Chapter 9 - (Things Keeping Getting Worse)

Once I had gotten over the bittersweet feelings latching onto me since my last walk with Kasumi-senpai, I knew I had to reset my mind.

And how did I achieve that?

By being late to school due to falling into a rabbit hole of mysterious events in history which ate up a good chunk of my morning hours. However, that really helped me in forgetting about whatever lingering worries I had left in my head and allowed me to focus on the task at hand:

That. Damned. Festival.

Yes, although I had some personal matters to put my thoughts to, the culmination of all of it was none other than the damned inter-school festival.

You see, I had already to come to terms with my responsibilities at the events and how much I would have to give to get our school's desired results. But a few hours after my last meetup with Kasumi-senpai, I had a, how do you call it? A eureka moment?

I had learnt that in order to put my mind to rest, I had to push myself as hard as I could and weather the upcoming storm with all that I've got.

Only then, would I be able to resume a normal, boring school life.

However, that meant I had to dutifully attend and participate in the practices without fail…which wasn't a problem since that was also my unwritten duty as the Student Council President.

The major one was the kendo practices.

Knowing that it was virtually the only window I had to hang out with Kasumi-senpai, I gave my all acting as her student and sparring partner for the next seven days.

She actually admitted that although I was less skilled and slower than the regular kendo members, I was a tad bit better than them as I had something they didn't. Even after asking her numerous times what it was, she declined to reveal that secret as she thought I might change my striking style.

Fair point…but at least, I was sure I might have a chance in the first round when the real event arrived.

Next up was the track team where I was placed into the starting lineup of the 500m relay against my will.

The teacher in charge of the track team, Hirayama-sensei had taken the advice of Raizou and Souya and informed me of my addition into the track team. As soon as I had understood our PE teacher wouldn't allow me to take myself out of the track team, I had to lobby hard for him to put me in the relay team instead of in any singles race.

Thankfully, he agreed and I wound up on the relay race team along with Ui and a couple of our senpais. We had to run almost daily and that usually helped me in getting great sleep during the nights.

As for baseball, I was pleased with myself for giving up my place to Ishikawa-san who was proving to be quite a powerful pitcher.

Fortunately, she hadn't heard about my false assumption that she and Raizou were together and that saved my neck for the time being.

Souya and Mitsumi were part of the baseball team as well and it was an ordeal trying to convince them that me not being in the lineup was essential for our team's victory. I understood their insistence for my participation though as I had told them before regarding how playing on the same team would be a feat in itself.

Anyway, other than those three events, I only had to prepare for the final event, which was a musical one, and the freestyle marathon, which was the penultimate event.

All in all, I was satisfied by the level of commitment I had mustered up which wasn't too dwarfed by the efforts given by the rest of the school.

I had pulled my weight and at the end of our final day of practices, I was more than ready to go to war.

So, a few days beyond a week after the practices had started, we were given two good days of rest…which were a Saturday and a Sunday for goodness' sake!

You'd think the teachers would have at least given us Friday off as well but due to a majority of the students insisting on making the most of whatever hours we had to practice, I had to concede precious hours for the preparations which I had already earmarked for a much deserved rest.

Having to settle for two days of relaxation wasn't too bad though. I had already made plans to spend the day at home and do nothing.

The perfect way to spend the weekend!

However, fate would rear its ugly head once again and on Friday night, Raizou told me that my friends had expected me to join them for an afternoon at a karaoke bar which he had booked in my name!

Needless to say, it took a lot of restraint and internal swearing to not yell at him for ruining my plans once again. I had been looking forward to distancing myself from anything school-related but now, I was caught in a shitty situation.

I would've declined the meeting if Chihiro hadn't messaged me directly, politely asking if I had the time to join them.

…and how could I say "no" to her?

And so, despite all of my insistence that I did not want to head outside on that Saturday, I gave into my heart which told me that it had been ages since I had hung out with my friends outside school.

Finally, I gave my official answer to Raizou via phone call and whilst he was celebrating, I also made sure to tell him that no one should talk about school nor the inter-school festival as I had enough. Thankfully, he understood and promised that all the school stuff would be left the moment we all stepped out of our homes.

