Song of the Drunken Masters
Naoto watched Chie work, patiently awaiting for the older girl to hand in the sheet. The sleuth was sitting on the bed as Chie worked at the small coffee table on the floor. Naoto glanced around the room as she waited for her friend to finish the practice exam.
Chie's room was certainly… decorated. There were posters for movies on the walls, with famous martial artists posturing by inspirational phrases. Exercising equipment, including a punching bag, sat by the window. Small, 'cute,' buttons and even stuffed animals sat around the TV. It fit the brunette well, Naoto reasoned. Feminine, but with a clear interest in martial arts.
There was also a rather large dog sitting next to the table. Chie's pet St. Bernard, named Muku. It slept on the ground, opening up his eyes every now and again.
The brunette woman was hard at work on the exam Naoto had given her. Judging by her strained eyes and her shaking hand, the girl was deep in concentration. Naoto did want to make light of her friend's focused determination, but she did feel a hint of humor in the situation. Nothing worth laughing about, but still...
When Chie had asked Naoto for help with her upcoming exams, the younger girl was reluctant. The detective clearly cared for her friend, but she was a second year while Chie-senpai was now a third year. Naoto simply doubted how much help she could be.
Looking back, Naoto had underestimated how… out of depth Chie was in the academic field.
"Done! Here!" the older girl was grinning as she stood up, uncharacteristically proud of her work. Naoto took the sheet, looking over it as Chie sighed in relief. "Man, that was tough…" Her grin quickly returned though. "But I really think I aced it this time!"
The other girl quickly graded the paper. She glanced at her friend as she declared, "You scored a 70%."
"What?! You got to be kidding me!" Chie gasped. "A C?!"
Naoto did her best to give a sympathetic smile to her friend. She didn't want to explain that this was technically a 'C minus.' "It is a marked improvement from your first sheet." The blue-haired detective glanced at the paper half covered by Muku, her eyes locked on the red '20%' she had drawn on the paper.
"Ahhh! This is impossible! This isn't rocket science, it's just chemistry! It shouldn't be this hard!" the brunette groaned, leaning back as she scratched her head.
"While it is important to find what you need to improve on, you should still acknowledge how far you've come. I'm confident that when you take your next exam, you'll do great."
"What about for Algebra?" Chie groaned, glancing at one of the papers that had fallen off of the bed. It had a '15%' drawn on it in blue pen, a painful reminder of her defeat.
"We'll focus on it once you're able to reach an 80% score on your Chemistry exam," Naoto replied. "I don't want to confuse you by testing you on two different subjects at once."
"Thanks…" The older girl sighed, before stretching her arms. "Alright! Break time!" The Detective Prince considered fighting Chie on the matter, but decided against it. Naoto was feeling rather tired, honestly. They had been beating their heads against the metaphorical wall for almost two hours now.
"Perhaps a break is a good idea…"
"Right? I'm gonna grab us some snacks! You want anything?"
"Nothing in particular. Thank you.."
Chie nodded her head, before standing up and dashing out of the room. Naoto was left alone with Muku, who stared at the young woman. Naoto wasn't sure what to do as the dog walked towards her, climbing onto the bed and laying beside her.
"Um… Hello." Naoto's cheeks turned red. Why was she trying to talk to an animal? It was a dog. It couldn't understand her. The girl stretched her hand out and slowly placed a hand on the Saint Bernard's head. She immediately pulled her hand back as Muku licked her hand, leaving globs of saliva on her fingers.
"Ah… No, no, no," she muttered quietly, wiping her hand on the dog's furry form. The dog seemed to smile back, laying beside Naoto on his side.
"Hey, bad news," Chie mourned, stepping inside her bedroom. "I couldn't find any snacks. I forgot we're pretty much out of food. Mom and dad went shopping earlier, but for now, all we've got is this," she explained, holding a pitcher of pink lemonade in one hand, and two small cups in the other.
"That's fine. I'm not very thirsty anyways." Despite this, Chie still poured both cups halfway with the pink lemonade. Naoto took the one offered to her, holding it in her hand and politely sipping at it.
"Don't worry about it. It's the least I can do considering you're saving my butt."
"It's quite alright, Chie-senpai. I'm happy to help," Naoto replied.
Both girls sat on the bed, with Muku laying next to them. There was a brief silence as both girls sipped their drinks, both ignorant of the secret ingredient hidden inside. Vodka. Chie's father was a fan of spicing up his drink, and he had planned on sharing this special concoction of lemonade and vodka with his wife. Now the two girls were helping themselves to it...
"You know, this is nice," Chie grinned. Naoto raised her brow. "We never really spend time together just one-on-one. It's nice."
"Oh. Yes, I suppose it is," the other girl nodded.
