Music Moves Me

[IceQueen]

The soft whirr of jet engines still rung in Kiki's ears as she left her plane. It had been a long flight to Sapporo from LA. Working overseas wasn't going to be easy, but it was for the best. She was here to represent her company, something she was both nervous and excited to do. It felt strange hearing Japanese all around her, she was so used to being in America she had forgotten what it was like to hear the smooth language.

Her bag swung from her back lazily as Kiki weaved through the crowds of the airport. She was still pretty jet lagged from the long flight overseas. She felt drained already. Her things should have arrived on an earlier flight, not that she had much to bring with her. Considering she wasn't going to be living alone, and bringing any sort of furniture across seas was the equivalent of taking a ride through hell on an ice berg, she had opted to bring only her favorite things, and leave the rest behind.

Tossing the bagel wrapper that had been in her hand for the last 20 hours. She had passed out at some point, but her body still felt off kilter by a few hours. For once she would be waking and sleeping at normal hours, which was a sharp change from waking up at 6 pm and going to bed at 8 am. She had been doing that ever since she had to start moving her things.

The morning sun shone through the large windows that Kiki walked by lazily. People were milling about, bustling back and forth, and all she could do was stare. Even on the moving sidewalk, all she did was stare out the windows. It still felt like a dream, just as it had when she stepped on the plane. Everything since the incident had felt like that.

The ending of the moving sidewalk indicated that she needed to get her but in focus. It was further emphasized by the fact that she had nearly tripped over it. Gathering her balance again, Kiki pulled back her sunny blond locks. She wasn't a very tall person in general, but around here she felt like a sore thumb. 5'7" and bright blond hair. Biting down on her lip, she kept moving, trying to find the baggage claim.

Some things were in English, but most was in Japanese. Thank god she had practiced before she came. It had been a while since she had spoken, almost five years, but she would have to put it to good use. Following the signs, Kiki ended up walking into the baggage claim. Her flight had yet to unload. Sitting on a bench, Kiki waited patiently, looking all around her. It had to be a dream right? There was no way she was actually in Japan, going to live there with someone she had meet a while ago on chunmi. Someone who she knew very well, or she hoped. Things tended to not go in her favor. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and let herself just breathe for one second.

 

[monopoisoner]

Ryuuji stood at the greeters section of the airport, his hand fidgeting with the keys to the van and the ticket to the carpark. He wasn't sure if this was reality or not. Yes, they'd sent pictures of each other, even gone on video call. Hell, he'd even walked some of her government papers so she'd move in without too much hassle. But it never really sunk in until he was here, waiting for her tall figure to appear from behind the glass doors. The board overhead said her flight had landed, so she was likely just grabbing her luggage now.

Half an hour later, a stream of people passed through, excited shrieks, tears and signboards going up as people found one another. The blonde was grateful for his height, able to see above the sea of bobbing heads. Was that her? He moved forward, almost knocking over someone in the process. Ryuuji apologized profusely and the woman gave him a glare before ignoring him, clearly deciding he wasn't worth her time. For that, the young producer was thankful.

A semi-familiar blonde finally passed, and he felt his heart skip and his gut sink. Satoshi Kishida wasn't just some person from the internet. She was here, in the flesh, and walking towards him with a confidence he envied. "Satoshi-san?" He'd been close to calling her by her internet handle, but it was simply too... weird to call her that now when she stood in front of him in the flesh.

When she confirmed her identity, he visibly sighed in relief. He didn't get the wrong person. "Let me take that for you." He took the heavier of her luggage, and gently lead the way, weaving through the crowd with ease thanks to his larger form. His palms felt sweaty, and frankly, he was nervous. The person beside him was both friend and stranger, and he wasn't sure how to act. He opted for a safer question. "How was the trip?"

 

[IceQueen]

As soon as Kiki had her luggage she was out to the greeters section. Her heart was thumping loudly against her ribcage. She almost couldn't handle it. She had to look for Kita-san. She also had to get used to people calling her by her last name. She was not used to that however. Everyone in America was first name basis. Being called your last name was like someone trying to hang you by the neck.

