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Assistant: Title: Passing the Torch
        Author: Yoshistar_Writes Yoshistar_Writes 
        Chapter: 1/5 
        Summary: A story of a set-up meeting between the long-retired μ's and the next generation of Nijigasaki School Idols.The School Idol industry has really changed since μ's had their final concert. On the first chance she gets, Nico arranges a meeting with Nozomi and Eli to catch up on the time they spent after graduation, but there is more than meet's the eye to this outing, and Nico has a very big confession to make to the girls.Meanwhile, Rina has gotten a mysterious text from non other than a retired (and supposedly) famous school idol. The girls of Nijigasaki's School Idol Club seem mixed on the situation, but after being offered a demonstration and meeting by them, curiosity sparks and new friendships begin to bloom anew.Just what will come of these two situations, and how will μ's fare in accepting that they need to support the next generation in an industry they've long-since left?
        Contents: Chapter 1: An Overdue Meeting
    

    


  

  
  
    
    Out of tradition, Nozomi had decided the girls would meet up on the stairs that μ's had always frequented their daily practises on. 
   How long had it been since she last used them for that purpose? 
For Nozomi, she went up and down these stairs almost on a daily basis. They were the ones leading to the shrine, and that meant these very steps had become a part of her daily routine. At one point, though, these stairs were more than that. It was strange that only now she was reminding herself of their prior origin. Today, these stairs felt like a relic. They were special to Nozomi. She chuckled at the thought. Once upon a time, many years ago, she used to often hear Honoka complaining about their practice regiment. She’d then tease her, and then Eli would scold the second and first-years to get their act together if they really wanted to win Love Live. Back then, the Love Live competition meant everything to μ's. She remembered the stress it gave, but Nozomi also couldn’t help thinking also of the laughs, tears, and sparkles the girls would all emit during their time in the spotlight. Without Love Live, they wouldn’t be the people they were today. Nozomi wouldn’t have made such wonderful friends without μ's and the rest of their legacy.Now, when she saw it on her local TV, she often couldn’t help but smile at the screen. Seeing the idols of today performing their very best reminded her that she was once just like them. Nozomi sometimes didn’t like watching the interviews  during the finals. Nine times out of 10, the girls there would often point to μ's as their one key inspiration. When Nozomi first heard it after years of avoiding the mention of Love Live, only one thought had escaped her lips after a brief chuckle.“So much for making our legacy fade away…”She smiled everytime it happened. It slowly became easier to watch the yearly qualifiers, since the girls were gradually mentioning μ's less and less. Nozomi had made it a habit eventually to watch it after so long. For old time’s sake, she wanted to see what μ's had left behind, as well as who they proudly gave their legacy to.In a sudden, she heard a voice snapping her back from her nostalgia. It was a complaint. The voice was bickering. Clearly, the owner wasn’t very happy, but Nozomi didn’t care. She let out a heartfelt chuckle at seeing who it belonged to.“You really didn’t have to walk so high up to set a meeting spot, Nozomi!”It was Nico. Time had done her a few favours since the girls parted. She was taller now. Her hair wasn’t tied up like it used to be. Even if some of her youth was gone, there was that air of innocent femininity upon her expression that made her recognisable. There was clearly no stress on her person. Nico decided today was the day she dressed freely, and so came on her usual t-shirt and jeans. “Are you sure? I got a cute reaction out of it?” Nozomi jested. She carefully stepped downwards, making sure not to trip, and then gave a cuddling hug to her smaller friend. “You’ve grown! Oh? In more areas than one, too-”“Not happening!” Nico yelled.She pulled away from her friend. After a blatant few steps downwards to avoid the grappling claws of Nozomi’s clutches, she shrugged her arms upwards with a defeated sigh.“What? You really thought I’d stop that habit?” Nozomi again asked, playfully.“Not exactly, no - but I’m worried for your co-workers. Don’t you work in a high-end firm? The sexual harassment charges must be pretty big in those places.”“I know my place in the world. I also reserve my hands for my close friends only!”“How flattering,” Nico commented. She didn’t sound too pleased with Nozomi’s privileges. Before the two could continue, another voice called from behind Nico. She felt a jolt, but turned around as the voice called to them. Nozomi as well, had walked down to the same level as Nico, and they saw the person before them.