22/Bland Face, Memorable Music.

Bland Face, Memorable Music.
Date of Scene:	27 May 2015
Location:	Seiyo Public School - Classrooms
Synopsis:	Shiori decided to indulge his curiosity and see if a real piano was diferent than electronic keyboards. Junpei covers for him being somewhere he's not supposed to because Shiori seems to honestly enjoy making music rather than being some random lookie-loo.
Cast of Characters:	Junpei Matsuo, Shiori Sato

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Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori's not supposed to be here. And he knows it, given how he's looking around. What could a young fella like him be doing that he has to be sneaky about? Most people who know him don't even remember him the next day. He almost never gets in trouble. Mind, that's mainly because he generally can't be bothered to get in trouble. He's kind of a layabout.

    Well, to answer the question of what he could possibly be doing that he had any need to be worried about getting in trouble over? First and foremost, he's not supposed to be here. He's not a member of the band or any kind of music club, so he's not supposed to be around the music room. Particularly not after school. But there's a piano in here-- an /actual piano/, not just a keyboard-- and Shiori wants to play on it.

    That explains the sneaking, anyway. Getting to the spare practice room shouldn't be too hard; most everyone seems to have gone home for the day. He shuts the door behind him, and then heads to the piano. He sits down on the bench on front of it and picks up the cover over the keys. After a moment's hesitation, he plays a few notes, just to get the feel for the sound of the piano. Shiori smiles a little... and then plays a few notes of a song he knows. It sounds good. So he starts to play the rest of the song.

    People passing by the room will probably hear him. It's a song that anybody who knows classic rock is likely to know. A hesitation in beginning, as if the person playing is not quite sure, but then gaining strength as the person continues to play.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo was actually a couple rooms over on an accoustic guitar. Why accoustic when he had a very nice and /VERY/ expensive bass? Tuning it for Kyo mostly, but he couldn't help it. Didn't help he heard someone on the piano a few doors over finally finding their legs. Funny. He didn't realize anyone else would be practicing.

He shrugged and continued playing along for several bars before realizing what the song was, then grinned in appreciation. Seriously, he was considereda bit of a music snob for it but you really did have to study the classics to understand the foundations modern music was based on. Plus it's not like someone was belting out 'Hey Jude' out of key and so far out of tune there's no hope of getting back in tune even with liberal applications of cow bell.

Such was the price paid for bringing his dad's vinyl collection over a month back. Totally worth it though.

His own playing faultered when he realized that nobody else was supposed to be in today. So he calmly set Kyo's guitar back in its case and walked over to the practice room Shiori was in. Who was this kid? Face seemed slightly familiar, but he couldn't place it. Weird, someone sneaking in to play? He stood there in the doorway watching, trying to not make any noise that might make the music stop. Kid was good, whoever he was.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    From the looks of things, just a brown-haired kid with brown eyes and glasses. High school kid, might be in Junpei's class. Hard to tell, he just looks so ordinary. He /is/ wearing a Seiyou uniform, though. And if he's near Junpei's age, there's a good chance. There's just really nothing remarkable about his face that one would remember-- no weird eye color, no oss hairstyle or hair color, doesn't wear some odd custimization to his uniform that makes him memorable. This kid could literally be anybody.

    No indeed, Shiori didn't notice Junpei just yet. He's got his attention on those keys. He's not perfect, now; he does trip a couple of times, but he continues playing. He's also not quite good enough that he doesn't have to look at the keys. But he's still pretty talented-- he has potential.

    Once Junpei gets near enough, he'll hear the all-but under-the-breath murmuring of the words of the song. In English. And the reason Shiori is not actually singing where he can be heard is understood-- his English is /horrible/. At least he's staying on-key with the lyrics. Even if you'd probably never be able to understand him if you didn't know the song!

