Disclaimer: I do not own Phantom of the Opera.
Erika is mainly inspired in Takarazuka, yes I know Erik is supposed to be a man in that play but in this fanfic she is a woman, Wao Youka is my (half) face claim for her. Christine is more ALW/Leroux/kay with just a bit of her Yeston-Kopit counterpart.
And please remember: English is not my first language
Erika sat on a cardboard box in the middle of a sigh, ready to marinate on her own failure. She had just arrived after finishing bringing everything she had been able to keep with her. She had thought that looking for something interesting would make the afternoon more enjoyable, but she gave up his mission the moment she saw the name of nadir's dead wife written in a box with a marker.
She breathed deeply, trying to fill her lungs of air, disguising her breast was a simple task thanks to her lack of them mainly, but wearing a binder all day while carrying boxes and things from one place to another was not exactly her best idea.
Her hair, dark and long until a few inches beyond her shoulders, was hidden under a short wig combed back, she was wearing one of her masks with more aggressive edges, which was a bit big for her and of a deep blue color, all with the intention of sharpening her face even more and distract from the obvious femininity that showed the other half of her face, to counteract that, she had filled her only visible eyebrow darker and thicker than usual.
Erika had been carefully chosen her clothes with the intention that her naturally wide shoulders stand out and tried to wear longer tops with the intention of hiding her ridiculously long legs. And after eliminated every accessory and feminine garment, the final product was not very different from her usual appearance, only that she really looked like a man.
'' This is a disaster '' She said chewing a granola bar, without hunger.
'' Meow '' Ayesha answered aggressively pushing her plate of food.
'' Shut up Ayesha, if I have to eat from the dollar store, you too '' Erika said standing up to observe the panorama of her future.
The apartment was small, with a single sealed room where Nadir had stored most of the belongings of his wife and son, Erika was not going to dig much out there.
But even so it was cozy in a certain way, the truth was that this part of the city did not have the reputation of being a bad area for a long time, the crime had increased recently and although she was sure that she had listened nadir to mention wanting to send his things to a different warehouse, fortunately for her, he never did.
The central space that doubled the function as living room and dining room was completely empty and Erika knew that it was a good idea to bring an air mattress with her.
'' And you better keep your claws away, Ayesha. '' Erika threatened a few minutes later, she was sitting on the floor with her torso exposed except for a sports bra and her poor excuse of a face flushed by the effort involved in inflating the mattress.
'' Meow. '' she replied without releasing the rat she had between the teeth, it is worth mentioning that the rat was half of her size.
'' Yes- holy shit, Ayesha! '' Exclaimed Erika standing up quickly, she was not scared, but she had not really thought about the rat thing.
'' Good girl, I promise you that the first thing I'll buy when I get some money will be your favorite food, okay? '' She said sweetly, a tone reserved exclusively for her dear Ayesha.
Ayesha meowed proudly to be recognized for her feat.
'' Excellent, I'm sure there's more where those came from. '' She said and tried to take the rat with her hand wrapped in a plastic bag.
The cat grunted scratching her owner's hand and ran away with her prey in her mouth.
'' Ayesha, let go of that, you do not know where it was, do not disobey me, young lady! '' Erika exclaimed, chasing her cat. '' Listen to- HOLY TRINITY! '' Scream as she tapped her toes with the corner of the wall.
Yes, chasing your cat to remove a giant death rat from her mouth was not exactly a good way to celebrate her first day in her new life.
' And how was your first day? ''
'' bloody hell, I'm a millionaire who lives in an apartment surrounded by rats. ''
'' Are you sure you do not want to move with Darius? '' He insisted.
'' I just cleaned rat blood from my foot, do not insist because you are aware that my answer is and will continue to be; no, '' Erika said.
'' You really do not have a contact to whom you can ask for help? You're a millionaire for something.'' he ask, Nadir was more anguished than Erika herself.
"Nobody at all, unless I want to corrupt the mystery of my identity, and let's be honest, that's not going to happen." she said, emphasizing the words and bathing them in sarcasm.
