Track 1 – Fuyu
Hiro took another swig from his half full glass of brandy as he immersed himself deeper in thought.
"Hey Hiro, summer vacation's just in the corner. Got no plans?" asked Al who was wiping a wine glass in the counter.
"Not really…" dismissed Hiro as he signaled the bartender to fill his glass up.
"You seem to be in a sour mood." told Al, grabbing the bottle of brandy in the bar and pouring its contents into Hiro's now empty glass.
"Our last single tanked." scowled Hiro grimly.
"Harsh… Don't worry, I'm sure Bad Luck will do better next time." assured Al.
"That's what K said a month back…" answered Hiro bitterly as he took in the contents of the glass in one go.
"Ah well, if it makes you stay here and drink more…" teased Al as he went back to arranging the wine glasses.
Hiro looked around the practically empty tavern. There was no one else there but him and Al.
"Looks like your business isn't doing good as well Al…" said Hiro.
"Yeah. It's because of that new bar down Hirano." frowned the bartender.
"That place?! They wouldn't know good alcohol even if their mother breastfed it to them." defended Hiro.
"I wish I had more patrons like you Hiro. You've got what it takes to be a wine connoisseur." complimented Al. He poured more brandy into Hiro's glass.
"Kekekeke… He's still a sucker for compliments" laughed Hiro in his thoughts.
The familiar sound of the door chime filled the tavern. Hiro looked back to see who had entered the tavern. It was a young boy, roughly 12 year old with short pale blonde hair and golden eyes. He was wearing a blue ski jacket and a pair of black denim shorts as well as a pair of sneakers.
"Hey! No minors allowed!" scolded Al to the newcomer.
"Do you have a karaoke machine here mister?" asked the child.
"Didn't you hear what I said?!" yelled Al.
"Chill Al. I think he isn't here for a drink." smiled Hiro. "There's one over there." pointed Hiro to the right corner of the tavern.
"Yay! Thanks mister!" said the child as he all but rushed to the machine in anticipation.
"You're gonna have my business closed here Hiro! You shouldn't have let him in!" whispered Al angrily at Hiro.
"Lighten up will you? Besides, he's not drinking isn't he?!" reasoned Hiro.
The child plugged in the karaoke machine and began selecting a song.
"Let's see… I wonder if they have Monochrome here…" muttered the child as he browsed through the songs on the screen.
"Monochrome? Isn't that that punk song by those two girls? What were they called again?" asked Al.
"It was sung by BENNIE K. Shuichi's sister watches this soap opera which uses that song as its intro…" answered Hiro.
"I see. I've heard some of their songs. Most of them are really high-pitched." explained Al. "Better get your ear plugs ready…" warned Al.
"You really think he'll suck?" asked Hiro.
"Absolutely! That song was meant to be sung by women!" responded Al.
"Wanna bet on it?" smiled Hiro.
"Hmmm… Alright! What's your wager?" asked Al.
"Bad Luck will perform here for free if you win." answered Hiro proudly.
"Oh? And what if you win?" asked Al anxiously.
"You cancel all my debts here…" grinned Hiro.
Al swallowed his throat after Hiro laid down his conditions. Hiro had been racking up a large bill on his bar but the prospect of his bar getting attention for Bad Luck's performance was too good to pass.
"Alright, you're on!" yelled Al bravely.
Hiro grinned happily at Al's answer. Sure he hadn't met the child before but he believed that the child won't pick that song if he can't sing it.
"Aha! It's here!" said the boy joyfully as he pressed the play button on the machine.
A mellow tune started playing from the karaoke. The boy took one deep breath and clutched the microphone in his hand.
Yeah… Yeah…Yeah yeah yeah…
Kudaranai iiwake wa kuchi ni suru tsumori mo nai kedo
Wakattetanda mitasareru hazu no nai koto o
But I'm trying to fly
Itsu no hi ka nukedaseru you na ki ga shite
Sou omoitakute
Iyake no sasu kono hibi o
Gomakasu koto bakari shite
Hashittetanda
Hiro and Al were left in awe at the sound of the child's voice. He was still years from puberty so he spoke in a high pitched manner but when he sang, it was a completely different, he sounded almost feminine.
"See? What'd I tell you?!" laughed Hiro.
Al started to sweat, nervous at his impending loss.
The rap sequence of the song started. The child stopped singing and waited for it to end.
It's the show time
Give it up for material girls
Gucci Fendi Louis Vuitton
Chanel mo motto
All enryo sezu name the price
Anata no kachi ittai donkurai?
Gucci Fendi Louis Vuitton
Oh Chanel ga nakya hakarenai jidai
Senshinkoku Nippon ni umare
Kaereru to omotta nanka uta de?
Genjitsu to iu aranami ni utare
Wakatta no wa "jinsei kachimake" tte
Yarareru mae ni yareru ka?
Makeinu nara nareru ka?
