For Rinko, the second semester of university was even busier than the first. There was a whole new list of songs to learn and many new performances to prepare for. Each appearance was a new test, to see if they were growing fast enough for the program.

Rinko handled the pressure as best she could, balancing her personal practice schedule, classes, and Roselia. She'd even carved out time recently to work on a new song with Yukina, something that she'd started writing long ago. The melody that sat in her folder since before the training camp was finally being used.

Yukina had been distracted that day, trying to flee after only a few minutes. Rinko rarely saw her like that, indecisive and unsure. She knew what it was about.

Their talk was productive, hopefully guiding Yukina in the right direction. They agreed to reschedule the work session for another day. Rinko looked carefully at her calendar for the next couple weeks; that was easier said than done.

When her phone buzzed much later that evening, with Yukina offering her thanks once again and sharing the news of her new relationship, Rinko knew it was worth it.

As always this year, things were changing, triggering the start of something that was long overdue. Rinko was happy for the couple, though she wondered what new challenges their relationship would bring. It would certainly impact the band, hopefully in a positive way.

She already could see the effects when, a week later, Yukina sent her the revised lyrics. Rinko was on campus, sitting at a table while she waited for her next class to start. Students milled about her, though she'd largely become used to their presence. At the start of the year she would've felt nervous reading something where they could see her, but as time went on being around them grew slowly less difficult.

The lyrics were complete now, going through the entire song. Even though it had only been a week, they were vastly different than the lines from before.

Rinko read through them slowly, noting a complete tonal shift. While the lyrics still fit Roselia's usual themes, they were now far more uplifting than usual. There was an emphasis on light, along with a prevalent optimism for the future.

The Yukina who sat in Rinko's room one week ago, with unfocused eyes and a persistent frown, couldn't have written lyrics like these.

Even though Yukina had been distracted when she saw the melody of the song, she'd certainly remembered it. These lyrics would be a perfect fit for the melody Rinko wrote.

As Rinko texted Yukina back, thanking her for sending them along, she also mentioned rescheduling. They both examined their calendars and compared dates, but finding one that worked was proving to be difficult. They'd learn out about the competition results this week as well, which added extra pressure.

"Have you had a chance to work with Sayo on the guitar part?" Yukina wanted to know, after they settled on a date three weeks out.

Rinko had thought about it, but decided not to. "Not yet, I'd like to have it more polished first (o-_-o)." Sayo often wrote the guitar parts for their songs, usually as one of the last steps. She'd been learning guitar composition all year, which made a big difference in her compositions. When they last composed together, for Zeal of Proud, she'd shown great growth from when they were in high school.

"It doesn't look like we can meet for a couple weeks." Yukina replied bluntly, her intent clear.

Rinko understood. "I'll reach out to her." Perhaps Sayo could help with the verses too, or at least the guitar part for them. The longer Rinko considered it, the more she thought that this was a good idea.

They continued a brief conversation, about band rehearsal for the next week. Rinko clicked to her previous texts with Sayo while she waited for Yukina to respond, since she could talk to both of them at the same time. The last text conversation the pair had was about a bakery that had just opened near campus.

"Hikawa-san, are you available this week to work on a new song (* ^ ω ^)?" Rinko typed with practiced ease.

A reply came quickly. "I should be, what day did you have in mind?"

Rinko looked again at her calendar, which she'd practically memorized by this point. "How about Saturday, in the afternoon or the evening?" She only had morning classes that day, and based on the master calendar it was likely to work for Sayo.

This time there was a pause, likely as Sayo checked. Rinko messaged Yukina again while she waited.

"I can do the afternoon, if we can meet on campus." Sayo replied. She must've had an additional practice that evening.

"There are rooms in the piano building we can borrow (o^▽^o)." Rinko made a note in her phone to reserve one the next day.

The pair exchanged a few more messages to set the time for their meeting. Rinko also sent Sayo the lyrics, so she could prepare. Sayo commented that they were unique, which Rinko couldn't disagree with.

Rinko checked what time it was now; she needed to get going to her next class.

She still had a busy week ahead.


When Rinko arrived at the practice room, having come from her last class of the day, Sayo was already inside. She sat in front of an empty music stand, guitar held in her hands. A single chair stood next to her, ready for Rinko to fill it. The rest were stacked against the wall, with large windows behind them showing a grassy courtyard.

Rinko stuttered as she apologized for keeping her waiting. She claimed the open chair, setting her keyboard up in front of it. She took out the sheet music, along with the lyrics sheet.