With my weekend plans changed, I now had to prepare myself for a day out in the city's karaoke bar with my friends…

…And I was sure they were going to make me do something I didn't want.

"Reach at 12 o'clock, head into number 6. We've already booked that for an hour. Souya, Mitsumi and Chihiro will be there too along with a friend of mine you might not know."

I carefully re-read the message Raizou had sent to me prior to my arrival in the main metropolitan area of our city.

As I stood at the sidewalk, surrounded by blocks of buildings ranging from lowly complexes to towering skyscrapers, a certain feeling of alienation came across me. The vehicles in motion, the smell of the formless smoke and the incomprehensible noise emanating from the moving pedestrians had nearly become a foreign concept.

It had been quite a while since I last ventured deep into the city and though I couldn't place my finger on it, I knew a lot had changed since then.

And I had also been dressed in a way that deviated greatly from how I usually spent my days.

I could not remember the last time I had worn my denim jacket over my yellow sweater. It wasn't a stylistic choice on my end but something my sister picked out for me; the same could also be said about the sweat pants and sneakers she had also forced me to wear. I didn't complain though as I was pretty satisfied with my appearance.

Blending in with the citizens of the…uh…city wasn't difficult. A lot of people around me were mostly hanging about on their own so at least there was a sense of solidarity with their solitude.

My phone had already turned itself off when I felt the need to check the time again.

Switching it back on, I stared intently at the screen.

"11:58…" I mumbled to myself.

It would have certainly been time for any sane person to panic about being almost late but not me!

You see, I've already been to said karaoke bar before and though I might've not visited the city in a long time, I was fairly positive it would take decades before I forgot the places we used to frequent.

And seeing that I was only just a crosswalk away from the karaoke bar, time wasn't a concern.

As soon as the traffic lights changed signs, I shoved my phone back in my pockets and followed the small crowd crossing the street, heading towards the block where the karaoke bar was located.

It would take someone having ridiculously impaired vision to miss the scrolling LCD display showing the words "KARAOKE BAR" right above the entrance to the building.

To be fair, it was located at the ground floor of a large corporate building but our usual route leading up to it gave us an unignorable view of it.

Without wasting another moment, I walked inside it.

Like most karaoke bars, it had an appearance of a very modern restaurant upon entering. Extravagantly designed lights and psychedelic wallpapers adorned the interiors although a portion was kept unlit owing to it being the middle of the day.

The first room I walked into was basically this long rectangular area with desks and chairs at the side where a number of patrons were either eating or being waited upon by the employees of the karaoke bar.

The moment I noticed some of them eyeing me, I promptly shifted my attention to the counter at the opposite side.

Making sure I wouldn't bump into the employees and the customers was mandatory but not an ultimately difficult task as I walked up to the counter, trying to sport the most confident mug I could muster.

I had been a customer before so why should I be nervous, right?

So, I observed instantly that the receptionist was a young adult man who didn't seem to be more than three years older than me so he was most likely a college student working there as a part-time job.

That seemed like a brilliant analysis on my part but actually, I was just making guesses based on a show aimed at a college-level audience that I had watched recently.

Anyway, I stood in front of him and he gave me this warm yet tired smile.

"Welcome! How may I help you?" he asked politely, straightening his posture.

I tried my best to not let my attention be taken by the rather raunchy poster behind him.

"Well…uh…we booked a room yesterday for…uh…12 o'clock" I said, "The name's Esashi Kenta."

"Please wait a second…" he trailed off as he began to flip through the large book on the counter.

I felt a bit anxious upon realizing Raizou might have pulled a prank on me and hadn't booked the room in my name.

"Ah! Room number six" the receptionist exclaimed, much to my relief, "One hour, right?"

"Yes" I nodded.

I waited for him to finish up whatever was left before ushering me towards my destination.

"Six…it says six people will be there" he muttered before glancing in my direction, "So, the rest of your friends will arrive soon, right?"

The second he asked me that, I promptly understood that my friends hadn't reached the karaoke bar because of whatever reason. Punctuality wasn't their forte, to be fair.

"They will" I replied rather confidently.

