1467/Song from the Heart

Song from the Heart
Date of Scene:	11 May 2016
Location:	Mitakihara - Downtown Neon District
Synopsis:	Utau meets a fellow singer and, when she senses his powerful heart's egg, she becomes further interested in nurturing his potential to become a talented musician.
Cast of Characters:	Utau Hoshina, Shiori Sato

---

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    As usual, Utau's found a sneaky way to shake off her overbearing body-guards. For once, this might be a bad idea as she heads into a particularly crowded shopping district, determined to lose herself in a bit of window shopping.

    The last few months have been pretty darn stressful; Fleeing from her first attempt at heroic acts, followed by some quality time spent with an energy draining vampire, hunting down jerks who took advantage of girls; The recurring and eerily realistic nightmares of destroyed hearts eggs didnt help much, neither did her onging frustrations with Kukai and his many dates, not to mention his recent run in with WPS that landed him in the hospital.

    Yeah, she sure has a lot on her plate, and what better way to deal with it than with a bit of quality shopping? Now, if only Norie-chan or Sora-chan were here to enjoy their similar bittersweet company with. But alas, she is alone.

    At the very least, she thought to hide under one of her big slouchy hats, toned down in attire in casual jeans and a t-shirt, her pretty white leather bag the only thing that really stands out as anything valuable on her, which carries her precious hearts eggs and their currently sleeping occupants.

    Now, if only it weren't so windy..

Shiori Sato has posed:
    As Utau passes in front of the arcade, she might start hearing something odd. Applause. Well, no, it's not applause. It's people clapping along with a song. It's one of Utau's, actually! Sung in her voice. From the arcade? What sorcery is this?!

    Actually if she goes to peek into the arcade she'll see how that's possible. It's in a video game, of course. Specifically a rhythm game. Standing in front of one of the Maimai machines-- those ones that look a little like a front-loading washer/dryer-- is a young boy. Even with the glasses he looks like the most common Japanese everyboy in existence-- brown hair, brown eyes, white t-shirt, blue jeans, black sneakers.

    the only thing that makes him stand out is that he's wearing gloves. Like the hardcore Maimai players do. That and he's playing through "Meikyuu Butterfly" on that Maimai machine... on Expert. And from the looks of it, he hasn't missed a button press yet. He's gathered a crowd, and that's the clapping-- they're clapping along with the beat. But his focus is all on that machine, on that song.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    Wow, it sure is busy tonight..Perhaps it was a mistake to come out. She sure doesn't want to attract any attention for once..But Utau cant help but hear one of her famous songs streaming from the arcade..What is this, a new arcade game? Maimai?

    She frowns a bit, peeking inside..Oh wait, looks like a rhythm game..Utau's not a bit gaming fan, mostly because it's another one of those crowded, noisy places and she gets too much attention as it is. Well. Might as well take a peek.

    Stepping inside, standing safely on the fringes, she watches as Shiori jams on the buttons. Hmm, not bad..

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Utau will probably hear some hushed conversation amongst the fringes. "Wow... this is a really complicated song. You think he's actually gonna get a perfect on it?"

    "I dunno. I don't know of anybody who has."

    "He's really close to it, though...!"

    As it turns out?

    ...The young boy does.... not get a perfect on the song. He misses one tap, a feather-light movement missed by the game because his touch was too light. The combo meter in the center of the round screen suddenly changes from the three-digit score it had been, reseting to zero near the end of the song.

    The "Aaaaaaaw!" from the crowd is audible.

    Shiori still finishes the song, though. His performance rates a SS! That's good! But the score display shows the ranks, 'F' at the bottom, and at the top? 'SSS'. The boy's high score is submitted to the game with the three-character name 'SHI O RI'. He looks at the cabinet with a sigh. "...Nuts." A few of the crowd nearby clap him on the shoulder, as the crowd starts to break up.

    "Oh well. At least I did better than last time," he decides. He flexes his fingers, removing them from the gloves and shaking them a few times. "Ow."

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    Hmmm...Not bad. Utau smiles in spite of herself, stepping towards the boy once the crowds clear a bit. "Hm. You nearly made a perfect score. That's pretty good..Shiori-san, is it?" she peers up at the scoreboard, wondering if that's his real name, or just an alias?

    "Are you a big fan of Utau Hoshina?" it's always amusing to hear what people think about her in the crowds. She's known for being very xenophobic, very reserved. And yet the crowds still love her. Do her songs really touch the hearts of her fans, as she had once intended? Or are they simply mesmerised because of the dark magic that she uses to hypnotize them?

