Days passed since the formation of Outcast, and it was finally the day of the Girls Band Party. In the time that passed, the collab band got their song down perfectly- save for the missing lyrics- the snack team made their final decision on the treats and drinks to be sold, and the advertising team spread word around town about their event. Not only that, but after much thought and seeing how hard Guren and Shizuka were working at CiRCLE in addition to working on their first song as a band, as well as how the other band girls were helping out around the live house, Kohaku and the Wada twins decided to help out around the event as well.
This was especially good for Guren, as it meant having the chief of police's daughter keeping a close eye on her when she goes out on Marina's errands, saving her from whatever accusations she will get herself caught in. Specifically if she meets up with a certain cop while she was out.
... A meeting that dreadfully happened... Had it not been for Kohaku being there, Guren would've been arrested on false charges- again- and cause unwanted problems for CiRCLE.
As for the half-twins, when the other girls found out about their lending assistance, at first, they were quite worried about them, especially Hitomi. However, as time went on, the girls gradually came to accept them as staff members of the live house. Miu was one thing, but the mixed band was especially impressed by Hitomi's chromesthesia. In fact, it was thanks to her assistance that they managed to get the song done perfectly.
And now, the day of the party has finally come, as Shizuka and the snack team got to work on setting up the treats and refreshments at the cafe, and Guren, Kohaku, and the Wada sisters made one final check up on the stage. Once everything was set up, the bands all arrived, and everyone got changed into their event uniforms.
"Here it is, the main event..." Marina began. "It really went by so quickly, huh. It's gone so well so far, I hope our luck continues..."
"If it doesn't, then I'm sorry," Guren said, already predicting something to happen because of her curse.
"Hey, don't go apologizing for something you didn't do," Kohaku told her. "Besides, you don't know if anything will happen."
"No... Somehow I feel like... Nah, maybe you're right... Although..." Guren looked around the area. Out of everyone present, there were several people who were absent. One 'band' that was absent. "Where's Pastel*Parrots? They should be here by now."
"You mean 'Pastel*Palettes', don't you?" Arisa corrected in a low mutter.
"Chisato-san sent an email a little earlier," Tae said. "Apparently, they got caught up with a bit of work, but they should arrive in time for the show."
"Really? Then we might need to rearrange the schedule a bit, won't we?" Miu asked.
"I'm not sure if that's possible, given that each band already handed in their respective setlist based on the order they were to appear in," Hitomi pointed out.
"Even if we can make do with that, what of the rehearsal?" Sayo added.
"I've been listening to everyone's practice the past several days, and I even visited Pastel*Parrots' agency while they were practicing the other day. They sound good enough to me," Guren informed.
"You have no intention in memorizing our band names, do you?" Misaki asked, noticing the trouble-prone hire purposely messing up on the name, as she had with the other band names.
"In any case, if Sakura-san claims them to be good enough to perform, then all is well," Sayo stated.
"Someone's got high expectations for you," Kohaku joked.
"Who do you think has been helping these girls with their collab song?" Guren retorted with a smirk. "In any case, we may need to make changes to the timetable. Not to mention the setlist, as well. The second to go is Afterglow, right? Let's see if we can readjust the songs you'll be playing. Unless if you absolutely want to stick to your original setup."
"We need to make this live a success, don't we? Let's see what we can do," Ran agreed.
"So basically, Afterglow and Pastel＊Palettes will have their times switched. There shouldn't be any problems with the performances, right?" Tae asked.
"Right."
"Okay then. We'll just go over a few of the details, then we can split back up for band rehearsals," Sayo suggested, in which everyone agreed on.
"You're good at this organizing stuff, huh, Hikawa-senpai. I could learn a thing or two," Tomoe commented.
"Maybe it's because I'm on the student body. I'm just glad I can be of help."
"Huh... Well, I think it's great."
"Come on, you two. There's not much time to waste here. Hurry to rehearsal," Miu told them.
"Right!" Tomoe responded, heading straight inside the live house with Sayo in tow.
