Okay... Input the vocal melody and then the lyrics...

...♪ ...♪

Oh...!

(Miku sang it for me...!)

(This is still a test and I'm using a song that we all worked on together instead of something I wrote all by myself, but this is still really exciting...)

(Alright, I'll try fiddling with the parameters next...)

——♪ ——♪

Oh, it's starting to sound more natural now...

Hehe. I might be able to get this Miku to sound as cool as our Miku from SEKAI.

(That just leaves the actual song...)

(I want to learn how to write my own songs from scratch...)

(But I always have so much trouble turning my ideas into the sound I'm looking for...)

In that sense, Saki's absolutely incredible...

(She just seems to know how to write music that suits us really well. Whenever I come up with some lyrics first, she finds the perfect melody.)

I want to learn how to contribute to Leo/need's music like her as soon as I can...

Would you be willing to help me with that, Miku...?

——♪ ——♪

And I can do this to build the anticipation leading up to the chorus...

Awesome!
It's just like I imagined! It bridges into the chorus perfectly! With this song, Leo/need's gonna take another step...

Hm...?

What?! It's time already?!
I promised to meet the others at SEKAI to practice!

Oh no... I've gotta hurry!
Where'd I put my sheet music...?!

Sorry, everyone!
I lost track of time while working on our next song!

Oh, Saki!
Hehe. Your timing is spot on.

Yeah, it's as if you deliberately chose to arrive at the perfect second.

Huh? Did something happen?

Yeah, the thing is...

We were just asking Shih about this new live house!

Hey, I was gonna say that.

But I couldn't wait to tell her!
It doesn't matter who says it as long as she knows, right?

C-Calm down, you two...

A new live house?
Hang on...

I remember now! That thing about performing at a different live house for our next show! Does this mean we've decided on a venue?!

*Sigh*
You get here and immediately cause a huge ruckus...

Anyway, I asked my manager at the live house yesterday and was told about a place that seems pretty decent.

It's apparently gonna feel fairly different in terms of the crowd and atmosphere, but a lot of good bands play there so we should be able to get in some good experience.

This is the place...

My, what a fancy flyer.

Yeah, it really is!
It's in Shibuya but kinda far from the station...?

This part of the city has a lot of dark alleyways, but it's always crowded with people at night because of all the live houses around there.

Yeah, that's right. It's also a place where people play music and dance in the street, hang out because they missed the last train or have nowhere else to go.

Interesting...
It's “the city that doesn't sleep” in every sense of the phrase.

So this live house is going to be considerably different from where we're used to playing...

You mentioned “good bands” just now... I take it you're talking about veteran performers?

Does that mean you'll get to play alongside some pros?

Hmm... Based on this flyer, it doesn't look like a very big venue so...

No, Rin's right.

What...?!

She is?

Okay, to be fair, it's more like bands that have been scouted by some agencies play there often.

There even seems to be a band among them with members around our age.

Really...?! That's incredible. They're our age and already being looked at by professional agencies...?

That is incredible.
I'd like to hear what their performance sounds like.

Me too.
We might learn a lot by just listening to them play.

As excited as I am about getting to play somewhere alongside such talented people...

I'm a little worried about being on the stage as them...

There's nothing to worry about.
Remember, our first live performance as a band was as the opening act for STANDOUT.

Y-Yes, that's true...!

But we were more concerned about your well-being that time instead of Iori and her band, Shiho...

Hehe. She's right.

Anyway, this decision isn't something I can make without asking the rest of you...

A different live house means we'll be dealing with a different crowd with different expectations, so things won't be easy...

But I'd like to give it a try.
What do you say?

Yeah, I wanna give it a try too!

Saki...

Playing alongside people like that sounds super fun! And they're around our age, right? What if we can become friends with them?

They might be able to give us some really good advice!

I agree with Saki...
If it means learning how to put on better performances, I'd also like to give it a try.

...

Oh, but if you still don't feel all that great about it, we don't have to...!

No, that's okay.

I appreciate your concern, but our goal is to go pro. That means there are going to be times when we have to play alongside some incredibly talented people.

I want to go from being scared to trying to learn more and get better...!

Honami...

Sounds like we're in agreement.

Yay!
We get to play at a new live house!

Oh, also, I came up with an idea for a new song in case we decided to go through with this!

You did?

You came up with a new song?!
Way to go, Sakki☆

Hehe...
So, let's play it when we're there!

Having our performance center around a new song is good and all, but my plan was for us to play there about two weeks from now. Will you be able to finish it in time?

No problem!
I already have most of it figured out, so now I just need to put my heart into it!

Your heart...

I see.
So that's how you've been coming up with the music for our songs.

Yup!
I had a lot of trouble at first...

But now, I can just draw upon my own experiences or what I'm feeling at the time!

Really...?

(Her own experiences and what she's feeling at the time... I sort of did that for my last lyrics, so maybe I can try doing that again for this song.)

Alright, I'm gonna do my best to make this song really shine!

Saki certainly seems to be enjoying herself...

I sure hope their next show goes well.

Humhumhuum♪
This part goes like this and...

Yeah, awesome!
This song's coming along really nicely! It's like all of my ideas are falling into place perfectly!

Still...

I wonder what this other live house is gonna be like. I get that the atmosphere's gonna be pretty different, but does that mean the crowd's gonna react in a different way to our music?

But this show's also gonna be our chance to get more and more people to hear our music! It's gonna be a big step for us!

Hehe. I'm already really excited about that prospect!

Oh, I know...!
I should weave what I'm feeling right now into this song! I can spice up the chorus by...

Yeah, there we go!
This might end up becoming our best song yet!