Jonas Pine had walked out on the Hyakujuu Shinkansen just days before the start of the LRS season, the search was on for a new GM and that task was put in the hands of Takashi Hayashi, assistant to the owner Shinji Sogo Jr.

Takashi sat slumped in his chair.  His was the only office within the ballpark in which the lights were still on; everyone else had left for home.  Mr Sogo was a good owner and a good boss to work for, and Takashi didn’t want to let him down, however after two days of non-stop phone calls the search for a GM was still ongoing.

It was good money they were offering; that wasn’t the problem.  Neither was the owner.  Also Hiroshima was a great place to live, so that wasn’t the problem. The problem was the fans; they were loyal in fact too loyal. They were nicknamed The Samurai simply because they would rather die on their own sword than lose, and it scared potential GMs.  Which was the problem, as a GM didn’t want to die on his sword.

His phone rang; he looked at it and saw it was Midori, his friend, calling him.

“Hi Midori.”

“Takashi, me and Yoshino are going to the opening of this retro bar tonight. Do you want to come as well?

“I can’t, Midori; I need to find a GM for the ball club.”

“They have karaoke.”

“Midori: karaoke is so 1990s.”

“Takashi: they have a guy called the Karaoke King! Do you want to tell your grandchildren you had the chance to see the Karaoke King and didn’t go? I can hear their reaction now: ‘Granddad you are so uncool.’”

He heard her giggle; Midori always knew she could get her way with Takashi by making fun of the moment.

“Okay, I’ll go. Give me the address and I’ll meet you and Yoshino there.”

A couple of hours later and the three friends were setting together in The Velvet Lounge.

“Takashi: how’s the search going?” Yoshino asked.

“It’s not going; that’s the problem,” replied Takashi.

“Boys: no work talk,” Midori chipped in.

“Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to the opening night of the Velvet Lounge! And welcome The Karaoke King!”

The place went dark; then all of a sudden the music started and the spotlight hit the Karaoke King, the King’s sequins nearly blinding the first three rows. Some people say you can see the Great Wall of China; but none would argue with the fact you could see the Karaoke King from space, or even from the other side of the universe.

He kicked off with “Burning Love” and “A Little Less Conversation,” before carrying on with Suspicious Minds.

“Ladies and gentlemen: I’m going to take a short break, make a quick costume change and have a mineral water. So I’ll hand the mic over to you and I want to hear you have fun!”

“That’s Neil Thomas!” exclaimed Takashi.

“Who?”, Yoshino and Midori replied in unison.

‘Neil Thomas, he used to be the GM of the Yuma Bulldozers. I mean, he never wore a sequined jump suit and an Elvis wig when he was GM of Yuma, but I’m sure that’s him.”

Yoshino and Midori looked at each other as though to say, “and here we were thinking all GM’s wore sequined jumpsuits to the office!’ 

Still with a smile on her face, Midori said, “Takashi: I’m sure it’s just somebody who looks like him. I mean what would he be doing in Japan if he used to be a GM in Yuma.”

“I have no idea, but I’m sure it’s him.”

After a quick costume change, he finished the night with the unlikely duo of “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “I Wanna Be Sedated.”

The club was pretty much empty when Takashi walked up to the Karaoke King.

“Mr Thomas.”

KK looked at him and replied, “Sorry kid: I’m not Mr Thomas.”

Midori grabbed Takeshi’s arm.  “Takeshi: it’s not him, you’re just mistaken.”

“It’s him; I’m sure of it.”

“Mr Neil Thomas, ex-GM of the Yuma Bulldozers, close friend of Joe Dobbs, who used to own the Bulldozers?”

“Look kids…follow me.”

They followed him along the corridor that led to a dressing room adorned with a piece of paper on which was scribbled “The Karaoke King.”

“Come in.”

“Gummy,” KK said, as he looked around the dressing room.

“Who’s Gummy?”, asked Yoshino.

“My friend,” replied KK.

‘Mr Thomas, err Mr Karaoke King, is Gummy a……snake……a……rattlesnake?“

‘You found him little lady?’

