Beyond the Sound | Yuzuru Hanyu

10.

Maya had to admit that the meeting with the skater had been the highlight of her day.

It had been a long time since she felt so excited to start a project and dedicate herself to it fully.

On top of that, she felt like Hanyu was brilliant. It isn't often that she is impressed with an artist from the first meeting.

It was just that he managed to explain his whole concept in an easy way. Sure, it still needed a lot of work, but it was clear that he had a good picture of what he wanted in his brain.

She wasn't even surprised when Chiara started the interrogation when she arrived home.

"You know I googled your friend?"

"Friend?"

"Hanyu."

"He isn't my friend, Chiara."

"I noticed that after googling him. They are really doing the show, huh?"

"Yeah. Why do you look disappointed?"

"Because I was kind of hoping that he was a new guy friend of yours, not work-related."

"Oh, come on...You have to stop trying to get me a man!"

"I'm just trying to look out for you... but I doubt this one is the right guy to give you some fun. He looks like a saint who doesn't care for anything but skating."

Maya just laughed. To be honest, she completely believed that to be true. And, of course, she wasn't interested in trying to fumble with a relationship at that moment either.

Or at any other time, if she was going to be honest.

"We are not going to keep having these conversations. It's getting old."

"Hum... I will stop. if you really want me to. But I'm not happy about it."

"Sure, sure..."

Chiara didn't ask much about the details of Maya's meeting with the skater, knowing that her friend couldn't say much without breaking the deal that she had signed.

Maya did tell her a few details and her friend could tell just how excited the girl was. It was always nice to see her motivation and happiness back just because she had a new challenge.

Chiara knew just how much her friend strived on challenges and how mundane things could start becoming after working in the same place for a long time. Having this new challenge to entertain herself was certainly a way to cheer her up.

Through the next few weeks, Maya had been working ridiculously hard in doing several layouts for Yuzuru. Always taking into consideration everything they had talked about.

She consulted with a few friends who had more experience than her and even met with the sound engineer of the Saitama Arena.

You could say that she was very dedicated to making sure that when it came time to run some test runs, that she could adapt to any problems that could eventually show up.

Still, once again, for several weeks in a row, she heard nothing of the skater besides receiving an email with the list of band members, both from the band he assembled for the show and the Philharmonic.

Maya had to admit that she felt a little bit scared when it seemed like she was the only one concerned with the fact that they were getting less and less time to prepare everything.

A full month passed since the only meeting they had until she finally heard from him again, but not for the reasons she expected.

She was surprised to see a text from him when she grabbed her phone at night after the most recent show at the Dome. Maya had just arrived home. It was 3 a.m. and the text had been sent just a few minutes later.

'I know you're probably working and don't have time for this, but I think I might need your help. Will you let me know if I can call you?'

Maya was surprised, unsure about what the hell was going on, but she was awake, and he seemed desperate.

'I'm free now. I would call you myself, but I know it's late. Is everything ok?'

The skater didn't answer her but just another minute later, she was receiving an incoming call from him.

Heading to the balcony outside to make sure that she wasn't disturbing Chiara with the noise, she took the phone call.

"Hey" she greeted him right away.

"Hi. I'm sorry about this but I didn't know who else to call."

Maya had no idea what this was about, but it was hard to believe that he didn't think of anyone but her to help out.

"No, it's fine. I just got home and saw your text."

"At least I didn't wake you up."

"Why are you awake at this hour?"

"The first show is in two days. I haven't been sleeping much."

"Do you usually get nervous?"

"Yeah... who doesn't?"

"Right..."

"But that isn't why I texted you."

"What's up?"

"Are you working tomorrow?"

"No, I have a few free days after working the whole week. Why?"

"I know I have no right to ask this but...Would you maybe be available to come to the venue and take a look at the sound? I rented some supposedly nice equipment, and everything just sounds terrible. I spoke with the tech, and it seems like every adjustment just makes it worse. I just don't know what to do anymore, I can barely listen to the music as I skate, and even from the public's perspective, it didn't sound good in my ears."

Maya sighed audibly. To be honest, she was looking forward to a few days of rest at home but at the same time, she wasn't one to stay quiet for long.

"Where is it?"

"Yokohama."

"Oh, it's closer than what I thought."

"I can arrange transportation and anything you might need to get there. I'm desperate, Maya."

This was the first time he had called her by her first name and he even did that without the use of a single honorific. She was so stuck in that small detail that she didn't realize that no word had been uttered during that time and the line was in complete silence.

"Sorry, Yamamoto-san... I didn't mean to..." he tried just a few moments after.

"It's fine. You just made me speechless for a little bit. I guess I can hop in and try to help but without knowing how everything is set up, I can't promise you anything."

"I can only ask you to try. Whatever you can do is probably better than it is now."

"What time are you there tomorrow?"

"Around 11, 12. But I know it's late right now so..."

"I will see you tomorrow at around 12 then."

"Yes?"

His hopeful tone was incredibly endearing.

"Yeah. Let's try to pull a miracle."

"Oh! Thank you so much, Yamamoto-san. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"It's alright... and Yuzuru?"

"Hum?"

"Feel free to call me Maya."