We all stepped out of the green room and walked down the hallway. The girls wouldn't stop chit-chatting in excitement until we reached the intersection between the entrance and the stage. We turned right and they became completely silent. The light gradually dimmed as we continued our walk towards the backstage area. I glanced back over my shoulder to see their eyes move around frantically in all directions.

We arrived backstage and climbed the stairs onto the platform, which had been almost cleared of all the boxes and tools. The girls ran past me—except for Umi—and their jaws dropped when they saw the empty court. The rest of us stood aside to let them enjoy the moment.

Risa swept tears from her eyes and Sanae squeezed her as soon as she noticed it. Astra joined the hug a second later.

Umi stood next to them and stared at the venue, not even blinking, with her hands closed into fists. Aki approached and placed her hand on Umi's shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Aki asked Umi.

Umi glanced at Aki and hastily looked away. "I am."

I expected a big reaction, but not an emotional one.

"Let's get started," I shouted.

"Yes!" the girls replied.

We all walked off the platform, except for Satō, who stayed to correct the girls' dancing. Each of them grabbed the microphone labeled with their name from the table on the platform and put them in their ears. Their voices could now be heard all around the venue. My stomach suddenly dropped and my chest tightened. I could only imagine how nerve-wracking it was for them.

The sound had some glitches and abrupt changes in volume, but that was why it was important to go through a soundcheck. It also allowed everyone to get used to the atmosphere and practice.

Aya took a lot of pictures of the girls practicing, while Butcher walked several laps around the stage. Miki not only had to make sure the sound was perfect, but he also needed to practice controlling the lights since there were a lot more of them. He also asked for a necklace, a wristband, and a lightstick to test the synchronization with the lights.

I used the time to make sure that the cameras were working properly. They were pre-installed in the venue, but they let us use them to record. Unlike previous times, we weren't going to live stream the show, but we were going to record it to publish it later. This way, we had the option to edit it and people had another reason to buy a ticket.

Three hours flew by. It was time for the doors to be opened, so we returned to the green room. The girls didn't practice the whole time, but it still was exhausting for them. We waited for them to shower before eating a meal similar to the one we had eaten for lunch, but with chicken instead of salmon.

The hologram TV in the room had the option to show the cameras in the venue. I was curious to see how many people there were, so I changed the channel to the camera feed for the lobby. There were a lot of people. I immediately realized that seeing that many people didn't do any good for our already high-strung nerves and changed the channel.

Tomokazu called for help a little after the doors opened, so Satō rushed to the stall to help him. They still were struggling, but they said it was manageable.

In the blink of an eye, it was almost time for the show to begin. The girls went to the bathroom before changing into their costumes. However, Astra had to use the toilet again after changing clothes.

"It's already eight, but we are waiting for Astra," I told Miki through Talkie. "Keep the music playing."

"Understood," he replied.

We waited for five more minutes and Astra wouldn't come out. I couldn't stop walking in circles, so I knocked on the bathroom door.

"Astra? Is everything okay?"

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

The door suddenly opened to reveal Astra's HoloForm slowly camouflaging her real appearance.

"I'm sorry!" she shouted. "I really needed it."

"As long as you feel better. Let's run now. Miki, play the intro."

"Right away," he replied.

We had just stepped out of the room when cheers echoed down the hallway. They slowly faded away as we walked, but the chat from the crowd became easier to hear.

Unlike earlier in the day, the exit of the hallway was covered with a black curtain. We stopped behind it for the girls to grab their microphones from a table and put them on. Meanwhile, the orchestral track played in the background and Aya took pictures of the girls getting ready.

"Thirty seconds," Miki announced through Talkie. At the same time, I could hear the smoke machines starting to shoot out smoke.

Out of nowhere, one of the microphones fell to the floor. Umi crouched down to pick it up, but she struggled with how much her hand was shaking. She stood up once she managed to grab it and pulled her hair aside to put it on.

I stood in front of her and her entire body jolted when I grasped her shoulders. We stared at each other and I simply nodded with a smile. Her breathing calmed down and she stopped shaking.

"Ten seconds," Miki announced.

As I approached the curtain, I looked at the girls and we smiled at each other. I held the curtain and remained still. Only then did I notice my hand shaking mildly.

"Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Go!"

The orchestral track stopped playing and I pulled the curtain open. Aya took more pictures as the girls rushed toward the platform. Pink lighting helped them see where to step and Butcher clapped next to the stairs.

The crowd cheered even louder once the girls stood on stage. They waved at the crowd and the lights dimmed out. They struck their initial poses for Blossom Stars before the song burst through the speakers. The entire venue became pink and white with the synchronized necklaces, wristbands, and lightsticks in the crowd.

It was an overwhelming feeling or a combination of many, one that I never imagined could exist. All of my worries vanished from my mind as I stared at the crowd jumping to the rhythm of the song just as energetically as the girls.

I was spaced out for a long while. Luckily, everything seemed to be going perfectly, but that only lasted for half of the show.

For some reason, a quarter of the top spotlights shut down. It wasn't too obvious, but something was definitely wrong. I approached Miki, who sat next to the stage behind four panels with dozens of controls.

"Miki, what happened to the lights?" I asked. If it hadn't been for the Talkie app, it would've been impossible for us to hear each other with the music blasting into our ears.

"I'm trying to fix them, but it doesn't look good. They are completely disconnected from the system."

I looked up at the lights and then down at Miki. "Is there nothing we can do?"

"The only thing I can think of is to restart them. That means to climb up there and do it manually."

"Then let's do that. I'll ask one of the workers."

I walked around right behind the stage where the equipment boxes and wires were. It was very dark, but it was easy to see the two workers wearing the fluorescent vests. They both sat on top of one of the boxes, so I approached the closest one.

"Hey, we need help," I shouted.

He jumped up and replied, "Yes! What is it?" He looked quite young.

"Some of the lights at the top of the scaffolding stopped working and we need to restart them."

"Sure, but I'm not confident I know how to do it."

"Our technician can explain it to you."

We walked back to Miki and the other worker followed us as well. Miki quickly explained how to restart the lights while keeping an eye on the performance. For some reason, it wasn't as easy as just pressing a button.

The young worker seemed to understand and approached the scaffolding. He took a while to wrap himself with a security harness and then carefully climbed the scaffolding until reaching the top. Even though he attracted a lot of attention, the crowd still jumped to the rhythm of the song.

Finally, he reached the lights that weren't working. As Miki instructed him, he first made sure that they were receiving electricity, which we knew they did when he gave us a thumbs up. It took him a while to restart the first light. Once it did, it did so at maximum brightness. Miki was ready for it and quickly reintegrated it into the system.

The same process was repeated for the rest of the spotlights, although the young worker took less time as he got used to it. It was a success, so he climbed down the scaffolding. I bowed and thanked him for his help and he received it humbly.

The concert continued without issues until the second to last song: Starry Sunrise. Umi's microphone suddenly stopped working during her section of the song.