The next day
School SEKAI

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1

Rin

Listen

Whoa! A big music festival?!
2

Shiho

Listen

Yeah, we'll get suggested for it depending on how our performance goes.
3

Len

Listen

Which means you'll need to practice really hard for it.
4

Ichika

Listen

Yeah, that's the plan...
5

Ichika

Listen

Also, the festival is important, but I'd like for us to put on the best performance we can for Mr. Shindo and Mr. Ota too.
6

Shiho

Listen

Ichika...
7

Shiho

Listen

Me too...
As pros, we need to be ready to do that for anyone on demand.
8

Luka

Listen

Then, you should take this energy and do your best during practice today.
9

Honami

Listen

We will!
Several dozen minutes later

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10

MEIKO

Listen

They certainly sound motivated.
11

Miku

Listen

Yes. Honami in particular...
12

Miku

Listen

Her mind seems clearer now that she knows what she wants to do for this band. She's focusing much better as a result.
13

Luka

Listen

Yes, and becoming the leader must also have something to do with that. Something about the way she's playing is more compelling than ever before.
14

KAITO

Listen

Right...
15

KAITO

Listen

(They're putting on a compelling performance. I can feel their confidence resonating through each note...)
16

KAITO

Listen

(At the same time, something feels off...)
17

KAITO

Listen

(This sound...)
18

Shiho

Listen

Stop.
19

Shiho

Listen

We fell out of sync again...
20

Shiho

Listen

We're achieving the same sort of momentum as before, but we're also all over the place for some reason...
21

Ichika

Listen

Yeah, something didn't feel right to me either...

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22

Saki

Listen

But why...?
I'm being super careful not to rush ahead...
23

Shiho

Listen

We can't blame one person, since we've had trouble getting on the same page all the time lately.
24

Honami

Listen

Right...
25

Honami

Listen

(I thought I was the one causing all this...)
26

Honami

Listen

(I mean, not having an answer to that question was distracting me. I was having trouble focusing and keeping up with the others because of it.)
27

Honami

Listen

(But I have my answer now.
I'm having a much easier time focusing.)
28

Honami

Listen

(And yet...)
29

Saki

Listen

I don't get it! How do we keep ending up all over the place?!
30

Shiho

Listen

I don't know, but it's almost as if...
We're all pointed in different directions or something.
31

KAITO

Listen

Different directions...?
32

KAITO

Listen

You may be right...
33

Rin

Listen

Huh? What do you mean?
34

KAITO

Listen

It's just a guess, but...
35

KAITO

Listen

I think this has something to do with you all hashing out what your aspirations are.
36

Miku

Listen

It's because they hashed that out...?
37

KAITO

Listen

Each of you now knows what you wish to do in terms of your music. You feel more confident as a result.
38

KAITO

Listen

However, you're also trying to accomplish slightly different goals from one another.
39

KAITO

Listen

What if you're all subconsciously doing what you can to make your own aspirations a reality?
40

Honami

Listen

Oh...
41

Miku

Listen

I see...
That would certainly explain why they can't stay in sync.
42

Ichika

Listen

Yeah...
KAITO may be right.
43

Luka

Listen

You wish to move people's hearts, Shiho, which results in you producing this powerful energy. Meanwhile, Saki exudes kindness because she wants to cheer everybody up...
44

Luka

Listen

In other words, because you're all prioritizing different things, you're struggling to stay on the same page.
45

Rin

Listen

Wait, so... Them deciding what they want their music to be about was a bad thing?
46

MEIKO

Listen

No, I doubt that's the case.
They're clearly playing a lot better and really letting their feelings flow through each note.
47

MEIKO

Listen

How they each feel as individuals is important, but they need to be a single unit when performing together.
48

Rin

Listen

What?! That sounds really hard...!
How are they supposed to do that?!
49

Honami

Listen

...
50

KAITO

Listen

You may want to discuss what you should be feeling as you play...
51

Ichika

Listen

What we should be feeling...?
52

Luka

Listen

Yes.
For instance, the intro for this song...
53

Luka

Listen

It screams, “Cheering everyone up is what's most important right now, so let's put on a performance which does that.”
54

Honami

Listen

I see...
55

Honami

Listen

Alright, let's give that a try.
56

Saki

Listen

Huh?
57

Honami

Listen

I know getting on the same page so to speak isn't going to be easy...
58

Honami

Listen

But I'm sure we're going to sound even better if we figure out how to do that.
59

Honami

Listen

So, let's do our best...!
For Mr. Ota, Mr. Shindo and everyone who we want to feel moved by our music.
60

Ichika

Listen

Okay...!