2024-06-28: Karaoke Date Night
- Log: 2024-06-28
- Cast: Kikka Kobayashi, Leina Ashta
- Where: Von Braun City
- OOC - IC Date: 0099-06-28
- Summary: A week or so after the Dawn of Fold's attack on the Moon, Leina and Kikka make good on their date plans once everything seems safe. It's karaoke night! And that means baring your heart out with song.
<Pose Tracker> Kikka Kobayashi has posed.
Kikka's studies at Von Braun University for the last few months had been mostly uneventful - a part of her routine that she'd come to find welcome, even as the summer intercession approached.
That is, until the attack on a Mobile Doll production base. She was actually supposed to have an exam that day - until the University suddenly and abruptly closed for 'security concerns'. None of the students were informed why of course, nor was she able to get in touch with Leina until the Minovsky Particle interference subsided.
Thanks to her work with Terminal, Kikka knew why the University might have shut down, but all she wanted to do was let Leina know she was okay, and hoped to hear the same in return - which she quickly did. ...Though not without frustration that her exam schedule was totally thrown off balance.
A week later though, she VERTEXes Leina with a little waving Natural Lychee emote.
'exams are finally done'
'i'm still worried about what happened at luna'
'but i really want to see you'
'whenever you can make it back to the moon want to go on a date?'
She arranges a place to meet, this time somewhere right in the middle of the commercial district - giving them lots of options to spend their afternoon and evening, from shopping to fine dining, they even have good old karaoke! What better place is there to talk about private, and potentially classified information while you're on a date?
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
A Wonderful Persimmon cheers back.
>thats great!!
>i know things got super delayed
>just turned in my final project myself
>so i can breathe a little easier
>well unless i have to fight my professor
>absolutely <3 ill book a shuttle
There was one more question Leina considered asking but she considered the words she typed, a hand carding through her hair nervously before- "No."
And she deleted it.
It's not as if she's being dishonest not communicating it anyway.
She promised her.
When Leina shows up, she's wearing a white blouse, and over that a pink spaghetti strap dress, with a hem that goes down past the knee.
She has on a pair of silver floral earrings too, and a simple heart pendant - which looks like the heart of a certain popular Magical Girl attack.
"Hey you." She greets her, with a smile that just communicates so much relief from just being around her again, before leaning in to kiss her once on the cheek, "Missed you. Hope your finals season wasn't too much of a meatgrinder for you?"
It was a little for Leina, between that, and work - and some big school project, but...
"I've been looking forward to doing something like this again the whole time."
She winks at her, "Anywhere you have your heart set on going, first?"
<Pose Tracker> Kikka Kobayashi has posed.
Kikka naturally smiles upon getting a text back, especially seeing the adorable emoji.
'congrats!!'
'i'm sure you did really well'
'and i'll fight them too if they tell you otherwise'
'see you soon!'
'<3'
Kikka sees the typing indicator on VERTEX from Leina continue after their last message, before it eventually disappears. She doesn't think much of it though... after all, they'll be able to talk plenty when they see each other in person.
As she's waiting at the stop at the commercial district, Kikka has on a short-sleeved pale blue blouse of her own, paired with a black skirt, with a stylish cardigan wrapped around her waist to complete the outfit - and in case it gets cooler in the evening. She has her hair up in a ponytail this time, with some barettes to keep it in place.
Kikka beams when she sees Leina, and immediately rushes to throw herself into a quick, affectionate hug, returning the kiss on the cheek. "Hey Leina... I missed you too, god, it's good to see you in person." She takes a moment to get a good look at her outfit, too. "You look so pretty today, you know that? I really like the dress."
As for finals... "Well, it mostly wasn't too bad... except the delays lead to a conflict I wouldn't have to deal with otherwise, and talking to the dean about it was sort of a pain." She explains, with a slight sigh. "Now that it's summer, I'm hoping to really make some headway on my project."
She looks back towards Leina. "Well, the important part is that it's over, so hopefully, that means we get to see each other a lot more often." She nods, optimistically. "But hmmm... we should probably stop somewhere to eat at some point. But before that, I was hoping to try something new? We've never done karaoke, and they have a neat-looking place I always end up walking by..." Kikka suggests. "You want to do that?"
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
>i know u would <3
>wont have to though
>lucky them huh? ;)
The returned kiss on the cheek, she can't help but grin ear to ear on being told she looks pretty, "So do you, Oh my gosh. I'd go bigger and say you look gorgeous but I'm not gonna make compliments a contest." She nudges her affectionately with a shoulder, before sliding her fingers into hers, and squeezing.
Taking the time to listen to her about the delays, she nods, wincing sympathetically, "Sorry about that. It's always a pain when stuff like this interrupts your best laid plans..."
She murmurs her way, "Oh yeah? Where are you at on it now? Been a while since I got the update."
