She's a stressed and struggling student in Osaka, living alone and barely managing to pay off her debts to keep herself off the streets. But an encounter with her used-to-be favourite utaite, Mafumafu, might change all of that!
Me, Mafumafu and Soraru quietly head into the recording room. The yellow brick walls are a bit blinding, but Mafumafu ushers us into a smaller, black room with two microphones set up. Soraru looks at him, "Are you ready, Mafu-kun?" he asks. Mafumafu smiles happily, his mood improved. "Always ready, Soraru-san" he answered, and he turns to look at me. "Feel free to listen, ###-chan", Mafumafu offers. I nod, and take a place by the wall, leaning against it. I'm fine just here. Mafumafu takes a deep breath, and Soraru nods at him. "Ready?" he asks again, this time mouthing it. Mafumafu gives the okay symbol in response, and the song starts up.
The song starts up, it's a cheerful, upbeat tune with electric guitar sounds thrown in. I listen to its beginning tune, interested. I haven't heard this song.
A parade in early summer, at the peak of the sea breeze
The crepe of the sea, a dream then bursted
Just for a while
I proudly invite you
Soraru starts the song with his own solo at the first verse, voice smooth, clear, and deep. The song fits him and he has nice vocals. I turn my attention to Mafumafu, who's getting ready to sing next.
With a splash [of water], it's summer when you swallow it
This taste properly resembles a ramune
This one scene where
I bashfully call it 'love'
Mafumafu sings after him, starting out with a somewhat deep voice, before going to the high range zone a bit. Just as I remember, Mafumafu always decided to sing in the high range. It feels so... nostalgic. Zoning out a bit, I don't pay attention until the chorus. As it starts up, I get that feeling of nostalgia, but this time the feeling's bigger. It causes chills throughout my body when Soraru starts to sing.
I trace the canvas of the starry sky
And sort of spill this world's galaxies into a bucket
In order for you to see them even from the cold deep sea
Mafumafu continues the second part of the chorus after him, singing out loudly and clearly and the electric guitars building up in perfect time to his voice.
Thicker than sapphire, there's not even one bit of a fine scenery from the iris
Without an address [to go to], I sink to you
I want to show you
The sky that's been filled with stars
After that is a cheerful, lively intermission filled with musical 8-bit sounds, similar to his outro of his videos. Watching Mafumafu happily wiggling his shoulders to it, I can't help but smile at his silliness. After that, Soraru starts the second verse again.
From the light blue water, to the depths of the lapis lazuli
I was fascinated by the marine snow
I'm never ever
Letting go of your hand ever again
After a much shorter intermission with quiet digital sounds instead, Mafumafu sings again, starting the chorus this time too, and Soraru singing after him, I can hear the power in both of their voices, and the lyrics getting to me a bit.
And with a step and skip
Let's walk together to the watercolour horizon
If a dream won't come true, I'm better off with a story
If you're going to disappear, it's okay if my love isn't complete
I sink in to the weight of my inexperienced feeling
No matter how profound the darkness of this world is
The ephemeral tracing of a heavenly body's phase
I want to show you the sky that's been filled with stars
Mafumafu and Soraru both end the song together on one last, beautiful line.
If only it could reach you
As the song ends on quiet piano accompanied by the distant crashing of waves, I feel an uncalled-for tear well up in my eye, slowly sliding down my cheek.
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Am I... crying? Feeling a wet patch on my cheek, I absent-mindedly wipe it away with my jumper sleeve before either Mafumafu or Soraru can notice. I don't want to worry them.
Mafumafu stretches, and then yawns. "I think it turned out pretty well! Huh, Soraru-san, ###-chan?", he asks brightly. The both of us nod in response, Soraru smiles and gives Mafumafu a pat on the back for a job well done. "Good job back there, Mafu-kun", he nods with a smile. Mafumafu looks over at me, and I nod politely. "Nice job, Mafumafu-san and Soraru-san", I smile wryly, not sure what else to say. I don't tell them that I cried at the end of their song, obviously, and the three of us head to the dining room for a quick dinner.
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After a dinner of fried fish, rice, and salad, Soraru leaves. That was about an hour ago, and I'm lying awake in bed. Just what happened during that recording session? Why exactly did I cry? With so much questions clogging my mind, it's impossible to answer them. As much as I want to, I decide to leave them till tomorrow. Turning over, I curl into a ball and fall asleep.
