Netfiss' base is home to many strange stories, and many instruments of surprise await behind closed and insulated walls…
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Hidden Talent
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There is this one particular room that is said to probably be the quietest room in the entire Netfiss base. The only reason why is because you would seldom catch more than two people in this room; the entire group has never been coupled together here, ever. One of the names it adorned was the 'Miscellaneous room' because they had no other use for it, other than to harbor random things that the Troopers could take out whenever they want to.
No, it's not a storage room. It was furnished like a quaint, hangout for a few people. The entire room had a polished wood, rustic theme about its walls and ceilings. The windows of this room were angled, any sunlight that pierced through the glass would coat the room in a warm brown atmosphere. The furniture itself was also very much wooden-based, like the hanging sofa (it was tied to the ceiling, akin to a hammock), the tables and such and such. The items in the room were all stuff that they pretty much did not need immediately; there were old board games, knick knacks, boxes and so on.
Another interesting thing about this room is that it could also be dubbed the 'Instrument room'. There was a grand, expensive well polished and freshly-kempt piano in this room that Kahseral had bought over recently. It had beautiful ivory white keys with onyx black flat and sharp keys and the strings of each key, if you were to open the piano, the strings were made of a golden colloid. The mahogany finish of the piano itself had golden outlines around its edges, and the legs would gradient to a slightly darker shade of brown, almost black, as it traveled down to the feet of the piano. It sat on a raised platform floor behind the hanging sofa, just across from the entrance door.
And as of right now, Cocotte was the individual that opened the door to this room. She stopped to look around; once again, it was as quiet and peaceful as an empty library. The sunlight in the room gave the place a comforting and warm atmosphere… but this particular woman was not warm at all.
Has your body ever been cold for no apparent reason? Well, that's what this particular female Trooper has been experiencing, and she wasn't catching a fever or anything either. Cocotte walked into the room and sighed while holding her arms and thinking out loud. "Ugh, I'm colllld."
There was already someone else in the room sitting on the hanging sofa, and he was just as quiet as the entire room around him. She didn't expect the silent Grey to actually say something in regards to her statement. "You're wearing a sweater."
Cocotte shot a look at him, then fast walked and leaned forward just to look at his still face. "Your eyes aren't even open, how would you know?"
He was right though; Cocotte was wearing a cropped baggy grey sweater that stopped right above her belly button, and a pair of baggy sweatpants, but Jiren still shrugged at her question. He was cross legged, had his arms crossed as well, and he wasn't meditating but he might as well be if he could simply tell her attire without looking at her.
Cocotte blinked at him and pursed her lips. She stood up straight and still rubbed her arms to keep herself warm. "Why are you in here?" She wasn't asking that to be rude, she was genuinely curious as to why Jiren was here instead of in another planet or something. The Grey didn't open his eyes, he gave her the most concise answer that any gentleman could muster.
A detailed shrug of his shoulders.
"So you're just here because you have nowhere else to be?" Cocotte frowned at him.
"I just happen to be here." Was all he said.
Well… "Hnn." She looked around the room. What could possibly attract this dude's attention for him to just sit here silently? There was nothing that the group was rallying everyone up for; if Jiren wanted peace and quiet, he can only be guaranteed that by going to a different planet, or by flying through space, anything having to be far away from the whole Trooper consensus. But instead he's here, there is something in this room that probably attracts his interest. Or maybe it's because this place is hella quiet, and Jiren is too lazy to fly somewhere else.
"You wouldn't mind if I stay here, right?" She leaned forward. Even though his eyes were closed, he did lean away slightly as if he saw her breach through his personal space bubble… or maybe he just doesn't like the scent of pomegranates.
"No." Of course he wouldn't mind, Cocotte really did not need to ask that question.
She did this little skip right past him and went to the farther portion of the room. There was a tiny lullaby box that looked like a cute snow globe and would flash different colored lights according to the notes played. She went up to it and absentmindedly winded it up to hear the song that the little box played. It was rather short but sweet, it made her smile, and her eyes flickered to the quiet Grey on the hanging sofa.
