Note: This story is in a completely separate timeline from my others.
Begin!
~Normal POV
After school today, Yosuke had urgently requested that everyone meet up on the roof for some kinda meeting. Even Teddie had been called out of work for it. All Yosuke said was that it was important, but wouldn't say why yet. It put them a little on edge.
Did something happen with the case already? That couldn't be. They had just rescued Naoto from the tv world last month, and she had only finished recovering days ago. They hadn't even gotten a chance to go training in the tv yet. Nobody else had gone missing as far as they knew. But it was scary to imagine things getting bad again so soon. To their surprise, the emergency wasn't about the case at all.
Yosuke began by making a pleading gesture with his hands and said. "I need you guys! You have to help me! You're the only ones I can rely on! Can you please keep this weekend open?!"
Everyone stared at him in total confusion. They hadn't heard him sound so sincerely desperate before.
"This weekend… Ah, does this have anything to do with that event at the Inaba police station that's been canceled?" Naoto asked.
"What are you talking about?" Chie asked.
"The idol Kanami Mashita was scheduled to be the honorary chief this Sunday." Naoto explained.
Rise looked a little surprised but didn't speak up.
"Oh my gosh! The famous Kanamin is coming all the way out to the boonies?!" Teddie screamed, excitedly.
"How much you wanna bet he doesn't even know who she is?" Yu thought dryly.
Yu glanced at Rise. He knew she was friends with Kanami before coming to Inaba. It must sound strange to think that she could have showed up here to do an event while Rise was on hiatus. He was kinda glad it didn't happen now that he thought of it that way. It would have been slightly awkward at best and a disaster at worst.
"So she's taking jobs like that already…" Rise muttered, thoughtfully.
"I've been seeing a lot of her on tv lately," Yukiko commented. "I didn't know she belonged to the same agency as you, Rise-chan."
"I suggested her as a replacement for a big project I was working on." Rise replied. "She's really nice and I figured it would boost her career… But if she's coming to Inaba now, the agency is obviously trying to use all the fuss about me to their favor…." She looked a little sad thinking about it.
"So what's the big deal about that being canceled," Kanji asked.
"Hehe, there was gonna be a big sale at Junes to take advantage of the event, but now that's down the tubes!" Teddie answered.
Yosuke glared at him. "It's not a joke! The police took forever to decide on canceling! My dad's really in a fix now… He worked so hard to put this thing together, and I can't stand to see him like this… I can't just let it go." He may have been a lot of things, but it was nice to see that he was a devoted son.
"I heard that the police couldn't prepare for the event because I had gone missing…" Naoto said, frowning, "I'm sorry… This is my fault."
"Nah, it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself…" Yosuke replied. "But yeah, it does seem like that's what happened."
In a way, he was right. The police wouldn't have canceled if the kidnapping didn't happen. But there was nothing to be done about that now. And Yu figured that while it was a dumb idea, it did prove the culprit was still out there. And it helped them ease Naoto's troubled heart. That made it worth it in the long run.
"Ok so you called us up here. What do you want us to do about it?" Kanji asked.
"From the way it sounds, I don't think we can be much help…" Chie said.
"Well- I want everyone to help me with a bunch of different tasks. And…" Yosuke trailed off. He went back to pleading again and added. "I was thinking that… Rise… could you do an event at Junes?"
Rise stared at him in shock. "You want me to substitute for Kanami?!"
"Yes please! It's just one show!" Yosuke argued, "Hell, it could just be one song and it'd work!"
Rise frowned as she thought it over. Was it really a good idea? Sure it was to help out in a desperate situation, but was it still too soon?
"You did say you wanted to go back at some point," Yu said, simply.
"Yeah, but…"
"...So there's no way?" Yosuke asked, sadly.
Rise thought about it for a minute more before asking, "Is it really that bad?"
"I don't know. I may be his son, but I'm still only a part-timer… But my dad's being awfully nice for some reason. I think it's possible that he might get fired if this thing falls through… If that happens, I might have to transfer schools again. Seriously, what am I gonna do if that happens? And if I have to leave, then Teddie will get dragged along with me."
"Really?!" Teddie shouted.
"Do you think my parents would just leave you here?"