"So… seen any cool movies lately? Yukiko and I were going to see War of the Dragon Warriors 3 next week if you wanted to come along."
"Oh. I haven't seen any of the other previous films, I doubt it would be for me," the detective replied, keeping her eyes on the bed sheets.
"Ooh, we can watch them together! I have all three of the previous movies!"
"Three…?" Naoto blinked. "I thought…"
"The last one was a spin off. They wanted to give one of the characters his own prequel film. It's not that good, honestly," Chie sighed. "They just really want to try and get on the cinematic universe bandwagon."
Naoto really had no idea how to reply to that. "I see." She emptied her glass, downing the rest of the drink. She briefly wondered why the lemonade tasted so good, but she simply assumed it was properly sweetened.
"Oh, I know! We can go see Masked Hero Zeo!" Naoto's eyes widened, and she quickly began to refill her cup. She even poured some more into Chie's cup, doing whatever she could to distract herself from the idea…
"I remembered how much you like Tokusatsu! We could go see it and buy the exclusive keychains they're giving away."
Naoto was blushing, her face a bright red. She downed another glass, trying to think of some way out of this embarrassing topic. Yes, she knew about the movie, and yes, some part of her wanted to see it, but she only felt comfortable seeing these kind of movies with her boyfriend, Yu Narukami.
"Chie-senpai, that movie is for children. We are not seeing it."
"Aw, come on! Yukiko and I know you like it! We'd be happy to see it with you!"
"Chie-senpai-"
"Naoto, call me Chie," the brunette corrected, finishing her second cup. She poured more for herself. "You call Yu by his first name."
"T-that is completely different!" the other girl huffed. Naoto finished her fourth cup, sighing. "Yu and I are best friends."
"Not just that," Chie teased, a knowing smile on her lips. She giggled, laughing at nothing at all, before she sipped at her third drink. "You two are dating. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage."
"M-marriage?!" Naoto grabbed her head and tipped it low, covering her scarlet face. "N-no! W-we've just kissed. That's it." And cuddling. Intense cuddling… The detective was practically melting as she poured herself another glass. The pitcher was almost empty by now, and Chie quickly poured the rest into her cup.
"Kissing in a tree. Then comes a baby carriage," Chie laughed, finishing her cup. The sweet, cool nectar went down her throat, further lulling her into a relaxed, yet childish mindset.
By now both girls were inebriated. Tipsy, like two patrons at a bar. The vodka hadn't been strong enough for them to taste, but both of them had had several cups, and that added up. Naoto, the sharp-eyed detective, had fallen into an unintentional trap. Chie had followed her without a moment of hesitation.
"I don't want a baby," Naoto muttered, frustrated by the idea. "I'd rather just have Yu…" Her boyfriend of several months… She missed his smiling face, and his sweet musk. His warm touch and those soft lips… "I want my boyfriend back," she mourned, her lower lip forming a small pout.
Chie snorted, before blinking. She stared at Naoto with confused, unfocused eyes. "Wow, you really miss him don't you?"
"Every moment without him is agony. To see his face is like to be bathed in the red hot glow of a million suns." Naoto lifted a hand up, towards the light that illuminated the room and she began to caress it, petting the air. "To feel those soft lips again… it is kismet."
Chie blinked, staring at the detective. "Sounds like you really wanna bone him," she muttered.
"Bone you!" Naoto frowned, glaring at the brunette.
Muku briefly lifted his head up when he heard about bones, but then decided it wasn't worth getting up for and he laid back down.
"I don't wanna bone Yu," Naoto mourned. "I just want to kiss him again… hold him… Listen to him say my name," she sighed.
"Yeah, I get that… Feels like forever since Yosuke and I hung out…"
Naoto blinked. Even clouded with the fuzzy haze of intoxication, the gears in her mind turned. "Why did you bring up Yosuke?"
"Huh? I-" Chie opened her mouth, but Naoto lunged forward, slapping her hand on Chie's face and putting a finger up between them. "Shhh… I'm detecting." Naoto glared into Chie's eyes as the older girl tried to put a hand over Naoto's.
The detective smacked it away, before Chie smacked her, and things soon devolved to a slap fight between the two, before Naoto grabbed both of her friends arms and gasped.
"You wanna bone Yosuke!"
"Noooo!" Chie shook her head vigorously. "I just wanna date him! I mean-" The two stared at one another, and the brunette groaned. "I don't like Yosuke! I just want to hang out with him all the time!"
"You like him!"
"No! I just want to kiss him!"
"You like him!"
"No! I just try his last name on for fun sometimes!" Chie argued. The shoe was on the other foot now. While Drunk Chie had been all too ready to tease Drunk Naoto, now Drunk Chie was being made the fool.
