Lisa rose early in the morning, awoken by shafts of sunlight shining through the window. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she sat up, looking over the still sleeping forms of her bandmates. They had formed one row of futons, side by side across the room. Lisa's was on the end closest to the window.

Next to her, Sayo was still tucked perfectly into her futon. She hardly moved as she slept, with her arms by her sides. On her other side, Ako was the opposite. She'd thrown off her blanket during the night, dumping it onto Rinko. The pianist's forehead was wrinkled, likely from the extra warmth.

On the opposite end of the room, at the end of the row, Yukina's eyes were still closed. She had been the last one up last night, the last person to settle down at the end of the day. Though Lisa went to bed with the others, she waited up. She kept her eyes on the door until Yukina came in, quietly worrying about her friend.

This morning, Lisa stood and tiptoed her way past her bandmates. She went out to the kitchen, started a pot of coffee, put a kettle of water on the stove, and began preparing for breakfast. She kept it simple, making seasoned rice balls.

Soon, Rinko joined her in the kitchen. She stuttered that university was making her an early riser and offered to help make breakfast. Lisa gladly accepted her assistance.

They worked silently, which Lisa knew was Rinko's preferred volume level. A couple birds chirped outside the window as the sun continued to rise.

In the bustle of university, always running from place to place, Lisa had missed quiet moments like these.

They were almost finished when the rest of the band trickled in. Ako sat right down at the table, while Yukina and Sayo grabbed a mug of tea and coffee respectively before joining her. They chatted about a dream Ako had, something to do with video games. Soon the food was done and cool enough to eat, so breakfast began.

"What's the plan for today?" Ako asked before taking a big bite of her rice ball.

Sayo replied, reciting what they decided yesterday. "Four hours of rehearsal in the morning, a break for lunch, and then six hours in the afternoon." It was fairly intense, but this was a training camp after all. They needed to get the band back on track.

"With a few smaller breaks in the middle, of course." Lisa interjected, not wanting Ako to worry about the practice length. They didn't want to burn out in the middle of training.

Yukina was eating slowly, taking sips of her tea between bites. "We'll start after breakfast."

"Sounds good!" Ako stuffed the rest of the rice ball in her mouth a moment later, taking another one off the plate.

They discussed what songs they wanted to practice as they ate, making a list of ones to focus on. It included many of their newer songs, along with a few of the older ones. Lisa knew the age of the songs didn't matter right now; the band sounded off in all of them.

When they finished eating, they cleaned the plates and dispersed to get ready for practice.

The band met down in the studio half an hour later.

Lisa took her usual spot in the band, in front of and to the right of Rinko. She tuned her bass carefully, double checking each string. This was the start of bringing the band back together; she needed to play perfectly.

After tuning, she spent a few minutes warming up. Around the studio, her bandmates were doing the same. There was a calm confidence in the room, a firm determination.

Soon, they were ready to begin.

"Let's start with Song I Am." Yukina suggested, following the list they had made earlier. Ako counted them off, then played the opening of the song. Sayo joined in on time, followed by the bass and keyboard.

Even before the vocals started, Lisa could feel the push and pull of the band. The drum trills in particular felt like they were trying to steer the band in a whole different direction. They were much tighter than they used to be, which was something Lisa needed to adapt to.

When she adjusted to the drums, now she had disunity with the guitar. Sayo had turned her head to look at Lisa, leaning on the beat to resync. They hadn't fully torn, but it was still needed.

The song continued in much of the same manner, fluctuating in stability even through the lower tempo portion. Yukina's voice pulled them forward even as it became harder to reach, a small light breaking away as they moved through the thick fog.

When the song ended, Lisa kept her hands on her bass and eyes on Yukina. The vocalist frowned as she turned towards the back of the band. "Make sure to keep the tempo consistent." Her words were sharp. "Run it again."

Once again, Ako counted them off and the song began.

They played it through multiple times, stopping between to try and correct the feeling of disjoint. This was the same way they had been practicing in Tokyo, the same thing they'd been doing for the last month.