"Oh… no, I guess not."
"...Singing and handshakes only." Rise said, suddenly.
Everyone looked surprised to hear her agree to this. They had sorta been expecting her to say no, or come up with a new idea.
"No autographs." Rise added, firmly. "And nothing that I can't do as a high school student. Otherwise, I'll get in trouble."
"You mean it!?" Yosuke asked excitedly.
"On one condition: I'll only do it if you all get on stage with me."
Just like that, the atmosphere shifted from happy surprise to a touch of genuine fear. But Rise had a feeling that would happen. This condition was part of her plan to help. If she was going to help, then she would go all out. And that meant bringing everyone along to enjoy the ride.
"Wh-What?! I'm no idol!" Chie shouted.
"It would be troublesome if people came to recruit me to be an idol…" Yukiko mumbled.
"Me too!" Teddie added, "I already have an exclusive contract with Junes!"
"I don't think you guys are worrying about the right things here…" Kanji said, looking a bit pale.
Yu, however, seemed to be the only other one unbothered by the idea. He shrugged and said, "I mean I'll do it, but I draw the line at singing with you, Rise."
The others gave him curious looks.
"Aren't you in drama club," Kanji asked. "I've seen you go to the meetings. Since when do you have stage fright?"
Yu smiled. "Nah, I just can't sing. Don't want to ruin my girlfriend's performance… or kill anyone."
Rise smiled brightly at hearing him say that. The two had been dating a few months now, and it still made her all giddy to be called his "girlfriend." They told everyone pretty much the next day after it happened, and they were all very supportive. (Though Teddie did whine a bit about Rise being taken, but he stopped pretty quick.) Of course they didn't need to tell Naoto, since she could easily see they were a couple already based on how they interacted during the trip to Port Island.
And Yu deciding to help regardless of the situation was very much something they were all used to from him. Even if his schedule never made any sense to them. How the hell did this guy have time to be in multiple clubs and still hang out with them regularly? Weird.
"Well- if you're gonna sing, then what are we supposed to do on stage?" Kanji asked.
"I need a band, of course!" Rise answered, "I'll make this very clear: I can't use pre-recorded tracks."
Yosuke, despite his desperation, seemed just as fearful about this proposition as the rest of them were. "I don't know- there's no way we can pull off something like that!"
"You're the one who asked for a show!" Chie pointed out.
"Yeah, but it's still a shit-load of work!"
They all contemplated the idea quietly. Aside from the obvious discomfort from performing, they would also have to learn to play in an absurdly short amount of time. It didn't seem possible that they would have the necessary skill or equipment to pull it off.
"...I have some experience playing the keyboard…" Naoto said, quietly. When everyone seemed shocked by this, she added. "My grandpa suggested that I take piano lessons when I was younger. I have one that I can bring, as well."
"Whoa… that's cool…" Kanji commented, smiling.
Naoto smiled back at him looking flattered.
"You're up for this?!" Chie asked.
"This incident is a result of my actions after all." Naoto answered. "I can't say I'm too comfortable with the idea either, but I will do what I can to help."
Yosuke perked back up instantly, and quickly hugged her. "Naoto, thanks!"
"I'm still mad about what you said at the hospital yesterday- do you want me to smack you?" Naoto said, in a threatening tone.
Yosuke let go of her instantly and put several feet of distance between himself and her out of fear.
"W-Well! If it's music you need, I do have a guitar! I've never really played it though." He said, trying to get back on topic. "Oh wait, I accidentally bought a bass once. I think it's in storage."
Yu gave him a look. "You accidentally bought a very expensive musical instrument? What, did you buy it online and not read the description?"
"...No."
"Uh huh, sure." Yu said, smirking.
"I bet he just thought it was another guitar," Chie said.
"I plead the fifth!" Yosuke said, firmly.
~...
Once it had been unanimously agreed on to help out, they later met back up in the school's music room with the few instruments they had. The rest of them would have to borrow from the school. Luckily no one else was here at the moment. Chie and Yukiko grabbed what they could find on short notice and set it up for them to choose from. It wasn't much; a tambourine, a gong, some cymbals, a saxophone, two different drum sets, and a trumpet.
