No matter how many times I listen to Saki's song, I never get tired of it.
It does such a great job of drawing you into its world and conveying Saki's thoughts and feelings.
With this song...
I know. How about that other band?
They're called... I forgot their name, but they mentioned that they want to debut with a big label...
You should be able to see them perform if you really wish. Their music has that cute, mainstream pop sound you're after and they even look the part. A band made up of high school girls through and through.
Honestly, you'll probably have better luck with them than us.
Oh, now I remember.
They're called Leo/need.
We're not just trying to go pro...
With this song... The song that Saki wrote... We're gonna show everyone that our goal is to play music that moves people's hearts.
(We have one month until our next show...)
(We need to get this song perfect by then.)
We're gonna have to practice harder than ever before, and figure out how to actually go about that...
Alright, we finally get to start practicing for our next show!
I'm ready for whatever! Bring it on!
I'm gonna blow everyone away by playing outta this world!
Haha. You sound so stoked, Sakki.
That's because our newest song is my absolutely, unequivocally, categorically the best thing I've ever written!
And it's only become better after working on the arrangement for it with everyone!
To be fair, it's become a more technically challenging song than what we're used to playing.
After all, Shiho, you did do everything you could to make it so this song clearly conveys Saki's thoughts and feelings.
Hehe. I'm looking forward to seeing how the audience reacts when they hear this song.
Also, how are the lyrics coming along?
You're writing them, right, Ichika?
Oh, I was gonna ask the same thing!
How's it going, Ichi...?
I finished writing them yesterday and was hoping to hear you guys' opinions.
But it did take me a little while to write them since I wanted to cover everything that you were trying to convey in your song...
Okay, this might work.
I'll type these lyrics in and...
——♪ ——♪
No, this still isn't right...
It becomes so obvious when I get Miku to sing using my lyrics. They just aren't getting Saki's thoughts and feelings across...
(Saki wrote, “It hurts,” and “I hate this so much,” in her songwriting notebook. She even had, “I don't want tomorrow to come”...)
(All these things that I can't imagine her saying. And they were scrawled with so much pain that you could feel it just from looking.)
She was carrying all this pain and all these memories that I didn't know about...
But she said the message I sent helped her get through that, even though my original intention was to chat for a bit...
No, these lyrics won't do...
(All I did was just wrote down Saki's words and arranged them to the melody of the song.)
(Which means there's no point in me writing these lyrics...)
I have to use my own words.
I need to take her feelings from this song and tell everyone what's really going on...!
It wasn't easy, but I managed to finish them, and I really like how they turned out.
I had no idea...
But you must've written some great lyrics if you put so much thought into them.
Mind showing us what you wrote...?
Sure. It's always a little nerve-wracking showing others my lyrics, but...
Here they are...
Wh-What do you think...?
Oh wow...
You used very straightforward language like you usually do, Ichika, but I feel my chest tightening with each passing word...
So much pain and loneliness...
But you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. There's also this sort of warmth that's pushing you along.
They're incredible, Ichi...
A lot of words and thoughts came to mind as I wrote my song, but I couldn't string them together very well.
The lyrics you wrote make so much sense. It's like you knew exactly what I was thinking.
Really?
Yeah. Not only that, your lyrics helped turn my song into our song. Leo/need's song.
So... I'm really, really glad that you were the one who wrote the lyrics for us again this time, Ichi!
Saki...
It makes me happy to hear that.
And thank you for telling me about what happened back then...
Hehe.
Saki's masterpiece coupled with Ichika's beautiful lyrics means this song's become something quite special.
Yes, it has.
I'm very much looking forward to playing it.
Me too!
I can't wait to practice it and play it in front of people!
Oh, about that...
Before we start practicing, there's something I need to tell all of you...
Huh...?
Did something happen?
So...
...
“A band made up of high school girls through and through.”
Is that how people see us...?
Yes, we've been telling others that we're trying to go pro, but that's not exactly the image we were going for...
But we can't really control what others think...
Our performances still need work, and our songs didn't resonate with that crowd during our last show...
No, it wasn't just the crowd...
Saku didn't really feel anything after hearing us play.
Saki...
So, I wanna show everyone what we're really made of at our next show.
It's like what Shiho told Saku...
I want our music to do the talking for us.
I mean, we worked super duper hard on our latest song just for the crowd at that live house... And it turned out this well because we put a ton of thought into it.
So, I'm really confident about it!
I'm sure everyone at that live house...
Everyone who hears this song is gonna be blown away by it!
Saki...
I agree...
Saku said that we're “a band made up of high school girls through and through” because our music didn't strike a chord with her.
However, with Saki's new song...
I'm sure that audience, as well as Saku, will understand what Leo/need's all about.
So, I'm also going to do everything I can for our next show. I want to prove to everyone that we're not going pro just for fun...!
...
Sounds like you're all in agreement.
But Shih, you really put yourself out there by saying that you girls are gonna show everyone what this band's all about with your music!
Yeah, but I don't regret saying that.
I couldn't stay silent while someone trashed Leo/need behind our backs.
Right. Also...
If you didn't speak up, Shiho, I probably would've said something.
R-Really?!
Hehe. Atta girl.
I like your moxie.
Me too.
And we're behind you all the way until your next show...
Thanks, everyone.
Alright, that means we've really gotta practice...!
This song has a different melody and tempo compared to what we usually play, so we may want to start by individually mastering how to play it.
Yeah...
If I'm gonna be honest, at our current level, I'm not sure a month is gonna be enough for us to get it perfect.
So, I came up with practice schedules that should allow us to efficiently make that happen.
Wait, for all of us?
Yeah, here.
I made copies for all of us, so if you don't mind taking a look.
Whoa! Way to go, Shih! You're always so reliable!
Impressive...
This clearly details what each of you will need to do.
If we can get through this, we should be able to put on a perfect show.
Yeah, it does!
This looks really hard at first glance, but I think we'll do just fine as long as we try together!
I agree...!
I'd like to give it a try as well!
Then, let's all do our best until our next show.
Yeah!
(Again, a month probably isn't enough time for us to play this song in a way that really moves everyone in that crowd.)
(But I'm not backing down.
Not after what we were told that time...)
(I'm gonna do absolutely everything I can until the day of our show. I have to support everyone somehow...)