edited version for hatori
“Konbanwa. Elijah desu.”
Within seconds the stage was filled with sound as those with instruments caught their cue. The lights went down, focusing purely on the singer with the unusual name, Kanano. She stepped up to the mic, gently caressing the side as the heavy beat died down and only light drumming was heard. The words were almost whispered, softly, in Japanese. The words faded to nothing, and the drums died.
The bass roared to life, and within a few chords the drums revived, bringing the guitar with them. Words followed, and there was no doubt that what was created was rock.
Elijah began the live.
∑∑∑∑∑
Kanano collapsed onto the couch in the dressing room, exhausted. The live had lasted four hours, and her vocal cords, although trained for long hours of singing, were telling her if they sang any more they’d personally make sure she never sang again. Neko gently set her guitar in its case, taking a long gulp of her canned tea before glancing at Kanano’s legs and sitting down on top of them. Fuwairu sat on the other, empty, couch while drinking from the bottled water the staff had handed to him.
“Dame! No more! I can’t take it!” Hatori didn’t make it to the couches, and instead had collapsed on the floor just inside the room. Her drumsticks went rolling across the floor as she let them go, too tired to care.
“You sat there the entire time! Come on! At least stand up to play an instrument!” Neko flung the now empty tea can at the girl on the floor, laughing as it hit her head.
The remaining band member walked through the open door, closing it behind her. She nodded once to her band mates and sat down in a chair by the corner where she’d left her stuff. She set down her bass and opened a can of imported soda, ready to go home already.
When the door opened again, everyone sighed relief and grabbed their things. The very presence of the manager meant he was ready to drive them back to their apartment in downtown Tokyo.
∑∑∑∑∑
Hatori was practically jumping up and down. Elijah had received an invitation to participate on one of the more famous game shows, and after a long debate, three members where chosen. Those three members had almost been late to the show, and as a result had not met any of the other contestants. Matsu, the band leader, knew who they were facing, but had refused to tell the other two band members due to lack of time. The fact that she was on the phone with the staff at the studio didn’t help the other members in their impatience for knowledge.
Hatori, Neko, and Matsu gathered near the set, waiting on their cue. The other participants were in front of them, also awaiting their cue. The announcer waved his hands dramatically, made another rather lame joke, and decided to finally get on with the show.
“This week’s battle is between god-like Tohoshinki and revolutionary Elijah!” The crowd cheered, and the MC waved his hands to quiet them down. “As you know, each team consists of three people, and each member of the team must compete in battle against a member of the opposite team, for a total of three battles. The team with the most winning battles takes the game. In the event of a tie, an extra battle will be fought between a single representative from each of the two teams.”
“Well, let’s introduce the members of each team, shall we?” He gestured to the left of the stage where a couch that easily sat three people was resting quietly, its dark blue cloth contrasting the bright lights of the stage. “On team Toho…band leader, U-know Yunho!”
The first of the other guests walked to the blue couch, bowed slightly, and waited for his other members before sitting down.
“Dreamboy Micky Yoochun!” Yoochun followed Yunho’s example, waiting for the last member to be called.
“Youngest, Max Changmin!” As the youngest member walked out he waved, a smile bright on his face. He was by far the tallest of the three, and as he reached the blue couch, all three of them bowed together and sat down.
“Team Toho!” The crowd cheered. “And now, team Elijah!” More cheers. “First up, band leader, Matsu!” Matsu pulled her noseband tight one last time and walked on stage, heading towards the red clothed couch the MC had waved her towards. When she reached the couch she turned to the audience and bowed. She waited for her band members to follow.
“Guitarist Neko!” The most popular member despite her seemingly lack of verbal Japanese walked towards the red couch, bowed, and waited.
“Youngest, the energetic Hatori!” The young girl almost skipped over to the couch, smiling at the crowd and her opponents. They smiled back at her. All three members of Elijah bowed and sat down.
Hatori wondered just what kind of person Elijah’s opponents were. Of course she’d heard of Tohoshinki and listened to a couple of their songs, but only because Matsu owned the CD. She herself was too busy to spend much time on other bands. Neko, ever the American, had only heard the name in passing and forgotten all about them. Matsu knew of them and studied their music, just as she studied the music of other artists. The band leader made a hobby of studying music, mostly because she wrote music herself.
The crowd quieted when the MC signaled them too, knowing that although the show wasn’t live, it still had to be completely filmed by tonight.
“Each game will be between a single representative from each band, and the battle type will be chosen randomly via this big button here,” the MC pointed to the large red button behind him, below a giant screen displaying the name of the show and the teams battling. “Contestants will decide who pushes the button. It gets quite a bit of attention, huh? Anyway, let’s choose the first participants from each team. Team Toho, who’re you sending out?”
