A/n: Please tell me what you think. I'd love to hear from you! :)
Disclaimer: FT doesn't belong to me!
"I couldn't help but overhear your discussion earlier," Kinana's bubbly makeup artist, a girl called Jenny, said teasingly as she bent over to dab eyeshadow over Kinana's eyelids. "Your boyfriend sure is sweet, Kinana-chan."
"H-He's not my boyfriend!" Kinana denied, her cheeks burning in embarrassment at the suggestion. While she reluctantly admitted that Erik was good-looking, they had just met a few moments ago!
The blond-haired girl giggled. "In that case, you wouldn't mind if I stole him for myself, would you? He was willing to turn himself in for you, you know. If that doesn't scream romantic, I don't know what is!"
"He's innocent," Kinana insisted firmly. "I want to know who killed my friend as much as the police does, but I know it wasn't him. It's not right to frame someone for something they hadn't done, just because of their past." Erik, please be okay, she begged silently.
"Look at you, defending him like that! He's so lucky such a cute girl is supporting him," Jenny teased. When Kinana lowered her head and didn't respond, Jenny sighed and gave her shoulder a small squeeze. She could tell that Kinana was still sensitive to the topic. "There, all done!" Jenny said, standing back so she could admire her handiwork proudly. "Try not to cry again, okay, Kinana-chan? Smiling suits you a lot better, dear."
She nodded. She had to stay strong, both for Laki and for Erik. "I'm fine. And, thank you, Jenny. I mean it. I...I'll be heading off now."
She walked towards the backstage entrance, taking a deep breath to prepare herself. She didn't think she would ever be ready, but she knew Laki was watching over her. She could do it.
Thank you, Laki. For everything...
"There you are!" The director breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he spotted her. "We've been looking everywhere for you, Kinana! Is everything alright?"
So many people had supported her on her journey. Laki, Lucy, Levy, Mirajane, Jenny, Evergreen, and him…Erik… "Yes, I'm fine. We had a little hold up, but everything is okay now. I'm sorry for being late."
"Don't apologize to me," the director told her with a proud smile. "Well, good luck out there, Kina-chan. Break a leg."
"I won't disappoint you," Kinana promised, raising her head defiantly. She could do this.
She stepped onto the stage and was immediately greeted by thunderous applause. She was taken aback by how many people were here for her, and she was glad that she had followed Erik's advice. She couldn't disappoint them when she had worked so hard to get here.
"I'm sorry for the delay, everyone!" she called out, her voice quivering as she spoke. A few members of the crowd booed in protest to the delayed performance. She cleared her throat and tried again, knowing that they deserved the truth from her. "Just a few moments ago, I lost my best friend, someone precious to me. I...I almost gave up. But I realized that without you, I wouldn't be standing here tonight. So, from now on, I'm going to keep moving forward. I hope you will continue to support me, and I hope you enjoy the concert!"
Her speech wasn't just for her fans. She was sending a message to the culprit, too, to tell them that whatever they did wasn't going to faze her. She and Erik were both going to get through this. She knew it.
"Kina-chan! Kina-chan!" The boos turned to cheers as her fans screamed their support for her.
Kinana beamed at the crowd. Laki had told her to smile, and that must be what she would've wanted to see if she were here. "And now, without further ado, let's begin tonight's program!"
"I know you want to be out there too," Erik called out to Natsu. The messy haired policeman stood by in the corner, looking completely bored and tapping his fingers impatiently as Gildarts questioned Erik. He was asking typical investigation questions (what was your relationship to the victim, what were you doing at the time of the murder, and other ones that Erik hadn't bothered to remember), but Erik knew that Gildarts was prodding him to find evidence to bring him down. He'd dealt with the police enough times in the past to know their procedure very, very well.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Natsu said defensively, eyeing Gildarts warily. The detective was busy taking notes and didn't seem to be paying attention to them.
"I'm good at reading people's emotions. Or have you forgotten, Dragneel?" Erik smirked at him. Turning to Gildarts, he added, "Listen, Gildarts. I know you want to lock me up right now, and I'll do whatever it is you want to do with me. But do you think you'd be able to let me and my pal Natsu here go out and watch her sing? I don't know about you, but watching it on TV doesn't have the same effect as watching it live." To prove his point, he jabbed his thumb in the direction of the TV set hanging from the ceiling. Damn the sound system for messing up her powerful voice. While he hated the thought of owing anyone a favor, the police force in particular, he knew he would never get another chance to see her sing in person. This was the only way he'd get his wish.
