The Knights Himura

#30: Scarlet Stain

Tsukiko looked around and realized that she seemed to be in an infinite void. The ground was a dark grey, and as she looked up, the top of this void was a lighter grey. Still, the place wasn't dark.

The lighting was like that of a cloudy day, where the light of the sun is muted and scattered by the grey above. Looking dead ahead revealed an incredibly old looking grand piano.

"I never finished my lessons, y'know. It's been years, I don't remember a damn thing." Tsuki stood still.

"I know." Aurelia approached the piano.

"I don't really have a couple hundred hours to spare right now." Tsuki shook her head.

"Please, sit." Aurelia looked rather serious.

"O-Okay..." Tsukiko sat down at the piano, shaking a bit.

The piano itself was like Aurelia. There was something odd about it. It seemed to be in working order, but it was definitely weathered.

The exterior of the piano itself was painted a very light and dull red. Some parts of the wood had been scuffed, revealing the grain of the wood underneath. The ebony and ivory keys had lost their glossy glow.

"Play." Aurelia instructed.

"Uhhmm... I wouldn't know where to start." Tsuki awkwardly laid her bare fingers on the ivory keys.

Aurelia looked her in the eye. "What do you care about?"

"Well, I--." Tsuki got cut off.

"No, play. Trust your own heart." Aurelia smiled.

"What, do I just bang on some keys?" Tsuki frowned.

"...something like that."

Tsukiko took a deep breath, before setting her fingers down on the keys. Her right hand began moving, and somehow, it created an actual song. Tsuki stared down at her own fingers in disbelief, but she did not have the courage to stop.

A smile stretched across her face as she started playing a happy tune. Her fingers traveled across the surface of keys with such grace that not a single note was out of place. She played as if she had spent centuries practicing.

The song started quiet and simple, but grew more and more grandiose and extravagant. As the song progressed, her breathing grew heavy. Her face became red before she finally stopped.

"Holy shit..." tears formed in Tsukiko's eyes.

"What did you think about?"

"I-I dunno." Tsuki shivered.

"What did you see in your mind as you played?" Aurelia put an arm around her.

"I... I saw Fumi."

"Keep playing."

Tsuki wiped the tears from her eyes before setting her fingers down on the keys again. This time, the song was rather childlike. It was like a lullaby.

There was a strange darkness to the music that grew. The lullaby became a grand composition as the darkness enveloped each note. Chords became unharmonious as time went on, scaring Tsuki to her core.

What started as a slight grin on her face became tears, rushing down her cheeks as she played. Her tears rolled off of her cheeks, and down to the keys themselves, staining the ivory with her sadness. The sounds of Tsukiko choking on her own sorrows cut through the deafening tune.

There was a long pause, before the track started again. There was a very subtle move in tone.

This shift began as brooding with a hint of positivity. It transitioned to a more mischievous and fun pattern. Her fingers played another extravagant and passionate session before she stopped.