It was the end of the year, and the snow that had fallen
around Christmas was beginning to melt. I was at Karaoke
Sevens, where I work part-time. But I wasn't there to work.
"Yesss!! Are we gonna sing or what?! Are we gonna
party?!"
Takei was standing in front of everyone in our room,
shouting into a mic.
That's right. It was the day of the karaoke party with
Nakamura's group, Hinami, Mimimi, Izumi, and me. The
failed karaoke attempt following the Christmas party had
been resurrected as an end-of-the-year party with the seven
of us.
"Shut up, Takei!"
"You're being so loud!"
Oddly, Takei seemed to be enjoying the insults from
Nakamura and Mizusawa. I think he likes any kind of
attention.
"And he's right to! Brace your ears!"
Mimimi went right along with Takei's hyperactivity—of
course, without a drop of alcohol in her system. She was
holding another mic and standing near him. Considering
that they were this excited before the singing even started, I
had a feeling that I was about to be left in the dust. But this
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time, I couldn't let that happen. Because…
…Hinami had given me another assignment.
"There they go again," she said, turning to smile at me
from her seat across from Mizusawa, who was next to me.
Izumi was next to her, and Nakamura was next to Izumi,
defending his girlfriend.
"Seriously. Hey, Fumiya…we've never done karaoke
together outside of work, right?" Mizusawa said.
"Uh, actually…you're right."
Strictly speaking, I'd never done karaoke with friends
before, but I decided not to say that. Hinami shot me a
warning glance, then looked down and started fiddling with
the electronic songbook. I've hardly ever done karaoke for
fun, but I know one of these is called a denmoku. I do work
here, so I know the lingo.
My assignment for the day was to sing at least one song
with each person there.
I've gotten kind of close with these people, and part of me
just wanted to enjoy the party, but I also know that
complacency is the mortal enemy of any gamer who's aiming
for the top. Overall, I was grateful for the assignment.
"I'm gonna do a Momoclo song!" Mimimi shouted,
choosing her song before anyone else. Pictures from the
Momoiro Clover Z song "Let's Go! Thief Girls" started to
play on the screen. Mimimi stood in front of everyone and
transformed into a star, throwing kisses at her audience.
Well, at least she was having fun. Takei and the other guys
were loving the show. Having Mimimi along for stuff like
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this really makes it fun. The music started to play, and she
sang along, happily swaying back and forth.
"Reni, Kanako, Mimimi, Shiori, Ayaka, Minami. "
"Hmm, I don't think that's in the original…"
"Wait, how are there two Mimimis?"
Everyone was getting a kick out of her sloppy lyrical
change-ups, along with Nakamura and Mizusawa's teasing.
Maybe because her voice is so loud to start with, the
performance came off as simple and good, complete with
little asides and fun gestures. She could probably do a great
ballad without even messing around.
By the way, in the middle of the song there was a lyric that
went "Numbers!" and then Mimimi pointed at everyone in
turn.
"One!"
"Two!"
"Three!"
"Huh?"
"Five!"
"Whoo-hoo!"
Where did they all instantly learn what to say? Not in
school, that's for sure.
"Last time!" she shouted at the end, then she sang out
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"Yuzu, Aoi, Mimimi, Hiro, Shuji, Fumiya ," which was
nice, but then Takei got all sad and asked where his name
was. Even though my name was just part of the list, I
jumped when she said it. Enough with the sudden attacks,
okay? Mizusawa and my parents are the only ones who call
me Fumiya.
"Nice job!" Izumi said when Mimimi finished singing,
grabbing a spare tambourine and shaking it.
The initial tidal wave was starting to knock me off my feet,
but I had a job to do. Since this was my first time doing
karaoke with friends, I didn't even know if I should act
excited or talk to people, and now she'd added something on
top of that. This felt like kind of a high bar, more along the
lines of solving a puzzle than using my communication skills
as a weapon.
"Okay! My turn!" Takei said, grabbing the mic and
starting to sing "Love So Sweet" by Arashi. Takei is really
built—definitely not someone who'd get scouted by any
famous boy band talent agencies—so I could only conclude
he was an Arashi fan. Just an ordinary guy who likes
hamburgers, the Shinkansen, and Arashi, I guess.
As I watched him sing enthusiastically, something
occurred to me. If I was going to sing a duet with everyone, I
needed to create a duetty sort of mood. And it would
probably be easiest to create that mood with Takei.
I looked at the denmoku, my mind racing. I needed a song
I knew…that Takei also liked. As of now, I knew that he liked
pork chop curry, space shuttles, and Bangiras.
