July 9/ Autumn/ PG-13/ ENDED.

[nezumi]

Character(s): Kenji Takuto, Chiaki Yuzuru and anyone that would like to meet Kenji!
Time: Around the end of classes.
Location: Library.


Kenji wasn't used to being around so many people. And there really were so many. He had to look down to most of them, as well. Being as tall and awkward as he was Kenji felt the need to squish himself against the walls and move quickly through the hallways.

He needed some breathing room, and thought of no place he'd rather be than the library. Kenji shouldered the door open and quickly scurried inside the large room. He sighed quietly to himself, feeling finally at home.

Gazing around the large hall, Kenji found himself fighting the urge to smile. There were so many books - more than books than students, thankfully. He had no idea where to begin. He read the signs on the walls - arrows pointing him in the direction of the mysteries section. Kenji moved quickly up the first flight of stairs and took a sharp left turn. He was in a hurry now.

"Mysteries, mysteries..." Kenji muttered to himself, wondering if the arrows had been wrong or if he was supposed to take a right instead of a left - he had always been bad with directions.

A few steps later, he found the section and grinned to himself. Walking down the first aisle - A through F, alphabetically - Kenji stopped once or twice to read the names of the novels. A lot of them were in English, which wasn't a bad thing - Kenji had taught himself most of the English language by the time he turned fourteen.

"Ah!" he whispered, excited. His hand reached out quickly to snatch a book from the shelf. 'House of Leaves' had been on Kenji's "to-read" list for a long time, but none of the bookstores in Suginami carried it, and his mother was skeptical about ordering things online.

Settling himself down in the middle of the aisle, Kenji flipped open the first page of the gigantic book and began to read.

[true]

Chiaki really, really needed to start returning his books on time—this was his third infringement, and if he couldn’t manage to charm the librarian into letting him off the hook, his library privileges would be most likely revoked. Panting heavily—he’d ran all the way from his dorm to this building once he’d realised his mistake—the boy forced himself to catch his breath at the door, regain some shadow of composure, before going inside.

The library never ceased to amaze him, so spacious and full of books, that, for the most part, he was too foreign-language-impaired to understand. Glancing carefully across the room, he saw that the librarian was not at her post, a small sign in front of her kiosk stating, ’took the past few days off—write your name and what you checked out on the sheet.’ in bold, red letters. Quickly, Chiaki scurried over to her desk and placed the book he’d forgotten to return—a charmingly vacuous romance novel entitled Where the Wind Blows—into the pile of books that had piled up in her absence.

Eh, that was easy. Might as well grab some new ones while I’m here, though!

As Chiaki walked towards the ‘romance’ section, he caught a glimpse of shoulder-length blue hair, belonging to a boy who was completely absorbed in the giant tome spread out in front of him. That was odd. He’d never seen the boy before, and, the library was almost always devoid of students reading there—especially in the aisles. There were couches and plush chairs for a reason, though most elected to go back to their dorms, himself included. Chiaki made a mental note to go back and talk to him once he’d found something saccharine and thoughtless to further murder his brain cells.

”Yes!” exclaimed Chiaki, who couldn’t contain his own excitement. They’d added three new books to the BL section since he’d last been there, and while he was fully aware that such novels were usually drivel, they were his favourite guilty pleasure. Snatching each of the books—as though people other than him read them, pfft—he halfheartedly tugged a few others that looked vaguely heartwarming off of the other shelves. When his collection felt adequate, he lugged the stack of books up to the front desk, setting them gently down on the surface adjacent to the sign up sheet.

Satisfied, the boy walked back over to the mystery section, books in hand, and sat down directly in front of the boy he’d seen earlier. ”Hi!” Chiaki whispered, voice more in the tone one would expect from a regular library patron. Glancing again at the boy in front of him, he crossed his legs, pulled a book from the stack beside him. He wasn’t quite sure if his presence would be welcomed or not, but he didn’t particularly care, either. What harm was he doing by sitting there and reading? Nevermind that he never read mysteries and his own book was around a thousand times less difficult to read than the tome in front of him, he was reading, and he was being fairly quiet.

”You can read in English?” he asked, eyes wide in amazement. He probably sounded pretty dumb, but, to be fair the boy looked one-hundred-percent Japanese and he was reading a huge book in a language that Chiaki couldn’t even pretend to understand. ”Because that’s really cool!”

[nezumi]

Kenji had only read maybe four chapters of the large novel before he was approached. He knew it would only be a matter of time before someone's curiosity got the better of them and they needed to find out what the new kid was doing all alone between bookshelves.

Reading, what else?

Another dark-haired male seated himself on the floor not far from Kenji, but just close enough that Kenji didn't need to look up to see what the boy looked like. He seemed friendly, and willing to have a conversation considering he had been the one to approach Kenji and not the other way around.