"Alright then, everything's done!" he resumed the peppy mannerism, "You can wait here or inside your room if you want to."

I steadily shifted my gaze to the restaurant area nearby, trying to see if there was a comfortable place to wait for the arrival of my friends.

However, the moment I saw a number of customers glaring in my direction, I decided it would be better for me to head further inside and away from the judgmental stares.

"I'll head straight for the room" I told the receptionist.

"Okay! So, please, head down this hallway!"

Even if he hadn't shown me the way, I would've been able to easily navigate my way around the deeper area of the karaoke bar.

As I entered said hallway, the sounds from outside had become effectively muffled and barely audible. The lighting was as bright as I remembered it to be and there was a female employee at the end of it who hadn't noticed my presence yet.

Pairs of doors leading to different rooms were located symmetrically on either side of the walls of the hallway. I had already memorized which rooms were which; the even numbered ones were to my right whereas the odd numbered ones were to my left.

I grabbed the door handle of the room Raizou had already booked but before I went inside, I noticed something strange.

The electronic indicator near the door was showing a sign that meant the room was occupied.

That confused me quite a bit but then, I remembered that six of us were supposed to be at the karaoke bar so it wasn't that farfetched to assume that someone might've arrived earlier than me.

With that, I applied some force on the handle and swung the door open.

Instantaneously, I was smothered by the unmistakable cooled air exuded by an air conditioner. The instant change in temperature was refreshing and it even managed to wake my senses up by a teeny tiny bit.

The room was a bit more illuminated than I had initially thought and the large display monitor mounted on the wall was blaring some sort of a custom advertisement for the karaoke bar. Directly above it were suspended speakers and to the side was a rack with multiple books and booklets on it.

A large table surrounded by long comfy couches with little space in between was the norm in several karaoke bars and as such, didn't really surprise me upon my not too grand entrance.

However, in the corner of my eye, there was an unfamiliar figure already sitting on one of the couches.

I had never seen that person before in my life!

"Oh! Hi!"

I couldn't respond immediately.

My brain told me that I first needed to assess the person who was sitting inside the room we had booked!

The stranger was a young girl, possibly around my age, who was undoubtedly not from our school nor a resident of our immediate residential area.

She had this striking red hair tied in a side-ponytail style, paired together with a baseball cap worn sideways. She also wore some sort of a light-yellow sports jacket over her buttoned-up shirt which had an unfamiliar insignia on it. Her attire made her seem like a seasoned athlete even though I was sure she was probably a high schooler.

"Hi" I barely managed to keep up a confident front.

As she moved her hand towards the pockets of her jacket, I realized she was putting her phone away.

"So, the others are late, huh?" she said, sporting a smile.

Then, I understood the situation perfectly!

"Yeah…hehe…I think they'll be here soon!" I told her.

I sat down opposite to her as I said that.

Of course! My new companion was most likely the "friend I didn't know" that Raizou had mentioned in his message! Trust that guy to leave me in an awkward situation by not even telling me what his friend looked like!

"So…you must be…"

As she tried to guess who I was, I knew I had to introduce myself lest I ran the risk of appearing as quite rude.

"Esashi Kenta" I replied.

My eyes met with her crimson ones and I could swear I saw a glint in both of them.

She nodded. "I'm Sukeda Nanahoshi."

"Pleasure meeting you" I quickly added to appear more mature than I actually was.

As I made myself comfortable on the couch, she began fiddling with the tablet. Usually, the one in charge of booking the room would be the one who got first dibs on queueing up the songs using the tablet but seeing her effortlessly select songs one by one made me silently delegate the responsibilities to her.

"I'm just loading up some songs" she glanced at me for a second as she said that before continuing to stare at the tablet.

"Okay…" I mumbled my acknowledgment.

Turning towards the TV at the front of the room, I noted that the advertisements had disappeared and now, the usual karaoke interface was displayed in all its updated glory.

Carefully, I took note of the songs that Sukeda-san had already selected.

The first one was one that I strangely recognized.

It was a 2010s song that was made to feel like it was written in the 80s and was from a popular anime which I had mixed feelings about. Nevertheless, it was a simple song that even I, a non-music savant, knew the melodies to.

