Episode 48: A Night's Fantasy
The whole place which was buzzing earlier on came to a complete silence as they watched the girl, approaching the microphone, in breathless anticipation. Senritsu took her place at the piano once again, her expert slender fingers poised over the keys as she continued to listen to the girl's heartbeats.
It sounds so melodically…
Soft…
Then slow…
Yet…
It has a strange strong quality to it…
She took the sideways glance from Hikari as the cue to start off the opening for the song that the sixteen-year-old was going to sing. The woman did not need a music sheet in front of her, all she needed to listen and follow through with her heartbeats. Hikari's heartbeats were her music sheet.
Hikari…
Open up your heart and mind…
And sing for all us…
Senritsu closed her eyes and allowed the child's heartbeats to fill her mind as she transpired into background music.
It was the second time that I was up here, again, on stage. This was due to majority requests for an encore after the announcement of the winners (that was us, mind you).
The price money was more than what I had expected. 2 million yen to be shared amongst the two of us, which would mean 1 million yen each.
Sleep, my dear princess…
And dream of the dreams…
Which are nothing but illusions of the night…
Once upon time doesn't exist in reality…
It is only in the night when you slumber…
When it does exist…
There is an amount of moonlight magic…
Hanging in the air…
Sleep, my dear princess…
And dream of the dreams…
Which are nothing but illusions of the night…
Let it be nothing but dreams…
Which will guide you onwards…
And bring you to a place…
Where those sweet memories…
Are those which you will indulge in…
And cherish forever…
Written By: Yours Truly
Title: A Night's Fantasy
" This song is actually a lullaby sung to me by… " I swallowed the huge lump that had formed in my throat as I fought back the tears that were threatening to fall. "…my father and brother, when I was younger. It's my mother's legacy that she had left behind for us to remember her. It's called ' A Night's Fantasy'. Thank you… "
Kurapica could see the hurt that was palpable on her face as she sung that lullaby. It was tearing at her heart as she forced the lyrics out. Despite that, the singing voice she possessed more than covered up her despair. It was sung with so much sadness and longing that the audience were easily enthralled by it.
Unconsciously, he clenched his fists which were by his sides as he looked on.
It was so easy to see through Hikari. He knew almost everything about her and more.
Hikari…
Don't you dare cry…
At least, not now…
The girl appeared to be fighting back her tears as she spoke into the microphone, in a weak voice.
He knew that she had had enough.
Without thinking, he stepped onto the stage and grasped hold of her hand, and drew her away from the microphone and towards the backstage just as she dissolved into loud sobs.
All that time, he held her close to him, while she cried without even once letting her go.
" Hikari reminds me so much of you, did you know that, Kurapica? " Senritsu asked him, as soon as they were sure that Hikari was finally fast asleep after all that animated talking of going to York Shin City.
" Huh? What do you mean? " the seventeen-year-old responded distractedly, as he smoothed the sleeping girl's hair away from her face.
The woman chuckled as she sat herself down on the couch, her eyes on him.
" Both of you are so similar yet so different, " she continued.
" Oh, you mean that incident that occurred backstage? " Kurapica told her, smiling as he went over to sit across his old friend.
" I'm sorry but I can't just stay and watch you hurl offensive remarks at my friends when they have got nothing to do with you. I can't tolerate this childish behaviour. This is the kind of pain that the people around you feel when you mindlessly throw hurtful words at them. So please think before you speak. If you don't mind, please don't bother us anymore. We want nothing more to do
with you. "
Senritsu nodded.
" She's much too over-protective especially when her friends happened to be involved…just like you are, Kurapica, for Gon, Killua and Leorio. "
Kurapica frowned at this as he glanced at the girl.
" Really? "
" Yes, Kurapica. "
" I see but I'm getting really worried, Senritsu. "
" I can sense that, " was her immediate answer.
" Around noon we are reaching York Shin City, the place where we last faced off against them, if you know what I mean… " the boy trailed off.
" Yes, I am very well aware of the fact that she is frightened of them. "
" That is partly correct but it's the other half that I'm much more worried about. The reason why we are heading to York Shin is to meet up with the boss again. There is no one to keep an eye on her because our schedules will become hectic that there is not enough time for us to spend together with her. Maybe, I made a mistake in bringing her along… "
Kurapica placed his head in his hands.
" No, you did the right thing, Kurapica. She needs you to take care of her, " the woman answered. " She needs all of us with her. "
" But if the Spiders were to find out about her ability… "
Senritsu shook her head.
" They will not find her as long as she does not show any signs of recognition to anyone of them. "
Kurapica nodded, gravely.
" She will never be able to do that because she has never seen any one of them
before… "
Note from 'moi': Heya, guys!! Thank you so much for going this far together with me…I am so eternally grateful to you all…hence, I am more than ever to be motivated to finish this story and see it to the end…you guys will be behind me right…? XD