Here we go, with another Chapter of Vigorous Intent! It's not as popular as my other story, but I enjoy writing it anyway. It's a good way for me to but more of my fandom thoughts elsewhere. And I shall be using it, like right now, for a specific purpose.
For Holiday based chapters with Lucky Star, I was thinking of using this as a medium. Christmas specials are great, and this is my way of giving a Christmas Special for all you Lucky Star fanfiction readers. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Lucky Star is properity of Yoshimizu Kagami and is licensed by Bandai Entertainment. Additional disclaimers are below in order to not spoil the readers.
"Finally…" Meito uttered to himself.
The enigmatic, creeping presence known as time had at long last, reached the moment of judgment for the band, Nanashi. It was Christmas Eve, as a rather diverse crowd started to gather in the main area. A large stage was prepped and polished for a perfect performance. The four members of the faux-band were looking at a television behind the stage, reviewing their objectives. Something this large would either make them skyrocket or plummet to the ground.
"We have to give them a great concert." Kaito obviously stated.
"It may be embarrassing." Kagami gulped. "But we can't let them down."
"Half of the crowd is our friends and associates. We'll at least have them on our side." Ryuta mentioned.
"Yes, but the other half is a bunch of musical snobs and critics. They believe that just because we are a cover band then we should be scorned by the country."
"WE SHALL PROVE TO THEM THAT THEY DO NOT KNOW WHO THEY ARE MESSING WITH! LISTENING TO NANASHI IN ACTION IS A JOY TO BEHOLD!" The tenchou encouraged.
"Didn't we have to be specific with our song selection?" The tsundere recalled.
"To impress the crowd, we have to play something a bit independent. Something to uplift everyone while we show off our obscure knowledge." Kaito explained. "The instruments don't have any requirements."
"Good." She nodded.
"Everything is set up?" The bespectacled teenager asked.
"Yes, Ryuta-san. Animate has taken the time to install a large TV behind the stage for the audience to watch. Like always, we'll get one in front of us. But the goal is to show off our charisma on stage."
"My bass playing is good enough, right?" Kagami said, looking away from the group.
"Kagami-san, your bass playing is fine. You just need to have more confidence in yourself." Kaito reassured.
"But it's not like that's a problem." Ryuta interrupted. "We could put on No Fail Mode and no one would probably notice."
"Quiet you." The lilac-haired girl snarled. "I suppose while we are waiting then, I'll go get the instruments."
Kagami went to a room away from the stage where all of the items were being stored. She wasn't as confident in her abilities as the others, but some practice would get her in the spirit. Unbeknownst to her, the three men huddled around the corner of the room. They made diabolical grins as they eyed Kagami and each other back and forth. Once that door slammed, they immediately began talking.
"Okay, everything ready?"
"Yes, Kaito-san. We shall be initiating Tsundere Embarrassment Plan Alpha."
"It's a good thing weren't required to make any changes." Ryuta nodded.
"Oh yeah…" Kaito nodded. "We have to make Kagami a victim of circumstance, but she'll understand why we did it."
"Speak for yourself." Meito said bluntly. "You two may do what you wish, but I'm going full out to impress the crowd. You'll just have to see what happens when those curtains rise."
"Back." Kagami surprised them all. The three of them panicked as she placed the instruments by the large television. "Are you all ready to play in front of everyone?"
"Um…almost." Ryuta scratched his head.
"I was thinking of freshening up before we perform. So the critics can see us in a pure form." Kaito suggested.
"Pure form?" Kagami raised an eyebrow at them.
"I believe Kaito-san shall be taking a shower before he performs."
"That's it." The guitarist nodded.
"Okay then."
"Perhaps you should take one too Kagami. You'll be in front of everyone after all and lights will be on you."
Kagami rubbed her chin in concern from that remark. She didn't worry about her clothes that often, but during the other performances she had received her own outfit. This time, she was free to wear whatever she wanted. The tsundere began to think about earlier today, leading up to the event. She made a wince realizing she had forgotten to shower.
"I suppose I will." The bassist said.
Animate, being prepared for just about anything had separate showers set up in a nearby room. Without warning, Kaito dashed into the room to clean himself quickly. Kagami took a long stretch going into her own separate area. The other two band members made a quick glance as they put their plan into action.
In the main hall, several packs of people were discussing about recent events. Coming to this event was more of a formality for the guests, while the critics were very serious on the manner. The students of Ryōō High School were at a big, circular table while several others were placed at different sections of the room. They all hoped to be amazed by this new performance, rather than be overwhelmed from the one a few months ago.
"Shouldn't take too long now." Konata smiled.
"Do you think they will play something Christmas related?" Tsukasa asked.
"I don't see a reason why. It is the holidays." Ayano mentioned.
"Yeah, but it hardly has felt like it." Misao sulked. "We haven't had any snow, just freezing cold weather."
"We just need some precipitation to get the snow." Miyuki added. "We would have no problem in it sticking to the ground.
"But, it's the lack of atmosphere that's the most annoying. And it's completely thrown off my sleep schedule." The short otaku complained.
