Disclaimer:
I don’t own Nodame Cantabile. If I did, I wouldn’t need to write a
fanfic. All rights go to Ninomiya-sensei. I only own the plot.
Warnings:
AU – It doesn't happen YET, manga-verse. It's just my imaginations
running wild. There are some references (SPOILERS!) to Opera-hen, and a few
chapters towards the end of Nodame Cantabile (the ones before Opera-hen).
Title:
Untitled - Yet unpublished at FF.Net, unbeta-ed. Will wait until all 4/5 chapters have finished. =)
Verse:
Sequel to Their Promise
Author:
C. I.
Chapter 1
It had been a while since
they last played together. Nodame had become a celebrated pianist, while he had
earned more recognition for his conducting.
He vaguely remembered his
surprise when she turned up to play the celesta for his first opera. His
subsequent close-to-a-proposal speech that came after had somewhat surprised
himself, but at the same time, felt right. Then, she went on to continue
playing, her sometimes childish whims belaying the fact that she was now more
mature than the person she was all those years ago.
He had cancelled some of
his engagements in order to study with Viera-sensei. He worked hard, learning
the ways of the opera with his sensei, and at the same time, worked with other
orchestras. Elize had given him hell for being ‘reckless’ and like Stresemann,
would likely drive her nuts again.
‘But then, she drives me
nuts too,’ thought Chiaki when Elize had given him one of her lectures.
Yet he managed to overcome
all odds. He acknowledged that as a conductor, it would take time for him to be
able to work with top-level orchestras. He knew it to be true when Elize told
him that, and the same went when he told Nodame about it. He had apologized for
being unable to perform together with her at the Philadelphia Orchestra. She
had taken it in stride, saying she was sorry and that she would be going first.
But he had kept his
promise. The night after their performance with the White Rose Troupe on the
opera, Die Zauberflöte, he had told her that their first performance together
would be with her playing a concerto.
He recalled saying, “Let’s
make a promise, okay?” The words: ‘Because
I owe you so much’ [1] was what he told himself – the reason why he had asked
her to make that promise with him.
And indeed he had owed her
a lot. He owed her for that time, too. For making him realize what had been right
in front of his eyes all those times - for making him realize his dreams and to
see that he had her right by his side. Inwardly, he was touched when she said
that giving up all those other engagements could mean his life. He knew it was
a gamble, and that he risked giving up on steadily building his reputation as a
renowned conductor. Yet, he knew that he had wanted to learn more about
conducting for the opera. Yes, he was chasing something different, but it did
not mean that he would give up conducting for the orchestra.
After he finished learning
from Viera-sensei, he had given in to Elize’s idea of payback. She had made him
perform in orchestras one after another, packing up his schedule like there was
no tomorrow. Her face was filled with glee as she announced that she would make
him make up for the ‘lost time’, as she put it.
‘Now I know how Stresemann
felt. No wonder he was always running away from Elize’s iron fist,’ he thought
at the time.
And that paid off. He was
finally recognized as a leading conductor, and following that he was able to
perform with the best orchestras around the world.
After a while, he found he
couldn’t wait anymore. He had made a proper proposal one night. Although he did
slip a ruby ring on her finger the night after their first performance for an
opera, he felt he should make a more solid proposal. He was not asking her to
make a promise with him the way he did before, but that fateful night, he
wanted to ask her to be his wife. What better way to ask for her hand in marriage
than the very thing that had first brought them together, and that was music.
She had answered a ‘yes’ and so he had married Nodame beneath the blossoming
Cherry Tree on a day that he recalled had weather that was just right.
So when they finally performed
together with the Philadelphia Orchestra just as she dreamt it, he felt
content. At the beginning of their relationship, she was persistent on
performing with an orchestra together with him. Somehow, as their relationship
progressed, he realized that that dream of hers had become his too.
A few days before their
scheduled performance, his mother had called. She had bought tickets for
Nodame’s parents, even flying over to the States with them to be able to watch
them finally perform together.
‘Don’t worry, Chiaki. I’ve
bought tickets for her parents. They’ll be on the plane with me and all has
been taken care of –even their accommodation. Your uncle Miyoshi and your
cousins will be there too.’
