Song of the Heart: Redux

Author's Notes: Welcome back to "Song of the Heart: Redux". As stated before, I would like to say thanks to the author of the original story, Aya1229, for allowing me to adopt this story and continue from where she left off with it. This chapter is another big exposition chapter, further setting the stage for when we actually get into Symphogear G's actual storyline. Also as stated last chapter, this story is for those who have seen Senki Zesshou Symphogear. Now, let's get started.

Disclaimer: I do not own Senki Zesshou Symphogear or Senki Zesshou Symphogear G. It is owned by those who own it.

Acknowledgements: Once more, I would like to thank the author of the original "Song of the Heart", Aya1229, for her support in adopting this idea and making it my own. I would also like to thank a couple of friends of mine outside of (they know who they are) for acting as sounding boards when I have ideas for this that may seem a bit on the wild side.

'Insert Thought Here'=character thoughts

Flashback is in italics

Chapter 1: Return of a Heroine and a Warning

2 Years after Kadingir Incident-4 hours to Showtime

Ogawa Shinji was never the type of person to hide things from others, especially not from his favorite client Kazanari Tsubasa. In fact, as he looked out over the stage being assembled for Tsubasa's concert that night, he wondered why he was being so hesitant about this. He was worried though. He had a new client, one who had specifically asked for him, and had specifically met with him directly. Only he knew her true identity: Tachibana Hibiki, supposedly dead after destroying the falling moon. And despite his telling her that all of her friends miss her dearly, she had asked him to keep her identity a complete secret.

"I hope she knows what she's doing," Shinji sighed, before heading out to oversee final preparations for that night's duet concert between Tsubasa and the rising star from the west, Maria Cadenzavna Eve. And as he did, he thought back to that day six months prior, when Hibiki had made her presence known.

6 months earlier

It was a dreary, rainy day in Tokyo. Shinji was sick at home that day, as he had spent the night before in the rain overseeing Tsubasa's outdoors recital. While that would normally not be a big deal, he had lent her his only umbrella, leaving him without his own. Unfortunately for him, by the time he had gotten back inside he had gotten soaked, his damp clothes doing him no good as they chilled his skin. There was no doubt that he was fighting a head cold.

So Shinji found himself stuck in bed wrapped in his covers, a steaming hot cup of partially-eaten instant noodles sitting on his nightstand next to him alongside a box of tissues.

"I need to thank Tsubasa for bringing these by and heating these up for me in the Microwave before she had to go back to Lydian," Shinji said, sniffling into a tissue before reaching over and grabbing the cup noodles. Just as he was about to continue eating the precious soup however, his cell phone rang, causing him to reach over and hit the talk button almost instinctively, his Bluetooth headset springing to life immediately.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Ogawa," the secretary at the music company he worked as a manager for spoke. "I know that you aren't feeling well today, and I apologize for interrupting your rest. However, I have a new client here. She specifically requested you to be her manager, which is fine. But when she asked to meet with you and I told her that you were at home on a sick day, she said that she'd come to see you. I was about to tell her your address, but she cut me off, stating that she already knew you and where you lived..."

Shinji stopped her there, his eyes raised in concern. There weren't many people that knew him who were even possibly looking into joining the music industry, not after that day under the destroyed Kadingir.

"W-wait, hold on. Did she at least leave a name?"

At this, the secretary paused, and there was the sound of papers being shuffled in the background. After what seemed like an eternity to Shinji, his secretary finally spoke up.

"Oh yes," she said, causing the tension in the air to melt. "Although she requested that the company not use her real name, it was a Tachibana Hibiki."

At this, Shinji froze. As far as anyone in Section Two knew, Hibiki had died when the three Symphogear users destroyed the falling chunk of the moon. After a few minutes, he finally found his voice.

"Alright…I'll take her," he said, almost unable to believe what he was hearing. Then the secretary spoke.

"She said that she thought you would say that. She's on her way to see you now, Shinji," the secretary stated. "Hopefully you feel better soon; Kazanari-san's new single comes out later this month."

