Soma, I'm here...

Hey, Arata!
Thanks for making the trip!

So, how's practice for that event going? Good?

Hm? Those guys behind you...

Hehe. Can you guess who they are?

Oh... Hey...
Sorry for the sudden intrusion. I'm...

Whoa!!
Aren't you guys in Vivid BAD SQUAD?!

Oh, that was quick. You could've made it a little more interesting.

Are you kidding me?!
Haven't you realized just how much you've been talking about Vivid BAD SQUAD lately?!

You're Shinonome and Aoyagi, right?
He's told me all about you guys!

I'm Soma Miyata.
This dude's best friend!

I bumped into them just outside the hospital and asked them to join me since it seemed like a nice opportunity...

They're very well acquainted with Ken, so I'm sure you know there's plenty you'll want to ask them.

Really?
But you guys are probably really busy right now since your event's just around your corner... Oops.

Hey, you okay...?

Yeah, sorry about that...!
My body isn't all that mobile because of the accident, and I get woozy just sitting up in bed sometimes.

(Oh, right...)

(I totally forgot since he seemed okay on the surface, but he's...)

Please let us know if there's anything we can do for you.

Hey, Arata...
Is it just me or is Aoyagi really that nice?

Yes, he's very kind and polite.
With none of the leers that Shinonome gives people sometimes.

Hey.

I'm guessing he does that because you yank his chain sometimes, Arata. Sorry about that, Shinonome, but he's sort of always been this way.

Oh... No...
You don't need to apologize.

And you're right about Akito leering at people.

Dude!

Hahaha!
Arata was right. You guys are a riot!

Oh, speaking of which, you guys are regulars at Ken's place, right? Mind if I ask how he's been lately?

Yes, of course.
Recently, Taiga's also been popping in and they usually end up talking for quite a while.

Cool. Ken and Taiga in the same place again...! Man, I'd do anything to be there!

Soma, have you ever been to Ken's place before?

No, not yet... The accident happened before he opened up his shop.

But I was able to transfer here, so I definitely wanna see them again! And ask them all about RAD WEEKEND...

Even now, I still remember it...
Nagi began by singing and everyone started going nuts like the roof was on fire...

It was such an amazing event...!

(Now I get it...)

(He was just as entranced by RAD WEEKEND and wants to find a way to surpass it...)

Man, I had a blast!
Thanks for dropping by today, Shinonome, Aoyagi!

Thank you as well.
Please let us know if you ever want to chat again.

Awesome! Promise?
Come back soon, okay?!

Anyway, we should get going.
See you later, Soma.

Later!

Arata was right about them being nice guys...

Now...

I have my own stuff to take care of...

Thank you both very much.
Soma must've been a handful because of how excited he was.

Not really. It was nice to hear about what Vivid Street used to be like back in the day.

He seemed like a cheery guy...

Yes, he's always been like that.
The accident was definitely tough for him, but he's pretty much back to being his old self now...

<Here we are!
Wait... Are we inside Akito's pocket?>

<Oh, this is fun!
It's like we're in a cave!>

<You know we aren't here to play, right?
You were the one who said the event's getting close and want to give them your support... Hm?>

But he seemed to have much more fun than usual thanks to you both. I really appreciate it.

Anyway... See you during our next practice.

Oh...

Hey...
Isn't there something else you still need to say?

Huh?

You seem dissatisfied.
If there's something you want to say, just say it.

We're fellow performers in the same event, aren't we?

Alright, let me ask you this...

What does it mean to “take a look at this city”?

Huh?

That's what Taiga told me to do the other day.

“If you're serious about surpassing RAD WEEKEND...take a look at this city.”

This city...?

What's that supposed to mean?

Haha. Tricky one, right?

After he said that, I went around everywhere looking for whatever it is that I was missing or needed to find...

But I couldn't find the answer and became stuck.

So stuck that...
Well, I got the idea that being at an event with all of you would lead me towards some sort of hint.

I see...

But seeing him makes me want to show him our dream... Of surpassing RAD WEEKEND...

