It was the afternoon of the next day. Shizuka was at the cafe, wondering about the new hire who was said to come. Although no date was told as of yet, she was still quite curious as to who this person was. If she was someone the owner trusted, she had to be a good person. At least, she hoped so. She didn't know about being friends with this person, but at the very least, she would like to get to know her.
"Shizuka-chan. Time to switch with me," Marina said as she approached her ward.
Shizuka snapped out of her thoughts at those words and nodded at her.
"You can take a proper break," Marina told her. "I heard from Ran. You've been working in the stage during your break. You need some proper rest. The mini live is in a couple of days, and I need all hands on deck."
Shizuka could only nod in understanding, as she made her way into CiRCLE. As she walked in, the mute wondered what how to spend her free time, when she faintly heard some ruckus in one of the studios. Specifically, the very studio PoPiPa and Roselia were using for their joint practice.
'It couldn't be... Another argument?' she assumed, peeking into the crack made at the door.
"The bass was a little behind on that last part," Yukina said to PoPiPa.
"S-Sorry!" Rimi apologized.
"Let's try it one more time!" Kasumi told her band, as they started to play a song from the beginning.
Meanwhile, the rest of Roselia stood back as they watched their vocalist train the other band.
"Th-This is... wow..." Ako could only say.
"Y-Yes... Yukina-san... is really strict..." Rinko stated.
"This kind of feels like a boot camp than a group practice session..." Lisa said.
Shizuka was inclined to believe in those words, especially considering how professional Roselia is compared to the other bands. Yet, despite the intense training, PoPiPa were going through the regime with smiles on their faces. Well, most of them were.
"Yukina. Giving them an intensive is good and all, but go easy on them, okay?" Lisa then said.
"That wasn't my intention..." Yukina said.
"How about a quick break? I feel bad having you teach us nonstop," Saya suggested.
"It's fine. It's wonderful that you have the will to improve yourselves," Sayo commented.
Hearing this baffled Shizuka. PoPiPa actually asked for this?
"I have to say though, you're really good at the guitar," Tae complimented Sayo.
"... Thank you. In my opinion, I still have a long way to go, mind you," Sayo retorted.
"Oh, come on~ These cute little 1st graders are being sweet. You could just say thanks, you know~" Lisa teased.
"I'm not being obstinate; I honestly feel that way."
"You're amazing, Sayo-senpai. What made you want to practice so hard?" Kasumi asked.
Sayo took a moment before answering, "Technique is everything."
"It's everything?" Rimi repeated questionably.
"We only believe in the absolute. And technique is an absolute standard in which one can be evaluated. That's why we refine our skills," Yukina explained.
"Hmm... This is kind of hard to follow," Kasumi groaned.
Arisa sighed at those words. "I knew you were going to say that."
"Did you understand, Arisa?"
The keyboardist then flinched at the question and stuttered, "O-Of course I did!"
'Lies...' Shizuka thought.
"You can decide if someone is good at their instrument or not regardless of your musical preferences, right? We want to mark our place with absolute technical skills, regardless of who it is that listens to us. And in order to be evaluated that way, we must continue to heighten out technical ability," Sayo explained even further.
"That's true. I think anyone who hears Roselia would agree they have amazing technique," Rimi stated, in which Shizuka could agree with.
"It is a rationalize way of looking at it," Arisa said.
"Is music meant to be a rationalized thing?" Tae asked. "Skilled or not, I feel like the desire to play makes your body move on its own."
Shizuka couldn't argue against that either. Every time she heard any of the five bands play, she had this urge to pick up a guitar and play along.
"We have a goal. And this approach is the most optimal way to achieve that goal," Sayo told her.
"What's the goal Roselia is aiming for?" Kasumi asked.
"It's... not something that needs to be said here," Yukina answered, piquing PoPiPa's interest even more.
"Let's just say we have our reasons, okay?" Lisa ended.
"Um... Does Poppin'Party have... a goal or anything like that?" Rinko asked.
Before Kasumi could answer, Ako turned to the door and saw Shizuka there. "Ah! Shizuka!"
At her call, the mute flinched and moved away from the door, but all of Roselia and PoPiPa turned to it.
"Eh? Shizu-chan?" Kasumi repeated.
Aware that this was a situation she couldn't escape from, Shizuka pushed the door open and waved to the two bands.
"Ah! It really is Shizuka-chan! Hi there!" Lisa greeted.
"What brings you here, Suzuki-san?" Sayo asked.
"There was a gap at the door, and I was going to check and see if the lock was broken," Shizuka lied. She couldn't tell them she overheard their whole conversation. For all she knew, it could spell trouble for her.
"Hm? A gap?" Arisa asked.
"Ah. I guess I didn't fully close the door..." Rimi said.
Shizuka went through with her lie and checked the lock. She then pulled on the door, closing it shut. She gave it a little wiggle, confirming the locked door, and quickly made her leave.
