(fan fiction) The Strains You Play
The Strains You Play
HSJ, InooxGuitar, InooxOkamoto, InooxYaotome
general
pg
for hotfruits from this
this didn't come out the way i planned it to. it got out of hand. :( i have no words for how bad and random this is. :( i'll work harder on the takanoo one i promise!
He watches, mesmerized by quick fingers dancing on strings, pulling out harmonies and he feels a shiver go through his spine. He is enthralled by the duality of sound. There is simplicity and complexity, shallowness and broadness of depth, and at the same time purity and richness.
He buys a guitar the next day.
He tries to learn from text because this is customary. He buys books and guidelines on learning how to play the guitar and he follows precisely what is prescribed but he learns quickly enough that it is harder to apply theory to this principle. He then turns to the internet for videos and instructionals on how to play the guitar. He pays attention well, focuses on the online instructor telling him what chords are and how to hit them and he tries to follow what the person is demonstrating but in the end, visuals fail him and he simply can not cope with an online instructor.
During band practice, he is fixated on Okamoto.
More precisely, he is fixated on Okamoto's hands on the guitar and he distracts himself from playing the keyboard well which earns him a scolding or two from a tired Yabu and a high-strung Yaotome. They end practice unsatisfactorily because of him and he takes the opportunity to approach Okamoto as soon as Yabu and Yaotome become too busy to pay any more attention.
"Keito," Inoo whispers, trying hard to not draw attention to himself.
Okamoto looks at Inoo with inquisitive eyes and Inoo motions for him to follow him out of the room. When they get out, Inoo grabs Okamoto's shoulders and shakes the boy hard.
"Keiiitoooo, you have to teach me how to play the guitar pleaaaaase," Inoo whines, still shaking Okamoto's body back and forth, "pleaaase Keito, I really want to learn, but I don't know where to begin!"
"It's okay Inoo-kun," Okamoto says with dignity even through the distracting movements. Inoo stops and looks at him with hopeful eyes.
"Really?"
Okamoto nods, "yes, really. We can meet here tomorrow at around five in the afternoon." Okamoto smiles and goes back into the room.
Inoo does a small victory jig before going back into the room to collect his belongings.
Inoo doesn't expect both Chinen and Nakajima's presence as he enters the room. He pauses, momentarily shocked at the noise that the two were producing.
"Hi Inoo-chan!" Nakajima greets and Chinen beams up at him as they pause from wrestling for a while. Inoo looks around and notices that Okamoto was no where to be found. He pouts and he sits down on a couch opposite from the two younger boys.
He immediately accosts Okamoto when the other boy enters the room and Okamoto looks at him with a bright smile on his face.
"Inoo-kun," he greets and Inoo wonders why the other boy isn't as panicked or surprised as he is, "this is actually Chinen and Yuuto's lesson time with me," he answers sheepishly, "I asked them if you could join them and they immediately said yes."
Inoo nods and reclaims his seat on the couch.
Inoo feels a full-fledged migraine form twenty minutes into the lesson.
He loves his bandmates very much, he has to admit and being with them is nothing but fun, but he seriously wanted to learn how to play the guitar and they weren't helping! Even Okamoto, whom he perceived to be the most mature of 7 couldn't help but stop and play every thirty seconds and it made his head hurt more and more.
He didn't think that he'd miss BEST this much, or actually, all of JUMP. The boys certainly didn't behave this way when the two groups were joined.
They end the lesson an hour and a half later and Inoo thinks it's the longest hour and a half he's spent with anyone. Although he did pick up something useful here and there, he didn't think it was enough for him to play the guitar. Nakajima and Chinen leave first, telling okamoto to catch up while Inoo lays down on the couch wanting to take a little break.
"I'm sorry," Okamoto speaks up suddenly and Inoo thinks he'd jump in surprise if he wasn't so exhausted, still he puts on a smile and sits up to look at Okamoto.
"I had a lot of fun Keito," he says, "I actually learned a lot."
Okamoto shakes his head, "you don't have to lie Inoo-kun," he says with calm authority, "I know it wasn't the lesson you were expecting."
Inoo waves it off with his hand, "no, I really did learn something Keito. You should go and chase Chinen and Yuuto now, you'll probably lose sight of them soon."
