A/N: I truly, sincerely apologize for all these waits. My muse has been showing up elsewhere since I've started roleplaying, and I have such a strong muse for Death Note, but I don't want to start any new stories until I finish some of these older ones. Please, enjoy this chapter and review! The next one is already in the making, so I hope to have the next chapter out soonish, but I make no promises. Curse this flimsy muse... Mentions in the next chapter! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH I FINALLY REACHED 300 REVIEWS! 3 3 3
"How do you do that?"
Shai looked up from the dishes, his head tilting to the side as confusion twisted his features. "How do I do what?"
Kanji pointed to his mouth with one hand, the other still holding the scrub brush against the marble floor. "That… thing you were just doing. It's like… whistling and talking at the same time."
Shai mouthed the words Kanji had just said, mismatched hues wandering around the room as he tried to think of what his brother meant. His expression lit up suddenly, a smile pulling at his lips. "Oh! You mean singing!" He laughed softly, sticking his hands back into the sink and dutifully scrubbing away. "I was singing."
"Oh…" Kanji nodded and continued to scrub, his little lips pursing slightly. "Um… what do you do when you sing? I mean—" He blushed slightly, realizing that had sounded rather stupid. "—I mean, um, like you always sing the same words and stuff…. Why? And what does singing do that talking doesn't?"
"Well…" Shai started to speak but then stopped, his hands slowing to a stop on a plate of fine china. "…well…" He released the object and hopped off of his stool, grabbing a towel and wiping his hands before tossing it to Kanji. "Walk with me, talk with me."
The blunette scrambled to his feet and wiped his hands off before following Shai out of the kitchen and into the hall.
"You sing when you want to talk to music—oftentimes, you do it to tell a story or get a message across. Music is an expression of emotions and a proclamation of morals and beliefs. There are many different kinds of music to suit the many different kinds of people who listen to it." He turned a sharp corner, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Kanji stayed on his tail. "A song can mean something special to someone, they can sometimes relate to or learn from a song. What really gets people, though, is the melody-the part of the song that makes it different than talking! The melody is what gets people movin' and groovin', what gives them that special feeling, what makes it such a wonderful experience."
"O-oh…"
Shai finally arrived at his destination, his little hand coming up to knock on the large, wooden door. "Master!"
A few moments passed, and a very tired and somewhat distraught-looking Ghirahim answered the door. "Yes…?"
Worry creased the child's brow for just a moment, and then he brightened up and gave the demon lord a smile. "I'm trying to explain singing to Kanji! Will you help me?"
"Shai…" Ghirahim pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a sigh and looking over his shoulder into the room. "…I'm very busy."
The demon boy blinked. "I know, but… but I thought-!"
"I just can't today, Shaika."
At the use of his real name he stopped, his head lowering slightly. "Yes, Master." He allowed bitterness to claim his heart for only a moment, his logic quickly kicking it away. Ghirahim was going through a lot right now, and he didn't have time for such childish trivialities. So he forced a big smile and rocked on his heels. "I'll teach him myself! No biggie!"
A weak smile was offered up. "Thank you, Shai. You and Kanji have a good day now… please remember to do your chores before dinner… at some point…" And then he disappeared into the confines of his room once more.
Turning to his brother, Shai kept that smile up, clapping his hands together. "Alright, let's go find Coryai and Tovi! I'm gonna teach you guys to sing!"
Kanji blinked, and then gave a nod and smile. "Okay!"
A wooden stick came down on the edge of the table lightly, the tap tap tap getting the attention of the boys in the room. "Alright, now you have to pay attention if you want to learn how to sing properly. So listen up!"
Tovi grumbled to himself, crossing his arms over his chest. "Singing is stupid…"
Shai frowned. "Too bad, you're gonna learn it anyways." Then he smiled again, pulling a small object out of his pocket and blowing into it, watching their faces light up as a note sounded out. Certainly they had heard instruments before, but none that made a sound quite like that, and they had to be wondering what he was going to use it for. "This right here helps us find the right place to sing."
"What's it called?"
Shai opened his mouth to speak and then looked down at it, his cheeks puffing up slightly. "I, uh… I don't know. I always call it my note finder. Um…"
Tovi waved a hand. "Keep it rolling."