The unfamiliar boy whispered a greeting, and Kenji held back a snicker. It was like he worked here, the bluish-haired boy thought to himself. He stared, a bit dumbfounded, at Kenji's book for a while before speaking again.

”You can read in English?” he asked Kenji, his eyes growing larger. ”Because that’s really cool!”

Kenji looked up and over to the boy, hoping his expression wasn't off-putting. He wasn't annoyed or mad - the complete opposite, actually - and wanted to make a good impression, more than anything, on the one student that had been brave enough to approach him.

"Yeah," Kenji told the other boy, bringing a hand up to move the hair out of his face. "I taught myself a few years ago. I would've thought a lot of people at this school knew English." Holding out his hand to the newcomer, Kenji nodded a small greeting. "I'm Kenji Takuto - year three."

[true]

”I taught myself a few years ago. I would’ve thought a lot of people at this school knew English.”

”Most do, but not enough to read a book like that.” Chiaki laughed nervously, not quite sure if the other boy wanted to be disturbed or not. ”So don’t sell yourself short! Sheesh, I’m like a third grader in terms of English literacy.” Glancing over at the large book in front of the dark-haired boy, Chiaki wondered if he even knew half the words on the page—all of them looked like gibberish from here, utterly unintelligible.

”I’m Kenji Takuto - year three.”

Chiaki eagerly took the older boy’s hand, realising that he probably wasn’t annoying him after all. ”Nice to meet you, Kenji!~” sang the boy, putting the book in his other hand back into the pile. ”I’m Chiaki Yuzuru—year two. Which major are you?”

If he had to guess, he’d say Kenji was either a dance major or a singing major—there were no ‘actor’ vibes coming from the other boy. He seemed fairly nice, and a lot less taciturn than his appearance suggested. Plus, he read—Chiaki loved books, though he hardly read anything that pushed his intelligence to grow—which gave him instant ‘Wow, you like cool things!’ points.

{ ooc: ohmygosh, I loved House of Leaves so much!~ I meant to say this in my last post, but I guess I forgot >w> }

[nezumi]

Kenji cocked his head to the side, wondering why the boy was fidgeting. He'd barely spoken two words to him since the other boy sat down. He couldn't have made a bad impression already, could he?

"Nice to meet you, Kenji!~” the boy said in a singsong voice, adding another book to his pile. "I’m Chiaki Yuzuru - year two. Which major are you?”

Straightening his back again - he'd been slouching - Kenji repeated the boy's name in his head a few times, committing it to memory. It wasn't going to be hard for him to remember Chiaki's name considering he was the first person Kenji had spoken to other than the office workers at Aozora (and "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" was one of his favorite movies, but that wasn't something he would openly discuss upon first meeting).

"I'm a singing major," Kenji told him, licking his lips slightly. "But I play the guitar, as well."

Kenji wondered why Chiaki had sat down by him, now. He didn't object at all, and would have enjoyed making a friend in his first few days attending the school, but it took Kenji a moment to clear his head completely and be there for the conversation - he knew his excitement wasn't showing, but Kenji was grinning wholeheartedly on the inside.

"What about you, Chiaki? What are you here for?" Kenji asked the boy, closing the book and setting it to his side.

(OOC: I was reading it again before I started this thread! It's an amazing book.)

[true]

”I’m a singing major, but I play the guitar, as well.”

Upon hearing this, Chiaki’s face lit up, stoked to hear that Kenji was a fellow singing major. ”Oh, that’s awesome!” he said, noting that the dark-haired boy had shut his book and had finally seemed to come back to earth. Kenji looked a little frazzled, but that was alright—a perfect stranger had waltzed up to him and started a conversation, after all. Chiaki was always doing things like that—he loved making new friends and that was one of the best ways to do it—but most people preferred to stay within their own comfort zones.

”What about you, Chiaki? What are you here for?”

”I sing, too. Can’t play the guitar to save my life, though.” Kenji was still deadpanning, but Chiaki couldn’t sense any hostility from the other boy. Maybe he just wasn’t the expressive sort? Either way, he saw no reason not to stay. ”I play piano,” he added, trying to picture the boy in front of him on a stage, playing the guitar and singing along. ”What do you sing? Probably more mellow stuff, I’d bet. Dude, we should collaborate sometime!” Chiaki’s excitement was barely contained, and his voice had risen above the polite tone he’d been using earlier.

Oh, screw it. No one else is in here, anyway.

[nezumi]

Kenji blushed a bit at the other boy's outburst. It seemed as if there weren't many guitar players at Aozora this year, and Kenji took a little bit of pride in being one of the few. He wasn't conceited when it came to his talents, but with a lesser number of students that shared them, it would be easier for Kenji to stand out.

"I play piano," Chiaki told him.

The dark-haired boy's blush grew as he realized Chiaki was looking at him more intently now. Kenji felt like he had been caught red handed in something. He smiled sheepishly.

