"Web radio?"
Otonokizaka High School just had its Winter Break. Muse is reunited for the first time since celebrating the success of 'Snow Halation.' The other eight members of Muse now look at their ginger-haired leader, filled with questions after having just heard the news.
"Mhm." Honoka nodded. She picked up her phone, which was passed around to show the message she received.
"I just got this message yesterday. Apparently we caught the attention of some web radio named 'Spin City,' and they're asking if we can come up with a song to feature on their web station."
" 'Spin City,' huh.." Maki said thoughtfully.
"Do you know of it, Maki-nyan?" Rin asked.
"Hai. They're a really popular web station. It's not easy to have your songs played there. They can be very... picky. But for aspiring artists that's a place to start."
"Then... since they're asking us for a song for them to feature..." Eri thought aloud.
"This is a pretty big deal." Umi finished.
"Well we definitely can't pass this up." Nico said. "We should do it."
"Hold on there, Nico-chan." Maki said. "We just got back from vacation. And there's a lot of stuff I have to take care of at home. I don't know if I can help with this one."
"Ehh? But-" Honoka began.
"Honoka-chan," Kotori interrupted. "Maki-chan said she has a lot to do. It can't be helped, right? Besides, we have something we need to take care of, too."
"Oh, right.." Honoka said, realizing Kotori was right. "I'm sorry, I forgot about that."
"Actually, we should probably go now to start on it." Kotori got up from her seat.
"Eh? Wait I need to-" But Honoka was interrupted as Kotori took her by the arm and started leading her out of the room.
"It's alright, you all can handle it from here right?"
Kotori didn't wait for an answer. Honoka and Kotori disappeared into the hallway.
"..What was that all about?" Nozomi asked the question they were all thinking.
"I.. I don't know. They didn't tell me anything." Umi said. The remaining members turned to her in surprise.
"What? Not even you?" Eri asked. Umi shook her head.
"Well.. as it stands.." Maki said, trying to recover from her surprise. "I'm going to be pretty busy, so I don't know how much I'll be able to help."
"That's a shame... We're about to have a lot of work for the Student Council as well." Nozomi said.
"That's right.." Eri added, a little upset. "We took a bit of time off from the Student Council during the break, so we need to address that work now."
"I need to practice for the Archery Club as well." Umi said, a little worried.
"Well, I'm up for it. I don't have anything like you guys have." Rin said, trying to bring something positive back to the atmosphere. "Kayo-chin? Nico-nyan?"
"I'm up for it," Nico said. "Hanayo-chan?"
"I.. I think I'm free." Hanayo said a little worried. "Do you think it'll be enough for just us three?"
"It's going to have to be. But don't worry, the three of us can pull it off!" Rin said confidently.
"Well, if you think you'll be fine as three, then we can still accept their request." Eri said. "Are you sure, though?"
"Definitely. We can't let them down."
"We'll be fine," Nico said. "Definitely nothing we can't handle." Hanayo just nodded.
"Alright. Umi-chan, tell Honoka-chan to reply and let them know we'll have a song for them."
Umi nodded to Eri and pulled out her phone. Eri looked once more at Rin. She saw the determination on Rin's face.
"Alright then. You three will handle the song for the web radio. We'll try when we can to help. Progress check next week."
With the meeting over, Maki, Eri, Nozomi, and Umi all left the clubroom. Nico turned to the two First-years.
"So..."
"How about we try coming up with ideas for lyrics first?" Rin suggested.
"Y-yeah, we can start there."
Two hours passed. Nico stared at the notebook in front of them. The page was filled front and back with scratched out ideas. She scratched her head in annoyance.
"Ah, we're not getting anywhere with this!"
"N- Nico-chan, calm down a bit." Hanayo said gently.
"Ugh, this is frustrating." Nico rested her head on the table.
Rin glanced over their crossed off ideas. "Hmm..What kind of song do we want?"
"What do you mean?" Hanayo looked to Rin.
"Like, what kind of mood? Let's start there. Do we want it to be happy? Or sad? Should it be about love?"
Nico lifted her head from the table. "Well, they requested us because of 'Snow Halation' right? Should we do something similar?"
"Well.." Hanayo started hesitantly, since winter is starting to pass, why don't we try something that contrasts that?"
Both heads turned to Hanayo. "What do you mean?" Nico asked.
"Well, why not write a happier song? We're in a new year now."
"That sounds great!" Rin said excitedly. "What do you think Nico-nyan?"
"Sounds good to me." Nico agreed. "Well, we have somewhere to start now."
Rin turned to look out the window. "It's getting late though..."
"Let's stop here then." Nico suggested. "We finally have a starting point. We can continue tomorrow."