Cocotte's smile turned into a smirk. She wound up the box, but did it much slower so that the tick sounds would be spaced out, all the while ignoring his presence as if he wasn't there. It played again, and she held the little dial so that the song would play much slower. Once it ended, she wounded it up during the lullaby so that the room would be filled with random annoying tick sounds and music.
The female Trooper placed the lullaby box down, and skipped to the other side of the room passing right by him again. She pursed her lips together mischievously as she took hold of a metallic bowl with a dowel and started pseudo stirring it, but as she did so the dowel would clank against the bowl like how a spoon would in a coffee cup. That stupid smirk on her face became a tiny smile, and she sneakily turned around to look at the Grey. There was no reaction from him at all.
She placed the dowel down, and looked to another part of the room to the left of Jiren and right across from her. There was this wooden table that was mounted to the wall, it had a few random things here and there, including a tiny ball that when shaken would make the little marbles in it hit each other noisily. Cocotte pulled her lips into her mouth mischeivously and this time, she went by him while making her skipping as loud as possible. When she got to the table she stopped her skipping by hopping and making her feet thud against the wooden floor before grabbing the little ball and inspecting it. At this moment, she didn't move the ball, she didn't make any noise for several seconds as she glanced back at the Grey, who didn't even move from his spot. She turned to the ball and broke the tidbit of silence by shaking it and holding it close to her ear, acting oblivious to its noisy contrasting of the room.
Jiren's eyes cracked open and he looked to his left.
She was way too busy being entertained by this little toy. Cocotte continued shaking the little ball, she moved it from her ear and looked down at it, and apparently it glows as it's being shaked. Interesting… she swiped it across the air once, then did it again, rolled it against the table, and then picked it up to shake it in between both her hands. As quiet as the room was, her making noise wasn't doing anything that would perturb the atmosphere of this place to a large extent.
"Stop that."
Cocotte felt Jiren's deep, smooth, baritone voice right behind her ear, she froze and dropped the little ball in her hand. Of course, to confirm that he indeed behind her and wasn't doing some 5th dimensional shit, his hand went out to grab the little ball before it even reached below her waist. She looked down to see the ball in his hand, and then she turned her head slowly to come face-to-face with a built set of pecs.
Because she's really short compared to him, she had to look up at him while slightly stammering. "I didn't even hear you move!"
He didn't directly answer that particular statement. He placed the ball back on the table. "Is there a reason as to why you're making so much noise?"
Her eyes followed his hand as he set the ball down. Cocotte wasn't someone who was noisy, in regards to her actions right now. "I got bored." She then looked up at him with a sheepish smile that was quickly wiped off her face because his facial expression just showed that he knew she was lying. She dished it off, of course, this woman was too prideful to back down from a simple glare. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Jiren didn't say anything, this man closed his eyes and turned around to go sit at the sofa again. Oh, but now he decides to walk like a normal person. "Oh, I can't entertain myself with little knick knacks now?"
"You are trying to grab my attention."
Cocotte blinked, he pretty much outright said it. She shook her head defiantly. "No I'm not."
At this point, Jiren had just sat back down on the sofa. He crossed his arms again, and then looked dead into her eyes making her slightly jump. And then, as if he made this point very clear, he turned away from her and closed his eyes again. Why did I jump by that?
"Okay, okay, maybe I was." Cocotte finally shrugged her arms, her hands slapped against her thighs. "I wanted to see if you were gonna react, and you did, so..."
To be truthful, she didn't have a vendetta like that, she just wanted to annoy him.
Jiren had his eyes closed. He wasn't facing her, and his arms were crossed, and the very flat tone of his voice didn't change. "Are you proud?"
Cocotte cocked her neck back. Was that sarcasm? She sassily answered him back. "Umm, mayhaps." She had this diva like gait as she approached him and leaned far enough so that she was at eye level with him. "Don't get sardonic with me, mister."
