The evening entertainment took place in a large event room on the third floor. They had to arrive early to set up backstage. "I am grateful for your help, Ash," Bepo smiled down at her. "I'm really going to miss you when you leave."
She paused at that for a moment. So Law hadn't told anyone else about his invitation? That surprised, but also relieved her. He wasn't putting additional pressure on her decision by trying to get his friends to talk her into it. She wasn't sure what to say so she settled on giving him a hug. His massive arms carefully wrapped around her, and she could sense the strength behind the gentleness he exhibited. He was truly a sensitive creature, not really your average pirate type. So what was his dream that inspired him to join Law's crew? He held her with a soft sigh and her grip tightened a bit as she too didn't want the moment to end.
"Aww, scoot over," Shirazuki crooned as he wrapped his arms around them both. "I want in on this action too."
She grinned as she shoved his face backward. "Get your own bear, this one is all mine."
Bepo laughed as he scooped her up in his arms and gave an extra squeeze that made her squeak. He panicked for a moment that he'd hurt her. She laughed to reassure him that she was fine and kissed his cheek for good measure.
"Now don't be getting carried away," Law warned as he approached. "Bepo is my bear, first and foremost." He reached up to playfully boop him on the nose with a small smile. The Polar Mink just beamed from all the attention. "Also the show is about to start so take your seats."
She was a little nervous to see how large a crowd had gathered, far more than just those asked to perform. "What's with the crowd?" She asked Shirazuki.
"People like to come even on their nights off," he explained. "We really have a lot of fun with these, you'll see."
"Will you be preforming tonight too?"
"Yeah, I brought Violet," he jerked his thumb back towards the stage.
"Wait, you still play?" She asked in surprised.
"Well of course I do," he huffed in mock offense. "I was raised to be a gentleman after all, well versed in both society and the arts." He grunted as she pinched his nose with a mischievous tweak.
"Yes, I remember the ladies man you used to be," she teased in turn. "You were quite the charmer back in the day. You broke many hearts when you went out to sea to become a pirate instead."
He laughed as he twisted her wrist lightly to make her release his nose. "What can I say? The song of the sea was too much for me to resist its call." He sat down and she joined his side. He leaned back to wrap his arm around the back of her chair. He watched as her face slipped into a pensive mood. "Hey, what's up? I noticed you spacing out during dinner too."
She blushed at that. Even he noticed and he hadn't been sitting anywhere near her. "Well, I remember when you wanted to become a concert musician. Now you're a pirate sailing on the Grand Line. So…what changed all that?"
He smirked as he shook his head in exasperation. "So few of us ever become what we set out to be. And let's be honest, most of those dreams were our parents originally." She was aware that his parents were award-winning musicians, so it made sense that they'd want the same life for him too. "I enjoy playing the viola, but I've never really wanted to make a living out of it," he admitted.
"Then what did you want to be when you grew up?" She pressed curiously, wanting to ask without being that direct.
He shrugged his shoulders. "No idea, still haven't decided yet." He said off-handedly. "I just wanted the freedom to make that choice."
That resonated with her and was why she'd chosen this profession initially. Set her own hours, schedule, and accept the assignments she wanted rather than being forced. His smirk settled into a secret smile. "So he's asked you, hasn't he?" He winked in a conspiring manner. "That's why you want to know why I accepted his offer."
She reddened at being found out. "No, he never asked, just said that he wants me to join."
He softened at her obvious uneasiness. "What did you tell him?" He asked in a hushed tone.
"I haven't said anything yet. He wants me to think about it." She bristled as he just nodded and turned back to comfortably recline. "That's it? You've got nothing else to say about it?"
"About what?" He casually asked.
"Try to talk me into or out of it!" She hissed irritably under her breath, trying not to attract anyone else's attention.
He gave her a dry look. "Why would I ever do that? Besides, what's the point when you've already made up your mind." He paused as he noticed that her expression crumble slightly. His dark green eyes widened as it dawned on him. "You've changed your mind, haven't you?"
"I never said that," she quickly denied.
"But if you haven't refused yet, then there must be a reason," he gently contradicted.
"So you're not going to tell me why?" She huffed with a bit of a pout.
He brought his arm up to rest along her shoulders as he hugged her in close to his side. He was very much like a big brother to her. He gave her forehead a kiss, just like the old days, and shook his head. "Nope, I'm not. Because my reason isn't going to be the same as yours. You just have to ask yourself why you haven't said no yet. And once you can answer that, then your reason will become clear."
