Everyone who has read Sakurazuka-chan's fanfiction, "The Sakurazukamori of the Opera?", I assure you, I did not copy the idea from her, nor did she copy hers from me. They are completely different fanfics and we have talked about this. Please do not bash either of us for having similar fanfics.
I'd also like to use the opportunity and to recommend a story called "Heaven", by me dear friend Chenya. It is an original idea about what happens after the end of T-tv, so please R&R it! It's really worth it!
And now, here goes chapter 6, the chapter that almost doesn't have songs in it. Enjoy :)
Chapter 6: A New Game Will Begin
While the two managers and the tenor singer were trying to persuade Arashi to take the leading role of countess, at the new production of "Il Muto", madam Karen, her daughter and the new patron were heading towards the room of the Diva's understudy, mademoiselle Kotori. They were half talking half singing; according to the melody of Prima Donna; the song they heard the three men singing to Arashi, way behind them.
"Kotori spoke of an angel…" mentioned Kamui, as they were going, remembering his talk with Kotori, at the night she disappeared.
"She has heard the voice of the angel of music" conformed Yuzuriha, beginning to question inside herself the true identity of this 'angel'. "Is this ghost an angel or a madman?" she asked herself in voice, yet the question was truly directed to her mother. The young ballet dancer understood that her mother known the phantom, and that she was keeping this relationship in secret.
"Angel or a madman?" repeated Kamui after her, totally unaware of anything surrounding him.
"Monsieur, listen to me!" said Karen in a sharp voice "You must follow his orders!" her voice turned softer as she slowly sang her following words: "Heaven help you, those who doubt…"
"Orders! Warnings! Lunatic demands!" declared Kamui, not believing a word from what he had heard.
"This miscasting will invite damnation!" sang a voice beside the three of them, as Satsuki appeared from the near corridor. "You must not cast her!" she said, pointing at the direction of the stage, where Arashi was.
"Bliss or damnation?
Which has claimed her?" sang Yuzuriha at the same time, looking at the direction of Kotori's room.
"Oh, fools! To have flouted his warnings" declared Karen, looking to where Satsuki pointed.
"I must see his demands are rejected!" answered her Kamui is a stubborn voice.
"Kotori must be protected" sang slowly both Karen and Satsuki, looking at each other.
"His game is over!" said Kamui.
"This is a game you cannot hope to win!" said Karen.
"Then today, at box five, a new game will begin!" declared Kamui, his hand closing on his sword.
"Then I fear the outcome" said Yuzuriha quietly.
"Do not." Said Kamui simply "Arashi will play the countess, Kotori will take the role of the pageboy. This is the end of discussion. Now, I must see her"
"No," said Karen "we must prepare for the play. You will have time to visit her, after tonight. Or, at least, I hope that you will" she added in a shivered voice.
The patron looked as if he was about to argue, but after one look at the ballet mistress's eyes, he gave up. "Fine. I will come back tonight, then"
"Good day, monsieur" said the three women, while Karen added "And remember- keep your hand at the level of your eyes"
After the small interruption at the morning, everything seemed to be much better. The rehearsals preformed at full speed, as the actors did their best to prepare for the night's spectacle. When they finished, it was already past the sunset, and the audience begun to arrive.
Kotori was standing in her room, dressing herself for the silent role of the pageboy. She was clearly unfocused, for she constantly kept forgetting to put something on.
"Ok, stop!" said Yuzuriha to her, standing in her room, trying to help her friend to organize herself. "You're driving me insane!"
"I am truly sorry…" apologized Kotori "But my mind keeps wondering and my stomach is ill. I don't have a good feeling about this, Yuzu. We should stop this madness at once!"
"Relax, my dear… breath…" advised her Yuzuriha, offering her a glass of water.
"I can't relax! I can't believe Kamui and his managers were so stubborn"
"Men," mentioned her friend "go figure"
"What should we do?"
"I don't think there is anything we can do to change the situation," mentioned Yuzuriha sadly "I guess we just going to proceed as planned, and pray that no disaster will happen"
The audience kept filling the opera house, and the opera itself was about to begin. Mademoiselle Arashi, dressed I a beautiful light pink dress- which only emphasized her thin corset- that made it slightly difficult for her to breathe- was standing behind the heavy curtains- a bit careful, for she didn't want them to full on her once again- waiting for Seishiro, the maestro- to give her the cue to begin.
After a few long minuets, the music started playing, and three actors- Yuzuriha among them- went out to the stage, beginning the play.
Arashi counted the rhythm beats, cleaning her throat, as she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around, startled, but that was only Sorata behind her.
"Don't forget to count ten seconds after the cue" she said to him in a soft voice, not knowing how exactly to treat him.
She turned around, about to come out to the stage, as she felt a strong hand closing on her arm, turning her back. After a second she found Sorata's lips covering hers with a warm yet gentle kiss.
