Author's intro: Hello, dear readers! It's already furious and awesome winter in my homeland. 30 degrees below zero and that's not a limit. I'm coming up with a new chapter giving more insight on characters' motivation and their interaction with the new member. Please, enjoy and let me know your opinion.
As always, thanks to ImpracticalDemon for beta reading! The text has improved significantly.
Chapter V. Underground rivers.
A classical background can be a huge hindrance to mastering rock violin (industrial violin or whatever). A classical musician is used to relying a lot on sheet music while making non-classical music requires improvisation, alternative scales and special techniques.
There seems to be a contradiction about the nature of playing music. A classical musician is often considered a mere vessel for music. He has no right to expose his personality or to interpret the material. On the one hand there really are things that an ordinary mind cannot capture and it's better to give in and be lead. On the other hand a mere reproduction takes away the fire of life and leaves a boring empty shell. Some musicians have enough guts to fill the shell with their own content.
Chizuru was not rebellious enough to think that she knew classical music better than her teachers. And yet the contradiction had never disappeared once she was mature enough to think about her life. She longed for bright emotions, for fast-food-feelings. The girl scolded herself for being so careless, but once started it was impossible to stop. Maybe long years of restraint had pushed her to that edge. And thus Chizuru began to explore the world of alternative fiddling. Finished with her orchestra duties she tried to play by ear, to copy the licks of famous rock fiddlers and study blues scales.
Chizuru had a lot to tell Saitou-san and Okita about her motivation and strategies when they arranged a meeting. She also did her homework with the band's two songs. Since no one was going to provide her with notes or to write her parts, she had to do it herself. So she came up with a rhythmic part for one song and a melodic part for another one.
…
When Chizuru arrived at the base that day she was surprised to find Hijikata-san sitting in the corner of the rehearsal room with the Composer Duet. That place was the so-called "Hijikata nest" due to the personal belongings he tended to leave on the table (piles of paper, notebooks, teacups and so on).
"I need to know everything about the band," Hijikata-san told Chizuru, explaining his presence. "Including what you decide for your contribution."
That was pretty reasonable. Being a good leader, Hijikata-san was responsible for everything from arranging rehearsals to providing a band member with a backup cord. She couldn't imagine herself ruling a bunch of punks but he was energetic enough to do it successfully.
She started to explain a variety of fiddling strategies to them. She didn't want to duplicate Saitou-san's job of leading melodist so she had to be very flexible.
"First of all, I can support the rhythm section and it's the most unglamorous fiddler's work." Chizuru gave them a quick demonstration of the chop technique. "We can develop our cross-rhythm parts! I can also play a series of chopping, sawing and shuffling patterns to fit in." Her enthusiasm seemed to infuse them as well.
"The other way is to step into Saitou-san's field and lead a melody. It could be like playing long notes during Harada-san's singing and coming up with some short bursts of melody in the gaps. But we can also do voice crossing..."
"If we alter some notes of one melodic line, we can reach that impression of irregularity and instability that you hear in medieval chorales," Saitou-san added.
"Exactly!"
"And, I assume, the third way is playing solo," he continued with a small smile.
"Yep, they say that inside every rock violinist there's a frustrated lead guitarist." She grinned her approval. "I have some drafts but we must decide if they really suit your songs."
They talked for several hours, listening to the material and trying to elaborate the strategy. Hijikata-san departed visibly satisfied with their work.
"At least someone takes this crap seriously," he said before leaving.
They stopped for lunch and moved to the kitchen. Chizuru was in awe. She felt like the whole paradigm was finally being destroyed in her mind leaving the unusual feeling of freedom. Chizuru told the guys about herself, her years of studying and self-doubting. They were listening to her with tireless attention.
"It's hard to imagine a conservatoire girl filling the gap between Mahler and Sibelius with Psyclon Nine," smiled Okita. His smile was a bit warmer in comparison with their first encounter.
…
Chizuru needed a quiet place to do her homework. Her home was out of question due to the excessive amount of annoyed faces. The rehearsal base seemed to be the best option but it was no simple task to get there by public transport. Chizuru mentally scolded Hijikata-san for the weird choice of location for the headquarters. The last bus stop marked the edge of the Central Slums and she had to walk about two kilometers more to get to the place.
The "mansion" was a worn out two-storey building of brown brick. It had some traces of awkward decoration and could be considered as an example of the typical pre-War wealthy housing. The lane consisted of several similar brick houses and a number of wooden barracks and barns. Some old cars were parked here and there. It was early autumn and the bright foliage disguised the disadvantages of architecture.
Chizuru opened the door with her own key and stumbled into Okita passing through the hall with a steaming mug in his hands. He wore a pair of old baggy jeans stained with violet paint. A pair of thick woolen socks completed his outfit. His eyes widened in surprise and so did hers.
"Wh-whatcha doing here?" Chizuru finally uttered.
"Greetings to you too." He was the first one to cope with astonishment. "I live here. Starting today. Whatever is the matter?" He eyed her with a sardonic smile.