“I see you two haven’t changed. That’s reassuring, though. It’s nice to talk like this after so long.”Eli was different. It was a good kind of different. She was always mature, but now it was more-so. Any baby-like expressions her teenage years had given her had faded. She was more well-positioned, endowed, and her hair had been styled finely to match her elegance. She wore a leather jacket over her t-shirt, and the jeans alongside them helped compliment her style.“I thought we agreed to dress in our casual clothing,” Nico commented, dryly.At this, Eli huffed a little. She bashfully looked away, feeling her jacket’s zipline anxiously in defence. “But- This is my casual wear!”“That is  definitely not casual! Look at me, for instance! I’m casual to the very core.”“Little  too casual , if you ask me,” Eli bounced back. She relished the sight of Nico giving her a hiss at the backhanded insult. “Well, it doesn’t matter. This is just what I like wearing! I’m not changing my fashion sense for you.”At this, Nozomi laughed. It was a genuine laugh. She really had a hard time wondering if things would change between the third-years, but here they were jesting at each other like they used to. She walked further down the stairs, and then faced both Nico and Eli.“We’re all the same. It doesn’t matter how much we grow,” She stated, wistfully. “It’s good to see you both again, Eli - Nico. I’m glad we organised this day together.”Eli finally stopped huffing her cheeks in embarrassment and nodded to Nozomi. “Likewise. I was surprised when Nico contacted us. It’s not like her to be so social with everyone, and our old group chat got dormant once we all graduated from our universities.”“But we’re still friends regardless,” Nozomi stated. She really couldn’t stop herself today. Her smile stayed on her face as if it were plastered on. “We always will be. We’re μ's, after all.”Eli nodded, finally finding some agreement with the girls today. Nico, on the other hand, bashfully averted her eyes before bringing them back to focus again. Nozomi didn’t yet let them escape her grasp. She paced herself just a step below the two, and then held their hands in a gentle touch. “It’s been so long since I’ve felt you both like this. I’m really happy to see we’re all still here.”“Just us, anyway. Had I had it my way, I’d have gotten all of the girls back together,” Eli commented.“Oh please, I tried my best!” Nico argued. “I mean- I thought I should, but not everyone is even in Japan to begin with. I thought I’d keep things simple and make it a day for us third-years.”“Ex-third-years,” Nozomi corrected.“Ex-third-years…” Nico repeated.Even still, Eli had a hard time being satisfied with that excuse. Instead of getting mad, however, she simply sighed in defeat. “It’s fine, Nico. You had our best interests in-mind - but next time I want the rest of μ's to join us.”Nozomi could almost  feel her heart escaping her chest. Eli used to never be like this. Now when she wanted to, she was surprisingly honest with herself and the others. Nozomi found another chance to tease her, and she wouldn’t let it get away just yet.“That’s new, Eli. I’m glad to see you’re thinking of Honoka and the others-”“Hey!” She snapped, but Eli couldn’t argue. She knew Nozomi was right. The girls were always considerate not to bring up how difficult she used to be when μ's was first finding their footing, but deep down: Eli still regretted how stubborn she once was towards her juniors. “Well, I admit, I was hard on everyone before. It’s just that things have changed now. I don’t want to push them away anymore. I just think we should include them more.”“And I agree with that notion,” Nozomi replied. She turned to Nico, who only then looked away in embarrassment. “It’s nice that you wanted to think of us, Nico, but our ages don’t matter anymore. We’re adults now. We deserve to treat each other like family, regardless of who used to be first or second-year. We’re going to make an effort to include them next time, okay?”She flinched when being told off. Nozomi always had a gentle way of disciplining others. Nico had truthfully always had the thought that Nozomi’s maternal nature to her friends would have made her a good mother one day, but she never actually had the gall to admit that aloud. In all honesty, Nico was surprised that Nozomi  wasn’t married yet, but she knew even bringing it up would make Eli fight back with her own rebuttal on Nico’s current marital status.“That’s that, though,” Eli eventually concluded. “Where did you plan to take us, anyway? It’s been a while since it’s been just us. We could go anywhere now that we don’t have school tying us down.”Nozomi was inclined to agree. “That’s true. And speaking of school, if we make things quick, we could beat the after-school rush and look at stuff without having to worry about the other students around us.”