————...♪
Phew...
That was great!
You all sound so fired up today.
Yes, that sounded very good...
Did something happen?
Our show today went better than expected and it feels like all our hard work is finally starting to pay off.
I mean, we're practicing every day, and you're all starting to get used to performing on stage.
That's three times you praised us today, Shiho! I promise to keep doing my best♪
Okay, okay.
Hehe. Oh, Saki.
Still, I know we've come a long way, but at the same time, I know we still have a lot to work on and need to keep practicing.
I want our next performance to resonate more with everyone who comes to see us.
Yeah, I agree...
Me too! It'd be amazing if we could play our second original song at our next show too!
You mean the song Ichika was writing lyrics for after our first show? Didn't you say that you were still working on the melody for it?
Guess what...? Ta-daah!
I came up with it after our show yesterday!
Really...? Way to go, Saki.
Hold on, all of this in one day?
You didn't pull an all-nighter, did you?
H-Hey, I'm being careful!
Hona told me the same thing yesterday.
It started with me wondering how some of my ideas would sound, and before I knew it, I ended up with a whole pile of them!
That's incredible, Saki...!
Hehe. I just wanted to turn what I was feeling into music! Kinda like what Ichi said during our last show, you know?
Saki...
If that's the case, then your music should go really well with my lyrics.
I hope so too...!
Mind if we listen to what you have, Saki?
Yeah, go for it!
Here, let's start with my first one♪
S-So, what do you think...?
I think I like your first one.
It suits my lyrics the most, you know?
I felt the same way. You could tell how excited Saki was about coming up with it.
Do we have a consensus?
Why don't we run with it? I have a feeling it'll do pretty well if we play it live.
Yay!
Hehe. That's wonderful.
This song's turning out to be another good one.
Yup!
I can't wait to play it for everyone during our next show!
But will we have enough time to practice before then...?
Right...
We need to learn our respective parts and put it all together during practice...
We might not have enough time to polish it up for an actual show.
Yeah...
We've been playing mostly the same songs during our shows, so it would be nice to introduce a new one during our next show.
...
Um, everyone...
How would you feel about me putting together the schedule leading up to our next show?
Huh...?
I remember most of what we did after our first song was finished, including how we practiced playing it for that show, so I think I can put one together.
Really?! You're the best, Hona!
Yeah, that would be a huge help.
Mind handling all that then?
Yes, of course! Just give me a little bit of time.
Alright, why don't we take a break while we wait?
Okay!
I'm gonna go talk to Rin♪
She wanted me to recommend her some songs last time, so...
Hey, wait. Where's Rin?
Oh, you're right. I haven't seen her today.
Did she run off somewhere?
Oh, Rin's showing our newcomer around right now.
Newcomer?
Hi, guys, I'm back☆
Oh, Ichi and the gang are here too!
Welcome back, Rin!
Oh, that means this is...
So you're the ones who created this SEKAI. Nice to meet you. I'm Kagamine Len!
L-Len...?!
That's me. I joined Miku's band a little while back, and I'm really glad to be here.
You came here after me, so that means you're my junior now, right♪
Hold on, Rin, that doesn't make any sense...
Sure it does!
So call me, “Senpai,” okay♪
Based on that logic, that means KAITO's also Rin's junior, no?
Oh, you're right.
Rin's junior...?
But you're still like a big brother to me, KAITO☆
How does that work...?
Hehe. They certainly seem to be enjoying themselves.
This place just keeps getting livelier and livelier.
Oh, is it true that you've been playing in shows?
Yes, but we're still very new to it.
We were just talking about playing a new song during our next one too!
Wait, you mean the song Ichi was writing lyrics for? It's already done?!
Not quite. It still needs to be polished.
Exactly. We'd like to have it ready in time for our next show, so we're having Honami see if that's possible based on our current schedule.
Your schedule, huh...?
That's really admirable of you, Honami.
N-No... It's nothing, really...
I just wanted to find a way to help out everyone a little.
A little...?
It's pretty big if you ask me.
Yeah. I mean, Rin would never be able to handle anything like this.
What's that supposed to mean?! Why me?! You couldn't handle it either, Len!
Haha. Relax, will you?
Hehe...
Okay, here's the schedule I've come up with.
Thank you so much, Hona!
What's the verdict?
Well... Today, we'll practice like normal, and if we really work on this song for an hour each day, we could conceivably be ready in three-days time.
Which would leave making adjustments during practice. Our last one took around two weeks, so I suspect this one will take just as long...
Wow, that's so specific!
We'd been playing everything by ear up until now, but having an actual schedule in front of us like this really tells us what we'll need to do by when...
Yeah!
As long as we stick to this schedule...
Oh no...!
Sorry, I have a meeting on Friday.
Yeah, I'll have to leave a little early whenever I have to go to work.
Okay, I'll make those adjustments.
Just tell me about any other clashes if you think it's going to be an issue.
Thanks, Hona!
About this week...
There, done...
Hmm... I thought we'd be fine since our show isn't until next month, but...
With all these clashes, it's going to be pretty tight.
Yeah...
It'd be fine if we weren't working on a new song.
I-Isn't there anything we can do about this?! I'll practice really hard on my own when I can!
Me too...!
I appreciate your concerns, but this schedule wouldn't mean anything if it becomes too unrealistic, no?
She's right...
There'd be no point in pushing ourselves too hard. We need to think about this based on what we have now.
B-But...
Does that mean we have to give up on our new song?
But we've come this far, so it'd be nice to give the crowd something new...
Shiho...
Wanna give it a go?
Thank you so much, Shiho!
I promise to try extra super hard!
Just not too hard, okay?
...
(They're so motivated now.)
(We all want to see our new song become a reality and show everyone how fun it is to play music.)
(But...)
(Based on this schedule, it might be better for them to focus on practicing than selling tickets for our show...)
I guess I'll just have to take care of that...