    But of course, the song isn't really that long. So he'll have to play those last chords sometime! This he does, and leaves his hands resting on the keys for a moment, though not with enough pressure to press them down.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
In fairness the Beatles themselves weren't perfect. No, seriously, go listen to a few of their songs. There are a few where you will hear the occasional gaff. Music is why Junpei learned English, or at least was eager to do it. Generally it's nice to know what a song's words are when you're listening, if only to avoid embarassing himself.

When the song ended Junpei clapped softly as he smiled. While his own uniform hada few twitches here and there it was mostly his jacket since he liked the basic look of the shirt and slacks. "Starting to regret that you're not in band?" His voice was soft, not wanting to startle Shiori. "You play really well for someone I've never seen over here." Shirou would recognize Junpei. Sure the rumor mill went on at him having some kind of reputation, but discounting that he was just another student, not the best or worst, that happened to enjoy music. And cycling. And basically always kept busy. Or eating.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    ACK! Busted!

    Shiori starts, disturbing the raised-up cover and causing it to slam down over the keys. And on his fingers. Thankfully he had /all/ of his fingers on the keys, so what ended up happening-- aside from the cacophonous sound of keys-- was the weight of the cover was distributed rather evenly. Still hurt, though! He jerks his hands back from the keys, shaking his hands at shoulder level for a moment before standing up, almost knocking over the bench. Good Lord but he's clumsy all of a sudden!

    "Ah, s-sorry," he offers, as he steadies the bench and steps out from behind it. Then he raises a hand and rubs at the back of his head sheepishly. "I've never played an actual piano before, only an old electric keyboard. I was curious. The feel's different, pressing the keys down, how they spring back..."

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo winced at the key cover slam thing and waited, making no motions towards or away. "Dude you OK?" He still made no motions, not wanting ot scare this obvious klutz off and hurting those hands more. He frowned slightly as he heard someone else approach and turned to see what they wanted.

"Hey is he supposed to be here?" Didn't matter who this new person was. Junpei just waved them on, or at least tried to. "No I don't remember them from practice, you sure it's ok?"

"Yea hey it's cool. He's with me Mimi. "You here to pick up Kyo's guitar?" When Mimi nodded Junpei unslung the guitar from his shoulder and handed it over.

After Mimi left he gave a satisfied chuckle, "I can't say I blame you. Real piano, even if it's an upright. Tactile, weight, very... well it is what the electronics are based on ya?"

Shiori Sato has posed:
    "Yeah, I'm fine," Shiori replies, looking a bit embarrassed. "Just didn't expect anybody else to be here, that's all. Sorry to bother you." He freezes, though, as 'Mimi' appears. Really he's /not/ supposed to be here. But he offers no explanation, half because he's still trying to think of one when Junpei handles it.

    "Um... thanks." Shiori still looks embarrassed. He nods, though. "The way the keys react is different," he points out. "It's a... crisper movement, I'm not sure how to describe it." Pause. he realizes he has no idea who this guy is, even if he knows his face from class. "A-anyway... my name's Shiori Sato. Good to meet you." He offers a smile.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo gave Shiori a polite bow, "Matsuo Junpei." He sounded quite pleased with things as he looked Shiori over. "Hey I can understand if all you've had to work with are electronics. I know Jan tried getting me to try this midi guitar once." His eyes rolled in spite of himself. "nice for what it is, lets you play without being wired directly to an amp so I can see uses but it just..." Headshake as he pulled up the other chair in the room to sit. "After learning on and playing with a proper guitar I couldn't do it. I don't want to make you feel like you did something wrong," Except Shiori shouldn't be here, "It's just I couldn't go to synth."

"But I guess I should ask why you're not in band. If I'm overstepping sorry, it's just you're good and you enjoy playing." As he sat there Junpei studied the other student, trying to pick out those little details that made Shiro a unique person and not just a random face in the crows. No matter how ordinary he might seem everyone was their own person, and he didn't want to forget this face easily.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Maybe that's the weird thing about Shiori... there really isn't much that's unique about him visually, even with the glasses. There /is/ a slight greyish tone of his hair and eyes. in fact, they're almost exactly the same color, a dusty greyish-brown. It's not really enough to be unusual, but it does stand out a little. But only if you're paying attention. Other than that, he could be just about any high school kid ever.

