Strange Duet
Chapter V: Angel of Music
The following day, Sango waited faithfully in her room for her Angel. She only hoped that this was not some cruel tricked, used for the fun of deceiving her. And yet she waited, joyful as ever.
When the soft rhythm of the clock ticked the hour her Angel would arrive, Sango's heart was pounding as if she were a hummingbird. This was it, he would come.
So, Sango waited...
No one came. She didn't hear anything.
Sango wanted to break down into tears of hilaria. She'd been tricked… again! For a moment Sango entertained the thought that her Angel might be late, brushed it aside.
'Angel's are never late!'
There was the softest scratching of something clawing at her door. Sango opened it, not surprised to see Kirara trotting in. She hopped in the bed, and made a lap around it twice (as if she were a dog) before placing her body down on Sango's blankets.
Sango gave a half smile. "While I'm glad you like it here, Kirara. I don't know if I can stand this place for much longer. I can't even stand this room."
xxxxx
Miroku dashed up the passageways in the dark, not bothering to bring a torch. This didn't bother him, however—he had a knack for seeing things in the dark.
He cursed himself as he ran, the only time in his life he'd ever been angry at getting caught up in his music for too long. How could he? How could he betray the poor child, who had only wanted comfort? How dare he!
Miroku only hoped that he wasn't too late...
By the time he made it to her mirror, she was half way out the door.
No! He couldn't let her. He couldn't let her believe that her Angel had forsaken her.
"Sango!"
xxxxx
Her foot was placed out the door when she heard it—The beautiful voice from the night before. It whispered her name, the voice so faint that she almost didn't hear it. Was it her, or did it sound tired
"Angel?" Sango began to amylase things more clearly. If this was someone playing a prank with her, they certainly had no right to be called an Angel.
"I am here, Sango."
"You're late." she sounded a bit angry, bitterness flavoring her voice
There was a long, remorseful silence.
"I know. I for that, I am sorry. I was…busy, if you will. Forgive me."
Sango hesitated. If this really was an angel, he might get irritated at her asking… but she ached to know. "What do Angels such as yourself, do?"
"Creativity is something I admire, Sango. I write my music, and I compose it."
"Oh?"
"Sometimes I get so wrapped up in my music, I forget what's going on in the outside world. Please forgive me, Sango. This is very much, my fault."
Sango blushed. Just imagine! An angel begging for her forgiveness The Angel of Music, too! Father had done her well, she was truly happy!
"Sango? I came by this morning and dropped your music off."
Sango frowned. "I wasn't informed—"
"In your desk, my dear. Bottom draw. Your cat seems to have found of it…"
Sango knelt down and pushed Kirara gently aside from picking the lock of the draw.
"Mew!"
"Yes, Kirara? I have to get something in there." She opened the drawer her Angel had indicated, and then pulled out a thick script. On the front in elegant script was proclaimed—"Hannibal."
"Oh!" Sango gasped, "It's the opera we're going to perform later on."
"Yes, it is. And you shall have the lead role."
Sango's hazel eyes widened in joy.
xxxxx
Miroku felt immediately guilty for telling Sango she would automatically secure the main role in this play. Quite obviously, the managers were going to assign the role to La Kikyo…
Just the thought of that dreadful woman made him wince.
Indeed, she could sing, but her voice was loud and occasionally screechy, and even almost all the time off-key. To be frank, she sounded like a dying ogre.
"Sango, please open up the script to page fifty-nine. There you will find the piece, "Think of Me." I want you to do your best in singing it."
Miroku could see her frown through the mirror. "But Angel, I haven't sung it before, and—"
"I shall accompany you on violin." he reassured her instantly. He just needed to know if she could sing it. He was walking on the edge of a sword, here… promising her the main role though he was not even sure if she could sing it.
He quickly snapped open the violin case and removed the instrument swiftly.
"I shall give you a few moments to look over the piece, read the notes and whatnot. Tell me when you are ready."
xxxxx
Sango skimmed over the piece, slowing down at the hard parts to reassure herself that she knew what to do. When finished, looked up and said," I'm ready, Angel."
The violin started up with the introduction. Sango shuddered at the sound—it reminded her so much of her father. She held back tears, as she remembered the sweet memories of her father playing the violin to her, to rid Sango of her nightmares at night…But now, when he was gone, the Angel would protect her.
She was brought back to earth as she heard her entry, and began singing.
xxxxx
Miroku stumbled for a moment and almost stopped playing to hear Sango's voice better. A voice of an angel, indeed! He almost laughed at the irony of that… here she thought he was an angel! But no… he was truly a monster...
Miroku frowned as he thought of Sango's reaction if she knew what he really was… a beast.
To the rest of the world, he was a demon, while not born of one, Miroku was the worst kind there was to be…
But to Sango, he was an angel…an Angel of Music. For now, he wanted more than ever to believe that…
He smiled softly, something he did rarely.
After a moment, Sango's voice broke his thoughts. "Angel? Do I do something incorrect? You've stopped playing."
Miroku cursed quietly to himself for causing her to stop singing.
"Of course there is nothing wrong, my Sango, that is all I needed to hear. You have a lovely voice."
Sango blushed. "Thank you, Angel."
"You have a very pretty pitch, but you need to put more feeling into your voice. Sango, I want you to pour your soul into your voice."
Sango shivered. "I will try, Angel. For you, I will."
"Good. Now, I want you to run a few scales…"
xxxxx
Over the next few weeks, Sango met faithfully with her Angel at the appropriate hour. Sometimes, she thought that her singing lessons weren't helping her. All he seemed to do at times was criticize her!…How was she learning? But then, gradually, she began to discover that her voice was getting slowly but surely better.
A week ago marked the anniversary of when she had first heard him sing. She shivered in delight as she recalled the memory—he truly was her Angel! That was beyond all doubt, now. His voice freed her soul, and gave her wings!
She found that, as her voice developed, her feelings for her Angel developed as well.
Sango had always had a childish crush on the Angel of Music from her father's tales, but now that she had met the real thing, that feeling had flourished.
Sango felt her cheeks redden…These were not feelings a student was supposed to have for her teacher…no, not at all!
As the days went on, she tried to push the emotion aside, convincing herself that they would only make her look foolish. An Angel was a perfect being! They could never, ever fall in love with someone like her.
But yet, she couldn't help but start to view him as a real person—a real man. And even though she was convinced that he couldn't love her, she was falling hopelessly, deeply in love with him.