"Hey, Shizu-chan!" Oh so she had hoped, when Kasumi unlocked and bursted out the door. "Why don't you stay and listen to us play for a bit?"
"Huh?" the rest of PoPiPa and Roselia breathed out.
"Wait a second, Kasumi. You can't just ask her that," Arisa told her.
"Why not? If she's away from the cafe, then she's on break now, right?" Kasumi asked. "This is a good time for her to listen to us~!"
"You don't even know if she is on break or if she's doing something else..." To Shizuka, she then said, "Ah, Suzuki-san. You don't need to mind Kasumi. I'm sure you're busy with something else, right?"
Shizuka slowly shook her head in response.
"Eh? You're not? Then you really are on break?"
The mute lightly shrugged her shoulders with a light smile on her face.
"See? What'd I tell you~?" Kasumi said to Arisa.
"Well, yes. Okay, sure. But you couldn't ask Roselia if it really is okay to have her with us? For all we know, they may mind there being a spectator with us," she said.
"Actually, this is a good timing," Yukina spoke. "I want to talk to her about Roselia's performance for the mini live."
"You're going to ask her that now while she's on break?" Lisa questioned.
"Of course. The earlier we get preparations done, the better Roselia's performance will be."
"Wow... You really do have such high bars set for yourselves, don't you?" Saya said in slight amazement.
"Of course. It's to be expected as we wish to achieve our goal," Sayo explained.
"I see... So that's how serious you are," Tae said in understanding.
"Oh! I have a great idea~!" Kasumi sang out.
"I've a bad feeling about this..." Arisa muttered.
"How about we continue our joint practice at the stage?" The suggestion caught everyone off guard.
"I knew you were going to say something weird, but that one is way past that!"
"I mean, if Roselia wanted to talk to Shizu-chan about their plan for the mini live, wouldn't it be better to talk about it in front of the stage? And we can continue practice there, too, and get a good feel of what the stage will be like~!"
"Ah, I see... Basically after all that playing, you want to play on stage for real this time," Arisa translated.
Kasumi flinched slightly at the accurate guess. "Ehehe... You found me out?"
"But is it even okay?" Rinko asked. "I'm sure the stage... is in the midst of preparations..."
"Rinko-senpai is right," Rimi agreed. "Wouldn't we get in the way?"
"Then we can help her out with that~!" Kasumi then suggested, surprising them all even more. "It's our live, after all. It's the least we can do aside from practice."
"Now that you mentioned it, I heard from Hagumi that she, Kaoru-san, Aya-senpai, and Maya-san helped clean up the stage hall after they were done with joint practice," Saya pointed out.
"Really?! That sounds nice. I want to help out, too," Ako said.
"Eh? The stage is already set up?" came Tae's voice.
Everyone turned and saw the lead guitarist of PoPiPa reading Shizuka's message with Lisa.
"Wow. You really work quick, don't you?" the bassist of Roselia said. "Then, is it okay if we take a little looksie~?"
The mute looked down in thought for a moment and nodded in confirmation.
"For real?! Awesome~!" Lisa then turned to the rest of the two bands. "Hey, she said we can check out the stage."
"Really?! All right~!" Kasumi cheered.
"All right~! This dark empress sorceress Ako would also like to see the place befitting for our melody of eternal darkness!" Ako exclaimed... quite dramatically. She then turned to Rinko and asked, "... How was that, Rin-rin? Was it cool?"
"Yes... It was really cool," Rinko answered.
"'Melody of eternal darkness'?" Rimi repeated in a questioned tone.
"Ahaha. Tomoe told me Ako-chan was like this. I guess nothing has changed," Saya said.
"Come on, come on! Take us to the stage~!" Kasumi insisted Shizuka, as she grabbed the mute's hand and dragged her to the basement.
"Wait, Kasumi! Why are you dragging her to the stage?!" Arisa questioned, as she and the rest of PoPiPa rushed after the pair.
Roselia looked at each other for a moment before following suite.
******
When they heard that the stage was already prepared for the mini live, they didn't know what to expect. If they didn't know any better, the place seemed more ready for the real event.
"You... did all this?" Lisa asked, in which Shizuka nodded to in response.
"This is the first time I was asked to prepare for a mini-live, but I had helped set up for big events. Is this too much?" she asked in writing.
"No, this is good! Just looking at this stage makes my heart pound and sparkly~!" Kasumi answered.
"Is that suppose to answer the question?" Arisa question.
"If this is how the stage looks for the mini-live, I wonder how it will look on the day of the event," Lisa said.
"Indeed. If this is what you've decided for the small show we'll be doing, the real event has to be even better," Yukina stated. "Are you truly devoted enough for that?"
Shizuka felt something in her pull at the question, something she didn't think she would ever had to feel again. Having been asked that question was practically the same as telling Shizuka she was to handle everything for their upcoming performance. And the mute... absolutely hated it... Of course, she knew better than to ever even express such feeling, as she simply gave Yukina a smile and nod.
