Phew, I'm tired. I think I overdid it a little…

I feel like I could fall asleep in a second—Zzz…

That was less than a second.

Nuh-uh, there's no time to rest. Start preparing dinner, and don't forget about laundry and cleaning your bedrooms!

Yeah, hurry it up. I'm starving. I want a thick, juicy steak.

And I'd also like a buckwheat pillow in my room. I've taken to them since moving to Japan.

Hmph!

Yikes! What was that for? You hit me! Of all people! Me!

During the training camp, everyone does the cooking and cleaning. Those who don't work don't eat. If you slack off, you don't get fed, so do your part with that in mind.

But why?! Nobody told me this!

If you don't like it you're free to go home, but I'm not sure I want any quitters entering the preliminaries.

Kaoruko, that's quite an evil look on your face…

Urgh… F-Fine, I'll help out!

Yup, that's all I ask.

Lanzhu, can you cook?

I've never tried, but don't fret. I can do anything!

You're so talented in many areas. I'm curious to see what you cook. I can picture you tossing a stir fry in a big wok like a pro.

*Chuckle* There's nothing I can't do. Just stand back and watch.

You put a whole squash in the pot?! Wow… The oil is spitting everywhere! This must be a really authentic Chinese recipe. So creative and boundless… I'm learning so much.

I think you're very creative yourself, Setsuna. Singing a cappella the other day was a fantastic choice. People like you and me are meant to break down barriers.

It's the same with cooking. Show me your creativity now, Setsuna!

I will! I love how dynamic Chinese cooking is, so I'd like to focus on that!

Oh gosh… Please… Somebody stop them…

I'm just going to eat an energy bar. Do whatever you want.

Shioriko, at this rate Lanzhu is going to burn the whole house down. If you're going to stop her, you better do it sooner rather than later.

That is too much responsibility…

Hang on! This is a training camp, so you've got to eat dinner together with us, Mia-chi! You can at least rinse some veggies, can't you?

Sure, I'll just throw them into the washing machine.

M-Mia, how about we remove the stems from the cherry tomatoes? See? Like this.

Which are the stems?

They… They're these green parts…

I'll help too, Ayumu. Mia, the cherry tomatoes are soft, so handle them gently… Uh-oh!

Hey, we need to turn up the heat!

K-Kanataaa! Kanata, wake uuup!

*Yawn*

[Fade in/out.]

Ahhh, I'm stuffed. Your cooking is always so good, Kanata. I had lots of extra helpings.

*Giggle* You're welcome. It feels rewarding to cook when everyone eats it all up.

Lanzhu Zhong and Mia Taylor's clumsy attempt at cooking was terrifying to watch. How is it even possible to be that bad at something?!

I know, but if they were super talented and really self-sufficient to top it all off, then that might depress me more.

They both tried their best.

Yeah. And the salad wouldn't have turned into an acqua pazza dish if Mia hadn't squished all of the cherry tomatoes. That was tasty.

The pasta we made with the remaining acqua pazza was really good too.

Anyway, I'm still in shock about Ai and Karin pairing up as a unit.

Me too. I never would've thought that those two polar opposite personalities would form a duo.

I thought we were all definitely going to compete solo.

I still think competing solo is the right call, but I did notice that Karin and Ai weren't overshadowing each other's charms.

It felt like they were both performing the way they would solo. It's like…this unit is just an extension of their solo performances, or something.

I think their charm has been powered up several times over. Rina-chan Board says, “Tense.”

I also could feel their intense drive to win at all costs.

Maybe we should consider forming units ourselves…

But I don't really want to repeat what happened before, when we tried too hard to stay out of each other's way.

That's true. There's no point in forming units that'll take away from your individual appeal. That's why I think we should mainly focus on solo acts at Nijigasaki.

But if any of you have the same goals and share the same vision for achieving them, then maybe it's not such a bad idea.

You might be able to give a performance that enhances your good qualities from when you sing solo.

I think that's what Ai and Karin have shown us.

So are you suggesting that we form temporary units to reach our goal of making it into the event?

I'm just saying there's a possibility of that working out better. Obviously, I think going solo is great too since you've all been steadily improving.

But when I see what Ai and Karin are doing…

Maybe we do need a new kind of challenge. I wanna think this over a little.