Chapter Text
Your back hurts. You’ve been standing in the pedestrian mall for several hours, wailing away on your viola as people walked by. Some tossed coins in your open case, other stayed for a bit and dropped a few paper dollars in. Most of the busy street thundered by, ignoring you while you and your viola’s melody floated overtop. You finished your song and dropped the amber instrument from your shoulders, rolling and stretching your neck as some pedestrians clapped.
You walked over, peering down at your case and counted the bronze coins and blue bank notes, your country’s currency. 20 dollars, enough to get and your few friends lunch and the local cafe tomorrow. Not bad for 2 hours. You had only one more song you’d been avoiding playing; it was the longest and least polished of your repertoire. But you figured you’d give it a go, to end with a bang. Maybe you’d end up with 50 more cents to get yourself a dessert on the way home. And so you launched into the piece, nailing the first chord. Your beautiful instrument rang true as it always did.
As you played, you noticed a strange figure out of the corner of your eye, a short, dark figure. They were not moving but seemed to be watching you. You were in a difficult portion of the piece, you couldn’t look at pedestrians now.
You pulled the last chord of the difficult cadence out of your instrument and nearly gasped. The figure (Sonic??) was closer than he had been. You nearly forgot what piece you were playing as you stole a sideways glance at the Sonic-like individual during this short break in the music. As you launched back into the next section of the piece, the image you had gotten of the person was lodged firmly in your minds eye. He was a strange sight. It was uncommon, but not unheard of to see Sonic-like critters on your planet. But this was surely not Sonic, though it resembled him. Maybe they were related. This hedgehog wore a frightening expression of something between anger and frustration. But his quills, striped, and styled up and out, were what really differentiated him from the blue hero.
Your fingers slipped and your poor viola let loose an disgracious sqwuak. You cringed. You had to stop distracting yourself with this new listener or you would scare him away. As you played with new vitality, you never saw him leave. Your viola’s beautiful notes rang on and on, and even through repetitive passages and several rough patches that could’ve definitely used a few more nights in the practice room, the hedgehog stayed. In this moment you were grateful you had such a quality instrument that it could make up for your nervousness. The piece did finally wrap up, ending in a few more (rushed) chords. You hastily flung the last riff into the air and dropped your instrument from your shoulder, finally letting your eyes rest on your listener.
He did not clap, but his expression (still the same from when you first saw him) seemed to dissipate slightly. He began digging into his bag for some change, but didn’t seem to find what he was looking for. He stopped suddenly, regarding the contents of his small bag, then looked directly at you. You froze, staring back at him as he brought his hand out of the bag, dropping two golden rings in the case. He finally broke the trance by turning and walking away.
You blinked at the out-of-place currency. Then whipped your head up to see the striped quills retreating aimlessly into the crowd. Maybe it was just your imagination, but each of his steps seemed unsure. You snapped out of it, scooping your money into your large backpack and quickly (but carefully) strapping and zipping your instrument up. You swung everything onto your back and tore rudely into the swarm.
“Sir!”
You raced up toward him, reaching toward his shoulder to get his attention, but you caught up far too quickly and basically punched him in the arm. He whipped around faster than you thought possible and you stumbled back, gracelessly stepping on someones toes.
“Sorry!” You said, half to the passerby behind you and half to the angry hedgehog in front of you. You were both forced to walk forward, so you came up beside him. “But,” You took a breath. “Are you lost?”
“No,” he replied simply. He began to try walk away, at the same awkward pace as before.
“You are lost.” You stated instead. “And you’re not going to survive in this place on a Saturday walking like that. Follow me.” You grabbed his gloved hand, a poor move, as he glared powerful daggers at you, ears flattened dangerously. “Alright, fine then! If you don’t want to be trampled, don’t lose me!” And you quickened your pace, squeezing and ducking your way through the suffocating crowd. You had no idea if the hedgehog was behind you or not, but you sincerely hoped so. Finally you turned left and pushed your way out of the stream. You were surprised to turn around and see the black hedgehog at your heels. You walked forward and pushed open the lazily tinkling doors of your favorite cafe.
This cafe was your favorite, not because the food was any good, in fact everything on the menu but the coffee was painfully average. But it was the coffee that you loved. That and the fact that this was the only cafe in the pedestrian mall that was never crowded (likely because of the mediocre food). The walls were a strange muddy green (they gave the place a sleepy, slow atmosphere), and the chairs were objectively uncomfortable for long periods of sitting, but you loved it. You would have gone up to order your usual, but the three and a half foot hedgehog could not be forgotten.
As the cafe doors replaced the bustle of the street with its lazy atmosphere, you could almost see the anxiety drain out of him. He stood up straighter and crossed his arms, Then looked up at you with them big ol’ eyes.
“Where did you bring me?” he said, with undue seriousness. He looked mad, but you weren’t sure.. you proceeded with caution.
“Just to a cafe, I thought maybe we could regroup here. Maybe plan our next move. It’s almost like a battleground here on Saturdays.” You gave him a smile he did not return. “But that’s great for busking, more people means more money.”
“Is that what you were doing?” He looked away from you, at the ground, arms still crossed. “You played beautifully.”
You smiled again. You were flattered, but it was a bit awkward standing in the middle of the cafe, not doing anything.
You hoisted the heavy backpack off your back, hearing the faint jingle of coins inside. “Speaking of money, what do you say I buy us something, while we talk about where you’re headed,” I said, moving toward the counter.
“I can pay for myself,” he grumbled, ears twitching.
