eswareinmal | Looking for an idol...

Entry tags:

Looking for an idol...

Characters: Gunpei, a bunch of adoring townspeople, and YOU!
Open? Ohhhh, yes.
Where: On a hastily-erected stage in the middle of town.
When:GHB 10
What: Gunpei needed to find the best musician in town to defeat a terrifying monster. The townspeople found out. Things escalated quickly. Gunpei is sorry about that.
Warnings: Potentially terrible singing?

Things have gone just a little overboard since Gunpei came back to town in the hopes of finding someone who could make enough beautiful music to take care of the terrible monster he found in the Two-Faced Forest. Somehow, the townspeople had gotten wind of Gunpei's hastily put-together plan, and they had misinterpreted things and taken matters into their own hands. Overnight, a small team of townspeople had erected a stage and festival area, and it was clear that they now expected a show.

They'd also shoved Gunpei into an emcee role, just because this whole thing had been his idea in the first place, right? It was a strange way of dealing with a monster, but hey, they weren't complaining. Gunpei, for his part, looked utterly mortified at how things were spiraling out of control.

So, what's it going to be? Sing? Rescue the hapless Prince? Careful, the townspeople are very interested in seeing how everyone performs.

Oh, yeah, and that monster in the Two-Faced Forest? The one that started all of this? It's not exactly getting any smaller...

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Bakura wasn't quite sure what was going on, to be honest. He had been making house calls (really, the sooner that other White Mage was back on his feet the better!) when he had gotten all but dragged off by a gaggle of maidens that looked uncomfortably like a highlights reel of his fanclubs back in high school...

...he was sure he would have heard about it if there was a festival going on... What on Earth was going on now?

Hello, ~~Victim~~ Contestant Number One! Gunpei rushes over to Bakura. He's trying to beat the townspeople that look as though they want to drag Bakura onto the stage. "Hey, can you sing? Because there's this freaky monster out in the forest that reacts to sound, and I need nice sounds to make it shrink again, and so I was trying to figure out who would be the best musician for the job, but somehow these guys think that means I'm running a singing contest!"

Yes, surely that all made sense as fast as Gunpei was talking. He needed to stop and breathe for a bit, it would seem.

"Eh? Aaa--" Bakura faltered, looking a bit like a deer trapped in headlights. "I sound like a girl when I sing..." he admitted, not sure if that counted as a nice sound or not. "So I don't really like to...."

"Great! Perfect! I think it likes higher notes."

Uh-oh, the townspeople in the area were getting quite excited at the prospect of the first contestant.

"Quick, what's your name? I think they're going to insist that I announce you..." This whole thing had gone so, so very out of control so, so very quickly...

Wait, what?

"Aaa... just say White Mage Bakura..."

It wasn't as if he could hide from it all but at least if he was thinking about it character... he'd be less reminded of that one really creepy fangirl back in the City....

"Okay, great." Gunpei plastered on a smile for the crowd because, hey, might as well give them a little show even though he couldn't possibly FOCUS on a show because didn't they know there was a terrifying monster in the forest and they didn't need to waste all this valuable time when they could just get down to the business of figuring out who could sing already?

He started calling to the crowd now, pausing at appropriate moments to allow them time to applause, though he wasn't really giving them much time to. "And now, I give you...our first contestant...WHITE MAGE BAKURA!" And he waved a little bit to get the crowd riled up. Smile still plastered on his face, he then started waving Bakura onto the stage and backing off.

... wait. That meant he had to-- but--

That hadn't been what he had---

Aaa, stupid stupid stupid! Now he had to sing something, didn't he...? But what? He didn't sing! Not even for karaoke...

So instead he just stands there, looking like a deer in headlights.

Gunpei waited for Bakura to start.

And waited.

And realized that the crowd was probably going to eat Bakura alive if he didn't do something. Quietly, he slipped over to Bakura's side. "Just sing something!" He whispered. "Anything! I don't think they're fussy about lyrics!"

He still had that same stupid grin plastered on his face and was waving to the crowd like there was absolutely nothing wrong.

Lyrics. Crap. Uh...

The only things that were coming to mind were themes of video games he'd played... and those didn't have words...!

...well. No words it was then! Very soft, surprisingly warm, wordless singing of one of the themes of the RPGs he had played a million times back in the City.

Hey, if that was the way Bakura wanted to play it, that was fine with Gunpei. His mind was already running through how that monster would react to this, and he didn't think the wordless noise would cause it to rampage.

The crowd seemed to be enjoying the performance as well, which was another mark in Bakura's favor.

When he had finished, Bakura let out a deep breath, shoulders going slack, taking all of his self control to keep form bolting away. He gave Genpei an unsure smile and silently asked if he could run away yet.

Gunpei gave Bakura a grin. He'd done well. "And that's it for the White Mage Bakura! Let's give him a round of applause, okay?"

With that, he began to usher Bakura off the stage. No sense in making the poor guy stay up there when it seemed like he didn't want to be there in the first place.

Oh thank goodness... Giving a small wave, Bakura headed off stage, flopping into a near by chair once he was clear.

...it was so much easier with a karaoke machine...

"Sorry about that; they've blown this thing way out of proportion and it's gotten WAY out of hand..." Gunpei looked like he'd had a rough morning, although being out on stange didn't seem to bother him much at all. "But for what it's worth, you might be able to do something against that thing."

"Eh? Really?" Bakura blinked, looking over at the harried man. "Even though I'm not very good at this...?"

And had been all but humming the theme of an RPG...

"I don't know if you're the best singer here, but you're not going to make that thing get any bigger. It might even shrink some for you."