All he did was look at her and she had to move her head back a little. The woman stood up straight, and Jiren for a moment followed her movements with his eyes before shaking his head and looking in front of him.
Cocotte crossed her arms, her lips were pursed sideways now. She turned right around and walked away, her long hair swayed and… more than likely made contact with Jiren's face as she did so, but that's not a big deal right? Besides, her hair smelled all nice and fruity, so that should be a plus on his part.
She went to the grand piano, and sat on the cushioned bench while running her fingers gently against the keys. Cocotte at one point had a boyfriend who could play the piano; he treated it as a hobby of course, but he was really good at it. They did separate due to distance problems, and he wanted to see other people, so she did have to let him go. Ever since then, she developed a thing for any attractive guy who could play an instrument, something about it just draws her towards them. Funnily enough, none of the Pride Trooper males can play an instrument. Even Dyspo, who listens to music all the time, has not mastered at least one instrument. This piano hasn't been around for even a week, perhaps the guys themselves can try their hands at playing it since it's here.
Then, something in her clicked. She flicked her attention back to Jiren and pointed at the piano. "Do you see how nice this looks?"
Jiren opened his eyes, and turned around to see where she was pointing, which was at the piano. He blinked. "Yes."
"Kahseral bought this like a week ago." She was still running her hands against the keys. It felt good. "It was from his sons' room, and it's still in mint condition. But I dunno why he'd bring it here, though." She stood up and moved away from the bench with her fingers against the piano as she moved to sit on its closed lid.
For some reason, the second she did that particular action, Jiren looked like he had the slightest hint of a frown on his face. "Why are you sitting there?"
Cocotte shrugged. "I used to sit on pianos like this all the time." She gestured to the way she was sitting. "What? Does it bother you?" The teasing nature of the woman make him straight face again. She pointed to the piano bench. "Come sit."
"Why?"
"Because I want you to sit here."
Jiren blinked. "I don't want to sit there again."
She put her hands on her hips. "Well too bad, I said you gotta sit he- wait… again?" Cocotte frowned at him. "You sat here before?"
He nodded.
"You like pianos? That's new." Suddenly, her face lit up. "Were you playing with it before I came? Come sit, I wanna hear you play the piano."
"I wasn't playing with it." He looked at the wooden, grand instrument. "I just sat there."
She scoffed with a smile. "And did what, stare at the ground? No one sits on a piano bench without playing the piano." Cocotte motioned again, beckoning him. "Come on, sit over here and try it out."
She could swear that Jiren looked like he was only doing this just to get it over with, and just to shut her the hell up, but she didn't mind it. Getting a chance to communicate with him is quite a feat, but being annoying and teasing around him was much more entertaining that she had anticipated. She patted the top of the piano gently as he approached her and smirked at him, sitting with her back arched slightly. "Don't be shy."
He looked like he was mildly annoyed at her sarcastic, teasing playfulness. The face he gave her while passing right by was enough to make her giggle. He sat down, looked down at the keys before him, before looking up at her. His expression in his eyes said 'Now what'?
"I'm pretty sure you've wanted to play this beautiful thing before. I can show you where the notes are. You know the letters and stuff, right?" Cocotte shifted a little to move closer and Jiren kept quiet. "Don't pout like that, have some fun for once."
Jiren furrowed a brow. "I'm not pouting."
He wasn't. She's just fucking with him.
Cocotte chuckled before she leaned forward to look down at the keys. "Alright, so…" she raised a finger and barely made it past the full board. "What is th-"
"G sharp."
Cocotte looked at him, his arms were crossed and his glance was downcast, not even on the keys themselves. She had to pull her hand back and frown in slight shock. "I didn't even get a chance to point at the key yet!"
"I know."
"How did you…?"
"Your eyes were on that key."
Really now? "Well, okay then. What if I was looking at G sharp, but then pointed at some other key?"