Gildarts frowned, still staring at the document. "You're a criminal, Cobra. What makes you think you have any right to make requests?"
"Dragneel will be with me, you know. In fact, you can handcuff us together to guarantee that I won't try anything." Erik persuaded. Of course, he could escape if he really wanted to, but not when he had work to do. And who knows, maybe he could even find some useful information about the real culprit in prison..."As for the cherry on top, I'll tell you all the juicy secrets about Oracion Seis that I know."
For a few minutes, only the sound of shuffling paper could be heard. Finally, Gildarts nodded to Natsu. "Well, you heard him, Natsu. Make sure not to bring attention to yourselves while you're there."
"You got it, chief!" Natsu instantly brightened, taking out a set of handcuffs from his pocket and snapping one end around Erik's wrist before clipping the other end to himself. Erik snorted in amusement. Dragneel was like an open book. He was easy to deal with, but Gildarts, on the other hand...it was going to take him a lot more mind-power to beat someone like that. But Erik liked challenges, and this looked like it was going to be fun.
Natsu glared at him. "What's so funny, Cobra?"
"Nothing," Erik drawled lazily. "Let's go, we're wasting time already."
As he headed out of the room, he glanced back to see Gildarts gazing at him thoughtfully. Erik smirked at the older man with determination burning in his eyes.
Bring it on.
"Isn't Kinana-chan gorgeous?" Lucy gushed to Levy from their seats in the VIP room. Kinana had saved the best seats for them. The girls had met each other while studying in college, and quickly became friends. "I'm going to write an article about her performance and make it so successful that even Laki will see it in Heaven!"
Levy smiled in agreement. "I'm sure Laki would like that."
Lucy tipped her head to one side. "Though...I wonder why Cobra was here earlier? Do you really think he was telling the truth?"
"That's forever going to be a mystery," Levy murmured. "Why don't we ask Ki-chan afterwards? I'm sure she'll explain the situation to us."
The blond reporter nodded. "I guess that's the best we can do. Ooh, my favorite song is up next!"
The girls fell silent as they turned their attention back to the concert.
On stage, Kinana was completely engrossed in her performance. All her worries and concerns had disappeared as she sang. She wanted her audience to feel what she was feeling, and see what she was seeing. She wanted to reach them.
She raised her arms in sync to the beat.
"Fly, little bird,
Fly through the sky,
Fly, like you're free - "
She was just about to sing the next verse when the sound system cut off and the room suddenly went dark. She froze as screams filled the venue, her mind turning blank at the thought that her fans were in danger. What in Mavis' name was going on!? It couldn't be the culprit's doing, could it? Why did it have to turn out like this?
Just then, a lighter flicked on in the corner of the stage, revealing Natsu and Erik, both disheveled, completely out of breath, and handcuffed to each other. Despite Erik's rough appearance, just the sight of him reassured her, and Kinana gave him a knowing smile. She didn't have the time to ask what he and Natsu were doing there, but she knew what she had to do.
"Do not be afraid, everyone!" she called out, hoping that her voice wasn't shaking too much. "I'm here with you, and I'll sing until the end!" With that, she continued the song, not even caring that there was no accompaniment.
The crowd's screams turned to cheers, so loud that it overpowered the sound of the chandelier unscrewing, right over Kinana.
Erik, who was scanning their surroundings under the dim firelight in an attempt to locate the source of the disturbance, was the first to notice that the chandelier was starting to fall. "Look out!" He yelled, and, forgetting that Natsu was still chained to him, leapt forward to push her out of the way. Natsu had no choice but to get dragged along with him, and as he stumbled, he accidentally dropped the lighter onto the ground, switching it off.
Crash!
The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the room. "Erik!" Kinana screamed out desperately, squinting as she tried to see in the darkness. "Erik, where are you?"
As she looked around frantically, a menacing voice hissed next to her, "This is just the beginning, Kinana-chan."
Kinana felt her blood turn to ice, and she whirled around, trying to locate the speaker. She knew that this was the real culprit who had spoken, and she wanted to ask him what she ever did to make him hate her so much. She wanted him to know that if he wanted to hurt her, it would better to just kill her than to hurt her friends. She opened her mouth, but in her shock, no words came out.
Then she blinked, and his presence was gone.
A/n: I'm so sorry for the delay! (School happened orz) but here is the next chapter as promised, and thank you so much for your continued support! Hope you enjoy :)
leave a review if you liked it? :) Special thanks to Vilandel Sweetstalker for reviewing the previous chapter!