"What's that?" Kanji asked, pointing to the gong.
"It's a gong," Yukiko replied.
"I think he meant, 'What's it doing here?'" Yosuke said.
"I thought Chie might want to play it. You know, it sounds kind of Chinese-ish."
"Yeah, I don't think that's gonna really matter in this case," Chie said.
Teddie eagerly ran up to Yosuke. "Yosuke, try holding these!" He showed him a pair of maracas.
"Uh, ok?" Yosuke seemed confused but took them anyway, holding them up awkwardly.
"Oh- you do look like that when you're fighting," Chie commented. "Try summoning your persona while using those!"
"You know it's not possible on this side!" Yosuke replied.
"Supposedly, it is…" Yu said, quietly.
Everyone looked at him curiously. "Did you say something, senpai?" Naoto asked.
"Nah, nothing important," Yu answered.
It didn't seem like they believed him, but they decided to ignore it.
Yukiko picked up the tambourine and laughed. "Look, look! Isn't this like my fan?" It did not look like her fan at all.
"I think she's convinced we're playing for a dinner party at the inn…" Chie mumbled dryly.
"Come on, we need stuff like guitars instead of little backup instruments like these!" Yosuke said, "I'll play the guitar and… hey partner, why don't you take the bass? I can at least teach you a little bit."
Yu smirked. "You underestimate me. I know how to play already."
"Damn! Maybe you're gonna show me how to play then!"
Rise looked at the arrangements they were setting up and started delegating what should go where. She had Naoto set up her keyboard in the back next to the big drum set.
"Well then, since you two and Naoto have decided what to play…" Rise smiled slyly, and pretended to think it over before saying, "Hmm… Let's put Kanji on drums!"
Yu glanced at the set up and smirked knowing why she made that choice.
"Hey, why don't I get to pick?!" Kanji asked grumpily.
"If you're up front, it'll look like a metal band," Rise answered, nonchalantly.
"I think you'd be good at drums," Yosuke said, "You're always hitting and stomping on things after all."
Kanji didn't seem pleased by this either. "How does that make any sense?!"
Yu took control of the situation and subtly nudged Kanji to get his attention. He pointed at the instrument arrangement.
Kanji blushed, noticing that he'd get to sit next to Naoto the whole time.
"You know, Kanji-kun, it's quite common for women to find drummers to be the most attractive members of the band," Naoto said, as she finished setting up her keyboard.
"Well, drums are pretty cool, so sure why not," Kanji said, still very red and talking unusually fast all of a sudden. He quickly went to take his spot before anyone could object.
Yu snickered quietly and gave him a discreet thumbs up.
"Wait, is that actually true?" Yosuke asked, not paying attention to what was going on. "Maybe I should be on drums then-"
"Nope, Kanji already called it." Rise interrupted.
Before Yosuke tried to argue with her about this, he finally looked at the seating arrangement. "Ohh… good idea." He said, quietly. "Poor bastard needs all the help he can get. But if he spends the whole time being distracted by staring at her, then remember it was your fault."
"I'm sure it'll be fine," Rise replied, smiling.
"Heh, then I will take over all the charming percussion accoutrements." Teddie said, before trying to put on a "cool" voice and adding, "Hey, baby! I'll lay down the passionate beats that flow from my soul!"
Everyone gave him an unamused look and chose to ignore his ramblings. Rise just told him to stand on Kanji's other side.
"Ahem, so that just leaves Yukiko and me?" Chie asked.
"Hm, how about the chorus? There's a part for that."
Chie and Yukiko both turned very red and furiously denied it. They agreed to hold something instead, taking the trumpet and saxophone respectively. Finally, Rise put Yosuke on her right side and Yu on her left before stepping back to look them over with satisfaction. She also did that on purpose. Having her boyfriend be up front with her would help make this thing more enjoyable. Especially if it was her first show after deciding to go back to work as an idol.
"Oh- doesn't this at least look like a band?" Yosuke asked.
"Yeah, I don't think it looks bad at all," Rise said, nodding in approval.
"Hey- this isn't doing anything…" Yukiko said, after several attempts to play her saxophone. But it wouldn't make any noise.