"We need to do our part, too," Marina told her staff members. "Okay, girls. Time to get to work!"
"Yeah!"
******
Time later, rehearsals were done, and the Outcasts were done manning the cafe and handling the customers. The latter group were all in the concert hall, waiting anxiously for the event show to start.
Meanwhile, in the dressing room, the band girls were getting pumped up for the show.
"The show's almost starting...! My heart's really starting to race!" Kasumi explained.
"There are a lot of people in the audience, too. Ooh, I'm getting nervous..." Rimi said.
"You'll be fine. All we need to do is share our feelings with everyone and share our smiles with everyone. It's as simple as that," Tae simply assured.
"Is that truly how it works?" Miu asked, in the dressing room with the rest of the Outcasts.
"Well, if that's what it takes to get her to calm down," Guren answered.
"Everyone, good luck!" Shizuka wrote on her sketchbook, in which a few saw.
"Sure thing. Thanks, Shizuka~" Lisa thanked.
Just when all seems to be going well, however, Marina suddenly barged into the room. "We have trouble!"
"Wah! That's a surprise!" Kasumi cried out.
"Marina-san? What's wrong?" Yukina asked.
"I just got in touch with Pastel*Palettes. They said they're stuck in a traffic and will be arriving a little later than expected."
This news shocked the girls. "Huh?!"
"Wait a second, they'll be that late?!" Ako repeated with a gasp.
"But we already have the setlist and timetable finalized now. Making any more changes will confuse things," Ran stated.
"Can we keep the crowd waiting a little longer?" Kanon asked.
"That's not possible. It's almost time for the live to start," Guren answered. "Even if we can keep them waiting, it's not like we can test their patience for long."
"Then what do we do?!" Arisa asked.
"How about we do a small performance?" Kokoro suggested. "Like juggling or backflips, or even some dancing!"
"K-Kokoro! It's not a good idea to do all of that!" Michelle told her.
"Besides, we can't afford to make any more sudden changes in our setlist," Yukina added.
"Then, is there really nothing we can do?" Rimi asked.
Everyone was in thought at the question, wondering how things can be fixed at this rate. Guren was just as troubled; she knew how important a set list can be, if they want to be able to control the crowd's excitement. Should they go off rails and have someone else play a song, it may mess up the flow of the other bands, especially as they would need time to prepare a new set list depending on the song used and when their missing band will arrive.
'But at the same time, we can't afford to keep the crowd waiting for practically nothing,' Guren thought, grimacing at the situation at hand.
"What if we perform?" came Kohaku's voice, prompting all eyes to turn to her in surprise.
"'Perform'? You?" Sayo asked.
"Not me; Miu, Hitomi, Shizuka, and Guren, too. What if we be the surprise opening act?"
To say they were surprised at the suggestion would be an understatement, especially for a good majority of the group.
"Eh?! You don't need to force yourselves to!" Himari exclaimed.
"She's right! Even if you guys are CiRCLE's staff, you're not a band," Tomoe said.
"As Udagawa-san said, even if you do offer your assistance, this problem is something we need to solve as bands," Yukina agreed and stated. "You don't need to feel responsible for this happening in any way."
"Except we're not," Hitomi spoke that time. "We even have a song ready. If we add in a cover song, it should be enough time for Pastel Palette to arrive."
"Even so... what about instruments? You don't have your own instruments here," Saaya asked, in a tone that felt a bit suspicious to Guren.
"We can use the rentals, can't we?" Miu suggested, increasing the bands' surprise. "Since we're the opening act, I don't think anyone would care much if we use those. Furthermore, it is not as though this will be our official debut as a band."
"No, since we will be performing on stage as a band, it will definitely count as a debut," Hitomi corrected.
"Oh, really?"
"But... What about Guren?" Lisa asked then. "Isn't your arm still recovering? Are you sure you can play in that condition?"
