Saki 20:50 (read)
“Good evening”
Saki 20:50 (read)
“I’m sorry if this is sudden. Takumi-kun, are you free tomorrow?”
Takumi 21:20 (read)
“I am.”
Saki 21:21 (read)
“Really? That’s great!”
Saki 21:21 (read)
“Can we meet up in front of the station after school? I’ve got something important to tell you.”
Saki 21:22 (read)
“It’s really important.”
Takumi 21:27 (read)
“Sure.”
Saki 21:29 (read)
“Thanks! I’ll be waiting okay?”
♤♠♤♠♤
Takumi didn’t know what he expected when he followed Saki from the station, but he surely didn’t expect to be trapped in a 10x10 square meter room with 3 other people, being blasted with loud music and attacked by alternating lighting. While never stepping foot in this kind of establishment, he knew what this was; a karaoke booth, a place people like him would never go to.
The other three people, Kobayashi Saki, Tada Jun, and their common classmate Imai Asa, were having the time of their lives singing badly on the microphone and banging whatever instrument they found. Takumi, however, was agonizing every minute he wasted here that he didn’t use to review today’s material.
He couldn’t even read a book in this lighting.
The song ended, and the lighting returned to the normal white light. Despite the number on the monitor showing 42, both Saki and Asa clapped their hands at Jun exuberantly.
Jun returned to his seat next to Takumi, sitting between him and his exit. He took his glass and emptied its content, perhaps singing so loud and brashly had tired him.
“I was surprised when I saw Asa-chan, but I sure didn’t expect Takumi would agree to coming here.”
Remarked Jun upon finishing his drink. Takumi, however, wouldn’t have agreed if he knew this was the place they’d gone to.
“I wouldn’t let Saki be all alone with two guys in a closed dark room. Who knows what you two would do to her.”
Responded Asa, a girl with average built and shoulder-long ashen gray hair.
“Come on, what do you think we are? We won’t do anything bad to her, right Takumi?”
“…”
Jun lightly tapped Takumi with the back of his hand, seeking confirmation. Takumi, however, stayed silent, his foot tapping and his frowns deep. Even without his eyes visible, it was obvious that Takumi was exasperated.
And yet, as if to ridicule him, the next song came on and the lighting returned to alternating between flashy, irritating colors. It was Saki’s turn to sing. The song was some kind of kpop song that Takumi didn’t recognize. To be honest, Saki could be singing Donguri Korokoro and Takumi still wouldn’t care.
With his eyes behind the bangs narrowed, Takumi briskly got on his feet, seemingly wanting to escape from this place. Seeing him, Jun asked half-jokingly.
“What’s wrong, Takumi? Toilet?”
“I’m going home.”
Takumi answered curtly. But before he could step out of his seat, Jun, who sat right between him and his exit, very dramatically crossed his feet on the table, as if barring him.
“No you’re not,” Jun grinned mischievously.
“…not funny, Jun.”
Takumi’s voice came out intimidating, but Jun didn’t say anything back or lower his feet from the table.
“Move your feet,” Takumi commanded. Jun didn’t falter, he instead glared back at Takumi in the eye…or where he believed Takumi’s eyes would be.
Sensing the choking atmosphere in the booth, Saki stopped singing. She looked at Takumi and Jun nervously. Asa retreated to the further end of the booth, hoping she didn’t get involved in it.
The happy atmosphere from before instantly turned sour.
“You’re going home, Takumi-kun?”
“…”
Asked Saki. She was still clutching the mic, so the shaking in her voice was heard loud and clear. Takumi stayed silent, seemingly refusing to even acknowledge her.
“…look, I’m sorry if it felt like I deceived you into coming here, but I didn’t mean anything bad. It’s true that I have something important to tell you.”
“…”
“There is something I need to apologize to you. Before, I thought you were a snob who thought of himself as better than anyone and that’s why you push people away, but now I know you’re not that person. I figured that I don’t know anything about you, Takumi-kun. I just want to get closer with you, that’s why—”
“Aah, I see. I know where this is going.”
Interrupted Takumi, still refusing to look at Saki who had gotten teary-eyed. That was when Asa, who was holding onto the console of the karaoke machine, ended the music and consequently returned the lighting of the room back to white.