“What do you mean? It’s not like you get recognised everywhere you go? Most people don’t even notice me nowadays.” At this, both girls gave Nico a curious expression as she said this. Once the thought had settled and they pondered over it, Nico could recognise their sympathetic faces. “Hold on! Don’t tell me-”“L- Let’s go look at some shops!” Eli interrupted nervously. She walked on ahead, and Nozomi joined her in a pedantic rush to forget things. “Y- You wanted to see some current school idol merch, right, Nico?”“Well- I did, but that’s beside the point-” Nico blurted, rushing to catch up to her friends. “And what do you mean you both get recognised?  I was the one who started the group!”Actually- Nico knew that wasn’t true. There were far more semantics and technicalities around the kickstarting of μ's, and all three girls knew that no one person could truly be pointed fingers to for making the girls become the best of friends. “Well, yeah, I guess Nozomi and Honoka did find our members, and I  did kind of just sit around and tell her to quit-” Nico recounted aloud. “But I made an effort in my own way, too! It’s just complicated!”By this point, they had just about reached the end of the stairs. Nico wasn’t getting any answers from the other girls. They had both chosen to ignore and deny Nico’s claims. For something that had happened so many years ago, both Nozomi and Eli preferred not to point fingers at each other for whatever conflict might have happened back then. Eventually when her nagging reached its climax, Nozomi simply smiled at Nico.“What matters is that you were part of our legend, Nico. Regardless of who we are now, we spent our years at school becoming idols who could inspire others. μ's faded away and let everyone else take the spotlight for them. That was what we wanted. Remember?”She could never face Nozomi’s eyes at an even level when she made points like these. Nico found herself once more averting her eyes and sighing. She didn’t like herself when others pointed stuff like this. Instead of continuing the conversation or agreeing with Nozomi, she walked once more forward ahead of the girls.“Yeah, well anyway: Let’s see some of the school idol merch they sell now. If it’s under a couple yen, then the spoils are on me!”“That’s awfully generous of you,” Eli commented.“Yeah- Well- I earn decent. I can afford it.” “I’m sure we  all earn a good income,” Nozomi mentioned. “I won’t stop you if you’re insisting on buying a few things for us, but are you sure about this?”“Yeah. Of course.”Eli couldn’t help raising her eyebrow at this offer. Nico wasn’t someone who did something without purpose, but it would have been rude to suggest she had an ulterior motive. The most she did was close her eyes and sigh. She was sure Nozomi could tell what she had been thinking by now, so she opted for now she’d keep herself silent.  Their first stop today would be Akihabara. It really had been a while since the girls had visited. Eli and Nozomi were noticeable figures. They usually preferred to avoid crowded areas like these. Places like these attracted attention where the two girls didn’t want it to, so if possible, they would have needed a good reason to visit.Nico enough was a solid excuse to go, though. She seemed to be semi-experienced with things. Nico remembered visiting often. It was the place she used to scrounge up idol merch from whenever she was given money. On off-occasions during their time as μ's, she had a fond memory where she and Honoka used to excitedly run to Akihabara together to check if the group had finally gotten merch made. She remembered Kotori and Umi used to begrudgingly chase after them. It was actually one of the few times she felt she could stand Honoka during their initial get-together, and the two became friends after their first few Akihabara marathons. Because of those memories, Nico could still remember a lot of the stores that were around. She was pleasantly surprised that a few things had stayed the same, but it made guiding the group much easier when her memory was so accurate. After first getting some takoyaki at a nearby stand, the girls shared a moment of bliss before deciding to browse the local shops. The first store that they went in was one Nico remembered used to sell an array of plastic figure stands. They sold a bunch of things from different anime, video games, and even idols. Nico looked around thoroughly, trying her best to research the current stock that was on sale. She seemed to have been taking this a lot more seriously than Eli or Nozomi, who had merely glanced at the idol merch from a face-value viewing.“The school idols of this generation look so cute, don’t they?” Nozomi commented, taking up a product to look at the name of the girl who most caught her eye. “Oh? Eli, look! Seems it’s reached a wider audience, too!”Eli, who had yet to pick up anything, walked to her friend. She peered at the name and read it aloud slowly. “Lanzhu… Zhong - that’s Chinese, right? School idols are popular there, too?”