Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia
For a long moment, Alfred didn't speak nor moved.
'Was Arthur informed of this?' He thought as his mind became clouded with swirling circles.
"Ivan, what a nice surprise." He began, initiating a conversation.
Ivan Braginsky was a tall and sturdy fella who too shared a passion for music as Alfred. Proclaiming that he was to be the trumpet player's rival, both would find numerous ways to compete against one another. Despite his rather threatening appearance, Ivan genuinely cared for others...
…Or so he claimed.
The Russian man nodded his head, tilting a little to the side to face Kiku and Gilbert. "Yao's little brother, how do you do?"
"Fine, thank you," Kiku replied indifferently.
Lifting a finger, Ivan then pointed toward him in a mocking way. "Then I'm guessing you've heard about your replacement, da?"
"Yes, I'm quite aware."
"Replacement? What's this all about, Kiku?" Gilbert protested, intruding between their exchanges.
"My older brother, Yao Wang is the Conductor of Star Fest. Apparently, he still holds a grudge on me since I decided to leave his group about five months ago." Kiku clarified before heaving a sigh. "That brother of mine. He really doesn't know when to give up."
"By the way, our newcomer is a transfer student just like you, Gilbert." Ivan continued, directing his attention to the albino. "She hails from Vietnam."
"You serious? Awesome! I wanna meet her!" Gilbert chanted, getting excited. "I wanna meet her!"
"Gilbert, calm down!" Kiku cried, restraining his jittery friend. "You're making a scene!"
"As for you, Alfred," Ivan pressed on, averting back to the bespectacled young man. "You are walking on thin ice, da." He enlightened, lightly chuckling underneath his long tan scarf.
Alfred let out a hearty laugh, placing his hands on his hips as he did so. "How can you be so sure?"
"Oh, just a hunch," Ivan said simply, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black vest.
"Big brother! It's time to go!"
The four men stopped to find a beautiful platinum haired woman running toward them. She was wearing a dress strikingly similar to Michelle. Her big ivory ribbon on her head oscillated prior to her advancement. She appeared to be struggling with her euphonium case.
"Be right there, Natalya," Ivan called over with a slight mix of fear and delight in his tone.
Taking his tuba case from the floor, Ivan curved a snarky smile. "I must go now. Break a leg, da." And then left, leaving the three best friends in a daze.
Finally, Kiku broke the silence. "What do you suppose we do?"
"Damn it all! Why did they have to show up, of all days?" Gilbert whined, stomping his right foot repeatedly against the floor.
Kiku sighed, massaging his forehead in exasperation. "What do you think, Alfred?"
Alfred shrugged, much to Kiku's disappointment. With one arm, he hoisted his trumpet case over his back, his eyes brimming with determination. "I say we shouldn't give in to their intimidation and do what we do best," He assured with head held high.
Kiku furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "And that is?"
Alfred's smile widened. "Being badass."
"That's a lot of people…" A young man whistled as he examined the sea of guests in the auditorium. He noted how they were all tightly packed together, which reminded him of sardines.
"Don't fret, Lovino," Yao assured the younger man, ruffling his short mocha hair. "Just focus and everything will be alright, aru."
"I-I didn't say I was scared! Geez!" Lovino barked, blushing furiously.
"True, aru. But you know, it's alright to be scared." Yao lectured to him. "By the way, have you seen her?"
"You mean the newcomer? She hasn't arrived yet." Lovino answered as he began fiddling with the mouthpiece of his saxophone.
"What the fortune cookie? She has to be here!" Yao howled hysterically before uttering a curse. He gripped his Conductor stick, muttering lowly, "Just when I had the courage to boast right in front of Kirkland."
Patting Lovino's head one last time, the older man then walked toward the end of the hall where he faced the rest of his fellow members. Fixing two fingers against his lips, Yao whistled loudly, causing them all to freeze in place.
"Everyone, listen to me! We came here to perform for one purpose and one purpose only and that is to defeat World Gig! Do whatever it takes tonight to blow them out of the water!" He proclaimed, earning cheers and shouts of encouragement.
"Hold up!" A feminine voice cried out amongst the crowd. "What about⎯"
"I'm afraid we must start without her, Xiao Mei," Yao said apologetically, interrupting her mid sentence. Raising his Conductor stick in the air, he marched away. "Come on now, the stage awaits!"
Xiao Mei puffed her cheeks.
Who does he think he is? Shaking her head, her gaze lingered worriedly at the entrance. "Please hurry…"
An unknown force hit Alfred on the shoulder. Slightly twirling his head, Alfred's smile brightened and proceeded to bump fists with the familiar figure.
"Sup, Mathias?"
"You gonna go and see Star Fest's performance?" Mathias wondered curiously.
"Pass." Alfred declined, waving a hand. He gestured to his trumpet case, "Gotta clean up this bad boy before our gig."