"What do you sing? Probably more mellow stuff, I’d bet. Dude, we should collaborate sometime!”

His smile soon stretched a bit as he wondered how Chiaki could be so spot-on with his guesses about someone he barely knew - actually, about someone he'd just met. Kenji couldn't do that, he never really was good with people. He chuckled quietly to himself.

"I guess you could call it 'mellow stuff,'" Kenji said, shrugging lightly. "Mostly old American blues and jazz and..." he was searching for the right word, "Classics."

The second part of Chiaki's statement registered in Kenji's mind, and his small smile split into an almost-grin. The other boy had said he played piano - that was perfect! "I've actually been working on a song for a while now," Kenji told his companion, reaching up to rub the back of his neck as he spoke. "But it doesn't sound right because it needs a piano - so if you're really up for it..."

Kenji trailed off a bit, hoping he hadn't come on too strongly.

[true]

“I guess you could call it ‘mellow stuff,’ mostly old American blues and jazz and.. Classics.”

American music? Chiaki found himself impressed once again, staring, wide-eyed at the boy in front of him. Reading in English was one thing, but singing in it was another; if Kenji’d managed to pass the auditions by singing ‘Classics’—whatever that meant—he must be bilingual to an extreme. Wow. Chiaki wasn’t hard to impress, but still, that was pretty cool.

”I’ve actually been working on a song for a while now, but it doesn’t sound right because it needs a piano - so if you’re really up for it…”

”Of course I’m up for it!~” sang Chiaki, who was really, really excited, now. ”I play by ear and sheets, so I can probably come up with whatever you need if you haven’t figured it out yet.” Chiaki yawned blithely, wondering what sort of song the bluish-haired boy wanted to do. It would be better if it wasn’t in English—although, given Kenji’s previous statements, it probably was. But as long as he didn’t need backup vocals, everything would be fine.

Briefly, Chiaki wondered whether he was the kind of person Kenji was looking to collaborate with. He had no idea what style of music ‘classics’ were, other than that they were probably mellow. Hmm, should’ve listened to more American music! he thought to himself, but there’s no use worrying about it now, I guess.

[nezumi]

"Of course I’m up for it!” Chiaki said, bouncing where he was sitting. "I play by ear and sheets, so I can probably come up with whatever you need if you haven’t figured it out yet.”

Kenji smiled again, glad that the boy had agreed. It seemed like the two of them were going to become good friends - or, to Kenji it seemed that way. He was just as excited as Chiaki to have finally found someone that wanted to do something with him.

Quickly, before he really knew what he was doing, Kenji scrambled up and sat himself next to the other boy, about half a foot or so away. With a light chuckle, Kenji rummaged through the pockets of his jacket, looking for his iPod.

"I don't have sheet music for the song," he told Chiaki, his tone somewhat apologetic. "But I've been playing by ear, too, and it's proven to be a lot easier than I thought it would have been."

Pulling the small electronic bundle from his pocket, Kenji unwound the earbuds and thrust one at the other boy. When he didn't immediately take it, Kenji put the earbud into Chiaki's ear himself, adjusted his own, then queued the song he'd been working on.

The tambourine started shaking at the beginning, and Kenji started quietly tapping his foot. This wasn't one of his father's old songs, this one was better. He didn't know if Chiaki would still be so willing afterwards, but he figured he'd give it a shot.

[true]

“I don’t have sheet music for the song, but I’ve been playing by ear, too, and it’s proven to be a lot easier than I thought it would have been.”

”Don’t worry, I’ll be fine!” Chiaki said, noting the apologetic tone in the other boy’s voice. ”I usually end up ignoring it and doing my own thing, anyway.” Quietly, the boy watched as Kenji fished an iPod out of his jacket, placing one of the earbuds in each of their ears. As the bluish-haired boy pressed play, music filling his ear, Chiaki made out the words “I Say Fever by Ramona Falls” on the tiny electronic screen.

Chiaki couldn’t understand most of it other than a few simple phrases, but found his toe tapping despite himself. Hm, catchy, he thought to himself, having already figured out what key the song was in, trying to come up with a piano part to match. It was hard to imagine Kenji performing this—wasn’t the guitar a little extreme? He’d expected acoustic, maybe, not the edgier guitar he’d heard. Well, he supposed it went to show how much he knew about ‘classics’.

When the song was over, Chiaki turned to look at the boy next to him. ”That was cool!” he said, beaming. ”Can’t say I’ve ever heard anything like it, but I liked the tambourine and the guitar and yeah. Were you thinking of doing an acoustic cover?”

[nezumi]

Kenji nodded enthusiastically, grateful that Chiaki was still up for it. Though, he wouldn't be surprised if he backed out later on down the road. Upon first listen, Kenji had thought the song would be a bit difficult, as well.

