Chapter Text
guitar boy: https://open.spotify.com/user/carpeliberum/playlist/38iW2RUImO28rwa5zcEt56?si=5M5hVH-zRuWnAqp-bFyzXQ
me: *eyes*
me: Why are you sending me viruses at 8 am?
guitar boy: not a virus
me: porn?
guitar boy: no! asshole, it’s a link to spotify, can’t u read?
guitar boy: i made us a playlist and put the songs u sent and the ones we did and some other ones i think we could do on it
guitar boy: u can add songs if u want to
me: You’re that eager to play with me? Already making mixtapes? I’m flattered.
guitar boy: ur a jerk, never mind.
me: Kidding!! I’ll take a look when I can, but if it’s some stupid songs I’m going to kick your butt.
guitar boy: u wish. see u later
Kazuya headed down the passageway towards the place where he had met Eijun the evening before, trotting a little because he was late. He’d headed out when he’d gotten the text, but it took him longer to get himself together than he’d expected. As he moved through the crowd, he heard Eijun before he saw him and paused. He was playing...runs? Something that sounded like warm-up exercises and Kazuya filed that piece of information away for later consideration.
"Sorry I'm late," he said, pulling his violin case off his back. "It took me a little longer than I thought it would to get here." He popped open his case and removed his violin, taking out and tightening his bow.
"No worries, I've only been here a few minutes myself," Eijun said, strumming his strings to check the tuning with Kazuya's violin. He adjusted his D-string and checked again. Satisfied, he turned up his amp.
"Did you have a chance to look at any of those TSO songs?" Kazuya asked, laying his case open in front of them to collect any offerings they may receive.
Eijun grinned. "I did! I listened to them on the train home and then found the tabs online. I'm pretty comfortable with a few of them."
"You are? You just heard them last night, did you even sleep?"
"Of course I slept!" Eijun protested. "I'm fairly good at picking up new songs, especially when I have the music in front of me."
"So, what do you want to start with?"
"How about "Beethoven"? I really liked that one," Eijun said.
"You're sure? That one is a little tricky."
"I know, I was stuck on the fingering for a while, but I think I got it."
"Okay, let's give it a try," Kazuya said.
Lifting his violin, he tucked it under his chin and started, the violin taking the lead before the guitar kicked in. Eijun followed his entrance, taking not only the guitar parts but also other instrument's harmonies when the violin was the solo instrument, while Kazuya did the same for the guitar.
They played the whole song together, finishing with a flourish to the applause of the listening passers-by and the sound of coins dropping into the case.
Kazuya was shocked at how well Eijun had learned the song, understanding that he'd had to learn more than just the tablature to play it that way.
Of course, he wasn't about to admit any such thing.
"Not too bad," Kazuya said, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "Some of the transitions were a little rough, and you could use some work on your timing, but not bad."
Eijun grinned at him. "I've only known you for twenty-four hours and I already know that's high praise from you."
"Don't let it go to your head."
"I won't!" Eijun promised. "But you're right about my timing; I have a terrible time keeping to the correct tempo."
"We'll have to work on that, then," Kazuya said. "What's next?"
They continued to play, working their way through the songs they'd played the day before and a few others from the list Kazuya had sent over the evening before. After a few hours, they'd gone through their repertoire several times and were ready to quit.
"Diner?" Kazuya asked, counting their take.
"Sure, but we'll pay out of the winnings and then split what's left, how's that?"
"Fair enough," Kazuya shrugged, stuffing the wad into his pocket. They packed up their instruments and hiked down the dark tunnel towards the staircase closest to the Hollywood Diner.
Dodging the crowds as they walked down Sixth Avenue, Eijun nudged Kazuya. "Look! It's orange and blue tonight."
Kazuya looked up at the Empire State Building and nodded. "Yeah, that's cool. I wonder what that means?"
"I'm not sure, but I think there's a website that can tell you."
"There is, we used to check it all the time, me and my dad," Kazuya agreed.
"You did?"
