High Score [Safie/Tomomi]

Safie pressed her nose up against the glass, her eyes filled with the colourful videos on display at the karaoke bar. Her interest squashed her nose against the glass.

Idols and rock stars, pop queens and punks - every flavour flashed across the flat screen, each time delighting the strange girl standing out like the sorest of thumbs in the street of Suzie Q.

"Fascinating. Simply fascinating." She murmured, voice muffled by the window. A few passersby caught a glimpse of the girl in blue, but like every witness to a bizarre transient, most left her alone with a murmured chuckle or a furtive glance. Safie neither noticed nor cared - her eyes were for the silver screens, and the stars upon them.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

As Tomomi entered the building that was one of the last places he'd normally visit, he made sure to prioritise his thoughts on keeping calm and steady. To him, this wasn't a good happy day out. It was a mental exercise of sorts, one which the little voice that very rarely pops into his head told him to do. After all, what better way to get over anxiety problems than to go to a place you'd struggle with, and just try to get it over and done with?

Well, probably a bunch of other things, but, Tomomi didn't really have much better to do regardless. So, in he went, entering the famed Karaoke area and going over to the bar. There were... A lot of people here, and he felt himself swallow his anxiety in a desperate attempt to keep calm. A drink, yes, a drink would help. So, after ordering himself a Dr Salt Neo, the boy went to find somewhere to stand and try to watch for a bit, moving around a bit, before unfortunately being knocked by a stranger that was unaware of the world, in turn stumbling directly into someone else who was also not paying attention to the world around them. In a twist that Shakespeare would find dramatic, the boys newly bought Dr Salt Neo was spilt, the vast majority of its contents being released over the blue attire of a nearby stranger.

"Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh I am so sorry! I'm so sorry! Please don't be, um, mad! Sorry!"

Safie squeaked, jolting from distraction with a startled gasp and an awkward leap to one side, but too slow. Soda caught a chunk of her dress and some of her tights, fizzing and frothing on the floor by her boots. "Oh my. Oh dear."

She pat her dress down, catching some of the moisture on her finger. A quick taste brought further surprise. "The sting! Must be soda. I love soda? Or..." She stopped, considering the one who spilled the drink on her. "Serendipity guides these calamitous acts of physical and fashionable violence to my doorstep. What have you to apologise for? This is twice I've been picked up in as many encounters, at least. What drink have you assaulted me with?"

Safie spied the can. "Dr. Salt Neo...?"

The... Eccentric response from the stranger caught Tomomi off guard more than the loss of his drink. Serendipity? Sting? Calamitous? Violence? Twice for encounters? Drink assault?!

The onslaught of words really threw Tomomi through a countless number of loops, his head spinning as he had no idea what the heck was going on. "Um... I, uh... I assaulted you with the drink? Uh... A-anyways, y-yes, that um... Well, it was Dr Salt Neo... Because, well, um, it's still an unhealthy soft drink but it has a reduced calorie count compared to normal Dr Salt, while retaining most of the flavour, and, u-um... W-well... A-anyways, I'm very sorry to have um... Assaulted? Your, um... Clothes..."

At this, the boy bowed his head low in apology. "R-really sorry."

"Oh, think nothing of it!" Safie flapped a hand, smiling quietly all the while. "Your attempts at courting have not gone unnoticed, but I'm afraid I must decline your carbonated liquid-based request. Relations borne of romantic inclinations are beyond my grasp."

She pat down her combat dress, the Velvet blue stained dark, and tried to discreetly dry the affected tights. Satisfied with the fruitless attempt, she lunged forward, crossing the distance between her and the stammering Tomomi with an explosion of curiosity. "Might I try some of this Dr. Salt Neo? Is it named after the doctor who pioneered the recipe? Is it salty? Surely a drink designed to refresh would suffer if salt is its primary ingredient?"

Romance? What? Tomomi was... REALLLLY confused. Still, as she asked to try some of the Dr Salt Neo, Tomomi just tilted his head. This was very confusing, and there was no other way to describe it than that. Still, he was asked, and he did kind of ruin her dress by being clumsy... Well, technically he was knocked, but, close enough. So, nodding, the boy handed his can over. "Um... You can have the rest of that if you want, and I'll um, get my own again later... A-anyways, um... I'm pretty sure it's only got a small amount of salt in the drink, and is mostly sugar and caramel flavouring... Although, I'm not a drink making expert so..."

"Oh! And um, I'm Tomomi... Uh... Sorry again..." The boy added, the last apology now barely more than a whisper beneath his breath.

Safie stared at the can from every angle, scrutinizing the packaging, logo, the consistency of the liquid held within. She pressed her ear to the hole and listened to the fizzing as it sprang off the aluminium container walls, making it echo ever so slightly like listening to a manufactured shell. Finally, she pressed the can to her lips, taking a small gulp. "Delightful! Far better than its appearance on my dress suggests. I should like more of this Dr. Salt Neo. Where can I purchase some?"

One of the music videos on the TV changed, reminding her of her initial purpose. Safie beamed, distracted by the new song for a few moments. "It is a pleasure to make your platonic acquaintance, Tomomi. Tell me - why are you here? Are you here to sing?"

