Mass x Acceleration
By Dixxy Mouri
Chapter Seventeen: Debut
Please read the author's notes at the end of this chapter – there's something I'd like to share with you all and it's rather important. Thank you.
-Dixxy
EDIT: Made some boo-boos that needed fixing. D'oh!
It was the day of Turnover's big debut performance, and Nami had hated leaving Sanji.
Normally, Sanji cooked most of their meals – not out of laziness on Nami's part, simply because he enjoyed cooking and was the better of the two. But this morning she had made them scrambled eggs (as well as dinner the previous night) because she wasn't entirely sure the cook had slept the night before. Sanji was a bit of a twitchy mess and was nearly hyperventilating during the morning meal.
Thankfully Haralson had given Sanji the day off, probably sensing that his part timer was nervous about the performance and was going to need some time to sort thing out. It was also probably helpful considering Sanji was on voice rest and, if he was speaking at all, wasn't saying much. Nami wished she could tell him to lie down and take a nap, but between their sleep problems and how wound up Sanji was, she didn't think that would work.
So she came up with another plan. She led Sanji (now paranoid that he was suddenly going to lose his voice right before the show started – this was actually an improvement over being paranoid he was going to forget to put on pants) to the loveseat, sat him down, and plopped down their book of Imaki Imahara poems. Sanji looked at her with huge, worried eyes and Nami put her hands on his shoulders.
"Sanji-kun, I need you to calm down and relax. Listen to me, okay? I want you to take a deep breath and start reading," said Nami. Sanji nodded, swallowing. "Front cover to back cover. Just focus on the poems, relax, and don't stop reading until you finish the whole collection. I'll call our Den Den Mushi around two just to make sure you don't get too lost in the book and you have time to get ready and down to the Cider Mug, okay?"
Sanji nodded, albeit a bit quicker than he usually would have. Nami sighed – she wished she could stay, but she was already running late. She settled for giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I won't see you before you need to head to the Cider Mug, but I'll be in the audience cheering you on, okay?" She gave him a hug, which after a moment's hesitation he returned. "You're going to do great. I know it."
"Thanks, Nami-san," he said. He opened the book in his lap. "Have a good day."
Nami smiled as she started to head for the door. "You too – and no panic attacks!"
Today, Nami was only able to take a half-hour lunch – otherwise she would have stopped back at their apartment to check on Sanji to make sure he wasn't holed up somewhere in the fetal position. Worse, she hadn't packed a lunch that morning, and needed to find a quick meal – the marketplace was only a block away from town hall, and there was a takoyaki vendor close to the edge.
Nami moved as quickly as she could – she was hungry, and even though he was halfway across the island Sanji's nerves were starting to rub off on her. She took a deep breath and tried to focus. Calm down, go get takoyaki, get back to work. Calm down, go get takoyaki, get back to work. Calm down, go get takoya-
CRASH!
"Hey, watch we're you're going!"
Nami had been too focused on calming down and unceremoniously crashed into someone, knocking them both to the ground. "I'm sorry, I've got my mind on some other things," she said, getting to her feet and brushing herself off – she had skinned her knee and would have to wait until she got back to town hall to take care of it. She extended her hand to the other person. "Do you need help getting up?"
The other person was a brunette with long, thick, wavy hair and sharp green eyes. She was wearing a purple dress with a short skirt (and although Nami didn't mean to look, lacy pink underwear). She was wearing purple heels, a gold-colored ball chain necklace, and a matching bracelet. She extended her hand for Nami to take it. "Thanks," she said dryly as she struggled to her feet.
"I'm really sorry – my roommate's a little stressed out this morning and I think he's starting to rub off on me," Nami said, trying to lighten the situation. The other woman shrugged and started dusting herself off as well. Although Nami didn't see any signs that the other woman was injured, she couldn't be sure. She was wearing heels, after all, and those could cause some nasty sprains. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine – I've got other things on my mind today, too," she said. She looked Nami up and down and crossed her arms, a coldly curious look on her face. "I don't think I know you – are you one of the recent newcomers?" Nami nodded. "Don't get a lot of folks like us on the island anymore. How long have you been on Shanks' little hideaway?"