"Especially with work." Patricia said. "I think they are moving our Christmas special at the café because of how…un-Christmas like it feels."
"But there are still Christmas specials!" The younger Hiiragi twin said.
"How many of them are new?" Hiyori asked.
"Well…not too many."
"The networks love to marathon specials and movies related to the season though." Misao mentioned. "Does bring back some memories."
"Ooh, that reminds me." Ayano said. "Don't you have a cousin, Izumi-san?"
"That's right, where is Yu-chan?" Tsukasa said.
"Yu-chan had some bad luck around the time of the last concert. I don't think she'll be going to one anytime soon." Konata joked.
"I believe Minami-san and Kobayakawa-san will be spending the holiday together." Miyuki recalled. "They seem to get along very well."
Hiyori and Patricia smirked at the remark. "Makes sense. Of course." They said.
After that statement, a new focus was placed on the stage. A curtain was raised displaying a massive TV where a pre-loaded song was chosen. Instruments be them plastic or real were placed on the ground or in front of the television. The girls' conversation and reminiscing lasted for a nice period of time. Everyone placed their attention on the stage that would light the room with sound and whimsy.
Everything was precisely set up from the important changes to smallest details. Soon, one side of the room erupted in cheer as Ryuta walked his way to the drum kit. He waved at the crowd then appropriate sat himself down. Following him, was his best friend Kaito who ran across the stage. The clapping sounded much louder as the guitarist picked up his instrument with prize and showed off metal horns.
Kagami on the other hand…
"What did you guys do!?" The tsundere yelled while she walked up on stage.
The boys smiled as their bassist walked up on stage. Despite the fact that she was fuming from her situation, she couldn't help but look cute in her uniform. It was a very old-style, crushed velvet dress in dark blue and brown. It was very puffy at the bottom while quite simple at the top, making it the center of attention. She would definitely go off on a long rant if her reputation weren't on the line.
The otakus on the main floor had stars in their eyes looking at the girl. Konata in particular had to cheer for her best friend.
"Oooh, Kagamin is looking very pretty this Christmas Eve!" She squealed. "Quite the combination of tsundere moé combined with Victorian garb."
"Shut up!" She ranted. "I went to take a shower, and they took my clothes! The only thing I could wear at this moment was this thing or a shrine maiden uniform!"
Kaito and Ryuta looked away making innocent whistles while Kagami continued to look angry. The spectators had a good laugh at the event while the critics looked unimpressed over the actions. They did not know if this would be apart of the act or not. However…what was truly apart of the act, was something that could only come from the mind of Anizawa Meito.
When the laughs died down, a light pointed at the top of the building. Meito stood on a steel beam as he looked down at everyone with a big grin. He grabbed onto a metal beam and traveled down on a zip-line at daring speeds. The hot-blooded manager completed his entrance by performing two gainers before landing on his feet. Not only was the crowd amazed by that, but he was only wearing shoes and a pair of black pants, despite the harsh cold.
He grabbed the microphone with unbreakable determination in his eyes.
"ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!" He questioned the audience.
One half of the room immediately responded with positive reaction. Yet what they were not prepared for is that Meito's empowering attitude would not follow the song ahead.
The atmosphere slowly started to form as the game began to load. Things felt rather hazy, reflecting on the cold, strange nature of the weather. This song used the vocalist as its selling point, making Meito grit his teeth. He took a deep breath and cleansed his soul with the winter's chill as he read off the words from the screen:
"Winter taking days…"
A bleary synthesizer sound filled the air, making people turn heads. Meito pointed at the crowd as he shouted his next line.
"NIGHTS FILLED WITH LONGER HOURS! Hey!"
The blurry noise faded, bringing in a whole new world of sound. Ryuta played his drums in a very fast, yet in complex pattern using the hi-hat and bass pedal at different times. Every few seconds, Meito would repeat the chorus:
"Nights filled with longer hours!
Kaito played a powerful, loud electronic riff with each note. It went in a pattern from playing that synthesized sound to an earthy, low melody. Kagami strummed her bass to keep up the rhythm, letting the singer go at it again.
"Nights filled with longer hours!"
The crowd looked on with intrigue and amazement. A few were cringing their teeth from the new sound as others nodded to the music. It was hard to pin down how one felt about the music. They listened further to the eerie tune.
"Nights filled with longer hours!"
Things slowed down at that moment, bringing back the foggy atmosphere. The drums moved down to just the bass pedal and the guitar played a long three-note chord. Meito looked at the crowd with a softer face as he spoke in a lower tone.
"Winter…solstice…
Passing by us, temperatures dropping try us…
With colder feelings."
Meito took a pause for a second while the two guitar players lightly played their instruments. The dulcet tones really perked the ears of the audience. The manager grinned at them all as he looked at the ground, singing his next lyric.
"Black ice and hidden lust."
Ryuta returned to normal speed with his drum kit, chipping away the skepticism of the critics.
"White sheets of snow concealing!"
The mood had completely changed at that point. On Kaito's side of the screen, a long string of notes start at the green fret. It slowly moved across the board as the guitar echoed a space-like hum with each strum. The four of them began to play a bit more relaxed from the soothing words.