"I hear ya." Mathias nodded slowly. "Well, gotta run!"
Once Alfred was alone in the halls, he released a sigh that he's been holding for awhile. Backing up a few steps, his back touched the tangerine-tinted walls. He exhaled another exhausted breath.
"When will this bloodbath end?" He muttered to no one, stroking the fabric of his trumpet case affectionately.
The front doors flung open, its erupting sound echoing through the halls.
Bemused, Alfred hastily arose from the ground.
The color of pure white blurred his vision. Blinking, he turned the other way.
There it was again.
Pure white.
What the hell's going on?
Squinting his eyes, he got his answer.
Alfred's eyes broadened, his mouth gaping a little open.
And at that very moment, time stood still. Well, for Alfred, anyway.
Here she was, in all her glory, the woman in the wedding dress. This time, she wasn't wearing her veil in which concealed her attractive face from others. She appeared to be somewhat in a hurry, as she was holding onto a small thick case as if her life depended on it.
Without thinking, Alfred chased her. What he didn't realize was that his trumpet case was next to him, causing the poor young man to lose his footing and falling face-first onto the carpet.
"I lost her once. I'm not gonna lose her again!" He told himself, getting back up again. With the turn of his heel, he pursued her once more.
The fact that she was literally here in the concert hall indicated that this was not a dream. This was real and this was happening. Of all the females in the world, Alfred chose this one to pursue, the one clad in a wedding dress.
It's weird, this funny feeling that's building up in his stomach.
What did they call it? Butterfly attack?
Too consumed with his thoughts, Alfred didn't realize that he was following her backstage.
It wasn't until the woman stopped midway that he, too stopped as well and began to take notice of his surroundings. The sound of various instruments harmonizing vibrated throughout the dark room. A heap of wires and cable are found in the far corners of the walls, making sure to give way for the performers to easily proceed through.
Even so, he didn't care.
All that mattered was the woman in front of him.
A drop of sweat trailed from Alfred's forehead and down to his chin. Ignoring his own heavy breathing, his eyes trailed off toward the beautiful woman standing mere inches away before the closed red curtains. A few more steps and she could have already been onstage, revealing her presence to the world.
After what seemed to be an eternity, the woman set her instrument case down beside her. Swiftly, she pulled her hair in a rotating motion to form a ponytail. She then bend down and opened the case, revealing a violin. Taking the violin in her grasp, she closed the case with the hilt of her right foot. Slowly but surely, the woman leisurely walked a few steps onward, brushing the red curtains aside as she began to play. Her abrupt time of playing prompted the spectators in the auditorium to turn and stare, baffled by her sudden appearance.
Upon the sight of the woman, Yao grinned, lowering his Conductor stick to inform his orchestra band to reduce the music. Spinning around to face the audience, Yao found Arthur who sat in one of the first two rows. He couldn't help but internally laugh when he noticed that the gentleman was slightly squirming in his seat.
He stretched an arm out, gesturing to the new addition to his group.
"Ladies and gentlemen. I present to you: Nguyen, Lien Kim."
The way that her dominant hand viciously pitched her stick onto the strings of her instrument. How her ponytail gracefully swayed from side to side, her hips rocking back and forth to the beat of the music. And her amber eyes were like electric, exhilarating.
She was out of control.
In a few demonic swings, she had already captivated the audience of her performance.
Alfred swallowed thickly, loosening his cornflower tie in an effort to breathe properly.
She was a beauty and a beast. And it was hauntingly beautiful, just like her name.
Just looking at her evoked Alfred to take a picture of her.
Unconsciously, he anxiously tapped his fingers on his waistline. It wasn't until he realized that he didn't have his camera.
Focusing his view back on Lien, he sighed.
It will have to wait.
Author's Note:
Greetings! Sorry for the long wait but I was able to finally publish the third installment of this beautiful fan fiction! After two chapters, we're finally introduced to the newcomer of Star Fest. And long and behold, it's our girl, Lien herself! For Lien's name, I couldn't properly find an official name for her so I ended up just mixing up all the names I found of her from the internet and tada, it's Lien Kim Nguyen. For Lien's instrument, it took awhile for me to find an appropriate one for her. I ultimately decided to use the violin because my sister happened to be a violin player as well. You could also say that I sort of got my inspiration from one of you reviewers and from one of my favorite anime, Shigatsu Wa Kimi No Uso (Kaori).
We also have Natalya, Lovino and Xiao Mei as new additions to our cast!
Now that we got a load of Liên's performance, how does World Gig react?
Stay tuned!
If any one of you would like a character to appear, feel free to post and I'll do my best to find a way to insert them in!
Again, your opinions are very much appreciated!
UPDATE: Thank you for a fellow reviewer, madison camelia for informing me about Lien's name. I changed it right away!