Chapter 4
After spending around 30 minutes of buying new clothing, Fuutaro and Ichika left the department store, wearing their new clothing. With this new clothing, they should be able to avoid any unwanted attention from the authority. Ichika checked the time in her phone and much to her surprise, it was already mid-afternoon. She thought that time really flew by so fast and didn't realize it was already afternoon. There were only some hours left before evening arrived, where the school will be over. Ichika thought that she needed to go to the next destination, knowing there were not much time left for today
For the next destination, karaoke had been on her mind ever since she about to left the arcade. Unfortunately, going to karaoke had to be delayed for a while because of Fuutaro and police incident. Now that there were no more obstacles to prevent them to have fun, Ichika going to make sure that the upcoming karaoke session with Fuutaro will be a fun and enjoyable experience. She then told Fuutaro that they were going to karaoke for the next stop.
"Hey, Fuutaro-kun. Let's go to karaoke!" Ichika eagerly said to Fuutaro. "I don't know why, but I want to sing right now!"
"Karaoke, huh? I can't remember the last time I went there," Fuutaro wondered whether he ever been to karaoke or not. "But it's worth a try, I never sing before."
"Ehh? Don't tell me, you never go to the karaoke?" Ichika got slightly surprised from hearing him. "You're really a not-social person, Fuutaro-kun. Most of the students that I know have been to the karaoke at least once." she chuckled and teased Fuutaro at the same time.
"It's not really like that. I'm not a fan of singing and I don't see any reason to sing can make my studying get any better," Fuutaro flatly responded to her the reason he never went to the karaoke.
"Geez… You definitely need to lighten up a bit," Ichika said with a sigh from hearing his unenthusiastic reason. "Singing can make your mind and heart more relaxed, but sometimes it can make you more energetic. I bet it can help with studying too." she then explained with a grin to the uninterested Fuutaro.
"Hmm… Is that so?" Fuutaro mumbled. "Then, let's test that theory of yours once we're arrived at the karaoke!" he then smirked, getting intrigued from what Ichika said to him.
"Hehe… Then let's go!"
Both of them then made their way to the nearest karaoke place and after some time of walking, they arrived at their destination. The two entered the place and was greeted by the receptionist.
"Welcome to our karaoke place, how can I help you?" the clerk at the receptionist greeted the two teenagers.
"Ahh… I would like one hour session for two peoples please," Ichika said.
"Certainly… It will be six hundred yen for two peoples on one hour session."
Before Ichika had a chance to opened her wallet to pay for the karaoke fee, Fuutaro already put a money on the receptionist counter and paid for the fee. Ichika was slightly surprised by Fuutaro's action and then looked towards him. There was a semi-serious expression on his face as he put his wallet back to his pants pocket.
"Ehh… Fuutaro-kun? Why?"
"You have pay enough for today. Now it's my turn to pay for the rest," Fuutaro casually said to the confused Ichika.
"Hehhh… Trying to look cool, huh?" Ichika teased him with a cheeky smirk.
"Whatever you said… It's just that I don't want to owe you too much."
"Hmphh…! You're not fun, Fuutaro-kun." Ichika slightly pouted from his respond.
The receptionist then gave them a microphone and one of the staffs then guided them to one of the available rooms. The two entered the room and immediately sat down on the sofa. Fuutaro then looked around the room and he can saw it was not a very big room but it can hold maybe four or five peoples in here. He can feel the sofa was quite comfortable to sit on and add that the room temperature was pretty cold, which made the atmosphere kind of enjoyable for him. In front of him, there were a karaoke machine with a touch screen function and a TV screen planted on the wall. Fuutaro thought that this was a karaoke place because as far as he remembered, he never went to karaoke in his life or he might had forgot that he ever been to karaoke at least once.
"Hmm… So this is karaoke room, huh…?"
