Chapter 15: Your Turn (With Gratitude to Ling Ye for the Support!)
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“Can’t you sing this song?”
Seeing her look so surprised, Ryuichi Sugawara asked.
“Of course I can. It just brings back memories. Our class sang this song together when we graduated from high school.”
Yue Shanbuki shook her head with a smile as she explained.
March 9 is Gratitude Day, because the Japanese pronunciations of three and nine together sound like “thank you” in English—a simple pun based on similar sounds.
March 9 is also the season when high school students graduate.
Ever since A Liters of Tears became a huge hit, “March 9” had become one of the songs everyone was expected to sing during graduation season and at weddings. It was an immensely popular song, known by practically everyone.
“I see.”
Since she had sung it before, Ryuichi was not surprised.
The reason he had chosen the same song was that he had sung it when he graduated from middle school.
It was the same song, but he wanted to know what it would become under the influence of professional-level talent.
“Do your best.”
Since he rarely went to karaoke, Yue had no objections to his choice of song and simply encouraged him.
At the same time, the second song began. Risa Nanda had chosen “Little Love Song.”
It was a song that had occupied the karaoke rankings year after year. Its influence was terrifyingly strong, and it could truly be called a household favorite.
Choosing such a hugely popular song was actually a thankless task. Since everyone knew how to sing it, it was difficult to stand out.
Listening to it gave Ryuichi the same feeling he had experienced in his previous life at karaoke, when he listened to his friends sing “A Friend’s Wine.” It was practically a standard performance.
What drew his attention even more than the lyrics was the screen.
As the birthplace of karaoke, Japan had taken the entertainment aspect of karaoke to astonishing heights.
The scoring system in particular was almost like playing a rhythm game. A musical staff appeared on the screen, and as notes flew in, each section received an evaluation. There were even score bonuses.
For example: Good! Great! Perfect! There were also combo chains.
In fact, because of copyright protections, singing karaoke in Japan could be quite a challenging experience.
If a song lacked the proper rights, the establishment had to hire another band to provide the accompaniment and instrumental interludes. There was usually no backing vocalist, though certain harmonies might still be included.
For example, with a phenomenal song like “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” without those harmonies, it would be impossible to bring out the song’s full charm.
When the song ended, the screen displayed the score: 89 points.
“Clap, clap, clap!”
Everyone applauded at once.
“Eighty-nine points? Risa, you really did your best.”
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At that moment, Wakaba Miyagi offered consolation that was clearly praise on the surface but mockery underneath.
Going out together was boring if everything remained calm and uneventful. Only competition could make sparks of passion fly.
“Is ninety-two points really that impressive? You only scored three points higher than me.”
Seeing her sarcastic expression, Risa fired back without mercy.
“It is impressive! Even if I were only one point ahead of you, I’d still be ahead. Besides, I beat you by three points!”
“I hope you perform well on your next song.”
This sudden quarrel was an unexpected turn of events for Ryuichi, and he glanced over at them.
“Don’t mind them. They’re just fooling around. Jokes at this level won’t hurt anyone.”
While enjoying the spectacle, Yue did not forget to offer him a reminder.
“Mm.”
After thinking about it, Ryuichi decided she was probably right.
Just as close male friends enjoyed themselves by joking around and competing with one another, girls presumably did the same.
“Stop arguing. It’s my turn to sing.”
At that moment, Mai Asai stood up, took the microphone, and put an end to the farce.
As she left her seat, the sound of guitar chords rang out. The karaoke screen displayed the title: “My Beloved Child.”
“Isn’t that the ultimate yandere song...?”
The moment he saw the title, Ryuichi understood.
Although “My Beloved Child” was nowhere near as well-known or widely sung in Japan as the previous two songs, it possessed an intensely distinctive style.
The melody was simple, the atmosphere unique, and the lyrics seemed gentle and full of affection—yet the more one thought about them, the more terrifying they became.
As Mai performed the song, she sang of love while dancing. Most of her movements involved only her hands, but they were remarkably captivating to watch.
The moment she began to sing, the private room fell silent.
The song’s style was simply too strange. It was unlike the sacredness of “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” and unlike the cheerfulness of “Little Love Song.” Combined with Mai’s wholehearted performance, it gave off an atmosphere that was both enchanting and frightening.
“Stop resisting. Come to me. Give everything to me. I’m the only one who can keep you alive.”
“Tear your wings to pieces and throw them away. I hope you’ll never be able to fly anywhere again.”
As the low notes were chanted, the song reached its finale.
“Clap, clap, clap!”
When her performance ended, enthusiastic applause immediately filled the private room.
Everyone was applauding—not merely to be polite, but sincerely, from the heart.
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“Mai, have you been secretly coming to karaoke to practice whenever no one else was around? You were way too good this time!”
Competition might make things more fun, but Wakaba Miyagi had genuinely been won over by the performance.
“Can’t be helped. You were all busy, so I had to come to karaoke by myself.”
Mai did not deny it. A sly smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
“What’s your highest score?”
“Ninety-five points.”
“That’s amazing!”
“Is ninety-five points really that impressive?”
As the others continued to exclaim in admiration, Ryuichi leaned toward Yue and asked her.
It was only his second time at karaoke, and he was unfamiliar with everything there.
“Of course it is. Karaoke scores are divided into several levels. Anything below eighty points is generally considered a failing score. Above eighty, you may still go off-key from time to time, but you can already keep up with the song’s rhythm and pitch. Ninety points or higher is considered excellent. Your emotion and technique both have to be very good, and you can’t have any obvious mistakes. Reaching ninety-five points means you’re good enough to perform on the street. In other words, you’d be so pleasant to listen to that strangers would stop to hear you sing.”
Seeing that he did not understand, Yue gave him a simple yet detailed explanation.
“Then what level is one hundred points?”
“Impossible level... They say that even if the original singer came in person, the karaoke scoring system still couldn’t award a perfect hundred. In theory, reaching ninety-nine points already means you’re no worse than the original singer—perhaps even better.”
“I see.”
After hearing her explanation, Ryuichi gained a general understanding of the karaoke scoring system.
“Don’t just say ‘I see.’ It’s your turn.”
Seeing his look of sudden realization, Yue lightly nudged his arm.
“Huh?”
Ryuichi, still lost in thought, was startled by the nudge.
Something seemed wrong. Shouldn’t Yue have been the next one to sing, according to the order?
“What do you mean, ‘huh’? You’re before me.”
Noticing his dazed reaction and realizing that he had been caught completely off guard, Yue’s eyes curved into crescents, and she could not help smiling.
“All right.”
Seeing her suppressing a laugh, Ryuichi did not make an issue of it. He simply braced his hands against his knees and stood up.
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