"Gloves on hands…
With warmer pasts.
And plastic sleds cracking…
The newly chapped."
As Meito extended the last few letters of that sentence, the audience was starting to feel touched. The looked on with cheer as the mood of the holiday season was perfectly reflected with this tune. It slowly sank in, giving goose bumps to all those with hope. Hope for the weather, hope for presents, and hope for a happy, blissful end to the New Year. Mouths were agape as this was only the first half of the song.
"Huddling against the walls,
Of shrinking college trends.
With the days living faster now;
We cast our make-pretends.
Extra heat demands, a rising constant power.
Darkness making days…"
The instruments stopped at that second, leaving the crowd in bewilderment. Kagami and Kaito rushed up against Meito, all in order to sing that memorable hook:
"NIGHTS FILLED WITH LONGER HOURS!"
Ryuta stood from his drum kit, to join in with harmony. "Hey!"
Everyone in the band returned to the normal tune after that, but now with the appeal of the audience on their side. The electric screech of the guitar along with the bass really made the spectators cheer. As the singer and drummer kept up with the pattern, Kaito and Kagami entertained the crowd by putting their backs together. Playing in such an awkward stance made to a real pleasure for the crowd to watch.
"Hey!"
"NIGHTS FILLED WITH LONGER HOURS!"
"Hey!"
The mood slowed down once again, bringing back in the foggy state. Everyone was a bit startled at this point, because they were not sure what was going to come next. It was all quiet with just the sound of lightly humming static. Ryuta slowly brought his sound back, lightly tapping on his hi-hat and having a small snare roll. Meito shifted his eyes around the crowd as he whispered the next verse.
"Got a jagged gorgeous winter from the summer's thread,
All the lies you told about me,
They were totally, totally true."
Kaito then eliminated the sound of the fog, making the crowd listen to the new sounds of his guitar. Though he was hitting a small number of notes, they all had a rigid, yet fitting sound to go along with the song. It was brief though, as he stepped back to let Kagami and Ryuta's rhythm take control. The singer continued on…
"And thinking through the noise, you go back to bed.
With your tinker-tinker toys,
You gotta think it think it think it thinkin' through…"
The guitarist came back with his loud screeches, but this time with the light singing of angels in the background. The song track had a few surprises of its own. People listened in as they heard the nearly inaudible background noises. All the sounds from the simple bass to the outrageous guitar wrapped together like a beautiful present. Meito placed his hand on his heart going through the lyrics again.
"Got a jagged gorgeous winter from the summer's thread,
All the lies you told about me,
They were totally, totally true.
And thinking through the noise, you go back to bed.
With your tinker-tinker toys
You gotta think it think it think it thinkin' through…"
Anizawa took a quick inhale before his next set of words. While the game would continue to play the chorus, the lead singer was instructed to do something else. Kaito played a mini-trill signaling the vocalist to do what he does best.
"DRAG IT OUT, DRAG IT OUT, DRAG IT OUT, DRAG IT!
DRAG IT OUT, DRAG IT OUT, DRAG IT OUT, DRAG IT!"
With a cymbal crash and flair from the guitar, the song was drawing to its close. Despite its heart-warming beauty, it did have to slow down at a bit. Kagami took center stage for a moment for bass played alone during the last three phrases.
"DRAG IT OUT, DRAG IT OUT, DRAG IT OUT, DRAG IT!
DRAG IT OUT, DRAG IT OUT, DRAG IT OUT, DRAG IT!
OUTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!"
Kaito ended the song with a quick slide across the guitar. The in-game chorus went on singing the song as the fog had disappeared with the tune. Once the smoke had clear and the band was the done, the only thing left was a stunned crowd.
Each member of the audience made a standing ovation. The soul of the song had invigorated them for a lovely Christmas. The band waved at them as several people stared at them with starry-eyes. One lavender-haired girl though, was a bit more surprised at something else. She made a big exclamation to inform the arena of what had happened.
"Everyone! Look outside!" Tsukasa said. "It's snowing!"
The students of Ryōō looked on as they gathered by the windows.
"Amazing, it is snowing." Miyuki wondered.
"Was it…because of Kaito-kun and the others?" Patricia stated.
"No way." Konata said. She immediately ran towards the stage and started to chant. "More songs! More songs!"
The half filled with otakus went along with the cheer, making more noise with every statement. The critics had already taken the bait with the band's indie knowledge and were ready to see what else they could do. All four band mates looked at each other, all asking the same question.
"Shall we play another?" Kagami grinned.
"May as well. It's Christmas." Meito smiled, preparing for the next challenge. Something a bit more difficult would be a perfect way to end the night.
That's right people...two-parter! When shall I update? Hmm...you'll see. ^_^ Please review! Oh yeah, on a smaller note I'm still working on the Haruhi fic and it might update later. It's just a matter of coincidence, this and that won't update at the same time:
Disclaimer Ni: Rock Band 2 is property of Harmonix Studios. A Jagged Gorgeous Winter was written by Adam Arrigo and the other members of The Main Drag. Their album, Yours As Fast As Mine, was self-released. Look them up on youtube!