‘Yes’ Midori nervously replied.

‘Midori — don’t move or he’ll bite you!’Takeshi said trying to keep Midori calm.

“He won’t bite you, trust me,” KK picked the snake up and kissed it.

Yoshino fainted.

Midori just looked, with her eyes popping out on stalks, and Takeshi stood still, slowly shaking his head.

“He’s got no teeth, was born without any, may give you a nasty suck but won’t bite,” KK said with a wink at Midori.

“You are Neil Thomas though?” Takeshi asked again.

“What makes you think I’m this Neil Thomas?”

“You look like him.  At first, to be honest I wasn’t 100% certain, but getting close up and seeing that scar near your eye I’m certain — you’re Neil Thomas, ex-Yuma GM!”

“Scar?” said Midori with a confused look on her face.

“Joe Dobbs was an average Joe; he won the Arizona state lottery and bought the Yuma Bulldozers. He asked one of his friends to be GM, Neil Thomas. Things didn’t work out they had a fight and Joe hit him (pointing at KK) they’ve never spoken since,” answered Takeshi.

The karaoke singer sat down in his chair, a sadness spread across his face.

“Joe was a good guy; he didn’t deserve what I did to that team. He trusted me and I let him down.  He came to me one day just to talk things over, ask me how I was just like a friend would.  Just like Joe would. I kind of lost it because the pressure was building up inside me, told him he was stupid for buying the team. Told him when the money had gone Helen would leave him.  I knew that wasn’t true, she would never leave him she worshipped him. Then he hit me.  Didn’t blame him and still don’t.”

“Plenty of people have scars on their face though.” Midori said.

“Not the shape of a Y.  Joe Dobbs always wore his Yuma Bulldozers ring. I’m betting that caused the Y shaped scar,” Takeshi replied.

“Okay, you got me kid; I’m Neil Thomas, ex-GM of the Yuma Bulldozers.”

Yoshino had woken from his sleep.  “It’s a snake!”

“It’s OK, Yoshino, it won’t harm you,” Midori said, comforting her friend.

‘It’s been four years since anybody has heard from you.  What have you been doing?  There were all kind of rumors that you’d died, or you were in a mental asylum — all kinds of stuff,” asked Takeshi.

“In the beginning I just drifted around the states, spent a year in Arizona breeding rattlesnakes and selling their venom. The fun of that ran out when I got bit a few times too many, jumped on a merchant ship and spent a couple of years on the high seas. Ended up in Japan, got drunk one night and slept with a woman who turned out to belong to a Yakuza. They caught me and, well, let’s just say they were going to do something that would make most guys cross their legs and the rest have tears in their eyes’

“You mean–” Yoshino made a scissors motion with his fingers.

“Yeah,” replied Neil.

“Luck would have it though that the Yakuza boss was a big baseball fan and recognised me.  That’s how I ended up here, singing for my supper kind of thing.  Or should that be: singing for my life.”

“How would you like to be a GM again?” asked Takeshi.

“Look kid, if I wanted to it would be impossible, the Yakuza wouldn’t let me.”

“You said the boss is a big baseball fan, I’m betting that he follows the Hyakujuu Shinkansen,” Yoshino replied.

“I bet he is, and I’m also betting he would love to tell people he is close friends with the Hyakujuu Shinkansen GM,” shouted Takashi.

“You may have a point kid.  All right — if he agrees I’ll be your new GM.”

“I need to call Mr Sogo.”  He picked up his phone.  “Mr Sogo, its Takeshi’

‘Takeshi, it’s 2am!” the owner replied in a sleepy voice.

“But Mr Sogo, we have a GM, it’s ex Yuma GM Neil Thomas.”

‘I thought he was d….’

‘No, he’s not dead’

“In an asy…’

“No he’s not in an asylum, he’s here in Hiroshima!”

“First thing in the morning arrange a press conference; announce him as our new GM.”

‘Yes, sir.”

“And Takeshi — good work and get some sleep.”

‘Yes, sir.”