Yunho got up from his seat, followed by cheers not just from the fans in the crowd but his band mates. “As the leader, I’ll go first,” he said as he walked to the circle in the middle of the floor.
The MC turned to the other team. “And team Elijah?”
Matsu stood up, walking to her team’s circle for current battle participants. “If Elijah sends anyone else after that statement we’d look bad.” She gave a half smile, knowing most of the crowd would have trouble picking it out anyway due to the bandana around her nose; a style taken from the very bass player who inspired Matsu to play.
“A battle between the leaders! Which leader’s going to press the button and decide both of your fate?” The fact that the MC was worked up over this kind of battle showed that it didn’t happen often. Matsu waved for Yunho to press the button, seemingly uninterested. The young male bandleader gave his opponent a small bow of acknowledgement and walked close enough to the button to press it. He took a deep breath and slammed his hand down.
The screen flashed a roulette of choices, most going by too quickly to read. Slowly the roulette slowed down, each battle becoming more and more clear. At last the screen decided on a battle: A dance-off.
“The luck of U-Know Yunho has won! It’s a dance-off battle!” The MC screamed into his mic. Yunho smiled widely as Matsu nodded both her acceptance and predetermined defeat. “The battle goes this way: When the music starts, one contestant will begin. The battle will be passed from one player to the other during the song, until one of the players admits defeat or the song is over, in which case our judges will decide the better dancer. Shall we begin?”
Both leaders nodded their understanding of the rules, ready to begin. Music began playing loudly through the speakers above the set, playing Destiny’s Child’s “Lose my Breath”. Yunho began dancing to the music, his movements coming naturally and smoothly. After a short bit he pointed to Matsu, signaling his pass to her. She picked up where he left off, though her movements were more masculine and feral compared to his. They didn’t come as easily, and she knew it.
As the chorus struck in, Matsu pointed back to Yunho, who started dancing again. When he pointed back to Matsu he kept dancing, this time trying to incorporate some of her feral moves into his own dancing. Matsu, in turn, tried to bring some of his fluid movements to her steps, though it came harder for her then it did for him. By the second refrain of the chorus, the two had finally started to synchronize, but the music started to fade. Matsu bowed deeply to Yunho, giving him the win. Both leaders sat back down on their respective couches, ready for a bottle of water and the next battle.
the music in the dance battle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17BfDEwLyXc
comments disabled. Talk to me over msn~
Within seconds the stage was filled with sound as those with instruments caught their cue. The lights went down, focusing purely on the singer with the unusual name, Kanano. She stepped up to the mic, gently caressing the side as the heavy beat died down and only light drumming was heard. The words were almost whispered, softly, in Japanese. The words faded to nothing, and the drums died.
The bass roared to life, and within a few chords the drums revived, bringing the guitar with them. Words followed, and there was no doubt that what was created was rock.
Elijah began the live.
∑∑∑∑∑
Kanano collapsed onto the couch in the dressing room, exhausted. The live had lasted four hours, and her vocal cords, although trained for long hours of singing, were telling her if they sang any more they’d personally make sure she never sang again. Neko gently set her guitar in its case, taking a long gulp of her canned tea before glancing at Kanano’s legs and sitting down on top of them. Fuwairu sat on the other, empty, couch while drinking from the bottled water the staff had handed to him.
“Dame! No more! I can’t take it!” Hatori didn’t make it to the couches, and instead had collapsed on the floor just inside the room. Her drumsticks went rolling across the floor as she let them go, too tired to care.
“You sat there the entire time! Come on! At least stand up to play an instrument!” Neko flung the now empty tea can at the girl on the floor, laughing as it hit her head.
The remaining band member walked through the open door, closing it behind her. She nodded once to her band mates and sat down in a chair by the corner where she’d left her stuff. She set down her bass and opened a can of imported soda, ready to go home already.
When the door opened again, everyone sighed relief and grabbed their things. The very presence of the manager meant he was ready to drive them back to their apartment in downtown Tokyo.
∑∑∑∑∑
Hatori was practically jumping up and down. Elijah had received an invitation to participate on one of the more famous game shows, and after a long debate, three members where chosen. Those three members had almost been late to the show, and as a result had not met any of the other contestants. Matsu, the band leader, knew who they were facing, but had refused to tell the other two band members due to lack of time. The fact that she was on the phone with the staff at the studio didn’t help the other members in their impatience for knowledge.
Hatori, Neko, and Matsu gathered near the set, waiting on their cue. The other participants were in front of them, also awaiting their cue. The announcer waved his hands dramatically, made another rather lame joke, and decided to finally get on with the show.