All day All night nande owannai
Jikan wa kyou mo tarinai
The ambient voice from the karaoke sang the raps but the boy merely stood there waiting. His happy and bubbly expression was replaced by a rather smug one.
"Well we know one thing, he can't rap…" said Al.
Tada fuan datte itande
Fumangatte dareka o higande
Arittake de warattatte
Hontou wa mou wake wakannai desu
Kurai jibun wa kirai
Yuujou to ka kusai shi iranai
Jibun no kachi sonna no shiranai
Kanjou wa mou uzai shi iranai
The rap sequence ended and the voice resumed singing.
Oh...
But I'm trying to fly
Doko made mo muchuu de oikaketa kedo
Todokanakute
Nasakenai jibun o kakushite
Itsuwaru koto bakari shite
Demo ienakute
The song had come to another rap sequence. As the boy listened to the second voice's rapping, a tear slid from his cheeks.
Itsuka tsumuida tane uso de nurikatame
Takaku takaku kabe hatta mamoru tame
Kawaita no wa naze? Te ni shita shiawase
Mou jibun de sae aisenai naka de
The boy took a deep breath and prepared for the song's high bridge.
Owari no nai kono yami ni
Donna koe de ikura naitatte
Muda da nante kizuiteta
Demo tomaranainda
Sore de mo mada
Itsu no hi ka jiyuu ni nareru ki ga shite
Utatterunda
Mijime na kibun ni nattatte
Sore sura waraitobashite
Mae dake o mite
The boy landed the high pitched bridge rather effortlessly. Hiro and Al's jaws hung wide open in amusement.
"D-Did he just? Unbelievable…" stuttered Al.
Hiro shot a concerned stare at the boy. He hadn't expected the child to cry whilst listening to the raps.
"Guess I lost huh?" sighed Al lowly.
"Yeah yeah… Okay Al." said Hiro, uninterested at the bartender's surrender. He stood up from his seat and approached the child.
The song slowly faded into a mellow ballad and finally died out. The score screen appeared on the karaoke, displaying 50 points. The boy set down the microphone and walked away from the machine. He didn't notice Hiro who was coming towards him. They ended up crashing to each other and landing on the cold hard floor of the tavern.
"Oww! That hurts…" groaned the boy as he rubbed his butt in an attempt to ease the pain he felt.
"Ah, sorry sorry!" apologized Hiro profusely as he help the child to his feet. The child looked at Hiro, trying to think if he had met him before.
"I-I'm sorry mister. I shouldn't be talking to strangers…" said the child as he walked off towards the front door.
"Wait! I need to tell you something!" yelled Hiro.
"I told you mister; I'm not allowed to talk to…"
"How'd you like to be in a band!" yelled Hiro.
The child stopped in his tracks, his attention caught by Hiro's proposition.
"A band?" asked the child.
"Yeah, a band. Bad Luck to be exact." said Hiro. "I heard you sing back there and I can't express how much I liked it!" complimented the red head.
"Bad Luck?? I've never heard of it before…" told the child smugly.
Hiro's eyes twitched at the child's words. It was depressing that their band hasn't quite achieved the popularity they craved for.
"I'm Hiroshi Kanako or Hiro, guitarist of Bad Luck." introduced Hiro as he extended a handshake to the boy.
The child reluctantly accepted the handshake.
"I'm Chico Asagiri." replied the child.
"Chico huh? That's a cute name…" giggled Hiro.
Chico was taken aback at the smell of Hiro's breath.
"Eeew mister. Your breath smells like alcohol and fish!" squealed Chico.
"Well what did you expect?!" growled Hiro mentally.
"Listen Chico, do you want to join Bad Luck?" asked Hiro again.
"Well… I don't know…" thought Chico.
"I'll talk to your parents if that's what you're worried about." offered Hiro.
"No that's not it. I'm not sure if you really are a member of a band!" explained Chico.
"I assure you Chico, I am a member of Bad Luck!" assured Hiro.
"He's right kid. I'm surprised you haven't heard of them yet." added Al.
"What do you say Chico?" asked Hiro.
"I'll have to think about it. Meet me at Fun Panic Arcade tomorrow at 4 in the afternoon." said Chico.
"Alright!" answered Hiro.
Chico gave one last nod before leaving the shop.
"Wait a second!" yelled Hiro, remembering to question Chico for his teary reaction.
Chico didn't hear Hiro amidst the busy street outside Al's tavern. Hiro decided to save the question for their meeting tomorrow.
"Al… I think I've found what Bad Luck needed…" told Hiro, a sweet smile creeping to his lips.
I've decided to continue this fan fiction originally authored by the past owners of this account. Please Read and Review!
(Chapter Notes)
BENNIE K is a real Japanese band and Monochrome is one of their songs (And one of their latest too!).
The soap opera that Hiro was talking about is Binbou Danshi and it is a real Japanese program. The fact that it uses Monochrome as an intro song is also true.
This chapter is a revised version of BS Sacramenti and Lex Divina's original work.