It ain't too much for me
Chapter 3
It ain't too much for me
***
The glow of Hirato's tablet screen illuminated his face in the dimly lit room, his fingers moves across his keyboard, eyes flicking between tabs, 3 new accounts empty, clean, and waiting
Ota-Walker was now officially live on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter
But at this moment, they were nothing but blank slates, no posts, no videos ,no followers
Hirato leaned back in his chair, staring at the tablet's screen, he clicked on his YouTube channel and started customizing it, first, the profile picture, he had no professional photos, so he settled on an AI-generated image of an anime-styled version of himself
Next, the banner, he chose a dark silhouette of a figure mid-dance, arms outstretched, in a pose reminiscent of Michael Jackson, the words ' Ota-Walker: Anime x Pop ' were displayed boldly in red and white
"What do I even post first?"
A first post was important, it set the tone, if he just uploaded a random dance clip, it might not feel special; if he introduced himself, would people even care? He needed something bold, something that screamed a confident Michael Jackson fan while making it clear this was about his own journey
Then, it hit him
"A music video"
Not just any music video, it would be a cover video Michael's song
'JAM'
It was one of Michael Jackson's most energetic and powerful performances, combining sharp, rhythmic dance moves with an intense, layered beat, it was also the song he used as an opening song for his dangerous tour
Perfect
But he wanted to do more than just copy, if he was going to put himself out there, he needed to add his own touch
He leaned forward, an idea forming in his mind
Two versions
1. A full music video cover—sticking to the original English lyrics and mimicking MJ's movements, energy, and intensity
2. A Japanese-only version : an audio only verion, where he'd personally translate the lyrics into Japanese, keeping the meaning intact, changing the lyrics a bit while ensuring the message the songs tries to delived stayed
His hands clenched into fists
"If I pull this off… this won't just be an ordinary cover, it'll be something unique"
But then, reality hit
How the hell was he going to do this?
His mind raced through the challenges ahead:
He wasn't an experienced singer
He still had trouble dancing for long periods
He didn't have fancy recording equipment or a high-end camera
But then he smirked
"When has that ever stopped me before?"
This wasn't about making a perfect video, it was about taking the first step
And he was ready
Hirato cracked his knuckles and pulled out a notebook
Step 1: Master dancing and singing.
Step 2: Improve physical abilities
Step 3: Translation of the Lyrics
Step 4: Filming & Edit
He underlined the first step twice
purpose
All of them were blank, no profile picture, no posts, no followers, just empty, waiting to be filled
Hirato took a deep breath, fingers hovering over the keyboard
"This is it… My first step"
"Alright… This looks decent"
Instagram was next, he kept the profile description simple
"Aspiring performer, Anime + Dance + MJ setting off"
Twitter was trickier. He had no idea what to post, he thought about tweeting something motivational, but it felt weird, instead, he typed:
"Finally starting something real, let's see where this goes, #OtaWalker #MJInspired"
He stared at the tweet for a long second before pressing Post
"There, my first footprint"
He leaned back, exhaling slowly, it was just the beginning, now came the real challenge: creating actual content
***
Hirato stretched his arms, cracking his fingers before pulling up his YouTube homepage, he had spent the past few weeks learning and mastering his dance moves, but now as he planned on making a music video he realised that there was one huge problem
{ If I'm going to do a cover, I need music, and I don't just want to use some karaoke track, I want it to be original}
That was a problem
And to make it bigger ,Hirato himself had no idea how to produce music
He had no instruments and he can't even play the guitar, no musical software, and no experience
For a moment, doubt crept into his mind
"Maybe I should just use a pre-made instrumental after all?"
But that thought vanished almost as quickly as it came
{No, if I'm going to do this, I want to do it properly, I want my own version of the music}
And so, he began searching, Google became his best friend
Next to Ayaka of course
" How to make a music cover?"
"Free music production software?"
