Day 53: Music Room

[rocksthecourt]

Well, if it wasn't his favorite time of the week. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder. Of course in this case, distance makes Klavier feel like an abused, neglected animal who was only now being allowed a taste of actual food. These people were such savages. It was still absolutely absurd that they were allowed access to this room so

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[36_24_35]

A loud "DUUNNN" broke through the relatively placid murmurings and echo of neighboring instruments. Tifa sat on a stool in front of the rickety electric keyboard and stared down at the piano as if it had bit her. Her face shot up briefly to look about the room, hoping the sudden assault on everyone's ear canals hadn't put anyone in a bad mood.

Someone had turned it on to electric guitar effect before they left.

How gracious of them.

It was set back to default, and Tifa tapped a few keys tentatively to make sure all was well again. Her fingers were arranged across the keyboard with her finger on C before a simple, springy song flowed from her quick fingertips. There were a few missed notes and one complete start over, but the imperfection only heightened Tifa's focus away from her worries so she could work on the task at hand.

Unfortunately, she couldn't remember the end to the childish nursery rhyme and so she sat, tapping a key here and there while she waited for another memory to hit her.

Be nice if they kept sheet music around here...

The best she could do was look over, under, and across from the keyboard for any signs of assistance. Next time she saw her nurse walk by, Tifa would certainly ask.

[anemptydecapo]

This had been an odd day.

While he could be somewhat satisfied with the work accomplished with Edward, the discussion with Mr. Honda was... lacking. And uncomfortable. It prompted him to try more than usual to spend lunch alone and actually eating something, of which he hadn't yet decided if that was going to be a good idea come night-time. The assassin shot the door behind him a parting glance before stepping into the Music Room, perfectly willing to spend the rest of the day in his room but knowing he needed to search someone out.

Where are you, Brainaic 5?

As horribly as his last discussion with the teen went, Venom knew he needed his insight in order to understand how this asylum was being run. He had claimed he had left 4th shift unscheduled, hadn't he? He didn't appear to be anywhere in this room so far. Although it was hard to miss a certain other child he meant to speak with.

Now was an appropriate time as ever, he supposed.

As he neared the boy, he cast a small glance to the woman poking at the keyboard's buttons, unsure if they were together but wagering that they weren't. If they were, it would only take a minute. "Excuse me, Sora," he said, bowing at the waist and ignoring the sting of his wounds and the feeling of his shortened hair tickling the bridge of his nose. "May I speak to you for a moment?"

[scintillatingly]

While Sora was still deep in thought, he was suddenly brought out of his reverie by the sound of a piano being played nearby. It sounded weird at first, but then the person playing it pushed a button and it was back to normal. After that it sounded pretty nice, though as Sora paid more attention to the person sitting down to play, he could have sworn... Was that...?

Quickly distracted when he heard his name spoken in a familiar tone, he spun around to face Venom, who was bowing to him as if he owed him something. He didn't really get why, but he wasn't sure if there was much point in bringing it up.

What stood out more than that was that something was different about Venom's hair. More of his face was showing now, he was sure of it! He wanted to ask, but that could probably come later. The man had asked him a question, after all.

Sora hadn't forgotten Venom's postings to him over the bulletin, and so he had to admit he was pretty curious to find out what the man wanted from him. "Sure!" he replied. "Did you want to go sit down somewhere?" He glanced around in search of an empty spot. "It has to be kind of quick, though. I'm supposed to be--"

[vsyourface]

"-in a kickass band, right?"

Scott grinned as he approached, carrying with him a few of the Music Room's lame instruments, including a small set of bongo-y drums, a cheap ukulele, and a recorder. Not exactly great substitutes for a drum kit, a guitar/bass, or a... whatever the hell wind instrument would be good in a rock band, but hey, it was better than having to make paper kazoos or something. Again, he was trying to stay positive this shift. The night and the morning had both been ass. Aaaasssssssssssss. He was determined to keep his spirits up this shift, if only for the sole purpose of sticking a big "Screw you and your attempts at trauma!" to Landel. If he squinted hard enough, he felt he could attribute some of the Head Doctor's current nervousness directly to that attitude. Yeah, that's right, not so scary now, huh, bitch? Huh? Huh?! Suck it, you're garbage!

"Hey man, this is not a bad turnout! I was half-expecting it to be just you and me," said Scott to Sora while indicating Venom and Tifa (urge to fanboy... suppressing...), whom he assumed were both with Sora. Why else would they all be hanging around near the electric keyboard, Scott figured, if not for the band thing? "She's already got keyboard, so that's cool. You wanted to be vocals, right? I call the strings. And yooooou-" Scott tossed the bongos Venom's way. "You look like a guy who could hit that. Unless you want to blow instead?" he asked, holding up the recorder.

Did Scott know what he had just said or not? The world may never know.

[36_24_35]

Tifa looked up through her bangs at the strange grouping of boy in front of her. She wasn't exactly sure how she had been roped into this little pseudo music band, but it was a rather cute idea. It was warming to know that there were several more patients with a penchant for optimism outside the few she had met. Aside from Claude, Tifa had only witnessed underlying discontent that did nothing to boost confidence in themselves or others. It was a grim future for all, but if there was no joy to be found in everyday living... what was point in living at all?