"Yeah, you can see it from my bedroom window, so we used to check it every night. It's been a while since we've done that, though."
"That's too bad," Eijun said.
"Yeah. He's just really busy," Kazuya explained, pulling open the door to the diner and following Eijun inside.
"Hello, boys!" Dolly greeted them as they walked in. "Go on in, I'll be right with you."
"Thanks, Dolly," Eijun said with a grin.
"Yeah, thanks," Kazuya echoed him.
Eijun followed Kazuya back to the booth they'd occupied the night before, sliding his guitar along the red vinyl booth and scooting beside it. He leaned his case against the window, being careful not to touch the brightly lit neon signs.
Kazuya followed suit, his case leaning against the window as well.
They'd just been seated when Dolly came by. "Nice to see you both again. What can I get you boys?"
"Coke for him, iced coffee for me, and a pile of french fries, extra crispy," Kazuya said after glancing at Eijun.
"I'll get that right out," Dolly said, moving to check on the other tables.
"Did you get a chance to look at that playlist?" Eijun asked Kazuya, leaning on the table.
"I glanced at it, I haven't had a chance to really dig into it," Kazuya said.
"Oh," Eijun said, deflating a little.
"It's not that I don't want to," Kazuya was quick to explain. "I just had a couple of practices and lessons to go to."
"You're on break, right?"
"Technically, yes. But the spring competitions are coming up in May and the orchestra needs to be in perfect shape. I'm the concertmaster, so I have to be there for all the practices, even when the instructor isn't."
"Concertmaster? Is that like the conductor?"
"Not really? Kinda? It means I'm the first chair of the first violins, and as such, I'm the leader of the musicians. I take over for the conductor if he's out and run some of the practices, that kind of thing."
"Wow, that's...that's amazing. But isn't it stressful?"
"Well, yeah, but it's fine."
"And you're taking lessons? Why?"
"Because I'm not a master yet, I still have plenty to learn."
"What are you learning?" Eijun asked, tearing the wrapper off the straw and putting it into the drink Dolly had set in front of him.
"Today was violin," Kazuya explained. "Tomorrow is the viola, Thursday is piano, and on Mondays, I have cello lessons."
"You're learning four instruments?"
"I told you I played all the strings, remember? The only one I have to take is piano, my mother insists." Kazuya took a drink. "I was taking bass lessons, but I figured I was good enough at that, so I switched to cello."
"And you're in the school orchestra?"
"Yes. And the rock band."
"There's a rock band at LaGuardia?"
"Actually, there are four of them, one for each year," Kazuya said with a smirk.
"What do you play for that?"
"Right now, I'm playing keyboards. I've played bass guitar when it was needed, too."
They sat back and watched at Dolly set a huge plate of french fries in front of them, with a bowl of ranch dressing on the side.
"Thanks, Dolly," Kazuya said. "I'm glad you remembered."
"As if I could forget," Dolly said. "You boys enjoy, I'll check back when you need refills." She wandered off, and Eijun returned to his questions.
"So that's how you know all those songs," Eijun said.
"Not...kinda?" Kazuya said. "It's all part of the same thing, I guess. My friend Kuramochi is a percussionist and into classic rock. He taught me about the music, and dragged me into the band." Kazuya stopped to dip a fry and pop it into his mouth. "I wasn't sure about it at first, but it's fun. Doubly so because it makes my mother have kittens. And yet, it's a school-sponsored group and shows I have diversity, so she can't really say anything about it."
"So you have practice every day of the break?"
"I do, except for Friday. No lessons then, either," Kazuya said, remembering what he wanted to talk to Eijun about. "I thought you said you didn't take lessons."
"Wait, what? Why would you think that?” Eijun looked at him
"I don't...you said your dad taught you when you were young, and then you picked it up again after you were hurt. I thought you just started playing again," Kazuya explained.
"What makes you think I am, then?"
"I heard you practicing your runs and warm-ups when I was coming to meet you, and that's not something you'd get from reading tabs online."