Which is why... I'd like you to tell me anything that comes to mind when you hear, “Take a look at this city.”

Right now, that's what I need to know to move forward.

Sorry, I have no idea what it means to “take a look”...

But I promise to tell you if I do manage to figure out something since it seems like we also need to figure out the meaning behind those words...

I'll think on it as well.
I'm also curious as to what it means.

Thank you. I really appreciate it...

Anyway, let's keep doing our best for the event. All to find a path towards producing that “atmosphere”.

Yeah...

I'm glad we had a chance to discuss so much. I feel like we have a much better understanding of Tono now.

Yeah, same...
His partner, his music... It was nice to hear about all of that.

<I agree! It was wonderful to hear their story!>

<Yeah, I thought so too!>

Whoa...!
How long have you two been there?!

<When you started talking with that Tono person! We stayed in your pocket the whole time, so he probably didn't see us.>

O-Okay...

<Just based on the bit we heard just now...>

<That Tono person seems very similar to you two.>

Hm? What do you mean?

<Oh, his personality may be very different.>

<But he cares about his partner very much and seems very serious about surpassing RAD WEEKEND. I definitely see some similarities there.>

<You even said so yourself, Akito.
You're all “fellow performers”, right?>

<Yeah! You guys all feel the same way, so I bet your event's gonna turn out great!>

Right...

(I was wrong about not knowing what he was thinking.)

(He feels the same way as us... Which means we're in this together.)

Toya, we're gonna need to move up the meeting time for tomorrow's practice.

I have a feeling he'll agree to it, so mind letting An and Kohane know for me...?

Okay, I understand.
Let's keep doing our best to get even a whiff of that atmosphere...

Yeah...!

♪————!!

Whoa! That was awesome...!
Way better than what you did during our other run...

You didn't seem to be running on all cylinders then. Did something happen...?

Yes, and I need to apologize to all of you.
The thing is...

My partner recently transferred to a hospital nearby and I've been helping him get settled...

I thought I'd found a way to separate my personal life from our practices, but I still wasn't able to focus. I'm sorry for causing you all so much trouble.

Your partner...? You mean the one you're trying to surpass RAD WEEKEND with...?

You weren't always singing by yourself, Tono?

No, we were chasing after the same dream... But he got into an accident and isn't able to perform on stage right now.

I'm not going to say that I'm going to grant his dream for him, but for his sake, I need to find a way to surpass RAD WEEKEND.

So you're carrying his thoughts along with your own. That explains why you can sing with so much power, Tono...

What's the reason you wanted to start singing, Okazaki?

Me...? Because this senior I looked up to liked to sing. The high school I used to go to was pretty rough...

But they went after their dream of becoming a professional singer and didn't care if anyone laughed. I really admired that and decided to also start singing.

A senior...? I see.

What about you, Kotaro?
Was there a moment like that for you?

Oh, when my little brother was born, I decided that I wanted to become a cool big brother. That happened to also be when I saw RAD WEEKEND, like Akito...

Really...?! You have a little brother, Mita?

Yeah!
He's still little, but really, really cute!

Aww, that's so adorable!
Oh, that means you gotta kick butt during our event to show him just how cool a big brother you are!

R-Right...! He's still too little to come to our event, but I'll try to perform like he's actually there...!

(We still haven't gotten any closer to that atmosphere...)

(But the air between us is definitely starting to change bit by bit...)

(Or are we the ones that are changing...?)

(It's like we all want to sing more and more good songs together now...)

Alright, this place feels pretty good now...
Let's start from the top and give it our best today, Shinonome...

Yeah...!

Everyone!
It's almost time for Akito and the others' event! Hurry!

We asked An to leave her phone in a place where no one else will find it, so we should be able to see everything!

Okay, okay.
Alright, now that we all seem to be here...

Yes, let's go!

<Wow! So many people!
Akito and the others must be really popular!>

<Oh...!
Everyone's gathering up over there!>

<What are they all doing?>

<Are they gathering to discuss something...?>