    As for going to synth? "I guess when you start on it, it doesn't seem so bad," Shiori replies. "I mean, if it's all you've got, or you have limited space, it's a good idea." When Junpei sits down, so does Shiori. He sits on the piano bench, but he sits with his back to the piano, facing Junpei.

    the question of why he's not in band is raised, and Shiori looks sheepish again. "I dunno. Too lazy, I guess." At least he has the decency to admit it, right? "Besides, I'm not formally trained... no religiously going to piano lessons for ten years or anything like that. My dad just has an electric keyboard and I learned on that. Just plinking around on it, learning to copy the songs I liked."

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo shook his head at Shiori's deflection, "Man I've heard people that play by rote. Souless mashing buttons or plinking at strings exactly as the sheet says." It felt insulting really when he heard someone play like that. "You put heart into it. It might not be something you have been able to sit and do constantly, but I can tell you love the music." Admittedly he didn't like the idea of someone just sitting around all day, but Shiori was honest about it. "You want to keep playing?" He offered after a few moments of thought. "I tend to stay regularish so I could cover for you whenever you want to try new things out."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori nods as well. "I've heard that too," he admits. "I have to respect their ability to devote that much time before they lose their marbles-- if they haven't already-- but yeah... I'm not fond of 'press button, make music'. Me, I just... like to play the piano, yeah." He shrugs, as if at a loss as to what else to say about it.

    The offer of being able to stay gets blinks. "Well... yeah, I definitely could use the practice," he agrees. "You probably heard me goof up there while I was playing." He smirks a little. "Then again, it's been a while since I've done that one. But songs by that group tend to be easier for a beginner than, say, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in C Major." There's a bit of wryness there, but he's still serious. He's also talking as if he doesn't expect Junpei to know the song, or the group. Which is probably a fair assessment given their ages and the age of the music.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo chuckled, "Hey have some respect for the masters." He patted the piano lightly, "Beethoven traslates surprisingly well to guitar actually. Then again," He continued as he looked Shiori over with perhaps a touch more respect, "Metal and Orchestra tend to go together pretty well. That said there's nothing wrong with the beatles."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    "Oh yeah," Shiori replies. "No disrespect to classical music meant. I'm just not a classical player, that's all. It all seems a little too complicated for me. Especially when I see the people playing it and their hair going all over the place. I don't know that I could ever really have that much energy."

    A nod is given to the mention of the group. "I'm surprised anybody nowadays knows the group. That was a long time ago. But the music is easier than trying to play any of those big, complicated classical pieces by ear, so I know a lot of their stuff. Not just them, but a lot of stuff from that time period. Like this."

    Maybe he's gotten a little bolder, because he turns on the piano bench to face the piano. He takes a few seconds to remember where his fingers need to be... and then he starts playing again. It's a faster one. He doesn't sing it, but he probably doesn't need to for it to be recognized. Yeah, he screws up a few times on this one too, but he has the overall gist of it.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo grinned wide as Shiori started playing. Sure therewere mistakes, but that was part of what made it fun. He lightly drummed along with his hands on his leg s his head nodded to the music. Guy was selling himself short since he recognized his comfort zone and actually was fairly good at it for all his talk of being out of practice. See that is why he didn't rat Shiori out. He had talent, and more importantly he loved doing this. It wasn't someone being disrespectful and horsing around on a lark. It was.... Music.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    That might have made the whole difference. Shiori wasn't being disrespectful to the music. He was genuinely enjoying himself by playing a piece of music. Even if he wasn't a professional, the enjoyment of the music was plain in the smile on his face while he played. It wasn't a big, huge grin, but it didn't have to be.

    He chuckles as he finishes that song. "That one's fun to play. You can't help but be happy when you play that. Just too bad I can't sing it. Horrible English aside, I have trouble reaching the notes."

