A few days later
Rehearsal Studio

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1

Shiho

Listen

Okay, let's end things here for today.
2

Honami

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Nice work, everyone.
3

Saki

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Great job!
And it's sooo hot!
4

Ichika

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Hehe. You were really giving it 110% today, Saki.
5

Honami

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I thought so too. You made it so much fun to drum to your beat.
6

Saki

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Hehe. That's because it's so much to play like this with everyone♪
7

Saki

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(But still, I fell way behind everyone today in some spots...)
8

Saki

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(That means I need to practice even more...!)
9

Shiho

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Uh, Saki...
After practice the other day, did you stay behind to keep working on your part?
10

Saki

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Huh? Yeah, I did.
11

Saki

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Even when we don't have practice together, I still try to play my synth as much as I can. Why do you ask?
12

Shiho

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You just seemed a little tired is all. Are you sure you're feeling okay?
13

Saki

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Yeah! I'm being careful like I said♪
I'm even taking fewer shifts at work because we're practicing so much.
14

Honami

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That's good but try not to overdo it, okay? You're free to say so if things aren't alright.
15

Saki

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I know♪ Thanks, Hona!
16

Ichika

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We're also sharing the phrases we came up with after this, right?
17

Shiho

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Right. I came up with some ideas, but how about the rest of you...?
18

Ichika

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I have a couple. It was more of a challenge than I expected...
19

Saki

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Oh! Oh! Me next!
I came up with three!
20

Honami

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That's amazing...!
I could only come up with one.
21

Shiho

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It's your first time, so one is more than plenty.
22

Saki

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It'd be nice to have Miku and the others hear what we came up with too...
23

Ichika

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Sure... But I am a little worried about having everyone hear something I made myself, so I'm sort of glad we're doing this today.
24

Shiho

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Okay, and we can go in the same order as we did just now. I'll start.
25

Honami

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That should be everything...
So what did everyone think...?
26

Saki

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I really liked Ichi's second one!
The part when it switches to a minor key sounded so cool!
27

Honami

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Me too. I thought it was cool too.
28

Ichika

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Really? Thanks.
29

Ichika

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Actually, I wasn't really sure what to do or where to go with that part...
30

Shiho

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Maybe you tried to include too many things like you weren't sure which you should say yes or no to...?

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31

Ichika

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Oh, you might be right.
I listened to quite a few songs as references and did get overloaded a little...
32

Honami

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I see...
33

Shiho

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Overall, I thought it sounded pretty good.
34

Ichika

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Okay... But I feel like if we're going to be playing it together, there are better options out there.
35

Saki

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Should we try a different one then?
36

Honami

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A different one...?
I had Shiho's first one as another candidate.
37

Shiho

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About that... It's based on a song by an artist I've been heavily influenced by...
38

Shiho

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It's sort of in the same boat as Ichika's. I'm not sure it's the best option for Leo/need...
39

Honami

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Okay...
40

Ichika

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It just seems even more difficult after actually putting pen to paper and listening to everything.
41

Ichika

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It sounded alright when I was putting it together, but it's not what I thought it was anymore.
42

Honami

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I agree... It's hard to say what's good or bad, so it doesn't feel right to make a judgment even after listening to everything.
43

Saki

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Ugh... This is starting to make my head hurt...
44

Shiho

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It might be because we don't know exactly what kind of music we want to play yet.
45

Ichika

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The kind of music we want to play...
46

Honami

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I never knew it was so hard to create a song from scratch...
47

Ichika

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My thoughts exactly.
Will we ever be able to...?
48

Saki

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I think we will...!
49

Saki

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As long as we're together, I'm sure we can! They say everybody goes through this in the beginning, right?

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50

Shiho

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Who's “they”?
51

Saki

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Huh? Uh, well... I forgot...
52

Honami

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Oh, Saki...
53

Shiho

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It felt like the right thing to say.
54

Ichika

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That's our Saki for you.
55

Saki

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Hehe...
56

Shiho

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But she's right. Nobody's expecting us to come up with something right off the bat, so there's no need to rush.
57

Shiho

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It's going to take time for us to figure things out, so let's just keep trying...
58

Shiho

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Someday, we will be able to compose our own songs.
59

Honami

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Right!
Scramble Crossing

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60

Saki

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Okay, see you tomorrow!

