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Chapter 12 - 12. End of Good Times.

With the bombastic performance of the two leaders of Akatsuki, it was time for Akira to do some fixing. Others might not have noticed, but looking at Mia who was simmering with anger, he knew if he didn't do anything they all would be thrown out.

Taking the center stage, he picked the mic, "Well, give a round of applause for the two captains of Akatsuki."

CLAP X2

"Before we have our next participants, a few messages. First, to the beautiful ladies who work here and the most beautiful and kind owner of the pub, we will clean up all the mess we make. As for the audience, no wasting food and drinks please. For the people outside, as you can see my friends are putting a screen and speaker which will produce the same music and pictures on the outside wall. So please, don't gather at the gates."

He pointed at Obito, who was making a makeshift wooden wall, and Daemon, who helped him carry the stuff. Seeing all this, Mia was satisfied with the arrangement done by whom she considered a kind and honest kid.

"Now, whose turn is it next?" Akira asked.

A hooded figure raised her hand to show a slip with number 3 on it. Daemon, hearing her voice, dropped the speaker and went back inside to listen to his big sis singing.

Ada, a member of Akatsuki from the supposed future. She was a special individual, as Akira knew nothing about her — according to her, he would meet her and Daemon in the future. On top of that, for whatever reason she was not summoned as a familia but as a goddess who granted all the Akatsuki members falna.

She walked gracefully, hiding her face. Without his guidance, she clicked the current button on the karaoke. Looking at the screen scrolling through songs, Akira couldn't help but ask, "Do you want me to stay by your side?"

"Why?" Ada asked flatly.

"Well, I noticed you hide your face around others, so I thought you might feel shy." Akira scratched his cheek. He wanted to say he could let her skip, but in the end he held it back, considering she had taken the courage to stand up.

While he was thinking this, the real situation couldn't be farther from the truth. Ada answered, "I only hide my face to spare from the trouble it might cause."

"Causing me trouble, you should not care about such small things. As your senpai, my request is you enjoy the time here to the fullest. As for whatever problem it causes, I can handle it." Akira reassured her and patted her head.

"Hmm, I understand," she replied. Akira felt he acted like a good senior, but her next words confused him.

"Akira-senpai was always like this."

"Like what?"

"Always trying to act cool to impress pretty girls," Ada replied.

"Thanks for the compliment." Akira graciously took a bow.

"Hmm... It is assuring you never change." Ada took off her hood coat.

She had long blue hair with pink streaks. Her blue eyes and a beauty mark at the corner of her eyes. She wore a long-sleeved turtleneck shirt and dark shorts with a pattern of blue stars. Akira had to accept his junior might be one of the most beautiful. And the audience also agreed with shouts of "Marry me!" coming from both boys and girls.

"See, it didn't cause a big problem," Akira told her.

She grabbed his arm with her arm, "It will be now."

The roulette of songs stopped, and without looking Akira knew why she said it. It was a duet. She pulled the mic in his hand toward her.

Ada: "♫ Yaa, konnichiwa. ♫"

Akira moved closer to speak in the mic: "♫ Konnichiwa. ♫"

Both: "♫ Aa a ♫"

Akira: "♫ Nee, choushi dou? ♫"

Ada: "♫ Futsuu kana. ♫"

Both: "♫ Uu u ♫"

[HoneyWorks ft. GUMI x flower – Tokyo Summer Session]

With only one mic, the two of them sang with the love story in the background. Although in the start Akira felt awkward with her friendliness, it only added to the quality of the performance, as the boy in the MV was in the same situation. But as the music went on, he got more and more comfortable. Seeing them so great together, everyone felt a little jealous.

The song ended with a few claps, most coming from outside who were not able to see Ada and Akira.

Seeing the lukewarm response from the audience in front, Akira consoled her, "You were pretty good. These people are just jealous."

"Of course, I know I did good. As for the audience, I'm sure they will cheer for me." With one look, the audience was in love with her. They cheered their hearts out.

Ada looked at him, expecting him to be impressed, but it only earned her a flick to her temple.

"Ouch."

"No cheating with your OP powers, right..."

While Akira was teaching his junior about how it would just tire people out, causing others to feel down, Ada still kept her head down, rubbing her temple. Seeing this, Akira felt he might have gone a little hard.

He took a deep breath and patted her head. "Well, what's done is done. It was also I who told you to go all out."

