Chapter XXII: Songs from the Heart! Karaoke Party!
"Kanata, what's that microphone over there?" Haruka asked; pointing to a microphone with buttons on it.
"Oh, I got that from my uncle last Christmas." Kanata answered. "It's actually a nifty karaoke machine."
"T-That microphone is a what? But aren't karaoke machines usually…um, huge?"
"Nowadays, big things come in small packages. You just enter the number code of the song you want to sing and enjoy being a singing sensation for a couple of minutes."
"That IS nifty, kamo."
"So, do you believe me now?"
Unfortunately, Haruka's attention was at the TV where she saw a commercial about a nifty chopping machine that was claiming to be three times better than conventional knives. She even agreed to the commentator when he said that the appliance was nifty around the house.
"Oh sorry Kanata, I hope you weren't in the middle of something." Haruka said.
"Not really, I was only being a sucker for twenty seconds." Kanata replied.
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To celebrate the end of the mid-terms and Haruka's recent success in her academic standing (it was her first time making it to the top 25 of the mid-term exam results), Kanata arranged a karaoke party with everyone at her little but snug condo unit. In fact, it has been a while since Kanata last touched her nifty karaoke microphone. Not everyone was good at singing—heck, not everyone even knows how to sing.
"Shuu…! Here…?" Kanata cried. "That does it! Who's the wise guy who keeps including him in my parties?!"
"Come on, Kanata. After all, the more the merrier kamo…" Haruka replied.
"I'd give one chapter of this darn story without him!" Kanata's cry evolved into a yell (and for the record, there are).
Meanwhile, Kasumi was putting up a frightened face as soon as she gazed on the curse she calls the karaoke microphone.
"Kasumi, you don't look so good." Takeshi said; eventually figuring out what his classmate was scared of. "Don't worry, this is not a bar."
"Even if you say so…it's hard." Kasumi replied; trembling.
"Huh? Is something the matter, Arisawa-senpai?" Konomi asked out of concern.
"Oh, Kasumi has issues about karaoke."
"Takeshi…! That's supposed to be a secret!"
"Issues…? Like what?"
"Well, for starters there is—"
Kasumi immediately drew out her huge wooden mallet and hammered Takeshi down for the count.
"Konomi-chan, there are some things that are better left unknown." She said.
Kanata grabbed the microphone and stood in front of the party. She had already entered her song code of choice. It was either she was ready to sing or ready to be humiliated in front of her friends because of a wrong selection.
"Okay guys, I'll start off with my favorite song."
All of a sudden, Shuu tapped an extremely fragile wine glass against the edge of the table. The wine glass shattered into pieces instantly.
"Oh look, it broke." Shuu said. "It's a good thing I have a pair of earplugs with me."
"Damn it, you jerk! You did that on purpose!" Kanata yelled.
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Kasumi stood up and picked up the K-Mike (shortened name for karaoke microphone and also the most popular brand in the Hoenn region). After browsing through the catalogue for an easy song to sing, she stood in front of the small crowd with confidence written all over her face. It's as if she has overcome her issue regarding singing.
"Whoa! Kasumi's all psyched up!" Takeshi said in total astonishment.
"I picked an easy song. I'll sing it with pride and joy!" Kasumi said over the microphone.
"Well then go for it! I haven't heard you sing since our elementary days."
The music began playing and the lyrics appeared on the TV. No wonder Kasumi was confident that she would get through one of her greatest fears of her life. An awkward atmosphere surrounded the gang as she sang…
Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
"Well, that is an easy song kamo." Haruka giggled lightly. "But the confidence part…I'm not so sure."
"Haruka, please shut up before she hears you." Kanata advised her brunette friend.
"That explains her sudden change of persona." Takeshi said; a bit humiliated and covering his face with his right palm. "I feel so embarrassed right now."
Regardless of humiliation, Kasumi scored a high mark on her song of choice—92 high.
The sweet and kind Konomi was up next. Judging by her sweet personality, they think that she will choose some kind of love song or anything mellow to sing. In fact, Konomi's winning piece during her elementary years back at Kaina City was a duet. Yes, she performed the duet solo by switching voice ranges. They were anticipating her performance to be moving and tear-jerking.
"Well, I'm up next. I'll do my best." Konomi said before turning her attention to the TV.
They thought that her song of choice was a mellow love song. They thought wrong.
"Hold up." Kanata said. "Kazekiri…? That's a—"
By the time Kanata recognized the artist of the next song, a blast of wind blew almost blew them away thanks to the surround sound speakers in between the TV. The sweet and kind Konomi they knew suddenly transformed into one heck of a rock star debuting in her song of choice—sung by a metal rock band.
"Waaaaaaah…! My ears are falling apart!" Haruka yelled. "What kind of songs are in there anyway?"
"I'm sorry; I forgot to pull out the metal rock song chip in the mike." Kanata replied.
"WHAT?"
"I SAID I FORGOT TO PULL OUT THE ROCK CHIP!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
"I SAID…UGH, NEVER MIND!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY AGAIN?!"
