https://ncode.syosetu.com/n9531ga/79/
Karaoke with Everyone
We had to pass through a large shopping center after finishing with our little “posing competition” before we finally made it to the karaoke reception desk. Ranko, who was writhing in her embarrassment just a moment ago, was back to her usual dignified aura. Is that some kind of unique skill or something? Could you teach me?
Honoka walked up to the counter and took care of everything at the cash register with her membership card. Since she was the one who suggested karaoke in the first place, she wanted to take the initiative to seeing us have a good time.
“Which model should we go with?”
“I guess….whatever you decide.”
“I’m fine with anything~?”
“You may do whatever you like.”
“Mo….del?”
Only Yuzuriha didn’t seem to understand what Honoka was talking about, tilting her head as she curiously stared at the reception list.
“Is this your first time doing karaoke Yuzu? If so then you wouldn’t know much of anything about the models.”
“M-Mm…. it’s embarrassing….”
“As embarrassing as tripping down the Niagara!?”
“Honoka, could you shut up for a bit?”
“Uuu….”
Putting Honoka aside. With the movie theater earlier today, is Yuzuriha starting to feel insecure because she doesn’t know much about these kind of outside hangouts? She was twiddling her fingers while looking downcast. But while I can understand how all that would bother her, I can’t help but find it cute.
“There’s nothing for you to feel embarrassed about. If you haven’t been here before, you can just get to know everything with us now.”
I tried reassuring Yuzuriha with the kind of tender smile I’ve been practicing in the mirror for years. The words themselves sounded a little cheesy, but
“Mm…. You’re….right.”
it worked. However it feels like her clumsy smile ended up perking me up…..no, it just made me genuinely happy.
“Yuzuriha, I um….I have not come here that often either you know?”
“I-I haven’t been here much either!”
“What are you two competing for?”
Whatever the case, it appears like most of our group aren’t very used to hanging out with people after school like this.
“Well isn’t that something— Then I guess you can count on me to lead you all into communion!”
“We aren’t in a church.”
“Wrong! Because we’re about to turn that karaoke booth into a heavenly live show!”
“Then are you going to be our idol?”
I suppose it’s fine as long as she’s having fun.
“I almost forgot! The models! The newest models are this one and this one. The first is really good if you’re going to sing rock or visual kei. But this one is good if you want to do anime songs—”
Honoka was surprisingly more focused on her surroundings than she normally is and got back to explaining about the models of the karaoke machine just as the employee behind the counter was starting to look impatient. I hadn’t helped and gotten us off track too….it’s really nice having someone else to coordinate things.
“This one….”
As soon as she heard Honoka’s explanation, Yuzuriha pointed to the model she wanted. Ranko had been watching from the back of our group, but when it came time to make a decision, she peeked around from the side to give her own opinion.
“Yes, considering your explanation, that one should do just fine.”
“Is there really that big of a difference?”
“Meh, only to people who really care about it. So it should be fine to go with the one Yuzurin and Rantan chose.”
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
Saki didn’t look to have any particular preference either. “Hmhm~” Honoka giggled to herself a bit as she picked out the model she told us was better for rock and visual kei.
Honoka took our number from the clerk and lead us through the hallways to our assigned room. No sooner had we entered through the door than she had started working at the adjustment knobs for the lights.
“How do you want the lights? Darker? Or brighter?”
“I’m fine with whatever.”
“The screen hurts when it is dark….so brighter…..please….”
Yuzuriha looked grim as her eyes squinted closed as the light dimmed to darkness. Honoka took the cue immediately and swapped the dial back to bright.
There were three two-seater sofas lined up against three of the walls, so Ranko sat by herself at the back, Honoka and Yuzuriha sat together on one side of the room, and me and Saki took the last couch for ourselves……Saki, aren’t you a little too close? You smell really nice though.
“Then can we get right into it—? First up at bat is Honoka—!”
Honoka announced herself in like an announcer at a baseball game as her fingers deftly danced across the touch panel. It was all procedural memory for her as she quickly got a song playing and began, “Test, test,” checking the microphone and adjusting the volume.