"Oh, um... You can get them at the bar, but, also just at general shops, or dispensers... Um..."

If he didn't know any better, Tomomi would believe he was probably drugged.

...

He was drugged wasn't he?

That was the only logical explanation he could think of for this strange lady who was dressed in blue, and now shoved a metal can to her ear before taking a drink. AND THEN talking about it as if it were a fashion statement not an accident.

As she posed the question on whether Tomomi was there to sing or not, the boy quickly shook his head. "O-oh, no no no no no! I-I'm not a singer, um, n-not at all. I um... I-I just came here to, um, well, to, um... Uhh..." Panicking and at a loss for words for a moment, the boy caught his panic before it went past his throat, and tried to continue. "Well, I just came to see what it was, um, like? I um... Well... Uhh..."

"So! What's your name? And, uh, did you come to sing?"

"I've read so much about bars. Such a wonderful confluence of social skills for the silver-tongued. Is that what you wanted to try? Is your tongue silver, or brass? Hm..."

She peered at Tomomi, shifting closer. Her golden eyes shimmered with unabashed innocence, curiosity her compulsion as she attempted to assess the youth. "If you have come to a karaoke bar, why aren't you here to sing? I am here to sing. These frenetic displays of flexibility of voice and body are most exciting, do you not agree?"

Frazzled. Tomomi was frazzled. "Oh, um, uh, I don't know? Um, I'm just a litter boy, so, uh, singing isn't my, well, uh, forte? Uhhh. Uhhh. And bars with silver tongues? I-I'm sorry, I am very... Very confused. I just kind of came to recce the place in case I had a job here, or got invited by someone, or anything like that, so I just, um, well. I-I'm... Not really... A singer..."

The fact that the stranger got closer really made Tomomi freak out a little more. And by a little more, it would be apt to say a lot more. Really, he was looking anywhere other than this strange person that tasted soda that had spilt on her dress, and then talked about romance, vocal flexibility, and brass tongues? It would be apt to say the boy was broken, now only responding with "I uhhh um uhhh" for the time.

"I do not believe that singing is anyone's forté at a karaoke bar. Is this not where drunkards gather to scream their souls out? Where students come to -" Safie paused. "Mayhaps the scenes in my reference material are not appropriate for this particular karaoke bar, but would it be easier if I invited you to sing? Would you sing then? Could you enjoy the karaoke to its fullest extent?"

Safie was already fishing in one of the myriad pockets decorating her combat dress, each one jangling or clinking with some hidden object. "We can see if you are as silver-tongue as your Dr. Salt Neo suggests!"

Some people never submitted to peer pressure. Unfortunately for him, Tomomi was not one of those that could avoid the feeling of peer pressure. Quickly he found himself panicking and trying to think of any way out of the situation that didn't result in either singing, or hurting this strangers feelings. Quick Tomomi, quick! Think!

Looking from side to side, a sudden thought of relief rushes into his mind, Tomomi shaking his head a lot more enthusiastically than he should. "OH! I-I'm uh, I'm sorry, but I don't actually have enough money on me to sign up for the karaoke! I-I only took enough with me to get drinks, not sign up for the singing, um, sorry. I-I promise you're not really, um, missing much though? S-so, uh, yeah, sorry..."

Phew. Dodged a velvety blue bullet there Tomomi.

"Oh! Worry not!" Safie stifled a laugh behind her hand, giving off a more scheming image than a polite one as she reached into one of the myriad pockets of her uniform. "I put a request in with my master and he afforded me a pittance to conduct business in the name of deepening my understanding of this illusory world."

She revealed a not-inconsiderably thick wad of notes tied with twine. "This should suffice for a few songs, should it not? I believe the phrase is 'my dessert'."

"M-master? Like, a teacher, or maid?"

The sudden reaching into her pockets concerned Tomomi, and the mention of a master made him wonder if he was talking to a maid? The whole thing was bizarre enough, but now it was a maid? As she produced a wallet filled with notes, Tomomi's jaw dropped agape, unable to hide the shock from his face. He barely even registered the phrase, "my dessert". He'd not heard of such an expression, but neither was he good at expressions and phrases in the first place. Now he wish he could just dig a hole and bury himself in it. Was he... Was he really about to be coerced into singing? Oh no, oh no no no.

"I uh... W-well, that's um, very kind of you miss, but I-I couldn't possibly si- I mean, accept money from someone who I don't even know the name of! I-it would be really impolite of me, so, I uhhh, thank you very much for the thought, but I wouldn't want to be rude!"

Please get the hint, please get the hint, please get the hint, please get the hint.

"Oh, nonsense! The money will be given to the staff of this curious establishment, and we shall enjoy these lyrical revels to the best of our ability. It is the same price for a booth for one as it is a booth for two, no? They are the same size. If my name is the issue, worry not - for I am Safie, and I should very much enjoy your company in this novel experience. Consider it recompense for staining my dress, if it helps ease your conscience."

Too late. Safie waltzed over to the counter, barely able to control the skip in her step, and made to request a booth; as well as a can of Dr. Salt Neo.