Yukina had given her a hard copy at Roselia practice, where the band also discussed the contest. The results were in; they won a spot. Unfortunately, Afterglow was not able to do the same.

In just a month, a film crew would come to record a short performance and hold interviews with the band members. This would be edited as part of a program, which would air sometime during the next season of the show. Just thinking about it made Rinko nervous. When they made the recording, she just pretended the camera wasn't there. It would be much harder with a whole crew.

They were told to prepare two songs. The first was easy to decide on, since Zeal of Proud had been created with this purpose in mind, to propel the band forward. For the second, there was room for debate. One of their older songs could resonate with current fans, but a new song would have a better chance of drawing fresh eyes. Rinko vouched for the song she'd been working on, that Yukina had just finished the lyrics for.

They all voted to use it.

That meant that the song absolutely needed to be finished as soon as possible, so they could start rehearsing it. It couldn't wait until Rinko and Yukina could meet.

That thought ran through Rinko's mind as she sat down in front of her keyboard, passing a copy of both papers to Sayo.

"This melody is a great start." Sayo commented after examining the pages. She plucked through it on her guitar, tapping her toe with the tempo. The sound was lighter on the guitar than it had been on the keyboard.

When she finished, Rinko spoke. "I have something in mind… for the opening." Rinko hadn't written it down yet, but she'd been thinking about it since they set this date. She played it for Sayo, who turned to watch her hands as they moved.

Sayo's eyebrows were knit together in thought as she watched, her mouth set in a line. "What if we added bells?" She asked when Rinko stopped, posing a question Rinko hadn't considered.

It was an interesting idea. "W-what kind of bells?"

Sayo mimed hitting something in the air, at around face level. "Concert chimes, you can play their sound on the piano right?"

"Yes." Rinko lifted a hand to the settings on her keyboard, flipping to the correct setting. She pressed a few keys, the sound of bells ringing out.

Sayo lifted one hand to her chin, a familiar light in her green eyes. "For the opening, these bells could lift the tone."

They would suit the lyrics too, Rinko realized. With these bright optimistic lyrics, the sound of chimes could be celebratory bells. "Let's try it."

Sayo picked up the opening Rinko had played for her, while Rinko played the bell sounds. It took a few tries, until it all came together.

When they finished playing, Rinko looked over at Sayo. Her friend still had the same determined expression as always, eyes narrowed as she scribbled something down on the sheet music. She cut a familiar form, with her guitar in her hands. Despite how little seemed to have changed, that wasn't the case.

Sayo really had grown. This suggestion, of adding bells, of making a change to the tone, was a whole new facet of her composing that Rinko had never seen before. When they worked on Zeal of Proud, they only did the guitar part together. She'd recognized Sayo's growth then, but that was nothing compared to this.

Now, with the prospect of a whole song to write, Rinko could see just how much Sayo had grown. She had not only mastered the elements of composition, but had learned how to put emotion into the piece.

As they continued working on the song, playing and thinking and playing again, Sayo and Rinko built the song. The two worked together to not only write the guitar part, but to complete every other aspect of the piece. They wrote the verses, designated the lines to different Roselia members, played through each part, revised troublesome spots, and then played them again.

Before Rinko knew it, the two hours they blocked had passed. In front of her, scratched onto multiple pieces of sheet music, was every element of the song. The name Blessing Chord was written at the top of one page, emphasizing the one of the core lyrics of the piece.

They would've kept working, except for the fact that Sayo needed to leave. She had to make a rehearsal on the other side of campus, requiring their work to come to a close.

"L-let's compose together again, Hikawa-san." Rinko spoke from the heart. She wouldn't forget this experience and would wait eagerly for the chance to do so again.

Sayo nodded, a small smile appearing on her lips. "Of course." She rose from her seat, packing up her guitar. They parted ways a minute later.

Even though they had to stop early, the song was almost done. Rinko just needed to compile it, then fine tune the results. She'd do it when she got home, using her piano to check the notes.

Later that night, Rinko sent the completed sheet music to Sayo. She received a thumbs up emoji in response.

Before the training camp, she had vowed to see this song through. Now it was done, ready to be performed. It was ready to lift Roselia even higher.


End note: Fun fact: I once saved someone from being flattened by some concert chimes. They're probably using real ones in Blessing Chord and not a keyboard. There are only two more chapters after this one, which is kind of crazy.