Don't Look Back – Chapter 31

The Beauty Of Sound

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((Kentoku's POV))

Ouch.

I have no idea why I'm not dead. That HURT. Eve's shot me with lightning before, but that was a lot more powerful than last time! I groaned, turning over. I could hear everyone on the sidelines gasp. I nearly laughed; did they REALLY think Eve killed me? Oh that was a good one. I guess I shouldn't tell them that she's never killed anyone in her life…

I got up on my knees, my legs like rubber. My arms were shaking from the bolt, and I grimaced. Great, I couldn't even stand up. I heard someone come forward, but I shook my head.

"Let me have some pride here." I said, not even looking at who it was.

To my dismay, it was Rin. She looked somewhat shocked at my outburst, but she nodded. "I'm sorry." She said, and went back to where everyone was watching.

'Strike two.' I thought grimly to myself. 'Watch it Kentoku or you're going to lose her.'

Everyone waited as I managed to get to my feet. My legs shook, and I knew that there was no way I was getting anywhere. I grimaced at the thought of asking, but I didn't want to fall. "Haku, Perun… now would be a great time to help me."

"Oh!" Haku said, jumping up and jogging over. He grabbed one of my arms and put it around his shoulder. I sighed with relief and sagged, unable to hold my weight. Haku staggered and gritted his teeth. "Perun… help?" He asked.

Perun came over and took my other arm. He grunted when he felt my dead weight. "Damn… do you have to be so heavy?"

I chuckled, "Heh, I could be passed out."

Haku chuckled, "Good point." He said. "Can you get your feet under you?"

"I'm not sure if they'll work, but I'll try." I said honestly. I attempted, but I nearly made my sons fall over. "That would be a no." I told them with a wince.

Perun nodded and my sons hauled me to the bench. They sat me down, and I groaned. Eve hadn't moved from where she was standing. I looked at her sadly. I knew that she was hesitant to head over here.

Chihiro looked over and stood up. "Come on over here Eve." She said, holding out her hand.

My younger sister approached cautiously, everyone looking up at her. She slipped her hand into hers and the mother-to-be led her over to me. She looked down at me, her eyes tearing up. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I've never knocked you down before and-"

I lost it when I saw a tear slip down. "No, Eve, please don't cry. I'm fine, just a little shaky on my legs!" I assured her, rubbing her arm. When I saw another tear fall, I pulled her down next to me and pulled her against my side. "Evangeline…" I whispered, using her full name.

"I'm sorry, I just…" She began, but didn't finish the sentence.

"I'm fine. I'll be good as new in a few minutes." I said softly, giving her a squeeze.

Perun surprised me by coming forward and squatting down before her. "Hey, Aunt Eve? I was wondering… if you wouldn't mind, if you would teach me how to attack with magic like that."

Eve rubbed her eyes and straightened up. "Well, I couldn't teach you how to do exactly what I did because you don't have the air element, or the power over electricity."

Perun chuckled, shaking his head. "That's all right." He said, "I don't need to know how to create a storm. It would inflate my ego to a size that's much bigger than it ever needs to get."

He said it in a tone that suggested he was dead serious, which made Eve laugh. "I'll teach you then, but it's not going to be easy."

Haku snorted, "I think we all know that. I would like to train to, if two isn't too much."

Eve smiled, "Of course two isn't too much! I'd even teach all four of you if Chihiro wasn't pregnant!"

My breath hitched. "Wait… Chihiro can't bond to make Ariadne. There's another being inside her, making the count five instead of the usual four."

Eve gasped. "That's right… this can't get out to Kallisto."

Amaya sighed, "Oh please. We were doing so well about not talking about the war for so long. Can't it just stay that way?"

Eve smirked, "Only if you let me train you!"

She rolled her eyes with a laugh, "Fine." She said.

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That night, dinner was a happy occasion. I had regained the use of my feet, much to my happiness and Haku and Perun's relief. Eve was acting as that afternoon had never happened, and everyone else was happy to comply. Now they knew her power, but I thought that I shouldn't reveal how easy it is to beat her. She attacks with flashy things, but they do hurt. You just have to know her fighting style before you can beat her. Then it depends on how long you live to execute the attack. It really can happen, but the chances are slim to none. Eve isn't a big fighter.