"Hmm..." Ada kept her head down. The flick made her remember this Akira was the same Akira as back home, who never fell under her charm. She didn't know how to face him. She didn't know when she walked back to her seat, blush covering her face.

She looked up to see Akira smiling while Naori was singing Blue Bird.

-----------------------------------

The songs continued. Many people got their turns, with some special performances like Tiona-Tione's Shojo S – Bleach OP 10, and Obito's Unravel – Tokyo Ghoul Opening, which was pretty emotional. Akira could sense there was a pattern here.

Now it was Konan's turn, and just as expected it was a song he knew. It belonged to a trashy anime which, for whatever reason, was Akira's favorite.

"♫ So, everything that makes me whole ♫

♫ Ima kimi ni sasageyou ♫

♫ I'm yours ♫"

[My Dearest by Supercell – Guilty Crown]

With Inori's face, the song started. Konan was looking straight at him while singing. With her hand stretched out to him, Akira felt the world fade away and it was just the two of them. He put down the bottle and just looked at his wife. Due to this, he missed that in the video he was also present — and not just in the background.

With the song's end, she went straight to him and gave him a tight hug.

"Tch... Lucky bastard."

"It should've been me... Not him!!!"

Loki couldn't stand this lovey-dovey atmosphere. "Hurry up, the next one should go. I want to have my turn."

"That would be me." Akira showed his slip. He kissed Konan on the cheek, "I'll be back."

"Do your best." Konan fixed his shirt.

"Of course." Akira gave her his brightest smile. He took a deep breath and clicked the button. He prayed to the gods not to give him an embarrassing one. After Konan, he also wanted a love song. Looking at the chosen song, it was not a love song, but Akira was happy because it was a song almost everybody in Akatsuki knew.

He took the mic and said, "Looks like we are all going to sing this one together."

The song started with a comforting piano tune. On the video, people could see a seashell. As the video zoomed out, it showed a skeleton playing piano. Even just hearing the piano, everybody in Akatsuki knew this song.

Akira walked to the team, "♫ Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho ♫"

Obito and Yahiko: "♫ Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho ♫"

"Everyone, all with me, sing with me!"

"♫ Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho ♫"

(A/N: No need to tell you the song name, right?)

A song so sad and happy at the same time. Even in the video, the contrasting feeling of Luffy's pirate group, enjoying their victory on their way to a brighter future, while Brook's pirate crew were on their last leg, clearly knowing their end.

The song had an infectious reach, even making an old man like Gareth join in. The boundary between scary-looking Akatsuki and other adventurers kind of melted. Even a notoriously bad singer like Anya gave a passable "Yo-ho-ho-ho."

Looking at even the reserved Ryuu smiling and clapping to the tune, Syr looked at the center of the pub. On the table, Akira was smiling, singing, and dancing — hand in hand with Gareth on his left, and Obito on his right, who in turn had Yahiko on his right like they were long friends. Wrapping her arms around his neck with her head on his shoulder, Anya who was clearly excited to be able to sing.

All around him were adventurers who, just a few minutes ago, were ready to strike at a moment's notice. She never expected even her sight could be fooled this way. The ordinary soul was burning like a beacon, attracting all the others, dispelling the shadows of doubt on their wary souls, making them shine to match the intense light — like they were saying that they would also be going to do their best.

With the last member of Brook's crew falling, only the sound of piano remained. Akira sang the last verse as if announcing the sadness of the end:

"♫ Binkusu no sake wo, todoke ni yuku yo ♫

♫ DON to icchou utao, unaba no uta ♫

♫ Douse dare demo itsuka wa hone yo ♫

♫ Hatenashi, atenashi, waraibanashi ♫"

The sadness didn't dampen their enthusiasm but made them closer. After all, what kind of villain shows such emotions? The cheers got louder. Seeing his down mood, drunk Loki climbed up the table and placed an alcohol bottle on his lips.

"Drink... drink!"

Clearly feeling her attempt to make him feel better, Akira decided to go with the flow. He bit the bottle with his teeth, lifted it straight up with only his teeth, and downed the whole bottle in one go. He let the bottle go and caught it with his hand, holding his mic.

"Let's party all night loooong!!!"

.........................

(A/N: It has been so long that I wrote something by myself that I feel I forgot how to write. Any comment to improve would be a huge help)

You can Support me on p@treon: [email protected]/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)

I mainly translate other fanfics on there.

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