MegaMan NT Warrior (Rockman) Fan Fiction ❯ Amore con Brio ❯ Second Movement: Vivace Scossa ( Chapter 2 )

~Amore con Brio~

[An EnzanMeiru Fanfiction by CyberForte.]

 

-Section I-

Disclaimer

I do not own Rockman.exe, nor do I own any associated stuffs. I do not own the music of Ludwig van Beethoven or any other composers mentioned. I am also not responsible for any damage incurred by you who read my fic. I do own any fan characters or original concepts, though. Et cetera, ad infinitum.

 

 

-Section II-

Author's Notes

I. - All previous notes still apply.

II. - BattleWiz88, it's good to meet another supporter of said pairing also. I thought I might be adrift in a world of NettoMeiru and NettoEnzan (bleh to the infinite power) supporters these days.

III. - I fear that their might not be a true antagonist; the fic will likely end up exploring the feelings of the two as time and their relationship progresses, especially the conflicting ones. But, in order to give -some- action, I'll do my best to fit a few netbattles in, if I can.

IV. - To other reviewers, because I'm too lazy to check names: Thank you all, I hope I can continue to please you with my work.... But what part at ye olde onset is hard to read per se?

 

 

-Section III-

Second Movement: Vivace Scossa

 

The first feeling experienced by Lady Sakurai upon her entrance was deja vu, which was rather odd, as she was quite certain neither the room nor the music had been seen or heard by her prior to this occasion... Then her eyes settled upon the performer and enlightenment hit her; although he had changed strikingly, especially in attire, there could be no mistaking the identity of her host; the dual-haired boy was not easy to forget, even after all these years, nor was his arrogant attitude. Thus, she was quite astounded when, as the last note came forth, Enzan stood and offered a polite bow to her, greeting her formally, "Welcome, Lady Sakurai."

Although she had believed herself prepared, even such minimal courtesy from anyone, never mind the arrogant and cold-shouldered official she had known, left her rather speechless for a moment. Luckily, her planning took over quickly, though, and her mind went on semi-autopilot. Returning his bow with a curtsy, she replied in a slightly dazed voice, "T-thank you, Enzan...?"

The slight question to the reply indicated the beginning of her return to conscious though, and gave the other some slight internal amusement at how he had apparently startled her quite a bit with his changed manner. Some small part of him was equally surprised, but controlling such inner voices was one of Enzan's most practiced skills, and so he silenced it, replying with a tone that one might interpret as slightly warm, although Meiru was likely to out of it to notice, "Ah, I see that you remember me. I am honored, m'lady, although I can understand your surprise quite well. I admit, I did rather purposefully conceal my identity to add to the drama of the situation. But that is neither here nor there; you came about my request for your skills as pianist, I believe?"

At this juncture, Meiru was quite astonished; could this really be the same boy who had treated Netto and her other friends so coldly in the past? At the same time, though, a part of her subconscious was dredging up other memories, and one in particular surfaced quite prominently: Enzan in the park politely offering her a knife before Netto did, then reprimanding the latter on his lateness. Regardless of this, however, she was still amazed.... But, after a moment more of this, she finally managed to spur herself into some manner of action, nodding numbly and replying weakly as she scanned the room, "Y-yeah. Would you like a sample or something?"

Enzan nodded, following her gaze to the other instrument that had recently been added to the room; a small but elegant piano. He was rather proud of having found it, really... Hewn of polished cherry and cedar, the wooden instrument shone slightly in the light, but did not blind via glare as a shoddy and cheap modern faux-wood rendition might. No, this piano was nothing short of exquisite in its elegance, at least in the mind of the boy who had acquired it... Meiru did seem to share some of his feeling on the subject, though; her gaze was riveted to it and her state of surprise seemed to have expanded yet again, although she did seem to be handling it more gracefully this time. As the girl moved towards the crimson-and-pink satin seat, he commented, "Indeed. I have placed a piece there; hopefully it is one you are familiar with. Regardless, for your first audition, I would like to hear it played solo. Assuming you do well, I have included a second, which will be preformed in unison with myself."

Now given instructions, Meiru's confused mind had something to override the chaotic thoughts, and so she numbly nodded again as she took her seat, noting in passing that the satin had been decorated with cherry blossoms. She wondered if it had been an intentional pun upon her last name passing, but dismissed the thought immediately as she set eyes upon the music. It was indeed a piece she knew, although not one of her favorites; in fact, she oft wondered what intoxicants the composer had been on for him to have designed Allegro Barbaro, a piece noted as an "exercise in primal fury," to be played by solo piano. Regardless, she familiarized herself with the keyboard swiftly; if she intended to assuage her boredom, she really needed to impress to former official who had now followed her over and was observing her with a critical eye.