Jiren gave her a look. "Then I would've said the name of the other key."
"Easier said than done, my guy." Cocotte smirked, having stole Vuon's favorite phrase for a moment. She looked at a key on the very far right, and flickered a glance at Jiren while reaching forward to point again. "What about this o-"
"A."
"For fucks sake…" Cocotte threw her hands up and shook her head at him. "Alrightthen, which one?"
"Bass Clef."
Cocotte was damn near surprised. She leaned forward. "Fuck, how do you know all this?" All she got was one of Jiren's detailed shrugs again. "Well, are those the only notes you know?"
"I know every key, both flat and sharp, on a piano." He looked down at the keys themselves.
"So…" Cocotte pretended not to be impressed. She crossed her arms and propped her right leg on top of her left, keep in mind this whole time she was being majorly playful. "Play something. All that muscle memory doesn't mean anything if you can't put those keys together in a melody."
He did look at her, and she sassily shrugged while motioning with her neck for him to start. Jiren looked down at the piano keys and slowly placed his fingers against a few of the keys, showing the proper etiquette of a pianist; left hand on the bass notes, right hand on the trebles.
He pressed a couple of chords, and then started playing this piece that Cocotte did not know of at all. It sounded incredibly beautiful, peaceful, pliant, something you'd listen to while cruising through the universe staring at the wonders of space. The melody filled the entire room, which was surprisingly built to make the acoustics sound phenomenal, and Jiren was very aware of the weight keys on a piano. He would press the keys gently, making the melody much softer than how it would be if he just pressed them down completely. He didn't say a word, he didn't go off beat or off key anywhere, he just played this amazing time that made the woman sitting before him slowly drop her arms.
Cocotte's face showed downright astonishment, her arms dropped to her sides and she leaned forward, towards this Pride Trooper whose black eyes were on the piano itself. His hands moved quite fast because the melody sounded very meticulous, she was certain that her boyfriend could not come close to playing something like this without making at least one mistake. He might hit the wrong key by accident because he would be moving too fast for his mind and fingers to work together but Jiren was sitting here breathing all calmly and hitting every note like it was nothing, and the song he was playing was beautiful… expressive…
Her lips parted slightly, Cocotte no longer felt cold.
Jiren's hands left the keys of the piano, ending the majestic piece he just played, and he crossed his arms while looking down at the keys. Meanwhile, the woman who was sitting on the piano watching this beautiful spectacle could do nothing more than stay speechless. Cocotte just stared at him with wondrous eyes, still magnetized by his ability to play a piano so expertly well.
He still sat there looking as humble as ever, even with Cocotte gazing at him intensely. "Are you okay?"
Cocotte looked like she wasn't even fully out of it when she answered him. "Mnn-hnnn…"
The Grey raised a brow before uncrossing his arms and snapping a finger to get her attention. Cocotte leaned back, because she didn't realize she was leaning forward, and blinked, before shaking her head and speaking. "W-when did you learn how to play a piano?"
He crossed his arms again. "I was bored."
Cocotte shook her head wondrously, even though a portion of her fluttered weirdly at the talent itself. "And boredom makes you pull out some godly melody like that?"
He shrugged.
This guy is something else. "Damn… Just, wow…" she looked down at the piano before getting off the lid to sit on the bench right beside Jiren, with personal space of course. "Can you... do that again? That was magical."
Jiren blinked at her and she leaned away from him because she wasn't used to being so close to him and he's too tall. Okay, Cocotte didn't have a problem with sitting next to Toppo despite his height but with Jiren, it's different; maybe it has something to do with his… his look or something, she didn't really know. Cocotte looked down at his hands, which were now above a few keys on the piano before he actually started playing. It was a different melody this time, more complex yet peaceful and simplistic in nature. His hands seemed to move so fluidly and on par with his own rhythm, so much so that Cocotte was mesmerized by even the sight of him playing.