"Thanks; I'll do my best," Shinji said, hitting the –End Call- button on his phone and setting it back down on his nightstand, before a knock on the door got his attention. Dragging himself out of bed and wrapping himself in his blankets, he walked from his bedroom to his front door and opened it. When he saw no one there, he stepped further out into the hallway before looking to his right, towards where the elevators would be. Just then, coming from the opposite direction, a gentle voice spoke up.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, Ogawa-san?"

Shinji's eyes widened at the familiar voice, before turning around and seeing an individual he never thought he would see again. Leaning against the wall, eyes closed and a set of orange and black headphones hanging around her neck was Tachibana Hibiki.

Now age 17, she was taller than he remembered and more mature looking. She had grown her hair out and it was now a fiery red, pulled back into a simple ponytail that was hanging over her shoulder. While her skin was a bit dirty and her clothes a bit damp from the rain, she now wore an orange blouse with a red blazer over it, with her old Lydian Academy skirt barely covering her thighs as an old and worn pair of orange and black running shoes adorned her feet.

Face shadowed by a baseball cap, she stepped away from the wall she leaned on, revealing a final change: a completed relic of Gungnir hanging from her neck as a necklace, similar to Ame no Habakiri for Tsubasa or Ichival for Chris. This was a surprise; the last time Shinji had seen her, Hibiki only had Gungnir's fragments inside of her body, slowly merging with her being.

"Hibiki! Where have you been," Shinji spoke, the first of a million different questions racing through his mind. At this, Hibiki just chuckled, almost as if she had been expecting that.

"What, no "Hi, Hibiki?" Ogawa-san, I'm surprised at you," she spoke, before a smile came onto her face. "To answer your question though, I've been training and following my heart, just as Kanade would have told me to before she died." She then looked at Shinji with a sheepish smile on her face, before suddenly becoming more serious. "Um…Can I come in? There are things that I want to discuss with you."

Shinji blinked, before nodding and moving aside to allow her inside.

"Ah…yes, please do come in," he said, holding the door open for the young woman, who walked in and sat down on the nearer couch, slightly fidgeting briefly as Shinji sat down on the other couch across from her, a coffee table between them. Hibiki then took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before looking Shinji in the eye as she spoke.

"Ogawa-san, I can only ask you so much and tell you so much today. But before we begin, I need you to promise me something," she spoke, a bit of angst coming into her voice. Shinji raised an eyebrow at this, before speaking in kind.

"And that would be?"

Hibiki smiled a bit sadly, before gathering her resolve and speaking in no uncertain terms.

"Don't tell the others that I'm around."

Shinji was stunned at this. It was the complete opposite of what he had expected from the girl in front of him. After taking a few minutes of silence to gather himself, he finally spoke.

"Hibiki, what do you mean? Why shouldn't I tell them that you're alive? Everyone has been missing you! They thought you were…"

"Dead, right?" The 17 year old, a saddened look on her face, said. "Ogawa-san, after we destroyed the moon, I spoke with Kanade's spirit while I was unconscious. She told me that something's going to happen and that if I don't do something then…" she trailed off, a far-off look in her eyes.

"Then what, Hibiki? Miku was so devastated that she could barely speak for a month afterwards. Why didn't you let any of us know?" Hibiki then spoke quietly.

"I didn't want to be found, Ogawa-san. Do you know what Kanade told me that day?"

Shinji frowned at this, before shaking his head and allowing Hibiki to speak up. She took a deep breath, before speaking with conviction in her voice.

"Ogawa-san, she asked me what my heart told me, and that it had never led me wrong before. At that time, my answer was that I had to do something, and that I had to protect everyone. Even if it meant that I had to do so by myself…I won't let anyone get hurt any more. I still feel that way, and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anyone got hurt. So please, Ogawa-san. Please don't tell anyone that I'm around."

At this, Shinji made an understanding face, before speaking slowly. After two years, it appears as though Hibiki hadn't really changed that much. After a moment, he spoke up.

