Bound By Blood
Track One: Raison D'etre
To my sister Aya! Happy Birthday!!!
Background for the Story: Yoshiki and Shinya are cousins. Shinya is present day 17 years old and Yoshiki is 19. ^__^
ummm... here:
"..." - dialogue, what is really said
~...~ - thoughts, what the people think
//...// - flashback, what they remember
**...** - what Shinya hears come out from people's mouths
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The two grand pianos faced each other, both musicians in deep thought and concentration. Two pairs of eyes shut tightly in thought and nearly in prayer. Such quiet reigned over the grandeur of the concert hall. Everyone waited in a silence which was so solemn that a silence that profound should only be found in the company of the deceased in a cemetery. Slowly the lids lifted, revealing two pairs of beautiful dark brown eyes.
Both considered the other's position, the other's musical score, and concentrated hard, staring at their own notes to make sure they wouldn't lose track and fall into the other's part. The elder lifted his hand to a height that his junior could certainly see. The latter's eyes dropped to the piece of music as the former brought his hand down onto the white and black keys, chiming out a beautiful chord to begin.
Like a gunshot to runners in a marathon, both pianists flew into a frenzy of matching pitches and notes. The sounds merged, melted into each other. The two grand pianos weren't two any longer, they had come together and formed one. Both musicians had no differences; they were one and the same.
The music flowed as a river into the ears and straight to the hearts of the watching audience. Many brought in strained breaths. The perfect harmony the duet brought to them was echoing straight into the very being of the human heart, echoing into the spectators' heartstrings.
Both pairs of brown eyes watched the notes, read them. Both pairs of ears listened to the sound their own fingers were producing, the sound the other's fingers were producing. And, caught into the moment, both musicians felt a sensation of extasy from the music. A warm feeling that they weren't alone. The calming and yet exciting emotion rose from the bottom of consciousness.
The younger's eye twitched, the elder's eye peeked at the latter. But everyone watched though not everyone heard. The music continued to flow as if the river was unhindered, yet both musicians knew that there had been a mistake.
And after the piece was finished, the performance complete, they stood at the same time and simultaneously bowed to their audience. A pandemonium of cheers and applause took the place of the serenity that the musicians had earlier created. One smiling, one stoic, both walked off the stage.
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"Congratulations Yoshiki!" "That was wonderful, as usual!" "You're the greatest!" "I can see a performance in front of the emperor in your future, Yo-chan!" "You're the best in this family when it comes to playing the piano!" "Good luck in your future aspirations!" "You always do your best!" "You're great!" "You're wonderful!" "You're Number One!"
"Arigatou! Arigatou!" Yoshiki was shaking too many hands for him to match the hands with any faces. His whole family piled on top of him, thrusting their palms out for a shake, ruffling his hair, and otherwise kissing and hugging him. Amidst the chaos which takes place backstage and when one is with their family, Yoshiki noticed his younger cousin standing far away from the crowd, hiding somewhere in the back. He wasn't watching their happy (and quite large) family congratulate his elder, nor was he himself being congratulated. He just stood with his stoic face, as usual.
Yoshiki was about to approach the younger, but Shinya walked away before Yoshiki had time to even think of calling his name. He had reached out his hand, but it was quickly grabbed into a handshake.
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//"Come on, Shinya, blow out the candles and make a wish, dear," Yoshiki's aunt was chiming happily to her son. It was his fifth birthday. So many relatives piled around in celebration of the momentous occassion: it was a family tradition to make a big deal out of everyone's birthday. Even if you didn't particularly like the family member.
"Should I say it out loud?" The now five-year old asked his family.
"If you want to Shinya!" His cousin said happily. "Your choice of course, but if you say it out loud maybe it won't come true." Shinya's cousin, Yoshiki, was seven-years old, two years older than Shinya. He smiled at his younger cousin, but Shinya didn't make it a pint to smile back.
~What should I wish for?~ Shinya wondered to himself. ~I have a great idea!~
"I wish that my voice will disappear and I will never again speak for the rest of my life." The family brought in gasps and everyone was shocked as the young orangy-brown haired boy blew the six candles (one for good luck) out. The smoke of the wishing candles rose into the air as his mother picked him up in her arms and begged him to say anything.
"Shinya dear! Why did you wish for that? Come now, talk to mommy, come on... Oh my poor boy!" And she hugged her son close, crying and sobbing into his clothing.
Yoshiki watched in mere confusion, shock, and a slight bit of fear.//
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Shinya walked into his quiet and still room. It was a plain room, nothing special about it. The walls were stark white, the furniture limited to a futon, a small table with nightlamp, an oak dresser, and a small wall mirror. The room had no real electric lighting besides the small night lamp and whatever came in through the window shades.
The young man walked in front of his mirror and took out a nice hairbrush and began to fix his orangey-brown locks of magnificent curls. It was true, only half of his hair was curly and the rest was straight, but hey, it was stylish for him at least. While on the outside he seemed like a normal teenage girl simply brushing his hair, within his self was a chaotic battle raged on.
