Text

Café

L-let me introduce myself properly...!

Starting today, I'll be working with millsage. My name is Hotaru Shiomi! And I'll be playing piano!

I'll give it everything I've got, so... I'm looking forward to playing with you all!

Glad to have you. Looking forward to it.

Yaaay~♪ Clap, clap~

So... why are we at a Café? Aren't we practicing?

Now, now. It is a welcome party, after all. Surely there is no harm in that.

Here you are, Hotaru-san. Please have a look at the menu.

Thank you!

Wait... were you already calling Shiomi-san by her first name?

Well. Support member or not, we will be in the same band together now.

Doesn't it feel warmer that way? Wouldn't you agree, Hotaru-san? ♡

Yes! Please call me whatever you like!

Now, down to business. If I'm coming back, then I'm not going easy on band stuff either.

We've gotta write new songs too... Hotaru!

Y-Yes!

I'm expecting you to pull your weight too. Got it?

As soon as I've got a demo, I'll send it straight to you, middle of the night or not. You listen to it and arrange it.

Arrange it...?

Right.

That's what Kanata used to do, right?

If you're gonna call yourself Kanata's apprentice, then you're doing what she did.

That's what an apprentice is supposed to do, right?

Talk about old-fashioned.

You said something?

Nope.

Hey, you two should stop it now, okay?

Hehe, you two get along well♪

I-I'll do my best!

Hotaru(I'm so glad... Natsume-san actually decided to come back to the band.)

Hotaru(When they told me to convince her and settle things through music, I had no idea what I was supposed to do...)

Hotaru(But... those sessions were actually kind of fun.)

Hotaru(We clashed with everything we had... and still, I didn't see any rainbow colors...)

Hotaru(Maybe... I could only see them when I was a child...?)

Hotaru(No, I can't assume that. I still don't know why I see those rainbow colors, so I have to keep being careful...!)

MahoroThis almost doesn't feel real.

MahoroJust the other day, it was only the three of us playing live, barely holding it together... and talking about disbanding...

Hotaru、Nagi、Natsume、Houka...

MahoroAnd now here we are, all together again... talking about the band... It's all because of you, Hotaru-chan.

HotaruN-no, not at all...! I'll work even harder so I can help more!

MahoroYeah... I'll do my best too.

HoukaYes♪ Let us all move forward together once more.

MahoroThis really is... our last chance...

Nagi?

HoukaIn any case, that settles one problem♪ Which leaves...

Mahoro...

NatsumeHuh? What, is something up with Mahoro?

NagiAbout Mahoro's part... could you make it a little easier?

NagiNow that she's doubling as a vocalist, that part's a little much to play while singing...

MahoroUm! Could we maybe talk about that later?

NatsumeHuh? Yeah, sure.

NagiMahoro...?

MahoroCome on, this is Hotaru-chan's welcome party! Heavy band talk isn't exactly fun, you know~?

NagiYou think...?

HotaruUm, if that's the case, please don't worry about me! It's important to millsage, right?

MahoroIt is, but... Oh! Why don't you ask us something instead, Hotaru-chan?

HotaruS-something I want to ask...? Oh!

HotaruIt's about this keychain... I found it by the piano in the garage.

Mahoro...! This was Kanata's.

HoukaShe was quite fond of Nikopan-chan, wasn't she?

HotaruSo it really was hers... I'm sorry I held on to it for so long. Here, I'll give it back.

MahoroNo, thank you for finding it. I thought we'd returned all of Kanata's things back then...

Nagi、Natsume、Houka...

MahoroI'll make sure it gets back to Kanata's family.

HotaruYes... Please do.

MahoroSorry, my phone's ringing. I'll step out for a moment.

NatsumeI'm getting water. Hotaru, you're coming with me.

HotaruHuh? Oh, yes!

NagiWow. Putting her to work already?

NatsumeI can't carry water for five people by myself, can I?!

HotaruI'll help!

HoukaHehe. Hotaru-san and Natsume-san may turn out to be a surprisingly good pair.

NagiMaybe...

NagiHey, Houka... what are you after?

HoukaHm? Whatever do you mean?

NagiDon't play dumb. I know your motivation for the band dropped after what happened with Kanata.

NagiAnd I remember you were the one who first brought up disbanding. But ever since Shiomi-san showed up, you're suddenly all fired up.

NagiSo... what are you planning?

HoukaMy, what a dreadful way to put it.

HoukaI merely saw a possibility.

NagiThe possibility of bringing the band back? Or something else?

HoukaReally, you are terribly suspicious.

HoukaI did not want millsage to disband, so I took action with Shiomi-san's help. That is all.

HoukaYou do keep a very close eye on things, Nagi-san. I understand why you end up thinking more than most, but...

HoukaIf you think so much that you only keep standing still, does that not become terribly dull?

Nagi、Houka...

NatsumeHey, first-years. Don't show off how badly you get along in front of the new girl.

HoukaMy, badly? Not at all.

NagiWe're just messing around. That's all.

NatsumeSure you are.

HotaruI brought the water! Nagi-san, Houka-san, here you go!

HoukaMy, thank you very much♡

NagiThanks...

Natsume*Sigh*...

MahoroE-everyone!!

Nagi? What's wrong? You're in a hurry.

MahoroA live show! We got an offer to play a live show!

MahoroA live house we played at ages ago asked if we wanted to join a band battle show a month from now!

NagiHuh? Why all of a sudden?

MahoroWell... until pretty recently, I was thinking about where we should hold our final live. So I'd been contacting a bunch of live houses.

MahoroThey reached out to say they had an open slot, and when I told them what's going on with millsage now, they suggested this.

HoukaIf it is a month from now, I imagine we could make it work, couldn't we?

MahoroRight?! They went out of their way to invite us, and the timing couldn't be better!

MahoroThis is our chance! We have to take it!

NatsumeHold on. Just because Hotaru can play doesn't mean we've even rehearsed as a band yet, you know?

NatsumePlaying together is a whole different thing.

MahoroI-I know that, but...

NagiMahoro... are you rushing this?

MahoroN-no, I'm not...

KanataIt's happiness I wanna share, more than we could ever hold in both hands.

KanataHey, Mahoro. Truth is, I...

MahoroHuh...?

MahoroNo, really. I'm not.

MahoroI just thought... it might help if we had something soon to aim for.

MahoroAnd I think it's a step millsage has to take someday if we're going to move forward... so maybe it's worth trying.

NagiI mean... that's true.

HoukaEverything is experience, after all. I do think it may be worth trying. What do you think, Hotaru-san?

HotaruA live...

Hotaru(My first live house stage... nothing like the competitions I'm used to.)

Hotaru(I'd be lying... if I said I wasn't nervous, but...)

HotaruI... I'll do it.

Hotaru(If it's for millsage...!)

HotaruI want to play that live!