Trial 11: Mandatory Karaoke Episode / Backdated to the 17th

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Who: Open for EVERYONE
What: Tokyo Plot Day 2. Karaoke fun time!
When: July 17th. Evening
Where: Ikebukuro District
Rating: Awesome





Just southeast of the Ikebukuro Station is this tall building with inviting, bright neon lights. It's very hard to miss. Even for residents not familiar with Tokyo, they would probably have learned about it from the brochures in the hotel lobby and in their rooms. All it would take to get here is a quick train ride. It even says so in the hotel brochures.

One of them being Chie, who may be Japanese, but is not from Tokyo. So far nothing bad has happened, so why not spend some time in the night at a giant karaoke bar?

Comments

[allthelinks]

[Get ready, folks. Sooj is going to take to the stage and sing... some Japanese karaoke song that was popular twenty, thirty years ago. He still looks as nonchalant as ever as he gets up there to clear his throat.

And as everyone will soon find out, he's kind of a terrible singer. Having high expression doesn't necessarily mean he's got good vocals.]

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[Chie was in the same karaoke room with him, having some snacks]

I didn't know you sing, Souji-kun. I bet you're a great singer.

[allthelinks]

[Naturally, he wouldn't get up on stage without someone he knew there to be embarrassed for him alongside him. He gave Chie a big thumbs-up in thanks for her confidence in him: too bad he was about to destroy it.

The song started up, he went along with it, and there was really no one that could say this was good. His tone was wrong, his voice was too quiet, and he just plain didn't know the lyrics that well. This performance was doomed from the start.]

1/2

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[Chie was actually curious to see him sing. She's known Souji to be good at many things, which is why he was the perfect leader. His grades are amazing, he's a great cook, he's great with people, and he's a powerful Persona user! Surely he can do something simple like sing!]

2/2

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[...Until he started singing...

She lifted her eyebrows and her jaw very slowly drops down. It can be mistaken as an expression of awe]

[princeandwizard]

[Ohjiro happens to be in the room as well, a certain doll sitting on the edge of the table nearby Ohjiro's drink. He was quietly sitting there for the most part, but he can't help but smile when he hears Souji sing, giving Chie a quick glance.]

That's certainly quite the performance, isn't it?

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Uh- Yeah. It is. Hehheh...

[allthelinks]

[Clearly, that was an awe-inspiring performance.

...Nah, just kidding. Souji knew he bombed that song pretty hard. It didn't stop him from giving a polite 'thank you' and a bow before getting off stage and heading toward the familiar face in the room.]

No tomatoes to throw?

[pint_sized_carnivore]

No no! You were good! At least, better than I could probably sing.

[allthelinks]

[Aww, Chie, that's sweet to try to spare his feelings. Brownie points for her.]

So, you won't be upset if I have another go?

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Uh... Yeah! Sure. Have at it! Uh. Go nuts![She was feeling okay about him having another go, anyway. As long as she doesn't get to sing yet. The embarrassment!]

[allthelinks]

[That... "enthusiasm" left Souji laughing, and rather than head up to the vacant stage, he instead walked over to have a seat next to her.] I think I'll spare myself the embarrassment. What about you, though? Going to go up and give it a shot?

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Wha- I can't sing! I thought you wanted to go another round? Oh man...

[Chie blushes, trying to cover her face with both hands as she hesitantly stands up anyway... After seeing Souji's performance, it gave her a bit of a confidence boost that she's not gonna suck that bad at least. Part of her thinks he bombed his song on purpose, though]

[allthelinks]

[He really was capable of another go, but seeing Chie's face light up like a Christmas tree like it just did leaves him with absolutely no choice. It's time for Souji to get the teensiest bit trollish.]

My throat's a little sore after that, actually. Plus, it's a lot of fun, and I don't want to hog the spot light. Go ahead, if you want to.

1/2

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Oh alright...

[Chie stands up and gulped her way to the limelight. She gripped her microphone tightly and chose a song to sing. She normally doesn't mind singing when she's with Yukiko and the others, but she really respects Souji's opinion and really wants to impress him.]

2/2

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[She recognized a song from the title alone, and remembered it was something her mom listens to every Sunday morning. She felt a bit nostalgic so she went ahead and picked that song. It was a slow song with not a lot high notes, should be a lot easier to sing...

When the piano started to play, she cleared her throat and swallowed her anxiety. She closed her eyes and sung, trying to empty her mind like in martial arts so she won't get nervous. When she opened her lips to sing, it was actually not bad... She can sing! Not as great as Rise, of course. But all those time singing in the shower paid off]

[allthelinks]

[He'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to this, but it was mostly goodnatured pushiness trying to get Chie up there. There was no lie there when he said it was fun singing, even if he knew he sucked at it. When Chie went up, he settled in with a grin and focused all attention on her.

And what a surprise, she was actually good! Okay, he was expecting her to choke like he did, a little, but that was definitely some passable singing. Heedless of how many looks he might get for doing it, once Chie was done doing her thing up there, she got a round of applause from her Leader-kun.]

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[Chie lets out a sigh of relief when she finished her song. She was surprised when she heard Souji clap, which immediately embarrassed the hell out of her.]

Sheesh... I don't think I was that good to get some applause.

[Despite her denial, she smiled. She appreciated Souji's approval and glad she didn't screw something up]

[allthelinks]

[The clapping was meant to encourage her... but if it embarrassed her, the trollish part of Souji was appeased. He let up once he was sure she noticed it was him, though.]

We're in a strange situation, why not make it stranger?

[He was pretty sure applause wasn't common at karaoke bars, but this was some bizarre alternate universe to an alternate universe. Consequences meant nothing.]

[pint_sized_carnivore]

True. Well, you want another go? We could sing something together. [That last part made her blush]

[allthelinks]

A duet? [He'd have said yes anyway, but the blush really seals the deal. It's nice to see Chie get all flustered.] I'm in, let's go.

[And up he goes!]

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[Chie couldn't help but smile there. This is new... She never had this chance to be alone with Souji for long and outside of Inaba too. She blushed and moved out of the way with a step to the side, giving Souji the honors of choosing a song]

[allthelinks]

[Singing along with someone is something Souji hasn't done seriously since he was a kid and singing with the rest of the class in school. Chie looks happy to be doing it with him, though, and that's more than enough to energize him into getting it started. One song is as good as another, he picks one more or less at random before handing Chie the extra microphone and waiting for the fun to begin.]

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[The song starts to play and Chie just gripped her microphone in anticipation. She starts to nod her head to the music, and actually remembers this song. It sounds awfully familiar... Wait it is familiar! She knows this song]

Ooh! Can I have this one?!

[The lead, she means. But she sang the first lines anyway]

[allthelinks]

[Souji was born ready for a duet, in the sense that he really doesn't know much shame. He holds on loosely to his mic, ready for Chie to get a song picked out that he may or may not know the words to. When she does, he... actually does know it, imagine that. This might not be a disaster.]

You can-

[Oh, well, why ask permission? She knows he'd have said yes, anyway, and when it's his turn, Souji starts it up. He's just as not-so-good as ever, but hey, he's trying, and he's having fun.]