Newt

[nosediving]

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[arockstar]

[There's a heavy sigh.]

I didn't want to kill Ai. Ruin... I couldn't have her coming after me once I defected. She was never going to win.

[He stops playing briefly to take his glasses off. He sets them on the piano.]

I don't actually need these things anymore. I don't know why I bothered wearing them all this time.

[nosediving]

[His gaze falls on the glasses. Maybe they helped with the facade—something physical to serve as a reminder and a way to distinguish between the real and constructed personalities. Or, maybe, there's another reason.]

What happened with the young miss?

[arockstar]

Someone asked me to kill her, and I didn't have much choice. I found her in the dance studio practicing... She was tiny, you know? I didn't know her very well, and I thought that'd make it easier, but.

[He shrugs. It didn't.]

I threw her against the mirror to knock her out, and then I threw her in the pool to drown. She was out cold as soon as she hit the mirror. Didn't feel much.

[nosediving]

[He frowns. There's a lot of concerning statements to parse from this answer.]

What about the glass shard in her head?

[arockstar]

...That happened when she hit the mirror. It wasn't intentional, but it was convenient.

[He pauses.]

In that it's likely why she didn't wake up. It happened too quickly for her to feel much as a result.

[nosediving]

. . . You said you were asked to kill her. Was it framed as a challenge? If so, by whom?

[arockstar]

No. Luna asked me to in exchange for killing Ruin.

[His shoulders drop.]

...It seemed like a good idea at the time. I don't know.

[nosediving]

Luna? Then is it true that she targeted Great Fortune, too?

[He looks away, a hand coming up to his chin in thought.]

I can see why you agreed. In the end, you were merely—as the great gods like to say—playing the game.

[arockstar]

[That gets a wry laugh.]

It's certainly possible. I can't say for sure.

[Despite everything that's happened, he doesn't know Luna all that well.]

Don't make excuses for me. We both know what I've done is above and beyond just playing along.

[nosediving]

[He goes quiet, fidgeting in his seat. It's an explanation, not an excuse; and he's not sure whether or not he agrees with Newt's assessment.]

Sir, it turns out that I have one more question for you. When we first met, you said that your wish was to repel the alien invasion in your world. Was that true?

[arockstar]

[He sighs, chewing on his lip.]

No. I accomplished that on my own a decade ago. My wish was the opposite.

[...]

Maybe. I don't know anymore.

[nosediving]

[And it won't matter anymore if he's executed in two days.

Shang Qinghua straightens in his seat.]

If there isn't another miracle this next week, you'll have time to sort out those thoughts.

[He says this not unkindly. Newt sounds like he needs that moment to himself.]

[arockstar]

You mean, if no one convinces the gods to spare me?

[He laughs.]

I really don't see that happening. Who would advocate for me? No one should, and even if they did, I'd be dead a few days later, anyway.

[nosediving]

[He stares at Newt. Whatever his thoughts are, he turns just enough to face and gesture at the piano.]

Then let's use what time is left carefully. Your skill with this instrument is rather remarkable. Would this one be able to request another song?

[arockstar]

...Thanks.

[He turns his attention back to the piano, his expression somber.]

I doubt we're familiar with the same songs, but what sort of music do you like?

[nosediving]

The song you were playing when I walked in . . . what was that?

[arockstar]

[He shifts his weight.]

Something from my lifetime. It's old by music standards, but good songs will always hold up. The other was a piece called Clair de Lune, the only good classical composition out there, in my opinion.

[nosediving]

An instrument like this one doesn't exist in my world, so these pieces are new to me. If you don't mind, could you play them both again?

[arockstar]

...Sure.

[And Newt does, starting with the first song. There's not as much life to it on this second go-around, more like he's just going through the motions because Shang Qinghua asked him to.]

This one's not written for piano. Clair de Lune is, but this one's meant to be played by a band.

[nosediving]

Like a band of musicians?

[He stares, deliberating on whether or not he should pose his next question.]

Sir, are you . . . not used to associating with others?

[arockstar]

[He nods, finishing out the song before he glances up at Shang Qinghua's question.]

...What do you mean?

[nosediving]

You said that piece was originally meant for a group of people to play. To make it so that you'd be able to play it by yourself, I thought . . . well . . .

[Did he read too much into it? Still, it's an awfully intrusive comment to make, so he trails off, a touch diffident.]

[arockstar]

[Hm. He's admittedly never thought of it in that way before.]

You're more clever than you let on, you know. I'm glad.

[There's a pause as he thinks.]

I used to be into the whole "rock star" dream. That's obviously not a thing where you're from... But you have, like, celebrities, right? Great heroes or, I don't know. Cultural icons. Musicians and bands are like that where I'm from. I was in a crappy little punk band when I was a kid, and I kept telling myself I'd chase that dream again after the Kaiju war ended. I had plans.

[He turns away to start up Clair de Lune. A couple weeks ago, he wouldn't have been able to talk and play at the same time. It's been nice to get behind the keys again.]

That never panned out.

[nosediving]

[With the right amount of examples and context clues, Shang Qinghua understands most of what Newt says. It's a story tinged with the feeling of loss, in the same sort of way that childhood dreams are lost on the path to adulthood. If Newt had become a rock star as planned, would he be the same person of whom Shang Qinghua is sitting in front?

The next song plays, and he listens to a certain number of notes before he replies.]

Life doesn't always go in the direction we think it will. At times, that can be a good thing.

[arockstar]

[A good thing.

Newt stops playing mid-bar and his attention snaps to Shang Qinghua.]

And which part of me is supposed to be a good thing?