Oh, he remembered how
devious his mother and a certain Nina Lutz had been. They were scheming behind
his back, trying to get them together. He had a sneaking suspicion that Elize
had a hand in it too, despite her being outwardly against them being together.
But he couldn’t bring himself to be angry at them. In fact, if he must be
honest with himself, he was rather thankful to them for bringing them together
so that they could finally perform together alongside the Philadelphia
Orchestra. Some of their friends were able to make it, namely Kuroki, Tanya,
Kiyora and Mine. Kuroki was in Boston for a performance and Tanya had followed
him, Kiyora had a concert in New York since the R*S Orchestra was on break, and
Mine had decided to follow Kiyora since they had been together.
Just a few weeks prior to
that memorable night, Nodame was having a concert in Paris, and he was busy
with the Roux-Marlet Orchestra. He suspected that it was through Elize’s
machinations that they were scheduled to perform together. His suspicions had
proven true. In her usual tone, she produced an off-handed comment that more or
less affirmed that she had requested the orchestra to collaborate with the both
of them in a performance.
When he had asked further,
she had gone on to say, ‘I handle her schedules and your schedules. Do the
math.’
They had already been
married at the time, but their scheduling conflicts always pulled them away
from each other almost half of the time. So, he was pleasantly surprised when
he found that a performance with Nodame was scheduled with the Philadelphia
Orchestra.
He thought marrying her
made his world complete, but having her perform a concerto with him guiding the
orchestra made the picture perfect. After that, they were frequently paired
together, often known as the ‘Golden Pair’. That meant they were able to spend
more time together.
As he gazed upon his
wife's figure, her hair mussed from sleep, and the unmistakable round stomach,
he couldn't help but think of the future. With two people very much in love
with music, he wondered if their child would love music too. He didn't care
much whether the child would be a girl or a boy, but having the banter they had
everyday was quickly fraying his nerves. He had been very tempted to say, 'It's
a boy, Nodame!' for Nodame kept insisting that the baby would be a girl, citing
the apparent fact that she had been craving for certain foods and how she had
been seeing beautiful things in pink. Chiaki didn't think it amusing; in fact
he thought it was absurd, but he decided to let his wife indulge in her whims.
Chiaki was very deeply
entrenched in his musings that he hadn’t noticed the pair of sleepy brown eyes
blinking away the misty call of slumber.
“Shinichi?” Nodame’s wispy
voice broke his reverie.
“Uh? Yes… What is it?”
Chiaki dazedly replied as he was brought out of his musings.
“I want to hear you play
the piano.”
He rubbed his temple in
obvious disbelief. Waking up in the middle of the night wanting him to play the
piano? Every other pregnant women would have woken up wanting to eat whatever
they craved, but here she was, awake and requesting him to play the piano.
Sometimes he wondered what planet she came from and at times, felt exasperated.
But when he gazed into her eyes he realized that he could never find it within
himself to find her anything but endearing -not since he realized his own
feelings toward her.
“Oh, alright.” He made a
show of grumbling and a little displeasure, but inside, he couldn’t help but
feel pleased that instead of wanting to hear other people play for her, she
wanted him to play for her. No one else but he had the honor of fulfilling her
whims and capturing her heart. Not even Lucas had the pleasure.
Nodame knew that despite
that outward display of reluctance, Chiaki was secretly pleased to play for
her. There was once piece he played for her after they had woken up the day
after their wedding. The piece that was light and carefree, making her see
swirls of bright light and making her want to waltz with her Chiaki.
They walked to the sitting
room where a grand piano stood gleaming beautifully in black, on one shelf on
one side stood a violin, and on another housed music scores arranged according
to composers in alphabetical order and below it, discs and albums of classical
works were arranged in the same way. Chiaki walked to the piano. He opened the
lid, and after arranging it, seated himself on the leather and mahogany bench.
Turning to Nodame, he asked, “Nodame, what would you have me play on the piano
tonight?”
“Uhm... remember that
piece you played the morning after our wedding night?”