Leina perhaps worries that even with the summer they won't get to but- "Me too. Maybe I can even put in a request to stick close to Von Braun for a chunk of that?"
She suggests to her, "There's nothing saying I can't station at one of our bases here rather than on the Ring."
Leina has to mentally check herself for a moment, but ultimately decides there's nothing wrong with the suggestion there.
She gets an even bigger smile, "Love to. That sounds perfect. Best possible use of my time, to spend some time in a karaoke booth with my gorgeous girlfriend."
There's a 'whoops' noise from her mouth, "Sorry, crept out anyhow." She winks at her, hand squeezing, "Promise I really am not fishing for an escalation there."
<Pose Tracker> Kikka Kobayashi has posed.
Kikka laughs - and kind of blushes - when Leina not only returns the compliment, but affectionately promises not to make it a contest. "Hehe... well, thank you. I mean, just being told I look as good as you do is already such high praise, isn't it?" She winks, gently poking Leina's fingers, before Leina squeezes hers.
"Hey, there's no need to apologize," Kikka shakes her head. "These things are out of your control - and mine - so there's not much that could be done except to go with it," Kikka murmurs, though her expression reveals some worry, too. It softens a bit after though, because where she's at, she'd rather not let this get in the way of their fun today.
"Well, it's been on the backburner for a bit..." Kikka admits, as to her major project. "But I think I really need to get moving on it. I have some leads, but they aren't the most... accessible people, you know? So ever since the big NUNE shakeup, I'd been trying to just.. regain my footing a bit." She explains. Having Terminal to bounce back to helped, but a lot of the people she'd wanted to talk to for her project scattered to the winds, so to speak.
Kikka is trying to be optimistic on the point of seeing each other, but she understands Leina's worries, and considers it when she make her suggestion. "That'd be really nice, I mean... as long as going through that paperwork is okay with you? I'm not sure how.. Cathedra actually handles these things." Kikka fluffs out her tied-up cardigan. She doesn't want to tell Leina what to do, and.. that attack is still fresh in her mind.
"Oh, and don't forget, I won't have classes, so I'm going to be able to move around a lot more again. I'll be able to accommodate your schedule more easily." She suggests, too, keeping up a smile.
"Awesome, let's do it!" Kikka grins, when Leina sounds more than up to karaoke. "I guess I'm kind of at a handicap if we do anime openings, but that's f..." She starts, and then realizes what Leina said soon after. "Oh, you are SO..." Kikka jokingly huffs, while her mind races for a proper response.
"Well, I'm afraid you look so good, no language is capable of describing it." She winks, going for the ultimate escalation, of course, even if Leina wasn't fishing for it. "Guess we better hurry so we can get a good booth, though! It's just down that corner. Actually, I think they've got a couples discount..."
She leads Leina there - it's only a few minutes of walking. She handles the front desk, and thanks to it still just barely being the month of June, it doesn't even take much effort to weaponize that couples discount! Once they're in the room, though, she just turns to Leina. "Hmmm... I think you should start. You're probably way better at this than me~"
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina blushes, just genuinely, there's something about an earnest compliment that disarms her, "Hey, I should be the one saying that to you..." She complains, but definitely doesn't mind, being pleased.
"I've always thought you've looked great." She says softly, "Even when we were teenagers and... well... I knew liked girls, I still thought that."
Still, Kikka tells her no need to apologize, and Leina knows why sorry crept into that, just nodding in acceptance, "You're right." She admits, knowing it's true.
She settles back into listening to Kikka about her project, "Oh yeah? Anyone I can help you find?" Leina asks, curiously, "Off the record of course." It's not like she'd use Cathedra resources. She doesn't want to put Kikka's inquiries out there.
"Shouldn't be too bad. It's not a true transfer anyway. Just a few weeks and - honestly, they probably want extra hands around here anyway right now." She smiles at her, "Besides, even if there was a mountain of it I had to do..."
There's a beat and-
"... it's for you."
She does flash a smile however as Kikka notes she'll be out of class instead, "Well if you want to make it Fujinomiya... or somewhere else instead, I wouldn't mind."
Kikka's huff gets a giggle out of Leina, "Should see your face right now-! No no... I know it's my bad. And... dang. Really? I'm not sure I can top that."
And then, she kisses her again, from the side, on the cheek. Just a small peck, "Not with words."
She smiles genuinely, "Thanks. You always make me feel better about myself." And she means that too, which after Puru-1, one might understand the issues she has with self-deprecation, loathing, despite all the support she gets.
"Oh yeah? Sorry! Right! Couples discount. Good booth." Leina reminds herself as if thinking she'd bogged them down, "Let's go!"
A few minutes of walking and... once in the booth, "Oh? Hm~ Hm~ Hm~" Leina steps up, and... "Sure. How about to make it interesting...""