    Sometimes it's hard to tell. Sometimes it aches her heart to think she merely manipulates them..

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori looks up as the girl approaches. He doesn't seem to recognize Utau immediately, given she's in her disguise. He nods to the mention of his name. "Yeah. Shiori Sato. Pleased to meet you," he offers, with a polite bow. The question of Utau gets a nod. "Yeah. Her music's got a rhythmic flow that makes them really appealing. Of course, it also means they're near-impossible when they put them in Maimai. But that just means I get to listen to it more when I practice." He chuckles.

    "I've used a few of her songs to practice keyboard too," he adds. "Her vocals are complex enough to make for really good tests of your ability if you translate the vocal tracks to keyboard or piano. And they just sound great, too. Her vocals and the music mix together in complex ways I can't realy explain."

    His eyes shine a bit when he talks about this. Clearly she hasn't taken his heart's egg...

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    Utau arches a brow, fumbling for a fake name as he introduces himself. "Er..Auta Shianoh.." she says, wondering if it sounds too contrived. Oh well, whatever. She nods her head politely, rather than offer a full bow. "A pleasure to meet you, Shiori-san.."

    She pauses then, listenning as he describes in perfect detail the mechanics of her lyrical style, from the point of view of a keyboardist, apparently. Hmm, clearly he knows his stuff, and he's got good rhythm too. Utau cant help but be a bit impressed, by this.

    "I see..You speak as if you are an accomplished musician. Do you sing as well? I am curious, do you feel that her songs are...Inspirational, at all..?" But the shine in his eyes seems to suggest that they are. And this one at least, still has a heart's egg, possibly a strong one too, if she reads him correctly.

    She should..Steal it. But..No, perhaps she can hold off just a little longer. It's true, she's been 'slacking off' a lot, lately, she's barely managed to scrape together five eggs in the past month or two, hoping against hope that someone might help her free Ikuto before it's too late. Surely she can hang on just a little longer..?

Shiori Sato has posed:
    If it sounds contrived, Shiori doesn't seem to notice it. "Pleased to meet you... Auta? That's an unusual name, I don't think I've heard it before." He smiles. "It's pretty though." The comment wasn't made as an attempt to flirt, no. The tone was an honest one, just meant to compliment. Though the question of is he sings gets a sheepish look. "Well... I'm still just an amateur, but I'm a musician, yes. I play the keyboard mainly, but I've been known to sing the odd song or two."

    As for the question of whether Utau was inspirational or not? Shiori's smile... kind of gentles. It's one of those mushy smiles. "To be honest? Yeah," he admits. "There've been... some things lately that have been making me wonder if I really want to keep going with musical pursuits. Personl things. There's just so many more important things in life, aren't there?"

    He sighs. "And then I remember that music makes me feel good. Not just my own. But hearing others'. Including Utau's. What she's doing isn't useless. It's giving people hope. Even if it's just a temporary refuge, that's between two and five minutes per song where someone feels good. A tiny respite from being sad or upset. Even that is something to treasure."

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    "Pretty..?" seriously, that name is so fake, he must certainly see through it. Even so, she cant help it. A small smile tugs at her lips, feeling the faintest bit flattered by the compliment, and she nods. "I see..Thank you...I think..." No reason to not accept it, especially if it's for real and not just some shallow jerk toying with her emotions. For a moment she bristles at a certain memory, her face hardenning for a moment..

    And then he speaks of how her music has touched his heart..And she can feel her handbag jiggling a bit on its own - it's perhaps enough for Shiori to notice even, although it could just be the wind, not like much wind gets into this place. Iru and Eru are clearly listenning frmo inside the bag, which unzips just the slightest. How odd.

    She pretends not to notice, or maybe she really doesnt notice as she listens to his words. And those hard, amethyst orbs of her quickly soften, reflecting a strange, guarded sadness as she ponders his word.

    "Really...Is that how you feel about it..?" she sighs, and nods, "I suppose, that is why I like..Er..Listenning to her music too. When you're feeling down, when nothing seems to be going right, sometimes just listenning to certain songs can really uplift your spirit, stirring something in your heart..Making things right again.."

    She clutches her heart as she speaks, undoubtedly channeling Eru as she does so. But, what a big liar she is! What a total jerk and a hypocrite, for saying such things and doing such cruel things to people! She cant stand herself!

