So, a few people have guessed who Akane is. I'm not going to reveal that yet though. Maybe next chapter. Just a forewarning, I have never been to a real concert. (Did see Metallica once for free though. That was fun. Mom thought I was at the art museum.) So when I pictured the concert in my head, I tried my best to put it in words. If you still think it sounds odd, just add details as you see fit.
Ok, the song was written by me. Not that I'm all that worried about it. I'm a story writer not a song writer, so if you don't like how it flows, I'm sorry. I just didn't want anyone trying to place a real song there and complain about how it doesn't seem right. Well I guess that's about enough of me, go ahead and read now. Gin
--
Luca was crazy busy today. Tidus pushed and shoved his way through the crowds. Yuna clung to his hand as if her life depended in it. Then again, it probably did. Tidus took one glance behind him to see Wakka doing the same thing with Lulu. They had arrived with plenty of time to get to the room they rented, but the crowds did not help to get to that room.
"Wakka, if we get split, you know where the place is, right?" He called behind him to make sure.
"Ya, I sure do. Don't worry about that. We're covered."
It was a good thing Tidus had asked, because the next wave of concert goers rushed at them. The two men lost track of one another in seconds.
"You think they will be okay?" Yuna asked gently. She knew Wakka knew where to go and all, but she had to hear it herself to make sure.
"Of course they will!" He assured her. "Trust me, we went over this several times together in case something like this happened." Pulling her onward before she could get trampled in the mob, Tidus made his way to the hotel.
--
"What do you have there?"
"Just the lyrics of the next song I was thinking of doing. I had inspiration hit this afternoon." The girl stood from her bed and made her way to the window. Pulling the curtain back, she noticed the mob outside. "It's crazy out there. Are all those people really here to see me?"
Since she had left the notebook behind the man decided to pick it up and began reading over what was written. "Akane, you doubt yourself too much. They are all here for you. You give them something that can bring them all together. Grown men and woman as well as children love to hear you. Why can't you accept that?"
Akane sighed as she let the curtain drift closed again. "I don't care about any of them. I mean I do, but there is only one person that I really want to hear my songs. But I don't think he will ever think of me in the same way." She dropped her eyes to the floor studying the multi colored pattered woven into the fabric.
Her manager moved closer to her and forced her to look out the window again. "Think about it. What if he were to be there during the opening of the concert? What if he was down there right now? What would you say if you saw him?"
"I'd probably die of embarrassment. He barely knows who I am."
The manager shook his head. "So you say. I think you need to believe in yourself a little more then you do." He let go of the curtain again and guided her back to the bed. "Now, why don't you keep working on that song? I like the opening, it has potential." He picked up the notebook and held it out for her.
Akane stared at it before lifting her eyes up to her manager. Slowly she took the book from his hand. She smiled softly before thinking and adding more to the paper. "This is going to be my best song yet, watch."
"I'm sure it will. But don't work too hard. You will need your rest. You have one last practice tomorrow and them perform after that. Just be ready."
"Don't worry, I will!" Akane called as his form retreated out the door.
--
The next day went by without a hitch. Auron arrived in time to avoid most of the rush the last minute travelers created. He was given a place to sleep and was gone the next day before the rest of the group rolled out of bed. He entered the city with thoughts of breakfast on his mind before heading out the the stadium for the show. Foe some reason, he felt so silly seeing a young teenager in concert.
Even though he had been told several times that other men his age and older enjoyed listening to her, it didn't feel like something he should be doing. As he ate, Auron gazed around the restaurant he had chosen. The place was packed with people from all ages and walks of life.
"Daddy, when do we get to see Akane? You still have the tickets, right?" A little girl no older then seven called out. Her blond hair bobbed in the pigtails on the sides of her head as she hopped about in excitement.
"Soon , dear, very soon. You have to be patient. They haven't opened the doors yet. We won't be able to get in until they do."
Auron chuckled softly enough so he was not overheard by the duo. Even the father looked as if he couldn't wait to get into the concert himself. Paying his tab, Auron made his way down to the stadium. It would be best to get in line now before it got too long. Even if he had to wait here for an hour, it was better then the father's idea.
But he was fortunate, almost right away they opened the doors trying to get as many people off the streets and inside as quickly as possible. He tried to keep his head down and avoid seeing anyone he might know, or worse yet, know him. But fate had a funny way of torturing him.
"Auron? Hey, Auron! Is that really you?" A face with blond hair entered his line of sight. Sea blue eyes stared at him in wonder and amazement. "It is you! I didn't know you liked Akane! Why didn't you tell us? I could have gotten a ticket for you too."
"Too?" He responded in shock but without letting it slip into his speech.
