Whoa...!
This place looks so big from over here!

It does. Also...

I heard one of the bands is playing here for the first time.

Really...?
What kind of stuff do you think they play?

We really do seem to be dealing with a different kind of crowd here...

Yeah.
Normally, the crowd's ready to have fun and eagerly anticipating the curtains going up...

But everybody here seems much calmer. Some even appear a bit hostile.

I'm getting kind of nervous...
Do you think they'll like our performance?

Don't worry, Hona!
Our set list for this show's loaded with fun energy!

Which is why we're gonna put smiles on all their faces!

Saki...

There is such thing as being too optimistic, but I like what you said.

This is our first time playing here, so there is a chance that we won't be able to get a good groove going. Regardless, we still need to play as well as we can.

Right!

Oh, we're up next...

Alright, everyone! Let's do this!

Nice to meet you, everyone! We're Leo/need!

We'll be playing at this live house for the first time today!

Many of you have probably never heard of us, but we'd like to spread some positive energy with our music!

We hope you enjoy!

♪————!!

(Oh wow...!
Hona's drumming and Shiho's playing her bass with more power than usual...!)

(I need to do the same!
I have to turn this excitement into sound...!)

(Yeah, there we go!
That should get everyone...)

...

(Huh...?)

(What's wrong?
We're playing so well... Ichi's doing an awesome job on the guitar too...)

♪————!!

What do you think...?

Hmm...
I'm not really feeling it.

(They're not getting into it at all...?)

(Until now, at least some people in the crowd would listen really closely...)

(No, this is just our first song!
Our next one's gonna be...!)

Their second one's kinda the same...

I'm gonna go grab a drink.

(What...?)

(Why...?)

...

We'll be finishing things off by playing a brand-new song that we wrote just for this day...!

(No, this is gonna do it... It has to! I mean, I wrote this song just for this show! I wrote it because I was super excited about playing for everyone here...!)

(We'll be fine. I'm sure of it...
I'm really proud of this song and we practiced really hard!)

(So, we've gotta give it everything we've got!)

♪————!!

(I'll raise my hand and everyone in the crowd will join me...)

*Sigh*
Yeah, I'm just not feeling it.

...!

(Saki...)

Who's playing next?

Another new band.
Wanna step out and take a break...?

(Why...?)

(But... This song... I wrote it just for today... I was sure that everyone would really enjoy it...)

Th-Thank you all very much...

That was...bad, huh...?

The audience didn't respond very well.

However, I thought that was one of our best performances yet.

Again, a different live house means a different crowd with different needs, so there's no need to feel bad.

This might just be a case where some people just aren't interested in hearing a new song by a band they've never heard of before.

Right...

Still, even if it's not their cup of tea, you'd think they'd be willing to listen if we played a good song...

...

None of our songs seemed to reach anyone today.

Our third one, in particular...
No one really seemed to like our new song.

...

What do you think was so bad about it...? I was so sure that it'd do great...

Huh?! What was that...?!

So much cheering...
And they were so quiet when we played.

Which band's on stage now...?

Whoa, they're so cool...!

They've gotta be around the same age as us, right...?

Hang on, is that band...?

Yes...
That's “anemone”. The ones who've already been scouted out.

That's who you were talking about...?

Thank you all for coming out today.
Next, we'll play you our fan favorite.

♪————

...!

♪————

(This song... What's going on...?)

(My chest... It feels so tight...
It's like my heart's being squeezed really hard...)

(These lyrics... And this melody...
It all sounds so sad, and yet...)

It's amazing...

Yes, it is...
It's quiet but so compelling...

...

Saku's songs just have this way of getting to me.

Yeah...
They always seem to find a way into my heart...

(Wait, they were the ones who seemed really bored during our performance...)

(But now, they're listening intently... Some are even crying...)

I can kinda see why too...

(Why is that...?
This song feels so cold, but there's this warmth to it. Just listening to it is making me feel really relaxed.)

It's so strange...

Thank you for listening.
We'll see you again.

Saku!
Give us an encore!

I can't wait until your next show!

The crowd's going wild...

They were so quiet while we played, and now, they're like this...

(Saku...
So that's the name of the vocalist who wrote these songs.)

(How are they able to write songs like this? How is it that these songs are able to have such a huge effect on everyone...?)

(I wanna learn how to do that.
I wanna write music that can move people's hearts...!)

Saki...?

Great show, Saku.

Likewise.

Oh...

E-Excuse me, Saku...!
Do you have a moment to talk?!

Saki...?!