"Well, I can say that it's a pretty comfortable room…"
"Next is… singing…"
"I never sing before, so I don't know if my voice is good…"
After observing the room, Fuutaro turned his attention to Ichika, who was sitting next to him, browsing for the song list ever since they entered the room. He then asked to her if she already decided on what song she was going to sing.
"Ichika, you know some good song to sing?"
"Hmm… There's a song that I like, but I can't seem to find it…" Ichika mumbled, still browsing the song list. "Found the song! I'm going to sing this song, it's called "Kizuiteyo - One Love".
"Kizuiteyo - One Love… huh? Never heard about it," Fuutaro mumbled and gave a quick shook, didn't recognized the name of the song.
"But this song is pretty popular for youth like us. You sure you never heard of it? This song still airing frequently on the radio and net."
"Well, I don't follow the current song trends, so I don't know a thing about it."
"Hehe… You're surely hopeless, Fuutaro-kun," Ichika responded with a weak sarcastic-laugh. "Anyway, here I go! This song is very good and I'm sure you going to like it!" she picked up the mic and the melody started to play.
"Kimi e to utau one love,
Watashi ni hi wo tsukeru,
Tsubomi no mama de wa irarenai kimochi,
Hajimari wo tsugeru no (let's start!)"
Ichika then started to sing and Fuutaro can heard that the song was quite catchy and very upbeat. As she kept singing, Fuutaro was surprised to hear that Ichika had a beautiful voice to sing. Her voice seemed to be in tone with the melody, the timing for each lyric were perfect, and she also seemed to be enjoying herself on singing this song.
"Kimi e to utau one love (kizuite yo please find),
Moshi sekaijuu no hito ga (clap clap your hands mukaete),
Watashi wo mitomete tataete kurete mo,
Kimi no hitokoto ni wa kitto kanawanai yo"
Fuutaro was impressed by her singing and he thought that she can participate in amateur singing contest and probably win. As he kept looking at Ichika, unknown to him, Fuutaro slightly gasped and widened his eyes as he got ensnared by her cool and enthusiastic aura, coming out from her performance.
Motto kocchi mite one love (kizuite yo please find),
Fuan ga uso o tsukaseru (crash crash my lies minuite),
Mawari michi sezu ni hontou no omoi wo,
Uchi aketai no i na,
Fuutaro can felt the unknown feeling resurfaced again in his heart as it beat faster from seeing her performance. He was confused on why did this feeling resurfaced again after not feeling it for some times. What caused this feeling to pop-up again? Was it because he never saw someone singing on karaoke? Or was it because he got fascinated by her charm?
"This feeling again…"
"Why does it feel like this?"
"It always happened when I'm seeing her happy and smiling."
"Could it be…? That…"
"No… No… That's impossible. It must be something else…"
For Ichika, she was enjoying on singing this song because it was her favorite song. She had been singing and humming this song everytime she heard this song on her phone on her free time and on break time when she was working. Because of that, Ichika knew every lyric, timing of the song, and every pitch for each part. She was joyful everytime she sang this song, adding that the boy that she liked was with her, Ichika feel extra happy and wanted to give it all on her singing performance. She then looked at Fuutaro for a few times and winked at him, which made him even flustered.
Motto chikazuite one love (kotaete yo please answer),
Hitomi ga atta nara (look look at me watashi dake),
Sorasanai de ite hontou no omoi wo,
Uchi akete miseru kara,
Suki tte kitto tsutaeru kara
With that final lyric, the song was over and Ichika finished her singing. Fuutaro let out a smile and gave her an applause for her performance, which made Ichika grinned widely. She then took a seat back and drank a water to relieve her thirst.
"Wahh… That feels good!" Ichika groaned, feeling refreshed after drinking.
"Not bad Ichika. Your singing was very good." Fuutaro said, still smiling as he complimented her singing.
"Thank you!" Ichika responded with a smile and there was a slight blush on her cheeks from Fuutaro praising her. "So, did you like the song? Was it good?"
"Yeah, it's pretty good. I might need to search it in the net and save it to my phone."
