< Awakening Beat | Story
Chapter 4: The Way to Self-Confidence
自信の持ちかた (? (edit))
自信の持ちかた (? (edit))
Character appearances:
crase cafe
An
Hey everyone~!
MEIKO
Oh, it’s An-chan and Kohane-chan. Come on in.
Kohane
Oh? Miku-chan and the others aren’t here today.
MEIKO
They’re not, no. Miku went out on a whim earlier, and Rin and Len went to hang out with KAITO. Thanks to that it’s been quieter than usual today, so you can relax in peace.
An
Ahaha. Gotcha! If that’s what you say, then let’s chill out together, Kohane.
Kohane
Okay!
MEIKO
You okay with your usuals for today?
An
Yep!
MEIKO
Roger that. I’ll be back soon.
An
Thanks a bunch!
An
Oh, yeah, I never told you my thoughts from earlier, did I… You were awesome at that event today.
An
Everyone was so excited to hear you sing before you even came onstage. Man, you’ve already stolen the hearts of the whole crowd!
Kohane
Really?
An
Totally! When you started singing, the whole place was like “I’ve been waiting for this!”
Kohane
They were, huh. I’m really glad.
An
I mean, maybe I’m super proud of you too ‘cause you’re my partner?
An
I had the thought, “Man, I really am proud to call Kohane my partner!”
Kohane
Ehehe… You’re making me blush…
An
--But seriously, I really mean it!
Kohane
Eh?
An
You’re a partner I can take pride in!
An
But that’s not all-- Akito, Toya, even all of Vivid Street knows how amazing you are.
An
Just look at today, everyone in the audience was so pumped up, right?
An
Although I do get why you’d worry about what people say.
An
You really should have some more confidence in yourself!
Kohane
...Yeah.
Kohane
You’re right. It’s just like you said. Thanks for cheering me on, An-chan.
Kohane
...Hey, An-chan. Can I ask one thing?
An
Sure! What’s up?
Kohane
How exactly do I get more confident in myself?
An
...Eh?
Kohane
I practise so much, but I never get to the place where I think “This is good enough”...
An
How to get self-confidence, huh…
An
…I’ve never really thought about it before. I guess I thought it came hand-in-hand with working your hardest.
An
Hmm… How do you get more self-confidence?
MEIKO
Oh, now those are some looks on your faces, you two.
Kohane
Ah, MEIKO-san.
MEIKO
Here, two cafe laits, as requested.
MEIKO
So-- is there anything else you want to order?
— Some time later —
MEIKO
The way to self-confidence… I see.
MEIKO
Haven’t you ever felt confident doing something before, Kohane?
Kohane
Umm… Have I…?
Kohane
Right before a test, I get paranoid that I won’t do well, so I’ll end up going over my notes a bunch of times.
Kohane
I can take care of Count Pearl without worrying, but I feel like that’s a bit different than being confident about it…
Kohane
Oh, I can show people around Phoenix Wonderland--!
Kohane
...But still, rather than confidence, that’s probably just me wanting to do it because I love it.
An
Then-- How about when you were little? You could probably think of a time when you were a kid that you felt confident, right?
Kohane
When I was little…
Kohane
...I can’t think of anything else. Back then, I struggled to challenge anything at all.
Kohane
--Once, when I was in elementary school, my friends invited me to come play tree climbing with them.
An
Tree climbing?
Kohane
Yeah. And then, everyone slowly climbed higher and higher, but…
Kohane
I couldn’t do it. All I could think about was, “What if I fall? What if I can’t get back down again?”
Kohane
Everyone climbed higher and higher, but I got scared, and all I could do was stand at the bottom of the tree…
MEIKO
...
Kohane
Stuff like that happened a lot. With running races, and with petting the neighbourhood dogs, I was the only one who couldn’t do it.
Kohane
My friends around me would tell me, “It’s okay if you can’t manage it, Kohane-chan”, but…
Kohane
...But, deep down, I would just think, “I can’t do anything well like everyone else can”.
Kohane
I was always the one looking up at everyone from the ground, at the bottom of the tree. --Something like that.
An
--That’s not true!
An
I don’t know everything there is to know about you yet, but… I think your singing is incredible, Kohane.
An
So you don’t need to go thinking that you can't do anything.
Kohane
Thanks, An-chan.
Kohane
But everyone is so good at singing, and you’re all so cool, too…
Kohane
So I just want to be able to sing as cool as you all do.
MEIKO
Kohane-chan, you’re the type of person that’s got a knack for seeing the good things in others, aren’t you?
Kohane
Eh?
MEIKO
I think being able to pick up on and identify the good things about others is a wonderful thing.
MEIKO
But-- I think it wouldn’t hurt to turn that eye more towards yourself every now and then, don’t you?
MEIKO
To see the good things about yourself.
Kohane
Ah…
Kohane
Maybe this is what he meant about having an eye for myself…
An
I think so, Kohane. I know you think you can’t sing like the rest of us can.
An
But we can’t sing like you can, either.
Kohane
An-chan…
Kohane
Thank you.
Kohane
I’m still not sure what having self-confidence feels like, but…
Kohane
I’m gonna do my best to try and have some more faith in myself!
An
...Awesome!