Chiaki didn’t need anymore
prompt after that. He clearly remembered the piece he had played for her, and
it was also the piece that she had played after the fact in her own singing
style. And so, the tune of Chopin’s Valse in A flat major echoed throughout the
house they both resided.
Nodame sat on the armchair
placed on the corner of the room beside the shelf housing Chiaki’s violin. As
she listened to the flowing rhythm of the valse,
she softly rubbed her belly.
“Listen to that, darling.
That’s your father playing for us,” she whispered to her yet unborn child.
When the song ended,
Chiaki turned to Nodame.
“Nodame, are you going to
the final rehearsal this Thursday? I heard from Kuroki that you’re coming. His
girlfriend told him. You’ve been spending your time with Tanya, haven’t you?”
“About Tanya, yes, I have.
And as for the rehearsal, why not? It would be fun. I can’t stand sitting alone
at home doing nothing.”
“Well, you won’t exactly
do ‘nothing’. Remember that meeting that you need to have with Elize? You’re
due soon, as Asakawa-sensei reminded us recently, so she needs to be informed.
Then Elize could clear your schedule for the next few months or if you want,
until the next year.”
“Come on, Chiaki. If I can
make time for Puri Gorota and some
piano, who says I can’t make time for your rehearsal? I’m your wife, and Elize
can wait.”
“I tell you
what: you can call Elize tomorrow morning and ask to see her in the evening.
The dress rehearsal is on Thursday, and tomorrow’s Wednesday. That’s plenty of
time to talk to her.”
“All right, I’ll do that
-if only to get Elize off my back. She’s been so annoying lately -always asking
me to quickly start playing soon. I have a feeling she’d want to drag me
halfway ‘round the world if she had her way. But I don’t want that. Soon, we’ll
have our baby and I don’t want to be halfway across the ocean if I can help it.
Who’s going to spend time with little Riona if I’m not around while you’re busy?”
“Nodame! Stop naming our
child that! I don’t want our baby to grow up knowing that her parents named her
after a character from her mother’s favorite anime.”
“It’s perfect! She’s going
to have the name whether you like it or not.”
“You don’t even know if
it’s a girl or a boy!”
“Well it was you who
didn’t want to know the gender in the first place. And I have a hunch. It’s
going to be a girl and that’s that. Now why don’t you play me another song?”
Chiaki shook his head in
exasperation, all the while muttering under his breath, “You’re really
impossible.”
As he turned to face the
piano again, Chiaki asked Nodame, “Any particular song that you’d want me to
play now?”
“Anything you want.”
And so, Chiaki placed a
finger from his left hand on E flat, and began the affectionate Liebesträume no.3 that was composed by Franz Liszt. It had
become one of his favorite compositions ever since he married her. The song,
also called Dreams of Love, was the song he played when he needed a reminder
through his music on how much she mattered to him. Outside of that, he would
always look for that part of her he always loved; the part that had also
brought him to love her unconditionally.
When dawn broke, Chiaki,
having slept little the previous night fulfilling Nodame’s sudden request to
have him play the piano was a little grouchy. Despite that, he went through
with the sudden urge to run his hand through his wife’s hair and leant a little
to peck her on her cheek, and wished her a good morning. She only mumbled an
incoherent response and resumed her slumber.
He checked the time; it
was already 8 a.m. and if he didn’t get a move on, he would definitely be late
for the day’s rehearsal. His steps were silent as he opened the window to let
the morning air in as he made it to the closet and prepared for the day,
picking out a simple white shirt and a pair of dress pants. After a refreshing
shower and clearing the muck out of his mouth, he finally dressed for the day
and prepared the necessary items before making his way to the kitchen to make
the much needed espresso. That espresso machine he got himself had been
especially useful since he hadn’t had the time to make his morning visits to
the cafe he used to frequent since two months ago.
His morning caffeine fix
helped him wake up some and he fixed breakfast for both of them, knowing that
his wife would likely make onigiri all day if she had her way. Having done that
and eaten his portion, he wrote a short note to Nodame to let her know that he
would be back before dinner. So with the car keys on hand, Chiaki left his
slumbering wife to her dreams of Puri
Gorota.