"Hehe… I knew you will like this song. I guess your music taste isn't bad."
"With a voice like that, you could go for a career in singing," Fuutaro said, suggesting another career than acting. "You ever considered a career to be a singer?"
"No, thank you." Ichika responded with a shook. "I prefer acting more than singing. I fell in love with acting since I was a kid and it's also a way for me to express myself."
"Hmm… Is that so? I say you can be a good singer, but if acting is your choice, that's good for you," Fuutaro said. "By the way, how's your work going?"
"It's very good for me recently," Ichika said with an enthusiastic expression. "You remember earlier when I said that I was on the TV for the preview on the upcoming movie that I'm going to start? The movie is highly anticipated by many people and if it became a hit, I'll become more famous than before!" she said with eager, hoping for the movie become a success.
"But… Because of the heavy schedule and high acting standard for that movie, my sleep schedule got messed up and I ended up sleeping very late," Ichika explained the results of her recent busy schedule. "With the mock exam nearing, I guess I will not be getting any sleep at all…" she then let out a weak laugh with that last sentence.
"Oi, oi… You're as reckless as always," Fuutaro sighed, hearing Ichika's current work state. "It's good that you're starting to become more successful in your acting work. But I need to remind you that as a student you need to pay attention to your study and with the mock exam is nearing, don't forget about the bet you made with me." he continued to said, reminding the bet that she made.
"Ahh… I understand about it. I made a bet and promise to you," Ichika slightly nodded as her face started to became more serious. "So, I will take it seriously and will keep the promise with all I got!" she continued to say with confidence.
"Heh! Knowing you, I won't have to worry about it because you've proven to me that you're more than capable to win that bet and keeping that promise," Fuutaro smirked and smiled from hearing the determination from Ichika.
"Hehe… Thank you!" Ichika said as her serious expression instantly turned into a cheerful one. "You too, Fuutaro-kun, don't lose the bet against dad and make sure you beat Takeda-kun on the mock exam too, okay?"
"Yeah… but, I need to remind you one more thing, Ichika," Fuutaro said with a serious expression this time. "Don't over-push yourself too hard on your work and study. You need a good sleep and rest to balance all of that."
"What do you mean? I'm already used to it, so don't worry about me," Ichika responded with a weak laugh, dismissing Fuutaro's advice.
"I know… but, I'm worried about you sometimes," Fuutaro said, looking at the ceiling. "You're definitely a hard-worker and a responsible person. But sometimes you can be reckless and did something without thinking further on the outcome. So, I don't want any unwanted things happened to you." he continued explaining what was in his thought.
"…" Ichika fell silent and there was a flustered expression on her face from hearing Fuutaro's words.
"So, make sure you don't push yourself too hard, okay?"
"Unn… I understand." she then replied with a nod.
"Yeah… I'm counting on you, so don't disappoint me," Fuutaro said with a smile, feeling pleased knowing that Ichika took his advice.
"…"
"Don't worry about me, Fuutaro-kun."
"I will not lose that bet and will keep that promise."
"No matter what happen… I will do anything to get that 150 points."
"It's all just for you…"
"For you to look at me only…"
There was a moment of silence between the two. Fuutaro only stared at the ceiling and Ichika was too flustered to continue the conversation because of his words, which reminding her to not become reckless on working and studying. The silent kept on going for a minute as she saw Fuutaro drinking from the water bottle and looking at his phone. Feeling awkward in this situation, Ichika finally broke the silence by asking Fuutaro the reason why he took another part-time job.
"Hey… Fuutaro-kun, can I ask you something?"
"Hmm… What is it?" Fuutaro said with him still looking at his phone.
"Why did you work another part-time job?" Ichika asked, still feeling flustered from the awkwardness. "You took a part-time job at the café while still tutoring us, right? Itsuki told me that your dad already had a steady job. So why did you still take another part-time job? Is the pay still not enough?
