Oh, Kusanagi...!

You're here early.

Did I make you wait?

No, I actually just got here like five minutes ago.

I ended up coming early because we haven't practiced together in a little while. I was really excited.

Hehe. Me too.

That reminds me. There's something I've been wanting to tell you.

Tell me?

Congratulations on your debut CD!

I bought a copy.

Oh...

*Nod*

Thanks...!

So, what did you think...?

How was our song...?

Really good!

On one hand, it suited your band's style. But on the other, the music and lyrics felt refreshingly different!

The way it began with the chorus got me so excited. Plus, the lyrics and melody really struck a chord with me...!

I loved how gentle and empathetic it was.

But it also seemed like it was designed to cheer up or encourage the listener. Because of that, I basically kept it on loop while I practiced...

Oh... S-Sorry...

It's probably pretty rude of me to declare this and that. I mean, you're the ones who wrote it...

That's okay.

Actually, I was hoping to hear all your thoughts about it.

I've been wondering if we succeeded in delivering our message.

(I'm so glad that she understood what we were trying to do...)

(And since Kusanagi's listened to it so many times, I think I'll take this opportunity to ask her about...)

So, Kusanagi, if possible, could you tell me about anything you noticed in terms of my singing...?

I want to learn from my mistakes, so please don't be shy.

Anything I noticed...?

Nothing really comes to mind...

Wait, really...?

Yeah. Does this mean there's something that's been bothering you...?

The thing is...

I see...

And you ended up doing multiple takes because you weren't happy with the way you were singing.

*Nod*

I was able to give it everything I had during our final take, but I still feel like I could've done better...

Hmm... They may've edited things here and there before actually having the CDs made...

But anyway, I really liked the way you sounded, Hoshino.

Kusanagi...

Would you mind telling me more about the things you think you could've done better or that didn't go as well as you'd hoped?

I don't know if I'll actually be able to give you good advice, but we can at least try thinking what to do next time.

...!

Thank you so much, Kusanagi!

I really appreciate it.

Of course!

Let's see... First, in terms of things that didn't go so well, I couldn't stop thinking about how my voice was looping back into the headphones I was wearing...

I did my best to sing like I always do, but I got lost several times.

So, I can't help but wonder how I sounded compared to when we've been performing live...

Hmm...

Now that you mention it, while listening to your CD, I got the feeling that you were trying really hard.

Trying really hard...?

I mean, it's probably normal for someone to want to put maximum effort into their debut song...

But during your shows, you always sound like you're having a lot of fun since you want the audience to really enjoy themselves.

I'm wondering if that's the mental gap you were having so much trouble bridging.

Yeah...

You might be right.

I'd become so obsessed with trying to sing like “normal” that I sort of stopped having fun...

Oh, I almost forgot. Things weren't normal because they had us play together, but I had to sing separately by myself...

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this with me, Kusanagi.

I think I have a slightly better understanding of what went wrong.

Really? I'm glad I could help.

I don't know when we'll be recording our next song, but I'll do my best to apply what we just talked about.