Erika was squatting on the ground picking up the rat corpses and trash between the walls, she had the phone held between her shoulder and neck, and she was trying not to breathe through her nose ... something even more difficult because of her lack of nasal cartilage.
''Yes, yes, I know. All the mystery you created about this anonymous composer, you have a killer PR team. "he mocked.
Today, luckily, the signal seemed more stable
'' I certainly agree with that, of course 10 Tonys, 1 Oscar and 5 Emmys do not have much use now."she complained with a grimace of disgust when she pulled something she did not know if it was a hairball or a corpse ... she did not dig much.
"Especially because you have not created new music in two years." he reminded her, he did not want to pressure her, but it hurt to see her friend squander her talents.
'' Not now Daroga, just that I have not had inspiration for something that is really extraordinary and I do not think that will happen soon, unless you want to listen to a musical about dead rats and frozen food .'' she replied, wrinkling her forehead.
'' I know we have not been the same since Reza, but- ''
'' I know, Daroga, nothing has been fine since that happened, let's not talk about that. '' she said tired and sad, she shook her head to eliminate her thoughts and change the subject '' you will come back soon to get me out of my misery and fix my problems? Or I'll have to endure Ayesha and her refusal to HELP ME IN THIS ECONOMY.'' she said, then shouted at her cat, who only hissed aggressively refusing to eat her food
Nadir tried to contain his laughter and failed miserably, luckily for him, Erika was very busy fighting with her cat to notice
'' I will return to America soon, two, or three months at the most. '' answered
Erika nodded knowing that her friend could not see.
Nadir was in Iran overseeing the construction of a building she had designed and that had been partly paid by the two of them, he was too busy deciphering Erika's complicated designs, no one had taken the designs of a mysterious strange architect seriously, but it had been too difficult to build without supervision
only that both had focused on the poorest part of the country, with the intention of making it flourish economically, but the internet was too slow to have any real utility, the telephone signal was very good at least, but the fact that they were Thousands of miles away did not help. And yes, in banking terms they are also very behind and with Darius having stayed in New York, Nadir did not trust anyone to give him access to his bank account in a nearby city and have it sent to Erika
'' Poof, okay. Tomorrow I will go looking for a job for the first time in my life. Any suggestions? And if you say McDonald, I'll stab you when you come back. '' she threatens scathingly
'' You have degrees and skills to spare, woman. But now that you're willing to listen to my advice-''
'' forget it, I already regret it. ''
''Shut. I suggest you do something with your talents, you are the singer with the most beautiful voice I've heard and you do not do anything with it, you're the most talented dancer I've seen and only 10 know it. Do something by taking advantage of your anonymity and maybe you'll finally find the inspiration you've been looking for. ''
'' Ha, dream of that, Daroga.'' she replied sarcastically.
''well I tried. Being a pianist in a club does not convince you? Out of there the only options that do not commit you in the long term are McDonald or a telephone company, hamburgers or phones, you choose. ''
'' too Many people for my taste. '' he complained, dropping his head against the wall '' I left all my degrees in France. Maybe I can be a bar pianist. Later I will look for jobs online.'' she sigh.
'' You're taking it very well, you surprise me. '' he congratulated, Erika was almost offended by the surprise in his voice.
'' Heh, yes. '' Erika responded with a dry and humorless laugh "I admit that washing the floor almost with a toothbrush bring me memories but in general, my tragedy has become a distraction, it was not as if I enjoyed a style of extravagant life to start. I'm still upset about having to leave my organ, I could only bring the violin and one of my flutes, '' she said, stretching her head to look for her instruments.
Both were in their respective wooden case and did not look cheap, somewhat worn by continuous use but still unable to fade with the background.
'' I think you could earn more than the average street musician if you went out on the street with the violin. '' he suggested, knowing that the few hundred dollars that Erika had were running out quickly only in the process of sending her things to a warehouse until she could return to her apartment.