The surprised Diva pushed herself back from him, staring at him furiously, looking absolutely magnificent. "Don't ever do that again" she said in a quiet voice, which sounded nothing like her.
"Just a good-luck gesture" he said to her in a naughty smile, letting go of her hand, pointing at the stage, to where she had to go.
Yuto and Aoki took their place at the balcony seats, smiling anxiously to their patron, Kamui, who waved them to begin the opera, sitting at the only chair at Box five. He appeared to be very calm and self-confidant, yet his sword was attached to his belt.
"Isn't that mademoiselle Hokuto and monsieur Kakyo?" Asked Aoki, pointing at the front seats at the hall beneath them.
"Yes, it's them. And Hokuto invited us to her Salon" replied Yuto.
"Really? Well nothing can help our business like this"
They stopped talking as the music begun to play, and after the first actors finished their singing, the lights changed and both Arashi and Kotori appeared on the stage: Arashi the countess, and Kotori the mute pageboy.
Arashi's clear voice pierced the applauding of the public, as she begun singing. After a few moments she was joined by the soft and rich tenor voice of Sorata, who played the role of the viscount, Arashi's husband.
To the favor of the Diva, can be added the fact that she was a great actress. She didn't show even a smallest glimpse of awkwardness, due to the little event, which happened only a few minutes ago. Arashi flawlessly preformed her part.
Suddenly, a sharp and angry voice, coming from nowhere and from everywhere at the same time, stopped the play.
"Did I not instruct, that Box five is to kept empty?" the voice asked loudly, causing a shiver cross every men and women present in the hall.
"He's here…" hissed Yuzuriha, as her worst fear of tonight appeared before her "The phantom of the opera"
"It's him" said Kotori quietly, but because of the silence and the echo, she was well heard all over the theatre.
"You part is silent" said Seishiro, the maestro, clearly annoyed by the disturbance. He wanted to meet this phantom at face, for once, and to explain him very clearly what he thought of him, and of his sudden disturbances.
Arashi, who shared the current desires with the maestro, used the chance and slipped behind the stage, taking the glass of water she had prepared for herself earlier. The Diva knew that clearing her throat once a while is a good way for keeping her voice clear.
'That's weird…' she thought as she drunk the water 'this water has a strange taste. I hope the water pipes didn't blow up again…'
Alas, there was no time for her to wonder about the water's taste, for she had to return to the stage, and so she did, noticing the furious grin on Seishiro's face, as he ordered the musicians to replay the last notes.
The Diva combined her voice with the melody and with Sorata's voice, creating a sweet song, which made the public relax and forget from the little incident.
Sorata, though, was worried about the appearance of the phantom's voice. As he preformed the opera, his eyes drifted all over the theatre's main hall, searching for potential threat. In a small moment, his eyes met the eyes of the ballet mistress, madam Karen, who was standing behind the heavy curtain, looking as worried just as he, her eyes also searching for the phantom.
The tenor singer was so concentrated at his task, that he did not notice the coming tragedy in front of him. Just when his eyes encountered once again Kamui, sitting in his Box five, Sorata felt an iron grip on his right arm. To his awful amazement, the owner of the grip was Arashi, whose eyes seemed unfocused, her skin pale and her lips shaking.
"What's wrong?" he asked in a half panicked voice.
"The water…" she whispered and lost her balance, falling unconscious into his arms.
Now the public was not only scared, but also pretty angry. Not only some stupid ghosts startled them, now the leading lady was collapsing.
Aoki and Yuto ran rapidly to the stage, trying to save what was left from their career.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please remain at your seats!" called Yuto loudly, trying to calm the public.
"We will continue the play at ten minutes, when the leading role will be played by mademoiselle Kotori!" promised Aoki, grabbing Kotori by her hand, showing her to the public.
"At the meantime, we give you the ballet from act three at tonight's play" said Yuto, looking at the maestro.
The mad Seishiro sworn to himself that if his salary hadn't been so high, he would have sliced the entire cast into two, together with these damned managers, and the hell with anything else. Not only that there wasn't any ballet at act three, but also there wasn't any ballet scene at the entire play at all!
Luckily, the maestro was a very experienced man, with a great skill of emphasizing. He looked at the pages before him and instructed the panicking musicians, making them play a slow melody, something simple and easy for the dancers to join to.
To his help came the fearless ballet mistress, who took her place at the front line of the dancers, helping them to come with a dance. She sent a worried look to where Sorata left with Arashi's cold body, hoping that she will be all right.
Above of all that madness, there were Kusanagi and Nataku, searching stubbornly for the cause of all that madness- the phantom of the opera.
"He has to be here in some place!" announced Kusanagi.
"Are you sure, boss?" asked Nataku.