"Oh, sorry!" Least of all Chizuru wanted to appear rude. "I expected nobody to be here today. Would you mind letting me occupy the rehearsal room?"
"Come in. Did your parents ban you from practicing at home?" Suddenly Okita became serious. So far, he had been the only one to ask her about her family.
"Not yet," she forced a smile. "But I feel awkward practising when they are able to hear. But it's okay, I'll deal with them somehow."
"I'm sure you will," he muttered. "Come in already. I'm busy, so you can stay in the basement until tomorrow's rehearsal if you wish."
"Unpacking your belongings?" Chizuru asked trying to find another point to look at to avoid the view of his bare chest. She caught a glimpse of several old scars on his arms, blots of violet paint in several places, and a fresh bruise on his shoulder. Finally she decided to look straight into his eyes and who knew which direction was worse.
"Nope," he chuckled. "Hijikata-san's provided me with housing unsuitable for a human being so I'm trying to perform some urgent repair. Sorry, I have things to do. See ya!" He turned away and went to the second floor. Chizuru proceeded to the basement.
…
She needed to make her violin sound grimy. It wasn't her first experiment with sound but she had to practise more on ghost harmonics. Alternative fiddlers use a number of techniques aiming to control the instrument's feedback. Just by lessening the pressure on the bow, Chizuru could produce whistling sounds. A horizontal movement of the bow or playing close to the violin's bridge both enriched the sound with whistling overtones. She needed every method she could master to create an insecure and distressing vibe.
Chizuru tried to copy different parts of their songs by ear. And then tried to find her way to fit in. They had decided to mix different fiddling strategies, but then she had to make tactical decisions and write her parts. It was absorbing work, so she totally forgot about time, parents and Okita.
…
Hijikata-san was busy organizing a concert at the R-club on the Bar Mile. The band had decided to introduce the new sound as soon as possible, so Hijikata-san was conducting negotiations. He was running around making endless calls, collecting backup equipment and gathering allies.
The pack was busy polishing the sound. Hijikata-san had established a dry law for the forthcoming week, but either way everyone had too much work to allow distractions. Though nothing could prevent them from their usual banter and jokes. The members often stayed in the guest room for a night, thus Okita's seclusion was being constantly rudely interrupted.
…
The days became pretty similar. Once finished refining the regular set-list, the pack usually ordered pizza and started some lazy improvisation while waiting for delivery. That evening's pizza-talk suddenly turned to their producer.
"Who's that mysterious Serizawa-san?" asked Chizuru.
"First of all, the man is not involved with any music-related issues except us. He owns several clubs and bars on the Bar Mile and in the Central district." Heisuke-kun explained to her.
"And since he's not a musician, he calls his orders the recommendations," added Okita. As always, he occupied the windowsill and was sitting there with a cup of tea.
"Don't you like pizza, Okita-san?" she asked, as he seemed to skip his meals.
"I don't like food in general," he smiled. "Not hungry, in fact."
"Leave him be, Chizuru-chan," said Heisuke-kun. "He's always like that. Well, about Serizawa-san… I bet his assistant Niimi Nishiki noticed some hype around us and persuaded him that we're a profitable deal."
"Actually, he can't influence our music or a general concept. That's our agreement," Harada-san continued. "He's helped us to rent this house, to buy some equipment, to pay our driver and our sound director, and to rent a studio. We all have a small salary too. But he makes money selling our tickets, merch and records. Gets most of the profit."
"Hijikata-san knows more about it," Shinpachi-san added. "He dreams about turning that trashy living room into a home studio to reduce expenses and rely on Serizawa-sensei less."
"Then why do you detest the producer that much?" asked Chizuru. Shinpachi-san seemed to be more sympathetic towards Serizawa than the rest of the pack. "He seems to be helpful."
"You'll see when you meet him in person," sighed Harada-san. "He's rather hard to handle. Anyway, it's not forever and we can go indie again when the contract expires."
"He treats us like a bunch of stray dogs," Heisuke-kun said gloomily.
"We shouldn't have fallen into his trap, but we needed a financial boost to arrange things," said Okita. "Better to have taken a loan, but no stupid bank will give a loan to buy musical equipment and rent this shithole."
"Looks like you enjoy your new home. Now I can sleep in peace." Shinpachi-san smiled.
"Oh, it's frigging adorable," snapped Okita.
"What about your obsession with inappropriate housing?" Saitou-san asked. "Now that you can see the insides."
"I get tons of necessary energy here," smiled Okita. "Pure hatred and shit. Exactly what we need."
Hijikata-san rushed into the kitchen.
"Latest news, guys! Line-up confirmed! Oni 404 are first, don't know these guys, we are second and Toyotomi are for dessert."
Okita rolled his eyes. "Toyotomi again, really?"
"Souji just does not like EBM." Saitou-san explained to Chizuru.
