Ramblings: I'm back! I'm finally back! With Scene 5 of Phantom of the Opera! I apologize of the long wait! Please Enjoy!

Scene 5

The curtains for the "Il Muto" had raised and as Keigo had insisted, Ishida was playing the part of the Count.

"Poor fool! He doesn't…" Ishida was rudely cut off from his speech in the middle of a scene, when seemingly from nowhere, the Phantom spoke.

"Didn't I instruct that Box Five is to be left unoccupied for me!" Her icy but clearly angered voice reverberated throughout the theater, drawing looks of confusion as everyone searched for its origin.

Upon hearing that familiar voice, he worriedly looked up to where Box Five was. Inoue had insisted that she would watch the play from Box Five despite Ichigo's disapproval and he was relieved when it appeared that she was unhurt. His eyes scanned the other seats but he saw no signs of the Phantom but he knew, without a doubt. "The Phantom is here…"

Ishida, standing beside Ichigo, was infuriated at hearing his voice. He glared sharply to Ichigo and hissed at him, "Your part is to be silent!"

"Silent you say?" The Phantom had somehow heard him. "I would say the silent one should be YOU!"

Though flustered, Ishida chose to ignore the Phantom's words. Pushing his glasses up his nose bridge in his usual conceited manner, he knew the show had to go on. Returning to his role as the Count, he waved his hand dramatically. "Serafimo, away with this pretence! You cannot speak, but kiss me in…"

There was an abrupt silence. Everyone stared at Ishida in anticipation, expecting him to continue, but no sounds escaped from his open mouth. A soft snicker that belonged to the Phantom was heard. Ishida tried again but still he could not get make as single noise. The audience started to chatter and the other actors on stage were also uncertain of what they were supposed to do. Ishida's face turned a deep shade of red, the anger and shame at such a turn of events clearly written across his face. Without a word, he left the stage, leaving the disconcerted Keigo to react by immediately ordering the curtains to be lowered.

"As we get… Kurosaki Ichigo to sing in place of Ishida Uryuu, we'll bring you the ballet of Act Three!" Keigo announced in desperation, hoping to salvage the situation that was not looking optimistic at the moment.

The dancers for Act Three appeared, apparently disconcerted by the unexpected change in plans. As they began their dance, a garroted figure suddenly dropped unceremoniously from the top, hanging from the top of the stage with a metal wire and blood was tickling down the body onto the stage. There were screams, both from the performers and the audience. Hell broke loose immediately, as in panic, the performers escape to the backstage and audiences tried to flee from the theatre in terror.

Ichigo looked back up at Box Five again and realized that it was empty. Just as anxiety instinctively kicked in, someone grabbed his arm from behind.

"Inoue!" He called out in surprise when he realized that Inoue had left her seat to look for him. He seized her hand and said urgently, "Let's go. It's not safe here." He paused in thought then continued. "The roof. It should be safe there."

He ran, leading her away from all the chaos.

As Ichigo opened the door to the roof, he stopped abruptly as he looked to the statue, where he thought he saw a shadow behind it. He wondered if there was someone hiding on the roof, but Inoue broke his flitting thought when she bumped into him as she was following too closely to him. Ichigo steadied her by the shoulders.

The night was cold, the wind carried the chill of winter and the moon was obscured by the thick clouds. Both their faces were quickly turning red from the temperature, but neither made a move to suggest that they should go to a warmer place. Everywhere else was too chaotic and Ichigo did not want to leave. Perhaps the cold would cool his crazy mind. And so the two of them stood at the roof in silence for a very long time, Ichigo staring far away, his thoughts unsaid. Inoue did not want to break the stillness with her voice and instead touched his arm to get his attention. He looked at her but his eyes were still far away.

"The Phantom… what has she done?" Ichigo's voice was a bare whisper, and he was speaking more to himself than to Inoue.

Inoue did not understand as she, and in fact no one she knew except Ichigo, had seen the Phantom before. "Who is this Phantom you speak of? This Phantom… is just a fable."

Ichigo looked away, ignoring Inoue's words. "I've seen her eyes. There is death in her eyes…"

"What is that you hear and see? I do not understand…" Inoue felt the tears coming. Ichigo was not listening to what she was saying, too immersed in the thoughts of his own illusions. Perhaps it was plain jealousy, but she could not stand the look in his eyes; a fearful, confused, yet longing look in Ichigo's eyes.

"The Phantom… she is the Phantom of death… the Angel of death…" Ichigo clenched his fists as he looked down.

"There is no Phantom!" Inoue cried out in desperation.

