Promise to Sirius (An Utapri / Uta no Prince-sama Fanfiction)

Chapter 38: Promise to Sirius

Ai Mikaze

This is my 'thank you' and 'I love you' and 'I'm sorry' and 'don't leave me' all in one. This is a song for you, a song that would never be able to glow without you. So I sing for you a song from a heart that has been broken and yet is able to be shrouded in warmth because you were here.

The words flowed through Ai like petals in the calm, gentle air, as poignant as they were kind and warm, just like the person who had written them.

I sing for you 'Promise to Sirius', and always will as long as my heart is bright. And I hope it moves your heart, just like you moved mine.

Natsuki had written those words under the lyrics of his newest solo song "Promise to Sirius" on a white sheet of paper. More specifically, on the white sheet of paper that had been folded and tucked in the small pocket behind the back cover of his yellow notebook. He often wrote his thoughts and memories of and linked to songs that he loved under the lyrics, like how he had written out those deeply intertwined with Reiji's "Never..." under its lyrics, and it turned out that he had done the same for "Promise to Sirius". Sitting on the sofa with a cup of hot Darjeeling tea on the glass coffee table, Ai felt a sincere smile slant across his lips as silently as the air flowed around him.

You did, Natsuki.

His best friend's notebook was settled comfortably on his lap while the sheet of paper remained in his hands, holding onto earnest and powerful lyrics and melodies. He glanced towards the kitchen area, where Natsuki was preparing milk tea, and his smile softened on its own accord.

With a warm, bright smile in your eyes, you moved all of us, as sincere as it is lingering.

It was the morning after Natsuki sang his solo song "Promise to Sirius" to them for the first time. With permanent permission from Natsuki to borrow his notebook at any time and place, Ai had looked through the pages to search for the lyrics of the song, only to discover that the notebook now had a newly-handcrafted back pocket. It was there where he found the folded paper that held the lyrics and composition of the song. As he found solace in the peaceful morning, Natsuki's voice singing into the clear night sky reverberated gently yet deeply inside Ai's head like crystal-clear and bright ripples into an infinite ocean, resonating with the memories of last night. Amongst Natsuki's prior releases, excluding "Orion de Shout Out"'s ballad version, the one that was the closest to being a ballad was "Southern Cross Waltz", but it was not entirely a ballad either. 

However, that night, as he stood by the river that reflected the lights glowing across the night sky, surrounded by the flickering warm fireflies that he called his friends, the moment Natsuki sang the first line, Ai was certain that the song that he was listening to was a pure ballad. And it was. A passionate ballad that shone with sadness, hope and kindness all at once, gentle and heartfelt, filled with all that Natsuki was and accepted that he was. The song was Natsuki's emotions, thoughts and memories all rippling and brought to life like an abundance of stars, petals and leaves glowing in an incandescent, multi-coloured sky, a song that portrayed his kind, warm, innocent and powerful heart in a way that no one else would never be able to, that clearly said that he was who he was and that he was purely thankful for it. And in every second of the song, Ai felt Natsuki's heartbeat resonating with him, with all four of them, intertwining with each syllable and segment of the delicate rhythm.

"I sing for you..."

And he... had dedicated this song... especially to Reiji, Ai, Ranmaru and Camus. To his closest friends whom he would always hold dearly to him, just like they held him.

"Ai-chan, Myu-chan-senpai, breakfast is rea- Ehh...? Isn't that-"

"The lyrics and composition of 'Promise to Sirius'," Ai answered, laughing softly as he looked up at Natsuki, who was carrying a tea set in his hands and staring at him with widened green eyes behind his black-framed glasses. He smiled as Natsuki started to smile and chuckled. "I have to say that I am impressed by how well you hid the song from us as a surprise. You deliberately avoided writing any part of the song in your notebook knowing that you gave us full permission to borrow it anytime, right?"