'' I have not reached that level of despair yet, but remember me next week. '' she said, this time lying on some boxes full of books and her head hanging.
'' I'll remind you tomorrow just in case. '' He said '' Erika, I have to go, your damn designs that no one understands are making me bald. '' he complained and Erika laughed mischievously and dramatically.
'' I'm conscious about it. '' she said cloyingly and falsely charming.
'' Oh I know you are, good luck. '' He wished her.
'' That's for losers, goodbye Daroga. '' said goodbye.
'' Goodbye Erika. ''
Erika stayed a few seconds with the phone in her ear, listening to the continuous buzzing. And a single thought filled her head, Erika quickly got up with a desire to run and not come back before that single name found its way through her lips.
The next day Erika went to the park, with a wrinkled napkin where she had written different jobs available near where she was. More than half of the options on the list were crossed out and at this point most of the jobs she had available were summarized in hamburgers and phones, it goes without saying that she was not happy.
'' Damn it. '' she whispered smoothing his wig with her hands, a wig and a mask were not good ally on a summer day, and so many layers of clothes did not help either.
She sat on a bench under the shade of a tree with Ayesha at her feet, and dropped she head back, closed her eyes and out of nowhere began to tap a melody with her shoe, she had never stopped composing, but her melodies had become too simple or too bitter, she had not been able to find a balance.
Not until that moment.
From a distance I hear a voice, so distant that she thought it was her imagination, For a moment she was sure she had died and went to heaven.
It was the most beautiful voice she had ever heard, it was not perfect, she could recognize flaws in her technique, but that calm and cheerful voice was a breath of fresh air and a balm for her hurt soul, it was the beauty she had lost and desperately searched without realizing.
She got up quickly, grabbing her backpack and stepping on poor Ayesha's tail in the process.
And it was when she saw her, they were two women, a blonde and a brunette, a ballerina and a singer.
She was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, her brown curls moving gracefully as she sang before her difficult audience. It was a very simple song that she immediately recognized as melodies from Paris, a little bit too rural for the city but a with a natural charm. She sang while the dancer handed out some flyers, unfortunately there were not many people who stopped to listen to a traveling singer in New York. She was shy and obviously she was just showing a very small part of her true potency.
Melody, melody, melody, melody
Sung so melodiously
Melody, melody, my kind of melody
She continued to sing, her voice was small, oh, and she could not bear to see such a beautiful creature becoming small. So Erika take the violin out of its case, which she had gotten at the last minute by a strange feeling this morning, and never thanked her instinct more. She put it on her shoulder and began to play, a fire that had missed the full and ignited her veins.
Gentle and flowing and free
Soaring above every rooftop
Whispering under each tree
Melody, melody, my melody from Paris
Singing Erika while playing the violin, full of joy, delighted as the inspiration finally returned to her. The people immediately approached. Erika was not stupid or modest, she knew that she was an incredible singer and a talented musician, she had played in front of a few hundred people before hiding in anonymity, and even so, she had never sung in front of more than three people at a time, but when she this beautiful girl laugh in the most charming way she had seen, Erika not regret anything, there was no one else in the universe.
Paris is the rain
Paris is the pain of a lover's goodbye
It's the stare
When your eye meets a stranger
Ever dangerous, Paris
The young woman continues counting to unison with her, and Erika almost stops playing the moment I hear the girl give up her shyness and sing with her heart in her hand. Yes, there were moments where listening to her made her delicate ear protest, but there was so much talent in her. And from the way she looked at her, she knew she was thinking the same thing, that thought brought butterflies to her stomach.
Melody, melody, my melody from Pa-
Melody, melody
My melody from Paris
From Paris, from Paris
That part was sung together, and Erika could not remember the last time she felt so alive and carefree, the girl finished the last note with a huge smile and a sparkle in her eyes that was able to illuminate a whole world.