"Inoue, I've been there. I've seen her world of never-ending darkness. I've seen the face behind the mask, that strange face… a strangeness that condemned her to suffer in that darkness!" Ichigo eyes burned with emotions she had never seen in his eyes before and the tremble in his voice was overflowing with more thoughts, more feelings, more uncertainty than what his words would ever reveal. "But her voice was so beautiful… an alluring voice of an angel…"

Inoue tightened her grasp on his arm, urging him to awake from his reverie. "Please, all you saw was a dream!"

"But those eyes…" Ichigo deepened his frown as he looked at her, but Inoue knew that it was not her he saw. He was looking past her; he was searching for something other than her. "Such sad eyes… her eyes carry the sadness of her past, her present and her future. The sadness of rejection from the world… a world that does not belong to her… a sorrow that I cannot understand…"

"Kurosaki-kun… angel…" Inoue whispered dejectedly.

"Angel…" the Phantom said quietly to herself as she hid in the shadow of the statue, her words heard by no one but herself.

"Kurosaki… angel…" Ichigo echoed her words, this time staring right at her. At Inoue.

"No more talk of darkness,
Forget these wide-eyed fears.
I'm here, nothing can harm you -
my words will warm and calm you.

Let me be your freedom,
let daylight dry your tears.
I'm here, with you, beside you,
to guard you and to guide you . . ."

He held her hand, her warm hand. A tear had fallen from her face and his hand reached up to gently wipe it away from her frozen cheeks. He finally realized as he chased the Phantom, she was always there. She was always there to warm his heart and he became aware that somewhere within him, there was a voice that wanted to respond to her unwavering kindness and her loving words.

"Say you love me every waking moment,
turn my head with talk of summertime . . .

Say you need me with you, now and always . . .
promise me that all you say is true -
that's all I ask of you . . ."

Inoue could not stop her tears now, but these were no longer the tears of dejection but the tears of euphoria. Ichigo was finally looking at her, was finally listening to her and finally responding to her. The voice within his head was fading away and replaced by a voice that was for her. She smiled and squeezed his hand that held hers.

"Let me be your shelter,
let me be your light.
You're safe: No-one will find you
your fears are far behind you…"

Ichigo shook his head because it was not fear he had. He was not afraid and he did not need Inoue to keep him safe. He wanted something else.

"All I want is freedom,
a world with no more night…
and you, always beside me
to hold me and to love me…"

In excited concord, Inoue responded.

"Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime…
Let me lead you from your solitude…

Say you need me with you here, beside you…
anywhere you go, let me go too -
My Love, that's all I ask of you…"

Inoue embraced Ichigo and rested her head lightly on his shoulders. She was comforted when Ichigo had in turn wrapped his arms around her waist, accepting her feelings for him wholeheartedly.

"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime…
say the word and I will follow you…"

Their voices rang loud above the dark skies, sending their love song to the distant stars above, sending their song to the broken heart of the Phantom who continued to listen to their proclamation of love in silent agony…

"Share each day with me, each night, each morning…"

"Say you love me…." Ichigo requested quietly, pressing his head lightly against her soft, auburn hair.

"You know I do…" was Inoue's reply.

They pulled themselves tighter together, enjoying each other's warmth in this cold night.

"Kurosaki-kun, I love you…"

Ichigo was the first to break the embrace, but he continued to hold her hand firmly. "Let's go back. It is cold and the rest must be wondering where we are."

The Phantom stood and listened to the sounds of their disappearing footsteps, her tiny hands trembling not only from the cold, but also from the sorrow of a broken heart. She knew all along that it was all her one-sided, wishful desires. She knew all along that it would end this way. And she knew all along that he deserved someone more than her. But…

She collapsed onto the ground and wept.

I gave you my music… made your song take wing…
and now, how you've repaid me: denied me and betrayed me…
She was bound to love you when she heard you sing…

"Ichigo… my angel… my angel…"

Her tears fell, and disappeared, into the first snow of the cold December night.

"Ishida-san, this is too tight and revealing!" Rukia complained as she came out from behind the curtains, in her custom-made costume for the play.

"What a masterpiece! The colors of red and black and white, integrated into this long, elegant dress. The shimmer, the softness of these cloths will accentuate the gentle curves of your body, bring out the colors of your pale skin and emphasize every movement that you make! I've made little intricate details on the lace of these off-shoulder sleeves such that it will capture the light when you're hit with the spotlight! And then the gorgeous cloak, that will fly off in just the right way when it is pulled off, because of its weight and material!"