“I guess things really have changed.”“That’s true.”By this point, Nico had come into view. She wasn’t too pleased. Nozomi was the first to take notice of her behaviour. “Are you okay?”“I guess so,” she responded. Her tone didn’t help her case at all, however. “Hey, didn’t we used to have special Anniversary Merch made of us every so often?”“We did?” Eli responded back, incredulously. “Oh yeah, I think we did. I vaguely remember Honoka posting a photo about it in the groupchat when we were still studying-”“And I vaguely remember buying it myself,” Nico then confirmed. “I thought it was nice. But I guess since it’s been so long, we don’t have that anymore.”Nozomi couldn’t help but shrug. “Maybe the milestones get higher and higher each time. Give it 50 years, I think.”“I don’t have that long, though-”Eli couldn’t help but smile at this exchange. She grappled for her friend’s attention afterward. “Say, Nico, are you still into school idols?”She faced Eli, but her face was yet to relax. “And what if I said I was? Am I too old for them now?”“I don’t think you can ever be too old for it,” Nozomi mused. “Yeah,” Eli agreed. “I check back every once in a while, but there’s so many new ones, I don’t often remember their names. The groups only get bigger and bigger as the years go by. We used to think having nine of us was a handful.”“Some go a little further and go up to 12,” Nico commented, matter-of-factly. She could see Eli pull an impressed expression. This alone was enough of an ego boost to make Nico finally fully admit it herself. “I mean- I like to listen to the songs, and comparing the newer girls to how we used to be is fun sometimes. It’s fun to see what we helped create.”As Nico said that, she looked to Nozomi, who was still holding up the acrylic piece of Lanzhu. At this, she found another opportunity to flex her knowledge, and she wasn’t planning on letting it go just yet.“Like this girl: Lanzhu - she recently joined Nijigakasi High School’s Idol Club. After her, Mia and Shioriko joined - and by that point they had 12 members already. Oh- But they don’t do group performances. One of their recent points for success was that the girls preferred to perform on their own.”“Oh their own?” Eli repeated. “That takes a lot of guts. Why would they do that?”“Don’t know. Couldn’t tell you.” At this, Nico took the acrylic from Nozomi and stared at it for a moment. She settled it back neatly from where it originally came, and then noticed another of the girls from the Nijigasaki group. “Tell you what, though, one of their members helps everyone with the digital setup for their live videos, and it’s really impressive stuff. Sometimes I wish we had someone like thatourselves back when we were μ's.”“Oh really? Who’s the girl who does it? She sounds impressive.”Nico took out another of the figures nearby Lanzhu’s and handed it to her friend. She didn’t quite like looking at this one, though, but the girls had yet to notice her apprehension. “Her name’s Rina.  Apparently she’s a first-year.”“I see.” Eli scanned the appearance of the girl. Something in particular had caught her eye the most. “That’s an interesting mask. She doesn’t like showing her face?”“She only did it recently. Nobody knew why she didn’t show it until recently.”“And what was the reason?” Nozomi asked, suddenly interested.“She’s not the best at emoting. She randomly did a concert at a school festival recently without the mask and it surprised her fans.”“Poor girl. That must have been tough. How did the audience take it?”“They cheered. It was pretty emotional stuff.”“You don’t sound very emotional about it yourself, though,” Eli commented. “I- I’m impartial, I guess.”Nozomi put the figure down now. Looking at all of the merchandise today had made her realise just how big school idols had become since μ's decided to disband. It was oddly satisfying to see the industry come so far. Nijigasaki High was also a school far away from here. To have merch of it in Akihabara was no small feat considering the school itself was located as far as Odaiba.“I think we’ve seen enough for now.” Eli concluded. She raised her hands, stretching them out. “Are there other shops you want to show us, Nico?”The girl in question nodded before leading the other two to the exit. Nico couldn’t think of much else nerdy that Eli and Nozomi would have been interested in, but she knew well enough with how fashionable Eli was, they might at least get a kick out of shopping for clothes.That theory ended up being spot-on. Nico was pleasantly amused to notice just how much Eli was into shopping for herself. She may have put on a mature front, but it was times like these that she and Nozomi shared a guilty pleasure of watching Eli’s childlike glee at all the things that were available.Nozomi was a mixed bag when it came to shopping. Having known her for so many years, Nico knew that she wasn’t one to be superficial about things. She helped others because it made her happy. When Nozomi saw Eli excitedly browsing the shops before them, Nozomi simply found joy in helping Eli decide what to buy.  It was a successful outing overall. The girls failed to notice the evening begin to pass by them, but once it did, they realised now that they were reaching a stopping point for the day. On the walk to the train station, Nico had walked behind the others, anxiously watching from afar at the two’s pleasant conversation.“We should really do this again next time!”“I’ll make sure we invite Honoka and the others if we do.”“Oh yeah! Definitely.”