After dinner, she slinked off to who knows where. I let her go, figuring that she might have wanted some time to herself.

((End POV))

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After dinner, the company took a stroll through the bathhouse. Chihiro called a halt when she needed to sit down, her feet hurting. Haku opened a nearby door to see if there was a place to sit down. He found multiple couches against the wall, but what he saw in the center was completely unexpected. Eve sat on a tall stool, playing one of her numerous instruments.

Kentoku smiled, "Now, if we all enter quietly, she may give us a performance."

"She's not going to… do anything is she?" Rin asked softly.

He shook his head, "It's the small harp you need to worry about. Her violin is just an instrument." He assured her, and ushered everyone inside quietly. They sat on the couches that were lined up against the wall, and watched Eve.

She stopped playing and opened one emerald eye. When she found them all listening, she smiled. She closed her eye and paused, leaving everyone hanging.

Then she began to play. The strong but gentle notes floated through out the room, creating a relaxed atmosphere. Eve's electric violin ((A/N: Yes, electric violin. I've played one. XD)) created an entrancing sound that had everyone listening, even those whom didn't like the sound of it. Chihiro closed her eyes, the lull of the music washing over her and putting her to sleep. Haku positioned himself so his pregnant fiancé could lean against him. Amaya crawled into her husband's lap and leaned her head against his chest. His arms were around her in a second, and they enjoyed the music together.

Kentoku was torn between two options. He could either reach for Rin's hand and be rejected, or he could sit there uncomfortably for the rest of the performance. He shell was slowly being broken; the man he was before was slowly emerging once again, and that helped. Kentoku moved his hand to cover hers, which made her jump. Once she recovered, she smiled at the sight; maybe he wasn't that helpless after all. She turned her hand over and laced her fingers through his. Kentoku felt like grinning, but he caught himself. He angled his head slightly to kiss her temple, his normally cool blue eyes shinning.

"Would you look at that?" Amaya whispered, tracing patterns on Perun's chest while looking over at her father-in-law.

"I'm glad that things are working out for them." He replied, running his hand through her blonde hair, peeping one blue eye open to see what Amaya was talking about before he closed it again and listened to the music his aunt was playing.

Kentoku was glad how things were playing out for him – but his hope slowly diminished as Felix and Basir walked in through the door silently. 'Oh dear…' He thought to himself, 'This isn't going to be pretty. Oh Eve… I don't want you to have to deal with them but you can't ignore them forever.'

The two brothers were each wearing their own expressions of interest, but Kentoku knew what exactly was holding each of their attentions. They sat down on the last available couch and listened.

This song was more of a soothing one, and Kentoku was beginning to recognize it. His eyes widened when he finally placed it. He remembered the day she last played this, right down to the clothes he was wearing.

Suddenly, the memory from Kentoku's mind appeared out in the center, and it played out just like it did back then.

Eve sat on a chair, a music stand in front of her. The music couldn't be heard, but it was obvious she was playing the same song that the current Eve was playing. The view zoomed out to cover the dance floor, and what they saw made everyone breathless.

It was a sea of spirits, all celebrating one thing… the marriage of Kentoku and Lavanya.

The newlyweds weren't that hard to spot, and soon the dance floor cleared for them. Eve began to play a different song, and they began to dance. For a woman that was pregnant, Lavanya moved very gracefully, and Kentoku made sure to slow down to match her pace.

Neither of them were smiling, their faces aglow. They know why they did this, and they didn't like it in the least. Not many guests could tell because they really could care less. Only a select few did not have a smile on their faces.

One was Eve. Her eyes were sad as she played the music, knowing that the song wasn't improving her brother and sister-in-law's sadness.

Then a man with long raven colored hair looked sadly down at the couple. When everyone focused enough, they nearly cried out in surprise. It was Felix! His dark gray eyes were sad as he watched his best friend be miserable on what was supposed to be the happiest day of his life.

Next to Felix was a man with the same colored hair, except with dashes of gold highlights sprinkled all throughout his hair. It was longer in the back than the front, and the shorter strands hit his shoulders while the rest went down to his shoulder blades. This had to be Basir, for his normally cheerful amber eyes held the same look as his brother's. The focus didn't stay on them long, for it zoomed out to view all those that were assembled. The song ended, and everyone clapped.

