Writer's pre-notes:
Hello, Dakosku here.
Before you read this chapter, I would like to point out that I made a small change, more specifically on Sunny's eye. Now, the one that is stabbed is his left eye, which was the right eye before.
Well then, enjoy the chapter.
P.S. The AO3 version has two pictures, in which was supposed to be in this chapter.
"Hey, did everyone hear that?"
Upon Basil's question, everyone sharpened their hearings.
"It's… a violin," said Angel.
"Yeah, no doubt about that," said Vance.
"This must be… our fellow friend's cry for help- urk!" claimed Mikhael as Kim smacked the back of his head.
One of them, however, upon hearing the violin, rushed towards the sound. It was Aubrey.
"Sunny!? Are you there!?"
"H-hey, wait for us!" Kel followed suit.
"Sunny!?"
The sound of the violin got louder and louder the farther they ran. Shops and fancy men and women passed by like a blur. Aubrey didn't even bother to pay attention to them, trying to find her dear friend.
…
The headlights were starting to light up. It was getting darker. As Aubrey kept on running, she soon realized where the source of the sound was.
It was a music theater. On the front, it had a lot of stairs, with two statues of a big cat and a whale aligned within the width of the stairs. On top of the stairs, is a building with a lot of pillars and a triangle-like roof, fashioned like a pantheon from Rome. On the far end of the big hall within the pillars were three doors, presumably leading to the theater inside. The back part of the theater building was a wider cube-shaped construct.
"W-wait!" The rest of the Hooligans were trying to catch up to Aubrey and Kel. Kel's fit body was able to catch up to Aubrey. Vance and Basil were at the very back, breathing for air after breaking past their stamina limits.
Aubrey just stood beside the pillars while catching her breath when Charlene touched her left shoulder and signaled her towards a sign.
"Somewhere's Musical… Competition?" Aubrey read.
"All players of any instrument are allowed to participate…" Kel read, "Could this be… the competition I was told about?"
Looking at the circumstances, it was very likely. According to the sign, it was a competition with history that was held every three months. This competition was a million dollar ticket to success for aspiring musicians, as the winners were usually flocked with sponsors and other theater owners. Besides all that, the competition also rewards its winners with prizes of cash.
"Hey, look. We don't have to pay anything to watch the competition! Sweet!" Kim pointed at the part of the sign that says 'free of charge'.
"I'm going in," said Aubrey, as she looked back at the party.
"It's going to be dark in an hour or two, though…" said Basil.
"Now, now, it's okay to be a little bit naughty, right?" Kim put her right arm around Basil, shocking him as he let out a little 'kya!'.
"If it would calm your mind, the bus will keep on running until 9, so we got a lot of time," Kim poked Basil's cheek with her finger, it was very soft. In return, Basil's eyes spiraled and his face turned very red. Aubrey saw this and realized what was going on.
"I-I guess it wouldn't hurt. B-besides, this is Sunny w-we're talking about," Basil solidified his choices, whilst looking away from Kim. Basil's heartbeat was in a sprint at the moment. Must be the hormones.
"So… are we going in?" Charlene spoke out a question. Everybody didn't say anything in response for a while, making Charlene nervous. Charlene very rarely talks, so her talking was like finding a five-leafed clover. This was a shock for everyone except Basil who didn't spend too much time with Charlene.
"Y-yeah! I'm going in! Me, that is," Kel spoke first with a big smile, still recovering from the shock.
The rest of the Hooligans agreed to enter the theater.
The theater exuded old but elegant vibes, both by scent and its looks. The seats were arranged in a rectangle shape, with 2 lanes dividing it. Above half of the seats were the balcony seats.
The party silently entered the theater. The seats were badly lit, with the stage being lit with harsh white light. The theater was crowded with fancy gentlemen and gentlewomen, presumably some of them were theater owners or sponsors looking for talented individuals. The party looked around the theater in awe, while trying to find an empty seat. They found a bunch of empty seats on the middle-back part of the left wing. The seats were using red cushions and varnished wood.
They sat down in two rows, with the front row filled with Basil, Kel, Aubrey, and Kim. The back row was filled with Vance, Charlene, Angel, and Mikhael. After Aubrey sat down, she looked at the stage to figure out who was the source of the violin sound she heard. Unfortunately, it wasn't Sunny. The source of the music was a man in his 20s, donning a black suit and long black pants. The man's performance soon ended, with the audience giving an applause for his performance. His violin skill was at the level of a professional violinist. Everyone except Aubrey gave an applause. Aubrey was feeling down, disappointed because it wasn't Sunny.
"That was an excellent performance," complimented Basil.
"I don't know anything about music, but it sure does sound good!" said Kel with a smile.
Then, the announcer spoke of the next contestant's name and their composition's name.
"Next contestant, Hiko Hiroyuki and Abbi Honora. Playing "The Wolf and The Lamb*", an original composition by Edouard Brenneisen."
A boy and girl came out onto the stage. The boy was wearing a red headband with shoulder-long hair. He was wearing a black suit and long black pants. The girl had two hair buns, her hair green. She wore a simple black dress. They looked the same age as Hero and Mari. The boy named Hiko brought a white worn cello, whereas the girl didn't bring anything; she was a pianist. They both bowed down to the audience, and headed to their positions. And then,
they started playing.
