Hmm...

The melody's pretty much done, but I feel like something's missing...

I came up with this while thinking about how much fun it is to play in shows with you guys, but it still doesn't seem right...

Do you think it's too bright and happy?

Maybe it lacks depth...

Depth?

Yeah. Overall, the song Saki's come up with here is really catchy and fun.

But the chorus feels a little thin because of how it lacks any deeper meaning if that makes sense.

In my opinion, if you really want to get your message to hit home, you'll need to give the first two verses more substance.

I see...

Do we have to rewrite it again...?

Unfortunately, I think so...

But we have a better idea of where we want our song to go now, so I'm sure we'll be okay as long as we keep chipping away at it.

We don't have school today either, so we can focus on this for now!

Okay, sounds good.
Let's make it our goal to finish this before the end of the day.

Alright, let's do this!

How's this for the first verse...?

Oh, I like this! It sounds really cool!

Yeah, it starts off strong too.
What if we make the second verse also sound a little more subdued by using more minor chords instead?

Okay. So this part should be more like...

I'll try singing this part.

Go for it, Ichi!

♪————... ♪————!

Whoa...!

...——♪

How was that?

Much better than before! That's amazing!

Yeah, the chorus has so much more energy now. Wanna go with this?

Thank goodness...!

We should be able to finish the whole thing if we keep this up. I know it won't be easy, but would it be okay if we kept going?

Yeah!

Finally...!!
We did it!

To be fair, we have to write everything for each instrument now.

Hey, I just wanted to express how happy I am about actually finishing the entire thing♪

Hehe.

But this took much longer than I expected.

It did... Our first song only took about half a day to finish.

And I was so sure that it'd be about the same for this song...

We were on a pretty good roll that time.

This time, we ended up spending a lot of time trying to mimic the melody from our first song.

Y-Yeah...
This song does sound a lot like our first one. I might be biased towards this kind of music...

There's nothing we can do about that. You like what you like. No one's capable of doing everything, and it's actually pretty common to mirror music that you like.

At the same time, you both put a lot into this song, so it would be nice to add more of a personal touch.

I agree...!

It may've taken longer than we expected, but I really like this song.

Yeah, me too!
I can't wait to play it together♪

Then, we should start working on the music for each instrument.

Yeah.
Given that we start working on that today, it'll probably take... Two days?

We'll have to adjust the schedule again.

Yikes... Our practice schedule's really gonna be cutting it close, huh?

Maybe it isn't a good idea to get a new song ready for our next show...

I can't say for sure...
But we should keep trying.

I'll do everything I can to help.

Thanks, Shiho.
I'll keep trying my best too.

Oh, but it is getting pretty late...
We should probably go home soon.

Also, something smells really good. Is it already time for dinner?

Oh, I think you're right!

You should all stay and eat!
How about it?

What? No, I couldn't...

Don't say that!
Mom probably already made enough for all of us anyway!

Lemme go ask! Be right back!

W-Wait, Saki.

I really should head home...
There's something I need to check that involves work.

Nooo!

*Sob*
I really wanted to have dinner with you, Shiho...

But work is work.

Yeah...
How about you two, Ichi, Hona?

I... Haven't decided yet...

Well, if it's okay with your Mom, I'll call home to say that I won't need dinner tonight.

I'll do that too.

Yay!
Thanks, you two♪

Anyway, I really need to get going.
Great work today, all of you.

Bye, Shiho.

Yeah, thanks for today!
Lemme walk you out!

Hehe. Have fun.

Ichi! Hona!
There's more than enough for all of us!

Thanks, Saki.
Your Mom's an amazing cook, so I'm pretty excited.

Me too. I can't wait to see what she made for us. In the meantime, we should finish cleaning up here.

Huh...?
Oh, it's Shiho's sheet music.

R-Really?!

Yes, and I don't see mine...
I think she took it by accident.

She couldn't have gone far, so I'll try and find her.

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

(I tried messaging her but...
I hope she's still around here somewhere.)

Oh...!

Yes, so next month's...

Really? Thank you very much.
Yes, so during my next shift...

Phew... Thank goodness.
That takes care of a few of them.

Um, Shiho?

Huh...?!
Oh, Honami, it's you...

I didn't mean to scare you like that. Were you on the phone with someone just now?

Yeah, with someone from work.
What are you doing here, anyway?

Oh, that's right...!
I think you took my sheet music by accident, Shiho.

Your sheet music?
Hang on just a second.

Oh, you're right...

Thanks for going through all this trouble.

No, it's okay.
Just get home safe, okay?

I will. Thanks.
See you tomorrow.

(She's always so busy. Dealing with work-related business even after we practice...)

(I need to keep trying my best too...!)