"But..." Rin began, not wanting to leave quite yet.
"Rin-chan, it'll be better this way. We can get some rest and have a fresh start tomorrow. It'll definitely help us."
"Nico-chan is right," Hanayo agreed. "Some rest can help. We shouldn't push too hard on the first day."
"Alright. You two are right, sorry." Rin said.
"Don't worry about it. We know you're just excited is all." Nico said reassuringly. The three of them got their things together and left the school.
Later that night, though, Rin found herself not wanting to sleep. Her head has been buzzing around with ideas since they left. She began writing them down in a notebook. She continued for some time until her phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Rin-chan?" Hanayo's voice came.
"Kayo-chin!"
"Eheh, I figured you would still be this energetic this late. Please go to sleep soon, ok?"
"Aww Kayo-chin, you worry too much!" She scratched the back of her head. "Though you're right, I am pretty energetic right now. I'll go to sleep soon don't worry. See you tomorrow!"
"Mhm. Bye bye."
Rin put her phone down. She spent another few minutes writing before she finally called it a night. Satisfied with what she got, she crawled into bed and went to sleep.
The school day went by uneventfully. Seven Muse girls gathered in the clubroom once more.
"Where's Honoka-chan and Kotori-chan?" Rin asked curiously.
"They left as soon as the day ended." Umi said. "I thought maybe they came here earlier."
They seven of them had a brief meeting before everyone got up to leave. Maki stayed behind. She put a CD down on the table.
"Here, I put this together last night. It's not much but maybe it'll help."
"Thanks, Maki-chan." Nico said.
"Last night? Did you stay up late? Is that why you were dozing off during class?" Hanayo asked.
"It couldn't be helped." Maki replied. "I didn't get any free time until it was night."
"Well, thanks Maki-nyan. It'll be a big help I'm sure!" Rin said
Maki smiled at Rin's enthusiasm. "Well I hope so. Alright, I'm off." With an exchange of goodbyes, Maki left the room.
The three of them listened to Maki's recording. As it ended, Rin clapped her hands excitedly. "Ah this is perfect!"
Nico and Hanayo looked at Rin curiously. "Why's that?" Nico asked.
Rin pulled out her notebook and showed them what she had come up with last night.
"This could work." Nico said, nodding as she finished reading. "Good job."
"Was this why you were up late last night?" Hanayo asked.
"Eheh, yeah," Rin said.
"Hmm, I think a little bit would need to be changed to fit Maki-chan's composition.." Nico said, thinking about the song again.
"Yeah, but that shouldn't be too hard now." Rin said happily.
"You'll have to tell us how you wanted the harmony to go."
With that, the three of them replayed Maki's recording over and over, adjusting Rin's lyrics. Rin sang after every change, and they made minor tweaks here and there. By the end of the day, they had worked out each of their parts.
"Alright, let's call it a day here." Nico said. Rin and Hanayo sat back in their chairs. Nico looked over their work so far. "I think tomorrow we can start practicing."
"I can take that home and make copies if you want." Hanayo offered.
Nico nodded and handed the paper to Hanayo.
"Luckily it's just the song, and we don't need to have a music video along with it this time." Rin said.
"You would've come up with something like you did with these lyrics, right Rin-chan?" Nico said jokingly.
"Eheh, I don't know about that."
The three of them cleaned up the room and left the school.
The next day went by as normal, and Muse gathered in their clubroom like usual.
"Where have you two been?" Eri asked.
"Sorry," Kotori said honestly. "We've been working on an idea Honoka-chan came up with."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
"Secret," Honoka said simply.
"Hey, come on now. Tell us!" Maki said, a little curious.
"Now now, Maki-chan," Nozomi said calmly. "They'll tell us when they're good and ready, right?"
"Mhm! You'll all definitely get to know once its ready." Honoka said happily.
"We should get going," Kotori said to Honoka.
Honoka nodded, and they both exited the room. Hanayo handed Maki an extra copy of the lyrics, and Maki said she'll try and have something ready. The other four left afterwards. Nico, Rin, and Hanayo went to the Music Room. They rehearsed for the entire time.
The next day came.
"Where's Maki-chan?" Eri asked.
"She was sent home early." Hanayo answered. "She stayed up late again last night, but this time she couldn't keep herself up during class. She gave me the music before she left." The last part was directed towards Rin and Nico, who both nodded.
"Well, we can stop by and check on her on our way. Make sure she's well." Kotori said.
"Just what are you two doing?" Nico asked.
Neither of them directly answered, and both Honoka and Kotori left soon after. The other six dismissed it and separated once again. Nico, Rin, and Hanayo listened to Maki's new recording in the music room.
