"What brought you out here, anyway?"
"Just taking a stroll," I replied.
"Oh. By the way, congrats on passing the midterms," he said, patting my back.
"You too."
"Wanna come with me to the grocery store?"
"Sure."
It was clear from our conversation that Kimura had scored over two hundred in the midterms, giving him the extra ten thousand points. As we made our way to the commercial area, we chatted a bit but mostly walked in silence. When we arrived, it was bustling with people and we had to wait in line to get into the store.
"Should we just do some karaoke instead?" Kimura suggested.
"I don't mind either way."
"Well, I really want to buy something. Let's just wait, then.".
We joined the line and waited patiently. After about fifteen minutes, we finally made it into the store. Despite the number of students who were expelled due to the midterms, there were still many remaining in the school.
"The AC here is always a nice addition," Kimura spoke as he took a deep breath.
Kimura and I walked down the grocery store aisles, the cool breeze of the air conditioning providing a much-needed respite from the heat outside. Kimura stopped at the snacks section, grabbed a few items and tossed them into the grocery bag. I, on the other hand, wasn't particularly interested in snacks.
I found them to be a superfluous indulgence, not providing any real sustenance. Unlike food, which may be messy and unappetizing at times, but at least fills the stomach and provides essential nutrition.
Snacks, on the other hand, were entirely optional, a luxury that I could do without.
"You aren't buying anything?"
"Yeah."
"Oh," he said as he tossed some food ingredients into his bag.
After walking around the grocery store aisles, Kimura was finally done and we made our way to the cashier. In total, Kimura still hasn't spent that many points. It was below one hundred points, which was pretty cheap for a large number of items. He then proceed with the payment, before we left the store and the commercial area.
"Wanna go to the karaoke now?"
"Shall we proceed to the karaoke establishment?" I nodded in agreement as we traversed the schoolyard, with Kimura carrying the bag filled with various snacks and items. Upon arriving at the karaoke building, we encountered some people, but the space was far from being congested.
"May we have a room for one hour, please?" Kimura requested as his finger swiftly tapped his phone screen.
"Is that all?" the receptionist asked.
"Yes."
"Here is the key."
Kimura took the key, and I followed him to the end of the hallway, where our assigned room was located. As Kimura opened the door and entered first, I recognized the familiar design of the room from our previous karaoke outings with Fujiharu and Kinoshita.
After taking a seat, Kimura placed his bag on the table before settling in.
"The snacks sold here are quite pricey, so I thought it would be more practical to bring my own."
It appeared that Kimura had visited this place a few times since our last outing, and he had compared the prices of the snacks sold in the karaoke establishment versus the store. Kimura had always been a prudent spender, and I, for one, believed that refraining from eating snacks altogether would suffice.
Given that they were never really necessary, to begin with.
"Oh wait, Mizuhara. I have yet to hear your melodious voice~" he teased, pausing his fingers from tapping the karaoke tablet. "Last time we went, our time was over before we could hear you sing. How about you give it a go now?"
"I'm okay, really."
"It's okay, don't be shy. It's just the two of us here."
"That's not the reason."
"Then what is it?"
"Fine."
"Great, here's the tablet."
Taking the tablet, I randomly selected a song from the vast selection.
"Come on, stand over there," Kimura instructed as he gestured to the large screen hanging on the wall.
I stood up, grasped the microphone, and made my way to the screen. While I am not a terrible singer, neither am I particularly good, as I'm over than both of them. As the music began to play, I found myself falling into the rhythm. The tempo was precisely 134 beats per minute, and the lyrics were simple to memorize.
I sang along with the original artist for a short time before turning off the assistance and singing solo. I adjusted my pitch to match the vocal range before deliberately altering some of the notes and melody at random intervals to make it seem as though I was an average singer.
When the song was finished, I glanced behind me and saw the score I expected, precisely fifty out of one hundred. I returned to the couch, placing the microphone and tablet back on the table.
"..that was decent," Kimura commented. "It was fine, but there's something missing, something...I can't quite put my finger on it."
"That's just how it is, now it's your turn."
*
As we wrapped up our karaoke session, Kimura's voice filled the room with average notes. The time flew by slowly, with a mix of a bit of conversation and watching Kimura eating the snacks he brought along.
"Do you want some?" Kimura offered, gesturing towards the snacks.
"No, I'm fine."
The experience for me was neither enjoyable nor unbearable, it simply passed by. We returned the key to the reception and left the building.
"Oh, it's almost time for class. I'll see you later," Kimura said as he jogged away, munching on his remaining snacks.
"Yeah," I replied, watching him wave goodbye before heading back to class.
As I made my way towards my classroom, my eyes caught sight of a commotion in the corner. There stood a burly figure, towering over another, threatening him with his hulking presence. It was none other than Fukuda, a name that had become synonymous with violence. He was known to use brute force to assert his dominance over those weaker than him.
I recalled having witnessed this scene a few times before, once even getting involved in it under certain conditions. But this time, no such conditions existed, so I simply brushed it off and continued on my way.
However, I knew that Fukuda's tactics extended beyond physical intimidation. He would also lure unsuspecting victims to secluded places where he had tampered with the cameras, and coerce them into a written agreement to give him points each month through the use of violence.
After that, it was merely a matter of reminding them of their obligations, without resorting to violence again.
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