Fuutaro put his phone back into his pocket and put the water bottle on the desk in front of him. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and then he answered Ichika's question with a weak smile.
"Well… It's part of my responsibility to support my family."
"Hmm… What do you mean?" Ichika got puzzled from his answer.
"I can't saw my old man working by himself just to support me and Raiha," Fuutaro said, looking at the water bottle he just put. "Ever since my mother's death, she left us a lot of debts from her unfinished café. It was a dream of her to open a café and before she can achieve that, she passed away from an illness… Because of that debt, I need to help my old man and ease his burden.
"Fuutaro-kun…"
"Other than that, I don't want to see Raiha being sad and down after our mother's death. She understood our current situation and she works hard by taking care of the house chores." he closed his eyes as he continued to tell his family condition. "So, I'm taking any job I can to help my old man and to make sure Raiha is happy."
Ichika then stared down at the floor after hearing Fuutaro's explanation on why he took more than one part-time job. After all this time, Ichika thought she knew him enough, but in reality, there were still more things that she didn't know about him. She felt uneasy for asking this because it means opening an old wound inside of him. Ichika knew how it feels of losing a mother because she also lost her mother to an illness and it put them in the same situation, where they lost their mother in the same way and had to work to support their family.
Hearing his reason, made Ichika respect and admire Fuutaro even more because of his maturity and responsibility to his family. She then apologized to Fuutaro for asking this sensitive topic.
"I'm sorry, Fuutaro-kun…" Ichika apologized to him, still feeling guilty from asking the sensitive topic. "I didn't know about this, so it must be hard for you."
"It's not a problem," Fuutaro responded back with a smile. "I feel a little better after telling you this, because I've been holding and hiding this for a very long time. There's no other person who knows this other than my family. So, you're the only person other than them to know this, Ichika."
"Ehh… Is it okay?" Ichika got surprised from his respond. "Isn't it really a personal family matter? An outsider like me shouldn't even know about this."
"It's okay… I really trust you," Fuutaro said. "Since we're in the same situation, you already knew what kind of situation I'm facing, right? So, it's not a big deal to me on telling you all of this."
"…"
"There is one more thing that I want you to hear," Fuutaro said, now looking at Ichika directly at her face.
"What is it?"
"I wanted to make Raiha happy through this tough situation of our family. I'm willing to do anything for her, just to see her keep on smiling and being happy while facing this hard situation. But there is one principle for me… I'm willing to do anything to make her happy, but I will never… ever… going to hurt her or any person that I care in the process of it to make her happy.
Ichika then realized that they have another similarity, that they will do anything to achieve their goal. But for the last sentence from him that she heard, she was not sure about it because for her, there should be a sacrifice to make in order to achieve the goal at the end. For her, in order to achieve the best performance in the acting job, she had to sacrifice the needs of school. Ichika even thought, after the summer break, she needed to quit from the school in order for her to focus on her acting career to get a maximum outcome for her acting performance. But she held on to this thought for now because she wanted to be close to the boy that she loved, the boy that was sitting next to her, who was powerful enough to stop her from completely quitting the school without even saying a thing.
"Ichika, what I wanted to say to you is, it's okay to keep chasing your dream and goal to become a famous artist," Fuutaro said seriously, but there was a soft tone in his voice despite his seriousness. "But be sure to remember, to never hurt your other sisters and your dad in the process. Trust me, family is very important, they will always support you no matter what happened, so don't ever break their trust."
"Unn… I will keep that in mind," Ichika nodded with a serious face. "Fuutaro-kun, thank you for telling me all of this. I know it's weird coming from me, but whenever I'm with you, I have this push and motivated feeling coming from inside of me." she said and her serious expression quickly turned into a genuine smile with a visible blush on her cheeks.
"Heh! Good to know that my presence able to make you motivated and I hope it can push you to study better," Fuutaro smirked from hearing her and that smirk turn into a smile.
"Hehe… Well, It's kinda like that…"
"Also, don't be shy to ask my support in studying and the other things you need, I'll be there to help."
