A few days later
Rehearsal Studio
1
Character icon
Saki

This is it...!

2
Character icon
Saki

The day when Leo/need shoots its very first video has finally arrived!

3
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Rin

<Yay♪>

4
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MEIKO

<Hehe. This should be fun.

Especially considering how much you girls practiced for this day.>

5
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Rin

<Ichi, you gotta sing the best you possibly can today.>

6
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Ichika

Yawn...

Oh, um... Yeah...

7
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Miku

<Did you not get much sleep last night, Ichika...?>

8
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Luka

<Maybe it's because of all the practice you've been doing.>

9
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Ichika

No, I'm just...

Yes, I'm a little tired from practicing, but there's another reason...

10
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Saki

Oh, really?!

Did you stay up late playing video games or something?!

11
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Shiho

She's not you, Saki.

12
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Saki

I don't stay up super late playing video games... That much...! Even if I do it sometimes with movies and manga!

13
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Len

<Don't those all fall into one category?>

14
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Honami

Are you sure you're okay, Ichika?

Do you feel tired because...?

15
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Ichika

No, I'm okay.

There's no need to worry.

16
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Ichika

I'm actually almost finished with it.

I just need to make some final adjustments.

17
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Honami

...!

Really?! That's wonderful...!

18
Character icon
Ichika

But choosing just one is taking more time than I initially expected. I've been trying to remember what Kanade said the other day, but...

19
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Honami

It's okay to give something important a lot of thought. In any case, Ichika, I'll be looking forward to hearing your song.

20
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Saki

Oh, what are you two talking about?

21
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Ichika

Uhh... N-Nothing!

22
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Ichika

Anyway, let's start shooting since we've asked Miku and the others to come over from SEKAI.

23
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Honami

R-Right.

I brought a few different smartphone tripods with me today. I'm hoping that they'll allow us to take a nice video.

24
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KAITO

<Oh, I haven't seen one of those before...>

25
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Saki

I was wondering why you were carrying so much stuff today, Hona! It was all stuff for our shoot!

26
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Saki

But do we really need all these tripods...? We're only using one camera, right?

27
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Honami

No, it'll be difficult for us to make a dynamic video with just one camera. Using several will give us shots from different angles, which we can stitch together for our music video.

28
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Honami

So, would it be okay if I borrowed your phones...?

29
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Shiho

Sure, I don't mind...

30
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Saki

You're always super reliable, Hona, but you seem like you're really on your game today!

31
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Honami

Th-Thank you, but this is nothing special, really!

32
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Honami

But I want to do what I can since this video is going to help determine Leo/need's future...

33
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Ichika

Honami...

34
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Saki

Alright, let's take a really awesome video!

Get ready! We're on standby♪

35
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Ichika

Wh-Whoa...

36
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Shiho

Wait, Saki, don't push...

37
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Ichika

Okay, we're in position now...

38
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Saki

How do we look?

Are we all in the frame?

39
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Miku

<No problems with this camera.>

40
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Rin

<Same here!>

41
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MEIKO

<Ours looks good too.

I think you girls can start shooting.>

42
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Ichika

Alright, then...

Should we start playing?

43
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Honami

O-Okay...

44
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Saki

I'm getting nervous... And not like when we're about to do a show either...

45
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Shiho

To be fair, we're not trying to do this in one take. We can always shoot again if we don't like what we see. So, let's just give it a try.

46
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Ichika

Right...

Then, let's just try to relax and play the way we practiced...

47
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Honami

Okay, I'll count us in.

One, two, three, four...

48
Character icon
Ichika

♪————

49
Character icon
Ichika

(I don't understand. We all seem to be playing just fine...)

50
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Ichika

(But something feels different...)

51
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Rin

<Hmmmm...?>

52
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Luka

<We've done quite a few takes already...

But something does seem strange here...>

53
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Len

<Yeah...

And it's not like they have been playing bad...>

54
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Rin

<But it's like...

I dunno how to describe it!!!>

55
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KAITO

<They're not playing with enough power...>

56
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Rin

<Yeah, that!

Nice one, KAITO!>

57
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Miku

<They're all clearly playing like they mean it... But they're not quite fully committed.>

58
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Ichika

...

59
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Shiho

Wanna stop for a sec...?

60
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Saki

I knew it. We're missing our usual power.

61
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Honami

I kept trying to refocus myself after each take, but I can't seem to play the way I do during shows...

62
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Ichika

The way we play during shows...

63
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Ichika

Yeah...

We really gave it everything we had that time... It almost felt like each note shined, you know...?

64
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Saki

Oh, I totally know what you mean!

Before the show, the tension felt kinda different compared to normal...

65
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Saki

And things were completely different during it! I could hear the audience talking and stuff like always, but I was way more focused on the show itself...

66
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Ichika

Yeah, it'd make for a great video if we could play like that.

67
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Shiho

That's easier said than done...

We were able to play that way because of the crowd and the atmosphere.

68
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KAITO

<Then, why not try to recreate that...?>

69
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Saki

Wait, what do you mean...?

70
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Len

<Oh, I think I get what he means.

I doubt you girls have a spare live house just lying around...>

71
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Len

<But what if you had some spectators?

We can be your crowd!>

72
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Ichika

Does that mean...?

73
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Rin

<Oh, I get it!>

74
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Rin

<We get to have Leo/need play a special concert just for us☆>

75
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Honami

A special show just for you...?!

76
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Saki

Yeah, that could actually work...!

77
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Shiho

I agree.

It'll help to have a visible crowd that we want to have hear our song.

78
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Ichika

We'll do everything we can to give you guys the best performance possible, Miku...

79
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Miku

<Hehe. Let's see what you can do.>

80
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Shiho

Okay, it's time for Leo/need's special show...

81
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Shiho

Let's go.

82
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Ichika

Yeah!

Next Chapter: The Courage To Choose