"Yeah! Lulu, Wakka, and Yuna are all here. We came together. We're all standing up front there. Why don't you come up with us?" Before he had a chance to decline, Tidus was pulling on his arm and calling out to the people ahead. "Hey guys! It was Auron! He came to the show too!"
"Wow, can't believe it, ya."
"I thought it was."
"But it seems so odd."
"I thought so too, Yuna. That's why I went to see. But here he is." Tidus made a show with his hands as if he was presenting Auron instead of Akane on stage. Auron glared before he was shoved from behind. He turned to do the same thing to whoever pushed him, but was caught off guard by a young girl no older then eight.
"I'm sorry, mister. I didn't mean to." She apologized as it looked like tears were about to spill down her cheeks.
"It is alright. No harm done." He comforted. After seeing her face light up once more, he turned back to his group. They all had their tickets out and comparing them together.
"Hey brudda, where you sitting anyway?" Wakka asked in an attempt to include Auron.
Pulling the thick slip of paper out, he held it up to where they could see for themselves.
"Front row?" Lulu asked first after seeing it. "How did you ever get that? They best we found was in the balcony."
"Yes, it must have cost a fortune." Yuna agreed.
He huffed, indicating it was none of their business, but Tidus refused to let it drop that easily.
"Come on man, how much did that cost? I wanna know how much I would have spent if I could find one."
"I have no idea what the price was. The ticket was given to me."
The men nearly passed out from shock while the woman stared at him as if he had suddenly grown a third head.
"Gave, as in for free?" Yuna finally asked.
"That is the meaning of gave." He answered.
The line moved up and Auron went with it ignoring the two couples as they tried to collect themselves.
They made it to the doors and were ushered in before getting split up. As he found his seat and sat, Auron began to feel slightly out of place and overdressed. As he looked around, he could see many young teens and adults all wearing clothing associated with a younger generation. He had chosen to wear a black suit and white shirt with a red tie. Very overdressed. He ran his hand over his face debating on what he should do. Perhaps he could sneak out if he was lucky.
The man who took the seat next to him helped him change his mind. It was an older man, about his age really. He also wore a suit. The man leaned over and asked him a question. "First time to one of these things?"
"You could say that." Auron replied.
"I thought so. You look rather put out. Don't worry about it so much. I've been a closet Akane lover myself, but as soon as I heard she was putting on a concert, I knew I had to come see it. Cost a good bit of gil, but I know it will be worth it. If she looks anything like what her songs suggest, I'm sure I won't be disappointed." He let out a very jolly sounding laugh before settling back into his seat.
Even if he didn't say, Auron couldn't but agree with the strange man.
--
The lights dimmed an hour later. Latecomer were still trying to find seat and were forced to do so in the dark. The curtain came up but it wasn't Akane yet. An opening act began playing, mostly covers of popular songs around Spira.
Akane was backstage peeking out at all the people in attendance.
"Nervous?" Someone asked her.
She squeaked before dropping the curtain and spinning around.
"Don't do that!" She hissed. "You scared me!"
"My apologies. I did not mean to. But do not worry. You will be out there soon enough. Just don't lose it when you see who's out there."
"What's that supposed to mean? Manager!" Akane stamped her foot as she pouted. Her manager could be so mean sometimes. He was walking away from her while laughing quietly. Shaking her head, Akane made sure everything was ready. Her microphone was attached firmly to her head and her outfit was not going to be slipping off.
Her manager and her worked together and agreed on a three piece outfit. A green tanktop, with black leggings and an pale denim blue skirt. On her feet were hemp sandals. The air on her feet would help keep her from getting overheated. The lights on stage were going to get hot, she was warned.
The crowd was clapping as the curtain fell. The young singer who had just performed came backstage wiping away the sweat from her face.
"All yours." She announced. "Not a tough crowd to please though. You could mess up and they would still love you."
Keeping that thought in mind, Akane ran to get into position. She was to wait on a platform under the stage. When the time came, she would be raised through the stage and walk down the steps to the bottom of the stage. The first cords of the song began just as she stepped on. She could hear the crowd screaming her name in excitement. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself.
The platform rose slowly and she was standing at the top of the stage amid smoke and lights. Her back was to the audience, and they went wild as soon as she turned. Her dark hair spun out behind her before falling down her back.
She broke out into her first song of the night, a fast upbeat song. The crowd loved it. The more she heard them singing with her, the better she began to feel. This wasn't so bad. She could do this.
Akane danced and moved about the stage as if she was born for it. The motions coming to her naturally. The song ended almost too soon for her tastes, but she had to remind herself that she still an hour and a half to go.