The song she started with was an idol song I’ve been hearing all the time lately in stores or on TV. It’s nothing especially nerdy or flashy though—a perfectly safe choice. So normal it’s surprising Honoka chose it. The rest of us each swayed our bodies in time with the music and got into the groove of the beat.
“Nobody’s getting very excited….”
That was the first thing Honoka said after finishing her song. Honoka is someone who lives and breathes high energy, so maybe she chose a song all of us would recognize thinking it would get us involved more. She was right enough that all of us recognized the song, but none of us are the ‘partying’-type that she’s probably going for. She’s going to have a hard time if she is looking to get us do more than just sway our bodies to the beat.
Next up was a popular visual kei song that I know was used as an opening for an anime. However, this one did about as well as the one before it. It’s not like it was awful—Honoka and I sang this one together— but we weren’t raising any roofs like this….then again, maybe that’s a good thing.
From there the microphone was passed to Ranko. We never decided on any kind of specific rotation or turn order, so I was allowed to pass it along to whoever I pleased. Ranko seemed like the one most likely to get surprisingly into it, so I reached out my arm over to the other side of the table. And as she took the mic,
“Thank you”
she also gently stroked my hand. Is she trying to come onto me? Showing some physical affection to open up to me?
“I need to tell you— I love you—”
And then from behind me, the next song loaded into the karaoke machine started up. When I looked, the song’s music video had a silver-haired vocalist dressed in all black clothes making a similar pose to Ranko’s at the center of a church. So, she was just referencing the song.
After finishing the song’s final chorus, Ranko took a deep, satisfied breath.
“Wizard. That was so wizard!”
“What does that mean, ‘wizard’?”
“It’s just…..wizard! Your movements were so sharp! I didn’t really like visual kei, but that was so cool!”
“It was certainly cool to see~”
“Black clothes and silver hair….wonderful”
Following Honoka’s passionate praise, Saki and Yuzuriha joined in as well.
“The music video doesn’t play on the other models here. It was a great idea choosing this room.”
Of course, that was just our opinions on the song itself. There was plenty more to admire about Ranko’s performance.
“You’re such a good singer Ran-chan. Your husky voice sounds really good with the music.”
“I suppose that’s true. Tell me more.”
“Kyaaa~! Black Rose Knightー! You hunk of a stud!”
“Hehehe”
Ranko’s smile grew to outrageous proportions at Honoka’s praise. This part of Ranko’s personality is definitely not an act. She really is a confident narcissist.
“Then next up…..it’s Yuzu’s turn”
Honoka energetically took the microphone from Ranko and passed it over to Yuzuriha.
“Ah…..”
She nervously looked down at the microphone in her hand before peering around the room at each of us in turn.
“I, can’t really sing…..anything besides death metal…..”
“That…..sounds awesome”
The revelation left all of us in silent surprise for a moment. No offense meant, but I was never expecting Yuzuriha to be a secret singing god, however, this sounds incredible in the exact opposite direction. I remember reading that it was especially hard for women to pull off a death metal voice ー even for professionals. I saw tons of comments from female metalheads who had given up on it. I tried lowering my voice and doing it too, but it was pretty obvious right away I wasn’t cut out for it. I know it’s possible to train yourself to be able sing higher notes, but going lower is supposed to be a lot more difficult.
“I can’t wait to hear Yuzu’s voiceー!”
“I really do not mind, so please go ahead and sing whatever you wish~”
“It is a skill you should be proud of. I am unable to do it myself.”
People usually hate on death metal music, but everyone was more than welcome to the idea of hearing Yuzuriha’s performance. It’d be nice to think that it’s because all of us are just that supportive of our friends, but I think the more likely answer is just that we’re all a bit on the weird side…..
The song begins with a heavy beat from the bassist accompanied by the loud rhythmic bounce of the drums and a sharp cymbal crash. Yuzuriha stood up and began swaying her body back and forth in time with the deep, low-pitched noise. There must be multiple versions of the song though because while no lyrics appeared on screen, Yuzuriha started singing with words that matched the rhythm of the intro perfectly. It droned on through the beat like I was listening to a Buddhist sutra.