What no one saw was Lavanya ducking her head for a split second, allowing a tear to leak out from her dark blue eye before brushing it away.

The memory faded and everyone was left feeling depressed and grateful that they weren't at such a somber occasion. Kentoku felt like he just needed to scream or yell, anything to forget that day. It killed him when he saw Lavanya cry after they left the reception, but he knew that there was nothing he could do this time to fix their situation. Life just didn't work that way. Slowly, another memory began to play, and Eve's song took on a lighter note. Her violin faded, and a somewhat transparent piano appeared before her.

Instead of Eve playing, the memory was actually Yubaba playing the grand piano in a parlor of some kind. Her long nails didn't scratch the keys, but clacked almost inaudibly.

What was the main focus of this memory was the group of young spirits, all wearing smiles on their faces. They stood in a half circle around the piano, just singing for fun.

There were four women, and four men. Eve was easy to spot, seeing as her red hair was practically a beacon. It was longer in this memory, almost down to her waist. Her emerald eyes held a spark that everyone had come to grow and love.

Standing on her left was a woman with long, pale blonde hair. Her eyes were a dark red, almost black. She resembled Amaya in a sense, but the relation wasn't that great. She was smiling, her dark eyes seeming to become lighter the happier she became.

And standing on her left was a woman with bright blonde hair. Her eyes rivaled Perun's in darkness, and it was easy to tell it was Lavanya. Her eyes were dancing, and she was refraining from laughing out loud from the looks of it. She wasn't pregnant, which must mean the twins were all ready born or her pregnancy hadn't begun yet. Chances were that it was option two, seeing as Eve was still here.

Kentoku was next to his sister, looking much different from the present one. His silver hair only went down to his shoulders, but there were highlights of light blue, causing his hair to shimmer in the lamplight. His blue and violet eyes were filled with laughter, contrary to what everyone saw nowadays.

To his left was Felix; his black hair a little bit shorter than it was at the wedding. His dark gray eyes were dancing with mischief, enjoying the moment. He was discreetly looking at Eve, which made the situation comical. Even then he was after her.

To his left was his brother, Basir. His hair wasn't that much different, but his hair lacked the gold streaks. His amber eyes held a small amount of uncertainty, but it quickly disappeared as the song progressed.

A new man was next to Basir, one that no one had ever seen before. His hair was a copper color, his eyes the color of honey. He wore a huge grin on his face as he sang, clapping to the beat with the rest of them.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights
In cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

In five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure
A year in the life…

When they reached the chorus, everyone's voices combined together to create one of the most powerful sounds anyone had ever heard. They were all smiling, so obviously the war had not started. Or maybe this was a way to forget. Regardless of what was going on in the world, it didn't matter now.

How about love?
How about love?
How about love?

Measure in love

The women sang first, and the men followed with a repeat, going down the scale. The song was powerful, and extremely addicting.


Seasons of love

Seasons of love

The woman with the pale blonde hair stepped forward and sang her solo. She had a strong alto voice, one that carried and was never forgotten. It was surprising that Eve didn't take it, but no one cared. Both were good, and would be great together as a duet… if they would just sit down and practice long enough.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Journeys to plan

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure the life
Of a woman or a man?

The woman stepped back into the line, Eve flashing her a smile. The man with the copper colored hair stepped forward, no longer grinning. He took a deep breath and launched into his solo. His voice was a strong baritone, but surprisingly light. Everyone grinned, listening to his voice. Who knew that so many people could have such good voices?

In truths that she learned
Or in times that he cried
In bridges he burned
Or the way that she died

The man held the last note for a while and everyone began to clap to the beat again. He cut off and joined in for the chorus. Everyone was beaming, the energy and meaning of the song striking a chord within their hearts.

It's time now to sing out,
Tho' the story never ends
Let's celebrate
Remember a year in the life of friends
Remember the love!
Remember the love!
Seasons of love!

Now the woman who sang the solo and Eve took a step forward and sang a small duet. The sound was amazing, and everyone grinned even wider. Even Yubaba had a smile on her face.