“You’ve always looked down on me, but since I am now an Omega Fighter that you love so much, you want to get closer with me. Isn’t that right, Kobayashi-san?”
“Hey, that’s not nice, Takumi.”
“You too, Jun. I thought you were better than being an accomplice to someone like this.”
Right at those words, Jun reached out to grab Takumi by the collar. Takumi grabbed him back on the arm, trying to keep him down.
On the corner, Asa muttered; “Uhh guys, can we be civil?” But of course, he words fell to deaf ears.
The two scuffled, but the fact that there were no fists thrown meant that both of them still had their composure. However, it wouldn’t be long until one of them truly snapped and forever ruined their relationship. This wasn’t what Saki planned.
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“I’m the one at fault, so please, stop!” she spoke to the mic, tears already falling down. “I’m sorry… This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. I thought we were all having fun, I didn’t know you’d hate it so much.”
Takumi breathed out deeply, the tense in his arms leaving him. Similarly, Jun also let go of Takumi’s clothes, even showing his hands in the air as if saying he didn't want the fight to continue.
Finally realizing that she had been gripping the mic, Saki put the mic down then wiped the tears from her eyes.
“I wanted us to open up little by little, but since you clearly don’t want to be here, I’ll just do it right away. I’m going to confess to you, Takumi-kun. Please listen.”
Saki spoke resolutely, her voice came out clearer than before.
Eh, wait, right now? in THIS situation?? Asa thought to herself. Even Takumi seemed to forget his anger for a moment, he looked at Saki with a face of bewilderment…possibly.
“Maybe I shouldn’t be here,” commented Asa as she scurried around to leave from the other end of the table — However, Saki gripped her clothes tight, seemingly looking for support. Looking at that, Asa heaved out a sigh. “Don’t make it too painful, ‘kay?”
Saki nodded. Then, after breathed in and out to mentally prepare herself, she began to speak up:
“You see, Takumi-kun… the thing is, this whole time I actually…”
He words trailed off, perhaps uncertainty resurfaced in her heart. Takumi, however, had a feeling he knew the rest of the words—
“I…actually don’t like Omega that much.”
—oh how wrong he was.
For a moment, there was total silence in the karaoke booth.
“…eh?” That was Takumi, all his irritation down the drain.
“…eh?” That was Asa, not believing her own ears.
“…eh?” That was Jun, the conspirator of Saki’s buddy-buddy plan.
Saki was sitting with her knees together, looking down with a nervous smile on her lips. She scratched the back of her head, laughing nervously. “E-ehehe.”
“““EEEEHHH?!!?!?!?”””
“B-but Saki, didn’t you keep saying how much you love Omega? I mean, look, even your bag is full with Omega pins!”
Asa pointed to Saki’s bag that was on the corner of the karaoke booth along with other bags. True to her words, Saki’s bag was crammed with pins of Omega stars and characters, so much so that the click and clack of her pins as she walked with her bag had become part of her identifying character.
“Yeah. I just love collecting stuff. If anything, collecting is my real hobby. It didn’t have to be Omega, it could be anything. Phone contacts, rare coins, or k-pop merchandise. I just happened to choose Omega.”
Revealed Saki, much to the surprise of the other three.
“E-even so, Saki-chan. You always look so animated when talking about Omega battles in class, you know? It didn’t look to me that you were faking it.”
“It’s what everyone expects of me, after all.”
Saki immediately responded to Jun’s probing, as if she had been bottling that statement and was finally given the chance to open up.
“…my grandpa, you see, he’s really into sumo. He remembers the years with the outcome of sumo tournaments of that year. You can say that he’s a sumo maniac in that sense.”
Saki started telling a story. Takumi didn’t know where this was going, but with the bad atmosphere from before gone to god knows where, he returned to his seat.
With everyone waiting for her, Saki continued.
“My papa is also like that, but he’s with local wrestling. Mama too, but mama is WWE. Haru-nii is specifically women MMA, he doesn’t watch anything else. —the point is, it’s sort of expected for someone in the Kobayashi household to be engrossed in that kind of sport. Since I wasn’t really interested in anything, I couldn’t follow their conversation at all. I felt like an outsider in my own house… So when Omega started in January last year…”
“You found something for yourself and went the whole length of it?”
Jun finished Saki’s words, and Saki nodded at that.