People applauded energetically and Erika smiled enormously, so much that her cheeks hurt, her heart was vibrated in her chest, and she could not remember ever having felt such a feeling, people applauded her, they were seeing her and not her mask or her strange appearance, they noticed her and her talent. Erika had always said that her thing were the strange looks, not the applause and suddenly she felt stupid for that thought.
But of course it was new York and people quickly returned to their affairs. The girl and the ballerina shrieked in unison of pleasure and Erik quickly returned to reality, gave thanks for not having forgotten his role and having sung with a deeper voice and a more masculine presence in general.
'' Oh my god, thank you very much, if you knew how scared I was before you arrived. '' the girl thanked jumping, her shyness was forgotten.
'' It was a pleasure. '' Erika whispered looking at the floor ... with cheeks flushed ?! She felt her heart beat strongly against her chest.
What the hell had happened to her? Yes, she was deeply ashamed of her face, but she did not let anyone realize that, she was never shy or look down at anyone.
'' My name is Christine Daaé. '' she introduced herself by extending her hand. Erika swallowed all her bubbly feelings and took her hand.
'' Erik Fujioka. '' she said. Yes, it was a stupid first name and Daroga would make fun of her if he takes to find out. It had been so long since the last time she thought of her maternal surname that she was surprised to be able to remember it so quickly.
Christine smiled at what she thought was the most handsome man she had ever seen, had dark, stylized hair and the deepest brown eyes she had ever seen, if she had half a mask covering half of his face, but that did not change at all her opinion of him, New York was full of eccentric artists and surely he could not be very different. There was something, a magnetism that was pushing her towards him and Christine was not opposed.
'' Wow Erik, you are very talented. Would you like to support us? " She asked, holding out a flyer with her free hand.
It was when Erika realized that she was still holding her hand and clumsily let her go, she heard Christine's laughter and decided to pretend not to listen to her. She read the flyer it took much longer than necessary, as she struggled to eliminate the thought of how her real name would be heard on her lips.
In the end the information was processed by her stupid brain, and she realized that she was singing to hand out the flyers of a dance studio in search of dancers for a new production
'' do you suppose I can dance? '' She asked, this time she felt more like herself and sarcasm and her dominant attitude did not go unnoticed by Christine.
'' I'm a dancer, something in how you move tells me that you too. '' she answered raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms.
'' you are not wrong, Miss Daaé. '' she replied, aware that she was behaving like an imbecile and that Christine did not seem to have the patience to put up with it, but honestly she had no idea how to act on her new feelings.
'' And I'm sure you're wonderful. '' She replied, yes, he was behaving like an idiot, but she wanted to give him a second chance.
'' The auditions are tomorrow? Maybe I'll take a walk around there. "Erika replied, getting a little more in the role of a man than necessary to be convincing, but luckily for her that was funny to Christine, who laughed.
'' I'll be waiting for you then. '' She replied with a charming but sharp smile, as if he was challenging her not to go.
But that was when the ballerina interrupted. She greeted Erika with her hand, very cheerful and take Christine's hand.
'' Christine, it's time to go back to rehearsals '' she said.
'' alright '' Christine said without encouragement, Erika did not understand his sudden change of mood.
'' Goodbye then, I suppose '' she said awkwardly putting her hands in her pockets.
'' Goodbye, I'll wait for you tomorrow, ''she said as the ballerina dragged her.
'' Maybe '' Erika replied, almost had to scream, because the girl was already far.
She watched her violin for a few seconds while her cheeks warmed up as she remembered their whole encounter, and a single thought went through her head.
'' What the fuck was that? ''.
Honestly, Christine and 'Erik' getting to know each other much faster than planned, I was worried that maybe this would affect the duration of the story, but I did the calculations and the story will last about 20 chapters, if I can not think of anything more
Erika's last name means '' singing '' or that's what google says, I could not find much information about Japanese surnames, if anyone knows is this is wrong, please let me know
Each comment is a dollar for the plague vaccine for Ayesha! (but seriously, if your cat ate rats very often, vaccinate them)