After the successful conclusion of the Chaldea Music event, I entered the studio for Personiaâs band practice with a grin on my face.
Shiina, who had arrived earlier to practice her drumming, noticed this and let out a sigh.
âShion, youâve been smirking all day and itâs gross⊠Donât make that kind of expression unless itâs about meâŠâ
âNo, no, thereâs way too little things that happen concerning you. It always saddens when it comes to things about you, but⊠first, make some friends and then Iâll be happy for you.â
Recently, Iâd gained a âless-than-a-friendâ existence in the form of Rinka, and Iâve started interacting with Shiorin and her friends too, so my self-confidence gained a considerable boost.
Donât think Iâm always this sad, pathetic being, you venomous-tongued loli!
Well, the one thing I canât win against Shiina is the fact that she has a friend, namely Hasumi, to eat lunch with.
Damn, Iâm so jealousâŠ
âI donât really care⊠Iâm fine as long as I have ShionâŠâ
âOi, you little; donât try to run away from making friends. Even Iâm trying my hardest too.â
As we had this exchange with each other, the other members in our band gradually started gathering in the studio one by one.
âYo! Shion, Iâve been listening to the songs of those idols you recommended!â
âOh my, Shiina, donât get any closer to Shion than that. Itâd be shameful for him to associate himself with a grade schooler.â
âHim being forced to perform with a woman way past her prime like you is way more shameful.â
ââI-Iâm still a university student though? But itâs certainly true that I may let show some more mature, womanly charms every once in a while.â
âThere, there, donât start a fight please. Thatâs almost always the reason why our practice runs late, remember?â
After everyone greeted each other, we each began fine-tuning our instruments.
Iâve been spreading the word about âSynchronicityâ to the other members, and they all seemed to be looking forward to their upcoming solo concert next week.
ââAlright! Letâs put our all into practice today so we donât lose to Synchronicity!â
I picked up the mic in lifted spirits.
With this, Shiorin and the girlsâ problem was solved.
Now that they have become more skilled and confident in themselves, Iâm sure theyâll be able to proudly continue their efforts to become popular idols.
âWell then, letâs start with our signature song, âpersonaâ!â
Everyone else started grinning in response to my words.
Then, Shiina, a.k.a âXenaâ, hit her drumsticks together and counted down the cue for us to play.
âOne, two, one, two, three.â
The song started with a prelude by the guitar.
Then, the piano and bass followedâŠÂ Wait a minute!
This is Synchronicityâs signature song, âConnect!â isnât it?!
Now realizing why they were grinning, I dubiously looked around, but there was no sign that they were going to stop playingâŠ
With expectant looks on their faces, everybody looked at me as they continued playing.
Damnit, theyâre totally enjoying themselves knowing that I can do female voicesâŠ
If I get all shy here, Iâll be playing straight into what they want.
So, mimicking Shiorinâs voice, I started dancing as best as I could.
âââ
âA, Ahaha! That was the best! Shion, you really are the best!â
âI canât⊠My stomach hurts from laughing so muchâŠ!â
âOi, have you all been practicing to be able to play âConnect!â just for this?â
I sighed as I spoke, to which everyone else nodded vigorously.
âBut still~, that was really good! Shion-kun always tries his best to live up to our expectations, huh?â
âShionâs female voice⊠was really cuteâŠâ
âIâve witnessed something good today~. I shouldâve recorded it somewhere.â
I let out a big sigh of dismay once more at their overly baffling motivation, having memorized the song just to see me like this.
After everyone had their fair share of laughs, one of the members, Zenon, spoke up.
âBy the way, I was just thinking that we also have a rehearsal on the day of Synchronicityâs live event, right afterwards.â
âTrue, true. We do rehearsals as if they were the real thing, so we canât be late.â
âDonât worry, weâll have plenty of time to make it for our rehearsal.â
âRight, I was just making sure.â
âThese are Shionâs favorite idols. I will put them in their placeâerr, I mean, I will take note of them for future reference.â
Seeing everybody so excited for the concert made me as a fan happy too.