She slowly went from gazing at his hands to his face. He always, always had such peaceful composure and flow, and even now he didn't seem to look like he was remotely struggling. Dude looked nonchalant, as if what he was doing was as simple as pouring water into a cup, but it was a humble nonchalance. Cocotte tilted her head, he doesn't look half bad…
This was quite a sight; some muscular grey alien who was the strongest in the entire universe only exerting little effort to play a musical instrument like this. She looked him up and down as he played; she did say she didn't like big buff guys, but Jiren seem to make the cut for being acceptable because his body was of such perfect proportion, from his damn pecs to his feet. Simple guys weren't that big of a preference for her, but geez… who knew someone so simple could be so-
WHY AM I THINKING LIKE THIS? Cocotte shook her head, blinking right out of whatever weird ass train of thought she had only to see that Jiren was frowning at her, and the room was dead silent. How long had he stopped playing?
"Uhh…" Cocotte scratched the back of her head. "My bad, I was uhh… mesmerized."
"I stopped playing a minute ago."
Cocotte stopped mid-scratch. Well, shit. "Still mesmerized, my dude!" Her weirdly nervous chuckle made him blink. For some reason, that blink inwardly made her suspicious. She quickly changed up her train of thought. "Where did you hear those songs from?"
Jiren looked at her. "Nowhere."
The fuck kinda answer is that? She took a moment to think about that. "Wait… you made that up?" Cocotte made a circle motion while gesturing. "This whole song, the one before, you just made those up?"
He nodded.
"How?!"
Jiren gave her another detailed shrug.
Cocotte slouched a little looking down at the piano, and then at him. "I didn't… think that you could actually do something like this…" Maybe this was why he was here, Jiren can play a piano, which meant that he actually likes music. But the music he just played was very different from the music that she always listened to; his was tranquil, sound, and surprisingly passionate. It's the type of music you'd imagine when exploring something vast, and when she thought about it, he mostly spends his time traversing the universe. And it's calming, not rushy or rogue, it soothes the mind once one hears it. Now he had his hands folded together on his lap, a thing that he does a lot, kind of like one of those 'good-noodle' kids who fold their hands on their school desks. Weirdly enough, seeing his built physiqued-self just sitting so pliantly like that… she found that really cute.
"What are you staring at?"
Cocotte sat straight up all the sudden and blinked like a deer caught in headlights, I'm probably creeping him the fuck out right now. As if she didn't just get caught red handed, her eyes went down to what he was wearing. "Why are you still wearing your Pride Trooper suit?"
Obviously, that wasn't what her attention was on, and Jiren damn well knew that. So there was his slight narrowing of his eyes for a nanosecond before he answered her. "Because I want to."
And because he doesn't find the need to wear any else other than his suit because he's not as leisurelike as everyone else. Courtesy to Toppo for switching that up later in the future and getting him to wear something casual in front of the others.
"Oh…" She slowly nodded, still frazzled, and had a faint smile on her face. Then Jiren blinked, and stood up from the piano ledge, walking back to his rightful place on the hanging sofa to sit in silence. This was a kind que for her to exit the room as well, and when she did she paused for a moment to stare at the floor with thoughts running through her head.
When she went back to where the other were, she was actually a bit quieter than usual. There were only five of the ten Troopers in this base today; Dyspo, Kunshi, and Vuon were there with Cocotte and Jiren, and the two of the latter were somewhere else while Dyspo was reclined back on the sofa with his hands behind his neck, the epitome of lounging. The second Cocotte entered this lounge room, Dyspo opened his eyes as if he had something to say.
"Man, I heard some music downstairs." Dyspo looked at her.
"You heard music downstairs?" Cocotte asked.
"Yeah, it sounded phenomenal!" He finally leaned forward to sit up with a glance of interest. "Was that you?"
Cocotte slightly chuckled, with a light almost timid shake of her head. "Nah I…" she gestured with her thumb, "I had some friend over and he was playing on Kahseral's piano."
