https://youtu.be/hthRQTWbh8E

Episode 22: Fall Talent Show

"AY! AY! AY! AY!"

The crowd's upbeat chant, backed by their energetic clapping to the beat of the blaring hip-hop rhythm, sent a thrill through Kousei's body as he and Kaori watched the two men in the large circle continue to throw spiraling kicks at one another. But what was this spectacle, exactly? Were these two men resolving their differences and the spectators thought it to be a game?

Far from it. For these two men weren't fighting. They were playing! And their dance was none other than the traditional art form of Brazilian Capoeira!

"WOO-HOO!" Kaori whooped in Kousei's ear as she gripped her half-finished cone of New York vanilla ice cream. Kousei winced instinctively due to the close proximity of his girlfriend's high-pitched fanfare. The grin on his face did not fade, though, for this was the most fun he'd had in a while! A date with Kaori out in the sprawling metropolis of New York City on a Saturday afternoon? He'd have to be crazy to turn that down!

As Kousei continued to clap along with the rest of the crowd, the Capoeira performers continued to get increasingly flashy with their moves! One of them suddenly stood on his head and executed a perfect windmill kick, to which the other dancer swiftly weaved beneath in the nick of time! The two tall, muscular Brazilian men continued to kick and lunge at one another until finally, the two of them shook hands and stepped out of the circle.

The onlookers continued to clap and cheer as another Capoeira dancer, a shorter man dressed in matching white pants and shirt, stepped into the circle. Kousei saw the man begin to point at random crowd members, inviting one of them to partake in the dance with him. Kousei tried to shrink back at first, and it would've worked...

Had Kaori not been standing right behind him.

"Go on, Promoted Friend A!" she suddenly shoved him with a wicked gleam in her eye. "Show em what you got!"

"What the—Kaori you—!"

But his grumbling was drowned out as the surrounding spectators suddenly pointed, smiled, and clapped for him, urging him to go on and meet the other man head-on in the dance battle.

"AY! AY! AY! AY!" they continued to chant.

Defeated, Kousei nervously approached the older man, and tensed his body up in anticipation of the crazy kicks that were about to come his way. Lucky for Kousei though, the man smiled and offered his hand first.

"Mestre Cardoso!" the Capoeira instructor greeted him, his accented voice slightly raised so Kousei could hear him. "What's your name?"

"Kousei Arima!" Kousei greeted in return, then looked around with a flustered look on his face. "I was kinda shoved into here actually...I don't know the first thing about any type of dancing. I hope I'm not a bother."

"Not at all, my friend!" the Mestre replied. "We won't do anything too difficult. Just watch me as I guide you through the moves. It's simple, trust me!"

"Okay!" Kousei smiled, now just a bit more confident.

After leading Kousei through a few basic kicks and dodges, Mestre Cardoso taught him the proper posture, which was an odd, almost Spider-man-like kneeling position that allowed both players to move around with great freedom. Kousei was glad to be wearing his jeans, not only because it was cold out, but because they would allow him to emulate the arcing moves of the Mestre with greater ease!

The Mestre and the novice assumed their kneeling positions before Mestre Cardoso looked at Kousei and nodded. Seeing Cardoso's leg slowly sweep towards his left ankle, Kousei pivoted to the right on his right foot, while also raising his left foot off the ground. This motion led to him going into a side roll, just as the Mestre had shown him. The Mestre continued his advance, maintaining eye contact with Kousei and moving his legs in a slow, controlled manner every time he did a move. Kousei executed the proper dodge every time, throwing his own counter-kicks into the mix to keep it interesting. Eventually, his turn in the circle came to a close, but it was worth it when he shook the Mestre's hand while hearing the crowd's approving cheers.

"Well done my friend!" Mestre Cardoso grinned. "You are welcome to stop by my academy anytime!"

Kousei and the Mestre bowed to one another, stepping out of the circle to make room for another pair of players. As Kousei rejoined his girlfriend and the two of them stepped off, Kaori typed away on her phone, and Kousei's expression drooped as he saw who she was messaging.

"Just sent your amazing performance to the group chat!" Kaori grinned. "Takeshi says your moves look more awkward than his sister trying to talk to her crush!"

