Lament of the Moon S&H - Ch.08: Dancing no Bara - Ep12
#12 of LoM 08
"Hey! I know what we should do! Come on, Sassy!" The white lion grabbed her hand all of the sudden and dragged her with him as he crossed the street.
"P-Panja! Where are we going?!" Sasuga yelped, grateful that the traffic light was green when he abruptly made them cross the street. They finally stopped at the other side of the street and Sasuga saw they were standing in front of a karaoke bar, with a big colorful sign that read 'Growl'n'Roar' with the line 'Sing Your Heart Out With All The Drinks And Munch!' flashing under it. "A Karaoke bar?"
"Yup! Let's go inside!"
"I-I don't know, Panja. I haven't tried one of these places before, and I'm not that good at singing either..." the kirin hesitantly said, feeling quite self-conscious about this idea.
"Aww, don't worry about it! It'll help your feel better. Trust me; you'll love it once you try it!" Panja replied and quickly went inside the bar, with Sasuga tentatively following him soon after. She saw her white lion friend standing in front of the reception desk and talking to the female toucan worker working behind it, his tail swishing around excitedly.
"Welcome to Growl'n'Roar! How can I help you?" the receptionist greeted them with a cheerful smile across her colorful long beak.
"Do you have one of those private karaoke rooms?" Panja enquired.
"We sure do! All soundproof for the utmost privacy! We have a few vacant ones if you wish," the toucan answered.
"Awesome! We'll have one, please! Oh, and bring us the best from your menu."
"Certainly, sir! Right this way," the receptionist gladly replied and let one of the workers lead them up to the second floor where the private karaoke rooms were. They walked through a hall and stop at one of doors, entering it and finding a small, well-decorated room with a red and white color scheme and cushy long seats on two sides of the walls and a small coffee table between them, along with a big flat screen and a karaoke machine hooked up at the other end of it.
"Enjoy! We'll bring in your orders in a few minutes. If you need anything else, push the buzzer here, okay?" the rottweiler worker kindly informed them as he pointed to a little button next to the door and excused himself shortly after. Sasuga was still feeling a bit out of place coming here since it was her first time being in a karaoke bar, but Panja grinned and made her sit down.
"Relax, babe, you'll enjoy this! Lemme go pick out a good song," Panja said as he went over the karaoke machine and checked out the songs list available. At least it was a private room with just the two of them instead of the regular karaoke bars with a lot of other people gathering around, that would totally weird her out, so she was grateful for that. "Ah, here we go! How about we start of with 'Time After Time'? That's old favorite of mine!"
"Um, sure, I guess that'd be alright," Sasuga replied with a nod.
"Cool!" Panja beamed and selected the song as it soon started up, as the music started to play from the surround speakers donning the room and the video playing on the screen with the song's lyrics flashing along the bottom in tune. The lion picked up the microphone and was about to amaze the kirin.
_"Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick,
and think of you
caught up in circles confusion~
is nothing new
Flashback~warm nights~
almost left behind
suitcases of memories,
time after~"_
Sasuga's eyes were wide open as she heard Panja's singing. Her ears couldn't believe that voice was coming out of him. Much to her utter surprise, for a big, muscled man, Panja's voice was good. Amazingly good. It had a very deep, soothing tone that she actually enjoyed listening to, sitting quietly as he continued.
_"Sometimes you picture me~
I'm walking too far ahead
you're calling to me, I can't hear
what you've said~
Then you say~go slow~
I fall behind~
the second hand unwind~
if you're lost you can look~and you will find me
time after time
if you fall I will catch you~I'll be waiting
time after time~"_
As chorus went on, Panja reached out his hand for Sasuga and invited him to join him. "Come on, Sassy! Give it a go!"
"Well, I... I'm not sure if I can..." she blushed, feeling shy.
"Pshh, of course you can! Just read the words on the screen along with the music, nothing to it! Don't think, just sing!" he said as he tossed the mic at her and she caught it before it fell to her lap with a soft yelp. She still felt a little self-conscious, Panja's insistence encouraged her to bite the bullet and just give it a try. She stood up and faced the screen, trying to get in sync with the song, as she remembered it faintly, and waited for the lyrics to scroll along the screen.
_"A-After my picture fades and darkness has... turned to gray
watching through windows... you're wondering
if I'm OK
secrets stolen from deep inside
the drum beats out of time!"_
She went off with a rocky start, but as she sang along, she gradually got into the mood and began to sing better, hitting the notes more accurately.
"That's it, girl! You're doing awesome!" Panja cheered her on and Sasuga's face brightened up, finding herself actually enjoying this.
_"If you're lost you can look~and you will find me
time after time
if you fall I will catch you~I'll be waiting
time after time~"_
As she was going through the chorus, Panja stood next to her, pressing her side against his and hunching down a bit till his bearded cheek was pressing against the kirin's scaly one, singing together in sync on the microphone with her in great harmony.
_"You said go slow~
I fall behind
the second hand unwinds~
If you're lost you can look~and you will find me
time after time
if you fall I will catch you~I'll be waiting
time after time~
time after time
time after time
time after time~"_
They ended the song together with a good laughter. "Hey, wasn't that good!?" Panja exclaimed.
"Yeah! Very good! Man, I didn't expect it to be this much fun!" Sasuga replied happily. "Oh, and wow, Panja, you're so amazing! You have such a beautiful singing voice! I didn't expect that at all!"
"Naaawww! I like to sing sometimes, but I'm not THAT good!" Panja modestly said.
"No, seriously! You're so good! You can sing as good as any famous singer! Maybe even better!"
"Really? 'Case I think so too! Someday, I wish to go pro and be a big rock star or something! Man, I'd rock the world so bad!" his modestly vanished as fast as it came and it made Sasuga giggle amusingly.
"Well, I hope that wish will come true for you, Panja."
"Awww, me too, babe. Me too," Panja rumbled and gave the kirin a warm hug, with her returning it gladly. Panja was right, it did make her feel much better and for a while there she forgot about what was bothering her. She might have lost a friend today, but in the other hand, she gained another. A friend she could truly count on, and she couldn't ask for a better one than Panja. "Hey, how about we try another one before our order arrives?" he then suggested with a wink and she nodded keenly, going through the song list together. A day of fun, food, drinks and stress-relieve was sure to be had, and they both needed it.
To be continued...