Rukia pulled at a string. "This is an interesting contraption though…"

"Of course! It is made of glitter chiffon that opens up spectacularly when you pull on that string. Remember to clasp it down firmly on that hook I've hidden aesthetically at your waist! Ah, and not to mention I made you that lovely mask too, embellished with tiny gems and matching feathers lined with glitter. It'll look stunning under the spotlight. Excellent for your role! I must say, my craft is just as good as my sewing skills!" Ishida pushed up his glasses satisfactorily.

Ichigo was scowling at his own reflection, trying to ignore the rambling mode that Ishida had gotten into. He hated the stupid frills at the front of his shirt and the frills of his sleeves. Somehow Ishida had decided that gold lining at the end of the frills was nice. Or that frills was nice for that matter. And there were A LOT of frills. Frills, frills and MORE FRILLS. He kept scowling at his reflection but apparently Ishida, in his bizarrely stupid mode which always came hand in hand with his rambling mode, thought that Ichigo was scowling because he approvedof his hideous shirt.

"ICHIGO!" His father was hurtling himself towards Ichigo with his foot aiming right for his face.

Ichigo caught the foot and twisted his father in the air, pinning his father's facedown on the floor, his legs fastening his father in that position.

"My son indeed! The skills of the prince have outshined the king!" Isshin roared in his overly loud manner as he cleverly escaped from Ichigo's cage and stood on the couch, his fists placed on his hips and giving some absurd, pretty much crazy, sort of laughter. "And the shirt matches his superior skills flawlessly!"

Ishida bowed courteously. "Thank you, sir, for your compliment. I too think that a shirt for the last scene of a main character should be made fit for a prince."

"A tasteless prince," Ichigo mumbled as he turned over to look at Rukia, who looked dreadfully uncomfortable in her dress as she pulled at her skirt higher up like she was afraid she would trip on her own dress.

"Ichigo, my son," Isshin hopped over to Ichigo in his usual ebullience and put his son in a headlock, "Admiring your girlfriend, eh?"

Nearly choking, Ichigo pulled his father off him and shot back, "SHE IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"

But his father had already ran off to talk to Rukia, who was staring at him, her eyes bewildered, apparently not having the slightest inkling of an idea what Isshin was rattling about. The more he talked, the more confused Rukia looked. It came to a point where Rukia decide that Ichigo's father was just babbling to himself.

"Ishida! How am I supposed to run in this thing?" Rukia asked as she tugged at her long skirt, finally deciding to pay no attention to Ichigo's seemingly insane father.

"Of course you can! I measured it so that you won't step on it. The seams are also sewed tightly together so that your shoes won't get caught in it, which happens quite often with long skirts when their hems are not properly stitched. And look, I designed it such that the cloak and the dress can look perfect, whether or not they are worn together…" Ishida was starting to ramble again.

"You like my son, don't you?" Isshin suddenly appeared beside Rukia unexpectedly again, startling her. She could practically swear that he must have been a ninja in his past life.

Rukia forced a polite laugh to cover up her shock. "Please Kurosaki-san, in the play, his official lover is Inoue-san."

"Oh…" Then Isshin immediately hopped over to Inoue and started to talk to his next victim. But in spite of her surprisingly good grades in school, the girl was really slow at times. She probably had no idea what he was talking about as she stared wide-eyed at the loud, jabbering man in front of her.

Ichigo sunk into a couch, wondering if he was really related to that demented man and also re-thinking why they had to choose his house to do the clothes. His house was a clinic, not a dressing room. Rukia sat on the floor at the foot of the couch, right beside his leg and watched as Ishida fussed over everyone's costumes.

She lifted her head and leaned back against the couch. "Ishida is really self-indulgent when it comes to sewing and such, isn't it?"

Ichigo looked down at her, ready to say something crude about Ishida when he stopped. He felt a blush suffused his cheeks as he kept staring… and then he forced his eyes to look away as his face was starting to burn.

"Tell Ishida to make the dress's neckline higher," he stated, as he leaned back to stare at the ceiling.

"What?"

"The dress shows too much skin," he explained fuzzily, hearing the blood rush in his ears.

"I said something like that just now. Hah, I see that someone agrees." She tugged at her own dress innocently. Then she looked up again and frowned, scrutinizing Ichigo. "Why's your neck so red?"

"Yeah… Whatever…" Ichigo muttered without answering her, his face twitching slightly as he continued to focus his concentration on the ceiling.

Damn cleavage.

He did not even know she had one.

- YL -

Post Chapter Notes:
I didn't know I've been away from Phantom for so long! I hope all of you who read this liked this chapter! Poor Phantom…