Shall we try rehearsing as a group now?

Yeah.
Honami, count us in.

...

Honami...?

Oh! I-I'm so sorry.
I just spaced out for a second...!

...

(Honami's not really focused on practice.
It's probably because of the choir recital...)

Here we go!
One, two, three, four!

Gasp...!

I'm sorry! I skipped over that part...!

It's okay. I didn't get a good start there either. Let's do it again!

Okay...

...

Sigh...

(I won't be able to practice on my own once recital practices start. And I'm making careless mistakes as a result in SEKAI...)

One more time...

(No, the same spot again...)

Sigh... This might just make things worse...

(I should just pack up for today... I won't be making any progress unless I reboot my mind first.)

Aha!
I thought I heard a bass guitar!

MEIKO...

Perfect timing. Want to have a session together?

I'm sorry but I was actually just about to head back...

Is something wrong?
You seemed a little distracted just now...

I know! It's about Honami, right?

How did you...?!

Actually, Honami told me about the trouble she was having in class because of the choir recital.

She couldn't find the solution even after talking to you and felt bad about troubling everyone with her problems.

That's why you're worried about her, right?

That's half of it, I guess...

What's the other half?

When she first told us about her situation, the way I spoke to her was a little... No, I was pretty harsh...

Harsh? As in...?

...

I don't regret what I said... Only the way I said it...

(I couldn't be there for her when she was going through that rough patch in junior high because I'd silently distanced myself.)

(But things are different now. Honami's gotten comfortable enough with us to share her worries.)

(And I just really wanted to actually help her out this time. But I messed up...)

(Why I can't say things in a nicer way?)

You'll be fine, Shiho.

Ah...

I'm sure Honami understood,
what you were trying to say.

And that it was your special way of showing concern for her.

...!

So there's no need for you to be so hard on yourself.

...

Okay...

Oh, also... I was supposed to keep the fact that Honami came to talk to me about the choir recital a secret, so don't tell her I told you, okay?

She might get mad if she were to find out.

Hehe. You know she wouldn't get angry like that.

True...

Oh, sorry for holding you back.
Let's play together at another time, okay?

Bye then!

Um...!

Thank you, MEIKO...