Sho and Ashi leaned against the brick wall, holding hands. It was their third date tonight, though they were there with a group of friends. Ashi had dressed up for the occasion, draped in a smoldering orange minidress and matching stilettos. Sho had not, content with a gray sweater and a pair of jeans. Behind them, the rest of their collegiate classmates tittered excitedly. Haite and Chui giggled, planning what they’d sing if they got a chance to use the karaoke machine tonight. They were dressed in matching seifuku despite the December chill. Keiichi sipped surreptitiously from the flask he’d hidden in the pocket of his khakis, not willing to wait until six o’clock for his buzz.

It was strange, a line some three hundred people deep in front of a run-down bar in a less-than-great neighborhood, but this wasn’t just any Wednesday night. The night before, the bar’s singing sensation of a waitress had announced that tomorrow, she’d resume performing at full speed - just a week after some thug had beat the crap out of her in the bar. Word had spread, and everyone wanted to see her back in action.

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Ume stood bored, tapping her foot on the pavement. “You guys, do we really have to stand here and wait for this? I mean, it’s karaoke. There’s like 40 other places around here for that.”

Satoshi shook his head in frustration with his disaffected date. “That’s not the point. We’re here to see her sing.”

Ume popped her chewing gum in her mouth to punctuate her thoughts. “What’s the big deal with this waitress, anyway? Do you even know her name?”

Satoshi scoffed. “Of course I do!. It’s Ranko Tendo.”

Ume gave a thoughtful “huh.” She turned to the tallish brunette behind her. “Tendo. Nabiki, isn’t that your name?”