    Her hands clench into fists, her expression not seeming to match her words one bit..As she stiffens, her bag falls to the floor, with a loud 'oomph!' hey, did her bag just 'Oomph!?' The heck!?

Shiori Sato has posed:
    There's nothing in Shiori's demeanor that suggests he's trying to lead her on, so there's that. Shiori pauses when her bag starts moving on its own. Yes, he sees it. But he's had enough practice with the magical that he probably ought not act like he noticed it. Because if she doesn't see it, then he looks like a moron. And if she does see it, she'll have to ask him why he can see it, and he'll have to tell her about his own magical background! Neither are optimal outcomes, particularly not when they've just met.

    Shiori returns his attention to 'Auta', though, when she starts to speak again-- he'd looked somewhere off to her side, but he'd resisted the urge to look down to the bag... barely. And he smiles. "Even if it doesn't make it right, it makes it feel like it is, and that's what matters," he agrees. "Just that few minutes to take a breather, sometimes that's all you need."

    And then the bag falls... and makes a sound. He blinks, and bends to retrieve her bag. He's careful not to look inside it, though, and merely offers the bag back to Utau. "Oops. Here you go," he notes, with a smile. "Nothing in there's breakable, is it?" Oh he most definitely knows there's something up. Hence why, when he offers the bag, one hand is on the strap and one is on the bag itself, to hold it steady so it won't swing too much.

    And this close? Iru and Eru can most definitely sense it-- he most definitely does have a strong heart's egg. But it feels different than just a strong heart's egg. It feels bonded to him. A teeeeeensy bit like a hatched Chara, but not close enough to call it the same thing.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    It certainly is weird, and Utau's met enough magical people who can sense her eggs. Fortunately, he doesn't seem to notice, and she makes no response to her 'Oomphing Bag'. In fact, she acts as if she never even heard it. Hey, it's totally in his imagination! Like..Totally!

    Except..That something's moving in there, and peeking at him from inside something that looks very fragile..Just a tiny movement as he picks up the bag. Utau smiles a rather strained smile as she reaches for the bag, looking pointedly at it, zipping it carefully shut, all the way.

    "Oh. Thank you. Yes, actually, just some projects from my pottery class." And she peers in the bag just briefly, breathing a sigh of relief. "But they dont seem to be broken.' Just incase he CAN see them and starts asking questions. And just incase he cant and she looks like a fool.

    Because that'd be awkward if she starts talking to her bag. Either way, Utau clutches the bag a bit tighter and hopes that her 'pottery projects' dont get 'broken' or anything.

    Of course, both Eru and Iru could sense it, the heart's egg. It's Iru who wriggles the bag a bit just to let her know, and 'Auta' frowns softly, clutching her bag more tightly, trying to ignore her rowdy little charas. Grr. She'll have to have a chat with them later. Time for a subject change!

    "So. You're a musician..Do you compose your own music? I am curious to hear. I am a big fan of music, you see..And it's always nice to hear fresh talent." He speaks of 'making it right', and Utau cant help but smirk at that. "Hm. I suppose you are right about that. Sometimes believing that you feel better is what is important.."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori chances a look down at the bag, as if checking it. It's just by chance that he looks down... just as that thing is peeking at him from inside. He makes an odd noise, but clears his throat and looks up at Utau. Nope. Totally didn't see that! Instead he focuses on the mention of her pottery projects. He looks surprised. "Oh man! They're OK, right?" When she confirms, he breathes a sigh of relief. "Whew. That's good. Must have wrapped them up good." He smiles.

    The question of if he composes his own music gets a laugh. "Haha... no, I'm not that creative, unfortunately," Shiori replies. "I'm still learning how to play and sing other people's stuff. Still 'cutting my teeth', so to speak. One step at a time, right? Walk before you run, run before you fly?" A broad smile.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    Pay no attention to the creepy eyes in the bag! Nope, nothing to see here! Probably just some funky pottery project, as Utau claimed. "Yes. They're quite fine, thank you. I just painted some glass easter eggs with little glass chicks in them, but they're a lot tougher than they seem.."

    Well, hopefully that covers that. Probably doesnt explain the blinking big anime eyes staring up at him inquisitively though!

    Utau seems more interested in his amateur music career and she nods. "Well, everyone has to start somewhere. Once you get comfortable with your own voice and playing music, no matter whose music..Eventually you might be inspired to compose your own songs.."

