< Awakening Beat | Story
Chapter 5: Courage to Step Forward
踏み出す勇気 (? (edit))
踏み出す勇気 (? (edit))
Character appearances:
Kohane's Room
Kohane
(Gaining confidence…)
Kohane
(I said I’d give it a shot-- but I just don’t know how, or where I should start.)
Kohane
(Umm… Maybe I’ll try looking it up. “How to be more confident”, there…)
Kohane
Try chanting “I’ve got this” several times?
Kohane
I-I wonder if that’ll really work…
Kohane
...No! I’ve gotta try anything I can!
Kohane
I’ve got this. I got this, I got this, I got this…!
Kohane
Yeah, just this alone won’t do anything for me…
WEEKEND GARAGE
An
Hmmmmmm……
An's Father
What’s got you lying across a table like that, An?
An
I mean, I just can’t come up with like, any ideas at all!
An's Father
Ideas?
An
I wanna help Kohane be more confident, see.
An
But how do I do that, exactly? It’s not like I ever studied up on how to be confident.
An
I’ve never really thought I was super self confident either, but...
An
When I’m singing onstage, I get this feeling like “I’m gonna hype up the crowd the best they’ve ever seen!”, so there’s that.
An's Father
Haha, it’s true, you’ve always been that kinda kid.
An
Come on, you said the same thing whenever you were onstage too
An
...Wait, maybe that’s actually the feeling of “being confident” Kohane was talking about?
An's Father
Who knows.
An's Father
Have you asked Akito or Toya about it yet? They’re your teammates, aren’t they?
An
Oh, you’re right…! I’ll try giving them a call!
An
Hey, Akito? I wanna ask you for some advice--
The Next Day
Kohane
Hey guys.
An
Welcome in, Kohane! Come on, take a seat!
Akito
Hey, you made it. Alrighty then, let’s start the meeting.
Kohane
Sure! What’re we talking about toda…
Kohane
Ah. Those flyers, are they for a new event?
An
Yep, we were just talking about ‘em! You take a look too.
Kohane
Eh, this is… STAY GOLD!?
Kohane
They’re doing another event!?
Toya
Yeah. STAY GOLD is a regularly held event, after all. It’s almost time for them to hold it again.
Kohane
STAY GOLD again…
Flashback
Kohane
(H, huh… why is this…? It’s not going as well as it did in rehearsal…)
Kohane
(Oh right, if everyone’s this fired up and cheering together, I can’t hear the other’s voices as well…!)
Kohane
(What do I do? At this rate, I…!)
Flash
MC
Tonight’s winners are-- EVER!
MC
The best and most energetic performance of the night by far!
An & Kohane
...
End flashback
Kohane
(...The event from back then…)
Akito
Turns out, the current reigning champions, EVER, are gonna be competing again this time.
Akito
EVER’s vocals are high-level, but if it’s the current us, we could even beat them.
Toya
On top of that, it’ll help us measure our skill level as we are now. It’s worth competing even for the participation alone.
An
Also, I talked this over with Akito and Toya earlier, and we thought it could be a great chance.
Kohane
Chance?
Akito
We’ve already done this event once before, haven’t we? And it’s ‘cause of that event that our reputation took such a dip.
Kohane
...Right.
Akito
--But, if we win the event this time around, that’ll boost your confidence big time, won’t it.
Kohane
Ah…!
Toya
I think so too. Having confidence is tied to positive experiences of success, after all.
Akito
There ain’t no need to force yourself to get confident quick-- But if it’s botherin’ ya, there’s some merit to be had by givin’ it a shot.
An
So that’s why we thought we’d enter the event, but what do you think?
Kohane
Guys…
Kohane
(Everyone’s been thinking so hard about how to help me be more confident.)
Kohane
(In that case-- I can’t go getting scared now.)
Kohane
(I’m not just gonna hang back and look on this time… I wanna climb this tree, together with everyone!)
Kohane
...Yeah!
Kohane
I wanna enter STAY GOLD!
Akito
Great, then it’s settled. I’ll send in the application for us.
Toya
Right. We’ll leave it to you, Akito.
Kohane
(At this point, I should be fine…! I’ve practised so much, after all!)
Kohane
(...This time, we’ve gotta win together!)
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Street SEKAI
An
So, without further ado--
An
Let us begin our Special ST Plan to take on STAY GOLD!
Rin
Yaaay!!
Len
ST Plan tiiime!!
Toya
Shiraishi, “ST Plan” is an abbreviation of “Special Training Plan”. If you say it’s a “Special ST Plan”, that means you’re saying “Special Special Training Pla--"
An
Aahh, Toya! You don’t have to point that out! The important thing about the ST Plan is to get everyone hyped up, like, “We’re gonna be doing some awesome practise starting now, woo!”
Toya
...I suppose I can see your point there.
Akito
You think? Well, whatever…
Kohane
We’re definitely gonna win…!
Akito
Welp, she’s not as bad as this plank of wood right here, at least.
Toya
Azusawa, it’s good that you’re enthusiastic, but try relaxing your shoulders a bit. You’re a bit tense.
Kohane
Ah, o-okay!
Miku
Alright then, you wanted us to listen to your singing and give you all feedback, right?
An
Yep! You’re always hearing us sing, but I want you to go especially hard on us today!
Miku
Fufu. Leave it to me.
KAITO
Maaan, this is gonna be fun! I’m excited to try being a critic, aren’t you, Meiko?
MEIKO
I can’t see you giving them anything but full marks.
An
Okay then, let’s get started! Everyone ready?
Kohane
--Yeah!