Chapter Two: Musical Performance Audition - Jirou Kyoka
My Muse Academia Soundtrack Now Playing:
X Japan - Endless Rain
[videos for reference: Sera Kyu - endless rain by X Japan cover MV]
"Miss Jirou Kyoka, how are you feeling about your audition today?" Hizashi Yamada asked, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically.
He couldn't help it though. The Musical Performance auditions that morning had been rough since the Bakugo kid. He wasn't sure if the blonde's presence had managed to intimidate all the other auditioners, but the next few dozen performances had paled in comparison or had just been painful to watch.
It wasn't uncommon for kids to crack under the pressure of finally being put in front of all the celebrity staff members. Still, Hizashi had just been really hoping for someone else that would get the taste of the cocky-Hendrix-playing-show off out of his mouth, even if Bakugo Katsuki would probably make it into both his programs with flying colors. Was it so wrong for him to be excited for an applicant he'd actually been looking forward to?
A petite violet-haired girl stood behind a single microphone stand on the auditorium stage. No piano, no guitar, no drumset, not even a bass to accompany her. Hizashi found this extremely odd, considering what he knew beforehand of her musical prodigy.
"I'm feeling all right," Jirou Kyoka responded as she reached to toy with the height of the stand. "Just hoping you all enjoy my audition."
The mic was already at the perfect position, just beneath her face so her expressions couldn't be blocked, but Hizashi knew this gesture well.
"She must feel naked up there," he thought, taking out her file again to make sure he had read her application correctly.
"I'm sure the daughter of Jirou Kyotoku will leave us with plenty to enjoy," Hizashi said enthusiastically, but then winced when he felt Aizawa somehow kick him from under the table.
Right. They were supposed to be impartial.
He knew that, okay! Freakin' stuck up director, did he have to kick so hard? Geez.
Hizashi saw Kyoka visibly cringe at the mention of her father's name. She had probably anticipated it was going to be hard to get through the audition without that affiliation thrown around.
It was just difficult! He'd worked with her father before and admired the previous albums he'd put out in the past decade. Each one had been stellar, and each one had featured studio work from the talented purple-haired girl that was now trying hard to stand tall at the microphone.
Kyotoku's kid was a prodigy, learning how to play a handful of instruments before she had even reached double digits. The talk went that Kyoka had grown up in the recording studio under her rocker father and producer mother. She had never debuted on her own, but her skill was undeniable when her name had been showing up in the credits of her father's albums as an accompanist on various instruments.
She'd helped write and formulate the perfect tracks for her father's style, so it was incredibly strange that she was auditioning for the Musical Performance program without any visible form of accompaniment. There had to be something particular going on.
"Well, Miss Jirou, I've been asking everyone why they'd like to be considered for U.A., especially in my program. Would you mind rapping to me some of your thoughts? State your name, your intended majors, and then give us a taste of what's on your mind. For the recording's sake."
Hizashi gestured behind him to a camera set up that was recording all of the auditions today to make reviews easier. He hadn't bothered mentioning the need for introductions to the Bakugo kid, since it was safe no one would forget what he was trying for. But Aizawa had nagged at him for forgetting that additional formality, so he made sure to ask every other applicant to avoid his friend's additional lectures.
"Um, sure," Jirou said with a determined, yet shaky, nod. She looked the judges directly in their eyes and began.
"I'm Jirou Kyoka, auditioning for the Musical Performance track in U.A., freshman class," she stated, her eyes shifting nervously between the judges to the back of the stage. "I want to come to U.A. because...I want to learn about becoming a musician, in my own right, and learn the best way to perform and write music for myself, not just other people. I've had a lot of experience writing music for someone else but, I don't think I've ever really had my own voice. I'd like to find that here. If accepted."
Hizashi beamed at the answer, but knew better than to gush about how he'd be more than happy to mentor her in those aspirations. He settled for a simple nod, saying, "Thank you for your thoughts! We're ready for you to start your audition at any time."