The second to fourth songs were ones that received considerable airplay but not ones I knew by heart.

I could feel my entire being rising to life the moment I saw Haa-chan's name listed as the fifth one.

"Red Heart, huh?" I accidentally said out loud.

I quickly realized my mistake and frantically began to conjure up an excuse.

Surely, any sane person would have found it weird that a high school teen boy like myself would've known and unironically enjoyed a cutesy love song. The teasing would've been utterly relentless if any of the students at Shiomi High had known that little fact.

Before I could spout an excuse as to why I knew that song, I felt a microphone brushing against my hand.

"Yeah! I really like Haa-chan's songs" Sukeda-san told me, motioning me to take the microphone.

"Ah…alright…" I muttered as I accepted it blindly.

As she pointed the tablet towards the TV, I figured the reason why Sukeda-san had added Haa-chan's song to the queue was probably because she knew it from Raizou or Raizou had asked her in advance to put it in the playlist.

Come to think of it…perhaps she was also queueing the songs by herself because Raizou and the others had asked her to do so since they were running late?

"Should we get started?" she suddenly suggested, "We've only till 1 o'clock so we might as well use the facilities."

"Huh?"

It was then I truly took note of the situation.

Raizou's friend had a microphone in her hands and had given me a microphone to use as my own. That meant she was expecting me to join her in a duet or at the very least, expecting me to sing a song on my own.

I was looking forward to neither and I was trying so damned hard to hold in my nerves as she began to stand up from her seat.

"I…uh…I guess that's a good proposition" I replied, adding a fancy word to seem more composed than I was.

I tried to find an alibi to not join in on the songs but since we were in a karaoke bar, not doing so would defeat the purpose of us being there.

"Oh!" she seemed to suddenly remember something, "Do you want to order some drinks in the meantime?"

"It's alright" I said, "I'm fine."

"Understood" she said, smiling again.

And then…it happened. In the name of Ryuzaki Raizou, it actually happened!

I subconsciously looked at her as she began to remove her jacket, fully revealing the sleeveless shirt that she had worn underneath it. Everything seemed to slow down to a snail's pace as her hair swung gracefully with her precise and elegant movement. The faint essence of sweet perfume began to envelope me as I realized I couldn't take my eyes off her.

Never had I ever had emotions for someone quite like this before!

I had hardly known Sukeda-san but the combination of her impeccable appearance and her warm personality had pulled all my attention to her. The smile she gave me was the cherry on top!

She then played the first song whose first few notes brought me back to reality; but not without a warm, fuzzy feeling in my chest.

"Kogarashi Sentiment, huh?" I said, chuckling a bit to lighten myself up.

Of course, I had already mentioned that I had known that song from an anime and I had memorized the lyrics from top to bottom.

"Yes! Do you want to join in?" she asked without any hint of nervousness.

Honestly, I would've passed a potential chance to make a complete fool of myself in front of someone I was attracted to. Heck! I would've gladly sat every song out simply due to fear of messing up.

But no…I was entranced by Sukeda-san and I truly wanted to perform the song with her!

"Yeah! Let's give it a try" I told her as I stood up, "But I'm not a good singer just so you know."

Those words casted a small shadow of doubt over me but it was to be dashed away almost instantly.

"It's not about being good at karaoke, Esashi-san" she calmly explained, "It's about having fun!"

"If you say so" I said, nodding.

As the initial instrumental part of the song began to wrap up, it was almost time for Sukeda-san to begin singing the female part of the song.

She gracefully clenched the microphone with both her hands and she stared at the large screen in front of us. The lighting inside the room changed its hue to a dark purplish color, corresponding to the emotions exuded by the song's initial portion.

I watched her sternly, wondering how good of a singer she was.

And eventually, she opened her mouth to sing.

"My memories are still beautiful

Despite a sheet of frozen tears"

I suppose you could say it was because I was already smitten by her but Sukeda-san's voice when she sang was utterly beautiful and captivated me in an instant.

Paired with the bittersweet lyrics and the calm instrumentals, her voice had this perfect harmony of nostalgia and modernity which struck right through my heart, essentially making me wish I could hear her sing forever.