Okamoto gives a small bow and takes his leave and as soon as he leaves, Inoo plops back down on the couch and sleeps the migraine away.
Inoo is depressed for the next few days because he has fallen in love with a musical instrument that eludes him and he can't explain why. His training with the piano should have equipped him with skills to learn the guitar easily he reasons to himself, but still, it does not make the job easier.
He learns to give up after three more days of trying.
Yaotome corners Inoo who is surprised by the seriousness of his face.
Inoo laughs.
And laughs.
Until he realizes that Yaotome probably wasn't going to joke about anything in particular so he sobers up with Yaotome staring at him.
"Yes Hikaru?" Inoo asks, still with an impish smile on his face.
Yaotome gives him a bigger frown, "I heard that you were trying to learn how to play the guitar."
Inoo turns melancholic as he sighs and says, "I don't want to learn it anymore."
"Why?" Yaotome asks with his head cocked.
"Because the guitar doesn't want me," Inoo says with an air of finality and he turns to move away before Yaotome grabs his arm and pulls him back. Inoo is affronted and is about to say something before Yaotome beats him to the punch.
"Let me teach you."
Inoo's jaw drops before he licks his lips and gathers the wits to speak again, "I thought you played the bass."
Yaotome lifts his eyebrow, "I know how to play the guitar."
Inoo shakes his head, "but it's okay now. I don't want to learn how to play the guitar anymore." He calmly pries Yaotome's fingers from his arm and he leaves Yaotome alone in the corridor.
Inoo looks at his guitar at the far corner of his room. He doesn't know what to do with it anymore but stare at it. He doesn't understand why he can't just learn how to play the guitar. He doesn't understand why the strings won't yield to his fingers, why they won't produce the same pretty sounds for him as it does for any other person.
He picks it up to look at it closely and suddenly he lifts it above his head, poised to strike before he regains his senses. He replaces the guitar on its stand and he goes back to his bed, staring mournfully at his guitar.
Inoo goes to band practice early because he wants to redeem himself from what he did in the previous rehearsal, that and he wants to spend time with the instrument he can actually play well. But he stops at the door when he hears the sounds of a guitar playing in the room. The melody washes over him, warm and familiar with a tune he just couldn't place. It is a sweet melody, loving in the tones it touches and the guitar player played with emotions that struck a cord with Inoo. He waits until the music stops playing before he enters the room and he does so with a huge smile.
"Kei-" he greets before he realizes that it's not Okamoto in the room but Yaotome. Yaotome looks at him and his brows furrow, "Ah! Hikaru! That was... you?"
Yaotome shrugs his shoulders and shuffles through music sheets and Inoo stares awkwardly at him.
"Good morning," Okamoto greets as he enters the room, "oh! Inoo-kun! Were you having your lesson with Hikaru-kun just now?"
Inoo shakes his head, still in a shock. His focus turns from Yaotome to Okamoto and Okamoto smiles at him, "I asked Hikaru-kun if he could teach you. Hikaru-kun helps me with certain things that I wasn't able to learn before."
"But Hikaru plays the bass." Inoo says matter of factly and Okamoto nods.
Okamoto replies with a smile, "Hikaru is a great guitar player. He just likes the bass better because it's more steady in it's rhythm."
Inoo feels his cheek flush and he excuses himself from the rehearsal room.
"We should go back to practice now."
Inoo jumps as he searches for the voice that had just spoken. He blushes when he realizes that it's Yaotome and he looks down as he hears footsteps shuffle to where he sat.
"I'm sorry," Inoo whispers when he sees boots enter his peripheral vision.
Yaotome snorts, "you should be. We've been waiting for you for twenty minutes now."
Inoo looks up, "not that - about not believing you'll teach me how to play the guitar."
Yaotome wrinkles his nose and rubs it afterwards, "yeah. That's okay."
"Maybe... if it's not too late, I could take you up on that offer?" Inoo inquires with a hopeful tone of voice and Yaotome breaks into a smile.
"Idiot, you didn't have to ask like a girl." Inoo glares at Yaotome and slaps the back of his arm as they head back to the rehearsal room together.
Inoo picks up his guitar and plays a simple tune on it. He smiles to himself when he finishes the song. He's still a long way off from being great, but he's taking the right steps to getting there. He knows he'll get there some day.