The lights began to dim, signaling the start of the show. Shachi and Penguin kicked things off with a freestyle rap that was nonsensical, and truthfully, off-tune as well. But their enthusiasm was contagious, so the crowd cheered them on anyway. It was apparent by the next act that talent was a bit of a rare art to master. They weren't much better than the boys had been but that didn't seem to bother the audience anyway. She was pretty confused and Shirazuki gently nudged her in the ribs. "Hey come on, relax a little, will ya? Don't take it so seriously."
She nodded as she tried to take his advice. She was used to stricter performance standards but the attitude here was much more casual. Before too long it was their turn and Bepo wheeled the grand xylophone onto the stage. She knelt down to secure to wheels in place. He picked up one of the mallets and she picked up the other. There was a moment of pause as the crowd simmered down and waited expectantly. Ash's face went white as she felt her gut twist nervously. She didn't usually have stage fright, but it suddenly hit her hard.
A shrill wolf whistle sounded from the crowd. "Yeah, you go hot stuff! Play it again!"
She glared down at she recognized the voice as Shirazuki's. She pointed the mallet down at him. "You shut your mouth!" She hissed angrily. "I haven't even started yet!"
The crowd burst out laughing, figuring this comedic exchange was staged. She looked about in confusion for a second until her eyes settled on her friend. He stuck out his tongue and tugged on his ears in a comical fashion. He used to do that same gesture from the audience when she used to spy from behind the curtains, nervously waiting for her turn to perform. It always made her laugh off her nerves so when it was her turn to play, she was ready. She soon laughed in turn; a faint giggle was really all she could muster. Law watched from the audience as her face just lit up with such amusement. The delight made her beauty shine and she just sparkled under the lights. He relaxed as he shifted back from the edge of his seat. He'd come so close to interfering but now understood that Shirazuki's outburst wasn't intended to be cruel. He just wanted to make her laugh off her nerves, something a good friend would know how best to help.
Bepo chuckled too before waving the crowd down. He turned towards Ash with an encouraging smile. "Let's do this!" He gave her a thumbs up with a wink. She winked in turn and raised her mallet in mock salute. He struck the bars for the first few notes before she chimed in on her end. Between the two they played a charming little melody. The audience clapped along merrily to the beat. Law had his arms crossed along his chest, but he did tap his foot in tune. Bepo and Ash seemed to be enjoying themselves which pleased him. So far all was going according to his plan.
They ended the song on a flourish and raised their mallets together to form an X shape. The crowd clapped and whistled in their applause. Bepo took the opportunity to give her another hug, thanking her again. "Wasn't she just great?" He gushed towards the audience.
"Hey! Don't you play the violin?" Someone called out from the audience. She pulled free with a nod.
"Play something for us!" Another cheered, and then yet another. "Yeah! We wanna hear it!"
She shook her head as she started to leave the stage. "I can't," she objected. "I didn't even bring it with me."
"You can play this one," Oki said as he waved at her from backstage. His job tonight was over-seeing the details of the program and handling the equipment. She hesitated for a moment, unsure of what was going on. Bepo wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her along. Oki removed a worn-out violin case from the self. It looked in horrible shape, the leather looked weather-beaten and the metal buckles that secured it were badly scuffed. She cringed at the sight, surely the violin inside that would be just as terrible of shape.
"Whose instrument is this?" She asked warily.
"It's no one's, the Captain found it in some bargain bin way back when," he explained. "He likes to keep an assortment of instruments on hand in case someone takes up an interest to learn."
She looked skeptical. "I can understand getting something cheap for a beginner but this likely isn't playable anymore."
"Give it a try," he encouraged as he undid the buckles and pulled the top open.
Her eyes went impossibly wide at the sight of a Penrith violin in pristine condition. It was a rich, dark violet color with a faint silver scroll-work design along its upper and lower bout. Her jaw just dropped as she gawked at it. "Bargain bin, my ass! Where the hell did he find something like is?!" She hissed in disbelief. "You can't find this outside of Penrith Pinnacle and they cost a king's fortune!" She reached out for it but then pulled her hands back, wringing them anxiously. She so badly wanted to touch it but was afraid to at the same time.
"Is something wrong?" Law asked in a condemning manner as he approached. He wondered just what was taking so long. "Let's not keep the audience waiting."
She whirled around with a glare while pointing down at the instrument. "What's the meaning of this?!" She demanded answers.
"Surely you can recognize a violin when you see one," His tone bordered on sarcasm as he reached into the case to remove it and held it out towards her. "So play it already."
