Let's start with the usual once we're all set up.

Okay!

Sounds good! Ichi, can you help me carry the keyboard over?

Sure, be right there.

(Thank goodness Ichika seems better today. She really had me worried after pulling that all-nighter...)

(I'm sure she's fine now since we had a pleasant chat this morning at school, but...)

You're carrying over the drum kit, right, Honami? Want some help?

Yes. Thank you, Shiho.

Huh? That sounded a bit funny...

We played it right, but it felt off for some reason.

Yeah, we didn't make any mistakes.

I guess that means we should take another look at the sheet music.

We might find more spots like this, so for now, let's just focus on playing it all the way through.

Okay!

Phew... Finally, our first full playthrough.

To be fair, we literally finished putting this song together yesterday, so I think we did pretty well since we sort of just dove straight into the deep end.

Really? You think we'll be ready in time for the show?

Probably. This song should only need some minor adjustments, so all that's left is to practice playing it.

Alright, let's play it as much as possible and make it sound really amazing♪

Hehe. Yes, let's!

But before we continue, why don't we take a quick water break? The truth is, I brought some snacks along today.

Snacks?!

Yes. They're cookies made with soy milk and soy pulp. I'm sure we all have some room for a quick bite, right?

Oh, those look really good!

Thanks, Honami.

You made these on top of working on our schedule... Even though you didn't get home until pretty late yesterday.

Hehe. I'm used to baking cookies, so this took no time at all.

And I was able to work on our schedule while they baked, so I didn't actually have to stay up that late.

Okay, that's good to hear.

Oh, also. I'll make sure to bring by some honeyed lemons and lemonade tomorrow.

What?! Really?!

That's really nice of you, but are you sure? It sounds like a lot of work.

I know. We have to stick to a tight schedule if we want to be ready in time for our show...

Which is why I want to support all of you during practice in any way I can.

I can't do this every day, but you can look forward to me bringing snacks and such.

H-Hona...!

Thank you so much!

You're a saint...! No, a goddess♪

Wah! Oh, Saki, you're exaggerating.

No, she isn't.

Having the snacks you make always has this incredible calming effect.

And you're showing genuine concern for our well-being, so thank you very much.

That means we should make sure to take good care of ourselves so Honami doesn't have to do all the work.

Yeah! Especially if we want our song to reach Hanano and her brother's hearts!

Right. We have to put on the best show we can!

Isn't that...?!

Oh...!

They were both smiling...

Does that mean our song worked...?

Yeah, I think so!

No, I know so!

It's hard to give a definite answer, but I sure hope so too...

Yeah...

(Thank goodness...!)

(The schedule I put together had some blind spots that ended up slowing us down a little...)

(But I'm so glad I went through with all this!)

Alright, see you all tomorrow.

Oh, Honami, wait!

We need to thank you again for all the stuff you made for us.

Yeah♪ Getting through practice every day wasn't easy, but your goodies definitely became the reason why we could keep going!

She's right. It's normal to start losing motivation after practicing so much, but you prevented that from happening, Honami.

Exactly, so...

Thanks, Honami!

...!

Hehe. You're all very welcome!

(I was worried that I'd look like too much of a busybody, but I'm so glad they enjoyed everything!)