"And I don't remember why I shed them"

My part was coming up in a second or two and there was nothing else I wanted to do at that moment than to try and impress her with my mediocre singing skills.

Fortunately, the song wasn't too high and I kinda had confidence I would nail it.

"Now the winter winds of yesteryear…"

I glanced at her briefly, my heart pounding the moment she looked back at me with that same, sparkling smile.

The next line was to be sung in unison.

"…turn back the clock for us."

Somehow, Sukeda-san's smile had grown wider and even more radiant.

I could actually feel a sense of fulfillment and unfiltered happiness knowing that she was enjoying doing something with me. It was an absolutely different experience indulging in a shared activity with someone that had captured my heart.

Even though I was instantly caught up gazing at her adoringly from the first moment I laid eyes on her, I knew deep in my heart that I wanted to spend more time with her.

"A misunderstanding, a moment's hesitation"

Once she finished that line, she signaled me with a quick wink. I was more than happy to follow up.

"Cliched sentimentalism"

She then placed her microphone close to my face and without missing a beat, I did the same. In one voice, we finished the last part of the pre-chorus.

"The perfect moment, lost forever."

Retracting both of our microphones, we awaited the drum roll to lead into the chorus which had to be sung together the whole way through.

It had been the most fun I've had in a long, long time and I could swear that Sukeda-san shared the same sentiment as well. Even though we had never known each other before, there was a clear synergy between us, even if it was only for the duration of the song.

"Once more, never again,

I remain young and trusting with my unspoken love,

A numbing memory,

Once more, never again,

I never gave an answer which pains me,

But I remain beautiful,

And leave behind the warmth of your skin."

At the end of the chorus, the instrumentals kicked in, giving the two of us ample time to assess what had just happened.

We both stared at each other, mouths open and sweat forming at the sides of our faces from the thrill of immersing ourselves fully into the song. I couldn't tell what she was thinking at the moment but at least I was sure I had blown up my anxiety and was now filled with confidence thanks to her.

"You've got a nice voice!"

Once we realized we had complimented each other at the same time and with the same words, we laughed heartily.

I couldn't remember the last time I had felt this in tune with anyone outside my family! This was a special moment and I wanted to make sure I recognized the chemistry we had.

And to think, we were only strangers just a few minutes before.

"Esashi-san, you're up first for the second verse" Sukeda-san informed me as the transition was about to start.

I had almost forgotten that the male part took the lead on the second verse.

"Alright! I'll try my best!" I told her.

"Let's go!"

On her signal, I inhaled and started the second verse right on the audio cue.

What happened in the next couple of minutes was both vaguely and distinctly etched into my memory. The only thing I was sure of was that Sukeda-san and I had fun and we were blissfully singing in our own little world with nothing else intruding upon our private moment.

I had no clue as to why the euphoria of doing karaoke with her had such a positive effect on me. Perhaps it was her hospitality that drew me to her, turning the whole experience from a memorable one to an unforgettable one.

The feeling of my heart thumping through my body helped me release some of the tension and anxiety I had from being in the same room with a person I was…kinda…sorta into. I couldn't quite pick it out easily but there was something about Sukeda-san that made her stand out from all the girls I've met.

Fortunately, I would get the answer to that.

As soon as the music stopped, I breathed in rather heavily so as to fully process what had just occurred. Every line that I sang cheerily with Sukeda-san had resonated a sensation of unbound synergy within me that dispelled any sense of unfamiliarity between us.

Even though we were still strangers to each other, I knew that we've knocked on the door to a potential friendship.

Putting aside the unexplainable attraction I had for her, it truly seemed like fate had thrown us together in the same karaoke room…or maybe it was just Raizou's planning but I would rather die than give credit to that idiot regarding my love life.

"You nailed it, Esashi-kun!" Sukeda-san exclaimed as she sat back down.

"Yeah…I think I did well" I said, all too happy to reciprocate her positivity.

As I took a quick glance at her, I noted that her baseball cap had tilted forward a bit, covering her left eye a bit.