At this point, Gunpei was getting desperate, but Bakura's voice did have some nice qualities to it. Hopefully, the monster would be vulnerable to it.

Bakura smiled slightly, looking a touch embarrassed. For once, maybe having a girly voice would be helpful...? "Hopefully it will shrink!"

He paused, blinking as an idea occurred. "Aaa! I wonder if I could use my magic to help too! Something to calm it, maybe?"

"Yeah! That's worth a shot!" Gunpei gave him a grin and an enthusiastic nod. "Granted, it's been pretty mellow as far as giant monsters go...but if something makes that thing angry, I don't want to be anywhere nearby without a way to get it back under control."

"I don't know so much about controlling it, but... white magic is soothing and cooling, so it should help in that way... or at the very easy, I can sap it's strength so it won't do as much damage..."

"Anything would help, I think. So far all it's done has been to knock over a few trees and eat some songbirds."

Gunpei grimaced. "I'd take you there now, but I should probably wait around to see if anyone else shows up--and I don't think the townspeople would like it if I bailed on them in the middle of all this."

"Aaa, that's at least a relief to hear!" Bakura smiled. "And we can meet up afterwards, right? Once the locals are done being like this about things."

Gunpei gave him a grin. "Yeah. Believe me, I've seen monsters do a lot worse. It's no Gaiark."

He nodded. "I'm going to try to get through this as quickly as I can. Hopefully they'll settle down soon."

Bakura nodded. "Good luck!"

"Thanks. I'll need it..."

Kay had made the mistake of trying to find out what all the fuss was for. Really, he should have known better, and kept his head down. But no, he'd had to come and see, and ask someone what was going on, and now he was being pushed towards the stage.

"I don't sing," he protested, struggling. It seemed like every time he broke free, another pair of hands was there to shove him at the makeshift stage.

"But you must!" cried one villager. "A Hero must defeat the monster with his voice -- how will you know until you try?"

"I bet he's got a great voice," said a girl who looked about fourteen.

"Come on, get on the stage!"

"What's the harm in trying!"

"Sing for us!"

Barely a minute later, Kay was shoved up the stairs so hard that he tripped over the last few and fell on his face on the stage.

The sudden appearance of a tripping man faceplanting onto the stage made Gunpei jump, but he rushed over there to help the guy up anyway.

"Hey, you here to see if you can help with the monster? They...kind of blew things out of control..."

Kay pushed himself up, wordlessly brushing off Gunpei's attempt at help. "I was here to see what was going on," he grumbled. "But they treat you like a damn celebrity in this town. I can't go anywhere without people expecting me to fix all their problems." Like I don't have enough of my own, he thought.

"Yeah, they do that." Gunpei winced a bit. "But there really is a sound-sensitive monster out there in the forest. It keeps getting bigger, but pleasant noises make it shrink. Someone needs to go out there and try to serenade it back to a manageable size."

He sighed. "I was trying to find the best person for the job, but they kind of went crazy with things." As he spoke, the crowd was clearly getting restless. They were all calling for the new contestant to go forth and sing for them. "Yeah, I don't think they're going to let you off this stage until we see if you're up for the job..."

"You've got to be kidding." Kay stared at the crowd, pulling a face. They had swelled up around the stage, and though he hated to admit it, Gunpei was right. They didn't look like they'd let him through. And while he could transform and jump to freedom, Kay didn't want to give away the fact that he was a werewolf so soon.

So it was either blow his secret, or lose his dignity.

Kay settled on his dignity. "Do I have to?" he complained, one last time. His tone was that of a man who saw defeat.

Gunpei shrugged sympathetically. "I saw a few of them out there with baskets of rotten fruit. If they get angry..." He let the threat of bombardment by rancid produce hang.

"Just go out there and sing a few bars. I don't think they're a really discerning audience or anything; they eat up anything us 'heroes' do."

Kay huffed and rolled his eyes, the very picture of an irritated teenager being forced to do something he didn't like. He stepped forward to the front of the stage. What the hell was he even going to sing?

He cleared his throat, then began the first song that came into his head. Unfortunately, Kay didn't know it very well, and flawlessly gave off the impression he was going for: that he was an asshole teenager who didn't give one single damn about things like the key or lyrics.

Eat that up, villagers.

Gunpei fought the urge to outright cover his ears in a show of "Well, this is terrible." He was just waiting for the crowd to open up

There was a moment of stunned silence from the villagers as they tried to process the spectacle they had just witnessed--and then they broke out into wild cheering. After all, they'd just had a hero sing for them, and showing proper respect and adulation was only to be expected! The hero must have regaled them with music from his homeland, even if all the music from his homeland must have sucked terribly if this were any indication!

Gunpei could only stare at the crowd in disbelief. Apparently they'd get excited for anything.

Kay's jaw just about hit the stage. He looked from Gunpei to the crowd, then back again.

"They're insane," he breathed in horrified wonder.

Gunpei looked just as shocked. "Yeah, at first, I thought they were all just really nice or something, but...they don't seem to have much sense..." Because, dude, that performance was horrible. "Quick, get off the stage before they want you to sing again!"

The way that adoring crowd was looking, calling for an encore was starting to seem rather likely, horror of horrors.

Oh god, no. They wouldn't. They couldn't. Kay wasn't entirely sure he had it in him to mangle another song that badly.

"Don't have to tell me twice. I'm outta here." Kay spun around and took off, jumping down the stairs two at a time until he was safely on the ground. With any luck, the crowd would find a new target on which to focus their adoring attention.

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Looking for an idol...

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