"Mine too," Chie said, "I'm blowing, but the air just goes right through."
"That's how it is for everyone when they start out," Rise said, "Anyway, now that we're all ready, we should start practicing."
"What's with all the tadpoles on this paper," Teddie asked.
"...That's how you write music…" Naoto answered, bluntly.
"Ohhh!"
After several hours of learning and practicing, it was finally getting dark out. As the others were packing up to go home, Rise quietly got Yu's attention and asked him to come to her house for a while. She had something important she wanted to talk to him about.
~...
Yu followed Rise up into her room. It was his first time coming over, but he didn't mind it. "So what's wrong?"
"Nothing… I just wanted to say… Senpai, thanks."
"For what? Agreeing to do the show with you?"
Rise smiled. "No, for helping me get this far. I don't know if I'd have agreed to do this if you hadn't been there for me all this time. So, thank you."
Now he understood what she meant. He smiled and went to pull her into a hug. "Of course, Rise."
She leaned into his hug comfortably. "I do still feel a little nervous about it, but… I think I'll be ok if I have all of you there with me."
"Ah, that's why you dragged us into it."
"Heheh, I thought that was obvious! But I'm glad everyone wanted to help too."
"Well, I wouldn't miss it for anything." Yu said, chuckling. "My first live Risette show, and I get a perfect view."
"I don't know if I'd call being part of the band a 'perfect' view."
"Eh, it's close enough." Yu leaned down and kissed her, letting her wrap her arms around his neck.
"Wait, don't you have to go home soon?"
Yu checked his watch. "Hm, I can stay a little longer."
Rise smiled brightly and pulled him back in for another kiss.
~...
The next day was a Sunday. So they got permission to use the music room while the school was closed. Practicing was going about as well as expected, long and tedious. Rise was doing her best to coach everyone properly. But so far only Yu, Yosuke, and Naoto were on beat.
But their current practice attempt was halted by a loud twang out of nowhere, making everyone pause with confusion.
"That wasn't me! I think…" Chie said quickly.
"It wasn't me either." Yukiko added. "I mean I can't get any sound at all out of this."
"Hehe, a hip and young audience yearns for the element of surprise in music as well!" Teddie said, confidently. "A bizarre sound suddenly rings out… an overturning of the expected clichés found in today's sound! You get it?"
Everyone glared at him in annoyance.
"Oh, I get it." Kanji said in a threatening tone, "That means 'Teddie did it,' doesn't it?"
"Huh?" Teddie said, looking confused, "That reaction overturned my expectations."
Kanji stood up, and Teddie quickly ran to the other side of the room and tried to unsuccessfully hide behind a chair for protection.
"Why don't we take a break?" Naoto said, calmly. "We've been at this since morning." This got everyone to relax and forget about punishing Teddie for the moment.
"Good idea. My fingers are all stiff." Yosuke said, setting down his guitar.
"N-Nice follow up, Nao-chan!" Teddie said, "I think I'm falling for you!"
Naoto gave him another threatening glare. (While also not noticing that Kanji did the same thing.)
"Let's just ignore the bear." Chie said, quickly before Teddie could put himself in more trouble.
Everyone set aside their instruments and sat down to relax. Except for Yukiko, who kept messing with her saxophone and ignoring the others.
"Are we really going to manage this?" Yosuke wondered aloud, "I'm starting to get the feeling that it's impossible no matter what we do…"
"There's just not enough time…" Chie whined.
"It ain't over until it's over." Yu said, supportively.
"Sensei, I wanna play in a band!" Teddie whined loudly. "If it's over, then it's over for Yosuke too! That means it's over for me! And I can't bear to face that!"
Yu pinched his nose in frustration. "Ok, what did I just say? I said it's not over."
"Well, I don't like how Teddie worded that, but Yu's got a point. If we give up now, then it all ends there," Yosuke said.
"That's right! Everything would have been for nothing if we give up now!" Kanji added, "A real brawl doesn't begin until you've got your back to a wall!"
"...Please tell me that's not how you won all those biker fights," Naoto said, looking concerned. But Kanji didn't reply, confirming that she probably didn't want to hear the answer.
"Uh, we're not talking about a brawl here…" Yosuke pointed out.