Which meant…
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I picked up the denmoku from the table, searched for the
song I wanted, and pulled up the request screen. While
Takei's song was in its interlude, I submitted the request.
Then I sat back and waited for my prey to fall into the trap.
"Ooooh! Awesome choice!" Takei shouted excitedly as the
song title appeared in the upper right of the screen. That was
easy. So easy, the hunt was barely exciting.
"Oh, you like this song, Takei?"
"I love it! Damn, you stole it…," he said dejectedly.
That's right—I'd chosen "We Are!" one of the most
popular theme songs from the anime version of One Piece.
"Wanna sing it together, then?"
"Really? Can I?"
"Of course, no problem," I said, successfully reeling in the
first of my seven assignment targets. Of course, this was
kind of a test run, and the others would likely be harder. I
mean, I hardly know any songs to start with.
After Takei finished his song, a number by the artist AAA
called "Rainy Skies and Love Sound" came on. I'd never
heard of the singer or the song. Izumi took the mic, and I
realized how different our musical universes were. By the
way, Izumi is an amazing singer, with that normie power to
her voice. It was a totally commonplace song with a bridge I
vaguely recognized, but thanks to her talent, it sounded
enjoyably musical.
Next up was "We Are!" Oh crap. I had Takei up there with
me, but still, I'd never sung in front of classmates before. I
was getting nervous. As I anxiously stood there, holding the
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mic, Takei said to me in a totally relaxed tone, "Our turn,
Farm Boy. Can I do the thing?"
"The thing?"
"The thing at the beginning! Oh, wait—it's starting. I'll
just do it!"
"Huh?"
I watched him, still not understanding, as he began
intoning in a low voice:
"—Uh, wealth, fame… King…uh, Roger, got everything the
world had to offer! And his words drove countless people to
the sea! My treasure? Search for it! I left everything gathered
together in one place! Just…find it!"
Even me, not your biggest One Piece nerd, could tell he'd
totally messed up the intro narration and left a bunch of
downtime at the end. I didn't know what to do, so I just
stood there holding the mic. Takei didn't have anything to
say either, which made for a fairly awkward moment.
"If you don't know the words, don't do the song!"
Mizusawa shouted with a grin, which actually saved our
butts. On the other hand, Takei's epic screwup helped me
relax slightly.
We managed to make our way through most of the duet.
Now that I think about it, it's kind of sad. My karaoke duet
virginity was stolen by Takei. Am I okay with that?
"~~ "
One upside was that since he was singing so loud, no one
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could hear my voice. I was still super nervous, though.
The song reached its last bridge. Everyone knew the song,
and Takei was singing at the top of his lungs, which made for
a generally rowdy atmosphere. When it finally ended, I let
out a long breath. For a moment, the room was silent as the
list of reserved songs popped up on-screen. That moment
between songs is so awkward. I didn't notice it after Izumi
finished singing, but when my own song ended, I had a very
strong urge to say something like, Sorry to make you suffer
through that…
Mizusawa must have noticed my strained expression,
because he smiled confidently and thumped my shoulder.
"Not as bad as I expected!"
"Yeah? Thanks."
"Of course, Takei was so loud, I could hardly hear you."
"Hey!"
By then, the next song had started to play. Guess that's
the deal with karaoke—every couple of minutes you have a
few seconds to talk.
"Lucid Dreamer" by ONE OK ROCK came up on the
screen, and Nakamura took the mic. Hey, even I knew this
one!
"Nice choice!" Izumi said happily, and Nakamura nodded
back, actually looking semi-interested. What a nice couple.
He started singing. Turns out his singing voice is as
powerful as the rest of him. He blasted his way through it
like a rock star even though that high register had to be hard
to sing. Infinite potential, this one.
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At a few points, he stood up to sing more zealously or do
some bad-boy moves. He's got an almost childish side that
comes out at these moments. At the same time, song
selection does seem to reflect personality—in this case, a
powerful song for a powerful guy. If I tried to sing something
like that, I'd probably be drowned out by the backup singers.
"Shuji's awesome!" Takei said, whipping up the crowd by
grabbing the tambourine Izumi-style and starting to shake
it. The role fit him so well I had to laugh.
"…Sounds like the tambourine is Takei's instrument," I
said. Mizusawa sniggered from beside me.
"Thanks, dude!" Takei said happily, even though I hadn't
meant it as a compliment. Oh well, that's fine.
Mizusawa took the mic next, and "Pretender" by Official
Hige Dandism started to play. That song is super famous,
and even I know the band's name is weird.
"Ooh, here it comes! Hiro's version of 'Pretender'!!"
Izumi, who until then had been cuddling up to Nakamura,
seemed very excited about this development.