"Tell him at least they're better than his haircut from our middle school days," Kousei snickered, pulling the strings on the hood of his Navy-blue jacket just a little tighter.

"Fair point, but even Hiroko says you look ridiculous!" Kaori snickered as Kousei put his arm around her shoulders.

"Oh let them laugh," he said. "I'm just glad we've finally gotten a chance to have some fun today."

As the couple continued on their outing, they found themselves being tempted to buy all sorts of souvenirs, treats, and other memorabilia from the many shops and stores that lined the bustling New York streets. Some of the shops were quite expensive, while others were more inside their price range. Then, Kousei's eyes lit up with delight as he saw a snack shop with familiar goodies from back home, and this time it was him yanking Kaori through the door before she could direct them elsewhere. It only took a few seconds for the Kousei to purchase the snacks from which he'd been departed from for so long, and Kaori could've sworn her boyfriend's countenance was uncharacteristically happy as they departed the convenience store.

"We are literally in a place with a multitude of choices, and this one specific brand of egg sandwiches is what you pick?" Kaori shook her head as Kousei stuffed his face with the tasty delicacies.

"I like what I like!" Kousei shrugged, his mouth still full. "Light on the mayo and salt, just the way it should be!"

"You are one weird pianist, Kousei," Kaori chuckled as she ruffled his hair. "But that's okay. Because I still love you all the same."

Kousei smiled back and tried to lean in for a kiss, to which he only found himself being restrained by Kaori's index finger pressing down on his nose.

"Mhm-mm-mhmm!" she scolded in a playful tone. "Not with that nasty breath!"

"Oh wow, you're one to talk!" Kousei retorted, moving his face back from Kaori's fingertip. "You scarfed down two whole tamales earlier before that ice cream cone!"

"Are you trying to call me fat?" Kaori growled, narrowing her eyes.

"Oh my—not this again!" Kousei protested.

"I'm kidding, Kousei, relax!" Kaori laughed, taking his hand in hers. "Come on! It's almost noon and we agreed to meet our friends back at Sakura Park!"

By now, Kousei and Kaori had gotten accustomed to Manhattan's crowded maze of streets, so it wasn't too long before their taxi arrived at Sakura Park, which was located just across the street from the Manhattan School of Music. Seeing Derek's unmistakable orange beanie, they hurried over to join him and two girls who were from Kaori's floor.

"What's good brotha!" Derek grinned, giving Kousei a fist bump. "So, how y'all likin Manhattan?"

"Save for a certain crazy someone shoving me into the middle of a capoeira circle, it went great!" Kousei said, nudging Kaori with his elbow.

"Oh calm down!" Kaori shook her head as she proceeded to show her friends the video of Kousei's performance. "Even you have to admit you had fun!"

"Okay fine, you win," Kousei sighed as Kaori's friends burst out laughing at his novice performance.

"I must say though, that was good for a first time!" Kaori's Cherokee friend Awinita praised, a wide smile beneath her brown eyes. "Perhaps you and Kaori should come to Tahlequah for our powwow!"

"Here's the real question though," the brunette girl Amanda piped up. "Are you ever going to dance with Kaori?"

"Ayyyy, I got you for that one Arima!" Derek said, clapping his friend on the back. "We gonna bring the house down once winter formal comes around!"

"Okay okay, settle down everyone!" Kousei chuckled. "Dance isn't exactly my forte but I'll see if I can try some stuff out!"

"You mean you will try it out!" Kaori corrected with a victorious smile on her face.

"Kaori, seriously?"

"To live is to dance, to dance is to live!"

"Snoopy again," Kousei replied without effort.

"I see I've taught you well!" Kaori rejoiced.

An hour had passed before Derek reminded Kousei of their scheduled game with Watari at 1:30pm. After giving Kaori a goodbye kiss on the cheek, Kousei followed Derek as he led the way back to their dorm room.

"So, how you feel about Kaori wanting you learn more dancing?" Derek asked, giving Kousei's shoulder a gentle poke.

"Wanting me to or forcing?" Kousei replied, and Derek's face erupted into laughter.

