Chapter 9 ~ Orion de SHOUT OUT (Miki)
Miki had, after hearing about the rumors of a supposed 'ghost' in a particular classroom she hid in… decided to hide in it again (much cackling between the siblings ensued when Miki told her brother that over the phone—ah, what's a little money as compared to chatting with a beloved sibling? And Saeki had told her to switch classrooms every other week to scare people even further). In the midst of chewing her melon bun and listening to her brother report on his thesis progress, the sudden crackling of the speaker in the corner of the room alerted her to an incoming announcement.
"Good morning, minna-san," the Principal announced, and Miki told her brother to shut up so she could hear what the demented principal had to say – she ended up putting the phone on loudspeaker. "Saa, I trust everyone is having a very good lunch break. So good they won't mind the mid-semester exams next week."
Miki blinked then. "It's already mid-semester?" she wondered aloud, and her brother groaned over the speakers of her phone. He quickly shushed himself upon hearing the headmaster continue.
"Moan all you want minna-tachi but the exams shall threaten to eat you all alive unless you start prepping for it, baby! Class senseis will be handing out Briefs after lunch, which reminds me, lunch period is over so shimmy on back to class. Mwahahahah!"
There was silence over the speakerphone as the brown-haired teen nibbled on her melon bun. "Did nii-san die of shock?" Miki commented idly as she packed her books with a free hand to head back to class.
"Miki," Saeki intoned seriously. Said girl blinked.
"Yes?"
"I'm giving you two song choices. Perform either one of them or die."
Miki 'eep'd.
"Those two songs?" Syo commented with a thoughtful hum. The fedora-loving teen had hunted her down after her final class of the day (much to her classmates' shock and surprise – she suspected she would join Aria in the grapevine soon enough) and had dragged her to one of the many practice rooms available on campus. He proceeded to grill her on her thoughts on the upcoming mid-semester exams, and Miki had dutifully told him what she (or rather, Saeki) had planned while they read through the exam brief.
"Yea," Miki responded with a sigh. "I'm worried about my pitch, though. Power songs like the ones nii-san suggested are a bit… troublesome with my lack of practice."
Syo frowned at that, but nodded thoughtfully. He, much like the elder Oikawa sibling, had been shocked when he found out Miki was in the idol course and not the composing course, but he could understand the reasoning behind her decision.
Kinda.
Not that he did not respect her decision – he did, and felt his respect for the younger teen rise – but he was a little… disheartened… when he realized she was not composing. He enjoyed singing along to her random little pieces when they were much younger.
…well, not that Nanami was not good, but still.
Miki studied Syo's expression as he lost himself in thought. The older teen may not know it, but she could read him like an open book – he was surprisingly open when one knew the signs. Right now, there was a frown on his features, but he was not angry – far from it. No, he was… contemplative, and not due to her song choice dilemma. The drumming of his fingers along the table he sat on was rhythmic, not agitated – which meant he was trying to figure something out.
The brown-haired teen nearly fell off her chair laughing when the decidedly insane blonde member of Starish somehow found Syo (Shinomiya-san must have a Syo-detector, with how easily he found the shorter blonde), and his reaction to his fellow idol member was enough to make Miki break down and very nearly die of laughter.
"Natsuki! How many times must I tell you!"
"Oh, at least a few more hundred times, Syo-chan," the smiling bespectacled teen said with an overly-happy smile, then greeted the still-laughing Miki cheerfully. "Hello, Oikawa-chan!"
"Konnichiwa, Shinomiya-san," Miki managed to gasp out between giggles. A thought struck her then, and she sat up a little straighter. Her sudden action caused the two (not really) bickering blondes to glance at her.
"Miki?" Syo asked, and Miki grinned.
"Shinomiya-san, I have a question."
The day of the exam came sooner than anyone else expected. For an overly-excited Miki, it couldn't come any sooner. Her brother and the two blondes of Starish had helped her out immensely despite them not knowing her final song choice (Saeki had whined and complained, but Miki promised him that Syo would record her performance for him (said teen had snorted but did not object), and Natsuki had cheerfully agreed to watch her performance when she asked), and that shut him up nicely).
Aria, her ever-so elegant roommate, had surprised them both by giving her a good luck hug and left their shared dorm room with a promise to be among the audience to watch her perform. For whatever reason, knowing Aria would watch made Miki even more excited.
Sitting backstage with her fellow examinees of the day, Miki fidgeted with her faux leather jacket (Saeki had bought it for her birthday the year previous). Tsukimiya-sensei had told them they could dress up however they liked – even going on stage in their school uniforms was okay – so the brown-haired teen decided she would go all out – her faux leather jacket, black pants, white tank top, and her favorite, platform boots. Oh, and chains. Cannot forget them chains. She likes her chains when she's going rocker-style (cue Miki happy face here).
It helped that her song choice was rather rock-ish. She had wanted to go with a ballad version of one of the two songs her brother had suggested, but decided against it.
Fast-paced songs were more fun and up her alley, after all.
Hearing her extremely cute yet male teacher announce her name to be the final examinee of the day, Miki took a deep breath and stepped up the stage. Her face felt like it was stuck in a smirk, but she did not care. It matched her song choice.
"Oikawa Miki. A Class," she introduced herself curtly with her smirk firmly in place. "This is the last song of the day, but," she grinned, easily spotting the two blondes (Syo really was recording her performance for her brother – he was holding a videocam) and her roommate despite the huge crowd, "the exam has only begun!"
Amongst the cheers (the idol course students were oddly supportive of each other, yet competitive at the same time) Miki saw Natsuki's eye widen in surprise when he heard a familiar guitar opening, and she sent him a two-fingered salute. "From Starish's Shinomiya Natsuki's solo single… presenting to you, Orion de Shout Out!"
Leading the crowd's clapping with near-ridiculous ease ("It was as though you did it your entire life," Syo had told her when he decided to join her for dinner later that day), Miki was sure there was a round of shocked cheers when she began singing – she would not know for sure though, she was too busy enjoying herself on stage.
"Roughened shadow minds, driven almost to madness
Who am I? Leading the dark moon!
Pleasant dark wind, dazzling shining sky
And yet I still yearn for the sunrise!
Shadow and light, You and I, drawing closer
Asking what's real or fake
Black? White? Why? Why?
My heart shouts and sings,
"Be a color that suits you!"
Burning fiercely in the night sky, Orion! The flames of your heart,
That's the way it should be, and that's how you should live!
Good and evil and pompous talk should rely entirely on your own problems!
Gemini syndrome!"
Breaking out into a random dance on stage seemed like a good idea when the instrumental break came on, so that's exactly what she did – with much cheering to accompany her random idea. Miki belatedly realized her ankles would hurt (her platform boots were heeled, dang it!), but to heck with it.
"Maturing, growing stronger, boiling over, moving forward…
Those eyes shout and sing,
"Be a color that suits you!"
Burning fiercely in the night sky, Orion! The flames of your heart,
That's the way it should be, and that's how you should live!
Just as I lament, I'll continue searching through my doubts
Gemini syndrome!
Good and evil and pompous talk should rely entirely on your own problems!
I'll try believing in your dream!"
Hearing the song end, Miki grinned and took a final bow. "This has been Oikawa Miki, thank you!" As she handed her microphone back to Tsukimiya-sensei and ran down the steps that led backstage, Miki really couldn't help but laugh - though she felt her hate herself that much more.
She understood why her brother had wanted to be an idol so badly now.
Author's Note: Featured song is 'Orion de SHOUT OUT'. Credits for lyrics translations go to silvermoon249 of livejournal. Please R&R peeps, we love you!