"You like him." Naoto poked Chie's forehead. "You like him, like how I like my Senpai."
Chie opened her mouth to argue, only to groan and hang her head down low. "Okay, maybe I do."
The blue-haired sleuth had a wide grin on her face. She was proud of her personal success, only blink in realization.
"I miss him…" Naoto muttered, her shoulders falling down. "I miss my Senpai…"
"Least you have a boyfriend," huffed Chie. She crossed her arms as she glared at the wall. "Stupid Yosuke…"
Both girls were the final ingredient into a brew of self-pity and regret. Naoto and Chie, both lost to their own drunken stupor, found themselves at odds with the past…
"Grrr!" Chie loudly growled, lifting her hands up as fists. "No more pity party!" she declared. She stood up on the bed and Naoto watched with shock in her eyes as the brunette jumped off of the bed and landed on the ground by the coffee table.
The girl picked up a TV remote and she tried to turn on the TV. It didn't work at first, probably because Chie was just smacking her hand into the remote until she was satisfied. Naoto watched as a children's show, a horror movie, and a Tokusatsu show appeared on the screen, one after the other. She fought the urge to fight for that last one…
Eventually Chie found what she was looking for, and she swiveled on the heel of her foot to face Naoto. "Wanna know something I've always wanted to do?"
The detective stared back blankly, genuinely unsure. Naoto looked at the television set and saw it had stopped on a 24/7 schedule music station. Now the detective was even more confused.
"I've wanted to go to the big city and sing karaoke! You know, go to one of those places where I can rent a room and it's just me and my friends… that would be all I need to rock out with some tunes!" Chie stood on one leg, and punched the air while kicking out her leg. She laughed as she almost fell down, but she was able to right herself.
The brunette slapped her own face with both hands as she turned on captions and stared at her TV screen. A new song was just starting, and Naoto watched as Chie picked up a small barbell. The older girl undid the weights on each end, carefully putting them down, before holding the metal rod to her mouth like a microphone.
"I'm Chie Satonaka, and I'm ready to sing my heart out!" She held her hand up and looked at Naoto and Muku. "Applause. Applause. Applause," she repeated, mimicking the sign in studios.
"Oh, uh… yaaay?" Naoto clapped as Muku began to lick his own fur.
"Alright! Here I go!"
Naoto could not believe what was happening. She watched as Chie swayed her body to the music, holding the metal rod like a microphone as she began to sing. Her voice wasn't the most on tune, but the sheer confidence and bravery she was exhibiting was… impressive.
"You know I can't smile without you, I can't smile without you, I can't laugh and I can't sing…!" Chie fell to her knees for a moment, dramatically holding a hand to the sky as she slowly got back up. "I'm finding it hard to do anything. You see I feel sad when you're sad. I feel glad when you're glad, if you only knew what I'm going through… I just can't smile without you!"
Chie pulled the 'microphone' away from her mouth and she looked at Naoto, grinning. She motioned the detective to her side.
"N-no, I'm okay," Naoto replied, shaking her head.
"Come on," Chie whispered as loudly as she could. She walked over to Naoto's side, grinning. "This is our jam! We're just a couple of lovesick losers! Come be a loser with me, Naoto." The blue-haired girl blinked, staring at her friend with dumbfounded eyes.
"No."
"Come on! What am I always saying?"
"'Where's the meat?'"
"Meat?" Chie blinked, looking around the room. She shook her head, getting the delicious savory steak out of her head. "No! 'Don't think. Feel.' What do you feel right now?"
"Lonely. Sad. Like I have a big Yu-shaped hole in my chest…." Naoto didn't want to admit her true feelings. She had been burying them for weeks, but the liquor had made her ind a slippery mess. Thoughts just slipped out with barely any prompting…
"Then grab a mic and sing with me, girl!" Chie declared.
Naoto's fingers pinched the bedsheets under her. She turned away from Chie, and looked at Muku. The dog stared at her expectantly.
"To hell with it," the sleuth muttered. Naoto took the mic from Chie and she held it to her mouth, leaping off of the bed.
"N-now some people say happiness takes so very long to find… Well, I'm finding it hard leaving your love behind me." The song spoke to her, Naoto realized.
She missed her boyfriend. She couldn't leave the love she had for him behind. Naoto Shirogane loved Yu Narukami…
Naoto leaned her head back, and she bellowed out the lyrics, singing her heart out as Chie grabbed some foam nunchucks. The two girls sang together, Naoto bobbing her head up and down as Chie smacked her own leg in rhythm with the song.
"And you see I can't smile without you!" Naoto started.