"The girlfriend always wins brotha!" Derek said. "My girl and I have been long distance for a while, but even then, she always wins!"

"I guess so," Kousei sighed, the blissful memories of him and Kaori's first year dating resurfacing in his mind.

"Ay come on now though, your friend Watari said he'd be available today right? Let's get a move on!"

Sure enough, Watari was right on schedule, having already set up the lobby of Halo:Reach on their Xbox Live server. Derek helped Kousei get acquainted with his headset and console as Watari began to customize their firefight map.

"How you been Kousei?" Watari's cheerful voice spoke over the headset. "Everything alright with you and Kaori?"

"Yeah, things have been great!" Kousei smiled. "How about you and Tsubaki?"

"Same here!" Watari replied. "We actually helped your dad out with running a garage sale a couple weeks ago! School is tough and all, but we'll make it!"

As the three friends collaborated, fought with, and bantered with one another in their usual firefight and team deathmatches maps, the dorm room was filled with sounds of energetic shouts, yelps, and gunfire sound effects from Derek's TV screen.

"You were totally camping, brotha!" Derek shouted in mock anger as Watari scored a hit on him.

"I was not!" Watari retorted, proceeding to pull out his secondary weapon and spray Kousei's position.

Their trio's conversation went many directions, with topics ranging from differences between Japan and America, food, comics books, movies, and more. Soon enough, the topic of the school's upcoming Fall Talent Show came up, and Watari's excitement went through the roof as Kousei revealed what his performance would be.

"A musical theater piece?!" Watari exclaimed. "And you have singers from the choir backing you up?! You've got to let me know how that goes!"

............................................

Kousei rolled the lint roller over his navy-blue suit jacket one last time, checking for any stragglers the way a janitor would check for dust. His white shirt and black tie were fine, thankfully, and his navy-blue slacks had been ironed the night before. The backstage area of the Neidorff-Karpati Hall was filled with performers running this way and that, some attending to last-minute details they'd neglected to check beforehand. Kousei breathed in and out, trying to calm his nerves...had it been two weeks already?!

"So, how do I look?" Kaori's voice sounded behind him, and he turned around.

Though Kaori's white dress was plain white for the most part, there was a small portion of glittery design running down either side of it. Her red heels provided a flawless contrast to the dress. And to top it all off, a small pink rose was perched just behind her left ear, decorating her already exquisite blonde curls with a finishing touch of fine beauty.

"Absolutely gorgeous, my darling virtuoso," Kousei smiled at her, bringing her in for a kiss on the forehead.

"You don't look so bad yourself, my handsome prince," Kaori replied.

"So, you gonna tell me what you're performing now?" Kousei asked. "It's fifteen minutes before showtime! You don't have to keep it that much under wraps do you?"

"Naughty naughty, Kousei," Kaori snickered, wagging a finger at him. "How do we decide who had the better piece if we tell each other now?"

"Very well then," Kousei winked. "May the best musician win."

The four singers from the MSM's American Musical Theatre Ensemble found Kousei a few minutes later, and began providing encouraging remarks plus clarifying certain details with him. The two tenors, Brad and Stuart, were twin brothers boasting long brown hair while the basses, Daniel and Luis, both had shorter black hair faded down to the skin.

"Yes, you'll be standing stage left on the other side of the piano!" Kousei nodded. "Thanks so much for helping me with this, guys! Let's show them what we've got!"

The long-awaited annual Fall Talent Show began, with the MCs hyping up the crowd as was proper procedure for any type of event such as this one. The performances began soon after, with acts ranging from classical Concerto pieces to covers of hip-hop and rap songs. Derek, for his part, did a jazz-style cover of Uptown Funk with his friends from the jazz ensemble, and that act really had the crowd roaring.

"Knock em dead, brotha!" Derek whispered as he and his group returned backstage. "You're up next!"

Kousei smiled to himself as he straightened his tie and began strutting out onto the stage with his group close behind him. The crowd applauded as he and the quartet of singers took their place on stage, and Kousei could feel the confidence flowing in his veins as he took his seat behind the Bosendorfer grand piano. The polished black floor of the rounded-off stage was generously illuminated by the recital hall's many spotlights. Out of the corner of his eye, Kousei could see that the cushioned scarlet seats of the venue were completely filled. Despite that, his confidence remained unshaken.