The Wolf and The Lamb is a cello and piano duet composition that tells the story of two deaths; the Lamb who gives a painless and calm death for those who accept it, and the Wolf who will bring a violent death for those who ran away from death. The composition tells the story of two dying souls being visited by the two beings of death. The lamb skipped and traveled lightly through the woods, while the wolf hovered through in the background. The first soul accepted its death, ending with a peaceful death, whereas the second one denied its death, trying its last attempt to run from death. It ran and ran through the woods, only to be caught by the Wolf and die a violent death. It was a beautiful yet melancholic composition.
(Writer's note: This isn't the true interpretation of the song. I made this up based on the song.)
The two of them played wonderfully, bringing out the image of the story to the audience. The audience responded with a bigger applause than the last one.
Everyone in the group applauded the two performers, Basil was the last one to stop clapping. "... We should go back home. We… can search for Sunny again tomorrow…" said Basil with a saddened face. The truth is, Basil started to lose hope that Sunny was here.
"But… maybe… just maybe…" Aubrey insisted on staying a bit longer, but she too didn't full-heartedly believe Sunny was here.
"Well… you know, Sunny could've gone somewhere else after that competition… It was probably quite some time ago," said Kel.
Aubrey's eyes were watering. She was frustrated. She needed to find Sunny. She was worried sick about him.
"O… okay… Let's… go then," Aubrey sniffled.
The Hooligans looked sad and concerned for Aubrey. It has been a short time, but they were already quite attached with Aubrey, Kim included.
Basil was the first one to stand up, followed by Kel, Kim, and the Hooligans. Aubrey was the last to stand up. They all left their seats and headed for the exits.
…
"Next contestant, Omori Shiragiku. Playing Franz Schubert's "Der Erlkönig".
Omori? Isn't that Mari's piano brand? thought Basil, Kel, and Aubrey.
Aubrey looked back, in which everyone followed suit.
A boy with silver hair walked up into the stage, with his left eye patched. He was wearing a white shirt with a black sleeveless coat and long black pants. He brought with him a black worn violin. He took a confident stance, with the violin resting on his shoulder and the bow on the violin string.
Is that…
Kel thought.
Is that…
Basil thought.
Is that…
Aubrey thought.
K*neki Ken!? Mikhael thought.
Sunny…? The three of them thought.
Silence ensued throughout the entire theater, only to be broken by the silver haired violinist's high tempo and fortissimo start which indicated the horse galloping within the story.
Franz Schubert's Der Erlkönig is a piece based on a poem about a father bringing his son for medication late at night and by horse because his son had been seeing an entity called the "Erl-King". The father didn't see this entity, and thought his son was ill. This piece is made up of 4 character's dialogues; the narrator, the father, the son, and the Erl-King; and the galloping motif. As this was a violin solo, the dialogues were enacted through the violin. The most distinct dialogues were the Erl-King's offer and proclamation, and the son's screaming.
The Erl-King's offers were played by the violinist in a way that it sounded happy but off-putting, which created the feeling of uneasiness that if the son were to accept the offer, he was going to have a very bad time.
However, the best part of the violinist's performance was the son's screams.
The son's screams were played as if the violinist was genuinely in fear. It was phrased with different speeds of tempo, accelerating and decelerating, and different levels of dynamics, loud or louder, without reason and pattern.
The son's screams, according to the poem, were screams of help and fear towards the father. But here…
… it was as if the violinist was screaming in fear of something.
Then, came the end of the song. It was the narration of the dead son in the father's arms, a soft and sad arrangement of notes. However, the notes the violinist played were tinged with a sadness that came with loneliness.
And then, the two strong final notes that indicated the end of the song.
…
…
The theater was silent.
There was no applause.
It started with one applauding.
Then two.
Then four.
Soon after that, the audience applauded. Most of them gave a standing ovation.
Aubrey and everyone else were in awe of the performance. It wasn't just because it was played well; it was because the violinist imbued his emotions into the performance itself, giving it a richer content.
The violinist who gave such a performance wiped his eye with the cloth of his white shirt, and bowed. Aubrey noticed this.
… Was he crying…? She thought, concerningly.
The violinist walked towards the backstage by walking to his left, and Aubrey saw him talking to the previous contestants, Hiko Hiroyuki and Abbi Honora. Soon after, he walked deeper into the backstage.
"Basil…" Aubrey called Basil.
"Yeah," Basil nodded.
…
…
"... That's Sunny," Kel finally gave everyone's conclusion.
Writer's post-notes:"The Wolf and The Lamb" is actually Kindred's (a character from League of Legends) theme.
I used Kerson Leong's (mostly) and OxfordLieder's Der Erlkonig as reference, also read the Wikipedia stuff of it.
Kerson Leong's Erlkonig: watch?v=y7YBvRaxLi0
Oxford Lieder: watch?v=JS91p-vmSf0
Wikipedia:
wiki/Erlkönig
wiki/Erlkönig_(Schubert)