♪————!

♪——!! ♪————!!

Phew...

That should be enough for today.

Thank you for waiting. I'm all done now.

Haha. Busted, huh...?

I mean, I can sense when you guys come over to SEKAI so...

Right...

Anyway, is something the matter?

I don't remember hearing anything about you guys having practice here today.

No, I just came here to talk. You know, about what's been bothering me?

Shall we head over to MEIKO's place...?

No, here is fine.

Would you mind listening for a bit?

Of course.

Thanks, Miku!

So, you know...

I really love the way Kohane sings.

My heart begins racing whenever she does and feel like something amazing's about to happen.

That's why I want to be by her side...

I want to sing with her forever!

I want to be a partner that she can respect and be proud of!

And this is how you truly feel, An?

It is, and I'm gonna do everything I can to make it happen.

If that's the case, good for you.

(I had a feeling that she'd figure out what to do when An was singing with her, but...)

I wasn't expecting to hear you make such a clear declaration. I may have to hold you to your word if you really mean it.

I absolutely do.

Hehe. Good.

(An's finally going back to being her usual self.)

Still, these growing pains are really rough.

Growing pains...?

From becoming someone's partner.

You can't really do much about that, can you? Especially since your partnership's still in its infancy.

I know, but...

Man, this is so hard...

Being way too protective at first was a huge mistake too.

Again, I really doubt there was much you could've done about that.

(She finally found the right partner, but didn't do very well when it came to doing their first event.)

(I'm sure she didn't want to lose Kohane so soon either. I can't blame her.)

Do you think Akito and Toya had to go through anything like this...?

Who knows? Why don't you ask them yourself?

But from what I've gathered, being someone's “partner” is different from being someone's friend or teammate.

Which also means it's important to be honest with each other, like Akito and Toya.

Sometimes you just have to have some tough conversations.

...

But I'm not saying that you should emulate everything they do.

Akito and Toya, you and Kohane...

You're all different people with different personalities.

Oh...

You need to be you, Kohane needs to be Kohane, and the Vivids need to be the Vivids...

Us being us...?

Yes. That goes for Vivid BAD SQUAD too.

Right...

Hmm... I feel like being a “partner” just became that much more complicated.

Hehe.

I'm sure experience will be the best teacher there.

Okay, I'll just have to keep trying.

An...

I understand why you want to beat yourself up...

But you were able to take a hard look at yourself and what you were feeling, so I'm sure you'll figure out a way to be the best partner you can for Kohane.

...!

Hehe. When you say it like that, Miku, it sounds like it's actually gonna happen.

Right?

Hehe.

Thanks for everything, Miku!

I might have to come back and ask you for help again...

That's my job so you're welcome to at any time, especially if it's about your partner.

But you guys will always have to make the final decision, which I know isn't easy.

So feel free to ask me about everything else.

Miku...

Hehe. You're way too cool!