Chapter 33

Sunday morning came to early for the exhausted Kitsune. It was heralded by the ringtone of her phone informing her that she had just received a text message. Untangling herself from the mess of tails, empty bottles and a Tanuki she had fallen asleep in earlier, Laura stretched to pick up her phone. In the end she had to shift around most of the aftermath of her attempt to drown the memory of her latest kill with the beer she had had left to find it.

The young woman was quite glad she had planned an evening at the bar with her friends this evening, as she could really use something more uplifting than drinking alone, having burdened the little, still sleeping, spirit in her bed with her worries and troubles once again.

Reading the message she had received, a hint of a smile managed to sneak its way onto the German's face. It was an invitation from Daiki to join him, Gabe and a few others for karaoke in a few hours, which was just the kind of normal, relaxing thing she needed to take her mind elsewhere than the violent spirits trying to kill her.

As she made her way to the showers to get ready, Laura mentally went through what songs she might sing. Over the quarter hour it took her to get her tails dry today, she got an idea that made her mouth break into an outright smirk, until she realized that few people here understood enough German to get what she was going to sing.

Later that day Laura was standing before the common room the karaoke would be taking place in, wearing her red and white yukata, her blade hanging invisible from her left hip while her tails, equally hidden, twitch in anticipation of the relaxed, hopefully peaceful and normal afternoon.

Brushing a strand of her hair, which was falling freely beyond her shoulders today,out of her face, the German knocked on the door, which was just as soon opened, causing her hidden ears to fold down at the onslaught of loud music coming from inside the room.

"Oh hello, your the other exchange student Daiki invited to join us right?" the black haired man standing before her asked as he looked her over. "I'm Hakashima Genjiro, nice to meet you."

"Laura Rosenthal, and likewise." She replied with a friendly smile as the two stepped inside, closing the door behind them.

"You want to go next? Just need to tell me what song you want to sing." Genjiro asked as he sat down at the only table not moved to the side of the room in front of a laptop wired up to the speaker system and microphone set up at one end of the room, a few chairs standing before a small free 'stage' filled with people listening.

"Sure, but would you mind if I sang acapella?" The spirit asked with a smile.

"Acapella? Never heard of that song, but let me just look it up quickly." the japanese student replied, already typing on his keyboard.

"Oh no, it's not a song, it means singing without other music in the background." Laura explained.

"Ah sure, I think we can do that as well, just wait for Miazaki to finish his song."

With a shallow nod, Laura moved to sit down on one of the free chairs and waited for her turn.

A minute later the current song came to an end and Laura moved to stand before the people gathered already. Clearing her throat once, she began to sing in the deepest alto she could manage.

"Vom Ba-ret-te schwankt die Fe-der, wiegt und biegt im Win-de sich" The effect was not quite what she had hoped for, but it seemed the contrast between her appearance and the old German Landsknecht song she had started was not going unnoticed. "Un-ser Wams von Bü-üffel-led-der ist zer-fetzt von Hieb und Stich. Ja Stich und Hi-i-i-ieb und ein Li-i-i-ieb muss ein, ja muss in Landsknecht ha-a-a-ben.

"Stich und Hi-i-i-ieb und ein Li-i-i-ieb muss ein, ja muss in Landsknecht ha-a-a-ben." While her audience was still not quite sure what to make of this all, the German took a quick breath before going into the next part of it, wondering curiously if revealing her ears and tails would make the scene more or less jarring.

"Unsre Linke an dem Schwerte, in der Rechten einen Spieß, kämpfen wir soweit die Erde, bald für das und bald für dies." Well if I had that naginata still, I could at least give that image correctly, Laura mused as she placed her left hand on the invisible sword, her right miming holding a spear. "Dies und Da-a-a-as, Suff und Fra-a-a-as muss ein, ja muss in Landsknecht ha-a-a-ben. Dies und Da-a-a-as, Suff und Fra-a-a-as muss ein, ja muss in Landsknecht ha-a-a-ben."

After the Kitsune had finished the verse and got into the next one, some of the listeners began to hum the melody of the song she was singing.

A few moments later, a couple more students had started humming along although noen seemed to understand a word she was singign, Laura got started on the last verse, beginning to slowly march back to her seat as she did so.

"Sollten wir einst liegenbleiben in der blutdurchtränkten Schlacht sollt ihr uns ein Kreuzlein schneiden auf dem tiefen, dunklen Schacht.

"Mit Trommel vi-i-i-iel und Pfeifenspi-i-i-iel sollt ihr uns begra-a-a-ben. Mit Trommel vi-i-i-iel und Pfeifenspi-i-i-iel sollt ihr uns begra-a-a-ben."

After finishing the last note, Laura let herself fall into her seat, wincing for a second as she caught a couple tails between her back and the chair. Luckily no one seemed to notice, as already the next student stepped up to sing.

Over the course of the next few hours the Kitsune ended up singing a lot more songs, some German songs, mostly from the Spider Murphy Gang, Santiano and Faun, a lot of random songs she picked up at larps, and of course songs from her favorite animes, which got most people to join in or at least hum along.

Gabe did not join in to the singing, although he did seem to enjoy listening to most of the songs. Daiki on the other hand sang a decent number of songs, many sounding like Japanese rock or pop songs Laura didn't recognize, although a few songs of Man with a Mission she could identify.

As afternoon gave way to evening, Laura, Gabe and Daiki excused themselves and made their way into town, where the Kitsune relayed the events of the last evening to her friends in hushed tones over a lot more beer, sake and whiskey, not quite caring for the hangover even she would have the next morning with those amounts of alcohol.