I have no ownership of Evangelion, Gainax, Production I.G., or Studio Khara. The only things I have claim to are original characters and locations in the story.
GEHIRN SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Part 1: In a Brave New World
Chapter 10
The Elite Vier string quartet met in the auditorium of the Takemitsu Fine Arts Community Center during the summer break. The first meeting was a near disaster of different minds coming together to attempt to be musical with one another. Fortunately, Motohiro Toda was there those first couple of sessions to soothe a particular student's flared ego at her group's supposed shortcomings.
This time, however, their music teacher had other errands to take care of beforehand. So the first clarinetist, Mitsuko Koyama, was asked to listen to the group and provide her own insight.
(Musical Reference: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 2: I. Sehr Lebhaft by Paul Hindemith [at measure 88, Etwas zurückhalten])
The violin I, violin II, and viola parts flowed together with the same melodic line at the most basic level of cohesion to keep from falling completely apart for a third time that morning. The cello part tried to keep the beat, and the peace, with constant quarter notes in single notes and double stops.
The tempo¹ was far slower than Asuka Langley Soryu wanted them to go. The first violinist was constantly ahead of the beat, wordlessly urging her repressers to let her lead them to the 'victory' that was the final measure (of the section of music at least). Her performing volume and intensity of vibrato tried to make it clear that she was the star and that her three 'accompanists' were holding her back from greatness. However, the intensity of her musical style pushed her left hand further up the fretboard causing her tone to sound higher in pitch than everyone else (hense sounding sharp²). She would not have to wait long to get another chance to scold her ensemble members for once AGAIN letting the music fall to pieces.
"What the hell was that, Ayanami?!" She yelled across and to the right side of the startled cellist to the blue-haired girl that looked back with calm eyes. "I'm trying to make a beautifully crafted musical passage and you're under the pitch! I can't sound like a professional if you're not able to stay in tune with me."
"I am not under the pitch, Miss Soryu." Rei Ayanami was quick to come back at the accusations thrown at her. "You are getting carried away with the high G-Sharps, and you're causing Mr. Nagisa and myself to sound out of tune in comparison to your finger placement."
"Oh, so it's MY fault, isn't it?! Well, it can't be because I haven't done anything wrong! Excuse ME for making up for your lack of musicality!" The red-head clapped back at the violist. "Also, you're all moving at a snail pace. Do you even know what 'Sehr Lebhaft' means, Princess?"
Shinji was starting to get irritated at Asuka's usage of that word in a derogatory way towards his housemate. The fiery first violinist would only get to that point in name calling when she was about to blow up and leave the room. It happened too often when they were deciding their music before Toda-sensei had to intervene and direct them forward. The pale-skinned girl took all of this in stride fortunately.
"Of course I know the meaning. It means Very Lively."
"Ooooo... Zehn Punkte für die Prinzessin! Sehr gut!" This phrase was uttered with as much sarcasm as the red-head could muster at that moment. "So why the hell are we playing so slowly then?!" She pointed her first finger at the silent cellist, the next victim of her tirade. "You're the one keeping the beat! Can't you go any faster?!"
Shinji shrugged his shoulders and held his ground. "This is the tempo Toda-sensei wanted us at. I'm not going to go any faster just because you want us to."
"Why do you have to follow orders like some kind of mindless soldier? We're never going to get any better if we don't speed up!"
At that moment a man with broad shoulders and a copy of the score for the quartet piece slipped into the auditorium and sat next to the slightly annoyed clarinetist who looked towards the string ensemble with a deep furrow in her eyebrows and hands steepled at her mouth with her first fingers pointing at her nose. Motohiro Toda broke the smokey-haired girl out of whatever thoughts dominated her mind with a whisper.
"How are they doing, Miss Koyama?"
With a heavy sigh she replied softly, "Not good. That was their third attempt at the 'holding back' section."