After four minutes of metal carnage, Konomi carefully put down the microphone and returned to her normal sweet and kind self.
"So, how well did I do?" Konomi winked as if nothing life-changing has happened to her.
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Kanata stood up and picked up the mike once again. She entered another song of her heart's desire. She was about to sing her song of choice when Shuu smashed another extremely fragile wine glass against the edge of the table.
"Oh look, it broke again." Shuu said sarcastically. "That's quite some power you have."
"Stop that, damn it!" Kanata yelled. "Just how many of those freaking glasses do you have, anyway?"
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"It looks like it's my turn." Takeshi got a hold of the mike and entered his song of choice.
"As expected, he's about to sing a love song." Kasumi said. "That is so Takeshi."
"How naïve of you, Kasumi; I don't plan on singing a love song today."
"W-What…?"
"I will sing a song in which even today's record-breaking artists cannot even lay a lyric on."
"Y-You don't mean…! Takeshi, that's suicide!"
Takeshi immediately turned from a happy-go-lucky guy to a sentimental dude. "Kasumi, if I don't make it here, I just want you to know that…"
"T-Takeshi…" Kasumi blushed red. "I…I…"
This love scenario continued on even with Takeshi's song of choice almost halfway to the end. In the end, Takeshi had completely forgotten why he entered his selected piece in the first place. The others were curious to what song Takeshi was referring to—the so-called "suicide song".
"That's some fancy alibi to cover up the fact that your singing voice is beyond horrible." Kanata said; disregarding her need to know about Takeshi's chosen song.
Hikari decided to give it her best shot at singing as well. Like Konomi, she was also a singing contest winner at a local competition held in Masago Town (Twinleaf Town) before moving to Touka City for Hikari to study. As soon as she began, they were in shock—Hikari was the most decent of them all: singing a high-pitched song that few could master. They felt like they were in a live concert with a big star celebrity.
"Wow, Hikari-chan's quite the singer kamo." Haruka remarked. "I need to do my best as well."
"I couldn't agree more." Kanata agreed and nodded her head.
Halfway through Hikari's chosen song, the sound suddenly turned off by itself. She put down the microphone and walked to the corner beside the TV where she grabbed her music player which was out of power. It turned out that the music player was doing Hikari's dirty job by covering up for her not-so-good singing voice.
"Aw man, out of juice already?" Hikari said calmly.
"Darn it, Hikari! And I thought you were a great singer too!" Kanata yelled.
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"I promise guys, this will be my last time. I just love singing you know." Kanata picked up the microphone a third time and entered her selection.
And as expected, she saw the notorious glass breaker Shuu about to break a third wine glass just like the two previous ones. Quickly, she grabbed Kasumi's wooden mallet and used it to…well, let's just say that Shuu never got the chance to sing.
"That's for wasting precious glass." Kanata said sternly.
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Finally, everyone demanded that they see a duet before they call it a day. Coincidentally, Satoshi and Haruka were the only ones who haven't sung a single song yet; and it's not because they were too shy to even hold the catalogue. As always, humiliation is a person's biggest enemy in the face of opportunity.
"Come on, you two." Hikari said. "Don't make us wait. We want to see a duet."
"Oh you don't want me." Satoshi put up an alibi. "I'm so bad at singing; I'm simply out of tune when I sing."
"You don't want me as well." Haruka added. "I'm so bad at singing; I tend to mispronounce the lyrics."
"All the more we want you two to wrap this party up."
Satoshi and Haruka looked at each other's eyes before coming up with a decision. After all, they were the only ones who haven't given their performances yet so they might as well do it together.
"Haruka, you don't have to do this if you don't want to." The trainer said convincingly.
However, the brunette girl shook her head in refusal. "It's alright. Let's sing together, Satoshi."
"Well, if you say so. Are you ready?"
"Let's do this."
Music from a mellow love song played and echoed across the living room. Both of them played their respective parts in the song; and when it called for a duet, they shared the microphone and sang together like a happy couple. Haruka never felt so close to Satoshi since the play. She felt like all of her efforts just for Satoshi to recognize her was finally paying off.
"(Satoshi…I feel like I can already reach you, kamo.)" Haruka thought. "(Maybe my efforts weren't in vain after all.)"
They almost finished the song (and their performance seemed flawless to boot) when all of a sudden the power went out—causing everything including the K-Mike to shut down abruptly.
"NOOOOOOOOO…!" Haruka screamed and eventually cried a river as if her dreams were instantly shattered by a scheduled blackout. "Just a few seconds more…! Waaaaaaah…!"
"Dang, I forgot about the scheduled power outage tonight." Kanata said. "Well, it looks like the party's over."
"What about Shuu? He's still out cold." Hikari asked out of concern.
"Don't worry, Hikari." The purple-haired girl put up a dastardly grin on her face. "I have other plans for Mr. Hotshot tonight."
"Um…I think I'll pass on that one." Hikari replied.
TO BE CONTINUED