As the piece began, Meiru found time in her mind to begin to organize her thoughts, for her fingers could play on autopilot in this case, requiring only minimal attention to her playing. It helped also that the fast tempo of the piece drew out some of the mental lethargy that the repeated shocks had created also. Thus, as the piece progressed, her mind began to clear somewhat and questions rushed to the surface in droves; why was Enzan looking for a pianist? Was dramatic effect really the reason for not identifying himself? What had caused the changes in the other's general demeanor? Why was the former official back within the country? Why in the name of God had he chosen this piece for her to play?! Although no answers were forthcoming, the emotion stirred up by the internal asking did seem to boost her performance; the annoyance generated by the final ironically added some of the needed "primal fury" to her rendition of the piece.

Enzan noted this occurrence with interest, and while not aware of the exact circumstances of the fury's generation within the young woman, he found her sudden burst of emotion rather intriguing. Making a mental note to consider the cause later, he killed a half-smile before it began and continued his critical appraisal of her skill as the song progressed. In all honestly, he was almost shocked at her skill to make the barbaric piece sound appealing whilst still retaining the primal fury, but on the surface, he only reacted to her completion of the piece with light applause and a quiet, "Well done."

Meiru nodded, confidence in her skill now welling up as she noted the other moving to his organ. Realizing the duet piece was likely to begin now, she quickly flipped the music, revealing now the Presto movement of Vivaldi's L'Estate, more commonly known as Summer from the Four Seasons. Although she wasn't highly familiar with the piece, it didn't seem that difficult, so she prepared herself, awaiting Enzan's cue to begin; following his lead in such unfamiliar territory seemed the most intelligent course of action open to her, even if she wasn't the type to follow others when she could avoid it. As she played, her mind wandered again, the music's title carrying her back to the beginning of summer; the time when that accursed Iris had first made a reappearance....

 

--Interlude: Lento ma non troppo--

The early summer day had been warm, but not especially so; just enough to keep most people inside. Meiru had been shopping most of the day, but as evening set in, she had returned home to see how Netto had done with his challenge. She had found the request odd, of course, but the headstrong teen hadn't asked her advice, of course, and she probably wouldn't have known had she not stopped by the Hikari residence to check on the brown-haired object of her affections. Thank God his mother was a bit less oblivious to her feelings for the young net-battler....

Either way, she was surprised he was out this late, really; sure, the mountain had been a bit far off, but most such challenges took the ace-battler only a few minutes. Perhaps if she'd had any idea the number of complications that had ensued, she'd have been less surprised by the wait... But at the time, she'd had no idea that this Dante du Ciel and Galeman.exe would fight Netto and Rock to a standstill and even less that they would then prove to have a beast-out ability of their own.... But that was another story, one she didn't fully know about and had no real desire to ask about. What mattered were the events occurring upon Netto's return.

What a shock it had been to the redhead when Netto had emerged from the metroline carrying a brown-haired girl marked with butterfly hair clips in his arms. Especially once she recognized her as Iris... But the biggest shock had been touching the arm of the girl who had been a mere copyroid-inhabiting navi and feeling human warmth and softness. At first, she had been curious, and so she helped her clumsy and slightly idiotic friend carry the seemingly miraculously transformed Iris to his home and get her into bed. It seemed hopeful at first; the two had been fast friends in the past, despite opposing personas....

But, the nightmare had started only when the brunette beauty had awakened...and when the realization came about that she and Netto had fallen for each other. At first, Meiru had thought it might pass, but as hours became days and days weeks, even that transient hope had evaporated like tears in the summer heat, leaving behind only the bitter and stinging salt of reality. Since then, the redhead had slowly been sinking into a bored depression, unwilling to face her friends and risk hurting them because of her 'petty feelings.' No matter how much she might wish she could.

 

--A Tempo--

 

As the song drew to a climax, Meiru realized she had let her emotions color her playing thanks to the reverie. Looking to Enzan, she expected to encounter the old annoyed scowl she had so oft seen directed at Netto or the others upon his face. What she found instead quite surprised her; Enzan was watching her with a half-smile...which was, of course, swiftly killed by the boy. Still, he seemed pleased with her performance, giving slight applause and commenting in the smoother voice that high education seemed to have afforded him, "Quite interesting, Lady Sakurai. I do not believe I have heard the piece rendered with quite that mix of emotion before, but it was pleasing. Your skills seem quite satisfactory for the position."