With as deep of a sigh as the student sitting next to him he muttered softly, "This is going nowhere fast..." He projected his voice towards the stage to get the 'diva's' attention. "Miss Soryu, we are not ready to speed up the tempo. Until you realize that you all need to perform as one group and not four musical individuals playing together, we can not and will not move on."
"Oh, come on!" Asuka looked at her director and shouted, wishing that the daggers in her eyes had the ability to come into contact with him. "We have been at this for over a week! We should have this at tempo and fine tuning at this point! The competition is coming up already!"
"The competition is not until October 21st, Miss Soryu. We're still in the middle of August." Mr. Toda looked at the annoyed first violinist with as much of a deadpan expression as he could muster at her need to rush things quicker than necessary.
"EXACTLY! It's basically a week away!"
"Miss Soryu!" The broad shouldered man had enough. His booming voice filled the entire auditorium; he allowed it to echo around the walls and dissipate before he continued. "We will build this ensemble together. You will NOT question my methods, or I will find a replacement for the first violin part. Do I make myself clear?"
Without a word the red-head stood, placed her violin and bow on her chair, then quickly walked off stage and down the right side of the auditorium pushing through the doors with enough force for them to hit the walls in the foyer of the fine arts center.
Motohiro leaned back in his chair and held the bridge of his nose with the thumb and first two fingers of his right hand. He took another deep breath and spoke a few seconds later, "Take a break, everyone. I'll go talk to Miss Soryu." He started to rise from his chair when…
"No…" Mitsuko Koyama turned her head to address her teacher. "I'll do it."
He didn't want to send a student to do a teacher's job, but she had a better chance of convincing the red-head than he did at that moment. With a small smile he nodded at his top clarinetist. "Good luck."
The smokey-haired girl did not have to walk far to find the one who stormed out of the auditorium. A short distance away was a smaller room that exhibited artwork by the citizens of Tokyo-3. Stepping into the room Mitsuko noticed a wide variety of styles and an even bigger variety of artistic mediums. There were watercolors, acrylics, oil paintings, digital transfers, eclectic sculptures made from various materials, even an area of up-and-coming manga artists showcasing their different stylistic approaches.
Near that manga showcase stood the red-head with arms crossed "analyzing" a painting of a bowl of fruit. "I don't get it…" Asuka spoke as if she already knew who was sent to bring her back. "We're so much better than them. I mean… You could have gone anywhere in the prefecture, but you came HERE of all places."
Mitsuko's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly as she processed this, "What do you mean?"
The foreigner finally spun around in place to pierce her blue eyes into the somewhat surprised brown ones of the clarinetist. "I saw you at our elementary music club. I've watched you play the clarinet. I didn't know you then. I was too afraid to talk to anyone about music; I thought I would be considered a nerd or a freak of some kind for playing violin at a young age."
"Wait," Mitsuko's brown eyes widened, "Then that means…"
"I was supposed to go to Iwasaki… just like you!" As Asuka yelled this out she didn't realize that she was starting to tremble as she revealed more to the smokey-haired girl who listened patiently. "They have the best orchestra in the prefecture. Their violin section is top notch. But my mom… She HAD to divorce Papa and come here to work at that dumb research facility. Just to do what? Quit and open that Gott verdammt restaurant!" Her fists clenched, shaking as she released more… "These people… They don't know music like we do." She paused to look around then threw up her hands, palms up, and spun slowly. "They can't even make proper art! This is all amateur work!" With a heavy sigh she dropped her arms to her side drooping her head. "I wanted to compete with this ensemble because I thought it would be like if I were at Iwasaki. When I found out how decent Shinji and Ayanami were I thought I had a chance for it to be at least somewhat like what I had missed in Yokohama." After a moment she picked her head up and looked back into the eyes of the girl still listening. "Don't you miss it? Don't you wish you were there? I'm sure they're playing Wagner or Beethoven right now. What are we playing?! Halverson! And possibly one of the easiest Brahms pieces that could be found!" Her breathing got more ragged; her eyes widened as she felt she was not reaching Mitsuko. "SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT!"