"I've only been here since February," said Nami. She held out her hand. "My name is Nami."
The other woman gave her a smug grin. "Deltana."
Nami's eyes widened. So this is the woman Sanji's replacing. She could understand why Braeburn, Jimmy, and Darryl had originally gone with her. Deltana was pretty, sure, but she carried herself with a lot of confidence that probably translated really well on stage. Still, as they stood their shaking hands, Nami couldn't help but notice the smell of bourbon on the other woman's breath. Maybe Sanji's stress rubbing off on her wasn't the culprit behind this encounter after all.
"So you've heard of me," said Deltana. She folded her arms and gave her a condescending look. "So, you're the mayor's new errand girl. Cute. Going on a coffee run, are we? You're going to want to be more careful on the way back – you probably don't want to get a coffee stain on that shirt you borrowed from your grandmother."
Nami forced a smile back. She's kind of a bitch. "I'm on my lunch break, actually."
"Don't look at me like that – I know you're close with the other newcomer, and I know he's the one Braeburn and his little band of idiots used to replace me. Didn't know the two of you were living together, though, that's mighty interesting," said Deltana, giving her a condescending nod. "Doesn't matter – once I'm allowed to start performing again I'll crush them all."
Nami could feel her blood starting to boil. "We'll see about that – you probably haven't heard Sanji-kun's voice yet, and he's really good, so shut up before you decide who's going to crush who!" she shot back. Deltana's eyebrows raised at Nami's comeback, and for a moment she felt herself back off. She'd probably gone too far, but this other woman had made her so mad so quickly. "Look. I know you're probably mad you're out of the band, but look on the bright side – if Haralson is letting you perform again, you've probably got the stage all to yourself. It's a win-win for everyone, really. Just let them do their thing and I'm sure they'll let you do yours."
"Hmm," she said. "Whatever. Just watch where you're going next time, okay?" Deltana gave Nami a pat on the head and blew a kiss as she walked away, leaving Nami feeling more than a little miffed with the encounter. But when her stomach started to rumble a little bit, she remembered that she didn't have time for that and needed to get lunch before she was late getting back to work.
Night had fallen over Apple Island, and Turnover was set to take the stage in thirty minutes.
The backstage area, or at least what serviced as one, was only about the size of the break room and just big enough for the four of them to move around comfortably. They'd gotten there about two hours ago for last minute preparation, including giving Sanji his first formal stage makeup lessons with the giant mirror hanging on the wall.
Jimmy and Darren were checking the instruments for weak strings and skins, and Sanji was looking out at the floor of the Cider Mug in slight horror. It was dimly lit – not as dim as it would be once they started to perform, but it was an eerie sea of heads and eyes and wordless sounding murmurs that was making his skin crawl. Worse, he didn't see Nami anywhere, but there was still plenty of time before they were supposed to start and plenty of open seats.
Sanji knew it was just the townspeople making conversation amongst themselves before the show started and most of it was probably just small talk about how their days had gone – at least, that's what he hoped – but he wondered how many were talking about him. It would have made sense, after all – he was the big change with the band and the deciding factor over whether or not Turnover was going to be a success.
If this had been more than a year earlier and they were Marines or something, this would have been easy – take 'em out, run away, and live to pirate another day. No, he had to entertain these people without the use of food. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all – for crying out loud the ones who "discovered" him for Braeburn was a pair of toddlers! Toddlers!
Sanji felt Braeburn's hands on his shoulders. "You okay?" he asked.
"I think my stomach ran off for parts unknown," he replied.
Braeburn chuckled. "A little bit of nerves is okay. Just do it like we did back at my place and don't worry about the audience; they are the only difference between our practice studio and here. That's it." He spun Sanji around, hugged him, and gave him a pat on the back. "You're going to do awesome."
"You sure?"
"Positive. Think we have time for one last warm up before Darryl does a sound check?"
Sanji nodded. "Yeah. Every little bit helps, right?"
"And it might get you calmed down a bit," said Braeburn. He encouraged Sanji with a few waves of his hand to focus on his breathing. "We'll pick something nice and easy, and I want you to focus as hard as you can on that – every little detail of the exercise. Okay?" Sanji nodded, and they started on the warm up.