"It's nice to do duets like that" she said, fixing her cap, "Usually, I'm here by myself…and that kinda makes me sound like a loser, huh? Haha!"

At that exact moment, I was transfixed by Sukeda-san's soft laughter as she moved her visor back to its previous position on the left side of her head. I imagined seeing floral patterns and colorful spheres fluttering besides her, encircling her and helping me understand exactly what had drawn me to her.

It was that baseball cap, wasn't it?

"No no! I think it's good to practice stuff by yourself" I instinctively replied.

Though I was addressing her, my mind was on something completely different.

I had just realized it but the way she rocked that baseball cap so flawlessly had totally captivated me. One might look at this…unorthodox origin of infatuation but it was the true reason why I had this feeling for her.

She gave off this sporty yet professional aura with the outfit she had which awakened something in me.

Basically, thanks to Sukeda-san, I learned what type of girls I was into.

And weird it may be, it was how I felt.

"I agree" Sukeda-san nodded, "Are you a regular customer here too?"

"Uhhh…I used to be" I answered, "I haven't had much time to go here recently."

"Ah! I understand" she stated, "I must seem like I have a lot of free time now that I've mentioned that."

"Well…uh…it's always good to be invested in what you…uh…love" I told her rather nervously.

"I agree" she giggled.

For a second, I was worried that she might have seen through my little reply and the implication of my attraction behind that. But fortunately, she didn't change her expression even by a bit so I knew I was in the clear.

She then moved her hand towards the screen where the next couple of songs were still displayed.

"By the way, do you know Polk-"

CLICK

In the absence of music playing from the speakers, my ears immediately picked up the unmistakable sound of the door clicking. I chastised my forgetful behavior for letting me enter the room without locking the door behind me even though I had thought I had done so.

Believing it to be an employee, Sukeda-san stopped mid-sentence as we stared at the door which then slid opened.

To my surprise, Raizou stuck his head through the doorway with a passive look on his face.

"Raizou?" I asked reflexively.

I could see that he was wearing a dark blue track suit…and also the most hideous and heinous grin I had ever seen once our eyes met.

Without missing a beat, he turned back towards the hallway instead of addressing us and then shouted something that sent shockwaves down my spine.

"Hey! Mitsumi! Tell Chihiro I owe her a hundred yen 'cause she's right!" Raizou yelled loud enough for the entire world to hear, "He's really in the wrong room! Haha!"

In the moment where he was calling out to Mitsumi, a ghostly chill grasped me. A sensation of fear and anxiety built up in an instant, threatening to burst at any second.

I cautiously stared at Sukeda-san who, just as I had dreaded, was squinting her eyes at Raizou in confusion.

Slowly, she looked in my direction.

"Who was that? What was he talking about?" she asked.

As we locked our sights at each other, my terrified being was akin to an unfortunate soldier who had gazed into the eyes of Medusa the Gorgon herself. It was the scenario I had desperately hoped wouldn't transpire when I first set foot into the room.

But in spite of the panic setting in and threatening to keep me shell shocked, I managed to remove myself from my seated position, ready to leave Sukeda's presence abruptly. I wasn't going to subject myself to the same fate as Medusa's victim and just simply sit there and metaphorically die.

"S-Sukeda-san…" I stammered despite my best attempts to appear composed, "…E-Excuse me for a bit."

"Uh…sure…" she said, visibly puzzled.

Gingerly, I walked out of the room, not even acknowledging the laughs and snickers I heard from Raizou and Souya.

Before I could fully allow the embarrassment to crush my spirits, I had to make sure that I had really walked into the wrong room.

To my mortification, I stood in front of the door, mouth open wide as I stared intently at the sign which clearly showed the number "5" on it.

As Raizou's and Souya's laughter grew even more, watching their friend absolutely gob smacked and stunned, I held in my emotions for how ever as long as I could and I peeped back into the karaoke room.

Sukeda-san watched me, still perplexed and unmoving from her seat.

"Uh…I'm so sorry, Sukeda-san" I told her, smiling through the embarrassment as my face turned red, "I'm…uh…I had mistaken my room."

All I heard from her was a soft "Oh!" before I quickly dipped back out into the hallway, promptly closing the door tight to separate myself from Sukeda-san.