"Thank you! Fuutaro-kun."
There was a moment of silent between them, again, but this time the two looked at each other with a smile. Their heart was beating faster and a blush was also visible on their face. Both Fuutaro and Ichika seemed to enjoy this moment of silent together and the silent was broke immediately with them laughing at each other, for staring at each other for some seconds.
"Ahaha… What's with that face, Fuutaro-kun?" Ichika said, still laughing from seeing his face expression.
"Hehe… Same for you. Your face looks very weird when you looked at me," Fuutaro chuckled as his laugh quickly subsided.
"Well, it's because I never saw that expression from you before and it looked very weird coming from you," she said as her laugh turned into a grin. "Then, let's hear you sing. There's still some times before our session end."
"You sure you want to hear me sing? I never sing before so I don't know if my voice is good."
"Fine by me. I really want to hear your singing voice and if it's terrible, I can always bail when you sing out of tune." Ichika teased Fuutaro with a cheerful expression and there was also a smile on her lips.
"Oi, oi… That really hurt my feelings you know that," Fuutaro sighed from hearing her teasing and then browsed a song on the touchscreen in front of him. "Hmm… This song should be good because I heard it on the radio for a few times." he mumbled as he chose a song to sing.
"Then, here I go!" Fuutaro stood up with a confidence as he took the microphone on the table in front of him.
"Hehe… Do your best, Fuutaro-kun!" Ichika cheerfully said to him with an applause.
As the music was starting and Fuutaro starting to sing, Ichika can heard that his singing voice was kinda terrible but not that horrible. She just chuckled and then smiled as she rested her chin on her right hand, watching him singing. Ichika then thought of what Fuutaro said to her earlier, about his principle to never hurt the person he cares to achieve his dream or goal. Ichika was still skeptical about his principle because her principle was pretty much the opposite of him. As she further thought about, she had to admit that Fuutaro said was kind of true. Because of it, there was a definite conflict in her heart to choose which principle is the best for her
"Don't ever hurt the person you care…"
"It's true… but..."
"You will never achieve that goal without a sacrifice…"
"So… What should I do…?"
A/N:
So here's chapter 4, hope you enjoyed reading it.
This chapter was a bit different than the previous one because I wanted them to have some serious moment other than fun and fluffs moment. Also this chapter will be the key chapter leading to some important event in the future chapter, but I won't spoil it further so you all have to wait for it :)
Regarding the update time for each chapter, I might starting to update it longer than the usual schedule because I'm trying to focus more on writing the new chapter and for me it's kinda pressuring to set a fixed update schedule because it can rush the writing and in the end, the story quality can turn out worse than I intended. But don't worry, if I feel the story is good enough, then I will post it at usual Friday or Saturday.
If you're wondering about the song that Ichika sing, the song is her character song from Gotoubun S2. I chose this song for this chapter because the song is telling Ichika's feelings to Fuutaro in the main show. I really love this song because it's very catchy and upbeat. After reading the translation of the lyrics, it's very, very sad but at the same time it's heartwarming and I highly recommend to listen to her character song and if you want to know about the lyrics translation, there's one in Youtube.
As for the review:
-Rosalina:
Yeah he's definitely a hero even in the main show. I'm also planning for Fuutaro character development in the future chapter, so yeah he will be better person.
-Tsubaki Lover:
Glad you enjoyed the last chapter! After what he's done in the main series, in the mid-exam and becoming a bait so Yotsuba can quit the track team, he definitely would risk many things for his friends or dearest one. Also hey, we're all feeling the same about him, so it's not just you lol.
-Kraft:
I'm glad I can made your day better and big thanks!
-Santana:
Thank you for loving the last chapter! I really appreciate it! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
-Powder Sauce:
Big thanks mate! Even I'm enjoying myself when I'm writing that part!
-DragonMaid lover:
-Thank you for the compliment! Hope you enjoy this new chapter!
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