Eijun laughed. "You're not wrong about that. If I didn't warm up properly, Chris would kill me."
"Chris?"
"Yes, my guitar teacher," Eijun smirked. "When I started playing again, my dad only taught me a few things before he decided I needed a proper teacher, and that's when he found me Chris."
"He's good?"
"He's brilliant," Eijun said with a sigh. "And he's a stickler for form and warm-ups and exercises. He's a classical guitarist, but I'm not ready to learn that yet. I'm still working on a lot of picking and chord progressions. He doesn't want to start teaching me more classical stuff until I get better with tempo, and I can't blame him. I'm all over the place if I'm not super careful."
"How long have you been taking lessons?"
"About four months," Eijun admitted. "That's partly the reason I've started busking, I really want to help my parents pay for them, they're not cheap."
"Couldn't you get a job? You'd probably make more money."
"That's true, but when school goes back in, I'd have to quit. This I can do whenever I can squeeze it in. There's no schedule."
"Fair enough," Kazuya said. "Why all the way down here, though? Couldn't you do it closer to home?"
"Well, up north nobody has any money to drop in a case, and most of the platforms are outside anyway. There aren't many side tunnels on the Upper West, and Midtown is full of musicians that have approval from the city. This tunnel is perfect, I'm not somewhere that people have to stand and listen to me if they don't want to, and the acoustics are pretty good. Plus it's a straight shot home, so I don't have to switch trains."
"That makes sense," Kazuya nodded, continuing to decimate the fries.
"Plus, if I hadn't, you wouldn't have met me," Eijun smirked at him, eyes sparkling.
Kazuya snorted a laugh. "You're right about that, too," he said, grinning. "And your life would be infinitely poorer without me in it."
"I don't know if I'd go that far," Eijun quipped.
"You wound me," Kazuya said, draping himself dramatically over the table while Eijun pelted him with french fries, peals of laughter coming from them both.
"Anyway," Kazuya said, sitting up and eating all the fries that had landed on him. "I'll look over that playlist and let you know what I think."
"Okay, good," Eijun said, reaching over to dislodge the fry stuck in Kazuya's hair. "I tried to pick songs that people would know. There are a few there that are either newer or not the band’s greatest hit, but that I think are interesting. Some of them have violins, but I think a lot of them would be fun to adapt."
"That's a cool idea, I'll keep that in mind," Kazuya said. "I might add to the list if it's okay with you."
"Of course, I made it shared between us. I'm sure you'll think of things I didn't," Eijun said. "And if you think of anything classical you want us to try to figure out, that would be fun too."
"I'll do that."
"Okay, great!" Eijun said, picking up the last fry from the plate and popping it into his mouth.
"Ready to go?" Kazuya asked.
"Yeah, I need to get home. Mom's on second shift this week, so I need to finish up dinner," Eijun said.
Kazuya pulled out the money he'd stuffed in his pocket and counted out enough for the check and tip, leaving it on the table. He folded up the rest and held it out to Eijun. "Here."
"That's not half," Eijun said, eyes narrowed.
"I know, but you should take it anyway," Kazuya said. "You need to pay for your lessons. I don't really need it for anything; I'm mostly doing this because I like to play live."
"But you've earned it, that's not fair."
"It's fine, honestly. I'd never want to stand between you and your lessons, trust me," Kazuya snarked.
"What?" Eijun squawked. "Are you saying I'm terrible or something?"
"Would I do that?" Kazuya continued to snark. "But now that you mention it..."
"Asshole," Eijun grumbled. "Your people skills could use some work."
"Thank you!" Kazuya responded with a smirk. "Seriously, though. You should take it, pay for your lessons. It'll help your family out."
Eijun reluctantly pocketed the money. "If you're sure."
"I am."
"Thanks, then," Eijun said, shooting him a sunny smile.
Together, they walked out of the diner, yelling their goodbyes to Dolly. Heading down the street towards the station, they walked slowly, not saying anything until they reached the corner where Eijun had to split off.