   Gosh, just hearing them talk was getting difficult for her. 
Nico knew for a fact that Eli had casted her suspicions on her from the moment she started the outing. She hadn’t gotten away without doubts, which made it all the more harder to reveal the truth to them. She was fully expecting to see their disappointed gazes when she revealed what she got up to, but Nico wasn’t sure if she was ready for it.“Did you also enjoy yourself today, Nico?” It was Nozomi that asked this. By this point, the girls all stopped walking as everyone faced her.Nico could feel the faint breeze pass by. She looked around to see if anyone else was around, but failed to notice a presence around the group. All that whisked by them was the occasional vehicle on the roadside. This would be a perfect opportunity to admit the truth to the girls - even if Nico didn’t want to. She was taking too long to answer. Yet again, she could see Eli cast her an expectant look. Nozomi as well, seemed to look back at her friend out of motherly concern. Now, she  had to admit what she did or else the two of them would know for fact she was lying. It was better to speak now than to stir the pot for later. “Well, about that-” She began, but the jitters got to her. Nico had to take a deep breath before continuing. “I actually wanted to talk to you two,” she continued, before her reason finally came pouring out: “Because I think I got myself into some trouble recently.”Now, it was Eli’s turn to talk. She had been waiting long enough, and her guesses were finally confirmed. She crossed her arms, giving a look Nico was all-too-familiar with from their school years.“Oh yeah? What  kind of trouble?”“It’s nothing bad, I think.”“You think?” Now Eli had narrowed her brow in even more suspicion. “Nico, if this is what I think it is, I swear I’ll-”She was saved. Like a flash of lightning, Nozomi had prodded Eli and gestured for her gently to calm down. Eli gave her a look, but abided Nozomi’s wishes. 
   It was good Nico invited Nozomi out as well. Had they been alone, she would have well and truly been done for.by the ex-school president. 
“Okay, it’s not  that bad  , but I still messed up,” Nico confessed. She tried her best to look at Eli’s gaze, but it alone was enough to make her tremble. She opted for Nozomi instead. “Remember that  Rina Tennoji girl I showed you all earlier?”“You didn’t seem too fond of her,” Nozomi commented. “What happened?”“Well, I  kind of got in contact with her… which would be fine- Except I made her find out that I was from μ's - and I may have made one or two promises I couldn’t take back when talking to her.”At this, she was expecting a sudden outburst of rage from Eli, however the girl had instead faced Nozomi and simply sighed. It was a long sigh. As it continued, it only further put Nico on edge, but when it ended, that’s when the questioning would begin.“I knew something was up when you just wanted it to be us third-years. What were the promises, then? What did you two talk about before you made such promises?”Nico gulped before speaking.“It’s nothing that bad. I was just telling her on Twitter that they didn’t make idols like they used to. She asked for a point of reference as proof, so I just told her I’d have known since I was from μ's.”“That’s not exactly a good thing to say, you know?” Eli commented. There was still something in her tone that suggested she was trying her hardest to hold herself back. “You make the entire group sound really pretentious if you do stuff like this. We don’t want to be put back on public radar for something like this. What you’ve done is dangerous-”“I know! I’m sorry”“Did you know about the consequences  before you started showing off?” Eli shot back once again. Her arms refused to refrain now from staying crossed with each other. “We left that industry years ago. It’s been almost a decade now. Nico, believe it or not: We don’t know the struggles of school idols as much as we used to anymore. Did you consider that before showing off?”Nico was now panicking for some sort of moral support. She looked to Nozomi only to realise that this was the one time she royally screwed up. Nozomi’s face seemed to be particularly cross. It wasn’t as annoyed as Eli’s, but any sort of emotion that wasn’t joy from Nozomi always meant something bad. “Do you have anything to say?” Eli asked Nozomi, who only shook her head sideways. “I’ll wait till we hear the full story.”Eli nodded, then went back to taking front of the confrontation. “And what did you promise her, Nico? That’s the most important thing I need from this confession of yours.”