"I'll do it too! It's not just about Yosuke now," Chie said, "I'll simply feel angry at myself if I give up."
"Don't worry, Yosuke-senpai, I agreed to do this, so I'll do it!" Rise said, cheerfully. "I'm going to get a huge crowd no matter what, and they will go home satisfied."
"Wow! Now that's how a pro delivers a team boosting speech!" Yosuke complimented.
Yu gave him a deadpanned look, but chose to let it go.
"Well then, should we resume our practice," Naoto asked.
Before anyone could answer, they heard a note play from nearby. Yukiko looked up from her saxophone excitedly, seeming to have ignored everything they were saying.
"I did it! I did it! So this isn't broken after all!"
~...
Seeing that everyone could play properly now, they spent the rest of the day practicing. Eventually, Rise started to join in by singing along with the tune. By some weird miracle, they managed to pull it off perfectly.
"The band has practiced hard and overcome many obstacles that dared face them, but now is their time to truly shine," Teddie said, proudly, "All they have to do is discard whatever remaining fear holds them back, and a lifetime of public adoration awaits!"
"...Hell no." Yosuke replied, bluntly.
"We've… already been on a tv show." Yukiko said frowning, "A midnight one…"
"I was discarding my clothes more than my fear…" Rise said.
"For me it was like… discarding my public image anyway." Kanji added. He saw Naoto look at him with concern, but avoided eye contact with her.
"C-Come on everyone, let's cheer up ok!" Chie said quickly to brighten the mood.
"Yeah- and you!" Yosuke pointed at Teddie, "You have a bunch of stuff lined up, but you're still only playing the tambourine!"
Teddie laughed. "Haven't you ever heard the phrase, 'A clever bear conceals his claws?'"
"Bears don't have retractable claws," Naoto said, "And the phrase is actually, 'A wise cat hides its claws.'"
Teddie didn't listen to her. "I'm going to play a special little bear-formance of my own and charm all the girls!"
None of the girls looked amused by him saying this.
"Don't even think about it!" Yosuke scolded. "We don't have the skills to ad-lib! Do you understand me? We're doing this EXACTLY LIKE WE PRACTICED. Got it?!"
"What-?!"
"If you don't, then I'll make sure you pay for all the topsicles you've eaten during breaks at work!"
"Just like we practiced, got it!"
~...
The big day was finally here. Junes had set up a makeshift stage in the food court. When the gang arrived, they found people were already showing up to get early seats. Last night, Yu had mentioned to Dojima and Nanako that they could come, and they were able to. He also invited Marie (she was curious what a concert was) and some of his club friends. All of which were able to get seats near the front.
As a last minute decision, they chose to wear their winter school uniforms. The weather was getting chilly, so it worked out better, and tomorrow they would have to start wearing them at school anyway. It was the best they could do. Right now, they were waiting backstage for people to finish coming in. And it was clear that most, if not all of them were nervous as hell about it too.
Yosuke came back from checking out everything. "Crap, the crowd is a lot bigger than I was expecting!"
"Don't say stuff like that!" Chie shouted. "You're making me more nervous!"
"Are- Are our costumes ok?" Kanji asked, shakily. "I mean, they're just our normal school uniforms… even worse they're the winter ones."
"What else could we have done? It's not like we have any costumes," Yosuke answered.
Kanji looked pale. "Oh crap… I- I can't stop my legs from shaking."
"You'll be hitting the skins more than a bear-knuckle boxer!" Teddie said, supportively.
"You shut your stupid bear trap!" Kanji shouted. "I don't need to hear this!"
"You've been on tv before, right Naoto-kun?" Yukiko asked. "Aren't you used to this? You haven't said a word though…"
Naoto didn't look any more comfortable than the rest of them. "The last time I played for a crowd was a piano recital when I was young… Doing an interview on tv is much easier. Even if I make a mistake, I'm the only one who gets embarrassed by it…"
"You think doing tv interviews is easy?! That's crazy too!" Yosuke commented. He then turned to Yu and asked, "Hey- don't you get nervous too?"
Yu seemed to not be bothered by the situation. But he replied, "I'm screaming on the inside."
"Wait, you are?"