"Quit it, Souji, Sen-hime is so cool! She'll rip that place up." Heisuke-kun and Shinpachi-san were visibly glad. Chizuru knew neither of the bands and she stayed silent.
"I'm more interested about the Oni 404 guys!"
Thus they had obtained company for the show.
…
Chizuru felt enthusiastic and very motivated about the forthcoming event. One of the certain sources of her inspiration was the band itself. Chizuru considered the latest events to be some sort of sudden luck. She was a decent fiddler but she was nothing extraordinary. That's how she felt about herself at least. While the band was misjudged by common men, Chizuru was misjudged by herself. However, the change of circumstances was slowly rebuilding her views. She felt as though she had been thrown out a window. Out of the window of the stuffy Orchestra room into the vast space of uncertainty. The feeling was heady.
She had gotten to know the pack better and they were honestly awesome. Despite being ridiculously different, they shared the same goal and similar beliefs. At that point in time their union seemed secure. Chizuru started to bond with everyone in her own way.
Saitou-san was a dutiful and a meticulous person. His obsession with guitars was tremendous. He rarely raised his voice but it was always the emotionless voice of reason. When Hijikata-san with his managing skills was absent it was Saitou-san's field to remain responsible and collected. He was the only one of the gang who could calmly talk to Serizawa, or any worried policeman, or whatever displeased redneck happened in their way. Chizuru wondered where the edge of his equanimity lay.
Harada-san was the emotional center of the band. He was handsome, tall and charismatic - an explosive combination of features any woman would fall for. Harada-san made a perfect frontman. He was the formal leader, a charming facade for the band. Harada-san was a very reliable and trustworthy person. However, he also had a melancholic side about him. Chizuru occasionally noticed him spacing out in his thoughts.
His best friend forever, also known as Nagakura Shinpachi, had a facade of a very cheerful and ever-joking person. He tended to take risks and to seek out adventures with an open heart. Shinpachi-san was not devoid of serious issues either. Chizuru could always refer to him for musical advice as he knew blues, classic rock, and post rock perfectly. He also was a skillful drummer with a perfect sense of rhythm. Chizuru was ashamed of herself when she learned that Shinpachi-san had a higher education.
Heisuke-kun was a jokester and a troublemaker although he was actually a kind guy. His constant bickering with Shinpachi-san and Okita was a source of fun for everyone. Heisuke-kun had tons of different friends. Although easygoing he was not windy or superficial. He avoided talking about his family and Chizuru could understand him perfectly since she had her own family issues. He was easy to get along with and she was grateful for his support.
Hijikata-san was an outstanding person due to his firm beliefs. He had an unshakeable opinion about everything and sometimes that trait made him unbearable. Chizuru admired his self-confidence and his ability to keep the band in one piece. Hijikata-san was rather well-known in the city as a political activist and a poet. He was the informal leader of the band, responsible for the whole idea. Unlike many others, he could make his ideas work. When he let himself to loosen up a little Chizuru could see the softer side of his personality. She suspected that Hijikata-san had made his way through a lot of of hesitation and instability to gain that sort of self-confidence. Hijikata-san also seemed to have some intricate long-time relationship with Okita. Chizuru was in total confusion about the reasons behind their senseless feud.
Not surprisingly, the most enigmatic person of the pack for her was Okita. Chizuru gave up on her first easy impression and understood that despite being able to describe lots of things about him, she didn't know his actual thoughts. He often showed up with bruises or other exotic marks of his wandering. He always occupied corners and windowsills to mock whatever was occurring around him. He could cut in with some odd comment to make everyone instantly silent. He had a habit of spending the night at random places. He seemed self-sufficient. He was fond of driving and high speeds. He rarely missed a chance to tease her or any of the guys. Only Saitou-san got some indulgence. He harbored a bottomless amount of bitter emotions of uncertain source that she could hear in his music. He detested junk-food. He loved to explore abandoned buildings and underground hangouts. He was acquainted with strange people. He knew gypsies from the Gypsy Quarter, girls from the Red Mile, junkies and thugs from all over the Slums, policemen and sellers from the Market. He had rapid mood swings. Scary at one moment and childish at another, what was the real Okita? She assumed that all of that was the real Okita, because he never cared to restrain or organize himself for others' sake. Furthermore, he was obviously devoted to his keyboardsmanship and the pack.
Chizuru didn't notice the particular moment when she started to pay increasing attention to him. But somehow her wandering sight often stumbled upon him. Always living within a system of restrictions, she had a weakness for strange and wild people. She was perfectly aware of it, and was ready to fall from this new cliff. He always met her eyes with that unreadable glare of vibrant green and a lopsided smile. Well, maybe Saitou-san could read his glances, but being a good friend he kept silent.
…
Author's outro: Hope you enjoyed it. I like writing the story a lot. It raises numbers of interesting questions for me. From musical techniques and mechanics to relationship issues. I doubt myself a lot but the pleasure of writing this story is still higher than my hesitations.
Thanks for your nice reviews!