"Well, what is it that you're trying to protect us from, Hibiki?"

The now-redhead sighed, before shaking her head at this question.

"Unfortunately, I can't answer that. You'll see when it happens though," Hibiki said with a sense of finality. Before Shinji could even say anything further, she changed the subject. "On to other things, like what else was on my paperwork I gave the secretary," the now smiling girl said, pulling out a mask in the form of a cloud and holding it to her face. "My stage name will be Sora…"

At that point, Shinji sneezed, causing Hibiki to pause and laugh sheepishly before smiling.

"My my, I guess that will have to wait. Let's not talk about work while you're still sick, okay Ogawa-san?"

With those words, Hibiki got up and helped Shinji get back to his own bed before letting him rest.

Present Day, 2 years after Kadingir Incident

Thinking back to that day brought a smile to Shinji's face. He woke up the next day feeling 100% better than he had the day Hibiki returned. In fact, he's felt really good ever since.

"Whatever she put into my food that day did the trick," Shinji mused, as he watched the sound technicians begin their initial sound tests. He even hired her as his house-sitter after he recovered. 'Okay, more like she offered me that in exchange for my becoming her manager,' he thought, his face a mask of passive observance. Still, Shinji was worried about the girl. 'Hibiki never felt as though she had to take everything onto her own shoulders before. Is whatever it was she saw so bad that she thinks Chris, Tsubasa, and everyone else will suffer if they're involved?'

He was then shaken from his thoughts by the sight of the very girl he'd been musing about walking into the stadium, wearing a fresh orange hoodie with its hood up along with a pair of black jeans and her usual cloud mask. It didn't take long for "Sora" to pick him out of the crowd, and she came walking over to join him.

"I'm surprised that you're here already, "Sora". What brings you here so early?" Shinji said, looking at his latest musical protégé with curiosity on his face. She looked up at him, as if broken from her musings.

"Don't worry, Ogawa-san. I'm only here to wish Tsubasa-san luck for tonight's performance," she whispered, a cheerful tone entering her voice. And while her words seemed to take some of Shinji's edge off, the entry of one of the stars of the upcoming performance that night approached, fresh out of the makeup room.

"Hmm? Who is this, Ogawa-san?" Tsubasa Kazanari said, her face inquisitive as she spoke with the calmness that years of training had drilled into her. At this, Hibiki wavered a bit before smiling and speaking in her stage voice.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Kazanari-san. I'm one of Ogawa-san's newest clients. I thought you'd have heard of me by now from him, but my name is Sora," she said, a blush coming onto her face under her mask.

"Oh yes, that's right. I remember him telling me about you, how you have so much vocal talent. I'm surprised that you're here this early before the show. What brings you here this early?" the blue-haired heroine asked. "After all, there's still a long time before the show starts."

"Oh, well…I'm here to see the show tonight. I've always been a fan of your music, as well as your partner Amou Kanade's. You're both such an inspiration to me and my music," Hibiki said, keeping her voice in stage voice as much as possible while still blushing. While at first Shinji thought that Tsubasa would get upset over the mention of Kanade's name, her reaction laid his fears to rest as she smiled and bowed.

"It is a great honor to be a fellow singer's inspiration, and I'm sure that Kanade would have felt the same. I really hope that you enjoy the show tonight, and that we can perform on the same stage in the future sometime," Tsubasa said, before reaching out and shaking Hibiki's hand, which was returned in kind. "Good luck and I hope that you enjoy the concert tonight, Sora-san." With that, she walked off, leaving Shinji and Hibiki backstage by themselves.

Hibiki's next words, however, would send shivers down his spine. Once Tsubasa had left the area, she spoke in a quiet tone of voice:

"It begins tonight, so be on your guard Ogawa-san. And once it does, you will have your own role to play."

End Chapter 1

Author's Postscript: That was a lengthy one. We're about to get into the action of the season itself, so it should crank up from here. Hopefully you enjoyed, and leave a review! Constructive criticism is welcome! See you next time!-ZBD15