“It will….be loud. Cover your ears….”
She then gave us a wink. Ranko crossed her arms and nodded. Honoka’s sparkling eyes only grew brighter as the anticipation built up. Saki gave a firm OK sign and got ready to cover her ears when it started. When I made my own OK sign as well, Yuzuriha nodded and turned her gaze back towards the karaoke screen.
She took a breath deep enough that it could be heard over the mic.
“Aaahーーーー～aAaAaH～～～”
An ear piercingly high note drug on for a second before giving away,
“GYAAAAA――――――――――――――！！！”
and a whistle-like shriek bounced off the walls…… It’s, incredible…..! Would anyone else at school be able to do something like this? It’s almost impossible to believe that a human being could make a sound like this….! It’s so loud it hurts my ears, but the music itself is so good I can’t stop listening.
The rhythm had started out aggressive, but the main chorus settled down somewhat into a slightly more stable death voice. Your throat would dry out immediately like that, but if Yuzuriha was feeling any discomfort, she was having fun in spite of it.
Saki had covered her ears at first, but as the song continued on, she started really getting into the heavy hum coming from the speakers and happily bobbed her head from side to side. She’s such a good girl.
Then, all of a sudden, I found the answer to my own question from earlier…..I figured the model of karaoke machine wouldn’t matter. But looking around at everyone, it’s obvious now.
It’s a lot more fun to just let everyone do what they want without needing a plan in place….
Eventually, the intense song died away, and as the bass faded away, an exhausted Yuzuriha plopped back down into her seat,
“This song…. is one I should have sung…. only at the end….”
and expressed her regret through her now gnarled and raspy voice.
♠
Yuzuriha retired after her one hit song, and Saki tapped out not too long after. She said the only songs she really knew were from an old girl’s anime she used to watch, so she ran out of material pretty quickly. There was one song though that had a melody I liked, so I tried singing a duet with her. Saki-chan looked so cute, constantly glancing over towards me while we sang side by side.
I mostly stuck to famous rock numbers. It was a lot of fun singing with Honoka and Saki, so I kind of gravitated towards songs I figured everyone would probably know. In contrast everyone else was choosing songs I had never heard before, so you can tell everyone was being free with their song choices.
Meanwhile Ranko’s songs went heavy into the “Roses” and “Jesus”, music coming from deep within the V-kei genre. There is a part of me that wonders why she stared so intently at me while singing the lyrics, “I want to hold you in my arms….” but the other part of me just can’t get over how cute she looks!
“Oh no! We’ve almost hit time! We could do two more songs.”
Honoka’s surprise got the better of her when she checked the time on her phone. Between the five of us, those two hours went by in a blink.
“What would make for a good finale…..? Let’s pick one anyone can jump intoー”
Honoka started mumbling to herself while skimming through the songs on the screen. She’s been working hard these last two hours, covering up any awkward silences between songs that seems so normal when doing karaoke. She’s using that boisterous personality of hers to full use.
“There”
As the song rolled in, Honoka hummed alongside the initial guitar, but when the background keyboard kicked in, “Du du du du~ du dududu,” she started singing the beat out loud. She smiled, shaking her hips along with the rhythm as she sang aloud a song with no lyrics, and as the intro came to a close, she pumped her fist into the air.
“One two three four!!”
The idol called out to her crowd as if it were a real live performance. She used her tongue to click out the sounds of the keyboard as her fingers danced across an imaginary set of keys hanging in the air, occasionally mixing together a bit of the guitar tones as well in her singing. For Honoka, quality isn’t really a huge matter ー it’s the energy that really makes a live show.
Honoka transitioned to lyrics as the first verse finally set in, but she still pounded out some guitar notes whenever the music paused between verses. It should be weird to watch, but she’s having so much fun it’s hard not to have fun with her. She’s savoring the music with her whole body and heart.
Eventually the song swung back to a familiar interlude, so I joined in on singing the beat alongside Honoka. That really got her going.
“Hey hey, Yuzurin!”
She pointed the microphone across the table.