HSJ, InooxGuitar, InooxOkamoto, InooxYaotome
general
pg
for hotfruits from this
this didn't come out the way i planned it to. it got out of hand. :( i have no words for how bad and random this is. :( i'll work harder on the takanoo one i promise!
He watches, mesmerized by quick fingers dancing on strings, pulling out harmonies and he feels a shiver go through his spine. He is enthralled by the duality of sound. There is simplicity and complexity, shallowness and broadness of depth, and at the same time purity and richness.
He buys a guitar the next day.
He tries to learn from text because this is customary. He buys books and guidelines on learning how to play the guitar and he follows precisely what is prescribed but he learns quickly enough that it is harder to apply theory to this principle. He then turns to the internet for videos and instructionals on how to play the guitar. He pays attention well, focuses on the online instructor telling him what chords are and how to hit them and he tries to follow what the person is demonstrating but in the end, visuals fail him and he simply can not cope with an online instructor.
During band practice, he is fixated on Okamoto.
More precisely, he is fixated on Okamoto's hands on the guitar and he distracts himself from playing the keyboard well which earns him a scolding or two from a tired Yabu and a high-strung Yaotome. They end practice unsatisfactorily because of him and he takes the opportunity to approach Okamoto as soon as Yabu and Yaotome become too busy to pay any more attention.
"Keito," Inoo whispers, trying hard to not draw attention to himself.
Okamoto looks at Inoo with inquisitive eyes and Inoo motions for him to follow him out of the room. When they get out, Inoo grabs Okamoto's shoulders and shakes the boy hard.
"Keiiitoooo, you have to teach me how to play the guitar pleaaaaase," Inoo whines, still shaking Okamoto's body back and forth, "pleaaase Keito, I really want to learn, but I don't know where to begin!"
"It's okay Inoo-kun," Okamoto says with dignity even through the distracting movements. Inoo stops and looks at him with hopeful eyes.
"Really?"
Okamoto nods, "yes, really. We can meet here tomorrow at around five in the afternoon." Okamoto smiles and goes back into the room.
Inoo does a small victory jig before going back into the room to collect his belongings.
Inoo doesn't expect both Chinen and Nakajima's presence as he enters the room. He pauses, momentarily shocked at the noise that the two were producing.
"Hi Inoo-chan!" Nakajima greets and Chinen beams up at him as they pause from wrestling for a while. Inoo looks around and notices that Okamoto was no where to be found. He pouts and he sits down on a couch opposite from the two younger boys.
He immediately accosts Okamoto when the other boy enters the room and Okamoto looks at him with a bright smile on his face.
"Inoo-kun," he greets and Inoo wonders why the other boy isn't as panicked or surprised as he is, "this is actually Chinen and Yuuto's lesson time with me," he answers sheepishly, "I asked them if you could join them and they immediately said yes."
Inoo nods and reclaims his seat on the couch.
Inoo feels a full-fledged migraine form twenty minutes into the lesson.
He loves his bandmates very much, he has to admit and being with them is nothing but fun, but he seriously wanted to learn how to play the guitar and they weren't helping! Even Okamoto, whom he perceived to be the most mature of 7 couldn't help but stop and play every thirty seconds and it made his head hurt more and more.
He didn't think that he'd miss BEST this much, or actually, all of JUMP. The boys certainly didn't behave this way when the two groups were joined.
They end the lesson an hour and a half later and Inoo thinks it's the longest hour and a half he's spent with anyone. Although he did pick up something useful here and there, he didn't think it was enough for him to play the guitar. Nakajima and Chinen leave first, telling okamoto to catch up while Inoo lays down on the couch wanting to take a little break.
"I'm sorry," Okamoto speaks up suddenly and Inoo thinks he'd jump in surprise if he wasn't so exhausted, still he puts on a smile and sits up to look at Okamoto.
"I had a lot of fun Keito," he says, "I actually learned a lot."
Okamoto shakes his head, "you don't have to lie Inoo-kun," he says with calm authority, "I know it wasn't the lesson you were expecting."
Inoo waves it off with his hand, "no, I really did learn something Keito. You should go and chase Chinen and Yuuto now, you'll probably lose sight of them soon."
