" he asked.
They looked up. "Ah, Nanjou-san," Hanano greeted. Then he frowned. "Is that really so?"
Kouji nodded.
Arin sighed. "I apologize, Yoshiya-san, for keeping you so late. I did not know the time. Shall we continue tomorrow?"
Takafumi stretched and glanced at the clock. "I guess so," he replied. "I hate to break this up, though; it's been one of the best jam sessions I've had in a long time." He stood up and offered his hand to Hanano. "You're an incredible musician, Hanano-san."
"Please, I am Arin, Yoshiya-san," the slight redhead replied, taking the offered handshake. "Until tomorrow."
"And I'm Takafumi. Until tomorrow, Arin-san."
Kouji waited until Takafumi had left before asking, "So what were the two of you doing to that song to make it sound so good?"
Hanano smiled and shrugged. "A little...." He paused and frowned. "I am sorry; my words are gone. I can show you, if you like."
Kouji shook his head. "Tomorrow. Everyone's gone home already, and your cousin and bodyguard are waiting for you."
"Damn." The younger singer seemed more than a bit reluctant to have to leave the music. "Ah well." He gathered the sheet music together into a folder and took it with him before heading towards the door where Kouji waited.
Arin looked up at the man walking beside her. She felt very young and very small next to him. Definitely very short. The top of her head barely reached to his shoulder. She knew he was only about eight months older than her, but he looked and acted like it was a lot more distance than that. She'd have placed him in his mid-twenties if she hadn't known better.
It was easy to see why his fans went berserk over Kouji Nanjou; he was definitely gorgeous, had the "presence" that made him the center of his own and others' universes, and had the same gift for song that Arin herself shared. She shook her head at her thoughts, amused. She'd never been able to understand the mentality of her own fans, and their letters to Arin Hanano asking to bear "his" children alternately made her laugh and cry. There'd likely be holy war if they ever found out that "he" was actually a "she." At least Nanjou would never have to face that problem.
"Thinking something?"
"You have nice hair," Arin replied, not untruthfully. She touched the long silken strands lightly. "I want to have long hair sometimes, but I look too much like a girl."
He laughed and looked down at her. "You do look a lot like a girl. If it wasn't for the lowness of your range and the fact that you speak like a boy, I'd almost accuse you of being a woman."
Arin shrugged, wondering inwardly what he would say if Nanjou ever found out she was a woman. She'd heard he had a reputation for being a womanizer. She could see why it might be true, but she had no intention of revealing herself to him or anyone else. And she would definitely not let him know she concealed the uppermost limits of her vocal range.
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