The more people were gathered in this space tonight, the more people he would reach.

"Elohim Essaim, Elohim Essaim, most humbly I implore you."

Then, Kousei began tapping a beat with his left foot, nodded at his performers, and played the introductory phrase to his selected piece, Istanbul (Not Constantinople).

Do, Me! Do, Me! Do, Me! Do, Me!

And right on cue, at the third measure, the eager ensemble singers began to sing the lyrics with a bounce in their step and a playful tone.

"Istanbul was Constantinople,"
"Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople!"
"Been a long time gone, Old Constantinople,"
"Now it's Turkish delight, on a moonlit night!"

Kousei couldn't help but smirk as he thought of Kaori's reaction backstage.

"Bet ya never expected this, did ya, my dear?"

Kousei had still been keeping up with some classical repertoire of course, such as the Clementi piece he'd played for his fall recital just last week. He still very much respected the classical traditions, having been raised on them. Still, a certain part of his heart leaped with childlike joy as he performed his first piece from a new genre he'd never cared for until now.

"Watari, Tsubaki, my dad, Hiroko, all our friends and family back home...will I reach them?"

Kousei would've played forever and ever had the ensemble members singing not reminded him that they'd reached the end of the piece. The audience's applause resounded through the elegant concert hall as Kousei and his group bowed and returned backstage.

"Well played, Kousei. Well played." Kaori smiled at him.

"So, how do you plan to top that, your Highness?" Kousei challenged in an affectionate tone.

"Oh, just you wait," Kaori said, walking off as the MCs announced her name.

Same as Kousei, Kaori had enlisted the help of other musicians: three string players and one percussion player from the Symphony Orchestra. At first, Kousei guessed they were about to perform a classical string quartet piece.

He was half right.

It was a string quartet alright...specifically, Millenia by the Soweto String Quartet!

Fa Do-Do, Do Do-Do, Do Re-Re! Re Re-Re!

Re Do-Do, Do Do-Do, Mi Mi-Mi! Mi Mi-Mi!

Kousei's eyes lit up with wondrous surprise as he heard the African melodies performed on the Western instruments. Of course Kaori would choose a piece like this! They'd challenged one another to step outside the classical canon for this talent show, and it seemed her choice was on par with his!

Do, Te-La-So Te La, Fa Do, La So, Mi Do!

Do, Te-La-So Te La, Fa Do, La So, Mi Do!

As always, Kaori's free-spirited performance of the main melody mesmerized the audience with its uncontested power. As she and her ensemble members continued to play through the riffs, harmonies, and syncopated phrases of the piece, the audience began to clap along to the music, with some members even cheering them on.

Kousei loved all of it. The music, the celebration, and the joy which filled the recital hall.

But most importantly...he loved Kaori.

The way she swayed and tapped her feet to the rhythm of the music.

The bounce of her blonde curls as the spotlights augmented their already sparkling appearance.

The wild, free smile on Kaori's face as she played the violin with the same ferocity she'd played all those years ago the first time they'd met.

Kousei longed to run out onto the stage, take Kaori in his arms, and lead her across the hall in a romantic dance for the rest of the night.

But he knew doing so would cause much-unwanted trouble, so instead, he just clapped along as he gazed at the young woman he was so happy to have met.

Even Kaori's performance had to come to an end, but the audience was sure to never forget it. As the crowd erupted into another bout of deafening applause, Kousei felt his heart getting more fluttery by the minute as Kaori and her ensemble bowed.

"One day," he vowed to himself. "After all of this is done..."

"I'll ask her."

..............................................

"Dear? Are you alright?" Ryouko asked her husband. "You've been looking at that picture for quite a while now."

Yoshiyuki wiped away a tear from his face as he set down the photo of his daughter from when she was only five years of age. The photo that, due to Kousei's innocently timed photobomb in the back, had inadvertently turned out to be a prophetic omen.

"I'm fine," he sniffed as his wife hugged him from the side. "It's just..."

"Why'd she have to grow up so fast?"