After Song I Am, the band moved on to Avant-garde History. Just like before, they played it over and over again. They made small corrections each time, barely improving over the course of an hour.

They then took a five minute break, before switching to another song. The band worked through it the same way, filing away at the disconnect.

This continued through the morning rehearsal, one song at a time. Their progress was slow, incredibly so. Even if they did this all week, they wouldn't return to their former unity. The longer they played, the more Lisa could feel that weighing down on her.

She knew the others felt it too. She could hear it in the weight of the drums, the note emphasis from the piano, the volume of the guitar, and the tone of Yukina's voice.

They practiced until lunch, which was when they were scheduled to take a longer break. Lisa already felt exhausted, even though the afternoon session was yet to come.

As Lisa put her bass away, she could feel that the mood in the room had shifted to match hers. Even Ako looked somber as she wiped down the drum kit. Looking around at her bandmates, Lisa knew that they shouldn't continue the same way in the afternoon.

"Hey, Sayo." Lisa called over to the guitarist, who had just finished zipping her guitar case. "What do you think about changing the schedule this afternoon?"

Sayo stood up from her case. "I'm not opposed to it." That was basically a stamp of approval, coming from her. "What do you have in mind?" She asked as she approached Lisa. Yukina, having overheard the conversation, drifted that way as well.

"I'm not sure." Lisa admitted, scrunching her forehead as she thought. "But this isn't working, we should change it up."

Rinko, having finished putting her keyboard away, joined them. "I agree…" Her hands were held together, fidgeting.

"We could break the songs down into smaller chunks." Yukina suggested, arms crossed over her chest.

Lisa thought about it for a moment. "I'm not sure if that would help." It would probably be much of the same.

"Oh, I have an idea!" Ako appeared, completing the circle. "What if we all play for each other?"

"Hmm." Sayo's eyes narrowed as she pondered the idea. "What would be the benefit?"

Ako beamed at the chance to explain. "Since school started, the way we all play has changed right? So if we learn what's changed, it won't be a problem anymore." She hit the bottom of one fist into her palm as she finished explaining.

Lisa turned it over in her mind, considering the idea. Ako put it simply, but she was right, changes in their playing were one of the biggest problems the band faced. Specifically listening to each other play could help them relearn to play well together.

"That's a good idea." Sayo voiced her conclusion before Lisa could, turning what Ako said into a concrete plan forward. "We could each prepare a performance featuring what we've learned." Oh, that way they would also have to identify the parts of their own playing that changed, making them more aware of it for rehearsal. This was getting better and better.

Yukina's arms dropped down to her sides, though her expression was still serious. "I think it's worth trying. We'll practice this afternoon and present tomorrow morning."

"Yes, we should." Rinko nodded in agreement.

That would be the new plan. Though it would also take one of the practice slots the next day, Lisa was confident that it would be better than the practice they were doing before. "Alright, then after lunch we'll get started." She took charge of organizing the new task. "We'll split up to practice in different parts of the house."

As the band settled the discussion, setting the schedule for the afternoon, they went upstairs to eat lunch.

Lisa started thinking about what she should perform for her bandmates. She thought about how her technique had changed this year, and what the best way to show her bandmates would be.

This afternoon, she would prepare. She already had a song in mind.

Rinko carried her piano on her back, searching for the perfect place to practice.

When lunch ended, the band had dispersed. Ako went back down to the studio, since the drum set was hard to move. The rest of the band scattered around the house to practice.

The first place Rinko tried was one of the side rooms, but after a few minutes it had felt strange. She could hear Lisa's bass through one of the walls, the way that she would stop and restart each part. It felt private, like she was hearing something that she shouldn't.

After just a few minutes Rinko had packed up to move, which was how she ended up searching for a new spot to set up.

She looked around for a while, but wherever she went she could hear the others. She could've gone upstairs, but she didn't know what was up there and that made her nervous. The next best area to check was outside. It wasn't a place she played often, but she wouldn't be able to hear her bandmates there.