The clarinetist's eyes did not change, only closing as she took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. "Take a look at this work…" She walked slowly to an oil painting of a landscape with the sun setting in the background. "They need to work with detail on the ground, but look at their color blending in the sky. You can hardly tell where one begins and one ends as they recreate the sunset." Stepping a few feet away she looked at an abstract acrylic painting of what looked to be a person. "Look at this painting here. Even though there isn't a focus on the individual, look at the bold color. It contrasts the work and gives it more balance." She walked away towards the manga artist section stopping at a shonen action scene. "This one? They need to work on emotions conveyed in their eyes. However, look at how flowing and beautiful their hair is." She then turned around to face the red-head with a soft gaze and small smile. "What I'm trying to say is that each of you has some kind of strength to bring to the ensemble. Nagisa-kun has a passionate tone from his love of romantic music, Rei is very adaptable to any style, and Shinji-kun sets a good foundation for others to build off of while you, Soryu-san, add flair and color to the quartet. You all are such an amazing group of individuals and can complement each other to make beautiful music together. You need to trust them, Soryu-san. It will get better. Great music can be made anywhere if you're willing to work together… whether at Iwasaki or here." She hoped she had connected with the violinist in some way for she had nothing else to add to help with the situation. "I'm going back to the auditorium. I hope you come back." The clarinetist started to walk away but stopped and turned her head back towards the red-head, "They all like you, Soryu-san. They talk about you a lot. They talk about how much you love performing, how much fire you have in your heart; they admire you. Give them a chance." With that she walked out of the exhibit leaving Asuka with her thoughts. Did they really think that highly of her? Even after all she had done; even after how she'd treated everyone? She knew she would not get another chance to show what she was made of with anybody else there in Tokyo-3. Even IF she were to go back to Yokohama what would she do? She would have to compete with violinists that had been established there for over a year already. It would be better for her to make the best of the current situation and show everyone in Kanagawa (and Kanto for that matter) how much better this ensemble was and that she made the right choice with these musicians. Determination returning to her face she walked proudly towards the doors of the exhibit hall ready to try again with her ensemble members. She almost made it out when she saw Mr. Toda and Mitsuko Koyama talking in the foyer. It looked serious, so she backed up into the art showcase area listening in on their conversation.
"I'm sorry, Miss Koyama."
"But Toda-Sensei," said the smokey-haired girl, with desperation in her voice. "I've been working on this since the beginning of my first year here. This is all I know!"
"I'm NOT going to let you perform the entire first movement of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto for the solo and small ensemble competition. It's too long, and there's too much time between you playing for judges to write comments on your performance. You need to choose something else if you want to compete. My decision is final, Miss Koyama. Again, I'm sorry." The broad-shouldered man walked away back into the auditorium leaving the girl on the verge of tears.
Asuka walked out of the art exhibit to the clarinetist who looked like she was reverting to the more closed-off individual that she was a few weeks prior. The red-head may not have been friends with Shinji and Ayanami, but she could easily see how much influence their kindness had been on the smokey-haired girl. "Hey…" She softly spoke to the girl who had tears slowly falling down her cheeks as she held herself with her arms, "You ok?"
Mitsuko slowly shook her head. "I wanted to enter myself in the solo and small ensemble competition…just like the quartet. I've been playing Mozart since fourth grade. But Toda-sensei said 'No'. That's all I know, though… How am I supposed to find another piece when the competition is so close?"
"But, it's not until October," Asuka tried to reassure her. "You have plenty of time to find another…"
"But it's not enough time…" She trembled more as she held herself tighter. "What am I supposed to do?!" She further broke into sobbing; she was barely able to keep herself upright as her body shook from her emotions.