Meiru nodded, flushing slightly at the comment on emotion; whether it was to be construed as a light compliment or veiled insult, she was uncertain, so she did not comment beyond a nod and a quiet, "Thank you." She was lost in thought again, really; no matter how she tried to combat their fell presence, memories of Netto and Iris in those first few days washed over her consciousness like a tide of despair. The God-accursed things just couldn't be stopped now that she had inadvertently let her floodgate fall open.

A moment later, however, a harsh voice sliced through the memories, the tone of practiced command shattering the memories like a fine diamond to so much thin glass, "Sakurai, are you even paying attention? I prefer not to give instructions to myself, you know."

If the girl's face hadn't been red already, it was now as red as her hair; it seemed she had completely tuned out the voice of the boy whose employ she was trying to gain entry to. She wondered silently if he'd rethink his intention of hiring her for the position, but she knew she'd best apologize, even if only because she didn't want to seem like a rude and backwards girl to anyone, especially since such might be thought of her from some past experiences. Thus, in a tired voice, she replied, "I-I'm sorry. I must have gotten caught up in my thoughts..."

Although the boy sighed, this seemed to mollify him for the most part. Nodding, he replied, "Well, I suppose better that you be lost in your thoughts than to be lost in a lack thereof, a talent your preferred company of past days seemed to have perfected." Not pausing after this blatant assault upon the intellect of certain friends of the other, he smoothly continued, "No matter, though. Insofar as the pianist work goes, the gist of the position is thus; for the next few months, I expect to require some diversion from the monotony of a solitary life, and music is one of the few services provided by others which I enjoy. This in mind, the job would entail visiting on a bi-daily basis to assuage the boredom of existence with music."

The boy then proceeded to give a fair, albeit slightly low, rate of payment to the other, then to mollify her annoyance at the low part by adding paid travel expenses and one meal a day at lunch-time paid to the deal. All in all, it seemed a fairly good position, and she expected even dealing with Enzan would be better than the incessant boredom which had hung over her life of late. Thus, with only slight hesitation, the redhead agreed to the other's terms. A contract was quickly drawn up, signed, and filed by Enzan as Meiru left with a folder of sheet music; what she was to practice for two days hence.

 

--Largo ma non troppo--

 

And thus, as Meiru departed his home, Enzan poured himself another glass of Darjeeling and set about contemplating the future. He unwittingly began to move his fingers in the movements which created La Primavera: Allegro, a piece which seemed to accurately reelect his hopes for the future.... Although it was Summer, the Spring portion of The Four Seasons seemed appropriate; things were beginning anew, and they had the promise of a joyous future to them. Taking a sip of the tea as the piece drew to a close, Enzan did allow himself a moment to question what he was attempting to accomplish with all this. Yes, the reason he had given for hiring the girl were quite valid, but years of training wouldn't let him deceive himself as easily as he deceived others.

There was some unfathomable reason within him that he desired the company of the girl... But he decided it didn't matter what the reason was. So long as all went well, did the motive ever come into play? Giving elaborate reasons for one's actions was the practice of a person whose plans had gone askew and who now did not wish to see himself take the full blame, despite the fact that it was probably their fault. Reasons are for the vanquished, he thought, results are for the victorious. And I intend to be the latter...

 

 

--Largo con Pensi--

 

As Meiru progressed in her homeward walk, she too was contemplating, but the object and reason for her thoughts was quite different. Having checked her mail again via Roll, it seemed Netto and Iris had invited her along for another day of stuff that she would have done without a second thought in days gone by. Sighing, she requested Roll to draft a polite apology that explained she'd had a job interview. One part of her mind wondered why Netto bothered with the requests; was it just a matter of formality? She wouldn't be surprised, really... She probably couldn't be said to count Netto among her friends any longer; she had purposefully been avoiding him, and save the incessant e-mails, he had made no attempt to rectify this.

In the old days, she thought, such a travesty as this would be unthinkable. Now we just move on with our lives--those of us who retain them. And so, with such joyous thoughts resonating painfully, even within her numbed mind, two points nevertheless surfaced; first, that she'd at least have a valid excuse for her continued refusals to Netto, and, secondly, that Enzan had managed to do something that no other had managed. In the past, the closest to letting anyone but Roll see her misery she had come was to fall into such a torrent of memories at dinner once. No one in her family had been able to rouse her at the time.... So it had rather surprised the redhead when she had heard the cold edge of the boy's voice slice through her consciousness this time, damming the accursed flood. As she continued on her journey homeward, she noted that working for Enzan might have some intrinsic value in that, if nothing else.