Your Lie In April: Across The Multiverse

YLIA x Multiverse Episode 21: New Orleans!

Episode 21: New Orleans!

A/N: Hope you all enjoy the jazz music selection! 

"All right now y'all, finish your plates!" Professor Joe Gardner called out. "We gotta be at the venue in the next hour!"

Kousei gulped down his third glass of lemonade...Louisiana cooking was much heavier on the spices than anything he'd ever tasted!

"Is it really that bad?" Kaori chuckled as Kousei wiped the remnants of the Cajun seasoning from his lips.

"Oh lay off already!" Kousei growled back as Kaori laughed again.

"Dang, Arima!" Mr. Gardner exclaimed with a beaming smile as he walked over to their table. "This yo first time trying Cajun chicken?"

"Sorry sir, I don't mean to insult the cooking!" Kousei apologized. "I guess I just wasn't expecting that much seasoning!"

Joe Gardner reared his head back as he laughed aloud. "Nothing like some good ol Popeyes before a performance, brother! However, make sure you hit the restroom before we go onstage. That was quite a bit of lemonade you drank!"

"Sure thing, sir!" Kousei nodded.

The tantalizing aroma of Cajun fried chicken and fries dominated the quaint Popeyes joint, and Kousei would've bought more food if it weren't for the heavy-handed application of Cajun seasoning. The small red and brown individual seats provided a nice contrast to the black booth seats by the windows, and one shelf at the front of the restaurant was lined entirely with spices ranging from salt to the iconic Cajun seasoning! And yet, despite being a mere fast-food joint, every single table was freshly cleaned and the floor was nearly spotless save for the few crumbs from customer meals.

The nineteen-member ensemble began filing out of the restaurant's front door—Professor Joe reminded them to thank the workers—and onto the bus. Normally, there would've only been eighteen of them. However:

"I still can't believe you managed to nail that audition for the violin solo!" Kousei said as he and Kaori took their seats in the middle of the bus.

"Well yeah, I don't want to study only classical music!" Kaori grinned. "Besides, how often are we gonna get to go to the place where Louis Armstrong was born?"

"And Jelly Roll Morton!" Kousei added.

"Speaking of him," their professor's voice spoke up as he sat in the aisle across from them. "I hope you're ready to wow the crowd with that piano solo from his piece, Arima!"

"You know it, sir!" Kousei said, giving him a thumbs up.

"And you!" Professor Joe pointed at Kaori with a big smile. "Violinists usually have a hard time with jazz, but you absolutely nailed it!"

"Thank you!" Kaori smiled back. "Jazz has so much more freedom than the classical stuff I usually practice!"

Joe Gardner's brown eyes twinkled with delight behind his glasses as he itched his mustache. His hair, though starting to gray, was perfectly combed beneath his gray bowler hat, as always, and his black shirt and tie were a perfect match to his blue suit jacket and slacks. His dark skin was surprisingly clear for someone who lived in the dusty, gritty metropolis of Manhattan. Whether it was during rehearsal, or a one-on-one review session during his office hours, the jazz professor had never failed to make Kousei feel at home over the past two months. As such, rehearsal with the Jazz Orchestra was Kousei's favorite part of the day.