“It wasn’t a big deal. I just… told her I’d show her a thing or two about how we do things-”“How we  did  things,” Eli corrected. Nico felt another jolt upon her spine before continuing. “How we  did  things- Yes. I just told her she and her club could learn a thing or two from some experienced professionals.”“You addressed her entire club?” Eli once again confirmed. Now her voice was slowly beginning to tear through its seams. “This would’ve been far easier to take back had it been just her. Now you’ll make a fool of yourself to an entire group of people! Nico, word travels fast-”“I know, I know! I’m sorry!” By this point, she had sealed her eyes tightly shut. Nico wanted to hide the slow yet gradual tears forming from her eye ducts, so she chose to bow her head downwards in an apology. She did it just a few more times before finally wiping away her eyes. “It just sucked. No one else wanted to talk about our school idol days, so I got a bit nostalgic.”Now it was Nozomi’s turn to talk.“We’ve all been so busy. I can’t talk for everyone else, but our old idol days were the least on my mind ever since I graduated and went to look for a job. Had we chosen to hang out together like we used to, we could have reminisced.” Nozomi had an amazing quality of hers when she spoke. Somehow, she had managed to maintain her angry expression while still sounding impartial to the ordeal. “But this is still wrong, Nico. We all agreed, as third-years, that we’d respect Honoka’s ultimatum before μ's disbanded. Whether we wanted to bring them back or not, you should have talked to all of us about this before acting on your own.”And she was entirely right. Nico could tell that the girls had said their piece when Eli finally let go of her crossed arms. Now, her face had changed to one of pity. Eli knew that had she continued, she’d be no better than how she was before μ's first began. Of the two to first offer some sort of consolation towards the ordeal, Nico was surprised to see it was Eli who started a suggestion.“Well, it’s a done deal now. How was Rina like to talk to? Was she antagonistic towards you? Did she show off?”“Small little Rina?” Nico rebutted. Eli chose to ignore the sarcasm in her voice. “No, she wasn’t. She was more stunned, then anything. A lot more emotion that you’d think she’d show, anyway, considering she’s-”“Uncalled for,” Eli commented, but she let it slide when it was made clear from Nico’s tense shudder that she knew where she overstepped on her comment. “No wonder you did this. You found someone who was impressionable and used it as a way to show off.”“Hey-”“That’s besides the point now, though,” she finally concluded. After a nod to Nozomi, Eli once again addressed Nico with full attention. “Did you need some help getting out of this mess?”“Yeah…”“Then accept responsibility for it,” Eli answered. “What? How?” Nico was stunned. She tried to look to Nozomi for help once again, now in a flurried panic. “Nozomi, help!”No good. She was closing her eyes and smiling. That was never a good sign if you were up against Nozomi. This only meant that she agreed with Eli.“If this Rina girl told her friends about you supposedly visiting, then it won’t just be her who’s disheartened if you cancel on her. Like it or not, you need to see this through.”“But I’ll make a fool of myself!”“You will,” Eli agreed. Finally, she tried her best to smile. Eli was never as good as Nozomi when it came to giving someone comfort, but she was still trying her best to practise. “But we’ll lighten the load on you. I’ll talk to the girls and set something up. It’ll be a pain to have all nine of us book time off for the same dates, but if it’s for the integrity of μ's, I’m sure I’ll get through to them. Tell Rina to expect more than just a +1, and we’ll all organise a visit to Odaiba to see them.”At this, Eli then took out her phone. There was an ongoing silence as she tapped repeatedly on the screen. Nico dared not speak as she did this. Before the blonde could hit the Send icon on her screen, she averted her eyes to her fellow ex-school council member. “Do you have any objections, Nozomi?”“Had you not decided on it yourself, I surely would have suggested the same thing.”“That’s good.” A smirk came on her face. “It sure took us a couple of years, but we’re finally in sync, huh?”“I like this new you,” Nozomi commented. “You’re really fun!”“We’re just taking responsibility for our friend’s mess. That’s all there is to it,” Eli excused, but she couldn’t help deny that this was a new change for her. “You’re right, though. I wish we agreed more often back then in school.”At this, Eli finally hit the button. It only took a mere moment before Nico heard the buzz on her pocket. She fished for her device and read the message aloud to Nozomi.
  Eli:

  “Hey girls,

  Nico managed to get herself in some trouble regarding μ's. She has a lot of explaining to do, but me and Nozomi agreed to help her out of it. If it’s not too much to ask, I’d like to organise a phone meeting with all of you to explain everything. This isn’t the most ideal way I wanted to arrange a get-together for us, but I guess I can’t fight fate. Message me a time we might all be available and Nico will explain the rest.”
This wasn’t good. Nico could very clearly tell Eli avoided telling the full story to still make her take the full brunt of the reactions from everyone. Just to confirm, though, she had to ask.“So- how will this call go down exactly?”“You tell me. You’ll be hosting it.”“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!”Suddenly, a bunch of buzzes erupted from the girls’ phone. It was Nozomi’s turn to peer into the screen. She had a delighted smile when she read the messages. She showed the girls her device to look at. 
  Maki:

  “This is curious. What did Nico do this time?”

  Umi:

  “Should I be worried about this?”

  Hanayo:

  “This seems… rather short notice”

  Kotori:

  “What’s going on?”

  Rin: 

  “Sounds exciting. What’s the occasion?”
These messages alone weren’t all that motivating for Nico upon reading them. She really wanted to back out now, but Eli had already forced her into a corner. Before Eli could send another text to explain the situation once more - another text came.
  Honoka:

  “We haven’t met in ages! I’d be happy to do a call with you all. Is tonight too early?"
“Way too early,” Nico shouted, but she could see Eli and Nozomi nod to one another. After a few taps, it was sent. Nico was scared to look at the screen again.
  Nozomi:

  “If the other girls can make it too, me and Eli would be glad to host a call with Nico”

   “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!”  
This would be fine, though, Nico was absolutely sure without a doubt that at least one of the members wouldn’t be available. It was nine people, after all. One of them was for sure going to be busy. Nico was sure of that until-
   Bzzt! 
Her phone kept on shaking in-tune to the messages popping up on screen. As if the world was colluding against her, everyone had unanimously agreed that tonight would be as good a time as any to host the call. Nico was now screaming without restraint. She really didn’t expect this to happen. This alone was punishment enough.“There you have it, Nico,” Eli said, smugly. “Looks like this’ll be resolved sooner than later. I want you to organise a date with Rina after we get the girls on our side, and then I’ll take care of booking the trip tickets for us.”“That’s a rather expensive role you’re taking on,” Nozomi gasped aloud. “Want me to help?”“I earn decent, anyway. I think if we’re going to get Umi and Maki on our side, we’d need to at least pay for their trip to Odaiba ourselves. They’re pretty stubborn,” Eli reccounted. She felt nostalgic even remembering that, but she gave a smirk to Nozomi. “If you want, though: Splitting the bill might take a load off my shoulders.”Nozomi nodded. “Sounds good. Us third-years should take responsibility for all the girls. I’ll help you. What about you, Nico?”There wasn’t an out for her in this. Nozomi was always a fan of accountability, and this time she brought all the ex-third-years into this. “I guess I’ll pay as well,” she surrendered. “Don’t look at us like we’re villains. If I were feeling really petty, I’d make you pay all of it,” Eli commented bitterly. “Let’s all go to my place. I’ve got a personally office room we can use. It should look smart enough to get Nico in-gear when we do the video call.”“V- v- video call?” Nico erupted.“Ooh, is this a sleep-over I sense?” Nozomi cheered. Eli wasn’t originally thinking that, but she couldn’t help being amused by the idea. “Not initially, but let’s make it one.”Nozomi clapped her hands in delight, Nico sighed, and Eli started to lead the way back. The two girls followed after her.   Honestly, she could blame Eli all she wanted to, but Nico was also impressed at how quickly she had taken the initiative. It was a quality of her’s that she remembered of Eli’s since their old school days. All the parts of her that changed were for the better. It felt as if almost all of the stubbornness she used to have had vanished. All that was left from Eli was a surprisingly mature and understanding woman when trouble came her way. What about Nozomi? She was less likely to intrude and take things into her own hands now. In fact, she listened to both her and Eli’s side before choosing one to pick. Even after, she had a gentle way of reprimanding Nico. It was nice, but she felt different somehow.In contrast to this, Nico tried to compare herself.  What changed since she left μ's? She got a job, and she earned good money. Nico tried her best to compare her personality to how she was back then. She no longer lied to her entire family, which she supposed was a start. But then…
   Why was this so hard? Why was she feeling so frustrated? 
She knew she should have been thankful to Eli and Nozomi. She should have felt grateful and humbled they heard her out. Nico knew that most of all, she was lucky they even offered their hands instead of shunning her from making such a big mistake, but there was something eating away at her inside that she couldn’t quite put a finger on. 
   What was this feeling? 
She would give absolutely anything and everything to find out why she was feeling this way.'
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