Bout for Beside You - 1: This Feels Strange

Street SEKAI

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Made it!
Phew. The lunch rush was worse than I thought it would be.

But Akito and Toya said that they'd be late too, so I just hope Kohane isn't too bored...

I'm guessing she's practicing with Miku and the others. Especially considering how great Kohane's been doing since that last event...

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Kohane

————! ————~~~!!

Listen

...

Listen

Such an amazing performance.

Kohane

————! ————~~~!!

Listen

Hey, this voice...

Kohane

————! ————~~~!!

Len

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Whoa...!

Kohane

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Phew...
So, how was it?

Len

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That was amazing, Kohane!
This song sounded great before but sounds even better now!

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Rin

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Yeah, I agree!
It's like you've gone from being just Kohane to Super Kohane!

Miku

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Right. You should sing for MEIKO and the others later. I'm sure they'll be just as surprised.

Kohane

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Hehe. Thanks, you guys...

Listen

That's my partner for you! You sound awesome today!

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Kohane

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Huh?! An?!

Kohane

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Y-You really startled me.
Weren't you busy helping out at home?

Listen

I was!
But I was told that I could go after things started to die down.

Listen

Hm?
I think Toya and Akito are here now. Look.

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Toya

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Thank you for waiting, you two.

Akito

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We heard you singing just now, Kohane. Were you giving Len and Rin a quick demo...?

Kohane

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Yeah. I was telling them about our show the other day and they said that they wanted to hear me sing.

Rin

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You were so good just now too, Kohane! You shined throughout that entire song!

Rin

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I'm so jealous of you, An!
I wish I could sing with Kohane as her partner!

Len

Listen

What?!

Listen

Haha! I get how you feel, but she's off limits, okay? She's my partner!

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Kohane

Listen

A-An, you're crushing me...!

Rin

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No fair...!
I wanna sing with Kohane too!

Len

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Hey, I can sing just as well...

Rin

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Huh? What's wrong, Len?
Why are you puffing your chest out all of a sudden?

Len

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N-No, I'm not!

Listen

Haha!
You two are so close.

Toya

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Is something bothering you, Akito?

Akito

Listen

Huh? Uh, no...
Let's get started with practice.

Miku

Listen

...?

Kohane

♪ ————————!!

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Toya

Listen

Your voice sounds good.
I feel like your singing has only been improving since that last event.

Toya

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If we're not careful, we'll end up being the ones left behind.

Kohane

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Hehe. Thanks, Aoyagi!
But I have to keep trying my best and doing better if we're really going to surpass RAD WEEKEND!

Listen

...?

Listen

(Why do I feel this way...?
What's this hazy feeling in my chest...?)

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Kohane

————! ————~~~!!

Listen

(That was really Kohane...?)

Akito

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Hey, focus!
We need to start warming up.

Listen

Oh, uh... R-Right!

Kohane

Listen

An? Is everything okay?

Toya

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Are you not feeling well?

Listen

No, it's not that!
My mind just wandered there for a second...

Kohane

Listen

Really? If you say so...

Listen

(Lately, I haven't been able to shake this feeling...)

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(Ever since we performed in “STAY GOLDEN” a second time and managed to win.)

Listen

(Kohane has more confidence in her singing ability, and it's not like things are going bad for us or anything, but...)

Akito

Listen

...

Shibuya Park

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Listen

That was great, you guys!
We really sang a bunch today!

Toya

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But we should probably call it a day soon.

Kohane

Listen

Okay, sounds good.

Listen

(It really does feel good singing with everyone like this. That feeling from earlier is completely gone now too!)

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(On top of that, Kohane's doing amazing. We just gotta keep this up and...!)

Akito

Listen

...

Akito

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Hey, can we talk for a minute?

Listen

Huh? Sure...
What's up?

???

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Hey, you guys!!

Kohane

Listen

Hm? That voice...

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Kotaro

Listen

*Huff*... *Huff*...!
I knew I'd find you guys here...!

Kotaro

Listen

You gotta hear this!!

Toya

Listen

Slow down. What happened...?

Kotaro

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Well, it's about Arata Tono. Remember how your guys' battle ended in a draw...?

Akito

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Tono? What about him?

Kotaro

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He's doing a battle event right now and just agreed to do a battle against some old guy from the crowd.

Kotaro

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And Tono's losing pretty bad...!!

Akito

Listen

What...?!

Live House

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Arata

Listen

*Huff*... *Huff*...

Arata

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I was hoping that I'd put at least a dent in you by now...

A Mysterious Man

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Hah hah hah!
That's the spirit!

A Mysterious Man

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But you're gonna need to hit me with a lot more than that...

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Listen

Whoa, the crowd's going nuts...!
You could hear them from outside, but I wasn't expecting this at all!

Kotaro

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That's the guy I was talking about. There's no way he's just some dude off the street.

Listen

That guy...

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No way... Is that...?!

Akito

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It can't be...!!

Toya

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Shiraishi, Akito, what's wrong? Do you know him or something?

Kohane

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Hm? That person's...

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A Mysterious Man

Listen

Well...
I'd say you're lacking...

A Mysterious Man

Listen

Commitment.

Kohane

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He's the one who gave me advice that time...?!

A Mysterious Man

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Alright, ready for the next song?
That is, if you're up to it.

Arata

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You know I am...

Arata

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If I'm going to surpass RAD WEEKEND, I need to at the very least be able to overcome you.

A Mysterious Man

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Hah!
You've got moxie. I'll give you that!

A Mysterious Man

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Anyway, let's keep going while you're still motivated too.

A Mysterious Man

Listen

Same rules as before. We'll take turns singing and see who can get the crowd going the most. Sound good?

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Kotaro

Listen

Here we go...!

Kohane

Listen

Huh? What's about to happen...?

Akito

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Kohane! Toya!
Listen closely and don't miss a second of it!

Toya

Listen

Akito?

Listen

Honestly, I don't think they'll be forgetting what they're about to hear anytime soon...

Kohane

Listen

Does that mean...?

A Mysterious Man

♪ ————————!!

100

Kohane

Listen

...?!

Next Chapter: The Mysterious Man's Identity