Disclaimer and Author's Note: Entry #6 of my "30 Kisses" Mai-HiME fic. Sunrise brought these characters to life, and I'm merely writing a story about them. No claims of canonicity implied, obviously.
I had to think for a few moments about how I was going to do this particular entry. I don't like writing songfics, so I didn't include any lyrics in this chapter, though the songs of two different bands are referenced here. "Rock and Roll All Nite" is a pretty old song, so I wouldn't be surprised if it popped up in karaoke bars around the world.
Day 6 - Sing Your Hearts Out
Theme #7 - Superstar
Natsuki couldn't believe it. Once again, she had been suckered into spending the weekend "out on the town" against her will. Two Saturdays ago, it was with Mikoto at an arcade on the south side of town. Mikoto cried every time Natsuki beat her at air hockey. After seven games in a row, it became so disruptive that the manager had to bribe the girls with free ice cream to keep them away from the place for a while.
Last week, she was "invited" by Shizuru to a Noh theater production. She fell asleep halfway through the slow, and the rest of the night was a blur to her.
Tonight, on the one night when she actually wanted to study, she found herself at the mercy of yet another overzealous female friend anxious to show her a good time. This time, the perpetrator was none other than Mai Tokiha, who found herself alternating between staring at Natsuki and laughing at the bad vocal performances of her other friends.
The memory of Monday's surprise encounter was still fresh in Mai's mind, but neither she nor Natsuki had talked to each other about it since that day. Natsuki didn't feel much like saying anything, so Mai brought her down to a particular karaoke bar in hopes of getting her to open up.
"What's the matter, Natsuki?" said Mai. "You've been quiet since we got here."
"I don't want to talk about it," said Natsuki after taking a sip from her can of cola. "I didn't even want to come out here tonight, anyway."
"Come on! It's the weekend! School work can wait for another few hours, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I get that, but did you have to take us out to a karaoke joint? The songs here are pretty bad, and the singers even more so."
"That's the whole point," said Mai, nudging her friend with an elbow. "I know I'm not a good singer, so I don't care if I get laughed at. I'm just here to have fun. Look...even Midori-sensei is here tonight."
Everyone's attention turned to the stage as Midori Sugiura took control of the microphone. "Wow! That was certainly an...interesting rendition of the song," she said. "Now then, we're going to continue our 'Signature Song Saturday' with a selection from the seventies. Any volunteers?"
After sitting through an off-key version of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" where the previous singer forgot to follow half the lyrics, the crowd was reluctant to volunteer to get up on stage, for they had all wasted their breaths from laughing so hard.
Midori tapped on the microphone a few times. "Anybody at all?"
After a moment of awkward silence, Mai finally raised her hand. "We'd like to sing!" she said.
A spotlight beamed over Mai and Natsuki's table, highlighting the duo as Mai hurriedly dragged her friend to the stage. "Wait a minute!" Natsuki protested. "I didn't--"
"Wonderful!" said Midori. "Looks like we're going to have a duet on our hands."
She went off-stage for a few seconds to retrieve a second microphone. "Now then, ladies," she said, "pick a song from the jukebox behind you, and show us what you've got."
Mai and Natsuki turned around to examine the jukebox, which was set up like a desktop computer encased in a machine that served little other purpose but to display flashy neon lights. They scrolled through a list of songs, most of which were performed by American bands that both girls knew by name, but never actually listened to out of unfamiliarity with foreign music. They agreed on one song which they thought would be most familiar to everyone: "Rock and Roll All Nite" by KISS. A few seconds after Mai punched in the selection, the opening drum beat started, and both girls took to their microphones, tapping their feet in sync with the song's rhythm.
The lyrics to the song appeared on a television screen in the back of the bar, slowly turning blue as a backing vocalist sang them. Mai sang the first few lines of the first verse, trying hard to keep her voice in tune with the singer and pronouncing the words carefully to the best of her ability. After her part was done, she pointed her microphone toward Natsuki, who sang the second part of the first verse with similar cadence and similar fears, wondering if she would become the butt of many student jokes on the following Monday.
The crowd sat silently and listened to their performance, without laughing or pointing fingers at either of the girls. They were reasonably on-key and, while there was a bit of shock in hearing two Japanese girls singing an exclusively English-language song, they sang competently without any major mistakes. As the first verse concluded, Mai and Natsuki became a little more confident in their abilities, and they put an even bigger effort into singing the chorus. It was merely one line sung several times over and over, but it was simple enough for anyone of just about any language to understand.