"I've been waiting for this!" Mimimi said.
"Yeah, it's not karaoke without this one," Hinami added
excitedly. Guess he sings it every time. Reminds me how
close they all are.
The song started playing. In contrast to Nakamura's
display of power, Mizusawa took the smooth approach. The
song seemed like another tough one, but he made it sound
easy. His voice was fresh and sweet, the kind that everybody
likes. Powerful Nakamura, skillful Mizusawa, and then Takei
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—everyone in this normie group had their distinct
personality.
"Wow…"
Izumi gazed dreamily at the screen. I glanced at
Nakamura. He looked very unhappy. You can read that guy
like a book.
Now I was at a loss for what to do. I'd tried to set the stage
for future duets by singing with Takei, but we'd just heard
two solos. At this rate, completing my assignment was going
to be tough.
Just then, however, the mood shifted.
"Mimimi, it's our turn!" Hinami said in the moment of
silence between songs. I looked at the screen. "Chocolate
Disco" by Perfume was up next.
"Here we go! We've got this!" Mimimi said excitedly. They
seemed to have some secret plan. The two of them stood up
and walked to a spot in front of everyone. Everyone clapped
and I heard an "Ooh, I can't wait!" The intro came on—and
the two of them started dancing.
"What the…?"
I smiled wryly. They were doing the same moves as the
band members on-screen, perfectly synchronized. What was
with these people?
They looked like total pros, singing along without even
looking at the lyrics while performing their impeccable
dance. Come on, ladies, what is this? Do you do this every
time?
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"You guys are so cute!"
"You're amazing at that!"
Izumi and Takei were both going wild, and Nakamura and
Mizusawa were grinning, too. What the heck? I mean, sure,
if two people this good-looking and athletic sing and dance,
it's going to be fun to watch, and even I couldn't help staring.
Plus, they were both good dancers.
Then I realized something. I thought the duet mood had
fizzled, but everyone had been putting in their requests all
along. Given the timing, Hinami must have put hers in while
Takei and I were singing. With karaoke, there's a lag
between creating a mood and that mood materializing.
Maybe Hinami had taken mercy on me when she saw me
singing with Takei and contributed in her own way.
Anyway, it would be easier to do another duet now. I
figured I'd seize the opportunity by asking either Izumi or
Mizusawa, who were sitting on either side of me.
But how? I couldn't think of a song that I knew I could
sing with Izumi, and inviting her wouldn't be easy under
Nakamura's watchful eye. Seeing her swoon over Mizusawa's
performance a few minutes ago was enough to make him
grumpy, so I have no doubt he'd chew me up and spit me out
if he caught me inviting her to sing. I'd have to find a chance
to do it undercover when he was singing or something.
I therefore decided to approach Mizusawa first. The vital
question was, what song? I opened the "Top Hits" page on
the denmoku, selected the "Duets" subcategory, and started
scanning the list for something I knew that Mizusawa might
get on board with. Aha, found one!
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"…Mizusawa?"
"What?"
I showed him the denmoku. "Wanna sing this?"
"Together?"
"Yeah."
"Sure, but you just sang a duet."
My heart skipped a beat. When you're choosing your
moves to achieve specific assignments, Mizusawa's sharp eye
is downright terrifying.
"I d-did?"
"Surely now, Fumiya…"
"Wh-what?"
He grinned and pointed at me as I sat there anxiously.
"You're not embarrassed, are you?"
"Who, me?"
His guess was reasonable, especially given it would be
virtually impossible for him to figure out that I was working
on an assignment. Reassured, I moved on with my battle
plan.
"Yeah. That's why I asked you."
"You're hopeless."
He smoothly snatched the denmoku out of my hands and
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entered our song request. It's probably just a habit of his to
seize the leadership role in situations like this. Confident I
was in good hands, I sat back and let him take over.
By the way, as we were working this out, Nakamura and
Izumi were performing "AM11:00" by HY. It was so
revoltingly flirty that I could see why some people want
normies to die in a fire, and I'd rather not even mention it.
But Izumi's harmonies during the bridge were so beautiful
and Nakamura's rapping so outstanding it kind of got to me
in spite of myself. I'd never heard the song before, but their
version was so good I figured they must have sung it
together at karaoke a bunch of times before. Which is
stomach churning, so I think I'd rather skip it after all.
Mizusawa's and my turn rolled around. We were singing
"Gray and Blue" by Kenshi Yonezu and Masaki Suda. It was
famous enough to be familiar to me—and, needless to say,
Mizusawa.
"Oooh, the Mizu-Tomo Band!" Mimimi called out
mysteriously.