Pushing through the glass doors, Kiki looked around. There were many screams of delight, people hugging, others shaking hands. Kiki still felt like she was walking through a dream. It hit her like a brick when she heard a familiar voice call her name. Swiveling her head, Kiki put on a smile as she noticed Kita-san was waiting for her. She was glad he was because she had no idea what to do from here.

He had called her by her last name, but for some reason it didn't feel suffocating. It felt natural. She almost called him by his first name. She had almost stepped on a cultural difference thirty minutes after she landed. Looking up at him, she found herself speechless. He was taller than her, which didn't usually happen with people in this country, but he was. She suddenly felt right at home again, being that she was for once not sticking out like a sore thumb. Not that her bright skin tone and hair color helped very much.

"That's me." She said, confirming her identity. She smiled easily, finding her sneakers very interesting at this point in time. She didn't resist when he offered to help her with her heavier luggage. Things soon fell into somewhat of an awkward yet comfortable silence. Heaving a sigh, Kiki pulled her blond hair back over her shoulder, a nervous habit. "It was long, but good. I slept through some of it, but my timezones are still pretty out of whack." She said, looking over at him. She forced herself to relax. "Thanks for picking me up at the airport. I honestly had no idea what to do from here."

 

[monopoisoner]

Being frank, they would both stand out like sore thumbs, with Ryuuji's own hair being bleached to a shade of blonde. However, many said it suited him, and a physical difference from his brother helped ease his mind. If it's much easier to compare two similar things than two vastly different matters, and the same can be said about people. In a bustling airport, the two seamlessly blended as people were rushing to and from their respective point a's and b's. They didn't really have anything more to spare than a passing glance.

"You're welcome. The subway system here is pretty crazy if you don't know what you're doing. Miss a stop and you could be thoroughly lost, even living here as long as I have." He had trouble making eye contact, which was fine since it seemed like neither of them could hold it for any length of time. It was just so strange to have someone you talked to on an almost daily basis beside you in real life all of a sudden. They reached the parking building, and he got her luggage into the back of the borrowed van.

Finally, they were both settled into the van, him in the driver's while she rode shotgun. He was thankful he had to concentrate on what was ahead instead of looking in her direction. He turned on the radio to a low hum, the faint strains of a RADWIMPS song accompanying their drive to the share house. He could already hear the questions that were bound to pop up at their arrival, dreading their attention. He didn't do well in the spotlight, though Kiki might be a different matter.

"Why the move to Japan?" Ryuuji felt the need to ease the strained silence as they exited the building. "I know it's for work, but you never really told me what you did. I just know it's something related to music."

 

[IceQueen]

Kiki hadn't realized how similar the two of them were until they were standing there. Both tall and blond haired, but that's pretty much where the similarities ended. She had natural bold hair, meaning it was longer, wavier, and a little darker. She looked away. It was too embarrassing to think about. She felt like things were going to be easier as time went on.

"Yeah, considering there is no subway in LA, I would be lost. Super lost." She said, shrugging slightly. Silence cloaked them again. She was grateful, because talking about exactly what happened back home was like trying to shoot herself in the foot. It was mental chaos. She wanted to start fresh, and here is where she would. With a friend, in japan, with a whole new type of music to explore. She almost couldn't wait. Part of her still missed home though, and the fact that this is where she would be living was something she couldn't quite grasp.

Getting into his van, she sat in the passenger side. It felt weird to be on the left side, being that in the US that was the side where the driver sat. Leaning against the seat, she found her eyes wandering outside. She avoided his eye contact. She could remember the countless nights where they would talk about vocaloid, or just vent. And here they were, in real life, and they couldn't say a damn thing. Pressing her lips together, Kiki let her vision wander over the streets of Japan, as he asked why she came here.