“Du du du du~”
We all have the timing of the beat down at this point, so it came out perfectly.
“And then, Saki-chaso!”
Honoka stretched her arm out to the other side of the room.
“Du du du du~?”
“Oh yeah~!”
The four of us were each swaying back and forth, mimicing the guitar’s rhythm with our mouths. Ranko didn’t join in with us, but she was clearly having fun in her own way.
“I know I’m not as good as Yuzu, but can I try for a louder song too?
While everyone else was still talking about how much fun the song was, Honoka passed the microphone over to me for the last song, so I asked everyone else for their permission to go before continuing. None of them shook their heads, so I took the stage.
“Yayー! It’s like we’re a real live music venue! Let’s finish strong!”
“It’s not going to be nearly as exciting as Honoka’s just so you know.”
I wanted to try singing one of my favorite songs, just once. Even if it is an unfashionable song sung in concerts long before I was born.
The room filled with a loud cymbal crash that gradually faded into nothing. It’s a song I’ve had on loop more times than I can count, so I wait for the perfect moment when everything falls completely silent,
“You ready to goー！？”
I screamed.
♠
“Augh~h, my neck, hands, knees, and feet hurt”
Honoka walked away from the register massaging her shoulder. You see, as I got into the groove of my final song, she had started pounding her knees in a four-beat rhythm, and she occasionally stomped her feet onto the ground too. She was in full air-drum mode…..and was paying for the consequences.
What’s worse is that when I reached the chorus, Yuzuriha started headbanging, so Honoka wrapped her arm around her shoulders and started headbanging with her. Exactly the kind of enthusiasm you’d want from a light music club…..oh dang we’re supposed to be a photography club.
“But, it, bun”
“Huh? You mean, ‘It was fun’?”
“Y-es……”
Yuzuriha wanted to speak up too, but it was only when she actually tried talking that we all realized just how bad her voice had gotten.
“Can’t, talk…..”
She had to raise her voice just so the rest of us could hear her. It looked like it was really painful for her.
“You’re just going to hurt yourself if you try to force yourself, so just take it easy okay?”
She nodded, giving up on talking more. It’s the price we pay for having fun. It can’t be helped.
“Look look~”
As we left the building together, Saki pointed towards the sky peeking out from between the buildings.
“Pretty~”
“Hoh, it’s beautiful.”
“Very lovely”
“Awesome—”
We all stopped to enjoy the evening sky. The deep shade of crimson mixed together wtih a deep indigo hue as the sun sunk into the horizon. All five of us were entranced in the moment.
“I would love to capture a sunset like this on camera.”
“Yeah…..oh no we’re a photography club! The teacher is going to get mad at us again!”
“Shibuya-sensei really isn’t as strict as she looks. She’s just harder on you Honoka because of your bad grades.”
“Guhー!? Are you making fun of me again!?”
“Can you really consider it teasing when it’s just a simple statement of fact?”
The airhead is acting self-conscious.
“I was told we should make sure our club activities don’t get in the way of our studies, so we should be fine as long as we take some periodic photos when we can.”
“How about going for a walk together outside sometime?”
“It’ll have to be next week since it’s the weekendー”
I actually forgot today was the start of the weekend, and what’s more, I’m actually a little sad about it. Another fun week with my group of beautiful girls has flown by before I knew it. It’s kind of weird though that I’m preferring actual school days to my days off. That’s the world of rich girl schools for you….or maybe just the world of yuri?
“Do you think the weather will be bad next Saturday and Sunday?”
“Hmm, we won’t know for sure until next week, but those are some big clouds in the sky. I think it’s going to rain tomorrow at the very least.”
“Don’t worry! For today, we still have all the POWA~H!!”
“Power?”
“No, our strength is still lacking.”
“What’s that Rantan!? Who is!?”
“You of course, Honoka.”
“Ugh, you mean it’s still not enough!? Is it the oil? Have I still not had enough? Should I refill on ramen!?”
“Good idea. We could eat to our hearts content.”
“That sounds heavy….”
It’s scary how I’m not sure those two are joking about that.
Experimental Translations 