The ocean blue-eyed girl looked at her with a sense of panic. What could she do to help her? The best thing, she guessed, was to overcome herself and just try. She slowly and sheepishly took the clarinetist into an embrace wrapping her arms around her quivering form and patted her back lightly. "It's ok. We'll think of something."
The rest of the rehearsal went more smoothly. Asuka realized how much better the music sounded when played slower. She could actually hear the chords moving together and the harmonies of the different string parts around the melody. If this was what playing musically was like then she could get used to this. But they'd better be ready to go faster soon, she told herself, I can do this for only so long…
Mitsuko Koyama felt better after the first violinist helped console her (even though she was threatened with her life if she ever mentioned that moment to anyone). The clarinetist listened in on the rehearsal providing insight as she was able to. She knew that Toda-sensei was right; she just didn't want to accept it at that moment. The Mozart piece was long (twelve to fifteen minutes depending on the tempo), and with the accompaniment taking up a lot of the time the judges could write a novel with the amount of critique they would give her. She didn't know if her heart could take that. But since that was all she had ever worked on she really had no idea what else to perform, and she had no idea who to talk to besides her uncle. For the time being, she was at a loss.
Near the end of rehearsal there was a moment when the quartet was given another break to stretch. Asuka motioned with her hands for the other ensemble members to lean in close so she could speak to them with a soft voice. She told them about Mitsuko's music dilemma and wanted them to see what they could find to help her. Shinji was stunned that the red-head would want to help anyone else besides herself, but he thought better of saying it out loud for obvious reasons. Maybe his father might know of a good clarinet piece. He was shaken from his thoughts as the first violinist spoke again.
"You said Toda-sensei needed a performing group for the fall festival, yes?" To this the cellist nodded in affirmation. "Why don't we do a clarinet quintet? The Elite Vier and Koyama. We could play Mozart or something."
"Asuka," said Shinji, "That's a great idea!" Again he wanted to say something in regards to this doppelganger-like behavior she was showing, but he liked the idea of all the digits of his fingers moving properly, especially if she were in fact NOT a doppelganger.
"Shh! Keep it down, baka. We'll surprise her after rehearsal."
After they were released, the quartet met with the clarinetist in the foyer outside the auditorium. The first violinist was the one to spring the surprise upon the smokey-haired girl. Mitsuko was beyond speechless; she, once more, was on the verge of tears. She slowly lost that fight as those tears of happiness fell. She jumped at the red-head pulling her into a bear hug. "Thank you, Soryu-san! Thank you, everyone! I promise to do my best for the ensemble." Once more Asuka was hesitant to embrace her, but she knew the right and nice thing to do was to return it so she again wrapped her arms around her holding her more confidently.
The clarinetist was invited for lunch at the Ikari apartment as they stepped out of the fine arts community center. She gladly accepted and called her uncle to let him know her plans. Fifteen minutes later Yui Ikari arrived in her kei car to take the trio back to the apartment; Shinji and Rei rode in the back while Mitsuko sat in the front passenger seat. All spoke about various events during the rehearsal and about the plans for the clarinet quintet performance at the fall festival. The Ikari mother was excited for the opportunity they would be taking together as a performing group. Inadvertently Shinji let slip information regarding Mitsuko being denied the opportunity to play her Mozart piece for the competition. The smokey-haired girl didn't expect him to speak on her behalf; she guessed the first violinist spoke to them about her situation. Besides her consoling embrace this was the friendliest the red-head ever was to her. However, hearing the cellist bring it up to help her brought back those thoughts from the day of the typhoon. He really was one of the kindest individuals she had ever known. She was able to catch herself blushing and looked away towards the increasing residential blocks. Dr. Ikari replied to her son a moment later. "We can see what there is when we get back." She drove onward as a thought came to her.
Besides… I have a surprise for you all.