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61

Saki

Listen

Hmm...
62

Saki

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Our own original song.
What would work best...?
63

Saki

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(Hey, hold on a second...)

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64

Saki

Listen

On a different note... Ichi, I came up with this tune while we were practicing. Want to hear it?
65

Ichika

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An original tune? Sure.
66

Saki

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Really? Yay! I'll play it now!
67

Saki

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That's it...
68

Ichika

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Huh, that's really neat.
69

Saki

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You think so? Yay! You used to write song lyrics at one point, remember? Since then I've been composing little bits in my head every now and then!
70

Saki

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(Right after we decided to form our band, I tried coming up with something and Ichi ended up really liking it...)
71

Saki

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(That one part has a good flow to it too, and I'm glad we all got to play it together...)
72

Saki

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(Wait, does this mean I can pull my weight by writing songs for us...?!)
73

Saki

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(That's it! I might not be as good as everyone is when it comes to actually playing yet, so I can come up with music in the meantime!)
74

Saki

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But what kind of music suits us best?! I can't figure that part out...!
75

Saki

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I wish someone would give me a hint or something...

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76

Saki

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Hm? This song's...

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Sound Effect: Play

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77

Saki

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Yeah, it is!
It's that song STANDOUT played during that show!
78

Saki

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That's so cool... It's really them on the big screen... This song and video are so amazing too...!

Sound Effect: Play

79

Saki

Listen

If only we could come up with a song like that...
80

Saki

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Wait, I know!

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Music Shop

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81

Saki

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(Oh, here it is!
Just the CD I was looking for♪)
82

Shiho

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Saki...?
You came here too?
83

Saki

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Oh, Shiho!
Are you getting something too?
84

Shiho

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Yeah. This band I like released a new single and I came to buy a copy...
85

Shiho

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And you, Saki?
That's a STANDOUT CD.
86

Saki

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Hehe. Yup! I want to use it as a reference...
87

Saki

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Oh, also!
Are there any albums by your favorite bands that you recommend?
88

Shiho

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Huh? Well...
89

Shiho

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How about this...?
It's a “best of” but it has songs from when they just debuted all the way up to their new stuff.
90

Shiho

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These three songs here are among my absolute favorites.
91

Saki

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Really?
92

Shiho

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Yes. There was a time when I wasn't feeling too sure about myself, but listening to those songs made me feel so much better.
93

Saki

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I never knew that...!
94

Saki

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Then I'll get that too!
I really want to listen to it now since you're willing to say so much about it♪
95

Shiho

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Are you gonna use it as a reference too? That's awfully diligent of you...
96

Saki

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Hehe. I want to learn about as much music as I can!
97

Saki

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Huh? It's already this late...?!
I'm gonna be late for my shift!
98

Saki

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Sorry, Shiho!
I'll see you tomorrow at school!

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99

Shiho

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Hey, wait...!
100

Shiho

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She might be overdoing things again...
Saki's Room
101

Saki

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Hehe. I ended up getting two CDs. Now to check online for some videos♪
102

Saki

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I'll start with STANDOUT!

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103

Saki

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STANDOUT songs have so much power behind them...
104

Saki

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They really get the crowd going too, so that might be something I could try!
105

Saki

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That one phrase had a nice flow to it, so I can sort of copy that and...
106

Saki

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Okay, that should do it...
107

Saki

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Let's keep listening to more songs and come up with more!
108

Saki

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Phew. That makes six.

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109

Saki

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All these songs have given me so many good ideas...
110

Saki

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What do I have left...?
111

Saki

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Oh, that one song I heard during Tsukasa's show had a good melody to it too!
112

Saki

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It might not work with a band like ours, but I can still learn something from it... Yeah!

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113

Saki's Voice

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Tsukasa!
What was that song you guys used during that one show...?
Next Chapter: Still Not There Yet