Leina hits the randomizer... then as the first few guitar notes. "Really? Well alright!"
The Wheel of Dawn - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyKs53JNHiY
Rather than standing for this performance, Leina flips over a corner stool, and takes a seat, cradling the mic, and picking up a karaoke prop... unfortunately a Ukulele.
She gives Kikka an amused look at that, but...
Then starts to sing. And while Leina isn't the best technical singer, she's good at least at putting emotion into it... and ho boy, does she.
The wind invites me to the shadow of the trees,
Im lying face down and crying,
I saw a version of myself I didn't recognize.
On this guitar I'm playing the melody of the departed,
A star falls in the grief of those will will never be seen again.
Grief.
A guitar plays the melody,
Of the person who departed.
A star falls for the grief of those who will never be seen again
Sadness.
No matter how much I cry out, 'Please don't go',
All that happens is that the orange petals stir.
Left on my soft forehead,
I send the memories in my palm far away,
An eternal farewell I can't cease strumming.
Yearning.
The heart of a child clinging to a gentle hand,
The blazing wheel casts it off and continues on.
On this guitar I'm playing the melody of the departed,
The strings in my heart are violently plucked.
It's perhaps not difficult to sense what she feels when she sings this one, perhaps a touch harder to understand why.
In the pure white unstained by sadness,
The orange flower petals stirred in that summer shadow.
Even if my I lose that softness,
The rhythm of farewell crosses the far-off red stained sand.
But sing she does, and keeps going, her fingers miming the motions of playing the prop like a Guitar.
Branded into my memories, on this ever-turning Earth,
Is there anything that blossoms so dearly?
All the way to the end.
Sending off the dawn's vessel,
Those orange petals are stirring somewhere even now.
The peaceful dawn I once saw,
Until it is placed in my hands once more.
Please don't let the light go out,
The wheel keeps turning...
As the somber melody gives finishes, Leina smiles at her. It's not like she's trying to play off how she feels, but at the same time, sad songs are often cathartic for her, in allowing her release.
Then she slides the stool back away, puts down the prop and comes back to sit beside her. "There you go, now I've given myself a proper handicap during the warmup round." She teases lightly, because despite her eyes faintly glistening, she did enjoy singing it to her.
<Pose Tracker> Kikka Kobayashi has posed.
Kikka smiles, first teasingly, but then more warmly and genuinely when she notices the blush from Leina. "Hehe, well... I'm not taking that one back." She replies, when Leina says she should be the one saying it.
"R-really?" Kikka's eyes widen a little, when Leina says she's always thought that of her, that she looked great. "I mean... I knew you liked girls. Just didn't know you were paying attention that way." She smiles, softly. "Well, not that I'm complaining. I always felt like I was really lucky to know you... just not to what extent." She winks.
Leina seems interested in her project though, and Kikka considers when Leina asks if there's anyone she can help her find. "I'll let you know if anyone comes up... but I really appreciate it." She pauses. "I've never really brought this up, but part of me wants to meet Amuro himself... but I've also been wondering if it would make the whole project, pointless." She shakes her head, deciding not to keep going down the train of thought.
She smiles again though, when Leina talks about the temporary transfer. "Touche," She says, about needing extra hands, and then considers it a little further. "Besides, people probably make these temporary transfers to see their families all the time, and..."
She just pauses mid-sentence when Leina says it's for her, "Aww... you are way too smooth, you know. Still... it might be nice to do something in Fujinomiya, actually? It's been a while since you've seen my place, and while I want to spend a lot of time just the two of us, I think Mom and Letz would be happy to see you." The last time Leina visited the Kobayashi household, things were pretty fraught, and Kikka had no idea the true extent of what Leina was going through, but it doesn't need to be that way forever.
Leina's giggle-laughter is infectious, even if Kikka is the one being laughed at, and when Leina says she's not sure she can top that... "I guess we'll just have to settle for being the two most beautiful women in Von Braun, then~" Kikka concludes, with a proud smile, which again turns softer when Leina thanks her. "I'm glad. You deserve to feel this good about yourself. And... not just right now, but always."
She didn't think Leina brought down the mood just by speaking from her heart, but she follows her right down to the booth. "A randomizer? God, you are bold." Kikka's eyes widen... and it hits 'The Wheel of Dawn'.
Kikka takes a seat, putting in an order for a drink for herself, as Leina starts singing... with the prop ukulele.
Indeed, she can feel the emotion coming out not just from the lyrics themselves, but the feelings Leina puts into them as she sings. The grief, the sadness, and the yearning. She wonders, of course, who those feelings are meant for, but she can tell they are real - and not just a part of the karaoke atmosphere.