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo shared Shiori's grin as the song ended even as he waved a dismissive hand at the lack of singing. "I'm no good on vocals either, which is the whole point of the guitar really." Each to their own talants after all. "Hey, want to keep going for a bit then grab a bite? There's this neat little place opened up that does american style chinese." What? 'American' chinese was different than mainland chinese. Something to do with being descended from rail worker food or something. "Best eggrolls i've ever eaten."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    "Well, not to toot my own horn, but I'm... usually pretty good at singing," Shiori ventures. "Just... not that song. I could have managed it about three years ago but, uh... Puberty, y'know. Little too high for me lately." He didn't have a really uber low voice, at least not speaking, but it does sound a little lower than could probably manage the song comfortably.

    He blinks, though, at the mention of 'American' Chinese food. "That sounds like a distinct contradiction in terms," he says, with a bit of a chuckle. He's aware of the different takes on Chinese food, yeah. "But I'm always up for good eggrolls." he pauses then, and thinks. "...You know if they serve gyoza?" Fried dumplings! Gotta love those.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
The question caught Junpei off guard, "Y'know, I never thought to ask." He sounded sheepish at the admission but continued with an explaination, "I kinda tend to go for certain foods and just kinda keep around them mostly." Granted he'll get /lots/ of that food, but he has his regulars if a place is around long enough for a 'usual' to develop. "But hey, worth looking into." If nothing else they probably took requests that might or might not end up on the menu. "Real nice korean couple owns the place. Whaaa? Koreans making americanized chinese. Where were they from, Australia? "You have a bike?"

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori nods. "Never hurts to ask," he agrees. If they're a nice couple, they might be nice enough to make them on request, yeah. They're not too hard to make; Shiori's made them on his own a couple times. A bike? the question catches him off-guard. But he nods. "Just a regular pedal-bike, though." One needed a license for a motorcycle, right? And that requires money. And effort! His dedication to laziness is pretty strong, after all.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo nodded, "Same, kinda want a motorcycle, but insurance, tests." Eyeroll. "Seems too much hassel when I'm mostly just going to puttter around Tokyo." That and he loved cycling, it helped build up stamina, let him see the sights, and if he went on about it he'd probably make Shiori feel bad. As is he just got up and straightened, "I will make introductions and buy." After all how much could this guy eat?

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Feel bad? Probably not. That would take effort! But yes. Shiori nods. "Yeah, that insurance... At our ages, the premiums would be sky-high. 'High-risk customers', right?" He doesn't deny it. But it still sucks.

    He too stands as Junpei does. "Oh? Thanks, I appreciate that." Luckily he doesn't eat that much. Right under that 'painfully normal' label, after all. "I'll have to figure out some way to pay you back."

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
As Junpei held the door for Shiori he continued grinning, "Dude don't worry about it. I spot friends constantly." He was lucky in having family relatively well off, enough so that he got paid for running errends. He didn't think about insurance since frankly he had so many nice things if he'd been more obsessive over getting a motorcycle he could have gotten one easily. As is his bike was very nice. "There's a band concert tournamint thinggoing on in a few days. Food and merch is going to be crazy expensive, but admission's free. All local bands too."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Leaving out of the music room, Shiori listens to the mention of the band concert tournament. "That sounds like it's going to be interesting," he notes. "You going as an audience-member or as a band-member?" he inquires. He figures Junpei's going, if he mentioned it.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
"Band," Junpei lead the way, ready to deflect attention from his new friend. Granted that was going to beeasy given just how nondescript he was, but he'd still need something more interesting for people to remember. "Going in under an eighties hair metal motif, though I have a few medlies we're gonna try that should spice things up." Soft laughter as he walked, "We're even collabing with the other bands on a big finish number. Something special for the crowd."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    The mention of collaboration gets a smile. "That's going to be something to see, I bet," he observes. "I'm going to try to show up... that sounds like it's going to be something else. You said admission was free?" he asks. Well, he did promise to try, so there's that!