Oh you got to got to remember the love!
You know that love is a gift from up above
Share love, give love spread love

The other woman dropped out, leaving Eve to sing the last line. On the last word, she hit an impossible note and held it, the sound bouncing off of the walls and filling the room.

Measure, measure your life in love

Everyone joined in to finish, and Eve stepped back into the line. They clapped for the last line and she sang her own little piece at the end.

Seasons of love
Seasons of love

Measure your life, measure your life in love

Once the song was over, everyone laughed and the women gave each other a hug. They thanked Yubaba, and she smiled, leaving the room. They continued to talk among themselves, the perfect image of friends.

Eve finished and smiled at all who were listening and watching. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes dancing. "Some of you knew when those happened, but I'll tell you anyway. The first was Kentoku's and Lavanya's wedding. The second was actually before she got pregnant, about a month before Kallisto's first attack."

"So you all knew each other!" Amaya cried, sitting up.

Kentoku nodded, releasing Rin's hand. "We did. We were pretty close friends before then as well."

"But who were those other people in the memory?" Chihihro asked, looking up at Kentoku without moving from her position against Haku.

"They're gone." Eve said simply. "Kallisto killed them."

Silence greeted her blunt statement. "What were their names?" Perun asked, "What were they like?"

Eve smiled, a bigger harp appearing in front of her. She played a low scale, and the man with the copper hair appeared, just standing in the center of the room. "Kentoku? You know him better."

He sighed. "This is Diego. He was pretty young, only about 150 when the war started. He was young enough to be my son, but it didn't matter to us. We became pretty close, and the had the hugest crush on Izumi. He's a lot like Perun actually… but much worse."

Perun glared at his father as everyone laughed, "Hey, how is that bad?"

"Do you go around at five in the morning, dumping buckets of cold water on people?" Kentoku asked dryly. When Perun didn't reply, he nodded. "Exactly what I thought." He said.

"Did he really do that?" Eve giggled, "I didn't hear about that one."

"He really did. So, who's up next?"

Eve played another scale, and the man known as Diego vanished. In his place appeared the woman with the long and pale blonde hair. "And this would be Izumi. She was practically my sister from all of the secrets we shared. I know who her crush is, but I swore to her that I would never tell, so I won't." Felix grinned but Eve rolled her eyes, "But it's not you Felix, so quit giving me that look."

Everyone laughed, but Felix's eyes brightened instead. Kentoku sighed; this could only end badly.

Eve made the harp vanish and stood up. "And those two are the only ones that you don't know, everyone else you've either heard of or seen."

Everyone stood up and thanked Eve for the performance and left the room. Soon it was only Kentoku, her, Basir and Felix.

Felix moved first and gave her a hug, and then a kiss on the cheek. "Well, I never thought I would see you again! How have you been?"

Eve seemed a little unnerved with the friendly kiss. "I've been okay, enjoying my free time."

Basir must have sensed her growing urge to flee and walked up to save her. He gave her a friendly smile, and held out an arm to her for a hug. "Hello Eve."

She smiled, secretly relieved. "Hey there Basir." She said, giving him a hug with both arms while he just hugged her with one. After that, Felix seemed to cool down about getting Eve to fall for him and they all talked like the friends they were.

Kentoku knew that this stalemate wouldn't go on for much longer, at it was only a matter of time before Felix or Basir won the prize…

Eve.

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A/N: This is NOT going on hiatus. I REFUSE. I'm so sorry it took me so long, but life's been REALLY hectic. I just moved in and I've started highscool... icky. Well, I hope that this was an okay appology!

-LiddaL-Mushro0m-
Koi hikari
Dying of Reality
XxLil-AngelxX
Lillix Vail
Hoshi -firefairy713-
Kataan
StrugglingArtist
Mushrambolover
mistress of mist
Priestess Kohana
Sailor-Kagome
White Dragon 01
Yuki9283

I am so happy you guys reviewed, and I hope that you're still with me! XD

P.S. And Eve is NOT evil for those of you who think she is. ((lol))

-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-

Disclaimer: I bet you guys recognize the song, but it's Seasons of Love from RENT.