~That bastard, that BASTARD, THAT BASTARD! It isn't fair! I know i screwed up the piece again, but he goes and throws it in my face that I screwed up, that I could never be at the same level as he, that I'm lower than that stupid bastard! UGH! He makes me so mad, I can't stand him...~
"Hey Shinya, that was great! Let's do it again, sometime, ne?" That was the enthusiastic suggestion of his cousin. However, Shinya had heard, **Hey Shinya, you could've done better. Try again some other time, ne?**
~THAT STUPID CONCEITED BASTARD!!!~ Of course, not a single bit of this rage showed through the calm, stoic poker face he wore almost 24/7. It was because of that stoic mask that 'felt no pain' that Shinya's delicate sanity lay like a crystal glass on a heater with building pressure.
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Yoshiki was talking on the phone. He didn't normally do that, but it was a special occassion. On the other end, his best friend was answering Yoshiki with a reply which made the blonde nearly jump for joy. "So we're going to Tokyo?" The next reply nearly made the blonde faint.
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"And so, we'll be leaving for Tokyo in about a week or so," Yoshiki concluded with his mother. His family and his aunt's family lived under the same roof in Osaka. It was quite a crowded home. So many of their relatives lived in the same place and so, Yoshiki had to give a VERY good reason if he wanted to leave. "Because we're starting a band together."
"Oh dear... My little boy is finally growing up," Yoshiki's mother hugged her son tightly. "I guess you can go, only if you're going to Toshi-chan though."
"Don't worry," Toshi said, "I'll take good care of your son, Hayashi-san."
"Oh, thank you!" Hayashi-san grabbed both young men into her arms and hugged them tightly. At that time, Shinya walked in. He walked casually to the breakfast table and started eating his normal breakfast of fish and rice and miso soup and some milk tea.
"Oh Shinya!" Yoshiki turned to his young cousin. "We're leaving to Tokyo soon, to start a band." **I'm leaving you behind again so I can go to Tokyo.** Shinya promptly lifted his hand and waved 'good-bye' to his cousin. "Ha ha, no not yet, Shin-chan. In a week." Shinya prompty lowered his hand and went back to eating. "Umm, Shinya?" Shinya looked up again and looked somewhat agitated that he couldn't finish his meal. "I was thinking that maybe I leave we should play a piano duet together again."
Before Shinya could think anything, his own mother, Yoshiki's aunt, came in and said, "Why that's a wonderful idea! Why not, Shinya-kun?" Shinya decided to nod.
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Later in the day, around lunchtime, the family heard the call of: "Mail's in!" And so, amongst the large family, the mail was distributed to whoever it was addressed to.
"Aw man..." Yoshiki looked at his grade card which stated that he basically failed every subject, except for Japanese, English, and of course, music. "Ha ha ha... I deserved it anyway." **Ha ha ha, he deserves it anyway.**
Shinya looked at his own: 99's and 100's in everthing, in music though - a 98.
~Darn that bastard... he beat me again.~ Shinya thought. ~And there he goes, throwing it in my face all over again. I can't believe the nerve he has! Asking me to piano duets just to make a fool out of me every time and then he goes and shoves all his steam in my face about him being better than I am. What a stuck up jerk.~
Shinya looked at the fire burning in the seldom used fireplace. He swifted thrust the grade card in and watched it burn.
"Shinya what are you doing?" Yoshiki came running in and saved whatever small pieces that were spared by the tongues of the flame. Shinya looked down on his cousin, who was only trying to help and started to leave, when he heard his mother call, "Shinya! Shinya! Come here deary."
Shinya walked in the direction of her voice while his cousin and his best friend blew out the fire which still burnt at the edges of the paper.
"You know, you're right Yoshiki," Toshi whispered, "he does act really strange."
"I feel bad for him," Yoshiki whispered back. Unfortunately, Shinya had only heard Toshi's statement, and therefore, more anger built underneath that stoic mask of his. So, I can't help but ask the reader, when do you think the pressure will finally burst through and show itself?
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"Shin-chan, sit down," Shinya's mother was sitting across from him and he regarded her solemnly. ~I wonder what she wants.~ He thought simply. "You know, you haven't spoken for twelve years already. I'm really worried about you." ~Heh, why didn't you say this after I stopped talking for one year, huh? It's because you don't really care, do you?~ "I think, maybe you should see a therapist. You know, maybe you should have some couseling, psychiatric help. Shinya, look at me." Shinya turned his eyes glaringly at his own mother. "I know you're probably going through lots of pain, but maybe if you just get some help-"
Now, the reader remembers: When will the pressure finally burst?
A sound of a muffled punch and a slap and Shinya's mother fell off her chair and onto the floor. A red mark blushed on her cheek. Shinya was standing defiantly over the table, near tears.
"WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW!?!" Shinya yelled out the first words ever to be heard from his voice for twelve years. His voice was no longer that of a small innocent child, but instead the cracking voice of an angry teenager going through puberty. Yoshiki and Toshi ran in as Shinya ran out.
"Oba-san!" Yoshiki supported his aunt. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"Oh... oh, Shinya..." his aunt was crying hysterically and the two could do nothing but watch.
To Be Continued
To the next part