The second verse brought a smile to Natsuki's face as the crowd sang and clapped along with them. This encouraged Mai to add a few extra moves to her repertoire, such as dancing in place on stage and flailing her hair wildly. Natsuki laughed at Mai as she made herself look silly for the crowd, thinking about how cute it was that everyone was laughing with them instead of at them. She injected more enthusiasm into her own act, throwing in an air guitar solo for the fans at the halfway point. When the song concluded, the two girls held hands and collectively curtsied to a round of applause from the crowd.
Midori got up from her seat and came on stage to greet her two students. "That was wonderful," she said. "Simply wonderful."
"It was nothing," said Mai, scratching her head with her free hand.
"Would you two care to provide the audience with an encore?"
The crowd stared back enthusiastically. They loved the performance and wanted to hear more, but Natsuki had a different idea. "No thanks, Midori-sensei," she said. "I think one song's enough for us tonight."
Mai and Natsuki walked back to their table, still upbeat about the crowd's reaction to their song. Mai looked around the room to make sure there were no other familiar faces looking at them, and then she leaned in to whisper to Natsuki. "Could you come outside with me for a moment?" she said. "There's something personal I really need to discuss with you."
Natsuki simply nodded and got up from the table, leaving her soda can behind.
The area outside the karaoke bar was quiet. The sun had recently set, and the street lights illuminated the walkway with a soft amber glow. Pedestrians passed along the sidewalk every few minutes, making it impossible for Mai and Natsuki to get complete privacy. Someone was likely to overhear their conversation, so they moved to a well-lit back corner of the building where fewer people could see them.
"Okay, Mai," said Natsuki. "What was it you wanted to talk about?" Her voice was as stern as it was during a normal day, but she held onto Mai's hands and looked directly into her eyes, just to show her friend that she indeed had softened up a little bit since coming out to the karaoke bar.
"Something's been bothering me lately. I've still been thinking about what happened on Monday...in the locker room..."
"What? You're still thinking about that moment? I told you, I don't want to talk about that anymore."
"Well, I do. I just find it weird that you'd do something like that out of the blue. I mean, it felt good and all, but...I get the feeling that someone else may have put you up to it."
"What would give you that idea?"
Mai recalled Tuesday's conversation at the Linden Baum, and how Yuuichi bolted into hiding just after Natsuki arrived to sit with them. "Right after Tate-kun left, you mentioned something about him owing you money," she said. "Is there something going on between the two of you that you're trying to hide from me?"
Natsuki hesitated. She didn't like to keep secrets from her friends, and especially had no idea that Mai would figure out her secret so quickly. "If I tell you, do you promise that you won't get mad at me?" she asked.
"I can't promise that," Mai said firmly.
Natsuki didn't expect her to say that, either. "At least you're being honest. Most people say they won't get mad, but then they do just that when I tell them what they want to hear. Anyway, if you must know...yes. Yuuichi and I met in private a week ago, and we had a nice long talk...mostly about you. During our conversation, he bet me a thousand yen that I wouldn't give you a kiss."
Mai broke away from Natsuki, shocked and somewhat angered that her suspicion had been confirmed. "Are you trying to tell me that was all part of some stupid prank?" she asked, trying her hardest not to yell, as she remembered that she invited Natsuki out to the karaoke bar to cheer her up. If either of them got mad now, neither girl would know the full truth about that fateful encounter.
"No," said Natsuki. "I didn't want to do it at first, because I didn't feel that it was right to take the poor boy's money over something that simple. Since I made the deal with him, I had no choice but to keep my promise. If I had meant for it to be a joke, then I would have laughed at you after seeing the look on your face...but that would just be mean."
"If you didn't feel comfortable with it, then why did you do it in the first place?"
"That's something you'll have to ask him. We should probably get back to the dorm. We'll worry about this in the morning after we're both rested."
"Good idea." Mai yawned, and followed Natsuki to her motorcycle, clinging to her stomach as they rode back to Fuuka. "By the way...you did a great job out there on stage tonight."
"Thanks. You were pretty good yourself."
"Wanna do it again next week?"
"Don't push it."
During their trip back, Mai started to feel sleepy, so she rested her head on Natsuki's back. Her head flooded with thoughts as she faded into sleep. This is all happening so fast...first, the kiss in the locker room...and then the flower in the courtyard... But now, she tells me that Yuuichi's responsible for some of this. How much of it is real? Still...I can't be mad at her. Natsuki wouldn't do anything like that if she didn't mean it, even just a little bit...would she?
By the time they got back, Mai was fully asleep, and felt herself being carried on Natsuki's back all the way to their room. As much as she didn't like to admit it, Natsuki thought Mai looked cute as she slept. She kissed her fingers and pressed them lightly on Mai's cheek before retiring to her own bed for the evening.