"I work as a sound booth engineer, or the person who mixes the voice tracks and makes people sound good. I got a promotion offer and I took it. I also tend to work in local stadiums to run lights and sound." She said, taking one glance at him before avoiding his gaze. There were other reasons that pushed her to move, but those were more, personal and terrifying, and bringing it up would make her feel just a thousand times more awkward.

 

[monopoisoner]

Real life was so much harder than online, that was for certain. Online, all one needed was a single shared interest to become friends; here, even if they knew each other preferences in and out, they couldn't even keep much of a conversation flowing. Ryuuji could only be grateful as Kiki took his bait, chatting about her work. It was even better that he was now genuinely interested; he'd known she was good at mixing, but he hadn't realized she had a professional background on it.

The blond mentioned it, surprise and admiration lightly coloring his mellow voice. "No wonder you're good at mixing; I'm pretty much self-taught so everything I know I learnt online." He'd played with the idea of covering his own songs once, but promptly shot it down. He had little confidence in his songs, much less his own voice. No amount of editing could inflate someone's confidence in their singing. He knew that himself, in his feeble (and private) attempts at covering songs. He stuck to doing arrangements; that, at least, he had a fair hand in.

The drive was relatively short, conversation flowing between them in short but at least continuous steps. Soon enough they were rolling into the driveway of the sharehouse.

mono

A quaint two-story house, with an attached area that looked to be a cafe based on the sign. Upon further perusal, there were words written on the van they were on: The Flower Vase. It didn't take long until someone stepped out to investigate, their flowing pink hair trailing after them as they greeted Ryuuji and Kiki.

The voice that greeted them was a bit... unexpected considering how cute and sweet the landlord appeared to be. "You finally got here." The deep bark could freak those who weren't used to it, but Ryuuji managed to keep a straight face even as she tried to gauge Kiki for her reaction. Despite how Hana looked, he was 100% male. He just had a knack for switching his voice to sound cutesy when he wanted, a running gag in the cafe he managed alongside the sharehouse.

"Unlike you, I prefer to drive on the safe side of the law." Immediately, Ryuuji regretted the words as Hana's green eyes took on a steely glint, scurrying over to open the back hatch and get Kiki's things. He handed her the lighter of the luggage, and then took the brunt of it himself. While they were under the cover of the van, Ryuuji gave the newbie a warning he was sure she'd appreciate. "That's our landlord, Nakamura Hana. I'm not entirely sure if Hana's his real first name, but if you value your life, you'll call him that."

 

[IceQueen]

Kiki was happy she could settle on one topic they both knew about. It would be much easier for her to relax after a few days of living there, or once she had any alcohol in her system. This whole reason for moving had made her antsy, skittish even. She did not want what happened in LA to happen again. It was much harder to get to Japan, or so she hoped. Her job had done good for covering her with a promotion to what they called a remote recording studio.

"Well most people don't learn those kinds of things from school, especially vocaloid producers. It was really the only thing I loved to do, not that I use my voice in any of it. I can't sing that well." She mentioned, crossing her legs and looking out the front. It still felt weird being on the left side. She doubted it would ever feel normal.

Sooner than expected they had parked outside their place. A lot smaller than she was used to, but not uncomfortable size. She was glad that he didn't like in a tiny 8 foot by four foot cube where you barely had room to sleep and shit was everywhere. It seemed to have a café attached to the bottom, something she had never really seen before. At the least she had a place to get breakfast. Stepping out of the car, Kiki was a little surprised by the sharp bark from the pink haired lady.(man? Man lady? She didn't know.) Quickly re adjusting herself, Kiki smiled and gave a short little bow.

Shuffling her light luggage into hand, Kiki piled up the luggage with Ryuuji, taking note of his hushed whisper. "Oh I don't plan on it. He can go by whatever he wants. Heck, he could be Raven of the Purple Sun for all I care." She jested lightly, taking the last piece she could reasonably hold without it falling over. As she walked around the other side to where Hana was, Kiki smiled over all the boxes. "Nice to meet you, I'm Satomi Kishida, nice to meet you." She said, over all her boxes.