With that settled, Rinko went out the back door and into the yard. It was a moderately sized area, surrounded by a wood fence and full of dark green grass. The sun was hot and dry today, so Rinko set her keyboard up in the shade of a tree.

She turned it so she faced the building, in case someone came outside.

The temperature was manageable in the shade, not too hot for playing. Rinko turned the keyboard on so she could practice. She played a quick scale to warm up.

Finding a spot had only been the beginning, now she needed to figure out what to perform for her bandmates. That would be a much harder decision.

Rinko's fingers started to move, playing through Song I Am. They had drilled this song earlier, with only small improvements. Though the band played slightly better each time, it felt as if their energy dropped with each repetition. It was good that they stopped.

As she played alone, Rinko was aware of how much her playing had changed this year. She had spent the entire first semester focusing on improving at the piano, at honing her skills. She'd improved most in the expressiveness of her playing, along with sheer quality of technique.

Perhaps the best way to show that would be through one of the classical pieces she learned. Rinko recalled the first piece she performed in university, Beethoven's Sonata in E flat Major, Op. 7. She improved from playing that piece and expanded her musical versatility.

She was better able to match the intent of each piece, to bring variety to her playing.

Since then, her sound had continued to change. Like the rest of the band, her music had grown.

Rinko needed to show them what she'd learned, how much she'd changed. She knew the perfect song to do it.

She ran through the song multiple times, paying extra attention to tone and how she approached the notes.

Yes, this would work perfectly.

In her quest to find a room to practice in, Sayo ventured up to the second story of the house. The band had avoided going up there so far, since they didn't need all that space. Ako insisted last night that it was haunted up there, though Sayo didn't believe in such things.

The problem on the first floor was that it was simply too noisy. Between the drums echoing up from the basement, the way Yukina's voice carried, and the fragmented pluck of the bass, Sayo just couldn't focus. She saw that Rinko already went outside, so that wasn't an option.

Instead, she headed upstairs. There was one long hallway up there, branching out into a couple smaller ones. Sayo picked a room at random to enter and shut the door behind her.

It was a small bedroom, furnished with a bed, desk, and chair. That was perfect for Sayo. She brushed a layer of dust off the table before setting her guitar down on it and removing it from its case.

The chair provided the perfect place to sit, so she could practice and prepare for her performance.

She thought it was a great idea, when Ako suggested they perform for each other. They had been going in circles earlier; this could only be an improvement. She was curious to hear what her bandmates would play, and was eager to take notes on how they had improved. She could then use those notes to better perform with the band.

Before then, Sayo still needed to figure out what to do for her own performance. She had a few songs in mind, each with complex guitar parts.

Since the start of the year she'd been focusing on learning to compose, but her guitar playing had improved too. As part of learning to compose, she'd began channeling more emotion into her playing. This had changed her expressiveness and the way the notes were delivered.

It made Sayo's playing less crisp, though with right song she still managed it. She was better at adapting to each song now, to playing each with the emotion it carried.

It was an improvement, one that had thrown her out of sync with the band. That was what she needed to show them.

Sayo tuned her guitar, then started to play. She considered playing one of her compositions, since those belonged to her. She strummed through her strongest one, the composition about Hazawa café. Remembering how Tsugumi added to it still warmed Sayo's cheeks.

No, a composition wasn't the right choice here. She needed to show her growth in guitar playing, not composition; it was only right to play a Roselia song.

Sayo played Determination Symphony next, giving extra attention to the guitar solo. Then she moved on to Passionate Anthem, carrying the high energy of the song.

Neither of those would work.

The next song Sayo played was an important one, both to her and the band. It represented both where she had come from and where she was going, with the guitar part to match.

She played it a few times through, with all of the emotion it needed.

This would do nicely.

Though the members of Roselia didn't discuss it that evening, they were all ready to perform in the morning, to show each other what they'd learned.