"You get home safe," Kazuya said.
"You too," Eijun answered. "Tomorrow?"
"Same time, same place."
"See you then! Goodnight, Kazuya."
"'Night, Eijun."
Kazuya headed home, climbing the stairs and entering the foyer. Toeing off his shoes, he listened carefully for voices—lights were on, and usually the housekeeper, Josephine, turned off all but the kitchen light when she left. He heard voices coming from that direction and sighed with relief when he realized his father was on the phone with a patient. He didn't hear the banging that would indicate his mom was cooking, so he figured his father had thrown one of the casseroles that Josephine had prepared in advance for just this situation. He'd picked his instrument back up and started up the stairs when he heard his name called.
"Kazuya?"
"Yeah?"
"Come on down when you've put your things away, I'd like to talk to you."
"Yes, Dad," Kazuya answered. Odds were that he wasn't going to have to listen to the same kind of lecture he'd heard the night before, his father was much less traditional than his mother, but he didn't know if he was up to the conversation, anyway. Honestly, he never felt up for it.
It was better than his mother, though. There was always that.
He dropped his instrument case on the bed and plugged his almost dead phone in before heading back downstairs.
"Hi, Dad, how was work?" he asked as he entered the kitchen to the sight of his father pulling a browned casserole out of the oven. Lasagna, if he had to guess.
"Fine, how was your day? Where were you?" Norio Miyuki set the pan down before diving back into the fridge to pull out a bowl of salad.
"It was good, thanks." Kazuya pulled plates down from the cupboard and forks from the drawer, setting them on the island. "Is mom coming home for dinner?"
"No, she's got meetings this evening. A client that needs some hand-holding," His father explained.
"Gotcha." Kazuya served himself some dinner, as did his father, and they moved to the breakfast nook to eat—when his mother wasn't home, they never used the dining room at all.
"So, what did you do on your day off?" Norio asked.
"Well, I had orchestra practice this morning, we have a lot of work to do to get ready for the spring competitions. After that, I had my violin lessons, which are going fine. And then I met a friend and we busked in the 14th street passage for a few hours." Kazuya didn't see any point in lying, he never did. If his parents didn't approve of his activities, so be it. He refused to be dishonest.
"What instrument does he play? Viola? Flute?" Norio asked, naming the traditional violin partners.
Kazuya chuckled at that image. "No. Actually, he plays the electric guitar."
"Really? And he goes to LaGuardia?"
"No, he goes to GW." Kazuya braced himself for the explosion. Which, to his surprise, didn't come.
"Really? Is he any good?"
"He is. He has a lot of natural ability. He's not very well trained, but he's taking lessons," Kazuya explained. "He picks things up faster than I've ever seen, though."
"That's great! Where did you meet?"
"In the passageway. I was playing where he usually does, and instead of him finding somewhere else, we decided to play together. It's a lot of fun to do stuff that's not as structured as my normal music."
"I'm sure it can be," Norio said. "Just don't let it get to be too big of a distraction so your important work doesn't suffer."
"It won't," Kazuya agreed. "But any practice is good practice, right?"
"Pretty much. Don't tell your mother I said that, though."
"I won't," Kazuya paused, wondering if he should say something to his father about what his mother had told him last night. "Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you know Mom's been talking to people in Japan about finding me a wife?"
"She did mention that, yes."
"Can you ask her to not? I'm really not interested in marriage, especially to a girl," Kazuya said. "You know I like boys."
"I do, but it might just be a phase," Norio said.
"I don't think it is, but even if that's true, I don't want to marry someone I don't know just because they're from Japan," Kazuya said. "Why would I?"
"It's tradition, son. I did it, and your grandfather did it, all the way back."
"Did you like it? Why would you want to force me into it?"
"I learned to love your mother, just like you'll learn to love whomever we have you marry," Norio said with finality.
"You can't make me marry anyone, you know that, right?"
"I do," Norio said with a sigh, backing down. "But it is tradition and I would appreciate you considering it."
