The next day
School SEKAI

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1

Ichika

————...♪
2

Ichika

Listen

Phew...
3

MEIKO

Listen

That was great!
You all sound so fired up today.

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4

KAITO

Listen

Yes, that sounded very good...
5

Miku

Listen

Did something happen?
6

Ichika

Listen

Our show today went better than expected and it feels like all our hard work is finally starting to pay off.
7

Shiho

Listen

I mean, we're practicing every day, and you're all starting to get used to performing on stage.
8

Saki

Listen

That's three times you praised us today, Shiho! I promise to keep doing my best♪
9

Shiho

Listen

Okay, okay.
10

Honami

Listen

Hehe. Oh, Saki.
11

Ichika

Listen

Still, I know we've come a long way, but at the same time, I know we still have a lot to work on and need to keep practicing.
12

Ichika

Listen

I want our next performance to resonate more with everyone who comes to see us.
13

Shiho

Listen

Yeah, I agree...
14

Saki

Listen

Me too! It'd be amazing if we could play our second original song at our next show too!
15

Shiho

Listen

You mean the song Ichika was writing lyrics for after our first show? Didn't you say that you were still working on the melody for it?
16

Saki

Listen

Guess what...? Ta-daah!
17

Saki

Listen

I came up with it after our show yesterday!
18

Shiho

Listen

Really...? Way to go, Saki.
19

Shiho

Listen

Hold on, all of this in one day?
You didn't pull an all-nighter, did you?
20

Saki

Listen

H-Hey, I'm being careful!
Hona told me the same thing yesterday.
21

Saki

Listen

It started with me wondering how some of my ideas would sound, and before I knew it, I ended up with a whole pile of them!
22

Honami

Listen

That's incredible, Saki...!
23

Saki

Listen

Hehe. I just wanted to turn what I was feeling into music! Kinda like what Ichi said during our last show, you know?
24

Ichika

Listen

Saki...
25

Ichika

Listen

If that's the case, then your music should go really well with my lyrics.
26

Honami

Listen

I hope so too...!
Mind if we listen to what you have, Saki?
27

Saki

Listen

Yeah, go for it!
Here, let's start with my first one♪
28

Saki

Listen

S-So, what do you think...?

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29

Ichika

Listen

I think I like your first one.
It suits my lyrics the most, you know?
30

Honami

Listen

I felt the same way. You could tell how excited Saki was about coming up with it.
31

Shiho

Listen

Do we have a consensus?
Why don't we run with it? I have a feeling it'll do pretty well if we play it live.
32

Saki

Listen

Yay!
33

Luka

Listen

Hehe. That's wonderful.
34

Miku

Listen

This song's turning out to be another good one.
35

Saki

Listen

Yup!
I can't wait to play it for everyone during our next show!
36

Ichika

Listen

But will we have enough time to practice before then...?
37

Shiho

Listen

Right...
We need to learn our respective parts and put it all together during practice...
38

Shiho

Listen

We might not have enough time to polish it up for an actual show.
39

Saki

Listen

Yeah...
40

Ichika

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We've been playing mostly the same songs during our shows, so it would be nice to introduce a new one during our next show.
41

Honami

Listen

...
42

Honami

Listen

Um, everyone...
How would you feel about me putting together the schedule leading up to our next show?
43

Ichika

Listen

Huh...?
44

Honami

Listen

I remember most of what we did after our first song was finished, including how we practiced playing it for that show, so I think I can put one together.
45

Saki

Listen

Really?! You're the best, Hona!
46

Shiho

Listen

Yeah, that would be a huge help.
Mind handling all that then?
47

Honami

Listen

Yes, of course! Just give me a little bit of time.
48

Shiho

Listen

Alright, why don't we take a break while we wait?
49

Saki

Listen

Okay!
50

Saki

Listen

I'm gonna go talk to Rin♪
She wanted me to recommend her some songs last time, so...
51

Saki

Listen

Hey, wait. Where's Rin?
52

Ichika

Listen

Oh, you're right. I haven't seen her today.
53

Saki

Listen

Did she run off somewhere?
54

MEIKO

Listen

Oh, Rin's showing our newcomer around right now.
55

Shiho

Listen

Newcomer?

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Sound Effect: Play

56

Rin

Listen

Hi, guys, I'm back☆
Oh, Ichi and the gang are here too!
57

Saki

Listen

Welcome back, Rin!
58

Ichika

Listen

Oh, that means this is...
59

Len

Listen

So you're the ones who created this SEKAI. Nice to meet you. I'm Kagamine Len!

