Disclaimer: I do not own "Love Live Sunshine!" nor do I profit from the writing of this story.
Author's Note: This is something that I have been wanting to write for some time. Hopefully I can start writing for this community more especially now that one of my major projects is near completion. Anyway here is my first foray into the "Love Live" community. Hope you all enjoy.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre was a beautiful concert hall which sparkled like a glittering gem amongst the lights of the urban night life. The plaza was populated with an assortment of different people most of whom were affluent either academically or financially.
Chika felt out of place in this den of geniuses. In fact, she would never have come had it not been for the golden embroidered invitation that she clutched in her sweaty hands. She knew that she wasn't anybody special, just a plain girl who had a brief stint of popularity in high school when she had founded Aquors, their school idol group.
Aquors was still going strong even though Chika and her friends had long graduated high school. For a brief moment in time she felt like she made a difference and had found a purpose in her life.
However, she could not escape the reality of her overwhelming mediocrity. She wasn't gifted intellectually nor did she have the same aptitude of learning as some of her other friends had. Chika did not score well in her college entrance exams and had concluded that she was not suited for college. Since then she worked managing the inn along with her older sister.
Chika wasn't physically gifted either. She did not have the physical strength or endurance of her childhood friend, Kanan, who was now working as a marine biologist nor did she possess Dia's voluptuous figure. She was not ugly but she did not stand out in a crowd either.
The only exception were her shocking red eyes which ignited brilliantly when she was excited. A genetic mutation, an anomaly which served to be her only distinguishing feature on her body. Was it her body's subtle defiance to pre-destined mediocrity?
These were questions that Chika never considered. Such abstract concepts hung teasingly in front of Chika like a carrot on a string.
Even so she was content in her current lifestyle. Her work at the inn, though hard at times, came naturally to her and all the customers loved her.
Her parents were more than willing to let her stay home provided she help support the household.
Despite that Chika always felt a twinge of discontent.
Was this going to be her life forever? That her greatest achievement in the world was starting a high school idol group? Meanwhile her friends were out in the world doing great things.
Like Riko.
Chika had not seen Riko in over five years. When they graduated high school, Riko had gotten a musical scholarship to St. Petersburg University in Russia. Their parting had been difficult. Riko did not want to leave and told Chika that if she wanted her to stay in Japan then she would.
However, Chika understood that to keep Riko from pursuing her dreams would have been an injustice.
Riko was both beautiful and intelligent and was capable of creating art the likes that would forever be beyond Chika's grasp. There was no way in denying the widening gap in their respective talents and Chika saw that. She knew that if Riko stayed close to her then she would never be able to achieve her dreams.
So Chika let her go.
Even today Chika wasn't sure she regretted that decision or not. Every night she would look outside her window hoping that somehow, maybe, Riko had come back and they would start chatting the night away as they did back in high school.
But those days were long gone.
Instead her life regressed to one sordid, daily grind which slowly chipped away at her soul. She would dream of Riko being back in her life and feel such an overwhelming happiness that it could not be contained in her body and, instead, came out of her in a stream of tears.
Yet this happiness was only an illusion, a product of her subconscious that made her feel more regret for letting Riko go.
Chika was so lost in her own thoughts that she barely registered herself presenting the invitation to enter the concert hall and take her seat on the fifth row from the front.
Once she had settled into her seat Chika had regained her sense of awareness and couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.
The entire concert hall was alive in the murmur of the audience. Most of the seats, from the front row to the Mezzanine, were full.
There was an announcement that rang throughout the hall and the lights started to dim. Chika felt like her heart was trying to rip its way out of her ribcage as she eagerly anticipated seeing her best friend again in five years.
Suddenly the concert hall went into complete darkness before a spotlight shone keenly through the artificial night and settled on the woman who was striding confidently on stage.
Chika gasped when she saw Riko.
Riko had grown into a beautiful, regal looking woman. Her black dress contrasted deliciously against the bright sheen of her skin with a crown of lavender hair that cascaded down her back like a silken wave. She was like a beautiful queen taken from old fairy tales.
The pianist bowed to the crowd before taking her seat. The back curtain opened to reveal an orchestra of stringed instruments ranging from violins to cellos with a wild haired conductor that stood between them and Riko.
It was then that Riko started to play the piece of the night; all three movements of Bach Concerto in D Minor.
The piece started and Chika was blown back from the sheer force of musical energy.
Riko had suddenly transcended her mortal limitations and had become a cosmic force that the conductor and orchestra orbited like the planets around the sun. Her technique was flawless and yet she played almost madly as her silken hair started to stray and her body glistened with sweat. The piano would resist her and try to trip her up with runs so technically complex that it bordered on impossible.
Yet Riko met the challenge eagerly, forcing the piano to acknowledge her genius and continued to play the piece with complete and utter mastery. The first movement was a quasar of musical energy that astounded Chika.
The second movement was not as technically complex but was far more melodic, even somber. Riko swayed her body gently coaxing every note out of the piano. It was strangely intimate.
It was soon over and yet there was no applause. There was one movement still left. It was here that Riko took a deep breath and then dove right into the piece.
This movement was very similar to the first with its furious tempo and technically complex runs. Riko played with a wild aspect as her hair started to become messier. Beads of sweat ran down her face that was set in intense concentration.
Her fingers had now become a literal blur to Chika. They had become another creature altogether with minds of their own which ran seemingly independent of Riko's conscious thought.
Occasionally Riko would purse her lips together as if she tasted a sour lemon while clenching her eyes tightly to get rid of the sweat that invaded them.
She was now wrestling with the very abstract itself, dragging it from its unseen dimension and manifesting it into the tangible world in the form of music. It was an awesome struggle to behold, a battle between mortal genius and the essence of transcendence itself.
It was then that Chika realized that her best friend was beyond her. Riko was like a star, always within sight and yet the scope of her magnificence utterly misunderstood. There was no way that Riko would ever want to stay friends with her. The thought brought tears to Chika's eyes. Yet she would not allow herself to frown.
The third movement ended like an avalanche coming to a halt. A standing ovation recognized the genius borne to the audience.
Chika stood up too as she clapped as loud as she could. There was Riko standing, red-faced and breathless, reduced to a mortal once more and with a shy smile on her face. All Chika wanted to do was run up the stage and hug her best friend but knew that it was impossible.
She gazed at Riko one last time before they would part ways forever. It was crazy how beautiful she was. Riko suddenly blurred as Chika's eyes filled with tears. They were worlds apart now. Riko was now living her dream and Chika knew that she had no place in it.
With that, Chika beat down her regrets one last time as she turned around and walked away from the stage.
She would never see Riko again.
Author's Note: I know this first chapter is a bit of a downer but this is not the end! Look forward to how this short story concludes in the near future! Anyway let me know what you think. I know it is a bit short but still. Thank you all for reading looking forward to your input!