"Without you!" Chie added, being her echo,
Muku lifted his head up, howling along with the two girls, as if he was trying to match their tone and rhythm. Neither girl minded. They just grinned, ushering Muku to their side as they continued to sing their hearts out.
"I can't smile without you!"
"Without you!"
"I can't laugh and I can't sing!"
"Oh, she can sing! Listen to that voice!"
Both girls stood by each other, and they threw their free arm over the other. They rocked back and forth, wide, beaming smiles on their faces as they finished the song together. Muku howled along, a wide grin on his snout.
"I'm finding it hard to do anything, you see I feel glad when you're glad, I feel sad when you're sad… If you only knew what I'm going through! Oh, I just can't smile without you!"
The song came to an end, and both girls were attacked by fits of laughter. They crumbled, holding to each as they almost fell to the floor. Their arms grabbed at each other, and before Naoto knew it, she was hugging Chie. The brunette happily returned the hug, and Naoto relaxed in the warm embrace.
"That was awesome!" Chie laughed.
"No. You're awesome!" Naoto replied, poking her friend's nose.
"No, you."
"No, you!"
The two glared at each other, before giggling together. Naoto hadn't laughed so hard in a long time. She was holding her stomach as another song began to play on the TV. Without missing a beat, Naoto held her mic to her mouth and began to sing. Chie watched in stunned shock, before joining in.
"So tell me what you want, what you really, really want!"
"I'll tell you what I want, what I really want!"
Naoto groaned opening her eyes to the painful light of the sun. Her body felt like it had been put through a grinder, and her brain felt like someone had tried to microwave it. She tried to get up, only to realize her arm was pinned down. She turned her head to investigate, only to turn beet red at the same.
Chie was on her arm. In fact, Naoto was clinging to the girl like she was some kind of stuffed animal. The brunette was fast asleep still as Naoto felt something shift at her feet. She looked down and found Muku just as asleep as his owner, quietly barking in his sleep.
The detective's face was a bright, rosy hue as she realized that they were on Chie's bed. Thankfully Naoto's clothes, including her blue jacket, were still on, meaning nothing too scandalous had happened, but this was far from an ideal scenario.
Naoto tried to pull her arm out from under Chie as subtle as possible, only for the brunette to stir and rise up.
"What time is it…?" she muttered, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She yawned, before looking at Naoto, who was so close Chie could feel her breath. "..."
"..."
Chie's eyes shot open and she opened her mouth to scream. Naoto slapped her hand on Chie's mouth, glaring at her.
"Let us never speak of this again."
Eventually the two girls pulled themselves out of bed. It didn't take a detective to realize they were experiencing the typical symptoms of a hangovers. The two walked downstairs, hoping to find some medicine to ease their headaches, only to find a man downstairs eating breakfast.
"Morning, you two." The man had short, hazel hair with greying sides. He was a short man, but more than made up for his lack of height with a wide frame. Not from fat, but rather from muscles.
Naoto had no doubt this man was Chie's father, and that realization sent Naoto into a pit of embarrassment.
"So… How was my lemonade-vodka mix?"
"Vodka?" Naoto groaned, holding her forehead.
"D-did you see vodka, dad…?"
"Yep." He laughed sheepishly, scratching his head. "Sorry. Probably should have told you I made some of my special brew a couple nights ago. Though in my defense, you two really shouldn't have drank the whole thing. I found you two cuddling together on the bed with an empty pitcher on the ground. Surprised you didn't realize the secret ingredient..."
Naoto rubbed her eyes, sighing as Chie groaned.
"I feel like I'm dying," the young martial artist whined, falling to the ground and sitting on the staircase.
"Yeah… hangovers do that," the man chuckled. "I have some medicine you two can take to feel better."
As Chie walked over to take the medicine from her father, Naoto mourned the loss of her dignity. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and the detective took it out without hesitation. She looked at her messages, her red cheeks turning into an inferno of embarrassment as she saw the line of messages.
'Naoto? Are you feeling okay?' From her boyfriend, Yu Narukami.
'What?' Also from her boyfriend, sent to her yesterday.
'OMG! SENPAI! I LOV U! I JUST WANNA KIS KISS KISA U! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE U. Mwaaaaaah!' What followed were several heart emoji, an eggplant, and four kissy faces.
Naoto put her phone back in her pocket and took a long, deep breath. Now she mourned the loss of her dignity. She had reached a new level of embarrassment. An ascended level, where she simply no longer cared. She simply stood there, frozen, quietly promising herself that she would never go out drinking with Chie again…
Though, the idea of karaoke together wasn't… so bad.
END
This story was helped made possible by my Pat-reon, and my lovely patrons. One patron requested this story, and I had fun writing it. Love a good silly, playtime story.
Have a good day, and stay safe out there! Love ya!