“Mmm, maybe you could, but based off that busking incident a few minutes ago, I’d say you might not carry the right currency, hairstripes.”
Almost before the words were out of your mouth you began briskly walking past what was likely one of his most dangerous glares toward the counter. You were well aware of how reckless of a move that level of sass had been. Thankfully, the woman at the counter rescued you by welcoming you both to the cafe, and asking for your orders. You ordered the usual.
“One black coffee please.” The hedgehog seemed to look at you.
“And for you?” The clerk asked, addressing him. He didn’t answer right away, likely still hesitant to order on your bill. You smiled at him.
“Anything you want.”
“I’ll have a black coffee as well.”
The employee blinked. “That’s all, nothing else?” The quilled head nodded. You had to smirk at that. Of course this stubborn, grumbling hedgehog would drink coffee as black as his fur.
“Two coffees then, coming right up.” You handed her the money and followed after the hedgehog, who already had a table in mind, apparently. You wondered why he didn’t rush out on his own, or why he had followed you through the crowd at all. He seemed stubborn enough too. As you two sat down at the table in the corner near the exit, you spoke up.
“Now, finally, names.” You adjusted the sleeves of your jacket and smiled at the dark-furred hedgehog. “I’m y/n, what’s yours?”
He fixed his intense gaze on you again. “My name is Shadow the Hedgehog.”
You realized now you had been avoiding those eyes ever since he looked at you during the busking incident. Now, under his gaze, eye to eye, you were speechless. His large auburn eyes were almost glowing with a power you hadn’t noticed until now. His— well— majestic quills fanned out into perfect spikes. His ears up and alert, his brow furrowed. He was symmetrical, he was perfect. You realized this was a powerful creature who, for now, seemed to like you. You were suddenly aware of the fact you hadn’t showered in two days.
It seemed improper for you to break the silence, but with how talkative he had been, it appeared you would have to. His eyes almost dared you to. You tried to force the unwelcome warmth from your cheeks as you cleared your throat.
Thankfully, you were again saved by the cafe employee, back with the coffee. “Here you are!” she sang, as she set the coffee down in front of the both of you. You grasped the warm mug and blew the steam away, now more emboldened to start your sentence.
“So, Shadow,” you were happy to finally be able to use his name. “Why… aren’t you lost?”
He interlaced his gloved fingers in front of his mug, concentrating on its dark interior. “I’ve merely been separated from my friends as we were touring the city. The reason for the 'busking incident' lies in the fact that Sonic has been keeping all of our money appropriate for this country.” He finished his explanation and took a cautious sip of the drink.
“I had a hunch you knew Sonic,” you smirked, glad you were right.
He continued on with a hint of a smile on his face. “I didn’t know the area well, and was looking for guidance when I heard your…” he paused, not sure of the right word
“Viola.” you finished.
“And what makes that different from a violin?”
You lit up, happy to tell Shadow about your instrument. “I can show you, if you want!” you reached for where you had set your case down, only to have your fingers grasp air. Your blood turned to ice as you looked and saw nothing there, or anywhere around the table. As if on cue, the door jingled forcibly and you whipped around. Shadow had obviously made the connection as he was out of the door sooner than you thought possible. You yourself whipped outside to see a dark figure round a corner across the way, grasping what had to be your instrument case to their chest.
“That’s my viola!!” you yelled, and like that, Shadow shot off through the considerable thinned crowd, leaving only a fiery trail behind.
You blinked, not sure how to process what just happened. It seemed he had similar speed to his blue friend. Someone stranger had your viola. Your stomach turned over in your chest. You were alone. Your viola and your new friend, gone just like that. You knew Shadow was after the robber, but you still felt lighted-headed. What to do, where to go? You shook your head.
“Focus,” you said out loud to yourself. The robber was fast and had a head start, but if that near take-off was to believed, so was Shadow. You’d have to keep up.
You yanked your inlines— your secret weapons— from your back pack, and discarded the now lightweight backpack on the floor. The busking money was sent scattering as you swapped the skates for your sneakers and yanked the straps tight. Your heart was pounding on your chest. Taking large heavy steps, you sped across the street to where you had seen the robber disappear. In spite of the situation, you managed a smile. This is how you would prefer to travel, pushing the ground away as wheels rolled underneath you.
You turned said corner and saw no sign of Shadow or the robber, but it was at that moment the striped hedgehog came up behind you.
“Lost sight of him,” he said as he slid to a stop. “He couldn’t have gotten far. What does your viola case look like? Any identifying features?”
You were glad to see him. “It’s got a blue fabric rim on the top and a gray handle, but other than that, it’s rectangular, about yeh wide.” you demonstrated with your hands. “Should we split up?”
“No,” Shadow growled, in a way that told you he was annoyed with himself. “I nearly got lost myself just then. I don’t know this city.” You nodded. “But whatever we do, we cannot go to the police.”
That was exactly what you were going to suggest next. “Why??” you cried.
Shadow started off down the street. You noticed he seemed to be skating too, but it wasn’t wheels under his boots, but fire. You skated after him.
“As well as all our money, Sonic also has my ID.”
Your heart missed a beat. You knew how how unnecessarily strict your country was with proper identification, especially for tourists and immigrants. Police officers frequently stopped passerbys and asked for their ID. If you and Shadow went to the authorities, they would definitely want your friend’s identification. It was a miracle he hadn’t been stopped already.
“Oh my gosh.” You massaged your temples, wondering how things could get worse.
““Hey,” he said, flipping himself to skate backwards. “We will find your viola. We’ll just avoid the cops. Easy.” He grabbed your hand tight, and skated off.