"Ha-ha-ha, what's that about?" Mizusawa answered,
smiling wryly. I was too nervous to say anything.
"I'll sing first."
"Huh?"
As the first line began, I realized something—unlike my
duet with Takei, this one didn't involve both of us singing at
the same time. We had to take turns. Which meant the
whole group was about to hear me do a solo. Now I was even
more nervous.
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Right now, there was a spade symbol over the lyrics.
When it turned into a clover, it was my turn to sing. I know
this stuff since I work here.
"~~ "
Mizusawa sang the first line, then the second line, and
then it was my turn— Wait, what? Where is it? With the
spade still over the lyrics, the song went into the bridge, and
then the bridge ended. Apparently, the song was divided into
parts by verse. Which meant my voice was going to carry the
entire second verse. I knew that when I signed up to do
karaoke, but the prospect was still a little embarrassing.
"~~ "
Nevertheless, I sang my part, glancing around the group
to see their reactions. Some people were looking at the
denmoku, others were watching the screen, and no one
seemed to be having an extreme reaction to my
performance. Someone had even gone to the drink bar for
refills. Such is life.
We finished the song without incident, and I put down the
mic. Hinami came up to me, smiling.
"Tomozaki-kun, you were really good!"
Was she talking about the assignment or my
performance?
"Oh, thanks."
I glanced around the room. Apparently, she was going to
sing something with Nakamura, because they were both
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holding mics. Now was my chance!
"Midday Sun" by King Gnu started playing. I knew that
song, and I also vaguely remembered that it involved one
singer with a high voice and one with a low voice. That's
probably how they'd split up the parts.
Hinami started singing—and the mood changed. She'd
shifted gears from "Chocolate Disco" to something more
sincere. Filled with sighs and falsettos and vibratos, her
rendition was practically at the level of a cover. I swear, she
really is good at everything… Nakamura seemed like a fairly
good singer in his own right, but even he was somewhat
upstaged by Hinami.
I watched this duet between group leaders for a minute or
two—then, at an opportune moment, I glanced at Izumi.
Just like during what he'd done when Mizusawa was singing,
she was pouting slightly. This was my chance.
"…Izumi?"
"Hmm? …Oh, Tomozaki!"
"Wanna sing something together?" I asked, loud enough
for her to hear me over the music.
"Really? Sure!"
That was easy. I felt like it had more to do with her
general enthusiasm than her jealousy toward Nakamura, but
whatever—she said yes. The next problem was what song to
sing. As I looked at the "Top Hits" page again, inspiration
struck. I'd found it when I stopped searching within her
territory and started poking around in my own territory for
something she would know. I pointed to the denmoku.
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"How about this?"
"…Ooh, Demon Slayer!"
That's right. I chose "Gurenge" by LiSA. Anime is its own
world, but now and then, an insanely popular hit becomes a
bridge between nerds and normies. Demon Slayer is the
perfect example. I bet even Takei and Nakamura watch it,
which is saying a lot. By the way, just because I'm a gamer
doesn't mean I'm some expert on anime. Still, I know this
kind of song better than that sparkly nonsense Izumi likes to
sing. Also, this one was at the top of the list of anime songs,
which just goes to show it can be dark at the foot of a
lighthouse. I should have looked there first.
"I love that song! Let's do it!"
"Sounds good."
I input our request, thinking I'd safely cleared the hurdle
of singing a duet with Izumi, when…Nakamura, approaching
an interlude in his song, noticed my request and latched on
to it.
"Demon Slayer, cool. Whose song is that?"
I got a sinking feeling.
"Me and Tomozaki!"
"What?"
He scowled at us. He looked super pissed, in fact. Shit.
Just then, the interlude ended, and he started singing again,
giving me a brief window of thinking time. If I didn't come
up with a solution quick, he'd grind me up for dinner. But
what to do? I strongly suspected that if I didn't do anything,
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he'd say he wanted to sing, too, and grab the mic,
obstructing my assignment. Actually, not just a strong
feeling—I was certain that's what he'd do.
I was in a tight spot. But I am nanashi, Japan's top gamer.
In which case, I should be able to come up with a way of
turning the table. I hadn't wanted to show off my nanashi
skills at a time like this, but I had no choice. Nakamura's
face was so scary, I reflexively went into serious battle mode.
My survival instinct kicked into gear. It didn't take long for
me (as nanashi) to come up with a solution.
That's right—I changed a tight spot into an opportunity.
As soon as Nakamura finished singing, I leaned forward
and said loudly enough for both him and Izumi to hear,
"How about the three of us pass the mic around?"