I held my head down, not even daring to look up at either Raizou or Souya who were standing right next to the room they had booked. My entire body was basically tinted red with embarrassment unlike anything I had ever experienced before and there wasn't anything I could say to them.

"I told you that he might've not known they had renovated the rooms recently and changed their orders" I could faintly hear Raizou tell Souya.

"Yeah…yeah…that explains it" Souya remarked.

I walked past both of them, trying to ignore them as I could not even long for relief as I felt I had humiliated myself in front of everyone for forgetting to properly check the room number. That mistake was surely one I would never ever forget for as long as I lived.

Inside the "correct" karaoke room, Chihiro and Mitsumi had sat on opposite sides. I briefly acknowledged their presence with a glance but I could not even properly greet them.

"Ah…Esashi-san, it's alright! We all mistakes now and then…hehe" Mitsumi awkwardly said, trying to make me feel better.

I just silently sat down next to Chihiro, absolutely devastated and dejected and also completely flustered. My entire face had warmed up to the point that I was practically radiating heat out of sheer embarrassment.

Chihiro then carefully placed a wet napkin to my forehead. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even register her and Mitsumi's surprise upon seeing steam seeping out upon contact.

"…stupid…stupid…" I mumbled, practically squeaking through quivering lips as I tried to talk.

However, the whiplash of emotions in the last couple of minutes had still gotten me in its merciless grasp and I was still left alone, bathed in embarrassment.

Raizou and Souya reentered the room and without even speaking to me, they began playing the song they had queued up.

Soon, they had left me alone to continue and wallow in whatever internal turmoil was taking hold of me at one side of the room, completely displaced from the fun they were having. I couldn't even muster the will to find Raizou's nasally bellows annoying nor could I even make a snide comment to counter his brain-dead teases.

After 30 minutes or so had passed, the unbearable weight of my mishap had lifted a bit as my friends had not disturbed me much during my private period of introspection. Although I was still blushing all the while, I had finally stopped being all gloom and doom about what had occurred.

While Raizou, Souya and Mitsumi were all taking turns manning the helm that was the karaoke stage, Chihiro quietly sat by my side, only occasionally joining in with the others with restrained claps. She had also thoughtfully made sure to continue dabbing my face at intervals so as to prevent me from overheating or spontaneously combusting…which wasn't too off from the list of possibilities I'd welcome at the moment.

Thankfully, I had significantly calmed down since my initial meltdown and was ready to converse albeit in a limited way.

"JUST GIvE Me A REASoooONNNN!"

I almost cracked a smile upon hearing Raizou's voice crack a bit. With Souya and Mitsumi cheering him on, of course, that idiot was going to try and have a crack at cracking the high notes of a particularly famous rock song.

"Thank you" I finally whispered to Chihiro.

Unexpectedly, she was visibly startled by that.

"U-Um…I-I…I-I'm just doing what I can!" she stuttered on her impromptu delivery.

I was about to say something to her to ease her but I was interrupted by the music in the background coming to an abrupt halt.

"Thank you…thank you for your support!" Raizou said in between breaths as he thanked a non-existent crowd, "Couldn't have done it without you! I love you!"

I facepalmed as Souya and Mitsumi continued acting as his cheerleaders. He then proceeded to point at me like he was some sort of a performer shouting out a member of his audience.

"And special thank you to President-sama himself, Esashi Kenta-kun!" he shouted, much to my chagrin, "Without his name, this karaoke would not be possible!"

While Souya laughed heartily and the girls clapped, I subtly showed my friend the middle finger. Of course, I knew exactly what he was going for.

"Lighten up" Raizou chuckled, placing his microphone down, "We're here to have fun, remember?"

"When did we say that?" I shook my head.

"Is it something we need to say?" Souya countered.

"Maybe not…" I grumbled before I noticed Mitsumi giggling, "What are you giggling about?"

The blonde girl motioned at my denim jacket.

"You look like that actor when you pout while wearing that jacket" she replied.

"What actor?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah! He really does! Haha!" Raizou chimed in, much to my annoyance.