Kazuya nodded, allowing the discussion to be tabled for now. "I will. But it's way too early for me to be even thinking about marriage, can you please ask Mom to hold off?"
"That's fair, I'll speak to her about it," Norio said, grabbing at the opportunity to put things back on an even keel. "So, tell me more about this new friend of yours."
Kazuya gladly accepted the change of subject and they chatted aimlessly while finishing dinner.
After they were done, Kazuya cleaned up, putting the leftovers away and washing the dishes they'd used, making sure the kitchen was spotless before heading upstairs to clean his instrument and wind down for the evening.
"So, how'd it go?"
Eijun looked up and saw his father standing in the doorway, watching him stir the pasta he was boiling to have with the sauce his mother had left simmering on the stove.
"It was good," Eijun said. "How was work?"
"Same old thing," Eidan Sawamura said. "The shop is busier than ever, and your grandfather and I are working our butts off. But that's good; it means we don't have to worry about making the bills." Eidan worked for the city, both he and Eitoku worked in the citywide machine shop. "Overtime is a blessing; we can save for your college."
"I'm not sure I want to go to college," Eijun said. "Now that I'm out of baseball, I don't know what I'd want to study. I think I might just join you at the shop, instead."
"Eijun, you know that's not a great future." Eidan started. "You should get an education, see the world. Not spend your youth holed up in a dusty old shop in a dead-end job."
Eijun sighed. "I don't think it would be the best use of our resources, that's all. I'd like to maybe start a band? Or join one, something. I really like playing."
"Well, I tried that," Eidan said. "It didn't work out so well for me, but you're already miles ahead of what I was able to do. If that's what you want, I'll talk to your mother about it, I know she really wants you to go to college."
"I know she does," Eijun said. "I just don't know what I'd study—I'd planned on going because of baseball, and that would have been a scholarship. Now, I don't know."
"That's fair. If you think of anything you'd like to study, let us know, but I'll speak to your mother in the meantime."
"Thanks, Dad." Eijun smiled at him, noting the lines of exhaustion on his face. "Why don't you go change and come sit, dinner will be ready in a few minutes."
"I think I will," Eidan said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders in a brief hug. "I love you, child of mine. You're a good kid, no matter what your parole officer says about you." He chuckled as he let go, heading towards his room. "And I want to talk to you about what happened today, okay?"
"Sure," Eijun answered, taking the pasta off the stove to drain.
Kazuya the smartass: I'm listening to this playlist and I like these songs.
Kazuya the smartass: I know them all, too. Good job there.
Me: u do? that's great
Kazuya the smartass: I don't know how to play them, but I am at least familiar with them.
Kazuya the smartass: Some of them I've played, though.
Me: which ones? on the bass?
Kazuya the smartass: Some, but mostly piano. Zep, The Who, The Killers, Queen.
Me: that's great! will make things easier
Kazuya the smartass: Not so sure about the Tull, though.
Me: i thought that might be neat, transpose the flute to the guitar *shrug*
Kazuya the smartass: why not 'Aqualung', then?
Me: i dunno? i like this one better
Me: take it off if u don't like it
Kazuya the smartass: Naw, it's fine. I was just asking. I like it better, too. Although dueting Misty Mountain Hop might be tricky.
Me: ur not wrong, i just love the song
Kazuya the smartass: fair enough.
Kazuya the smartass: I'm going to check these out, try to see if they'll work well for us.
Me: ok, have fun!
Kazuya the smartass: I will. I'll probably bug you more about things.
Me: fine with me
Me: i'll be around!
Kazuya the smartass: Before I forget! It’s the Met’s season opener tonight.
Me: ?
Kazuya the smartass: The orange and blue Empire state building.
*pic attached*
Eijun opened it to see a shot of the top part of the empire state building, orange and blue.
Me: oh! thanks! That’s so cool
Kazuya the smartass: It is. Goodnight, Eijun
Me: goodnight, kazuya