Mari! Kanan! What's wrong? Did something happen?

Well…

Kanan's family was supposed to be running a stall at the festival, but it turns out they can't make it.

So now Kanan will have to run the stall.

I tried to think of some way to do both, but it doesn't look likely… The hayashi group can't go without a bass drum, so what should I do?

There's still time, Kanan. I'm sure if we all put our heads together, we can come up with something.

That's right! We've been practicing our hayashi performance hard. We're gonna make it a success!

Um, perhaps you can leave the bass drum to me?

Huh?

You showed me how to play the bass drum during practice, right? So I want you to let me do it.

Eli…!

[Fade in/out.]

Your hands were trembling when you said you'd play the bass drum, Eli.

I know you're not confident, but you're being so brave. So we'll support you with all our hearts! Now, let's practice—

Eli?! You're covered in sweat! How long have you been practicing for?

I woke up early, so I've been practicing since then. I told you to leave it to me, so it's the least I can do.

If you were gonna do that, you should've called us too! We can't let you struggle all by yourself!

Yeah. It's not like you to be frantically practicing like this, Eli. Hey, tell us what you're thinking.

…What's bothering me the most is Kanan. She's been working hard to carry us through this hayashi performance.

I know how she feels, so I didn't want to just give up. That's why I nominated myself to play the bass drum, but…

There's not long left until we have to perform now, and I'm really not sure if I'm capable of leading everyone in such an important role.

So that's why you've been practicing so hard?

I believe in you, Eli. I know how hard you've been working to ensure this is a success.

You always look so cool and collected, but you're really passionate, aren't you? I mean, you went so far as to get some secret early-morning practice.

Eli, I've gotten pretty good, you know. So leave the shime-daiko part to me. I can drum enough to cover for you!

And if anything goes wrong, I'll back you up with my beautiful flute-playing! Just go all out on your bass drum, and don't stress too much about leading the group!

Hey, I got a message from Kanan. She says, “I can't be there for the hayashi performance, but we're always together in spirit.”

A hayashi performance is a group effort, and we're all in this together! So you've gotta count on us, Eli!

You guys…!

I'm going to give it my best shot. Let's all make this performance a success!