One Winter Afternoon
Cast:
Cure Muse, Shirabe Ako - age 15
Shirabe Otokichi - Ako's grandfather - age 66
Natsuki Ai - Cure Rouge's sister - age 14
January, 2017
The afternoon sun can barely be seen through a canopy of heavy gray. Even though she is wearing a heavy muffler, Ai can see her breath frost up in front of her. However, she has not bundled up with mittens, boots, earmuffs, and a down-stuffed coat simply for the honor of enduring the cold of winter.
She is tailing her great rival.
Ako stands out against the snow-covered streets, wrapped in an all-black outfit that includes a fur-lined mantle. Although her face is covered by a black cowl, her orange-gold hair spills out the back, long enough to blow in the wind, if it weren't such a calm day. In years past, Ako used to wear platform boots with a similar outfit, but lately she is tall enough that she no longer needs them.
Trees and bushes have long since lost their leaves. Ai is left only solid fixtures to hide behind... utility poles, post boxes, the occasional statue. A light carpet of snow muffles their footsteps. Ako does not seem to suspect anything, which makes it easier.
Ako turns a corner, following a dilapidated wall that is partly covered in frosted green ivy. Ai peeks from the corner and watches as Ako vanishes through a stone arch. Beyond the arch is a stone building with heavy wooden doors. Its age is obvious, though as a whole it is at least in better shape than the surrounding wall. By the time Ai follows her to the arch, Ako is already inside.
Ai waits outside for several minutes. Then, the sound of a pipe organ pierces through the winter gloom. Ethereal, yet somehow cheerful, the music is too much to resist. As quietly as she can, she opens the door and slips inside.
Inside, the music is louder and more beautiful. It is as if the building itself was designed with the organ in mind. Ai follows the melody to its source, where she sees someone she did not expect. Rather than a wizened old man or even an adult, the player at the console is Ako herself. She is seated with her back to Ai, but she has removed her cowl entirely. In the brief moments that Ai can see Ako's face, her expression is one of intense concentration.
As Ai watches, she is startled almost into crying out when a hand firmly grips her shoulder. She turns to see an old man in a red vest, with white hair and a curled mustache. Ai has never met the man up close, but she is fairly certain that he is Ako's grandfather.
Before she can say anything, the man raises a finger to his lips.
Silence during the performance. Of course.
The music goes on for a long while. When Ako is done, she slumps in her seat without turning around.
"You are improving," her grandfather tells her.
"That's not the same as being good."
"Maybe we should ask your guest."
This gets Ako's attention. She turns to look, then scowls when she sees Ai. "What are you doing here?"
"What else?" Ai replies, flipping her hair with one hand. "I heard some rumors and thought that I'd see if it might be something I could hold over you. Instead, I've caught you doing something really amazing. I'm honestly not sure I could top this."
"That sounds like a you problem. I'll thank you to leave me out of it."
"What if I don't make it a problem, then? I'm sure that I can think of some way we could work together instead."