"That was, wow. Beautiful...?" Kikka offers, subtly trying to wipe a tear or two. "If you call that a handicap... now I'm really nervous." She teases back. But there's a certain veil of vulnerability to get past with karaoke, and perhaps that's why she chose the outing in the first place.
"Still. Since you used it, I'm not going to be a coward. Do your worst, randomizer..." She presses the button, and in place of a guitar, a poppy-sounding, yet wistful piano plays. The prop Kikka has to work with for this is of course a dinky little portable keyboard piano. It's Lacus Clyne's, who's been pretty far out of the public eye in recent years' first single, Quiet Night. But it's only been recently that her songs found popularity outside of the PLANTs.
Kikka cracks her knuckles as if to say, she's definitely not cut out for singing like Lacus, but she's obviously going to try, anyways.
In this quiet night, I'm waiting for you
So come take back the smile you forgot back then
Just a little time has passed since then
And the memories have become gentle
In the place where stars fall
I was always hoping
That you were smiling
Though now we're far apart
We can meet again, right?
When did your smile become so fleeting?
Since it was broken by that one mistake
Change only what's precious to you into light
With strength that can cross over the distant sky
I want to send my feelings to you
To the place where stars fall
I will always be at your side
To embrace you when you're cold
And though we're far apart now, we'll surely meet again
In the quiet night...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqLNkK5Ua1Y Quiet Night - Lacus Clyne (Rie Tanaka)
The feelings put into the song lyrics aren't really one to one, and Kikka certainly makes a lot of mistakes in the notes as any amateur in karaoke would. But it's close enough that she's definitely able to put her heart into a song about those who are no longer there, that are too distant to reach - and the hope that comes from it anyways.
Once she's done, she just takes a seat and takes a sip from the cider she order. "Even with the handicap, I think you still won that round," She looks to Leina and shakes her head. "But... karaoke feels pretty fulfilling."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
She definitely makes some notes for later, including possibly making a list to help... Kikka out for her project.
As Leina puts down the Ukulele, she smiles, "You think? I just... even really into it, I just thought I was pitchy and all over the place. There's a reason I never got a leading role in my school musicals."
But after a moment she says more softly, "I'll take beautiful though." There's no small amount of warmth in that.
Kikka declares she won't be a coward, "With my luck you'll still get the Second Lychee OP or something." She teases, with general good humor.
However instead, Leina stills when she hears the first few notes of the Lacus Clyne song, and after a moment Leina gives her a thumbs up, and a 'You've got this!' subvocally, before settling in.
It's beautiful.
Oh sure, Leina can criticize it in the same way she can herself if she really tries. Pitchy, maybe a little off-tempo sometimes, but... it's still beautiful.
Not just in the lyrics, not in the melody, but in the attempt. Sometimes that's just how Karaoke is.
"Well. I think you were incredible. Who in the world would ever think you're doing an injustice to Miss Clyne?" Leina scoots in close puts an arm around Kikka, waiting for her to put down the cider.
"I think, since you declared me the winner, and I think you are-"
Then... almost impulsively, she uses that arm to half scoop her legs up over Leina's lap, nudging her just up onto it, to sit there.
"-that we just say we both are, this round."
It's kind of an amusing position in a way, Kikka has a few inches on Leina, but...
She tells her softly, her smile lopsided, "If I'm overstepping - it's okay to tell me off, promise. It was... just was one of my favorite 'girlfriend' things to do, to sit on someone's lap. So I thought it'd be nice to give you that experience."
Her seagreen eyes have to look up a little just to search hers, as she whispers, "... And maybe I just wanted to hold you, after a song like that."
<Pose Tracker> Kikka Kobayashi has posed.
"Maybe that's something you'd notice if we went back and watched a recording or something." Kikka concedes. "But in the moment, it didn't sound like that at all. It sounded beautiful, because... it was coming from you. Because it was your voice I was hearing." Kikka smiles, squeezing Leina's hand gently. "And nothing could replace that."
Leina cheering her on is all the confidence she needs to belt out her own randomized song. While sure, she'd absolutely be able to point out her own mistakes to the verse when she's comparing herself to Lacus's take on the song... Leina, too, sees the beauty in the attempt.
"'Incredible', huh? Thanks... I know you mean it when you say it." Kikka smiles, and leans closer in to Leina after she puts her drink down and slides it across the table. "You know what? Yeah... I'll accept a draw." It was never really a true competition in the first place, but... the fun of karaoke is just hearing each other sing.
And then Leina scooting over on her lap, Kikka still has the height advantage to support her, but she's only about 168cm at the most generous, so it does look a little silly. But...
Kikka doesn't mind it, especially since it's a moment they have to themselves "You're not overstepping at all," She clarifies. "Actually, it's kind of cute." She teases, though her voice remains soft.
"And. After a song like yours, I want to stay this close for a little while longer too."