    She peers around, spying one of those trusty Karaoke games. "How about it? Think you can sing a song on one of those? I'd be happy to play too.." Heck, why not? Utau doesn't remember the last time she had fun, or met a fellow musician. Perhaps she can be stirred by someone else's voice for once, and not feel so disgusted by her duplicity.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori smiles at the mention of glass eggs with chicks in them. This is characteristically where the one told this goes 'Oh, that sounds wonderful! Can I see?', isn't it? And then forces the magical person telling the little white lie to figure out some way to get herself out of THAT little white lie, usually by telling another-- 'Oh they're not dry yet', 'they're wrapped up and taped, and I don't want to risk dropping them', etc.

    But Shiori knows she's trying to keep whatever it was that was peering at him from the bag secret. Which he's willing to let lie where it is, because... well, he's figuring he'd need to explain being able to see them. So... he accepts the explanation at face value. He nods. "That sounds pretty. Good luck on your project," he offers with a smile.

    'Auta' pointing at the karaoke machine gets a blink, and he tilts his head. Then he shrugs. "Sure. Let's see what I can manage." Here he smirks. "If you hear any cats wailing or dogs howling, I apologize."

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    Fortunately he doesn't pry any further, and Utau makes no more attempts at encouraging him to do so. Whether or not he's another mahou, she'd rather not take the chance or draw anymore attention than needed. She has a habit of getting drawn into troublesome situations afterall.

    "Thank you.." Her smile is forced, as they usually are. His next comment gets more of an amused smirk out of her however, as she follows after him to the karaoke machine. "I'm certain that your voice is not that bad..If you sing from the heart, and sing as well as you can beat out a rhythm, then that's all that matters. I have foud that the worse singers are the ones who simply dont try hard enough, or lack enough...'heart'.."

    That last comment is rather ironic, as many of those terrible singers are a direct result of her stealing their hearts' eggs. Utau cant help but feel guilty about that, but she pushes that thought to the back of her mind as she heads for the karaoke machine.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori nods as he follows Utau to the karaoke game. "Yeah, that's true. Lots of pros use autotune to cover up when they're just sort of singing and not really singing like they mean it," he offers. "Then again, some just aren't really that good, and use autotune to cover that up too." He pauses, rubs his chin. "...Wonder if Hoshina-san uses autotune?" he murmurs quietly.

    The machine itself gets a tilted head, and he examines it. Then looking to 'Auta', he asks, "You want to go first, or do you want me to humilate myself-- I mean, go first?" He grins, proving the slip was completley intentional. He's teasing, yes.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    When he mentions Utau, 'Auta's' expression quickly changes, darkenning several shades, smirk quickly becoming a frown. "Utau. Would never. Do that." She says with such conviction that one would wonder if she's a rabid fan of Utau's..Or something. "Trust me, she sings from the heart, and she is very genuine and real. Her talent goes far beyond many of those other young upstarts, and she would never rely on cheap tricks to prove herself!"

    Woah, she almost seems ready to punch down a wall as she speaks with such passion! However, she calms down as they reach the machine, and smiles coolly once more, gesturing for him to go first.

    "Please, go on ahead. I have a feeling you're a lot more modest than you let on..And don't worry, I promise I wont laugh. Like I said, sing from the heart and believe in yourself. Perhaps I can give a few pointers either way, or else you'll never get better until you can gain that confidence."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori blinks a little at the flat denial. He leans away a bit, hoping he hasn't made her mad. But he's willing to accept it at face value. He nods. "Yeah, you're probably right. It doesn't sound... sculpted, for lack of a better word. It sounds too natural to be autotuned." He smiles broadly.

    The mention of him going first gets a nod. "All right then... let's see what they've got in here..." He inserts the proper token amount, and then starts scrolling through the songs. Then he pauses on a song. "Oh, I didn't know this one was in here." It's an electronica-type song. He selects it, then picks up the microphone. "I'm probably going to get a low score, because I have to sing it an octave lower," he warns.

    The song begins on a with a gentle bell-like melody played on electronic instruments; it's over this that the singer begins the song.

        ~ Someday I'll release you from the chains of gravity ~
        ~ And take you away to the satellite... ~

    Then electric guitars join in to make it sound much more like a rock song! Through the song, a video plays on the screen of a computer-animated little girl with pigtails singing the song into a microphone as well. She's standing on an elevator that is steadily ascending as she sings.

