Wake up, Challenger! (Solo - Saga Concert)

~Saturday 27th of June~

It all had led up to this day. The diligent practice sessions all had brought her up to this point, her first official concert. Of course, it was quite an exciting opportunity. It all had first begun when her mentor Kaito Arakawa's mysterious message caused waves in the media. A legendary musician who had retired would finally grace the audience with his presence once more. Perhaps that was the reason she had been allowed to perform in the largest stadium found on Japanese soil: Japan's national stadium!

Indeed, Elise von Eisenberg her first concert would take place there, and the pressure on her shoulders was immense, for her mentor would be singing the lyrics of her song, a duet so to speak. Elise was no beginner when it came to performing, after all in the wake of the music night club at the Fourth Corner, her name had started to stir in the community as a talented pianist, but now she would be performing at a much larger scale.

Seated on a chair in front of the mirror as one of the backstage attendants was helping adjust the accessory on her head, Elise couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy at the knowledge just how many people would be there. She had seen several television channels already reporting in on the rumored return of her mentor to the stage to perform, others who wanted to experience the debut of the 'Tetsu no Shugotenshi'. Even her dress Felt more stylish and extravagant compared to her usual clothing. It all felt... so grandiose?

A light knock on the door made Elise turn the chair as she called for whoever it was to enter, and just as she had imagined it had been Kaito, her mentor dressed in a fancy suit, the man smiling kindly at her. "Nervous?" Elise smiled weakly at the man and nodded his head lightly. "Of course, who wouldn't be nervous performing in front of thousands of people?"

Kaito laughed heartily in response to her, humming softly. "A hundred thousand~" Wait, what?! The statement made Elise blink in disbelief as the man opened his phone and presented something that looked like a visual feedback of the stadium and it's surroundings. "Japan's national stadium counts 80,016 seats, and all of them are filled, and according to some of the staff there are at least two filled side avenues where people are watching at the large screens, so expect a hundred thousand, not counting those watching from the comfort of their-"

Elise shook her head firmly, raising a hand to him as she stated softly. "Nonono, I don't need to hear anymore or I'll be hiding in the closet till the concert is over." Her words made him laugh heartily as Elise lowered her hand and grinned sheepishly at him. "Then again, perhaps this is an opportunity in its own way."

Kaito tilted his head slightly to the side in confusion as Elise clarified further. "After the recent events with Red Horn's rampage, the prison break and the bounties being released by Ishtar I think the people need something encouraging, something to fill them with hope and joy again. If my songs can bring that, then I'll perform even for millions~"

Hearing those words made Kaito smile kindly at her, a nod of approval being given. Indeed, this girl didn't seek fame or glory, she simply was a girl using music to express herself genuinely, it was no wonder he had chosen her to become his successor. "Well, the audience is waiting for their Guardian Angel~"

Elise nodded her head firmly as the man reached with a hand toward her, guiding her toward the stage in the center of the center of the stadium where everything would happen. As expected the crowds started to cheer, excitement toward the return of a legend like Kaito Arakawa, others were curious to see Elise perform live. The sight of the crowd initially drew her attention as she gazed in disbelief at the audience, but the sight of the piano at the stage turned anxiousness into something else: excitement.

Upon reaching the stage Kaito reached for the microphone and proceeded with his introduction speech, explaining how today was a concert meant for everyone, a concert for those who had loyally waited years for his return, giving them a chance to hear him sing once again, a chance for people to forget the horrible events that had recently happened. To become inspired with hope and joy once more.

After she took a seat at her piano she briefly gazed to the front seats in the crowd, spotting Tetsuko alongside Luka and her mother, and after a brief smile in their direction she started to raise her fingers toward the piano. It took only a moment before the song began, and one could say it was akin to magic. The emotions imbued not only into the lyrics by the intensity of the passion in her mentor's voice, the strong desire of her own wish to convey her feelings to the audience. It was as if the world of music had been exposed to them.

A song that told that there would be a hero for everyone, that in the darkest of times, that we shouldn't give up hope, because someday there would be someone to save us from the abyss, just like Tetsuko had saved her so many times. Songs of hope, of courage, of friendship, of unity, it was clear that the two were attempting to inspire and encourage the audience, and after the final song of the night seemed to be done, Kaito grinned knowingly as he announced there was one more song waiting for the audience. A song that to some would be familiar, a song that was dedicated to someone in the audience, a song that filled its performer with such joy and happiness that even the audience could feel it and couldn't help but smile at the emotions conveyed through it:



There was a hero for everyone, but Tetsuko was her hero, for she was Tetsu's guardian angel~

And then as she rose from the piano and stepped beside Kaito to bow at the audience, the sounds of a thunderous cheering resounded through the stadium. This was surely going to be a performance that wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon.