A Surprise Visit
I Have Seen and Felt LoveSummary:I stopped mid-sentece when I saw Aiba’s father seriously talking to someone in a suit. I couldn’t see who it was, but it must be an important person for Aiba’s father to look so grave and for the restaurant to be empty.
NINO
Matsumoto wasn’t kidding when he said that today’s rehearsal was going to be the hardest: we had to completely perform the whole thing in front of him and the production staff. I felt pressured and everyone else must have felt it as well because Matsumoto’s serious and hard glare was fixated on us the whole time. He never interrupted us to point out what we were doing wrong and just sat watching until we were all finished and gathered all together on the stage.
Matsumoto stood up. “Well done,” he said, giving us an impressed nod. “But, all of you are too nervous. I can see it in your movements. What is there to be nervous of? Your performance is a week from now. From what I’ve read, all of you at least performed before? Am I wrong?”
We all nodded our heads silently.
“Then why are you all so nervous?”
“...”
“No one?”
“Because of you, sensei!” Someone said from within the crowd.
Matsumoto folded his arms on his chest with an amused grin. “Because of me? Well, that’s something else. Tell me, why are you nervous because of me?”
“Because…” the same person said as he walked up to the front. I couldn’t tell who it was under all that makeup. “You’re the premier danseur of Japan. What if I -- we -- fail you?”
“And that is why we must rehearse some more,” Matsumoto smiled, obviously flattered from the student’s uncertainty and compliment altogether. “Just think of this as any other performance and I’m just your teacher, someone who blends in with the crowd. Everyone got that?”
“Yes, sensei!” We answered loudly. And soon, we were all back to our positions…
Compared to our first rehearsal performance today, the second and the following after was more lax. We all took Matsumoto’s advice to our heads and we were able to perform better. No one made a mistake here and there and it all seemed perfect. Is this how it felt like for Matsumoto every time he went upstage? I wonder…
When rehearsals were over, Ohno, Matsumoto and I headed over to Aiba’s family restaurant where we were supposed to meet Aiba and Sho. The three of us were excited to meet up with them because we were exhausted, we needed Aiba’s humor, and we were in need of food.
“Hey,Masaki, we’re--” I stopped mid-sentence when I saw Aiba’s father seriously talking to someone in a suit. I couldn’t see who it was, but it must be an important person for Aiba’s father to look so grave and for the restaurant to be empty. “Oh, we’re just going to leave then, Aiba-san. I’m sorry--”
“No, stay,” Aiba’s father sighed as he pushed the chair back and stood up. “Aiba and Sakurai-kun are upstairs.”
“I… okay.” I walked back inside and was about to head upstairs when I heard a sharp gasp. I turned around and saw Matsumoto standing frozen beside Ohno.
“Matsumoto… is that really you?”
Said man turned white as his eyes widened.
“It’s been so long. I didn’t think I would see you here of all places,” the man in the suit continued with a huge smile on his face. “I thought you were in Europe.”
Ohno nudged Matsumoto who blinked his eyes and coughed to clear his throat. “I-I was. That’s none of your business anymore.”
The man’s eyes flickered to me and Ohno. “Are you his students? He barely takes up students, but I can tell that you guys are good friends.”
I grimaced. “Who are you?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the man coughed and bowed to a ninety-degree angle before standing up and handing me and Ohno a business card. “I’m Ikuta Toma.”
On the card, it said the man’s name and underneath it said Head Chef and owner of the Ikuta Food Enterprise. My mouth opened wide. No way! He’s-- I always eat ramen that one of their branch restaurant! The Aibas’ ramen will always be number one to me, but the Ikutas’ ramen was something else. “You’re the owner who creates that amazing ramen?” I gasped as I can imagine the taste of their handmade ramen noodles melt in my mouth and the saltiness and tanginess of the soup dance on my tongue.
“Well, I’m the heir,” Ikuta grinned. “My father still owns it.”
Matsumoto coughed. “So what are you here for?”
“I’m here to work under Aiba-san.”
Ohno and I gasped. “What?”
“My father knows him very well and said that if I wanted to own his business, I need to know how to make ramen. But he said not from him. I have to learn from Aiba-san because my father learned from him.”
My eyes flickered to Aiba’s father. “No way.” If Ikuta’s father learned it from Aiba’s father, then why doesn’t Aiba’s father own ten branches right now? He only has this old restaurant.
“I never wanted to do it for money,” Aiba’s father answered as if he had read my mind. “But I’m going to take Toma-chan under my wing. Masaki would be happy to hear about this.”
“Masaki knows you?” I asked with a gasp as I stared at Ikuta.
“We met once and became friends, but sadly I moved to the States. I’m glad I’ll be working along side you, Aiba-san and Masaki-chan as well. And Ju-- Matsumoto, it was nice seeing you again.”
I side glanced at Matsumoto who stood up straight and nodded his head indifferently before heading upstairs in a rush. I stayed for a while, wondering if I befriended this Ikuta Toma and maybe he could hook me up with free ramen…
“Let’s go,” Ohno whispered and pulled my hand. “I think Jun wants to talk to us about something.”
“Huh? How would you know?”
Ohno cleared his throat and subtly motioned his head towards Ikuta. Shrugging, I walked upstairs with Ohno pulling me along.
OHNO
When I entered the room with Ninomiya, we saw Jun collapsed on the floor with his hands on his face. He was breathing rather erratically and was whispering words that I couldn’t quite make out.
“What happened?” I asked Aiba and Sho who were with Jun on the floor, patting his back gently.
“He just started breaking down,” Aiba was the one to answer. “What happened to him? Did you guys fail him during rehearsals?”
“No,” Ninomiya snapped. “We would never. But I think it had to do with that Ikuta guy.”
“Oh, Toma-chan!” Aiba brightened up with a grin, causing Sho to look his way for a second. “Did my dad take him under his wing?”
“Yeah,” Ninomiya answered back with a growl. “Why didn’t you tell me you were friends with him? I could have gotten free ramen from them.”
Aiba titled his head. “But I give you free ramen.”
Ninomiya growled. “Never mind. So, what’s up with Jun?”
“I don’t know, he won’t talk,” Sho said.
I knelt beside Matsumoto and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Jun, you don’t have to tell us right away. You can take it slowly, if you want.” As if my words were magic, Matsumoto released his hands from his face and took a deep breath. Then he turned to face me with a serious face.
“Toma’s my ex.”
Everyone in the room suddenly became quiet, except for Nino who was silently grumbling once again about free ramen.
TBC
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