Alright! We're gonna have another great practice today♪

Let's head to SEKAI already!

Saki, keep it down.
Everybody can hear you.

And like I told you a second ago, there's still too many people around today so we'll have to wait a little more until we do head over.

Ever since we played that show, she's been as worked up as ever.

We may've just been the opening act, but we finally got a chance to perform together. The crowd seemed really into it towards the end too...

I know, it was sooo much fun!
I wanna do a show like that again!

Hehe. But don't push yourself too hard, okay?

Of course, I'll be extra careful! But we're still gonna practice lots and lots♪

We all decided to try and go pro, together. Since then, I've been having a lot more fun trying stuff out on my synthesizer instead of going out somewhere!

Really? I never thought I'd hear you say anything like that, Saki...

I know, right? Honestly, I thought she'd be the one asking for more time off for us to go out together.

What?! No, I wouldn't!

I mean, whenever I start feeling tired, my mind might wander towards doing something else...

But wanting to get better and go pro with all of you always comes out on top! I've just never been this enthusiastic before!

Hehe. And we'd expect nothing less from you, Saki.

In that case, why don't we raise the bar a little for what we do during warm-ups?

What?! You're gonna make things harder than before?!

Is that a complaint? You said you want to get better as fast as possible, right?

Y-Yeah, but...

Don't worry, Saki. I'll just be adjusting what we do based on the level you've risen to...

Risen...? You're saying that I've actually gotten better? Yay! I love you so much, Shiho!

S-Saki... L-Let go...
I can't move...

No! I'm really happy because you praised me, Shiho♪

*Sigh*... Okay...

Oh, I almost forgot...!

Didn't you say during lunch that you'd like to talk to us about practice today, Shiho?

Yeah, I did.

Is there something you'd like to discuss?

Sort of...
I guess now's a good time since we still can't head over yet...

Tell us! Tell us!

It's about what we'll be doing specifically moving forward as Leo/need.

What we'll be doing...?

Oh, I get it! It's like our first meeting to plan Operation Go Pro As Leo/need, right♪

When did you come up with that name, Saki?

Just now!
So about what we'll be doing...?

Right... This might take a while, so let's find an empty classroom where we can talk.

I'd like to start with what we'll need to do if we really are going to try and go pro.

First, there are a few ways to become professional musicians...

Oh, I know! By auditioning and stuff, right?

Like those shows where the winners get a big record deal♪

Right, auditioning is one path that's open to us.

Performing at live houses, getting better over time, and growing our fanbase is another option.

I see. An agency might scout us out after we've gained enough popularity.

Exactly. But it'll specifically be a record company instead of an agency.

Audition or earn fame through live house performances...

Those are just the most standard routes, but there are other ways of going about this too.

Lately, some artists have been finding the spotlight by making videos and posting them online.

That's cool...
You know so much, Shiho!

Well, regardless of which path we choose, we're still nowhere near playing like actual pros yet.

That's why we need to prioritize practicing, honing our skills, and getting experienced as much as we can.

Getting experience...
Does that mean we should perform in more shows too?

Yes, it does.

I'm sure you all felt it during our last performance, but it doesn't matter how well you do during practice. Everything can still fall apart while we're on stage.

For the very first time, we had a crowd of people hear our music and saw how they reacted to our performance...

You're right. I couldn't sing at all at first because I was so scared. It was just such a big venue with so many people there...

But I was so desperate to tell you how I felt that before I knew it, I was able to find my voice.

Me too!
After I started focusing on wanting you to stay, Shiho, I was able to settle down and play normally!

Right.
It felt like we all found the courage to rise up to the occasion.

Oh...

I was trying to say that we should perform while focusing on how our audience reacts, but... Thanks.

I'm sure as we keep playing more and more shows, we'll keep on improving too.

Not just technically either. We'll get more used to playing in front of a crowd.

Right... I'd like for us to get better and see more people coming to our performances.

I'd like that too...!

It's kinda scary, but really fun at the same time... If it means getting better, then I wanna do that too.

Okay. Then we can start focusing on performing in more shows.

More shows...!
This is so exciting!

Hehe. I can't wait either.

But how do we actually go about doing that? We've never even chosen where to perform before.

Don't worry about that.

I asked the owner of the live house I work at and got the green light to perform in some events.

Whoa! You're awesome, Shiho♪
Thank you so much!

We have about a month to prepare for it, and I understand that it's going to be tight. Would you guys still be up for it...?

A month... I'm okay with that.
What should we play?

How about the song we played when we opened for STANDOUT? I feel like we'll be able to play it much better now.

Yeah, I thought about that too. But they're going to give us about 15 minutes to play, so we'll probably need two more songs to fill out our slot.

Wait, three songs?!

That means we have to make a decision on our other two songs soon.

We do... Let's try going through the songs we've been practicing, some we might want to try and pick a couple out of that.

Okay. There are a few Miku songs that I've been wanting to try, so I'll make sure to look them up.

But... It'd be nice to compose our own song and play it during a show too.

Our own song...?

Yeah, I remember Shiho mentioning that we're gonna have to start making our own songs!

It'd be awesome if we could!

I agree. Performing the songs you personally made must be so much fun.

Right?! Ichi and I tried giving music to some lyrics we came up with... But if we're gonna actually play it during a show, I want to make something better!

Maybe someday.

You're okay with just someday?

Putting together a song that we can play on stage is no simple task.

We'd have to figure out how we're going to do that too.

But we have you, Shiho, so we'll be fine, right? You've been playing for bands forever too...

No way. Arranging music a little is the most I can do.

What?! I didn't know that!

A long time ago, I tried making some songs myself, but it ended up being too much...

I just wasn't able to turn what I was imagining into music.

I see...
If you had that much trouble, Shiho, then it must be incredibly difficult.

But I do want to make songs with you guys since we've decided to go pro together.

And we can try our hand at it little by little as we practice.

While we practice...?
Oh, in that case...

...?

What if we each tried coming up with riffs and phrases starting next practice?

Our own riffs...?
Like short melodies or chord progressions?

Yeah! Coming up with a whole song at once is too hard, but I know we can at least come up with snippets of one!

That does sound interesting...
But can we get that to work?

We've never done anything like that before, but...

I'd like to give it a try.

Yeah, let's do it! Who knows? We might end up making something really good♪

Okay...
Starting small sounds like a good idea.

We can do that starting tomorrow.

Yay!
Let's give it our best shot!

Hehe. Saki's just jumping for joy.

Oh, since there are fewer people around now, shall we head over to see Miku and the others?

Right, and I still want to talk about us as a band.

Okay! Let's go go go♪

(Our own shows, our own songs...
Hehe. This is sooo much fun!)

(I'm gonna give it everything I've got!)