    Despite the silliness of the song, it's a very warm, uplifting song, one that has the singer expressing a desire to take someone's troubles away. The singer is unable to do that, but offers to hold someone's hand throughout the trouble. Because someday, they'll go floating into the sky and escape them!

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    Auta smiles, "Of course I'm right! Go on...Show 'em what you're made of!" there is determination in her eyes, and although a part of her is darkly curious to see the potential in that powerful heart's egg of his, there's a part of her who is curious to hear the voice that could come from such a powerful egg.

    When he starts to sing, she is quite impressed. His voice is somewhat amateurish, but there is true potential there and perhaps for a moment or two he seems to sing from the heart. She nods, tapping her foot to the beat, but the words hit her too, and their gentle, encouraging words almost hurt as they remind her of a certain someone who promised her freedom and who touched her heart..Then ripped it out and crushed it, seeming to have lost all hope in her and left her completely at a loss..

    'Auta' sighs softly, clutching a hand to her chest as she listens, falling into silence. If only she could escape. If only someone could reach out their hand and pull her out of this dark pit..Perhaps someday she could find the light at the end of the tunnel..But she knew that time was running out, and she was rapidly losing hope..

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Even if he's not a professional, it's pretty clear he likes the song. It's also pretty clear that the song's meant for a higher voice. What's also pretty funny is that he seems to know the dance the girl on the screen is doing. Because he's doing it too. Though he doesn't look quite as feminine as the girl on the screen, and with good reason. Mainly because he's actually not a woman.

    However, when the song ends? He gets a C rating on the song. Shiori chuckles, as if he expected it. "It hasn't figured out that a soprano C-sharp and a tenor C-sharp are really the same note, just in different octaves." He puts the microphone down good-naturedly. "Excepting the opinions of overly rigid and principled machines, how'd I do?"

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    Utau smiles when the song finishes. He's a bit rusty sure, but his heart was in the right place. "Hmmm...Not bad. It could use some work of course. The important thing to remember, is to never give up. Sometimes you just have to find the right pitch that works for you too, even if it's a different pitch than what is played in the song. And you're right. This game is pretty rigid and doesn't allow you to sing in your own pitch. You have to 'own' the song, make it yours."

    She bites her lip, pondering if she should even do this, or if it'll give her away, however, Utau really does enjoy the spotlight, and a little competition never hurt. Besides, she may just be helping a potential star out here. Or at the very least, to make his heart's egg shine brightly enough for her to extract it at a later time..Sooner or later, she might just be desperate enough to steal it.

    "Alright, my turn. Take notes.." stepping up to the couter, Utau puts in a couple of coins, and gets the same song. However, when she sings, her voice is pure and rich, sweet and soulful with a hint of sadness and maybe even a little anger in it - something akin to a pure black, sparkling diamond, perfectly polished and shining in the night..

    Naturally, she gets an 'A', and probably just blew her cover if Shiori is familiar enough with Utau's voice..

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori gets out of the way for 'Auta' to take her turn on the song. As he does he nods to her words. "Even the pros were amateurs at one time," he reasons. then he shuts up so that she can sing! And he's very glad he did, her voice is beautiful!

    He remains absolutely silent while she sings. It's likely to draw a crowd too, hearing her beautiful voice on the machine. For himself, Shiori listens in rapt fascination as she sings. He'd just keep staring if not for the voice in the back of his mind.

    (...Take care with this one...)

    It's a woman's voice. Not his own but he recognizes it as his own. Because it was his voice a couple centuries ago! It's the voice of Akahana. Her instincts are rarely wrong. Even if Shiori can't see a single reasion why 'Auta' would be a threat to him.

    However, he just turns a broad smile to Utau. "Speaking of professionals... wow, that was really good!" he compliments honestly. he doesn't seem to have noticed the similarity yet. Or if he has, he doesn't directly point to it.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    When she finishes, she's not half-surprised that a crowd has gathered around her. Had she been too confident, thinking she could slip out too easily under their noses? And 'Auta' is not yet ready to reveal herself just yet. With a soft frown, she steps back from the controls, pulling her hat further over her hair, giving Shiori just a brief smirk.

    "Thank you...I'm afraid I cannot stay any longer. I have some things I need to take care of you. It was a pleasure meeting you, Shiori-shan, I am sure the next time we meet, you will have improved your technique as well!"

    And with a curt bow, she grabs her bag and quickly disappears through the crowd of flabbergasted people..