After parking and the ride up the elevator they were soon in the apartment. They removed their shoes, placed them in the shoe closet, then were led not towards the living room, not towards Gendo Ikari's office where there was a small library of music, but towards the closet of the master bedroom. The boy found it odd that they would be led there of all places. His mother knelt down and pulled a few items from under a clothing rack including a leather box that Mitsuko recognized very quickly.
"Dr. Ikari, is that…?"
"Yes, Mitsuko-san. It's MY clarinet."
All were speechless, especially Shinji who should have known that those items were there the entire time. There was so much he wanted to say; so much he wanted to ask. His mom wasted no time.
"I played in college before I finally decided to study medicine. I guess I could have been a music teacher; maybe even teaching all of you." She lightly laughed to herself and smiled thinking of the job that Gendo had offered her regarding the board of directors for GEHIRN. "However, I wanted to help people in a different way, and I have no regrets for doing what I'm doing. But for now, Mitsuko-san, I want to help you. Mr. Toda was correct: Mozart is too long. I LOVE the concerto; don't get me wrong. The best way to impress a judge, though, is not with a traditional performance with accompaniment, but with a completely solo piece of music." She looked through a stack of pieces of clarinet music; she knew exactly what she was looking for. It was a piece she played when she was in early high school, if she was thinking of the history of the current timeline that was recently revealed to her. "Ah… Here it is." She handed the smokey-haired girl a piece with music printed on three of the four sides of the connected two pages. On the other page, the first page, was the title and name of the composer which the clarinetist spoke out loud.
"Rhapsody by Willson Osborne…"
"That's right, Mitsuko-san. American composer Willson Osborne wrote this originally for bassoon but adapted it for B-Flat clarinet. It became very popular afterwards and is the piece of music he is most known for. You can keep it."
Her brown eyes became saucers, and she shook her head quickly. "I can't accept this, Dr. Ikari!"
"Please, Mitsuko-san. I wouldn't be able to play this for some time anyways. My embouchure isn't what it was fifteen years ago. All I ask is that I'm invited to hear you all play on the day of the competition."
Once more that same day Mitsuko Koyama gave a firm hug of gratitude to an individual and their kindness. Yui then pulled away and spoke to the trio, "You three look over this music while I get lunch ready."
The three teens went to the living room with a music stand while the maternal Ikari went to the kitchen to prepare lunch for the young musicians. The smokey-haired girl looked at the new music gifted to her with wonder and fear. This was so new to her to play something so foreign; she was used to music from the late 1700s and early 1800s, not from the 20th century. The best she could do for now was to sight read the music slowly and read the non-scalar note pattern as well as she could. Sitting on the couch with her new best friends at either side of her gave the clarinetist the confidence to keep trying and enjoy this new musical experience.
From the kitchen Yui could hear the notes played by the young clarinetist. Memories were being revived to her mind of her experiences in this time period. She saw herself on stage at a prefecture competition not too unlike what her son and his friends would experience for the first time. As the memories came to her she decided that she would do what she could to help this young musician trying to make her own style without any accompaniment to guide her.
Rei Ayanami listened intently to the sounds of the American composer while taking in this new information revealed to her about the only other one who knew about the timeline change. How much more was different? What else will be revealed to her? Was there more to this Rei Ayanami that she had not found out about yet? That prospect scared her… There really were too many unknowns at work in this world. She glanced up at her housemate, and he happened to glance back, giving her a smile. That was all she needed for the time being: the reassurance that he would be there for her as her best friend if anything were to happen.
(AN) - Hey everyone. I do apologize for not releasing anything in a while. The ideas are still in my head, and I will work on getting them down whenever I can.
I hope you all stay safe out there!
1 : Tempo - The speed in which music is performed.
2 : Sharp (music) - When the music sound is slightly higher than where the pitch should be it is considered to be sharp. On the opposite end, if the music sound is slightly lower than where the pitch should be it is considered to be flat. When musicians play together and they sound "out of tune" it is usually because someone is either sharp or flat (above or below the pitch).