"Thank you all for coming out to see me tonight! And thank you for all your support in the past. I couldn't have done this without you! So, are we excited tonight?" The crowd cheered but in typical star fashion she had to ask again. "I can't hear you! Are you excited tonight?" They cheered even louder. It was enough that it seemed like she could feel the building shake.
"Alright. I can hear you now. We're going to slow things down a bit, but don't worry, it won't last long. I'm going to sing a song I called, Lost Love."
Closing her eyes, she began the first line before the instruments chimed in. The violin was first followed by piano and then drums. It was an easy going song, the arrangement set up this way by her manager so that she would not wear herself out before the night was over. By the time the song was over, she could see more then a few faces glistening with tears.
As the concert went on, the couples in the balcony danced and sang along with her.
"I'm so glad we came to this. I'm having so much fun!" Yuna shouted to be heard over the rest of the crowd.
"Me too, Yuna. Me too." Tidus wrapped one arm around her waist before gently kissing her. When he pulled away, her eyes seemed to sparkle up at him. It lasted as long as it took her to look away and down the masses below. "Hey, I think I can see Auron from here." She pointed to the man in question.
Wakka had heard her and was leaning over the rail to see for himself. "Oh, I see ya. It looks like he's having a good time." They giggled together as the normally reserved man was tapping his toes and clapping his hands together. They couldn't see his face, but they each supposed that he might have been smiling too.
"He really does like her." Lulu noted. "I would have never guessed. Though it's a shame Rikku doesn't like the singer. She would have enjoyed this as well."
Back on stage with Akane, she was smiling and having a great time. But the concert was coming to an end soon. She had only two more songs to do. She had finished writing More then a Girl and would be finishing on that one. But first was an upbeat one because she wasn't about to send her fans home sad.
"Thank you! Thank you! I'm really glad you all came out to see me. And since you did, I have one last surprise for you. Just yesterday, while I sat in my hotel room, I finished another song. It doesn't have music yet, but I thought I would share that song with you and give you a sneak peek at what I have in store next."
She waited for the crowd to calm down before starting. It was silent in the arena as she sang without the accompaniment of instruments.
"I'm more then a girl, but not yet a woman.
Don't think me done yet,
I'm more then you know.
You may have lived your life, but I still need time to grow."
As she sang the song, she moved about the stage like her manager planned. She pretended to stare into the eyes of each person in the front row as she moved.
"And if the winds should tear us apart,
I will follow my heart and find you again.
Don't push me away, take off your mask.
This is all that I ask.
I will be there for you, I will.
I will be waiting for you, I will.
How can I prove that?"
I'm more then a girl, but not yet a woman..." She trailed off on that line as one face caught her attention. She stopped singing unable to remember the next line at all.
Whispers went up wondering if it was supposed to end like that or if there should be more. Akane stepped back her legs suddenly unable to hold her up any longer. She had never thought she would see him here. Her bottom lip trembled before she composed herself. Two dancers came up to her to see if she needed help, but she waved them off with her hand.
Picking up from the last line she sang, she started again though a bit more unsteady then before.
"I'm more then a girl, but not yet a woman.
Don't think me done yet,
I'm more then you know.
You may have lived your life, but I still need time to grow."
She ended it there knowing there was another verse. The crowd seemed happy enough with it, and she forced on a smile as the curtain came down hiding her and the object she could not keep her eyes from until he was gone.
--
"That was the best concert I ever went to. I hope she does another one soon." Tidus was laying on the couch with his feet hanging over the armrest talking about they day.
"It was nice." Lulu commented. "But what I would like to know is what happened near the end? She didn't seem afraid at all the whole time, and then she froze. One would have thought she saw a ghost."
"Maybe it was a ghost. Maybe all her songs are supposed to be about a boyfriend that died or something." Wakka suggested as he smacked his fist into an open palm. The thought sobered the group bringing them down from the emotional high they were feeling.
After a few moments of silence, Yuna was the one to break it. "I have another theory. Did anyone notice where Akane was looking when she stopped singing?"
"Into the audience ya?" Wakka said.
"No, wait. I think I know what you are getting at." Lulu chimed in. "She had no problem staring at each person in the front. But when she came to Auron, that was when she stopped."
Jaws dropped at the revelation. "You don't think...?"
"But why Auron? How does she even know him anyway?" Tidus asked as he bolted upright.
"I'm not sure, that's something we may have to ask him when he returns." Yuna answered.
--
Auron would not be coming back for a few hours, he was sitting at the cafe with a cup of sake in front of him as he watched the news on the sphere. Right now the biggest story was the odd behavior of one of the biggest idols in Spira. No one knew what the reason behind it was, but rumors abounded. As he sat barely touching the drink in front of him, he could not shake off the feeling that Akane's eyes had been on him when she froze.