"That sounds fun!" Izumi said, hopping on board right
away.
Nakamura's face went blank for a second, then he gave in
and said, "Fine." He probably figured it was better than the
two of us doing a duet together.
Nice. I'd not only stopped him from stealing my hard-won
chance to sing a duet with Izumi, I'd also managed to check
off two names on my list at once. Hinami never said I had to
sing a separate song with every person. Right, Hinami-san?
I ended up looking like the third wheel in a duet between
Nakamura and Izumi, but we got through the song. Since
Hinami wasn't part of the assignment, that left Mimimi.
But in a sense…she was the hardest one of all.
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Most karaoke duets are love songs, and lots of songs are
about love to start with anyway. I couldn't put Mimimi in the
position to sing something like that right now. She'd told me
she liked me, and then I'd started dating Kikuchi-san. I
wasn't even sure it would be right for us to sing together at
all right now.
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I glanced at the clock. We had around half an hour. At the
current pace, I probably had one or two more turns left.
Maybe because the party was winding down, the mood was
calmer now. Hinami sang "Marigold" by Aimyon, which set
off a string of mellower songs. Mimimi sang "Unfit for Love"
by Koresawa, and Izumi sang "366 Days" by HY, and by
then, the atmosphere felt really nice. It was like everyone
was singing meaningful stuff. Of course, I was at a total loss
for what to do. Obviously, I don't have a special meaningful
song.
Now Mizusawa was singing "Sparkle" by RADWIMPS,
and once again Izumi was watching dreamily while
Nakamura scowled. This was turning into such a standard
routine, I wasn't even worried anymore. By the way, before
Mizusawa, Takei sang another one by Arashi. Well, nothing
wrong with that.
While Mizusawa was singing, Nakamura was scrolling
furiously through the denmoku. After lengthy consideration,
he selected "Wherever You Are" by ONE OK ROCK. I
wondered what took him so long, but he was probably just
looking for a song he could use to compete with Mizusawa.
"~~ "
The careful selection process was evidently worthwhile,
because Nakamura's "special song" was super sappy, and
Izumi was swooning in her seat. Fine, they're a couple—
whatever—but I wish they'd leave the rest of us out of it. I'd
seen too much already.
Meanwhile, we were down to ten minutes before we had
to leave. There was only time for one or two more songs.
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This was definitely my last chance. The only person left on
my assignment list was Mimimi. What should I do? I'd been
thinking about it while everyone sang their special songs.
How could I set up the right situation for us to sing
together? Would it be awkward? I ran through various
possibilities in my head and decided to take a gamble.
I touched the denmoku screen, submitting my request.
The words "Choral song: Leaving on a Journey" appeared
on the karaoke screen. I watched to see how everyone
reacted.
"…Oh, nice one, Brain!!"
"Awesome, Farm Boy! I'm in!"
I'd successfully hooked Mimimi, as well as Takei, who I'd
suspected might fall for my ploy as well.
"Should we all sing it together?" Izumi asked.
This was exactly what I'd hoped for: an ensemble number
that we all sang together.
Working here, I've observed groups of students finish up
their sessions like this a number of times. I could see how
this would get us going more than a solo as the last song.
Plus, I'd achieve my assignment of singing with Mimimi.
After all, I'd sung with Nakamura and Izumi as a threesome,
so I already knew it didn't have to be a duet. Call me sly, but
it's really Hinami's fault for leaving a loophole in the rules.
Anyway, we all sang the song, which means I sang with
Mimimi and my assignment was complete… Right, Hinamisan?
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Mizusawa and I had shifts at Karaoke Sevens after that, so
we stuck around while everyone else left. Now that I thought
about it, even though I'd been struggling to get my
assignment done for several hours, doing karaoke with a
group of friends was pretty fun.
Mizusawa and I went into the changing room to kill time
until our shift started, and I composed a LINE message to
Hinami.
[Since Mimimi was part of that last number, it counts as
completing the assignment, right?]
I sent the message off, feeling smug, then waited for her to
respond. Heh-heh, what do you say to that, NO NAME?
This is how nanashi fights: by changing the rules. I
imagined her expression of defeat as I sat there waiting.
After a few minutes, her response came.
[Sure, it counts, but in that case, you could have just sung
the one song and skipped all the others!]
"…Doh."
Now that she mentioned it, I realized she was right. Since
everyone sang together at the end, all my struggles to set up
individual duets were meaningless.
"…Huh."
"What's up, Fumiya?"
"Oh, uh, nothing, nothing."
Even though I'd completed an assignment, a mysterious
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but unshakable sensation of defeat hovered in the back of
my brain.