"What actor?"

"Especially with that rugged hairstyle!" Souya added.

"WHAT ACTOR?" I glared at the three of them, "Did you guys watch a new movie without me?"

I was expecting at least an answer out of them but I was only greeted by another bout of laughter. I couldn't hate them for being joyous at my expense though. I had thankfully known them well enough to understand the lack of malice behind their mirth.

"They're…um…talking about-" Chihiro was about to answer for me when she was abruptly stopped.

"Shhhhhh! Chihiro-san! Don't give him the answer!" Raizou instructed.

I shook a fist at him in frustration as he smirked at me in return.

"You're being extra annoying today, Ryuzaki-san" I grumbled.

He simply shrugged.

"I'll take that gladly" he chuckled, "So, did you learn anything else from today?"

Like I've mentioned a couple of times before, Raizou had this incredible ability to deescalate tense or uncomfortable situations with just a simple question or statement.

And it kinda worked as I realized I now held firm control over my head again, finally being able to formulate normal thoughts and no longer pissing myself because of my mistake from before.

"I have" I stated as all four of them looked at me with great interest, "I've learned a lot of things as a matter of fact!"

"Oooo! What are they?" Mitsumi asked excitedly.

Seeing all of their enthusiastic faces ready to bombard me with questionings as soon as I revealed my answer made me want to retract my statement a bit.

But since they were all rather close to me, I figured it was best to just spit everything out since they would've pried my thoughts out of me one way or another.

"One!" I held up my forefinger before changing it to my middle one and showing it to Raizou, "Booking a karaoke room in my name is nuts!"

Souya had a good laugh out of that while Raizou shrugged.

"Two! Don't let me go to these hangouts by myself! We've proven it doesn't work out for me!" I told them rather sternly.

"Alright! You can have that" Raizou nodded.

"Oh! Maybe Chihiro-chan can go with you every time!" Mitsumi suggested.

"Eh?" I narrowed me eyes at her.

I wasn't too opposed to that idea as Chihiro was the only one out of the quartet to never push my buttons in any form whatsoever. She was also a good listener and never said anything out of line.

Unfortunately, I knew straightaway that she wasn't that acquainted enough to work up the courage to hang out with a boy alone outside the school grounds.

"M-Mitsumi-chan! W-What are you saying?" Chihiro asked nervously.

I stepped in before the boys could make a crude joke out of that.

"It doesn't have to be Chihiro-chan" I said in a serious voice, "But as long as I don't go to whatever rendezvous we're planning by myself, then I'm sure nothing will go wrong!"

"That's understandable" Raizou agreed, "And what about number three?"

I hesitated for a bit as I had initially thought about revealing what type of girl was my "type" but seeing Raizou's face contort into a mischievous grin was making me question my decision. That little fact would definitely prove to be more fuel for him to use against me in the future.

But I kinda knew they would figure that out more or less eventually so now was not a bad time at all.

So, what the heck?

"Three!" I exclaimed before taking in a deep breath, "I think I may have found what type of girl I'm into."

I gulped as soon as I said that, slightly regretting the decision to divulge that so soon and also while Sukeda-san was still probably in the adjacent room.

The reactions I got from my friends were strangely dissimilar to one another though.

Raizou almost looked like a proud father judging by the approving nod and smile he gave me. Souya was staring at me with his jaw hung open as if he had never believed I'd be fully invested in that side of things.

Mitsumi was smiling at me as well but she appeared to be genuinely happy for me. Chihiro had her hands firmly clasped to her mouth, showing visible signs of astonishment like Souya but not to an exaggerated degree.

"Well…what's your type then?" Raizou finally spoke up.

Hesitating no longer, I answered instantly.

"I'm into girls with caps" I replied confidently.

Expecting them to follow up with teasing remarks, I awaited their response before proceeding any further.

What I got in return though, was stunned looks.

They seemed to be at a loss for words which was a rare occurrence. Not even Raizou appeared to have something to say about that.

So, naturally, I had to restart our conversation.

"What's the matter?" I asked them.

Raizou's smile returned and he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Kenta-kun, that's not a type" he said, shaking his head, "That's a fetish."