Growing more suspicious with the tone used, the keyboardist answered, "You're asking that now, when I have been doing some lifting around in the live house, and when my cast is removed? While the cut itself recently closed up completely, it's really nothing. If anything, I'm already close to making a full recovery anyway. Playing some notes won't delay it."
"Well, yeah, but..."
"Can you please stop talking nonsense?" Sayo spoke then. "While I understand you all have good intentions in wanting to help, this is a real event. Moreover this is CiRCLE's first event. As such it must start and end in a success. Improvising on the go is one thing, but relying on further outside help is out of question. Even more so if that help may accidentally do more harm than good."
"'Do more harm'?! Wait, what do you mean 'outside help'?!" Kohaku questioned. "We've been assisting you girls in preparing for the event. You don't need to act this way towards us."
"I'm only saying it as is. There is only so much staff members can do, but filling in for a band is not one of them. This is especially true in the case of half of you. Hitomi-san out of the way, there is no way you can pull off such a performance."
It was then, Guren's eyes widened when she heard those words escape Sayo's mouth. Adding on to the expressions she was seeing on some of the girls in the room, she finally realized why Saya and Lisa's words and tone sounded quite off to her.
'They don't believe we have what it takes...'
It was mentioned earlier that Guren did not like people accusing others of various things, especially when it comes to music. When she saw how accepting these girls were of her despite knowing full well of her curse, as well as how they acted towards Shizuka and the rest of their band, she thought these girls were truly good at heart, despite how some of them act. Seeing how these same girls were acting now, though? How hesitant they were about letting them help stall for time for Pastel*Palettes to arrive?
'I thought they were different from everyone else... How stupid could I be to ever think that,' the trouble-prone girl thought.
"Look, in any case, we'll just have to rearrange the order of the bands. It is our own fault for not taking into full consideration of the fact that Pastel*Palettes is an idol band from a professional company, as well as consideration of there being some kind of hold up on the day of the event," Sayo suggested.
"That's true. Even though we agreed on Afterglow switching their time with them, I don't know if you can stall the audience for long enough?" Michelle asked.
"I don't know about stalling them, but we will give them a hot-blooded performance," Tomoe said.
"Yeah, we'll try to buy as much time as possible," Tsugumi agreed.
"That might not work, though," Miu interrupted. "Besides, even if you do decide to change the setlist now, what about the pamphlets we gave out to the customers? Isn't the timetable for the show printed on them? The audience will get confused if you keep messing around with your setlist. Amongst other things."
"That's something for us to worry about," Yukina answered. "In any case, we'll be taking responsibility for this happening. You staff members do your best to support us as you've always had."
"But we can help!" Kohaku insisted. "Like you said, we're staff members of CiRCLE, and we're also a band of our own! If we can just do a bit of ab-libing-"
"How many times do we have to say it to be clear?!" Sayo questioned. "I will be frank; in an event as important as this, where failure is not an option, people like you are better off staying off stage and lending support."
Guren got a bit ticked when she said that. "'People like them' as in 'people who may not have experience on stage', or 'people who are 'completely different''?" she asked.
Everyone got a bit tense at the second part of her question, as Roselia's guitarist answered, "It may as well be both. While I do admit that Wada-san is quite skilled in drums despite her condition, I'm afraid I can't say the same for the rest of you. Not just because I don't know your skill level, but also because of what the audience will perceive once they see you on stage. We want this event to end in a success, and that cannot happen if you girls go up there!"
Upon her words, slap echoed throughout the room, leaving everyone speechless. Some had expected the hand that struck Sayo to come from Guren, but it was not from the trouble-prone girl. No... the hand that struck, came from Shizuka. And for a girl who was normally on the shy side, she had quite the angry look on her face.
"Suzuki-... san?" Sayo questioned, placing a hand on her slapped cheek.
"... w-want..." came a strained voice. One that made this day full of surprises for them all, for it came from... "With everyone... I want to play!"
"Shi-... Shizu-chan..." Kasumi could only breathe out, staring at Shizuka with wide-eyes, as did everyone else.