Chapter 7

Before long, they were already at the karaoke place. It was a tall building, with a dimly lit sign that spelled out "Shinzou's Karaoke". As soon as the class entered, they were greeted by the employees behind the counter.

"Ueno-san, correct? Your room will be on the 3rd floor, room 301, here are the keys and since you have so many people, the refills are free!"

The employees then hand Ueno the keys to the room.

"Have fun!!"

The group heads up the stairs, some walking faster than others, barely containing their excitement, while others lag behind, such is with Haku and Tomori.

"Do you know any songs Haku-kun?"

"Not really… My taste in music is quite odd."

"How? Surely it can't be that bad."

"I mostly listen to anime songs, My cousin always listens to them so I occasionally join in."

"So you're an only child then? Would you want a brother or a sister?"

"I don't really have a preference, though it's impossible to have any."

"Impossible?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Let's hurry up shall we? We shouldn't keep the others waiting."

"Oh yeah! Let's go then."

They started to pick up their pace, occasionally skipping steps along the way. It didn't take him much to reach the third floor. Tomori on the hand, was out of breath. 'Why does my legs have to be so short?!??', she thought to herself. "If only i can have those legs,,," , she said while envying Haku's legs, which was already half of her body. When she finally made it to the third floor, he was waiting for her.

"I'm sorry. I walked too fast didn't I?"

"Walked? You were basically running up the stairs!"

"I'll pay attention next time… Now let's head in, everyone's already singing."

Inside, everyone was singing the latest releases. Cheerings can vaguely be heard in the background, while others were socializing and talking about classes and cafes.

"There they are! You two sure are slow! There are 2 empty seats in the middle!."

There was barely enough space for both of them, but they managed to squeeze in. Haku sat right next to Ueno, while Tomori was next to the other girls. Haku could feel Ueno slowly scooting closer, but he paid it no mind.

"Haku-kun, you do modeling right? Can I go over to watch it sometime?"

She could barely be heard over the singing, but Haku managed to read her lips and understood the question.

"I'd rather you not. Its quite stressful and embarrassing to have someone watching, Not to mention, it's you of all people."

"What's wrong with me that makes you so stressed?"

"It's just kinda hard to relax when there's someone so popular watching, is it not?"

"Oh please, you're just exaggerating.Oh, I guess it's my turn to go, talk to you later!"

As Ueno walked upstage, the cheering got even more crazy, though what captured his attention was not Ueno, but it was Tomori. 'She seems like she's having fun', he thought to himself. 'I'm glad that I invited her to go with us'. With a grin behind his mask, he started to choose his song.

"Oh hey I've heard this song before!"

"Tomori-san? I thought you were talking to the other girls."

"I was, but I was also looking forward to your singing so I kept an eye on youm Haku-kun."

"Really now? Ueno-san is almost done too. After mine it's your turn."

"Is it? I'm ill-prepared for this. I guess I'll just go with a classic."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Haku-kun! Its your turn! Ueno-san is done!"

"Give me a few seconds!"

As Haku was scrolling through the song's lyrics, Tomori was leaning against the sofa, blushing. 'Blushing from just that? I'm so lame…', she thought. "But because of the mask, I couldn't see his smile yet again…'.

Suddenly someone yelled.

"HOW ABOUT YOU TAKE OFF THAT MASK HAKU-KUN!"

"I'd prefer not to…"

"Come on… Just this once…"

The others soon joined in.

"Actually I never saw you take the mask off. Is it glued to you Haku-kun?"

"It must be hard to breathe with it on all day, you should take it off!"

Everyone started to talk about it, coming up with reasons as for why he couldn't take it off. Then suddenly, a person chanted.

"Take it off! Take it off!"

One person turned into ten, then twenty, then the whole class, with the exception of Tomori, started chanting.

"Take it off! Take it off! Take it off!"

"I TOLD YOU GUYS THAT I DON'T WANT TO TAKE IT OFF!"

Haku shouted, then the whole room went awkwardly silent.

"... I'm sorry… I'll leave early then…"

He walked out of the room, without even looking back at his classmates.

"I'll… Uhh… I'll go check up on him"

Tomori packed her things, then just as quickly as they arrived, left the room.