"Positive" assured him the older man, as they kept on walking carefully, looking for any sign of the ghost.
Suddenly Nataku spotted a glimpse of a dark cloak to their right. "I think I found something…" he said to Kusanagi, and before the second man even had the chance to answer, Nataku jumped forward and ran quickly, pursuing the shadow he saw, disappearing from his employer's eyes.
"No, wait!" called Kusanagi, but it was to late- the young man didn't hear him.
Without any other choice, Kusanagi left the young man to his chasing games, and continued slowly and carefully to examine the attic of the opera house, passing above the stage, where the desperate ballet dancers tried to come up with something that looked like a dance.
He spotted Yuzuriha among the dancers, following carefully her mother's steps. She was smiling, as she always did when she was dancing, and that little smile made Kusanagi's heart softer for a moment, while he was forgetting all the craziness surrounding them. Perhaps that was what he so liked about her- she had this way of making things look simple and meaningless, which made him think that anything is possible. For him she symbolized hope- the most important thing to man.
"Looking for me?" he suddenly heard a deep male voice behind him.
"So you are the phantom. We meet at last" said Kusanagi sarcastically as he examined the man in front of him, noticing the large sword in his had.
Against an opponent like that, Kusanagi knew, you must use the element of surprise, otherwise you loose your advantage. Therefore, the head of the opera house's security leaned on his heel and leaped forward, using the speed to hit the phantom in his face, interfering his balance, and almost knocking him to the floor.
But the phantom was a fast-adjusting type of person. He ignored the spreading pain in the area of his nose and chin, dived to his right, kicking Kusanagi's leg and striking his neck with his sword's heavy handle.
With quick movements, Fuma cut the nearest rope to him and tossed it around Kusanagi's neck. He then lifted the man- while avoiding his fists- pushed toward the edge of the passage, and threw him down to the stage, practically hanging him alive, for the rope stopped his fall.
The sight was full of horror. About two dozens of dancers filled the stage, dancing according to Seishiro's music, while above them suddenly appeared the hanged body of Kusanagi, kicking the air, struggling to breathe.
This time the public didn't wait for Aoki or Yuto's apologies. The fled the opera house in terror, screaming in panic and trying not to bury each other
Fuma, who enjoyed the yells and screams for few short moments, turned back and was about to leave, as he noticed a thin figure of a blond man watching him.
"Who is there?" he asked sharply.
The figure came near him, and he recognized the young man as Nataku, Kusanagi's assistant. The phantom laid his hand on his sword, prepared to use it once again.
But Nataku made no signs of attacking. He was simply staring at Fuma's face.
"Father?" he asked in a quite yet hopeful voice.
"No, you are mistaken. I am no ones father" replied Fuma in an annoyed voice.
"Are you sure? You look so much like him…" mentioned Nataku, still gazing at Fuma.
The phantom experienced a sudden and surprising new feeling- pity. For some reason, that young man deserved his pity.
"Well, I guess that it can't be helped. Good day, monsieur" said Nataku, turning to leave.
"Wait," said Fuma, confused "you saw what I just did?"
"Yes"
"And it doesn't bother you? You don't want to fight me?"
"Nope." Replied Nataku honestly "It doesn't bother me. And frankly, I think that if you hadn't poisoned that Diva, I would've done it. She really gets on my nerves. All of them!"
"Oh, really? That is interesting…" said Fuma to himself, realizing that the boy is a potential ally.
"Are you sure you're not my father?" asked Nataku again.
"I will look into the subject…" promised him the phantom, and disappeared into the darkness, pleasant. What he did not know was that this feeling of satisfaction was about to last for only a few more moments.
ME: Few…. Finally! The end of chapter 6, the almost songless chapter. As always, hope you liked it- all reviews are welcomed! In the next chapter, expect to a major Kamui/Kotori scene, with information about Arashi and Kusanagi's status. Yes, I know, I'm an evil and abusive writer… please don't hate me :)
Please don't forget about my remarks at the beginning of the page. Thank you!
Unicorn'sWhisper: Updated as soon as I could. I've experienced a slight "no motivation" symptom… hope it'll pass soon. Let me know what you thought of the chapter.
Chenya:D and that's all I have to say to you! Hope you liked this one… it didn't come out funny like you wanted, but hey- I never claimed to be a comedy write… oh, and by the way, the Arashi/Sorata part was your fault! ;)
DarkFusion: Yep Satsuki and Yuto singing was one of my first ideas for "Hilarious", but I think it turned out to be not bad, aye? Hope you liked this chapter as well.
Neferseba: Ok, ok- All songs are great:D Please let me know if the songless chapter was good.
X rocks!: Please don't scream like that again…. Oh, I'm just kidding! Thanks! I'm happy you liked it! And stop telling everyone what scene is next! LOL, kidding again… Review is anyway you like!