“Grandpa, papa, mama, Haru-nii, everyone in class, they’re expecting me to be the Omega fangirl. If I didn’t act the part, I’d lose my place in the world, that’s what I feel like…”
“Even if you’re not, you’re still my friend Saki.” When Saki finished her story, Asa suddenly hugged her from the side, earning a thank you.
“But it’s okay. I’m not faking it. Omega Battle is fun, and I’m happy I got into it.”
“I see, that’s good to hear.”
Jun nodded in relief.
“…but, why are you telling me this?”
Asked Takumi, understandably confused. His earlier irritation was nowhere to be seen.
“Because I want to be your friend,” Saki answered. “Takumi-kun, you put walls around you. Jun-kun has been trying to get closer with you for a year and he still can’t break through your walls. I think that, if you know who I am as a person, then at least you can put your trust in me, so I told Jun-kun I have a plan and he agreed to help me with it.”
Takumi turned to Jun. “Pretty much,” Jun acknowledged it.
“Will you be my friend?” Saki put out her hand to Takumi. The hand was visibly trembling.
“I, uh—”
“Whoops, before you start, it’s only fair that everyone opens up.” Takumi was about to say something, but Jun stood up briskly and stole the attention for himself. “Let’s start with me.”
The other three looked at Jun, half-exasperated. He really couldn’t read the atmosphere, they thought.
Jun, seemingly unaffected by the blaming gazes on him, continued.
“You see, I actually have a confidence issue.”
“““…”””
Revealed Jun. However, the gazes directed at him remained disinterested.
“Come on, it’s a pretty big deal to me! I’m so worried at how people look at me, most of the time I put on a brave front and go with the worst idea that pops up in my mind!”
“Uh-huh, sure.”
Dismissed Takumi. Jun plopped back to his seat, eyes dead.
Takumi pondered about something, breathed in and out, then opened his mouth.
“Ever since my dad passed away, my mom has been picking up various part-time jobs to keep us afloat. I’m aiming to get a scholarship to help her the only way I know, but what Jun said the other day made me realize I don’t know what I would do if I failed to get the scholarship.”
Takumi played with his fingers as he told them his story. Saki, Jun, and Asa listened intently.
“That’s why I decided to take the offer and become an Omega Fighter; for the money. I’d hate to be pitied, my circumstance isn’t a reason for other people to think they’re in a better position than me. That’s why I’m keeping my distance away.”
“…I see.”
“Yeah.”
Saki clammed up after that. Jun also didn’t come up with any of his usual quips. Takumi didn’t say anything more. The three of them then turned their gazes to Asa, eyes expectant.
“Eh, me too?” Asa asked, her finger pointing at herself. The three nodded at that. Reluctantly, Asa gathered some courage and confessed.
“Uhh… I still wet my bed when I was a fourth-grader.”
“““…”””
“…I don’t know why you’d want to befriend someone like me.”
“HELLO?! Can you not ignore me like that?! It actually hurts more, you know?!”
Asa interjected. Right then, Jun clapped his hand, gathering the attention back to him.
“Well, I guess this means everyone has their own fight. Saki-chan with expectation, Takumi with his circumstance, me with my confidence, and Asa-chan with her bedwetting—”
“I got over it ages ago!”
“However, we’ve opened up to each other and started anew. So what do you say? Why don’t we toast for a new friendship?”
Jun raised his empty cup to the air. Saki was the first to get on it, raising her orange juice. After a sigh, Takumi took his iced coffee and raised it too. The three of them then turned an expectant look to Asa, who was still reluctant to join them.
“…fine, I’ll just have to toast it, right?” Saying that, Asa took her ginger ale and joined in the toast.
Clank!
““Cheers!””
The four of them toasted their cups. Saki and Jun exclaimed spiritedly at the same time, Takumi didn’t say anything but was smiling, while Asa weakly muttered “cheers” under her breath.
After this, it was decided that Takumi would sing the next song. Takumi didn’t know many songs, but there was this catchy song that was linked to him when he asked for a reference online, and he’d been listening to it since then. After inputting the name in the console of the karaoke machine, the lighting turned back to flashing alternate colors.
The smiles on Saki’ and Jun’s faces instantly turned sour as they cringed the moment the first beat of the song was heard.
“We’re no strangers to love, you know the rules and so do I~”
Takumi sang away.