"I guess I can understand why she was so tired." Hanayo said as the recording finished.
Nico and Rin nodded. "Despite everything she says she has to do, she did a great job." Nico admired.
"Alright, let's get started!" Rin said excitedly.
They rehearsed again, this time with the new music.
"I think I need to be careful about when I enter." Hanayo said.
"A little. We also need to sing a little louder here so we aren't drowned out by the music." Rin pointed.
"Yeah. We also should slow down here to match the rhythm." Nico added.
They continued their adjustments to the new music. They practiced and practiced for two hours straight, none of them wanting to take a break.
"Alright, I think that's all we can do today." Nico said wearily.
"Yeah.. But I think we can start recording tomorrow." Rin said happily.
They made some final notes on their papers. Rin called Maki to ask for her recording equipment for tomorrow. Afterwards they all headed home.
The next day came and went. Maki gave the recording equipment before leaving. Nico, Rin, and Hanayo spent the day doing recording attempts. Each time, however, was either a mistake or they made more changes to the song.
"Not good..." Rin said worriedly. "The day's almost over but we're not done."
"We're going to have to meet during the weekend. Is that alright with you two?" Nico asked.
"Mhm. By the looks of it, it'll give us time for more changes too if we need it." Hanayo said.
They left school after that. They met over the weekend at Nico's house for the next two days. They went between working on the song and helping Nico take care of her sisters. By the end of Sunday, they collapsed onto the couches.
"I.. I think we've finally got it" Nico breathed.
"Y.. yeah.. I think so." Rin responded slowly.
The next day came. They managed to make it through the school day and make it into the clubroom. Each of them rested on the table.
"This is good." Eri said, as the recording finished playing. "Good work, you three."
"T-thanks.." Rin managed to say.
"Hehe, well, you three definitely deserve a rest." Nozomi said smiling.
"Sorry we weren't able to help much," Umi apologized.
"T-that's alright," Nico barely got out.
Hanayo managed to sit back up. She smiled lightly. "Eheh, Nico-chan's sisters were quite a handful for them."
"What about you?" Maki asked.
"I helped, but I didn't play with them nearly as much as these two did."
"Alright. Honoka-chan, they said they'll start playing it tonight?"
"Mhm!" Honoka nodded. "Since they sent it in last night, they'll start playing it tonight."
"Good." Eri turned to Nico, Rin, and Hanayo. "We'll make it up to you three. But for now, you can rest for a job well done."
"I think Rin-chan and Nico-chan are way ahead of you," Kotori said with a giggle.
Nico and Rin had fallen asleep at the table. The others laughed and left them to rest.
"Well, after today we should be caught up with the Student Council." Eri said.
"We have a tournament this weekend. After that it should be ok." Umi said.
"My family situation is pretty much settled. Another day or two and I should be in the clear." Maki said.
The five turned to Honoka and Kotori.
"Eheh, we're not quite ready yet." Honoka said, somewhat nervously.
"Aww. I've been really curious lately." Hanayo said a little disappointed.
They stayed in the clubroom for another hour before they decided to go. They woke up Rin and Nico, and the nine of them made their way to the front. As they started heading their separate ways, Honoka stopped Hanayo.
"Hanayo-chan, can we ask you something?"
"Eh? Um, sure.."
"Alright. Come with us."
"Where are we going?"
"Honoka-chan's house." Kotori said
Hanayo gave a confused look, but followed along.
They reached Honoka's house and went into her room. Hanayo looked around. She hasn't been in here since Muse was first formed and only Honoka, Umi, and Kotori were the members. She smiled a bit at the memory. The three of them sat around the small table in the room. Honoka put on the 'Spin City' station on her computer. Hanayo looked anxiously as her two senpai looked at each other. Finally, Honoka turned to face Hanayo.
"Hanayo-chan..." She began. Then stopped.
"Y-yes?" Hanayo answered, waiting.
"Kotori-chan... maybe you should just do it."
"Alright." Kotori crawled on her knees to Hanayo and whispered something in her ear.
"EHH?!" Hanayo screamed in complete surprise from Kotori's question.
"And now, we have a special song from a few of the members from Muse. Here is 'Listen to my Heart' by NicoRinPana of Muse!" came from the computer, and the silent room was filled with the music.
Hey guys, nobodD once again! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know in the reviews!
What have Honoka and Kotori been doing this entire time? And what could they have possibly said to Hanayo to get that kind of reaction? I'm sure you'll figure it out ;) No spoilers though, please.
Also, I have a few due dates for school that I need to make this week. However I should be only be busy till about Thursday. I'm a bit behind on a few pairing fics, so I'll try and get started on those this week. Bare with me for a bit please :x
That's all from me. Until next time ~