“This week’s battle is between god-like Tohoshinki and revolutionary Elijah!” The crowd cheered, and the MC waved his hands to quiet them down. “As you know, each team consists of three people, and each member of the team must compete in battle against a member of the opposite team, for a total of three battles. The team with the most winning battles takes the game. In the event of a tie, an extra battle will be fought between a single representative from each of the two teams.”
“Well, let’s introduce the members of each team, shall we?” He gestured to the left of the stage where a couch that easily sat three people was resting quietly, its dark blue cloth contrasting the bright lights of the stage. “On team Toho…band leader, U-know Yunho!”
The first of the other guests walked to the blue couch, bowed slightly, and waited for his other members before sitting down.
“Dreamboy Micky Yoochun!” Yoochun followed Yunho’s example, waiting for the last member to be called.
“Youngest, Max Changmin!” As the youngest member walked out he waved, a smile bright on his face. He was by far the tallest of the three, and as he reached the blue couch, all three of them bowed together and sat down.
“Team Toho!” The crowd cheered. “And now, team Elijah!” More cheers. “First up, band leader, Matsu!” Matsu pulled her noseband tight one last time and walked on stage, heading towards the red clothed couch the MC had waved her towards. When she reached the couch she turned to the audience and bowed. She waited for her band members to follow.
“Guitarist Neko!” The most popular member despite her seemingly lack of verbal Japanese walked towards the red couch, bowed, and waited.
“Youngest, the energetic Hatori!” The young girl almost skipped over to the couch, smiling at the crowd and her opponents. They smiled back at her. All three members of Elijah bowed and sat down.
Hatori wondered just what kind of person Elijah’s opponents were. Of course she’d heard of Tohoshinki and listened to a couple of their songs, but only because Matsu owned the CD. She herself was too busy to spend much time on other bands. Neko, ever the American, had only heard the name in passing and forgotten all about them. Matsu knew of them and studied their music, just as she studied the music of other artists. The band leader made a hobby of studying music, mostly because she wrote music herself.
The crowd quieted when the MC signaled them too, knowing that although the show wasn’t live, it still had to be completely filmed by tonight.
“Each game will be between a single representative from each band, and the battle type will be chosen randomly via this big button here,” the MC pointed to the large red button behind him, below a giant screen displaying the name of the show and the teams battling. “Contestants will decide who pushes the button. It gets quite a bit of attention, huh? Anyway, let’s choose the first participants from each team. Team Toho, who’re you sending out?”
Yunho got up from his seat, followed by cheers not just from the fans in the crowd but his band mates. “As the leader, I’ll go first,” he said as he walked to the circle in the middle of the floor.
The MC turned to the other team. “And team Elijah?”
Matsu stood up, walking to her team’s circle for current battle participants. “If Elijah sends anyone else after that statement we’d look bad.” She gave a half smile, knowing most of the crowd would have trouble picking it out anyway due to the bandana around her nose; a style taken from the very bass player who inspired Matsu to play.
“A battle between the leaders! Which leader’s going to press the button and decide both of your fate?” The fact that the MC was worked up over this kind of battle showed that it didn’t happen often. Matsu waved for Yunho to press the button, seemingly uninterested. The young male bandleader gave his opponent a small bow of acknowledgement and walked close enough to the button to press it. He took a deep breath and slammed his hand down.
The screen flashed a roulette of choices, most going by too quickly to read. Slowly the roulette slowed down, each battle becoming more and more clear. At last the screen decided on a battle: A dance-off.
“The luck of U-Know Yunho has won! It’s a dance-off battle!” The MC screamed into his mic. Yunho smiled widely as Matsu nodded both her acceptance and predetermined defeat. “The battle goes this way: When the music starts, one contestant will begin. The battle will be passed from one player to the other during the song, until one of the players admits defeat or the song is over, in which case our judges will decide the better dancer. Shall we begin?”
Both leaders nodded their understanding of the rules, ready to begin. Music began playing loudly through the speakers above the set, playing Destiny’s Child’s “Lose my Breath”. Yunho began dancing to the music, his movements coming naturally and smoothly. After a short bit he pointed to Matsu, signaling his pass to her. She picked up where he left off, though her movements were more masculine and feral compared to his. They didn’t come as easily, and she knew it.
As the chorus struck in, Matsu pointed back to Yunho, who started dancing again. When he pointed back to Matsu he kept dancing, this time trying to incorporate some of her feral moves into his own dancing. Matsu, in turn, tried to bring some of his fluid movements to her steps, though it came harder for her then it did for him. By the second refrain of the chorus, the two had finally started to synchronize, but the music started to fade. Matsu bowed deeply to Yunho, giving him the win. Both leaders sat back down on their respective couches, ready for a bottle of water and the next battle.
the music in the dance battle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17BfDEwLyXc
comments disabled. Talk to me over msn~