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Takeru had dragged him to the bar.
'Come on, come on. Just a couple of drinks, it will be fun!'
Aguni had refused, at first, but eventually conceded. Just as his friend knew he would.
The thing was that on Thursday night, only four types of people went out: the rich and famous, university students, groups of young girls who thought for real that Thursday was the new Friday, and the older men wanting to flirt with them.
Where did that leave them?
Aguni sighed, with a beer already in his hand, while Takeru went through the book listing the songs one could choose to sing in the karaoke.
'This one!' He exclaimed, triumphant, his index finger pointing to an ABBA song.
Aguni couldn't help but smile faintly, nodding. The bar would be empty by the time they had finished. They were that good. 'Sure.'
He looked around him while his friend wrote down both of their names and the song title on a piece of paper and gave it to the person in charge of playing the songs of the karaoke.
Just as he had thought, there was almost nobody - just a group of businessmen who were staring, like starving wild animals, at a table of young girls, sitting close to where the stage was. Four of them. The one further right had short hair and an athletic figure, another had dreadlocks and a blue crop top and the third one looked like she had just left work, a briefcase on the floor by her side. He couldn't see the fourth girl very well, only the back of the white blouse she was wearing and her long dark hair.
'Oh! The next one is going to be great!' Takeru said, clapping his hands together excitedly. Whoever was next would sing Believe, by Cher.
And it was the girl with the long hair and white blouse, who stood up and walked to the stage, her friends cheering her on all the way. Apart from the top, she was wearing flared jeans and brown high-heeled boots.
Aguni couldn't help but think she was beautiful, her eyes big, dark and slanted. Her lips full, a half smile present in them, while she tried the microphone to check that it worked and adjusted it to her height.
'No matter how hard I try, you keep pushing me aside…' She started, not moving much at first, but by the time she sang the chorus, she was jumping and dancing. 'Do you believe in life after love!? I can feel something inside me say, I really don't think you're strong enough, no!'
'Yeah, fuck him!' Her friend with the dreadlocks said, loud enough anyone could hear.
'She's quite good.' Takeru nodded towards her, looking impressed. Aguni agreed.
She was not the best singer, but she knew how to pull the audience in. The businessmen were in a frenzy by that time.
She finished her song, and Takeru joined her friends when they started clapping and cheering. Aguni did as well.
She noticed, and flashed a bright, charming smile towards them, mouthing 'thank you' before pretending to bow.
'It's our turn! Go, go, go!' Takeru was already standing up.
Both of them grabbed their microphones, making an awful rendition of Lay All Your Love On Me. It may have sounded bad, but the two of them gave it their all, singing with a lot more feeling than a cheap karaoke bar on a Thursday night deserved.
The businessmen had turned silent, gone back to their drinks, but the group of girls were cheering, clapping and moving their bodies to the rhythm of the music.
The girl with dark hair kept looking at them. No, actually, her eyes were focused on Aguni, her lips curved upwards, one side higher than the other.
He knew the song from memory (it was their go-to in karaoke) but almost forgot the lyrics once or twice.
At one point, during the last chorus, she leaned over to her friend in dreadlocks and whispered something in her ear, her eyes still not leaving Aguni. Her friend started going through the book of available songs and apparently found what she was looking for, because she gestured and said something he couldn't hear, clearly thrilled, to the other two.
When the song ended, Takeru and Aguni hugged and patted each other on the back in celebration, laughing. His friend used that moment to whisper to him. 'That brunette couldn't keep her eyes off of you.'
As if summoned, the dark-haired woman lifted her glass at them, still smiling playfully over the rim of it, and took a sip of her drink.
Takeru elbowed him, raising both his eyebrows. He even tried to push Aguni in the direction of the girls, but he was a lot stronger and much more muscular, and didn't even budge.
'She clearly likes you, Aguni,' he said once they were seated again on their table.
'I don't think so. She's just being nice.'
'She is being nice, but she also looks nice and she likes you.'
'Takeru…'
The conversation went on for a few minutes, in which one of the men at another table sang a truly vile cover of Take On Me by A-ha that, truth be told, didn't get the same reaction from the young girls. The brunette, especially, used the song as a bathroom break, leaving almost as soon as it started and returning after he was done.
It was her turn again, but this time the whole group went up to the stage.
And the first notes of Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight), also by ABBA, started playing.
'Half-past twelve and I'm watching the late show in my flat all alone. How I hate to spend the evening on my own…' The girl sang, her dark eyes on Aguni's.
Takeru just looked at him, dead in the eye.
'Case closed.'
'Well, maybe…'
'Gimme, gimme, gimme a man after midnight! Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away?' They all danced out of sync something they had clearly choreographed but not practiced enough. It was still kind of impressive.
The song ended and they went back to their table, all of them laughing.
'If you don't go, I will, and…'
'Okay, fine. I will.'
Aguni shook his head and stood up, Takeru smiling widely and giving him a double thumbs up.
'Go, tiger!'
She was, clearly, very beautiful but she probably was just having a drink with her friends and didn't want a random guy approaching them. Maybe that was just her personality: flirty, playful, confident. He still went to their table, because if not Takeru would have and he preferred to deal with this kind of things his own way.
'Hello…' He started, not really knowing how to approach this. He wasn't used to that kind of stuff. He was struggling to find an amusing way of introducing himself, so he just opened his mouth and trusted his luck. 'Can I buy you a drink?'
Could have been worse.
The dark-haired woman smiled. She had her arms crossed over her chest, and was rocking her chair onto its back legs. She nodded. 'Of course. Was wondering when you would ask.'
She stood up, and turned around to bid farewell to her friends.
'Don't take too long, some of us have to work tomorrow,' said the one with the briefcase.
'All of us have to work tomorrow.' The one with the dreadlocks rolled her eyes until only white was visible. 'But some of us…'
Aguni felt the arms of the girl surrounding one of his. 'Let's get out of here, quick, before this ends badly,' she muttered, but she was giggling.
She led him to the bar area, where she ordered some kind of fruity cocktail without alcohol. Aguni just asked for another beer.
She had yet to let go of his arm, which she was still holding.
Aguni was used to fighting. It was part of his training as a SDF officer. But he was not used to receiving so many blows conversationally-speaking. She was witty, she was smart, she was clever. He was struggling to get more than a couple of words in without stuttering.
He was extremely disappointed when her friends stood up and gestured at the woman to end the conversation and get ready to leave.
She looked at Aguni, apologetically.
'I'm the designated driver.' She shrugged.
'Ah, no. Don't worry.' He didn't know what else to say.
'Would you like to do this another time?' She asked. She finally let go of his arm (he wished she hadn't) and started looking around in her bag, getting a pen out of it after searching for a few seconds. She grabbed a napkin and wrote her number, along with the drawing of a heart.
'If you do…' She slid the paper towards him. He realized he had yet to give an answer.
'Yes, yes I would. Like to do this another time.' He added that last part, in case it wasn't clear already.
'Great. I'll… Wait for your call, then?'
She waved goodbye and went back to the other girls.
Takeru suddenly appeared at his side. He pursed his lips in approval.
'Not bad. I told you she liked you. What's her name?'
'I… Didn't get it.'
His friend burst into laughter, but Aguni's eyes were focused on the napkin he was now holding with his right hand.
He might not know her name, but he was determined to find out.