Nami arrived at the Cider Mug alone, but excited. She'd rushed home from town hall to get cleaned up and changed, trying to find the right outfit to wear. She settled on a white sundress with a flared skirt, then added a little color with a blue and orange silk scarf around her neck and orange strappy heels. After looking over her wigs, and then looking at herself in the mirror, she decided to go without – her hair was almost as long as it had been when she was taken away from the other Straw Hats, and the scarf covered the scar on the back of her neck.
It was a big night for her roommate, but this might be a big night for her, too. Nami had decided that tonight she was going to say something to Sanji and admit her feelings had started to change. After the performance she was supposed to meet him and the other members of the band by the hostess stand. Once the two of them were alone, she was going to do it.
Now, here she was. She just needed to find a seat. She spied a small, empty table near the front and quickly shuffled towards it before anyone else could take it. She took her seat victoriously and looked around to see if she could spot anyone she knew. Ria, she knew, couldn't make it – she wasn't able to get a baby-sitter and had to watch the kids. Mac had started to show signs of not feeling well towards the end of the day and had gone home early. She saw Gala in the very back, having a few drinks with some of the other people in town.
Nami then saw something that surprised her – Deltana.
Careful not to let the other woman know she was being watched, Nami opened her menu but kept an eye on the other woman. She must have been there to check out her competition, but she couldn't help but wonder if she was going to try and heckle Sanji and the rest of Turnover off stage. Nami closed her eyes and hoped that wouldn't be the case – that was the last thing her friend needed.
One of the waiters came over and asked her what she wanted – Nami ordered a virgin strawberry daiquiri ("So . . . strawberries and ice in a blender?" "If you please.") and hoped that the former lead singer of Core didn't try to bring trouble for Turnover. She tried to keep an eye on her, but when the lights over the audience went out she couldn't see the other woman anymore.
Once the band was on stage, there was a brief round of applause, some wolf-whistling near the kitchen, and the lights were dimmed – except for those on stage, those were impossibly bright. Everyone could see them. Sanji stood in front of the microphone, unsure of what to do – Darryl hadn't started playing any opening notes, so what was he-
Braeburn had slid next to him and taken the microphone from the stand. "Gooooood evening ladies and gentlemen!" he bellowed, eliciting more excitement from the small crowd. Sanji stepped away, a little relieved that Braeburn had the reigns for the moment. "Thank you so much for coming out for us tonight, we love you all –"
No we don't, I don't even know half of these people!
"- as we debut our brand new band, Turnover!" More applause and hooting from the crowd. "Let me introduce you really quickly to our lineup. Now of course the handsome bastard on bass tonight is me, and you can call me Marcus Braeburn." Mild laughter from the crowd at the mediocre joke. Braeburn turned his body to gesture to the drum kit. "On drums we have the over talented and unappreciated Jimmy Grieves!" Jimmy performed a short, show-offish fill that was well received. "On guitar we have Darryl Gravenstein." The crowd got a little louder as Darryl played a progression. "And last but certainly not least let's give a warm welcome to our new lead vocalist, Sanji!"
Sanji forced a smile as the crowd got even louder than before. That's all for me? He waved a little before Braeburn put the microphone in his hand, announced their first song, and went to pick up his bass. Little by little the crowd quieted down, and Darryl started to play the opening notes of their first song.
Sanji was terrified, and then he saw a familiar face smiling at him from the crowd.
It was Nami. She gave him a thumbs up and mouthed at him to break a leg.
And suddenly he wasn't scared anymore.
"Whenever it rains/
And I look in your eyes/
I see the starlight/
It lights up the skies/
Wherever I go/
And whatever I'll be/
You're like my lighthouse/
You're guiding me"
Braeburn and Jimmy came in on background vocals as the chorus began.
"I want to see what the world has waiting for us/
Can't you see?/
If we don't give up it'll all come right down/
To you and me/
But for now/
Let's not stop/
Chasing dreams"
As they sang the chorus line, Sanji couldn't take his eyes off Nami. She was smiling and quietly clapping for him, and in that instant they were the only ones in that restaurant. This was a song from him to her, and he realized that's why he'd picked it. Of course he was going to pick a song for Nami – what other kind of song could he pick? Even the other song choices . . . it was all her.