There was something about the response that the vocalist of Roselia found odd. Rather than be concerned about it, though, Yukina let the matter slide and accepted the response.
"Hey, Kasumi! I don't think you're suppose to be up there yet!" Arisa called.
Her shout grabbed the others' attention, as they all looked and saw PoPiPa's vocalist/guitarist stand on stage in front of the mic.
"But looking at this stage made me want to play~! Can't we take the time for an early rehearsal? Come on, Arisa~!" she reasoned.
"Why are you complaining to only me?!" the twin-tailed keyboardist questioned.
Saya let out a small laugh at this. "Sorry about our band member," she apologized to Shizuka and Roselia, the former who was writing on her notepad.
"It's fine. If anything, it shows how dedicated she is to performing," Yukina said.
Once the mute was done writing, she handed the book to Saya to read aloud.
"Hm? 'Actually, this is a good timing. I have an idea for the lighting and sound for the bands and would like to get that finalized as soon as possible.' Wait, really?" the drummer asked.
"But we didn't send requests for Poppin'Party's performance," Rimi recalled, as Saya returned the notepad to its owner.
"I went ahead and thought of some ideas based on the songs you played," Shizuka wrote.
"Eh? Our songs?"
Shizuka nodded in response. "That's why, if possible, I would like you all to resume your practice here for today," she then wrote.
"Hey! Let's check it out," Kasumi suggested to her band. "Shizu-chan has time anyway. Let's see her ideas for our show!"
"You're saying that because you want to play, don't you?" Arisa muttered.
"Yukina, what do you think we should do?" Lisa asked.
"I was planning on asking her about the setup for Roselia's performance anyway. It makes no difference if we help Poppin'Party improve on their performance while we're at it," she said. "Besides, this is our stage. As such, we can at the very least help Poppin'Party with their part as well."
"That's a nice thing to say, Yukina," Lisa said, a bit taken aback by the second half of the response. "The old you would never have said that."
Yukina blushed at that. "Is that so...?"
"So that means you'll teach us more, right? Right?! Yay~!" Kasumi cheered.
"Don't tell me we're going back to boot camp..." Arisa groaned.
"I will use our lessons together as a process to refine my technique even more," Sayo said.
"Oh man..."
"L-Let's do our best... on our keyboards..." Rinko stuttered in an attempt to cheer Arisa up.
"Okay, guys! Let's do it~! Yay~!" Kasumi exclaimed.
******
After the joint practice and stage testing, Roselia and PoPiPa had called it a day and left CiRCLE. The two bands were pleased with Shizuka's backup during rehearsal and looked forward to the upcoming mini live. The mute herself was still in the stage hall, reviewing her notes in regards to both bands' performance.
A knock was heard out the door, followed by a call. "Shizuka-chan! Are you in here?" Marina asked. She then opened the door and saw the girl there by the equipments. "Ah. There you are. What are you doing in here?"
Shizuka showed Marina her notes for Roselia and PoPiPa's show, and pointed to the stage.
"Oh! Kasumi-chan told me you were helping them out. I thought it was just with advice, though," she said. "You really did a good job with the stage. Though it's a bit much for a mini live. Well, all it means is that we have to make the real show more flashy than this one, so it's not really much of a problem. So wait... Did you take a break?"
Shizuka made a gesture for 'little', but Marina could tell that she didn't. She knew of her ward's previous circumstance, and knew that said circumstance had really made its mark onto the teen.
"Shizuka-chan... I know you're doing your best to make this event a success, but you really can take a step back and relax now," she assured. "You're not the only one working to make this a success. I'm the manager, so it's a given that I help out, and Kasumi-chan and the others are helping out, too. You're not the only one working on this."
Shizuka wanted to believe in Marina, truly she did. But after what she had experienced, she knew better than to just take it easy, as her guardian had wished. Despite this, she also didn't want to worry Marina, and only nodded in false agreement.
"Good... Now then, the mini live is drawing near. I think I'll have you take the day off tomorrow," the manager then said, much to the silent part-timer's shock. "You've already done so much the past couple of weeks. Especially these past several days. If I let you come to work tomorrow, I doubt you'll take a nice break as you should. Take tomorrow to rest up, do whatever you want. Now that I think about it, your room is looking quite bland for a teenage girl. Buy whatever you want for your room; decorate it a little."
When Marina said those things, Shizuka was reminded that she truly was nothing like her previous foster families, something that she was glad about, as she happily nodded at the offer.
Marina nodded back, happy that her ward was going to take the day off. Sure, she was glad to receive such great assistance, but the adult knew Shizuka still had her own needs as a normal teenager. One of them being education, in which the woman really needed to remind herself to get the forms done for.
"Okay then! Now, let's go home. I'm in a mood for some pizza. How about you?" Marina asked, in which Shizuka nodded in response to.