For hours, he scrolled through tutorials, forums, and blog posts, trying to find the right tool, that's when he stumbled upon a music production app called FL Studio
" It's not free "
Hirato groaned but decided, and downloaded the app with a firm resolve
{ What is free in this world? I'll have to get a part time job when I can it seems}
The studio app although expensive, had good reviews and had built-in features for making professional-quality backing tracks, so Hirato got the app
"This is it"
With a few clicks, he purchased and downloaded it onto his tablet
He opened the app, and a virtual studio appeared on his screen, complete with drum pads, a keyboard, and mixing tools.
"Alright… Now let's see if I can make this work"
***
Hirato plugged in his headphones and immediately, his eyes narrowed at the FL Studio interface, rows of buttons, sliders, and waveforms stretched across the screen like an alien landscape
The tutorial's narrator spoke with calm confidence, but to Hirato, it was as if the guy was casting advanced magic spells
"BPM, reverb, equalization… What the hell is a compressor?"
He tried to follow along, clicking where instructed, adjusting values, and dragging loops into place, slowly, something resembling a beat began to form. It wasn't much, just a basic drum rhythm with some bass, but when he played it back—
It sounded horrible
Not just bad, it was offensively freaking bad, the drum pattern was messy, the bass notes clashed, and the whole thing felt like a robotic mess of noise
Hirato winced, rubbing his temples
"Alright, maybe I should start simpler..."
He deleted everything and tried again, this time, he built the beat from scratch, laying down a steady rhythm before adding the bass
He then hit play
Badumtssjaoyatnmse
It still sounded like garbage
"Ugh"
He buried his face in his hands, he had expected a learning curve, but this was like trying to climb a mountain with nothing but flip-flops and raw determination
For the next few hours, he kept experimenting, only to fail every time. Each track he made sounded worse than the last, it was beyond frustrating as no matter how much he adjusted things, he just couldn't get it right
Flop
Laying on his bed in frustration Hirato gritted his teeth besieged by negative thoughts
{Is it impossible after all?}
{All those attempts but nothing}
{It's so annoying, should I just use a premade track after al-}
" NO!! "
He shouted before immediately covering his mouth, thankfully his family didn't noticed
"Huu"
Taking a deep breath he sat back up
"This is no good"
{ Laying down on the bed while drowning in laziness and doubt }
" As if! "
With that he went straight back to his tablet and persisted
Hirato , he became obsessed
At home, at school, even on the train—he was glued to his tablet, watching tutorials, testing new techniques, and tweaking his tracks, while still studying and practicing, and as a result his sleep schedule collapsed.
1:23am
{Michael used organic vocal recordings as a layer in Billie Jean, that might work}
He stayed up late, sometimes until dawn, eyes burning as he adjusted levels and came up with ideas for tracks, and sometimes for added effects, and layered sounds
At school, Ayaka noticed
One day, she spotted him slumped over his desk before class, dark circles under his eyes, his normally sharp gaze was unfocused, and he barely touched his lunch
"Hirato…"
She frowned
"Are you okay?"
He glanced up, forcing a smile
"Mm? Oh I'm just .... busy learning new things, don't worry, Ayaka, I'm just...a bit sleepy"
Ayaka pursed her lips
"You look like a zombie, whatever you're doing, at least get some sleep"
Hirato waved her off, but her concern lingered in the back of his mind
Still, he refused to stop
Every failed attempt pushed him to learn more, when he made a bad mix, he figured out why, when his bass clashed, he studied it ,notes the reason and fixed it, he learned about EQ, layering, and compression, slowly, painfully, he improved
And then, one night, after an entire month of trial and error—
"Finally."
He stared at his screen, eyes wide. His new track was laid out in front of him. The drum beats were crisp, the bassline was smooth, and the guitar riffs he imported from a guitar cover of Jam sounded right too, but that part had to be replaced by a guitarist that he would ask to play later
Hirato hit play
And for the first time, it sounded right, he could finally tap his foot to the beat and shake his head
"It ain't too much for me haha!!! AHAHAHAHAHA! now haha I'll sleep"
His body sagged with exhaustion, his bed was only a few steps away, but instead of walking, he collapsed face-first onto it falling straight into a deep slumber
The clock read 5:45 AM
For now, on the backing track part, Hirato had won
End of chapter