Chapter 68: Suspicion
Being the celebratory type of person, Naoto-san invited us all again for dinner after the concert. This time, he treated all of us to a traditional Japanese restaurant that he loves so much. Everyone sits on the floor and on front of us was an extremely long low wooden table filled with different types of dishes; it looks so delicious. There was a television set at one side of the room which was for karaoke.
"I really love you all! You all did a wonderful job! You all went beyond my expectations! I want to hug all of you if I could just fit you all in my arms! Let's enjoy tonight!"
"Ka-channn!"
Oruma-san runs towards me and grabs my arm; she's pulling me up. What is she trying to do?
"Oruma-san, w-what—"
She gives me a microphone as she pulls me towards the karaoke corner.
"Ka-chan, sing with me! Get ready, your part is starting!"
"A-ah! O-okay!"
The intro of the song ends and I start singing the song that Oruma-san picked; it's a duet with her.
Everyone was listening and cheering for me and Oruma-san; we actually sound good together.
"Woohoo! You go girls!"
"Let me join in too!"
"Two beautiful ladies singing while we're drinking...what more can we ask for?"
"I want to choose the next song!"
Naoto-san sits beside Ai to watch Oruma-san and I.
"Look at those two, they're so cute! They should be my next project!" Naoto-san said.
"No way."
"Why not? They will surely become a great duo; they'll be a hit! They sound really good! They'll be a sweet treasure on stage!"
"I know that. That's why I don't want you to push thru with it; she won't have any free time if ever."
"Haha! You're quite selfish aren't you, Mikaze-san?"
Naoto-san pats Ai's back several times.
"Ka-chan! That was the best duet I've ever had so far! Let's do one more song, please!"
Oruma-san is hugging me tightly again...air...air...
"S-sure...if it means I can breathe again!"
"Haha! What song should we choose?"
Oruma-san and I scan thru the song booklet.
"I want to sing this one!" I pointed at a song.
"Alright! Let's enter the song number!"
The song starts playing and Ai recognizes the song. Oruma-san and I starts singing and enjoyed ourselves.
"Mikaze-san, that's one of your songs right? What was the title again? I forgot."
"It's her favorite from one of my albums; The Fragrance below the Mountain."
"That's sweet!"
Ai watches Kaori as she enjoys herself.
"Oruma-san, the next song is starting."
"Ah! Hold on! Let me finish my sake first!"
"Haha. Don't drink too much though or else you won't be able to read the lyrics."
"Don't worry! I got this under control!"
Oruma-san starts singing but she's saying the lyrics of a completely different song and is just trying to fit it into the melody of the song she's supposed to sing. Everyone laughs as she goes on trying to fit different lyrics into the song.
"Mikaze-san, do you really like Kaori-chan?"
"Yes. Without a doubt in my mind and heart, I like her very much; I wouldn't let go of her."
Naoto-san smiles. "Haha. I can tell by the way your eyes look at her. Don't let your love for her go to waste, you hear me? Do your best to keep her. I'll tell you something; just don't tell it to other people. When I was studying at the academy, I had a girlfriend back then; she was a fellow composer. We knew that it was against the rules to have a romantic relationship but we couldn't help it; we loved each other. We did our best to hide it but one day, we made a mistake and Saotome-sensei found out about our relationship."
"What happened after?"
"Not only did Saotome-sensei make us break up, he made sure that there was no time for us to see each other until we graduated. We got busy and because of that, the fire burned out and we became workaholics; we never got to see each other during and after graduation. When I think about her, I can't help but feel guilty. I felt that I should have fought harder for her, you know. She was a special person and will always be in my memories; I can't get over her. Listen, if ever Saotome-sensei finds out about you two, be strong. If you really love her very much, then you really won't let go of her."
The party continued with everyone getting hooked up at karaoke and drinking some good sake. When Oruma-san was really drunk, I asked someone to substitute for me and went back to Ai before Oruma-san could realize I switched out.
"Finally, I can sit down and eat! Oruma-san wouldn't give me a break!"
"Haha. You seemed to be enjoying yourself though."
"I did. It was tiring but fun! Why don't you go and sing as well, Ai?"
"It's alright. They might not let go of me after I join them; I wouldn't want that."
I looked at the food on the table and they sure all look delicious! I don't know which to try first! Maybe the salmon? Tuna? Eel? Beef? Chicken?
"Kaori."
I turned to Ai. "Ye—Hmphn?!"
"Does it taste good?"
I nodded since my mouth was full. I can't believe he just fed me the piece of food with his mouth! T-that's too much, Ai!
"Do you want more of that?"
I swallowed the food in my mouth. "Yes, it's delicious! But don't do that again!" my face blushing red as he looked at me teasingly.
As time passed, Naoto-san became drunk from all the sake he drank; he's a talkative drunk. Looking at everyone, I think they're all drunk; it's only Manager-san, Ai, and I who were still sober since we weren't drinking alcohol.
"Naoto-san! Let's sing a song!"
"Okay! Okay! What do you want to sing?!"
"Let's sing whatever!"
"Whatever? I don't know that song!"
"Whatever! Whatever! This song is not real! Whateveeeer!"
"So that's how it goes! Whatever goes! Whateverrrr! Whateberrrr!"
