Author's Notes: Well, hello there everyone in Land! This is my first contribution to the Mai HiME/Otome fandom and my first piece of fanfiction in at least five or six years. (Be gentle as I ease back into things!) I've been scouring the boards here for awhile now, and I am in complete awe as to how many talented authors this fandom possesses. I hope my little saga can help to entertain anyone who happens upon it.
I have some notes about the story before we get going here.
This story is AU. While I will try keep everyone in their canon personalities to the best of my abilities, I am letting you know now that sometimes things will venture into territory never covered in either series. Therefore, the way in which I write the characters' actions in these situations is wholly my own interpretation. This is just my way of writing things to fit the story I want to create. You are certainly more than welcome to disagree, but I would like to suggest any comments of the like should take the form of constructive criticism. Mindless flaming will only have me ignore you, and I don't want to ignore anyone reading my stuff.
This story will contain dark subject matter from time to time. This mostly includes some heavy verbal fights, excessive drinking, some drug use and the abuse of prescription medication. If any of this makes you uncomfortable, please don't read. I will put a content warning up on each appropriate chapter.
I got the idea for this story from a few places. One is a piece of fan art I found on yuri message board. It is a beautiful sketch of Natsuki playing a guitar. If I can come across this image again, I'll be sure to get my hands on it and offer a link to everyone. The second is my i-Pod. I was listening to a particular song the other night, and all of a sudden there was a vivid image in my head. You can all read that particular image later, as it will be the climax of this story (should you stick it out with me that far!).
The title of this story comes from a song of the same name by Mae. It is also a hint as to the structure of this story. Each chapter will be titled after a song. The song is whatever I was listening to that inspired the chapter's content. On occasion the song will make its way into the chapter in a more literal way. Most of the time, however, the song is simply meant to serve as background music for the mood of the chapter.
Lastly, (wow these are some really long notes, I apologize!) I have chapters one through five and the climax mapped out in my head already. Hopefully you all will like this prologue and give me the opportunity to show you what I have in store for later.
Thanks!
Disclaimer: I don't own Mai HiME/Otome or any of the characters contained therein. Everything belongs to Sunrise. I am making no profit from this.
Soundtrack for Our
Movie
Prologue
The lights faded to black, and Natsuki swallowed the bile she felt threatening to climb into her throat. Over the pulsing rhythm playing directly in her ears, she could still hear the tidal wave of sound, the volume in the building having just escalated to a mind-numbing decibel level.
For what would not be the last time, she mentally berated herself for agreeing to this insanity. No matter the rush, no matter the thrill and the exhilaration she knew awaited her no more than ten feet in front of her, the few moments that lingered between her standing here and there were without a doubt the most excruciating of her life. At least once a night, she contemplated turning around and running for the nearest exit, cursing this profession and these people until the end of time. As a matter of fact, presently that option was looking better and better.
Fingers gripped the smooth wooden neck in one hand, hoping to receive a silent boost of peace from the instrument. The fingers of her other hand danced along the strings, hovering in the air just far enough away that her song was silent. She tried to not think about unbelievable numbers of eyes out there, anxiously waiting to watch her every move. The notion brought a fresh wave of nausea over her.
Breathe, she coached herself. Breathe. Just a few more seconds, and you'll forget why you were ever nervous.
Between the music in her ears, the imagined song playing at her fingertips and the internal monologue, Natsuki almost failed to notice a shift in the air behind her. So it's that time again, huh?
She inhaled deeply, catching the faint scent of jasmine wafting past her shoulder as someone walked onto the stage in the blackout. Yukino, she noted. A moment later and she felt a hand fall gently across the expanse of her shoulders. This time she smelled vanilla. Mai. The calming presence was immediately interrupted by fingers ruffling her hair and the smell of… ramen. Mikoto. Natsuki grumbled as she lifted a hand to smooth at her hair. She had righted herself and taken a deep breath when the next distraction came in the form of a hand slapping against her ass. The air shifted, and she caught the heavy stench of alcohol. Nao.
Natsuki growled out loud and made to stomp on after the no doubt chuckling redhead when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned to look at the offender and caught a pair of kind, aquamarine eyes. Her mood softened instantly, and she gave Youko a questioning look. The older woman smiled knowingly and held up an earpiece.
Natsuki's hand flew to her own ear, realizing her mistake. It wouldn't be the best move on her part to go out still attached to her i-Pod. Fighting down an embarrassed blush, she removed the earbuds and switched them with the one Youko handed her. She gave the woman a tight-lipped smile in thanks before turning to look back at the stage. From the looks of things everyone was ready.
She took one last moment, her one last chance to center herself, to breathe deeply in and out. Then she walked onto the stage, her fingers confidently strumming the guitar once, the sound blasting through the monitors just in time for the lights to reappear in a blaze of glory and for the deafening sound of thousands of voices screaming to hit her ears.