"Can’t say I’ve ever heard anything like it, but I liked the tambourine and the guitar and yeah. Were you thinking of doing an acoustic cover?”

Remembering the other boy's words, Kenji responded, "Yeah.. yeah, sorry, I should have explained that before." he chuckled. "I've never really been good with electric guitars, and I only have an old acoustic, anyway."

Kenji stopped the song before it could repeat, and sighed a small sigh, bringing his free hand up and mussing his hair again. For some reason unknown to him, Kenji couldn't sit still. He was happy that he'd made a friend - one that was willing to involve themselves (musically speaking) with him - but, for some reason, he was fidgeting like a little kid.

He changed the subject. "How long have you played the piano?"

[true]

“Yeah.. yeah, sorry, I should have explained that before. I’ve never really been good with electric guitars, and I only have an old acoustic, anyway.”

Chiaki nodded. ”That's fine, haha~ We'd need more than just the two of us to do anything else, anyway.” He chuckled too, sharing Kenji’s excitement. The bluish-haired boy kept fidgeting—what was the problem, there? Hmm. Not used to talking to people? Nah. That was just an assumption most people made about bookworms, it wasn’t always the case, and Kenji seemed like a really, really nice person. Maybe he just doesn’t like sitting still?

Chiaki was still thinking about it when he realised that Kenji had asked him a question. ”Um… Lemme think.” just how long had he been playing, exactly? ”Since I was six… I think. I was really good for a little kid, but my teacher refused to let me play anything outside of her little books. Y’know, the ones with really, really boring songs like, ‘Tie the Ribbon ‘Round the Old Oak Tree’? Yeah. I ended up quitting because I got better than her…. but, um… I think it’s been at least ten years. Give or take.” He laughed, flushing slightly. Kenji hadn’t asked for a musical history, had he?

”Oops. I kind of rambled. Oh, well. How long’ve you played guitar?” Yawning, Chiaki stretched backwards, arms above his head.

[nezumi]

Chiaki talked for a long time, telling Kenji every little detail of his musical life. Not that the dark-haired boy minded at all, he thought it was interesting to learn about what got others started with their talents.

When the younger boy finished, Kenji half-smiled again, feeling his uneasiness leave him in one big woosh! His squirming stopped, as well, and, as Chiaki yawned and stretched, Kenji nearly laughed out loud at his foolishness.

He wasn't very... sure about himself, to put it lightly, and when Chiaki had approached him, Kenji had fully believed it was about something else entirely. Now, knowing that wasn't the case at all, Kenji felt the urge to laugh, and to possibly smack himself upside the head.

For a smart boy, he jumped to conclusions quite often.

"How long’ve you played guitar?”

Kenji blinked, remembering he'd been asked a question and scrambled to answer. "Well, I actually started learning when I was young - after my dad left and his old CD's and cassettes stayed," he chuckled humorlessly, still furious at the man he barely knew. "But I got my first guitar when I was ten. So I've been playing for almost eight years now."

[true]

”Well, I actually started learning when I was young - after my dad left and his old CD’s and cassettes stayed. But I got my first guitar when I was ten. So I’ve been playing for almost eight years now.”

”Eight years is still pretty long,” Chiaki said, trying to hide his distaste towards the way Kenji had mentioned fathers—he wasn’t going to think about it, he wasn’t going to let it bring him down. ”I’m sure you’re, like, a guitar god~” He laughed, leg tickling as his phone vibrated in his pocket.

The text was merely spam—some seedy company wanted him to buy their shit—but the phone’s clock indicated that it was late, much later than he’d expected to stay at the library. Crap. I’ve got a paper to write. While the sun was still out, Chiaki would need all the time he could get to finish his project; he was a slow writer and it could possibly take him all night to do.

”Hey, I just remembered that I’ve got a paper to write. It’s kind of due tomorrow…” A tad worried for his grade, Chiaki rubbed the back of his neck before standing, scooping his pile of books into his arms. ”Sorry, but I’ve gotta go! Wanna meet me in the practice rooms after school tomorrow?”

[nezumi]

"Sorry, but I’ve gotta go! Wanna meet me in the practice rooms after school tomorrow?”

Hearing this, Kenji stood as well, gathering his things in his arms. He was a little bit upset that his meeting with Chiaki was being cut short, but Kenji understood the importance of school work.

Nodding, Kenji responded to the boy's question. "Sure, that's fine with me!" He smiled at the smaller boy. Which wasn't an understatement - Chiaki really was a lot shorter than Kenji. "Uh, I'll bring my guitar, and we'll see how we sound."

The blue-haired boy took a step around his new friend and back the way he had come from earlier. He turned to look at Chiaki again, throwing him a fleeting smile.

"It was nice meeting you, Chiaki!" Kenji told him, turning on his heel and making his way toward the stairs.

END.