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60

Honami

Listen

L-Len...?!
61

Len

Listen

That's me. I joined Miku's band a little while back, and I'm really glad to be here.
62

Rin

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You came here after me, so that means you're my junior now, right♪
63

Len

Listen

Hold on, Rin, that doesn't make any sense...
64

Rin

Listen

Sure it does!
So call me, “Senpai,” okay♪
65

MEIKO

Listen

Based on that logic, that means KAITO's also Rin's junior, no?
66

Luka

Listen

Oh, you're right.
67

KAITO

Listen

Rin's junior...?
68

Rin

Listen

But you're still like a big brother to me, KAITO☆
69

Len

Listen

How does that work...?
70

Honami

Listen

Hehe. They certainly seem to be enjoying themselves.
71

Ichika

Listen

This place just keeps getting livelier and livelier.
72

Len

Listen

Oh, is it true that you've been playing in shows?
73

Ichika

Listen

Yes, but we're still very new to it.
74

Saki

Listen

We were just talking about playing a new song during our next one too!
75

Rin

Listen

Wait, you mean the song Ichi was writing lyrics for? It's already done?!
76

Shiho

Listen

Not quite. It still needs to be polished.
77

Ichika

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Exactly. We'd like to have it ready in time for our next show, so we're having Honami see if that's possible based on our current schedule.
78

Len

Listen

Your schedule, huh...?
79

Len

Listen

That's really admirable of you, Honami.
80

Honami

Listen

N-No... It's nothing, really...
I just wanted to find a way to help out everyone a little.
81

Shiho

Listen

A little...?
It's pretty big if you ask me.
82

Len

Listen

Yeah. I mean, Rin would never be able to handle anything like this.
83

Rin

Listen

What's that supposed to mean?! Why me?! You couldn't handle it either, Len!
84

Len

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Haha. Relax, will you?
85

Honami

Listen

Hehe...
86

Honami

Listen

Okay, here's the schedule I've come up with.

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87

Saki

Listen

Thank you so much, Hona!
88

Shiho

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What's the verdict?
89

Honami

Listen

Well... Today, we'll practice like normal, and if we really work on this song for an hour each day, we could conceivably be ready in three-days time.
90

Honami

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Which would leave making adjustments during practice. Our last one took around two weeks, so I suspect this one will take just as long...
91

Saki

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Wow, that's so specific!
92

Ichika

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We'd been playing everything by ear up until now, but having an actual schedule in front of us like this really tells us what we'll need to do by when...
93

Saki

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Yeah!
As long as we stick to this schedule...
94

Ichika

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Oh no...!
Sorry, I have a meeting on Friday.
95

Shiho

Listen

Yeah, I'll have to leave a little early whenever I have to go to work.
96

Honami

Listen

Okay, I'll make those adjustments.
Just tell me about any other clashes if you think it's going to be an issue.
97

Saki

Listen

Thanks, Hona!
About this week...
98

Honami

Listen

There, done...
99

Saki

Listen

Hmm... I thought we'd be fine since our show isn't until next month, but...
100

Ichika

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With all these clashes, it's going to be pretty tight.
101

Shiho

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Yeah...
It'd be fine if we weren't working on a new song.
102

Saki

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I-Isn't there anything we can do about this?! I'll practice really hard on my own when I can!
103

Ichika

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Me too...!
104

Honami

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I appreciate your concerns, but this schedule wouldn't mean anything if it becomes too unrealistic, no?
105

Shiho

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She's right...
There'd be no point in pushing ourselves too hard. We need to think about this based on what we have now.
106

Saki

Listen

B-But...
Does that mean we have to give up on our new song?
107

Shiho

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But we've come this far, so it'd be nice to give the crowd something new...
108

Honami

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Shiho...
109

Shiho

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Wanna give it a go?
110

Saki

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Thank you so much, Shiho!
I promise to try extra super hard!
111

Shiho

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Just not too hard, okay?
112

Shiho

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...
113

Shiho

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(They're so motivated now.)
114

Shiho

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(We all want to see our new song become a reality and show everyone how fun it is to play music.)
115

Shiho

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(But...)
116

Shiho

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(Based on this schedule, it might be better for them to focus on practicing than selling tickets for our show...)
117

Shiho

Listen

I guess I'll just have to take care of that...
Next Chapter: Hidden Resolve