"Just cause I know how to do this doesn't mean I've ever played for anyone before," Yu added. (Learning to play bass to pass the time at home while your parents were away so often would do that to you. But he didn't feel like telling anyone that part.)
"Sensei's face is like a waterfall!" Teddie commented in awe.
It went on like this for a while longer. People being flustered and panicky. Yu could see that Rise was fine though. He was excited for this too. It'd be fun to see her sing in person.
What he didn't know was that Rise was thinking of him too. She had thought long and hard about this, as she smiled to herself. The other night wasn't enough. She wanted to do something special to thank her senpai for bringing her this far. She wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. And that deserved more than just a thank you. And she knew the perfect way to do it. But to get to the point she needed, they had to do the show first. And that meant helping everyone else calm down before they all had panic attacks.
"Everyone, can you gather around for a second?" She asked calmly. They did as requested and Rise had them all put their hands together. "Listen, your hearts are all racing, right? So is mine. But that's the power behind a live performance. Don't think about doing everything exactly right. The crowd's here to have fun, so we have to have fun first. When I say, 'Who's ready,' you say, 'We are!' Ok? Be thankful for your fans, your friends, and yourself! This is a full-blown, one-time-only performance! Now, who's ready?!"
"We are!"
And just in time, they got the ok that everything was ready to go. So they grabbed their instruments and went on stage.
They ended up playing the song perfectly. Rise had chosen a cheery, high energy song that fit the theme well. It was a fan-favorite of hers. And the crowd was enjoying it just as much as they were.
Rise was used to doing this. Being up on a stage, dancing while holding her microphone. She knew how to play a crowd, like a true professional. But even as she sang her song without missing a beat, she still couldn't help glancing at Yu during the performance. She knew what she was about to do and she didn't care. She knew in her heart it'd be worth it.
Naturally, when the song was over, the crowd wanted more. And despite all their practicing, they still only knew one song. That didn't matter right now though. Rise could only think of how exciting it was to perform again. How much she loved it. And how much she loved her senpai for helping her get here.
Rise ignored the panicked reactions of their friends who were quickly debating how to get out of this dilemma. They stopped when they noticed her walk over and grab Yu by the hand. Yu looked at her in confusion as she pulled him to the front and center of the stage.
Once she had him there, Rise grabbed him by his blazer and pulled him down into a kiss.
In front of everyone… Of course, the rest of the Investigation Team was in shock. (Except for Yukiko who broke into a laughing fit.) They knew Rise was bold, but really? This was extreme even for her!
Yu was just as shocked. For a moment, he didn't know what to do. But finally he decided to hell with it and kissed her back.
On the plus side, the crowd had completely forgotten about encores. Now they were making noise for a different reason. A good chunk of them were either cheering or laughing, with all the noise it was hard to tell. Dojima had held up a hand to cover Nanako's eyes. Yu's club friends found it funny more than anything.
And it was clear that nobody would ever forget this one show for at least two reasons.
~...
"But in front of everyone?! Really?!"
"Yep!"
Yu was still in shock. "You realize nobody will ever let us forget this, right?"
"Mm, yeah, but it was worth it." Rise leaned against his side comfortably as they sat on her bed.
"But why?"
"If I'm gonna go back to showbiz, then I wanted to tell the world about the man who helped me get there. What better way to do that than at a live show?" She smiled brightly up at him.
Now Yu could see what she did. It was a symbolic gesture. Likely from all the high energy and emotions running through them at the time.
He smiled at her. "Ah… I see… Well, a little warning would have been nice first."
Rise laughed. "Ok, next time I kiss you on a stage- if I do it again, I'll tell you first."
"You'd better, or else no kisses for a week." Yu felt his phone buzz in his pocket, so he checked it. "...That's the 12th picture I've been sent in the last hour."
"And counting. I've gotten them too."
"How many people do you think took pictures?"
Rise hummed a little and avoided looking at him. Yu decided that he didn't want to know for sure and tossed his phone aside.
"Well, I guess after all that, the only thing left is to enjoy our night together."
She perked right back up and climbed into her boyfriend's lap for a quiet night alone together after all the chaos of the day.
~The End!
Thank you for reading! :)