It was a little after nine
in the morning when Nodame finally woke. The sun shone through the open window.
She hummed in contentment as she basked in the warmth of the sunlight.
‘Hmm... Chiaki must have
opened the window. Strange, he’s been doing that often these days.’
She stretched a little,
getting rid of the kinks in her joints.
‘It’s a wonderful day to
get some fresh air,’ she thought.
So she got ready for the
day, and went down to the kitchen to satisfy her grumbling stomach. She saw a
covered plate on the kitchen island and a note next to it.
Nodame,
Going for the rehearsals. Will be back before
dinner, so don’t worry. I’ll fix dinner tonight. For now, eat your breakfast.
And until I come back, make sure that you’ve called Elise and settle everything
between you two before I come home. I’ll see you soon.
Shinichi
She ate the mushroom and
cheese omelet Chiaki had prepared for her, and filled her glass with juice.
Yet, she craved for more. After rummaging the shelves for the package her
mother had sent her a few days ago, she went about making the onigiri that, as
she put it, ‘she never failed at.’
***********
Chiaki had a bad feeling
as he packed his suitcase.
“Chiaki…” a voice shook
him back to the present. He swiveled his head at the mention of his name.
“You okay?” asked Mine.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just
a weird feeling I had. I’m guessing it’s something to do with Nodame.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Call me crazy, but I only
get this feeling when it’s got to do with Nodame.”
“What is it with you and
your Nodame radar?” Mine ran his hand through his hair, the gesture bespoke his
exasperation. After a beat, he turned back to Chiaki. “Then what’re you waiting
for man? Get a move on. You’re done for the day anyway. There’s no need to
linger anymore. Go home to Nodame.”
“Yeah, yeah… I’m going. No
need to tell me to get moving.”
The car ride back to their
home gave him time to calm his runaway thoughts. Knowing Nodame, she probably
had turned the house upside down -again. As he made his way through the gates,
he saw that the bedroom lights were off, and the kitchen and sitting room were
bright as day.
‘I wonder what on earth is
she doing? I told her I’ll be back on time to cook dinner,’ thought Chiaki as
he stepped into the house.
“Tadaima!”
Nodame, who was busy
hunting for ice cream in the freezer, abandoned her quest. She went to the door
and welcomed Chiaki home.
“Okaeri. How did the
rehearsals go?”
“It went alright. There’s
nothing to worry about. We’ll be ready on time,” he replied as he placed his
coat on the coat hanger by the front door and his suitcase by the table standing
next to the coat hanger.
“Mmm… I can’t wait to
watch the opera on Friday night.”
“Hmm… I’ve got a ticket
for you, so you don’t have to buy one. By the way, did you call Elize?”
Nodame’s eyes widened as
one word came out of her lips, “Gyabo!”
Chiaki sighed in
exasperation. “I take it you didn’t do it,” Chiaki panned.
“I… forgot.”
“Never mind… I’ll call
Elize early tomorrow… wait. She’s coming to the rehearsals tomorrow. Said she
wants to discuss something with me. You’ll discuss your schedules with her then
since you’re attending the rehearsals tomorrow.”
He just knew she would
forget to do it. These days, she was more preoccupied in raiding the kitchen…
Speaking of which…
“Nodame, I’m going to make dinner,” he announced as he made his way to the kitchen
while rolling up his sleeves.
Chiaki was prepared to
make a great dinner for the night, but he wasn’t prepared for the utter chaos
that greeted him as soon as he stepped foot into the kitchen.
Pots and pans were all
over the kitchen. On the floor, in the sink, on the table, on the kitchen
island... and was that nori on the counter? He brought up a hand to his head
and felt an impending headache coming its way. The rice cooker was open and a
familiar looking box sat next to it.
Nodame couldn’t have chosen
the worst time to enter the kitchen.
“Nodame, what have you
done with the kitchen?”
“I was so hungry so I made
onigiri. Yes, I know you made me breakfast, but I still felt hungry. I’m eating
for two, you know.”
