Disclaimer: Same as last time.
Chapter 1: Ode To Joy
A knock sounded on the door. Zero Kiriyu got up from his stool and wiped his hands on the dirty rag hanging out of his pocket. He leisurely walked to the door. The knocking became more persistent.
"I'm coming, Chairman, I'm coming!" he growled, annoyed. He opened the door to an excited Chairman holding something flat in his hands. One look at the flat object said a thousand words.
"No," he said. He turned and walked back into his apartment. The Chairman followed.
"Oh, come on, Zero! You'll enjoy it!" the older man pleaded. "Please? There are two tickets here, front row and everything!"
"No. I have work to do," answered the painter tersely. He picked up a paintbrush.
The Chairman thought for a moment. "If you come with me, I will forget about this month's rent," he tried.
Zero stopped and turned on his stool. "Make it two months and you've got yourself a deal."
The Chairman grinned. "Deal."
Zero dropped the dirty cloth onto the easel. "If we're going to see a ballet, I'm going to kill you." And when Zero Kiriyu said those words, you knew he meant it.
"No, it's not a ballet…mostly." Zero raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's a concert, but one of the ballerinas is dancing with the music. It's a charity thing."
Zero shook his head. "Fine. Just give me five minutes."
The Chairman smiled happily and left.
The walk to the Glass Dome was short, as usual. The cold night wind blew around the Chairman and his reluctant companion. The Chairman loved coming to the Glass Dome to experience the arts, especially the ballets. His niece was a dancer in Paris and he always hoped that it would be her dancing on the stage.
But tonight would be different. Tonight, she would be dancing on that stage. And he'd applaud, the proudest uncle in the audience. He'd be so proud.
"Chairman, are you okay?"
The older man started. "Yes, I'm fine, just thinking…"
The young artist rolled his eyes. The Chairman looked him over. You know, when he cleaned up, he wasn't all that intimidating. All he really needed was a clean pair of jeans and a clean dress shirt and he looked quite good, actually.
The great theater was full. Luckily, the Chairman and Zero got into their seats just as the curtain began to rise. Applause sounded in the audience. An orchestra sat ready to play. An older woman walked out onto the stage and spoke into a microphone.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," she said, her gravelly voice echoing throughout the hall. "My name is Hiromi Okada. I am the owner of the Garasu Domu. Tonight, our orchestra will be performing Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy' while one of our leading ballerinas dances. And now, it is my great pleasure to introduce the Tokai Orchestra and Miss Yuuki Cross!"
The crowd broke out once again into polite applause. The Chairman was ecstatic to see his niece again. Zero leaned over.
"Cross? Is she related to you?"
But the Chairman just shook his head. "Distant cousin, maybe."
He vaguely heard a man talking to his date behind him. "These charity things are rarely ever decent. Why'd you even bother to buy tickets, Kaya?"
The Chairman turned around and promptly shushed them.
The orchestra struck up and an angel ran onto the stage. Not a real angel, of course, but the most beautiful girl Zero had ever seen. Her shiny auburn hair was swept up in a bun at the nape of her long pale neck. Her lovely face was devoid of emotion, but her body told the story. Her feet moved quickly on the hardwood stage, matching the quick pace of the first bars of music. She used her whole body to portray the feelings in the piece.
She leaped and twirled and spun to the music and the choir singing in the background. The girl's white costume glimmered in the stage lights (A/N: see my profile for a picture of her tutu.). Zero sat watching her, mesmerized by the grace and beauty this girl exuded. The music swelled as it came to an end and the ballerina did something that Zero thought impossible. She spun around and around and around and around until she sprang lightly into the air, twirled again, landed delicately on her feet, and stopped in perfect time with the music. The concert was over.
The audience burst into enthusiastic applause, cheering and standing up. The ballerina smiled sweetly and bowed gracefully, then dashed off the stage.
Zero stood there, awe-struck as the audience trickled out. The Chairman pulled on his arm.
"Come on, Zero! There is someone, I'd like you to meet."
Zero was led to a door by the stage and pulled in. He was met by several odd looks from musicians and sponsors, most likely due to his unusual coloring, but he ignored them and followed the Chairman to a dressing room. The older man knocked on the door. It was opened by the young ballerina. The makeup had been wiped from her face and her hair let down, but the rest was the same. She was the angel who had danced so beautifully on the stage. Zero felt something tug in his chest, something strange and frightening.
Her face lit up when she saw the Chairman.
"UNCLE KAIEN!" she shrieked. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him fiercely. He laughed and returned her embrace, twirling her around like a little girl.
"Yuuki! You were so wonderful this evening," he praised excitedly. She smiled beautifully up at him. Then her eyes settled on Zero. Her eyebrows shot up and she smiled timidly.
"Hi," she said shyly.
The Chairman noticed their small exchange. "Oh goodness! I completely forgot to introduce you two!" He wrapped his arm around the girl's shoulders. "Yuuki, this is Zero Kiriyu; he is one of my renters and a good friend. Zero, this is my niece, Yuuki Cross."
Zero raised an eyebrow. "You told me that she was a distant relative."
Yuuki peered up at her uncle. The Chairman blushed. "It was for dramatic effect."
She giggled and Zero shook his head. "Good to meet you, Miss Cross," Zero said detachedly. He extended his hand to shake, but only to be polite.
Yuuki took his large warm hand in her tiny cool one and shook it, smiling up at him. "Please, call me Yuuki. Miss Cross makes me sound like I'm a schoolteacher." She let go of his hand and felt a pang as she watched him quickly withdraw it, as if he had been stung. "Did you enjoy the performance?"
He looked down at the tiny young woman. She must have been about five feet tall, like a little porcelain doll. He nodded stiffly, his face emotionless. A flash of pain glinted her large brown eyes but was quickly replaced with a cheerful glow.
"I'm glad!" she said happily.
The Chairman gave Zero a sad look then turned and smiled at Yuuki. "My dear, why don't I take you out to dinner and we can catch up? Zero's treat."
Zero's eyebrow went up again. Yuuki giggled softly. "I'd love to, but I can't," she said sadly. "I have to warm down and then I have to go talk to Madame."
The Chairman's eyes went wide in recognition. "This is the 'Madame' that I met?"
She nodded.
He shuddered. "Good luck, then."
She grimaced. "I'll need it." Then she seemed to remember something. "Oh! I almost forgot, Uncle Kaien! Could I talk to you inside for a second?"
The Chairman glanced back at Zero, who waved him on. "I'm heading back anyway, work to do."
The older man sighed. "Fine. See you tomorrow."
"See you."
Zero then turned to Yuuki. He nodded quickly. "Miss Yuuki," he stated stiffly.
"It was nice to meet you!" Yuuki called after him as he turned and left. Then she looked to her uncle. "Is he always like that?"
