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'see you, then,' he smiles politely and waves to kotaro, who mirrors him easily. they'd been practicing together a little lately, and akito feels good about it. he doesn't really - like the guy, per se, but he was good for practice. something about him is childish and a little mean, and akito never liked those types of people. doesn't like it about himself, either.
he greets everyone he passes casually, loosely, as he twists and turns down the city streets. it's almost like a well-rehearsed dance - counting every familar place like a bar measure before reaching the end of the piece - but.
the finisher, his favourite practice spot, isn't his today. instead, there's this boy standing there, and a small crowd clapping politely for him. he - doesn't seem too happy about it.
'thank you very much, everyone. i'm pleased to have you listening to me, as always.' he bows, but then turns back to the speaker and starts queuing up something else. akito wonders if he says that kind of almost goodbye after every song, and the idea is so ridiculous that he kinda wants to wait and see if it's true.
he slips into the crowd, and looks a little closer at the boy. he looks out of place, for lack of a better term. his face is strikingly beautiful, and his hair just as striking - bright blue, probably dyed in the last week or so, judging by the sheer intensity of the colour. he has a small beauty mark near his eye, and smooth skin unbefitting of a teenager wearing the kind of school uniform he does. he's like, a cool disney prince type.
but much like a disney prince, the looks seem to be the main appeal. his stance is rigid and expressions muted, and he seems utterly disinterested in anything going on around him. even his fans seem a little bored as he recites your standard 'coming up next' speech with no real charisma to it. akito tilts his head as he hears the song name, sand planet. vocaloid's always been mildly popular around here, but he didn't expect it from someone like him. plus, it's an absurdly popular song, contrasting the usual art snobs who'll pick absurdly niche songs just to flex their originality. the opening chords play, a little quiet, and the guy sort of bobs his head with it. the previously disinterested crowd perks up instantly, buzzing with curiosity. he opens his mouth to start and - woah.
woah, woah, woah, this guy's, like, really good! he matches the original tone of the tuning perfectly, and hits every note with pianolike accuracy. his voice is clear and strong, but not overpowering, and akito feels suddenly drawn to him, feels like all his charisma points went into his voice. as he ramps up to the chorus, akito feels something like excitement bubbling up inside him. he bounces on his heels to the beat, a little giddy, as he listens intently. the boy nails the rap part, too, and akito feels something like jealousy rise in his lungs. he crosses his arms across his chest, but keeps bouncing. he's - really interested in this guy. the boy keeps escalating the tension like a crescendo, and akito waits with bated breath for the release as he nears the end of the song. when it hits, akito feels like he could seriously just pass out right here. what the hell is this guy? how hasn't he heard of him before? his mind is racing, and his heart follows suit. it's embarrassingly exhilarating.
the outro rings dully between akito's ears. he just wants to talk to this guy already. he wants to ask him who he is and when he started singing here and is he single, like, musically. he claps embarrassingly loudly along with the rest of the crowd, so much so that it draws the guy's attention to him, and akito smiles excitedly back. the guy stutters a little as he says his thank yous and yes, he really must do this after every song, and that's so fucking funny. he has to catch him before he starts the next song or he'll be starstruck again.
'hey, man!' akito slips through as politely as he can. 'i'm akito shinonome, i sing around here a lot. are you new here or something?'
'um,' the guy looks a little threatened. 'yes. i'm just starting out with this kind of music, so i will accept any critique you have.'
'critique? that was,' awesome, magical, akito wants to say, 'really impressive,' he settles for.
'oh, well, thank you. i'm glad to hear it.' he starts to turn toward the speaker again, but akito grabs his sleeve, and he freezes.
'what's your name?' akito tries to sound cool and composed and not like he just desperately clutched at this guy's arm to steal his attention.
'toya aoyagi.'
'toya, huh. are you busy after this?' toya's eyebrow quirks up a little, and akito smiles harder. 'i kinda wanna talk to you about something.'