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Episode 20: A Few Days After the Live

Hamasaki House - Mahoro's Room

MahoroMmmmmm...

MahoroNnngh...!

MahoroN-No good...

Mahoro(What am I going to do...? Natsume-chan sent over the demo for the new song, but I haven't made any headway on the lyrics...)

Mahoro(I somehow managed to write "Narasu"... but it didn't feel like this back then...)

Mahoro*Yawn*...

Mahoro(Ugh... Maybe it's because I just had dinner...)

Mahoro(I'm getting... sleepy—)

Spring, Third Year of Middle School

KanataWe're gonna start a band! So... what're we gonna do?

NagiI mean, you're the one who wanted to start a band, Kanata.

KanataYeah, but... Mahoro, got any ideas?

MahoroWhaaat? You're asking me!? Um... Hmm... Should we come up with autographs?

KanataOoh, such a great idea! What do you think, Nagi?

NagiThe exit is that way.

MahoroAh~! I can still help~!

NagiFor starters, we need instruments, and somewhere to practice... There's already a lot to think about.

NagiBut most importantly, what kind of songs are we going to play?

NagiNone of us but Kanata has played an instrument before, and we'll need to think about how hard the songs we cover are, too.

KanataWait, we're doing covers?

MahoroHuh? Aren't we?

KanataI mean, we can, but... y'know, if we're doing this, we'd want to write original songs, right?

KanataComposition and lyrics... Maybe I can handle those, y'know!

Mahoro、Nagi...

KanataWhat's with those looks?

NagiWell... you can play piano, at least...

MahoroAnd Kanata's surprisingly good in Japanese class...

Kanata"Surprisingly" was unnecessary! I'm a beautiful young literary genius!

NagiYeah, yeah. Literary genius.

MahoroHmm... But how do people even go about writing lyrics?

MahoroSometimes I'll hear a popular song and think, "Yeah, I get that," but...

MahoroI can't really imagine how anyone comes up with lyrics that make you feel that way.

NagiYeah... I guess?

KanataHmm... Maybe they just don't think too much?

MahoroHuh?

KanataLike, things you want to say. Feelings you just need to get out.

KanataMaybe you just pour it all out onto the page, and before you know it, you've got lyrics.

NagiOh...

MahoroThat sounded kind of like something an artist would say.

KanataOh, really? See? I knew I could do it!

MahoroUgh, that's so unfair... I don't really get it~

KanataHuh? It didn't get through to you?

MahoroNo, I got it. It's just... I don't have anything that makes me want to write like that.

MahoroThe first thing that comes to mind is... Hmm... The fried shrimp I had earlier was huge, or something...?

NagiAha. It'd turn into a picture diary.

KanataHahaha, great, that's great! I like stuff like that!

KanataThen someday, we'll have Mahoro write lyrics too!

MahoroHuh? Are you serious?

KanataYou bet! I can't wait!

Mahoro...

MahoroHm...? Huh... A dream...?

Mahoro(The night the three of us started a band... around two years ago.)

Mahoro(That feels like so long ago...)

MahoroThings I want to say... And also, feelings I need to get out, huh.

Mahoro(When I wrote "Narasu," I probably didn't have the luxury of thinking about any of that.)

Mahoro(I was too desperate just to get something down.)

Mahoro(Now that I'm really trying to face this head-on, I can't think of a single thing I want to put into words.)

Mahoro(It's a feeling I just don't understand.)

MahoroKanata really was a genius...

MahoroAh...! No, come on! Don't get discouraged, Mahoro Hamasaki!

MahoroI've decided I'm not going to give up!

MahoroAlright... I'll read through Kanata's lyrics one more time...!