Chapter 33 Live House Performance Part 2
Ichika's POV
The day of our performance had arrived. As soon as school was done, we rushed to our homes and changed. Then, we all met up again and headed to the live house. When we got there, we went to the backstage entrance, where we found Shiho waiting for us.
"There you are", she greeted when we arrived. "How are you guys feeling?"
"Excited", Saki replied.
"But also nervous", I added.
"Don't worry", Shiho reassured us. "I'm sure that you'll do great. Now come on. Let's go."
With this, Shiho led us into the backstage area of the live house.
"Wow", Saki said in awe. "Look at all of these bands!"
"There's quite a few of them", I added, suddenly a bit more nervous.
"There you are, Shiho", a man suddenly greeted as he walked up to us.
"Guys, this is my boss", Shiho revealed. "He's also the manager of this live house."
"It very nice to see you", I greeted as we all bowed down to him. "Thank you so much for letting us perform here tonight."
"You're welcome", the manager said. "Shiho showed me your music video. You girls have a lot of potential."
"Thank you so much", Saki said.
"Anyway", the manager said. "You guys will be the first band to go on, so you can begin preparing for your performance."
"Thanks", Airi said. "We'll get to that."
"I'll leave you to it, and I hope your first performance here goes well."
After saying this, the the manager turned around and left.
"Shiho-Chan, can we take a peak at the crowd", Saki asked.
"Sure", Shiho replied. "Follow me."
With this, Shiho led us to the entrance of the stage, where we got a look at the crowd.
"Wow", I said in awe. "There's quite a few people here to see the show."
"Guys, look", Ena said as she suddenly pointed at the crowd. "Over there! Is that…"
"Shizuku", Airi asked in shock.
"What is she doing here", Shiho asked, annoyed.
"Onii-Chan too", Saki added happily.
"And Akito too", Ena added. "They must've come to support us."
"And…", I started, before spotting someone else in the crowd. "Honami."
"Really", Saki asked, before taking a closer look at the crowd. "You're right! Hona-Chan's here too!"
After I heard this, I smiled.
"If Homami's here, then I'm going to go join her in the audience", Shiho revealed.
I then looked down as my nerves began setting in. But just as I was beginning to second guess myself, I suddenly felt hands on my shoulders. I looked up, and I saw Shiho.
"Don't worry, Ichika", she reassured me. "Just sing like you always do, and you'll be fine."
After I heard this, I took a deep breath, and nodded. Shiho nodded back, before walking up to Saki and putting her hands on her shoulders as well.
"You'll be find too, Saki", she reassured her. "Just remember to concentrate."
"You've got it, Shiho-Sensei", Saki said. "Just you wait and see! We're going to make you proud"
"I'm sure you will", Shiho said. "Everyone, good luck."
With this, Shiho turned around and left.
"Alright everyone", Airi said once she was gone. "Before we go on, we should make sure our equipment is good to go for our performance."
With this, we checked our equipment for our performance. And just as we finished our checks, a stage hand walked up to us.
"Youthful/Friends, you're up", he said.
"Thank you", Airi said as he left, before turning to face us. "Alright, Youthful/Friends. This is it! Is everybody ready to go?"
"I'm ready", Saki replied enthusiastically.
"Me too", Ena added.
"I'm ready as well", I added.
"Alright, then", Airi said, before holding her out. "Everyone, bring it in!"
With this, we all placed our hands on top of each other.
"Youthful/Friends…", Airi started.
"Fight", we all exclaimed.
Then, we all nodded at each other, before walking onto the stage. As soon as the crowd could see us, our friends that came to support us starting cheering.
"Airi-Chan, do your best", Shizuku called out to her.
"Do your best, Saki", Tsukasa yelled loudly. "Your big brother is here to cheer you on!"
Airi rolled her eyes at Shizuku's antics while Saki giggled at Tsukasa's. Then, we all walked to our spots.
With the crowds eyes on us, I nerves started acting up again. Then, I looked down, and saw Shiho and Honami giving me encouraging looks. Seeing them gave me the confidence boost I needed, and I took a deep breath before I began speaking into the mic.
"Good evening, everyone", I greeted. "This is our first time performing at this live house, so allow me to introduce us. We are Youthful/Friends; a band who's goal is to enjoy our youth to the fullest. I am the guitarist and vocalist, Hoshino Ichika. It's very nice to meet you all."
"I'm the keyboardist, Tenma Saki", she greeted. "Everyone, I hope you enjoy your performance tonight!"
"That's my little sister", Tsukasa yelled loudly.
"I'm the drummer, Shinonome Ena", she greeted. "Nice to meet you all."
"And I'm the bassist, Momoi Airi", she greeted. "Everyone, let's all have a fun time tonight!"
"We will be performing three songs for you tonight", I revealed. "The first one will be a cover of a Miku song. I'm a big fan of hers. Everyone, we hope that you enjoy our performance."
With this, I turned to look at Ena.
"Ena-Senpai, could you count us in", I asked.
"Got it", Ena replied, before clapping her drumsticks together. "One, two. One, two, three four!"
And so, our performance began. While the crowd seemed unsure of us at first, once we started playing, the seemed to be enjoying it.
We performed our first two songs, and when those were done, the crowd cheered for us.
"Thank you, everyone", I said. "For our last song, we will be performing a song Saki and I created together."
"This song even has a music video up on our official YouTube channel", Airi added. "If you like what you hear, you should definitely check it out!"
"Now then, our final song", I said. "One, two. One, two, three, four!"