All together now

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.