Chase The Truth

Chapter 38: Club Escapade

Side note: I hope you're all happy that I have to leave this scene in. Well, I'll try to make the best of it. I don't enjoy writing scenes for characters to get drunk. Characters who are already drunk I can handle, but even though I'm an adult myself, I've never touched alcohol, not even when I turned 21. I don't like being around drunk people, either, so I don't know how to accurately portray it. Even my fiancé only has a two cocktail limit when we go out to places that serve them, and he never orders anything harder than that; for his preference and for my sake. So please, excuse any inaccuracies; this is quite beyond my element. And to be honest, of the many "difficult to watch" joke scenes in this game: This is the easiest one to sit through.

Begin!

~Normal POV

9/9 - Friday

After a day of Rise leading them around Port Island, they found their spirits improved a lot. It was much more fun getting to explore without following the school's recommendations. And they got to shop for various souvenirs. It was a fun day all around. Teddie was enjoying himself too. He'd left the bear suit back in the hotel room and was walking around in his human form to not raise suspicion. Not that it mattered. They weren't around any teacher chaperones all day.

"Where are we going next?" Yosuke asked, as they left a store in a strip mall. "It's starting to get dark."

Rise thought for a moment looking around at all the buildings. "Ooo, we could go to karaoke! I'd love to do a duet with senpai!"

Yu chuckled. "As much as that sounds like fun, that's a bad idea. The last time I sang, some guy died... But if you guys really want me to-"

"No! No- we're good!" He got a collective response from everyone at once.

Rise took another moment to think of an alternative. She then perked up and said, "Oh! I got the perfect place! It's just over there!" She eagerly ran ahead and they followed her down the street.

The place she led them to was called Club Escapade. It was located at the end of this particular strip mall. At first, they didn't know what to think, but she took them inside before they could question her.

It was a nice looking club. It didn't appear to be very busy; there were only a handful of people sitting at the tables and a couple were standing near the stage chatting. Rise was quick to assure them that this place welcomed minors, and she must have been telling the truth, as the other patrons they could see were all teenagers too. It was a big place with a fully decked out stage and large dance floor in the room's center. There was a bar, and a set of stairs leading to another sitting area. The lights were rather dim except for the ones on the stage so it wasn't hard to see at all. And the place had an affinity for various shades of blues and purples in its color scheme. There was loud music playing from the speakers on stage. (Some upbeat rap style song they couldn't identify.)

"Whoa... so this is a club," Kanji commented.

"Woo! I'm totally ready for this!" Chie shouted, excitedly. Seeming much more eager to try it out.

"There's nothing like this back home..." Yukiko said, smiling eagerly.

"Rise, are you sure it's ok to be here," Yu asked.

"It'll be fine, senpai." Rise said, smiling widely. "So, I did a show here two years ago. But the power went out in the middle of it. The staff was so sad that they offered me a deal: Next time I come here, I get a night of free drinks for me and anyone I bring! So tonight, it's all on me!"

"Well in that case... let's make the most of it!" Yosuke said, excitedly.

They were about to head upstairs to find seats on the second floor, but were stopped by Naoto coming down the stairs. It was a shock to see him here. This didn't seem like a place he'd frequent. Upon seeing him, Kanji immediately avoided looking at him to stop any eye contact for some reason. Naoto gave them all a curious look.