"Berrrr! Berrrr! Burrr!"
*cough cough cough*
I choked on my drink as I watched Naoto-san and one of the singers make up such a silly song out of nowhere; it's so funny to watch! Now some of the female singers are dancing to their song! I hope someone is recording this on video!
"Haha! *cough cough* Hahaha!"
"Take it easy; you spilled some water on yourself."
"Haha! I couldn't help it! They're so funny!"
Ai smiles and hands me a handkerchief to wipe myself with.
"I agree with you, Kaori. They're really silly to watch; they've lost themselves to the alcohol."
Ai then slips his left hand onto my right hand and intertwines our fingers together.
"Ai, what if they see?"
"No one will see. It's under the table and everyone is too distracted by Naoto-san and company."
He gently tightens his grip on my hand; it feels nice. When someone approaches us or would look our way, Ai would momentarily take his hand away from mine. When no one is looking, he would hold my hand again; I'm amazed at how he's so good at hiding this.
We were all having so much fun that we didn't notice the time; it was almost midnight.
"Kaori, Mikaze, we should get going."
"Okay, we should tell Naoto-san that we're leaving."
The three of us looked over to the karaoke corner of the room and saw that Naoto-san was already half naked while singing a song with full passion and drive.
"I think we should just leave without him knowing." Ai said.
"I think that would be good. Let's go to the car now before he sees us leaving."
The three of us slowly got up and tried to be as sneaky as possible but Naoto-san noticed us.
"Where do you think you're all going?! Come back! Sing with meeee!"
We immediately went towards the exit as everyone else held Naoto-san to prevent him from chasing after us.
"Naoto really is crazy since birth. How on earth did he become my brother?" Manager-san was embarrassed by Naoto-san's behavior tonight. I would feel the same if my brothers acted like that in front of my friends and co-workers; I would probably not show my face for some time if that happened haha.
"We're already near the agency. Do you guys want me to drive you all the way to the front of the dorm or just until the agency building?"
"Just until the agency building." Ai said.
"Alright."
Manager-san reaches the agency building after a few minutes and drops us off from there.
"Good night, you two. See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, Manager-san. Drive safely." I waved at him as he drove away.
Ai and I started walking towards the dorm; we were holding hands as we walked. The nights sure are cold these days.
"Are you free any time tomorrow?" Ai asked.
"If I remember my schedule correctly, I think that I'm free in the afternoon. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing in particular."
"Liar. You're smiling again."
"Is it strange for me to smile?"
"It's just that it means you're thinking of something or you're going to do something."
"Perhaps."
When the dorm was in sight, Ai lets go of my hand. "We're back..."
"Yeah...we're back to the dorm."
We looked at each other with bittersweet smiles before entering the dorm. However, our bittersweet smiles turned into shocked faces when an unexpected person was sitting in the lobby of the dorm.
"Good eveninggg, to the both of you. It's almost miiidnight; where did you two come from?"
"G-good evening, Saotome-sensei. Naoto-san had an after party for everyone; we were all having so much fun that we didn't notice the time."
"What about you, Saotome? What are you doing here at the dorm at such a time?"
"I was just visiting the dorm, Mr. Mikaze. I couldn't stay still after the magniiificent concert! The energy and pulse of the songs still run thru my veins! Especially your performances; I couldn't take my mind off of them."
"I truly commend your performances together; I really do. What really gave an impression on me was your acting and dancing. The both of you did a rather excellent job."
"As mentioned before, it's all thanks to Nao—"
"Yesss Mr. Mikaze, it's all thanks to Mr. Kumagai however, I believe his training alone could not have developed such natural movements and emotions; there must have been something else that helped you both do such a beautiful performance."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm not saying anything, Mr. Mikaze. I am just simply curious as to how you and Ms. Yamashita pulled off such a wonderful job; it intrigues me."
Saotome-sensei then stands up from the sofa and walks towards Ai.
"Lately, you've been shining even brighter than before. That's good since it brings out even more of your talent and potentials; it's very good."
He then turns to me; I feel really nervous.
"Ms. Yamashita, I could say the same to you. You've been working really hard and have been receiving many offers lately; you're in demand. You are no longer a spark but a burning flame; I just hope that the flame would not die out due to the wind."
Saotome-sensei was smiling at me but I felt a strange vibe from him; it's like he's trying to look into my mind or something. He really is suspecting something.
"I should leave you both to rest. Tomorrowww is another wonderful day to spread the love of music and dazzle people! I'll take my leave now. Goooodnight!"
Saotome-sensei walks towards the door but stops just when the door was in front of him.
"Be careful. Pretending could lead to the real thing unless it wasn't pretend from the start. We all know the rule now, don't we? It's best to follow that rule."
He opens the door and leaves quietly.
I know...I know...I know! I know the rule! I shouldn't have feelings for Ai but I just can't! I just can't throw away my feelings for him. I've reached a point of no return; I can't let go of them just like that. I've fallen for him too deep...I really love him from the bottom of my heart.
"Goodnight, Ai. I'll go on ahead; I feel tired."
"Kaori..."
I went straight to my room without looking back at Ai; I just want to lie down on my bed and cover myself with all my pillows and blanket. I just want to hide myself away.