She blinked slowly, still in a state of shock as she slowly took hold of it. Something soft slipped around her shoulders, a silk scarf. Bepo smiled down at her with tears sparkling in his eyes, very much like that night he saw her in that princess-style dress. The crowd was calling her name and she just marveled at the moment. It had all the splendor of a dream. What…was going on? She carefully walked forward, step by step as her heart began to pound loudly in her chest. The lights dimmed down from before and she could barely see the audience in their seats. She bit her bottom lip a bit nervously as they cheered at her reappearance. "So…uh…what do you want me to play?" She threw out there awkwardly. What kind of music do pirates even listen to anyway?
She heard the gentle sound of a viola playing nearby. It was then that she noticed Shirazuki standing in front of the stage, off to the side, with his head bowed in concentration. Within seconds, she recognized the faint tune, the North Blue Lullaby, and she smiled. This was just like their practice sessions when they were children. This was perfect! She closed her eyes and raised her bow with a flick of her wrist. How many times had they played this together? It had been years, but it felt like it had only been yesterday. As she began to play, the pattern began to glow with an iridescent shine. Its brightness was influenced by the richness of the note played, so the effect was like twinkling starlight. A hush fell over audience, unnaturally subdued as they found themselves enchanted by this particular performance. The light spectacle was equally captivating.
Bepo and Law watched from backstage. Silent tears streamed down Bepo's proud face, and he gently shook his Captain by the shoulders. "Just look at her glow, Captain!" He gushed under his breath.
"Indeed, she does," He murmured as his expression softened with a tender smile.
She finished with an elegant flourish and the crowd applauded cheerfully. The piece had been played to perfection, as expected from their extensive musical education. She shot Shirazuki a knowing look and he smirked in turn with a nod. She grinned wickedly in turn. He climbed up onto the stage and waved down the crowd. "Hey, we've got one more for you guys. Do you mind?" The crowd gave thumbs-up, nods, and a scattering of approving sounds. He chuckled at that. "Brace yourselves," he grinned before winking at his friend. They raised their bows, and he tapped his boot rhythmically to set the beat. Law's brow furrowed suspiciously at the way they looked at each other. He could sense trouble brewing…
They set to playing the same song as before, but it was barely recognizable in this style. It was like creating a pop song out of a classical piece. Where before it ebbed and flowed, now it was jarring and jiving with a beat of its own design. In their early years, they'd spent so much time practicing duets and timeless classics. It was so mind-numbingly boring! Kids are creative, inventive, and naturally inclined to break the rules. So in secret, they made up this silly version. She remembered the first time they played this for their parents. They'd gotten into so much trouble for it! Him more so than her, in part because her Father found it hilarious as hell. The crowd went completely wild at this latest version, and they laughed as they played back-to-back in a silly little dance routine.
Bepo whistled in a cheer, but Law watched silently as his gut twisted with a pang of jealously. He felt that they were making progress; she was beginning to warm up to him and accept his touch more openly than before. But they still didn't have this sort of connection, that warm sense of humor that lowered inhibition. He knew that this wasn't worthy of comparison because these were friends, not lovers. But in that moment, he very much envied their sense of ease. Would he eventually experience that with her?
Hips swayed, shoulders jerked up and down, and feet tapped out its own beat that complimented the piece. She was rusty though, and one misstep tripped her up, which threw off Shirazuki as well. They collapsed into a heap and the crowd gasped in horror. They burst out laughing which the crowd soon joined in with a roar of applause. She coughed but still couldn't help herself from giggling anyway. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight squeeze with a chuckle. "You rocked that, girl!"
Oki stepped out. "Hey, let's keep this show moving along, so take a bow already!" He teased good-naturedly.
Shirazuki helped her back up to her feet and together they exaggerated an elegant bow. Then he jumped off the stage and returned to his seat and she returned backstage where Law and Bepo were waiting. Her face was flushed from the exertion and enthusiasm. She stared down at the violin with such reverence, to play such a treasure was truly a dream come true. She reluctantly held it out to return it. Bepo held out a brand-new leather case and opened it. It was line with plush purple velvet, clearly this was its original case. The first one had been just to throw her off. She delicately set it inside and he secured the metal clasps before handing it back to Law. He then held it out to her. She stared, slowly blinking as she stared between the two. What…?
"This is for you." He said smoothly.
"Y-you can't be s-serious!" She stumbled in shock.
He gently pressed it into her shaking hands. His hands closed over hers to strength her grip to accept it. "When have I ever been otherwise?" He gently smirked at that before turning away to leave. He didn't want to ruin the moment by sticking around. He bowed his head and adjusted the brim of his fur cap, concealing an ear-to-ear satisfied smile at his success. Live your dream Ash, even if I'm not meant to be a part of it. He wished within himself.