In principle, students weren't allowed to leave campus during their three years at the school, unless they were in a sports club that needed to travel for the National Tournament or had a serious illness that even the school infirmary couldn't treat.
So, to keep students from getting too bored while they were on campus, the school had equipped the residential area with a full range of entertainment facilities. There was a shopping mall, cafés, cake shops, and even karaoke rooms and a movie theater.
The residential area wasn't just for students, either. The faculty and staff lived there, too, and of course, everyone used points to pay for things.
"It doesn't sound very lively. I thought people would be more enthusiastic about karaoke."
The dark carpet beneath their feet was patterned with musical staffs and notes. Neat rows of private rooms lined both sides of the corridor, colored lights shining through the small windows in their doors—blue, purple, pink.
The attendant at the front desk smiled as the neon sign above their head flashed and scrolled through the characters for "Karaoke."
Amasawa Yuto could faintly hear singing behind one of the nearby soundproof doors. It seemed to be Bruno Mars's "Uptown Funk."
"No, it's not, Amasawa. It's really lively here. It only sounds quiet because the rooms are so well soundproofed~" Ichinose explained as she headed for the attendant. "Hello, we have a reservation. Our friends should be waiting for us in Room 777."
"Room 777? It's the second room on the right up ahead." The attendant smiled and pointed the way.
"Let's go. Everyone from Class B should be waiting for us!"
"I'm your biggest fan—You're late, Honami~ Oh, and we've got Amasawa from Class A and Tsubaki from Class D, too? Come on, everyone, let's sing!"
As soon as they opened the door, a tremendous wave of sound rushed over them, like soda bursting out of a bottle with its cap suddenly pulled off. It was hard to believe all that noise had been contained in there.
The karaoke rooms here really were very well soundproofed. Maybe they'd be perfect for a conversation...?
Amikura Mako was singing Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi." When she saw the three of them come in, she only complained that they were late. She didn't seem surprised to see Amasawa Yuto and Tsubaki Yuki.
After all, Ichinose had told the others by phone that she was bringing new classmates along.
"Wow, Amikura, this song really suits you!" Ichinose exclaimed, clapping excitedly.
The rotating party lights cast shifting shadows across everyone's faces, now dark, now bright.
"Hi, everyone! I'm Tsubaki Yuki from Class D, and this is my childhood friend, Yuto. It's nice to meet you all~" Tsubaki greeted them cheerfully.
"I'm Amasawa Yuto from Class A. Pleased to meet you." Yuto gave a slight nod.
There were six people in the room to begin with: three boys and three girls.
"I'm Kanzaki Ryuji from Class B. Nice to meet you."
The serious-looking boy, whose expression gave him a somewhat gloomy air, introduced himself. He regarded the two of them with a sharp, wary gaze.
"We're all from Class B, so there's no need to say that again, right, Kanzaki? Oh, right, I'm Shibata Sō!"
The cheerful, sunny boy with purple hair flashed them a brilliant smile. Holding a microphone in one hand, he waved to them with the other.
It might not have been very polite to say, but Yuto thought his purple hairstyle looked like a mop.
"My name is Hamaguchi Tetsuya. Pleased to meet you." He was a bespectacled boy with short gray hair who looked scholarly and refined.
"I'm Amikura Mako. Yay~"
The two remaining girls introduced themselves as well. The short-haired, athletic girl was named Ando Sayo, while the petite girl with black hair tied in a bun was Minami Kozue.
It seemed that those present made up most of the leadership of Class 1-B: a leader, a strategist, a social butterfly, and an athlete.
Still, how should he put it? They seemed a little...underwhelming.
He had a feeling that even Class D's top players could outshine them.
Class D at least had capable students like Tsubaki Yuki, Horikita Suzune, Yosuke Hirata, Kushida Kikyo, and Koenji. They lacked a single, unified leader and were scattered like loose sand, but it wasn't certain that any one of them would be able to hold their own against Class B.
Still, they had their own advantage: the atmosphere in their class was incredibly harmonious. They were a completely normal high school class, almost like a greenhouse in this highly socialized school.
That meant they would be the most united of all the classes, with no cracks for anyone to exploit.
Ichinose's excellent social skills, gentle personality, and remarkable capacity for understanding were probably the most important glue holding them together.
Even Class A couldn't compare right now.
Class A was currently split between two leaders. More than ten people had already gathered around Katsuragi Kohei, with Totsuka Yahiko as his number-one lackey.
Only a handful had gathered around Sakayanagi Arisu: Masumi Kamuro, Kito Hayato, and Hashimoto Masayoshi.
Of course, plenty of others were still watching from the sidelines or keeping to themselves.
Because everyone was so capable, leading them and earning their wholehearted respect was all the more difficult.
"Would you two like to sing something, Amasawa and Tsubaki? We've been singing this whole time, so we're getting a little tired."
Amikura sipped some water as she passed over the microphone. She was just about to ask Shibata to hand over the other microphone he was holding, when she realized he'd already given it to Ichinose Honami.
"Isn't there another one up front?" Tsubaki said with a mischievous smile. She got up from the sofa and walked over to the small platform beside the screen playing the music video. There was a tall stool and a standing microphone there.
She sat down gracefully, like an elegant cat, crossing her legs and resting her toes on the floor. She reached out to adjust the microphone's height, then tested it.
"Do you know 'Kanojo wa Tabi ni Deru'—'She Sets Out on a Journey,' Ichinose?"
"I know a little of it. I might not remember all the lyrics..."
"Then let's sing this one!"
Tsubaki's smile and singing helped Amasawa Yuto relax, too.
All right, this was a rare chance to unwind. For now, he'd treat it as a friendly get-together with Class B and focus on karaoke.
"Yuto, sing along with us!"
"Huh? I have to sing, too? This is a sweet little girls' song. I've never heard it before."
"Come on, sing with us! I know you can sing along even if you haven't heard it before. Hurry, hurry! I'm in a good mood for once, so don't spoil the fun, okay?"
Yuto had no choice but to keep his eyes glued to the lyrics, which were moving at nearly 0.2 seconds per line, while imagining what each character's melody would sound like 0.2 seconds later.
"Connect the threads of a daydream..."
Fortunately, Tsubaki Yuki and Ichinose Honami knew the song well. They sang happily and loudly, while Yuto started out singing harmony, then gradually lowered his voice until he was barely audible, just providing backing vocals.
After the song ended, everyone quickly warmed up to one another.
"Wow, Tsubaki and Honami's duet was so good! It made my heart flutter like a girl's~" Minami Kozue's eyes practically sparkled.
"Amasawa, what was that? You practically turned into someone whispering the lyrics!" Shibata Sō laughed loudly. With his cheerful personality, he was probably able to hit it off with anyone in no time.
Even Kanzaki Ryuji, who'd looked so serious and gloomy earlier, unconsciously raised his glass to hide the corners of his mouth lifting behind his cola.
And so, the joint get-together of Classes A, B, and D came to an end in a cheerful atmosphere.
Ichinose and Kanzaki stayed behind to settle the bill, while the other students left first.
When the two of them finished paying and walked out of the karaoke place, they were surprised to see one of the students who'd left earlier waiting for them.
"Amasawa, aren't you going to eat with everyone else?"
"This was a great chance to be alone with you, so I had Yuki take them ahead. There's something I'd like to discuss with the two of you in private, Ichinose and Kanzaki."
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