Okamoto gives a small bow and takes his leave and as soon as he leaves, Inoo plops back down on the couch and sleeps the migraine away.
Inoo is depressed for the next few days because he has fallen in love with a musical instrument that eludes him and he can't explain why. His training with the piano should have equipped him with skills to learn the guitar easily he reasons to himself, but still, it does not make the job easier.
He learns to give up after three more days of trying.
Yaotome corners Inoo who is surprised by the seriousness of his face.
Inoo laughs.
And laughs.
Until he realizes that Yaotome probably wasn't going to joke about anything in particular so he sobers up with Yaotome staring at him.
"Yes Hikaru?" Inoo asks, still with an impish smile on his face.
Yaotome gives him a bigger frown, "I heard that you were trying to learn how to play the guitar."
Inoo turns melancholic as he sighs and says, "I don't want to learn it anymore."
"Why?" Yaotome asks with his head cocked.
"Because the guitar doesn't want me," Inoo says with an air of finality and he turns to move away before Yaotome grabs his arm and pulls him back. Inoo is affronted and is about to say something before Yaotome beats him to the punch.
"Let me teach you."
Inoo's jaw drops before he licks his lips and gathers the wits to speak again, "I thought you played the bass."
Yaotome lifts his eyebrow, "I know how to play the guitar."
Inoo shakes his head, "but it's okay now. I don't want to learn how to play the guitar anymore." He calmly pries Yaotome's fingers from his arm and he leaves Yaotome alone in the corridor.
Inoo looks at his guitar at the far corner of his room. He doesn't know what to do with it anymore but stare at it. He doesn't understand why he can't just learn how to play the guitar. He doesn't understand why the strings won't yield to his fingers, why they won't produce the same pretty sounds for him as it does for any other person.
He picks it up to look at it closely and suddenly he lifts it above his head, poised to strike before he regains his senses. He replaces the guitar on its stand and he goes back to his bed, staring mournfully at his guitar.
Inoo goes to band practice early because he wants to redeem himself from what he did in the previous rehearsal, that and he wants to spend time with the instrument he can actually play well. But he stops at the door when he hears the sounds of a guitar playing in the room. The melody washes over him, warm and familiar with a tune he just couldn't place. It is a sweet melody, loving in the tones it touches and the guitar player played with emotions that struck a cord with Inoo. He waits until the music stops playing before he enters the room and he does so with a huge smile.
"Kei-" he greets before he realizes that it's not Okamoto in the room but Yaotome. Yaotome looks at him and his brows furrow, "Ah! Hikaru! That was... you?"
Yaotome shrugs his shoulders and shuffles through music sheets and Inoo stares awkwardly at him.
"Good morning," Okamoto greets as he enters the room, "oh! Inoo-kun! Were you having your lesson with Hikaru-kun just now?"
Inoo shakes his head, still in a shock. His focus turns from Yaotome to Okamoto and Okamoto smiles at him, "I asked Hikaru-kun if he could teach you. Hikaru-kun helps me with certain things that I wasn't able to learn before."
"But Hikaru plays the bass." Inoo says matter of factly and Okamoto nods.
Okamoto replies with a smile, "Hikaru is a great guitar player. He just likes the bass better because it's more steady in it's rhythm."
Inoo feels his cheek flush and he excuses himself from the rehearsal room.
"We should go back to practice now."
Inoo jumps as he searches for the voice that had just spoken. He blushes when he realizes that it's Yaotome and he looks down as he hears footsteps shuffle to where he sat.
"I'm sorry," Inoo whispers when he sees boots enter his peripheral vision.
Yaotome snorts, "you should be. We've been waiting for you for twenty minutes now."
Inoo looks up, "not that - about not believing you'll teach me how to play the guitar."
Yaotome wrinkles his nose and rubs it afterwards, "yeah. That's okay."
"Maybe... if it's not too late, I could take you up on that offer?" Inoo inquires with a hopeful tone of voice and Yaotome breaks into a smile.
"Idiot, you didn't have to ask like a girl." Inoo glares at Yaotome and slaps the back of his arm as they head back to the rehearsal room together.
Inoo picks up his guitar and plays a simple tune on it. He smiles to himself when he finishes the song. He's still a long way off from being great, but he's taking the right steps to getting there. He knows he'll get there some day.