Surely these men had faced the same harsh realities that had hounded Zack and she last night. And yet they were able to move on and forget just for now. In the face of adversity, what better way to stick it to those that contained them but the look of hope, to smile and to laugh and to enjoy what little time there was?

Her shame was still great, but Tifa's mood was buoyed for now. If they needed someone on the piano, she was happy to give them some of her time. Since it seemed specifics were still being hashed out, the young woman was content to wait and listen.

[anemptydecapo]

With the new stranger's entrance, the conversation had taken a sudden swerve from polite into new and uncomfortable territories. If the assassin had not been working on catching the instrument tossed his way (rather than simply side-stepping it and allowing it to strike someone else), he would have congratulated the man on thoroughly derailing a discussion that had thus far lasted less than a minute.

Whether the stranger knew what it sounded like he had said was up for debate, but Venom had understood the childish remarks for what they actually were. What he had meant to say in response was something along the lines of: "I'm sorry, but I have no interest in whatever you are doing. Please excuse us for a moment--it's important that Sora and I discuss something."

What actually came out was an impressive fumble of words, a long, drawn-out silence as he stared at the other man, confusion and horror palpable enough to taste, and eventually a quiet, stuttered "w-what...?" The part of his brain that controlled his mouth was still hung-up on how the man's words sounded, it seemed.

[rischiarare]

Roxas unknowingly took advantage of the beat of silent between all the band- and possible-practitioners by meandering over toward the assembled group. This was really the first time he'd been in the music room and he hadn't really known what to expect. It wasn't as noisy as he'd expected, but there were the dull singular sounds of something - the instrument the girl was playing on near the assembled group.

Looking at the brightly colored instruments stored elsewhere, the Nobody realized he had no idea what he was doing. He hadn't realized before the notice that Sora could sing - so that meant he should be able to, right? Or, at least, that was his thought process. (Roxas didn't think being awesome sounded too bad, either.) He also had a mission in mind, if he had enough time to talk to Sora before everyone started: he could mention Ruby joining the arts and crafts club (his first recruit! Not too shabby, right?) and maybe ask about something bladed to get her. Someone had to know; Roxas had definitely seen a knife or two in passing patient hands.

"Hey Sora," he gave a small wave, "hey Scott." He turned the wave to the girl, then to the fourth guy... whose face he couldn't see. Suddenly, things felt kind of awkward. He might as well get introductions out of the way though. "Um, hi. I'm Roxas."

[scintillatingly]

Before Sora really knew what was going on, Scott was there carrying a bunch of different instruments (spotting the drums, he was even further reminded of his time in Atlantica), and more than that, the guy was ready to get going right this second. "Uhh..." Sora tried to explain that Venom wasn't really a part of this, but in the end he wasn't able to get the words out.

More than that, when the girl on the keyboard was mentioned Sora got the chance to look back to her and give her a closer look, which was how he ended up staring. He didn't know Tifa so well, but that was definitely her, wasn't it? She was Cloud's friend, and they had fought together. He smiled at her, surprised by her presence there and yet unsure of whether or not she'd know him. Most of the people who he'd recognized from Radiant Garden in this place, such as Cloud and Sephiroth, hadn't known who he was. Chances were Tifa wouldn't either...

In the next moment Roxas showed up and Sora glanced to him with a welcoming grin. "Hey!" he greeted, glancing from his Other back to Scott. The two of them had spent the night together, hadn't they? That probably meant that they were friendly now. "Did you want to help with our band? I was gonna sing."

Then, finally, he turned back to Venom with an apologetic look. "Sorry about this. Maybe now isn't the best time?" He hadn't meant to cut the man off, but he had figured they'd at least have a little while to talk before the band all gathered together; apparently he'd been wrong about that.

[vsyourface]

Scott stopped for a moment when Roxas stepped into the room. He had been hoping when the kid replied over the board that this wouldn't be an issue. He was pretty sure he could still make it not an issue, too; Scott could force his brain to do some pretty complicated contortions to fit his needs when he had to. Just on first glance, however, it was impossible not to be reminded of the night before, just for a few moments.

So, how's Ramona these days?

Scott scrunched his eyes shut for a half-second, willing NegaScott to push back into his subconscious for a while. Moping could come later. Better yet, moping could come never. He was going to have a good goddamn afternoon, goddamnit, and goddamn if he was going to let Landel's tricks throw him off or associate his new buddy with bad times. Goddamnit.

After that half-second, Scott seemed back to normal, and waved Roxas over into the group. "Hey man, you made it. Wicked," he said with a grin, meaning both making it to the tryout and through the night. Turning back to Sora, it seemed the Keyblade wielder was just finishing up something with Venom. Good, he thought, not having caught a clue of what was actually going on. He didn't want to waste much time here. Mustn't waste time, boy, you must spend it! Or something like that.

