Eli: One, two, three, four! Don’t lose focus during the last part. Pay attention to your fingertips and move smoothly!
Nico: mm-hmm. Poses are on point! Pretty good, ladies.
Hanayo: *Pant* *gasp* I felt the difference! I need to do it some more before I forget how this feels.
Rin: Me too! I wanna go through that one more time all together. Hanayo, Maki, whatcha say?
Maki: Agreed. Even if it’s just our part, I want to train the muscle memory in my whole body.
Nozomi: Your parts come right before the song’s hook gets going, Rin. We’re gonna need you three to really get the crowd pumped up there!
Honoka: That’s true. Okay, let’s take it again from… Oh, Kotori, are you okay on time?
Kotori: Thanks, Honoka. I freed up my schedule since we’re so close to the live show, and I wanna practice together as much as I can. I’ve got plenty of time!
Umi: I feel so guilty there you’re here on your birthday of all days, Kotori. Are you sure you’re okay with practicing today?
Kotori: Yup! I mean, sure I’d be happy to go off and celebrate somewhere, but I can’t get enough of practicing with you all!
Nozomi: I guess that means we should all treat this like an ordinary day, right?
Rin: Roger that! Thanks, Kotori!
Kotori: You’re welcome! In fact, a long group practice session might be the best way I can think of to spend my birthday.
Hanayo: Okay, so we’ll go over our part first? It’s still light out, so we should have enough time to rehearse all our sections.
Umi: Indeed. If nothing else, there are some crucial places during each part that could use another run through.
Honoka: Good idea! Plus, performing for each other will help make it feel more serious.
Kotori: *Giggle* I was kinda in the mood to dance a bit more anyways! Honoka, Umi, let’s give this our best!
Nico: Nozomi, Eli, try to keep up! The galaxy’s top idol, Nico Yazawa, is about to show everyone what universally first-rate dancing looks like!
Eli: Yes. I intend to!
Nozomi: I’ve gotta learn your secret for never losing your smile, Nico.
Honoka: Time for round two of today’s practice! Let’s get going!
Together: Yeah!
Honoka: Great work, everyone! What an awesome day!
Kotori: Hee, hee. You sure love practicing, don’t you Honoka? I’m really glad we all got to spend the whole day rehearsing together.
Umi: Once evening comes, the heat of the day fades and it becomes the perfect time for practice. I guess we enjoyed ourselves so much, we all lost track of time!
Nozomi: Everyone was super focused. Splitting up and performing in from of one another was just the right amount of added pressure to keep us sharp.
Maki: Also, since we weren’t constantly moving, it was easier to concentrate. We should make time to practice like this a little more often.
Eli: Totally! We should all work together to tweak our practice regimen. Speaking of schedules, Kotori, you’re still free after this right?
Kotori: Yup! My family threw me an early party over the weekend, so today just feels like any other ordinary day.
Nico: Why don’t we all eat dinner together, then? It’s your birthday, after all. We should celebrate together, no?
Rin: I’m so in! After burning all that energy today, I’m starving! Hanayo, I need rice!
Maki: Don’t be ridiculous. Even Hanayo can’t just wave her hands and magically make rice appear.
Hanayo: *Giggle* I had a feeling this would happen, so I cooked some in advance. Here, rice for everyone!
Nico: I thought I smelled the sweet scene too freshly cooked rice. So it was you all along, Hanayo.
Nozomi: I believe you’ve got a tasty treat yourself, Nico?
Nico: Well, yeah. When I heard today’s practice was going to be long and intense, I figured we’d all be hungry afterwards, so I threw something together.
Eli: You’re too kind, Nico.
Honoka: *Giggle* Now we’ve got a meal complete with rice, and cake for dessert. Hanayo, Nico, thank you both!
Kotori: Cake? Wait a second. Hanayo, Nico, is this meal and cake you’re talking about…
Umi: I think we can show her now, Honoka, if you please.
Honoka: Finally! Ta-da! Happy Birthday, Kotori!
Together: Happy birthday!
Kotori: Wh-Whaaaaaaaaaat?! A birthday cake?!
Umi: We all worked together in secret to get it ready in time for you birthday. Honoka and I made your favorite style of cheesecake for the base.
Kotori: And the decoration on top are everyone in µ's. Aww, am I standing onstage in the center spot? That’s so adorable!
Rin: They’re made outta this stuff called marzipan! We used food coloring to dye them. It was so much fun, like molding clay! I made the one of Hanayo, by the way!
Maki: It would’ve been too embarrassing to make decorations of ourselves, so we all made each other’s instead. The Nico right there is made by yours truly.
Nico: It may not be as cute as the real thing, but it’s still too pretty to eat, if you ask me.
Honoka: We all racked our brains trying to come up with a cake that’d make you really happy.
Eli: Everyone picked out their favorite costumes for the decorations to wear, too. Don’t they all look so sweet?
Hanayo: I love every costume you make, so I had a really hard time picking just one. Kotori, thank you so much for everything you do for us!
Kotori: No, I should be thanking you. I had no idea you all were setting this up right under my nose.
Honoka: It wouldn’t have been a surprise if you’d noticed what we were doing! *Giggle* This surprise was a super success!
Rin: I know you said you were fine with this being an ordinary day, but birthdays are always special, no matter what.
Nozomi: And it’s a great chance for us to thank you for the day-to-day things you do. My cards predict that your future is looking very lucky!
Maki: I brought my keyboard along, so if you have any requests for birthday songs, I’m happy to oblige.
Hanayo: Birthday music alone is enough to put me in the mood to celebrate.
Eli: It wouldn’t be a birthday unless everyone sings happy birthday to Kotori. I’ve got all the candles we need right here!
Nico: The hors d’oeuvres are mainly things I thought Kotori would like. Don’t be surprised if they’re so yummy you’re left speechless.
Rin: Whoa, bite-sized cheese dogs! Miniature gratin dishes! Cheesy hamburger steaks! Nico, you’re a master chef!
Umi: They all look so tasty and easy to eat. Thank you very much, Nico.
Maki: I helped her shop, but I honestly can’t believe she turned what we bought into all this.
Kotori: Chalk it up to the practice she gets cooking for her brother and sisters. *Giggle* Nico, if I had a big sis like you, I bet I’d be a good cook, too!
Honoka: Don’t sell yourself short! I love your cooking, and your cakes and cookies, Kotori!
Hanayo: Hee, hee. All right, let’s eat this fresh rice while it’s still nice and hot! I’ll try to improvise a little chirashi sushi, too.
Rin: Woo-hoo! It’s a feast fit for a queen!
Kotori: I really don’t know how to thank you all. Between practicing together all day and this amazing meal, this has been the best birthday ever.
Kotori: You know what? I wanna sing happy birthday, too! And then we have to all take pictures together!
Umi: Of course, Kotori. It’s your day! Whatever you want, we’ll make it happen.
Honoka: Agreed! Anything you wanna do, just name it!
Kotori: Thanks, everyone! If you’re gonna twist me arm about it, I’ll happily take you up on that!
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