Shai shook his head with a brief eye roll, but simply blew in it once more, this time humming after the note had been played. "Hmm… hmm… Let's start at the beginning… a very good place to start. When you read you begin with?"
"A! B! C!" Coryai and Kanji chimed.
"When you sing you begin with Do Re Mi."
"Do! Re! Mi!" they chorused, Tovi's reluctance showing all too easily.
"Do Re Mi! The first three notes just happen to be Do Re Mi."
"Do Re Mi!"
"Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti!"
He was met with complete and total silence, their expressions showing how utterly lost and confused they were. Putting a hand against his cheek, he tilted his head and tried to think.
"Oh, let's see if I can make it easier…" He paused for a few moments, glancing upwards as his train of thought continued before he began to sing once more. "Do, a deer, a female deer. Re, a drop of golden sun. Mi, a name I call myself. Fa, a long, long way to run. Sol, a needle pulling thread. La, a note to follow So. Ti, a drink with jam and bread. That will bring us back to Do, oh, oh…"
Ghirahim sighed heavily, pushing back away from his desk and rubbing his face with weary, cramped hands. He had never imagined that so much intense planning needed to go into this resurrection business. It had been done before, so why was it so insanely difficult to duplicate? You would think someone would have left their notes behind to be copied.
"I need a drink…" And not of the innocent variety. Alcohol or blood. Or misery. Maybe all three. He just wanted to feel better.
Sighing, he stood up and pushed his chair back under the desk, grabbing his housecoat and exiting his bedroom. "I suppose I could check on the children… and perhaps get something to eat." He slipped his hands into the pockets of his robe and kept his gaze on the floor, exhaustion racking his body. "After this I think I'll retire. The paperwork can…" His voice trailed off, an unusual sound catching his ear.
"The hills are alive with the sound of music…"
A curious hum vibrated up his throat, his feet carrying him towards the living room rather than the kitchen.
"With songs they have sung for a thousand years… the hills fill my heart with the sound of music… my heart wants to sing every song it hears."
He blinked slowly, feeling something like peace or even—dare he think it?—happiness welling up inside him.
"My heart wants to beat the wings of the birds that rise from the lake to the trees… my heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies from a church on a breeze…"
A little smile pulled at his lips, his movements ceasing as he rounded the corner to the living area and let his gaze settle on a group of boys gathered around the fireplace. Shai stood proudly on the hearth directing them—or at least trying to—and the three other's stood before him on the floor, following his instructions perfectly.
"…to laugh like a brook when it trips and falls over stones on its way… to sing through the night like a lark who is learning to pray…"
"I go to the hills… when my heart is lonely…" The words came from his throat before he could stop them, his mind unearthing lyrics he had buried long ago. "I know I will hear… what I've heard before…" The boy's stopped, of course, turning their attention to Ghirahim and listening with rapt attention as he continued to utter the words. "…my heart will be blessed with the sound of music… and I'll sing… once… more…"
The final notes echoed throughout the chamber, a peaceful silence coating the room and every person inside. Chocolate irises flickered from child to child, his mouth opening and closing silently for lack of words to say.
"Are you feeling a bit better, Master?"
Ghirahim tried to speak, failing once more as speechlessness continued to show on his features. Then slowly, his dumbfounded expression melted away, a smile pulling on his lips and reaching his eyes for the first time in weeks. "I am… feeling much, much better. Thank you, boys, that was truly wonderful."
He sighed softly, lowering himself to his knees and motioning with his hands to tell them it was time for a group hug. The four ran readily into his arms, giggling and squealing as they jumped on their master and made themselves comfortable in his arms. A laugh escaped the lord's throat, and he fell backwards on his bottom, his children all piling on top of him.
"Master, can we play a game after dinner?"
"We finished all of our chores, Master!"
"Master! Master, I learned how to shoot a bow and arrow from Shyra!"
Ghirahim let out a sigh, too tired to calculate replies, but not so exhausted that he was unable to smile and pull them just a little closer because for a moment—a single, solitary moment—he felt at home again.
