a/n: so the official hibike novel website released little bios for the characters and it mentioned for both natsuki and yuuko that they both like singing and playing guitar so really this was inevitable
"This is a bad idea," Natsuki muttered as soon as she set foot in the karaoke bar, Yuuko at her side.
"This is a very bad idea."
"Let's do it." Without another word, Natsuki flung herself onto the couch closest to the door and started hitting buttons at random until one of her favorites came up on the screen. "Wanna take the first song, Ribbons? Or should I?"
"Give me that." Yuuko snatched the microphone out of Natsuki's hands, closing her eyes and counting herself off. "What even - one two three four - is this, anyway?"
"Cement Addiction," Natsuki said, with a hint of pride in her voice. "They're frickin' amazing."
"They sound - seven eight nine ten - like bad poets."
"I'll have you know that Cement Addiction is only- oh, it's starting." The song started to grow louder, and Yuuko started to belt out the lyrics to her best ability. Natsuki felt lightheaded. She'd never have admitted it - not in a million years, not when this relationship was built upon the flimsy wooden foundation of shared insults - but Yuuko was good. Better than good, really. The squawkiness in her everyday voice gave way to something more raw than Natsuki would've expected, belting out the nonsensical lyrics like there was nothing else to do in the world, and she was entranced.
The moment ended all too quickly, however, and as the song faded out Natsuki found herself dodging a microphone thrown at dangerous speeds very close to her head.
"It's your turn," Yuuko huffed, hitting more buttons. "You picked my song, so I'll pick yours."
"Sounds fair." Natsuki weighed the microphone in her hands. "You could've just passed it to me, y'know. We have to pay for these if something gets broken." Yuuko didn't meet her gaze, still picking out a song.
"It's starting," she said, and Natsuki tentatively held the microphone up to her lips, rolling her eyes when she heard the opening notes of a pop song she'd heard on the radio a thousand times before.
"Really?" she groaned.
"What's wrong with it?" Yuuko tilted her head, and her ribbon flopped to the side with her. It was adorable, not that Natsuki would ever say that.
"It's . . . it's just bad. They're just singing about parties or hookups or whatever, it's not 'genuine.'"
"Oh, and I'll bet there's so much more meaning to your Cement Addition. I didn't even know what they were saying half the time!"
"First off, Ribbons, it's Cement Addiction and I think you know that, and second off, it's- oh, crap, it's starting." With a sigh, she took up the microphone and started halfheartedly singing along with the lyrics. Yuuko's eyes widened to saucers, and Natsuki self-consciously looked away, but she'd have been lying if she said she didn't try to get a little bit more into the lyrics, shallow as they were, and she thought that maybe she wasn't actually imagining the pink blush dusting Yuuko's cheeks when she finished.
"See? Wasn't so bad, was it?"
"It was pretty bad."
"Music elitist."
"Prep."
"It's my turn, anyway." Yuuko started to take the microphone back, but Natsuki held it out to her at the last second, and both girls flinched a little at the contact their hands made - Yuuko was warm, Natsuki thought, and her touch was nothing short of electric. "I'm picking- ow!" A little spark came off the microphone - maybe the touch really was electric, Natsuki idly thought - and Yuuko's elbow knocked against the machine and picked the song for her.
"Are you okay?" she asked, instinctive. Yuuko glared at her.
"I'm fine," she sniffed. Both girls looked up at the screen, and a vague sense of dread dawned on both their faces when they realized it was a duet.
"I guess we don't have a choice," Natsuki sighed, and she tried not to gasp when Yuuko leaned on her shoulder to get closer to the microphone. "Let's do it."
It was exhilarating, she wouldn't lie. Yuuko's hand wrapped around her hand wrapped around that stupid microphone, taking turns as the song - something from one of Hazuki's favorite movies, Natsuki thought - kept playing its romantic tune until it faded out and Yuuko's cheeks were red not from embarrassment but from excitement and Natsuki's hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat, and they looked at each other for hardly half a second before diving on top of each other, and they made out right there, on the karaoke lounge couch, while the machine asked if they could please put in another payment.
"We're never gonna speak of this again, right?" Natsuki grunted on her way back to the train station, holding hands with Yuuko like it was the easiest thing in the world, and it was. It felt right, natural, as easy as talking or breathing.
"Of course not." Yuuko's ribbon had forsaken its usual place on top of her head to act as a scarf, and she started to lower her chin into it so that Natsuki couldn't see her mouth. "You . . . you didn't suck, though. At singing, I mean."
"Yeah, well, I try." Natsuki shrugged, letting a crooked smirk make its way onto her face. "You weren't so bad yourself, Ribbons."
"Yeah, well, I try," Yuuko mimicked, imitating Natsuki's grin in a way that made her snort. "Hey, would you . . . would you . . . god, I can't even say this out loud-"
"Yeah, I'll go on another one of these with ya, dork," Natsuki laughed, squeezing Yuuko's hand tighter. "Maybe not at the same place, though."
"Where else? There aren't any other karaoke bars in Uji."
"There is one, and it's called the Maison de Nakagawa." Natsuki struck a ridiculous pose, and Yuuko laughed. "I have a guitar and speakers in my room."
"You play guitar?"
"Yeah. Electric. I lent it to Kawashima during that one performance. Why do you ask?"
"So do I!"
"Ha, really? Geez, what a coincidence." Natsuki closed her eyes, whistling a low two-note tune. "I guess that means we have to go and have a jam session sometime soon."
"I guess you're right." Yuuko smiled, holding Natsuki's hand tighter, and it reminded her of when she'd go to the doctor's and they'd squeeze her arm for her pulse - a strange pressure, but not entirely bad, just new and powerful. "This is my stop. See you around, lazy euph."
"See you around, Ribbons." Natsuki gave her a little salute before continuing onwards, and she wouldn't have denied it if someone asked if her heart was beating a little faster.
a/n: misty was announced to return to the pokemon anime and so in my excitement i rewatched a bunch of old pokeshipping amvs and came to the realization that natsuuko is pretty similar to pokeshipping but is like. 1000000x better.