"Yeah, that's right. The only thing it's the best time for right now is music. Music time." He gave a short, semi-circular waving motion with one hand: "So, uh, you two who don't know me yet, I'm Scott Pilgrim. This is supposed to be a tryout or whatever, but hey, there aren't many of us, right? We could probably just start something with the people we have, I bet. You know, just pick a couple songs, try 'em out, make people's ears bleed, repeat ad naseum. You know, band stuff," he said with a casual shrug. "Sound good?"

[36_24_35]

Since everyone seemed to know each other already, Tifa made her two gil brief. "I'm Tifa, nice to meet you guys," Her welcoming smile landed on that spiky brunette--Sora, if she remembered correctly--as he seemed to be the only one paying attention to her at the moment. His smile was very charming.

"Fine with me. I don't know much outside classic pieces, but I'm sure they've got sheet music around here. I don't mind playing whatever, it shouldn't be too hard to follow," Theoretically, anyway. It had to have been a good five or six years since she last practiced her chords.

[anemptydecapo]

There were a few thoughts going through the assassin's mind as the area became more and more crowded. One was pure disappointment directed at his fellow patients, especially Sora--a band? This is how you plan on using your free time? They should have known better. Another was surprise: the boy who appeared last had an uncanny resemblance to Sora. Were they brothers? The last was the fact that he didn't enjoy where this was heading and he should leave as quickly as possible.

Still clutching to the drums he'd caught, Venom began to step slowly and quietly away from the gathered group. No one in this room would have ever noticed he was there to begin with.

[rischiarare]

Ears bleed? He hoped it didn't come to that. Of course, Roxas was really operating on the assumption he could sing because Sora could - they shared a lot of the same abilities, so why not that? Then again, he also didn't know if Sora could sing, but he was hoping. "I was gonna try the same," he told Sora, giving his own coy little smile. "I never have before, but I figured it couldn't hurt."

The Nobody didn't notice Scott's first reaction to his entrance, but instead was pacified by the fact he wasn't against Roxas showing up. Actually, he looked pretty happy about it. (Did that mean they were friends now?) To Scott's question, he answered, "Sounds good to me. I don't know much, but..." Maybe, with luck, he'd actually recognize some of the songs offered. But he could always learn!

While he trailed off, he noticed the third guy holding a pair of small barrels with paper on the top. "Are you going to play the bongos?" he asked, looking up into what he could see of his face (his mouth? What was the big eye thing for?)

Oh - wow. He hadn't known those were bongos until... now. That was still really weird.

[scintillatingly]

Much like his Other, Sora wasn't interested in making anyone's ears bleed. That wasn't the point of this at all! He frowned at Scott for a moment, but just decided for himself that they could do better than that. It'd be fine! They'd be great. Things had always worked out right in Atlantica, so he was sure it'd be the same thing here.

As introductions started to circle around, Sora heard Tifa give her name -- which meant that there was no doubt about it now. He couldn't help waving to her. Now clearly wasn't the time to start discussing how he knew her, but hopefully they could talk about it later.

Though as she explained that she didn't know very many songs, Sora realized it was the same for him. He only knew the lyrics and melodies for the songs he'd sung with Ariel and the others, so...

He blinked over at Roxas when the man addressed Venom, who already looked like he was trying to make a quick getaway. "Uhh, I don't think Venom wants to play with us," he admitted. "Is there anyone else who could play the bongos?" Still, it seemed like most of the other patients were keeping at least a five foot radius around them, so that left them kind of stuck. But how could they have a band without some percussion?

Finally, the boy turned toward Scott. "I only know a few songs, but... I'll do my best?" He shot him a dorky grin and shrugged his shoulders. They were just trying to have some fun, so it'd probably be fine, right?

[vsyourface]

Scott's eyes widened a bit in realization when Tifa and Sora mentioned not knowing many songs. Oh, that was right. Not everyone was going to share a common base in music, being from different cano- worlds and all. Scott wracked his brains. What was something they might all be able to play? In spite of the sheet music he posted earlier, a look at the instruments they had to work with didn't inspire much confidence that they could make the Sex Bob-omb song sound anything like what it ought to. That meant finding another option, but what?

Then it hit him, just before Venom was able to move too far away. "Oh hey! Does anyone else know a song called 'Under the Sea'?" he asked suddenly. He knew Sora would know it, at least, and if Roxas was from the same universe, it was possible he knew it too. If Venom was going to run off, his opinion didn't matter anyway, and Tifa... well, FFVII characters appeared in Kingdom Hearts. Maybe some things crossed over? Even if she didn't know the song, though, the melody was pretty simple to teach. Scott figured he could probably get her going just by humming a few bars.

[36_24_35]

Oh god, that boy was sweet. She readily offered her own wave, glad to meet a person so unconditionally kind. It better not have been because of her boobs; Tifa wanted to believe in mankind today!

At the mention of an unfamiliar song title, Tifa shifted her attention to the man named Scott. She tapped her lips gently, thinking back to her teen years. She couldn't remember a time after Nibelheim that she had the freedom to appreciate music beside that which blared from Slum shops to tempt passersby.

"Nope, don't know that one, sorry. Is it easy? If it's just a hook and a chorus, I bet I can get through it?" She offered with a hopeful smile. Tifa didn't want to be the one to rain on these boys' parade.