"If we start at the sun/
Slow it down by the sea/
We can go where we want/
Straight on to paradise/
You're never alone/
I'll take your hand/
And we'll get there someday/
Our promised land"
Maybe there could be something there for the two of them after all . . .
"I want to see what the world has waiting for us/
Can't you see?/
If we don't give up it'll all come right down/
To you and me/
But for now/
Let's not stop/
Chasing dreams"
Sanji had barely noticed that they'd come to the end of the song as the last note left his lips and the final strum of Darryl's guitar faded away. He held his breath for a moment, and was pleasantly surprised when the room erupted into cheers and applause. His eyes brightened and his mouth widened into a grin as he bowed.
Nami looked like maybe she was the happiest of them all.
Maybe tonight I should talk to her and see if maybe . . . maybe . . .
The applaused had died down, and Sanji realized he needed to say something. "Thank you, thank you!" he said into the microphone. He looked briefly back at Braeburn, who gave him a thumbs up. Sanji turned back to the audience, beaming. "For our next song, how about something everyone can get up and dance to?"
No one in the audience disagreed with the suggestion.
All right, Sanji-kun! Nami was happy and relieved all at the same time. Sanji had done it. As they headed into the second song (which was indeed something with a faster pace and Nami noticed a lot of people around her were getting up to dance), she continued to watch Sanji. She could tell during their first song he was a little bit nervous, but having the positive reaction to it had set him at ease and he was much more comfortable now.
Nami propped her chin on her elbow and grinned. It was turning out to be a really good night. Sanji was doing great on stage, the others in the band looked like they were having a blast, and best of all, Deltana was apparently behaving herself because not an unkind peep could be heard from the audience.
Everything was going to be just fine.
Once the last song in their set was completed, the band took a bow and was met by more enthusiasm from the audience as the lights came back on. People began to disperse or order more drinks as Paula appeared from seemingly nowhere to replace the band with a vinyl record player. She gave Sanji and a wink and a nod as the members of Turnover headed backstage.
"That was amazing!" said Jimmy, hooting as he hugged Sanji from the side. Darryl came in from the other side, absolutely glowing and patting him on the back. "That was great! You did a really good job out there! We have a band and our lead vocalist isn't an awful, horrible person – and they can sing, too!"
Braeburn was beaming. "I'm so proud of you right now, Sanji. That was-"
"Well, well, well, I wasn't sure at first but it is you after all, Speedy."
For a moment, everything around Sanji started to slow down. I know that voice . . . but it can't be. He could hear his heart thumping in his ears, disbelieving what he was hearing as he turned and saw the purple-clad woman standing before him. He knew that hair, that face . . . it really was her. Sanji felt his heart fall into his stomach.
". . . Tanya?"
Tanya grinned wickedly as she advanced towards him, her arms crossed and a hint of malice in her eye. "Actually, I'm done with that nickname. It was a cute little shorthand for my real first name, but that's all in the past now. Four years in the past, actually – can you really believe it's been that long? But it doesn't matter. I'm not going by 'Tanya' anymore. It's 'Deltana' now."
Author's Notes
Originally I wanted to use One Piece openings and closings, then decided to go with original lyrics instead. So if you liked the lyrics, yay, if not. . . I'm not a lyricist.
Now, we need to talk about more serious matters. Both Chapters 15 and 16 were posted from hospital beds. Back in August, I started having this cough that just did not want to go away. On January 26, my mom and I went to the doctor (fourth visit) and after running tests there and at a nearby hospital, they discovered a mass. Since then, there have been two biopsies. The long and short of it is I have cancer.
The kind of cancer I have is Hodgkin's Lymphoma, which is one of the more treatable, curable forms of cancer out there, even for those with more advanced stages (and I'm only stage two). I also have youth on my side (I'm only 26) and I've been developing a strong support network since this whole mess started. If you guys want to keep me in your thoughts and prayers, please do, I'm not going to turn down any support anyone wants to throw my way.
Thank you for reading Mass x Acceleration and everything in this series thus far (and of course for reading the rest of the series as it comes out), thank you for reviewing, and thank you for any support you guys throw my way during this time.
-Dixxy