Jirou let out a huge sigh, closed her eyes, then introduced her song.
"I'll be singing, Endless Rain by X Japan. All music sampled from the track is my own arrangement."
Hizashi nodded and gave her an assuring thumbs up. A beautiful piano medley of the rock song began to play, and several eyebrows rose at how tranquil and well blended the music was. He was sure several of the judges were already looking forward to her Music Composition audition the following day.
She began to sing and out flowed a beautiful alto voice from the girl's stiff frame.
"I'm walking in the rain
yuku ate mo naku kizutsuita karada nurashi
karamitsuku koori no zawameki
koroshi tsuzukete samayou itsu made mo
Until I can forget your love..."
She didn't really look at the judges, trying to keep her eyes focused on the vacant audience seats behind them. Maybe it was a coping tactic. Hizashi saw her hands shaking lightly at her sides since she had no instrument to keep them busy.
"This might even be the first stage she's ever played on," Hizashi thought, as he couldn't recall Kyoka ever accompanying her father in any public setting.
"Nemuri wa mayaku tohou ni kureta
kokoro o shizuka ni tokasu
mai agaru ai o odorasete
furueru karada o kioku no bara ni tsutsumu
I keep my love for you to myself..."
As shaken as she seemed, her voice didn't waver. The lyrics were a mix of English and Japanese words, and she switched between them adequately. Her voice had a smokier, raspier quality to it, but bravado rang out on the stronger notes as she belted just like Toshi, X Japan's legendary lead.
"Endless rain, fall on my heart kokoro no kizu ni
Let me forget all of the hate, all of the sadness..."
The girl seemed a little edgy, from the look of the black leather jacket over her pink and purple audition dress, so a ballad from a metal heavy band was a bold song choice. Kyoka eventually eased more into the performance, gripping the microphone and closing her eyes, hitting higher notes with an emotion that was meant to prove to everyone in the room, and even herself, that she could do this.
"Endless rain, let me stay ever more in your heart
Let my heart take in your tears, take in your memories..."
The song was shorter than the original version, skipping right to the final chorus with a soft and tranquil conclusion. After the last note, Kyoka finally opened her eyes and heaved a sigh.
"Thank you," she said in a low, almost shaky voice. Her hands seemed to want to migrate to the chains of the long earrings she wore, but she restricted them back to her sides while she waited for the deliberation of the judges.
Hizashi did his absolute best to avoid looking like a smiling psychopath, but he was so elated at the performance, Aizawa be damned, he would enjoy himself.
"Thanks a ton, Miss Jirou!" Hizashi proclaimed, doing his best to project his most sincere positive energy to try to help the poor girl get over her post-audition nerves. "We'll send you the results and feedback from your audition in a few weeks. Until we see you tomorrow for the Musical Composition auditions, do you have any questions for us?"
"No, thank you," Kyoka said, giving a deep and appreciative bow. "Thank you ...all of you, so much."
She paused for a second, looking like she might bow again, but shifted awkwardly and just nodded before politely leaving the stage as the other judges returned her nod.
When they all heard the stage door close to indicate she was out of earshot, Hizashi squealed in delight as he wrote a novel of positive comments in the accepted section of her application reserved for judge's notes.
"Can you at least try to be impartial for the rest of these," Aizawa chastised him with heavily rolled eyes.
"If I have to keep myself together, then so do you, Mic!" Kayama pouted, haughtily flipping her long black hair over her shoulder. "I don't even see what was that special about her. She has a great voice, don't get me wrong, but her stage presence is lacking. She barely moved from the mic stand, no show! No presentation! Not like-"
"Mention that kid again," Hizashi growled in irritation, turning to threaten the dance instructor with his writing utensil to cut her off. "I dare you, Midnight! Because it's gonna be lights out when I-"
"You both have the same problem, and you both need to keep it under control," Aizawa sighed, chucking the eraser end of his own pencil at Hizashi and a wad of paper in the other direction at Kayama. "Just because Nezu got caught up with business and couldn't make it to the first day of auditions, doesn't mean you all get to act like the very school children you're supposed to be teaching."
