Arc-2 Ep-31

 “Aaaah! I messed up again~!”

“Uuu… It’s, it’s really hard…”

“If we can pull it off, it’ll look absolutely amazing, though.” 

My wish went unanswered; the choreography that came from the choreographer was far more difficult than expected. The choreographer had apparently prepared a toned-down version just in case it proved impossible, with the condition that we could switch if it was too hard.

But that seemed to ignite everyone else’s rebellious spirit, and all of them except me insisted on going with the original choreography no matter what. I personally thought the easier one would be just fine, but the atmosphere didn’t allow me to say that out loud.

As a result, all of the sixth-generation members are currently struggling.

“Guh! …Th-this feels like it’s deliberately trying to confuse us, doesn’t it?”

“I can feel the malice trying to make us mess up…”

“B-but if we all nail it perfectly, it’ll be something incredible!”

We’ve completely set singing aside and are focusing solely on the dance now. If we had enough time, we could probably manage it eventually, but with the deadline being the mini-live before the album release, it’s questionable whether we’ll make it.

“…We’ll have to call it at a certain point, okay?”

“Sa, Sachiko-san!?”

At Taneyama-san’s words, Shion-san let out a protesting cry.

“There’s no helping it, right? Time is limited.”

“W-well, that’s true, but…”

“How about we treat the mini-live performance as a provisional version, and keep working on the one we’re practicing now without giving up?”

Honestly doubting we’d finish by the deadline, I proposed a compromise. With eight of us, there’s bound to be at least one person who can’t master it. By the way, I can already dance this choreography without any issues.

Of course, that’s only because I’m concentrating on this one song; if we have to perform several songs before it, stamina becomes questionable.

“That sounds good. I think that’s the best option.”

“…It’s frustrating, but I guess there’s no choice.”

“We’ll still need practice time for the easier version too…”

Everyone looked disappointed, but they seemed to understand. That whether we’d make it in time for the mini-live the week before the CD release was uncertain.

“I want to perform it properly by the summer Reitaisai… That’s the last time we can perform as a sixth-generation group.”

“…Yeah.”

“There’s less than half a year left…”

Once the August Reitaisai is over, the current sixth-generation position will be taken over by the seventh generation. We’ll probably start taking separate paths from then on. The members who stay in the mini-live group won’t be completely alone, but still.

“When you think about it that way, you really want to make it happen by then~”

“Yes. We have about five months left, right?”

“This time we’ll go with the easier version, but let’s work hard to be able to do the original choreography as soon as possible!”

I could feel everyone’s motivation rising even higher, but there truly wasn’t much time left. We settled on prioritizing the simplified version first and unveiling the full version later.

“Then let’s continue practice. Even this one isn’t exactly easy.”

“Yes! Matsuzono-san.”

“Understood.”

“Roger that.”

At the sixth-generation assistant manager’s words, we resumed practice with the choreography that had the difficulty of the hardest sections reduced.

Sure enough, even on its own, this version would be considered difficult, but thanks to everything we’d gone through so far, practice progressed smoothly.

◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆

“Good evening, everyone~! I’m Shion Owada, leader of Sistema Solare’s sixth generation!”

“Uoooooh!!!!”

“Shion~~!!”

This Saturday night’s mini-live had a completely irregular structure compared to usual. Normally, the two senior groups would each perform a few songs first, then we’d take the middle slot and sing a few songs before our main appearance was over.

After that, the two senior groups would each sing a few more songs, and finally everyone, including us, would line up on stage, wave with smiles, and the mini-live would end. But this time, because they wanted to unveil the three new songs included on the album coming out next week consecutively, our turn order changed drastically.

First, one senior group performs a few songs, then unveils the new song “Zavijava,” after which we take the stage and perform “Minelauva.” The sixth generation leaves after one song, then the other senior group unveils “Porrima” and continues with a few more songs.

After that, each group that appeared performs a few songs in order, and it ends the usual way with everyone on stage.

That’s the flow.

In other words, normally once we finished our set, we were done as performers, but this time we have two separate appearances.

“—The new song we’re about to perform is also included on the new album CD coming out next week.”

“In other words, this is an advance release.”

“Please consider purchasing it!”

“Please buy it♪”

“Buy lots and lots♪”

“Hey, Miku~ What are you saying~”

Using the calculated coquettish gestures that captivate men, I asked them to buy multiple copies. Since that was ad-libbed, I was glad Yuuna-san jumped in with a retort.

“Ahaha!!”

“Of course we’ll buy it~!!”

“Mikuri-chaaan!!!”

The reaction from the fans in the audience was great too. Being a genuine beautiful girl really is an advantage.

“Jeez… Nn! Well then, please listen… Minelauva.”

◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆

What we performed was the simplified choreography version. Even so, the fans who didn’t know a full version existed seemed to love it. Well, since we only simplified the truly difficult parts, even this version is still a high-level dance.

“Kyaaaa!!”

“Nozomin~~!!”

“Mikuri~~!!!”

Receiving huge cheers from over a thousand fans feels amazing. My fellow members all have flushed, smiling faces as they wave back to the fans swinging penlights and cyalumes.

“Thank you for listening~~!!”

“It comes out next week~~!!”

“Now we sixth-generation members will leave the stage for a bit.”

“““Ehhh~!?”””

At Shion-san’s words, loud complaints rose from the audience. Normally, we perform at least four songs in a row, so they must be confused by the difference.

“Don’t worry. We’ll have another turn later.”

“Today and tomorrow are irregular because of the CD release next week.”

“Which means the next song will also be from the new album CD.”

“This one’s a great song too, so please listen♪”

“And please buy it♪”

“I’ll buy iiiit!!!!”

“I’m buying! Miku~~~!!”

When I made one last purchase request, the enthusiastic fans responded perfectly. The fans who come to mini-lives are the dedicated type, so the more we promote, the more copies they seem likely to buy.

“…Well then, Chie and the rest of us will be going now.”

“See you again soon.”

“Wait for us♪”

“Bye-bye~”

Basking in applause and cheers, we exited smiling toward the stage-left wings.

A short break until our next turn.