Chiaki almost smacked his
head. ‘How could I have forgotten that she’s eating a lot more these days? Oh
right, I was on a rush this morning since I overslept.’ Normally, he would
prepare her a larger meal to whet her appetite. Normally, Miyabi-san, their
neighbor, would come over to accompany his wife whenever he had long rehearsals,
even help with lunch. But as luck would have it, those two normal things didn’t
happen today.
“And you decided to leave
the kitchen like this?”
“Well, I was going to
clean this up later... ”
He scolded himself for asking
her that question, and kneaded his temple to relieve his headache.
‘Why did I even ask that
question? I knew she was going to say that.’
“Never mind, I’ll clean
this up and make dinner. You, Nodame, should go and watch Puri Gorota or something while I cook.”
“But I don’t want to watch
Puri Gorota. They’re all previous
episodes that I’ve watch too many times! If I have to watch them, I’ll need new
episodes.”
“Well, why don’t you play
the piano instead?”
“I don’t want to play the
piano tonight,” Nodame mumbled as she fiddled with her fingers.
Chiaki felt his head tick.
He wasn’t going to get dinner ready on time at this rate.
“Well, what do you want to
do?”
“I want to watch you
cook.”
His wife had been rather
moody lately, and he recognized defeat when he saw one. There are battles that
should be fought, but he knew that this wasn’t one of them.
“Alright, you can stay.
But sit and eat your onigiri while I cook,” he said as he eyed the mountain of
onigiri on the dining table. He knew that those onigiri wouldn’t really satisfy
her hunger. But just as well, it would serve as a distraction until dinner was
served.
“And don’t move from there
unless there is an emergency.”
Nodame pouted in response.
********
Chiaki worked diligently, cleaning the mess Nodame had left in her wake and
made dinner in record time.
“Nodame, dinner’s ready.
Are you still hungry? If you’re not, I’ll warm them for you later.”
“Chiaki, I’m almost always
hungry these days.
“So what’s this?” she
asked as she nonchalantly pushed aside the half-finished mountain of onigiri.
“Chicken Cordon Bleu.”
“Mugya!”
“Why? You don’t like it?”
“No! I mean, I like it.
It’s just that I’ve wanted to have this for dinner since I saw a chef make it
on TV
the other day. It looks different.”
“Different?”
“Yeah, it’s tastier… because
you made it.”
He had to refrain from
being too affected by the comment.
“And I don’t suppose you’d
tell me about that tiny bit of information – about wanting to have this for
dinner?” he asked.
“No! Why would I? What if
you end up in one of your weird moods and make canned dinner again? Especially
if you’re irritated on a particular day,” she blurted before adding, “Nope!
Better to wait for you to make your great dinner when you’re particularly happy!”
Chiaki couldn’t help but
raise his eyebrows at her reasoning.
‘Weird? Who’s weird?
You’re the weird one, crazy woman.’
It was much like all those
times when he had called her a crazy woman when he was irritated at a
particular thing that she did. Yet, he couldn’t help the affectionate tone, even
if it was only his inner voice talking. He couldn’t help but also think at the
same time that it was the same crazy woman who had wormed her way into his life
and caught his heart.
He shook his head, willing
himself back to the present time. He scolded himself for constantly letting his
mind wander to memories of old.
A sigh escaped him. ‘Shouldn’t
have asked her that in the first place,’ he muttered.
Then, turning to Nodame,
he pushed the plate closer to her. “Come on, let’s eat. The food’s getting cold.”
As they enjoyed their
dinner, Chiaki couldn’t help but blurt, “You know I haven’t made canned dinner
since last year, remember?”
“Ah... but judging from
your moods recently, I’d rather not take my chances.”
‘Besides, that lady
reporter once said that it’s always better to wait,’ thought she as she dug
into her meal, oblivious to the pointed look Chiaki was giving her.
*******
A/N:
[1] From Nodame Cantabile
Opera-hen, Chapter 10, page 28.
[2] Riona is a female character from Puri Gorota, a fictional anime
that Nodame likes to watch.
[3] The lady reporter who partners with Sakuma Manabu, working on the
Classical Life magazine. She said that to Nodame in Opera-hen.