Hizashi was going to unleash a few more very short, very angry opinions, but when he was reminded of the blessing that was Nezu's temporary absence from the audition panel this year, he bit his tongue.
Their eccentric principal was a man who many of them gratefully owed their very lives and careers to, really, he was great! It was just that his presence brought a certain tension to the room that couldn't be ignored by those that knew his more cutthroat side.
The man hadn't built a multi-million dollar entertainment and education empire by simply being friendly, as much as he was so.
"I'm curious to see if she'd benefit from any of my classes, given her resume," said the new Choir and Orchestra course head from the very end of the table. Hizashi had forgotten the guy's name on multiple occasions, but that wide and eerie made him a hard face to forget. He was so multi-talented and oversaw so many courses (choir, orchestra and math!), the professional DJ was convinced the man just cloned himself to get it all done.
"Since it's safe to say you're going to be accepting her," Aizawa added, taking another look at the girl's headshot near Hizashi's pile of paperwork, "Make sure you do some pair exercises with her for songwriting. Maybe even get her to take a scene work class or something as an extra-curricular. Working with other people, or having some kind of partner or something, might get her to loosen up."
Hizashi didn't want to admit that was a good idea, but he discretely jotted it down in the notes section when Aizawa yawned and turned his head.
"You've got more of a voice than you know, Jirou-san," Hizashi thought excitedly as he wrote his final thoughts before signaling the next applicant to be let in. "Let's get you out there so that no matter how rockin' your old man is, no one will forget your name either."
WE INTERRUPT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER FOR ANOTHER ROUTINE BROADCAST FROM THE AUTHOR:
Time to turn up those headphones and boost the bass in all your hearts! DJ T-Time is back, and I'm here to rap with you all about this latest chapter!
As always, I have to give props to my followers (up to 12!) and my favorites (up to 6!) for staying tuned for this wild ride!
Juni Onigiri, DarthLexxor...my shout outs to you as per usual. For keeping my head straight with these crazy ideas of mine. I also want to give a shout out to my home slice, rubyxblade! She was one of the first fanfic friends of mine who inspired this flaming trash story of mine, by having our favorite Kacchan play the guitar in her own Kacchako fic. So if there's anyone to blame, it's her. ;)
Now onto the chapter! I hope you all liked the decision of Miss Kyoka trying to focus on her voice the most at UA, because I'm trying to make her stand out from some of the other musicians we'll meet/have met in this little tale. A ballad version of a song from a traditionally metal sounding rock band was my chance to get the best of both worlds. An X Japan song was her pick because I see her being influenced by j-rock early on, but like, the 80's 90's era stuff her dad might be crazy about. CHECK THE BAND OUT! They are basically like the QUEEN of Japan, and are pretty awesome. Also, check the recommended video to get a general idea of how Kyoka's voice would have sounded in this audition!
And Present Mic-sensei might hook her up with a future partner to get her to interact more? Wonder who it will be…(if it's not already painfully obvious)
The audition chapter songs or scenes are foreshadowing of the character's upcoming trials and development while they'll be at U.A., so read those lyrics and take your guess at what the current songs on the playlist might have revealed already!
COMING UP NEXT! We wrap up the Musical Performance auditions and sashe on over to the Dance auditions! Our next applicant is light on their feet and ready to pour blood, sweat and tears into their future career, even if they are less developed than some of their other competition. What's it going to take to catch the eye and approval of "Madame Midnight" of U.A.?
STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT!
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Follow, favorite and if you have a prediction or suggestion for this AU, LEAVE IT IN A REVIEW!
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Bless you guys! Till next time,
DJ T-Time is signing off!