By the way, the Pride Troopers were allowed to bring close friends and relatives into their bases sometimes. Thought that notion alone is very rare. "Really?" Dyspo frowned. "Where is he?"
"He just left." Cocotte smiled.
Dyspo tilted his head, and then he nodded before taking a good look at Cocotte. He then frowned. "Are you okay?"
That's the same exact thing that Jiren fucking asked her for god's sa- "Yeah, I'm fine. Why ask?" The bunny had that look on his face, the kind of look where you know your friend is going to say something that's annoyingly wrong. "No, don't get any ideas."
He had a dashing smirk on his face. "Is he gonna be the next?"
What he meant by next was referring to this pseudo guyfriend that she made up possibly being her boyfriend in the near future, and that made her get slightly pink in the cheeks. Not because of the idea of a guy friend of hers being date-worthy, but because she was using that excuse to cover up the fact that that person who was magically playing the piano was Jiren. So essentially, Dyspo just implied that he thought Jiren would be her next catch without even knowing it, but that's what her brain concluded it as.
She shook her head and slapped his arm. "You're such an idiot."
"C'mon now, it's rare to see you all quiet like this around a guy." Dyspo ignored her slap, and placed his arm over her shoulder. "How long have you known him?"
I don't know him. "A-a long time, now shut up!" The stupid heat in her cheeks wasn't going away. "He's just, he's just a friend. Geez, you want me to be in a relationship so bad."
"I just want good things for ya." Dyspo smiled jokingly, but he meant that and she knew it. "The last time this happened, you ended up in the happiest relationship you've ever been in, and that lasted for years before you had to separate. Watch," he tapped her nose, "he might be the one."
If Dyspo don't shut his damn mouth, because she felt like she had to keep this newfound information somewhat clandestine. So she can't tell him this was actually Jiren, knowing that he'll tease her a hundred times more for it. Luckily enough, Vuon came into the room, literally holding the stairway and leaning so far that if he were to let go, he'd fall on his face.
"'Eyyy, Dyspo, and Cocotte." Vuon waved. "You guys wanna watch Scavenge?"
That was a scary movie that recently came out from one of the countries in Cardia. Dyspo shrugged. "I'm down for it, where's Kunshi."
"He's putting it on." Vuon pointed with his other hand. "What about you, Coco?"
She nodded but reconciled the idea a bit. "I'll join you guys in a moment, I just gotta look at something real quick."
"She's got a spell upon her, dude."
"DYSPO!" She smacked his back and he winces loudly at the impact, making Vuon cock his dinosaur neck all the way the heck back.
"OW-okay, okay, you don't have a spell on you. My bad." He raised his hands because she raised her hand to smack him again, and then dashed to the left at a safe and less violent distance. "I'ma go upstairs, and get an ice pack for my back. Thanks a lot."
She crossed her arms. "You deserved it."
Vuon snorted. "Dyspo, get the heck over here. We'll wait for ya, Cocotte." He motioned for the bunny to come through, in which he did. Both he and Dyspo went upstairs, while Cocotte stayed there with her arms crossed. The second they were out of her view, her arms fell to her sides. Cocotte blinked twice while looking downwards, fingers loosely folding together over her chest as she took a weirdly deep breath in thought…
Something very admirable was pulling at her heartstrings...
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Jiren is Mozart confirmed lol. Omg you guys, he actually talked more! Him triggered at Cocotte sitting on top of the piano, lol. It was quite entertaining how they played with each other, pause.
I'll reference the songs I was describing, because I did have the songs in mind in coitus of writing this. The first song that Jiren played is the same piano roll that's in Apples and Oranges by Fobee/Caramusic, and the second one is Last Leaf Falls.
Y'all notice how Cocotte is all brash and confident in the first half of the story and then she got mad quiet afterwards? Ladies, find you a man that can hold it down no matter what- no, I'm not insinuating anything between these two. Okay? Okay.
I'm not saying that you can't start something between them, of course…