Episode 1 - Let's Be School Idols!
You looked over the club application form, making certain that all the proper spaces were filled out correctly, as was her duty as student council president. "Well," she started, "The good news is that this is filled out correctly. The bad news is that I can't approve this."
"Eh?!" yelped Ruby, nervously holding her hands to her chest, "Why not?"
You offered a sad smile. "I'm sorry Ruby, but school rules clearly state that all clubs must have a minimum of five members." She returned the paper to the redhead. "And you've only got two."
Ruby frowned, disappointed at such a rocky start to what was supposed to be a shining school idol career.
"There, there," comforted Hanamaru, "It's just a small setback. Besides, this just means we get to go out and make three more friends, zura," she said, trying to put a positive spin on it. Ruby sent her a grateful look, but still looked a bit down. Though one of the reasons she wanted to be a school idol was to overcome her shyness, it was still a daunting prospect.
"Hanamaru's got the right idea," encouraged You. "And once you get three more people to sign up, I won't have to play the obstructive bureaucrat anymore!"
Ruby giggled, and let her regained confidence show. "Alright! I'll do my Rubesty!"
.
"I know! What about Those Three Girls in our class: Yoshimi, Itsuki, and Mutsu?" suggested Hanamaru.
"Who?" asked Ruby, genuinely confused.
"Hmm... you're right, zura. They wouldn't be very good school idols if no one even remembers who they are..."
Episode 2 - A Wild Yohane Appeared!
Ruby and Hanamaru strolled along the beach side, mulling over their problem. Just then, a loud and sinister laugh caught their attention, drawing their gazes to a blue-haired woman in a black gothic lolita outfit standing at the very edge of the dock.
"Behold, denizens of the black sea, your demon queen Yohane has overcome the barriers erected by heaven to stand before you today! I claim this domain as my own, and all inhabitants within its darkest of depths shall become my little demons!"
"Wow," observed Ruby, "She's got a very compelling aura... I wonder who she is?"
"Yoshiko!" exclaimed Hanamaru, running at the demon queen, "You're back!"
"Hanamaru?!" cried Ruby, following after her.
"What?!" replied Yoshiko, surprised, "Who dares address the queen of darkness by the name bestowed upon her by the trappings of mortal flesh?"
"Yoshiko!" shouted Hanamaru as she hug-tackled the queen of darkness into the abyss of her newly-claimed ocean.
.
"I'm sorry I ruined your clothes, zura..." sniffed Hanamaru sadly. After Ruby fished her and Yoshiko out of the water, the two wet girls had been told to stay on the beach while Ruby went to grab towels and hot tea.
"It's fine, Hanamaru," sighed Yoshiko wistfully. "I have more at home." She chuckled and smiled at the brunette. "Honestly, I'm more surprised you recognized me. It's been how long again?"
Hanamaru giggled. "Well, you've always been rather memorable."
"Hanamaru! Yoshiko!" called Ruby as she ran up, arms full of goods. "Here," she said as she handed each of them a thermos. "I tried to make sure the tea was warm without being too hot. I hope you like it." She put a towel around each girl's shoulders as they drank.
"It's perfect, zura," replied Hanamaru.
"Indeed! Such generosity shall elevate you highly in the hierarchy of queen Yohane's demon court."
Ruby tilted her head in confusion. "What? I thought your name was Yoshiko?"
"It is," said Yoshiko, tossing the redhead a lopsided grin, "But sometimes it's just fun to be unique, you know?"
Ruby conceded the point.
"Speaking of which," continued Yoshiko, "What do you think? I've spent the last year cultivating and refining my Yohane persona."
"It's very impressive," answered Ruby, Hanamaru nodding emphatically behind her. "And actually, how would you feel about showing off your persona to others? Like, a lot of others?"
"Hmm?"
"How do you feel about being a school idol?"
Episode 3 - Third Year Drama
The door to the student council room slammed open, You looking up completely nonchalant to stare into the eyes of her best friend. "Big news, big news!" declared Chika as she ran in, slamming her hands on You's desk. "So big it makes the world look like a mikan!"
"Chika, take some deep breaths and calm down," said You. "Now start over. What's going on?"
"You!" said Chika, fire burning behind her crimson eyes, "Riko's back!"
This time it was You's turn to slam the desk. "That's big news!" she exclaimed, eyes wide as her common sense was replaced with excitement.
"I know!" cried Chika as she grasped You's hands.
The pair jumped up and down excitedly before they had one of their best friend moments. Without a word, they decided, hand in hand, to go see Riko.
.
"Where did she go?!"
"I guess she gave us the slip again..."
A sad sigh. "Yeah..." The sound of footsteps faded.
Riko emerged from the broom closet, gently shutting the door behind her as she left school for the day. Chika and You were insistent on seeing her, but the redhead always managed to give them the slip whenever they went to confront her. She sighed. She couldn't face them, not now, not ever. How could she? It was all her fault.
Two years ago, she had transferred into Uranohoshi in preparation of her father's eventual relocation to the seaside hamlet. Two years ago, she had been a friendless loner, spending her time reading books and playing piano. Two years ago, she had been approached by Chika and You and they asked her to become a school idol. Two years ago, she said yes.
It was fun, for a while. The practices were long, the physical work was demanding, and the songwriting was surprisingly difficult, but with their friendship they managed to make it work. But then came the Live. The three girls had gone to Tokyo, amazed by the sights and sounds of 'real' school idol groups, before their performance in front of hundreds.
When it came time for them to sing... she couldn't do it. Couldn't sing, couldn't dance, couldn't even blink. She failed them.
How could she face them? She couldn't.
So she ran away. Her father's new office building wouldn't be completed for at least a year or two, so she transferred out of Uranohoshi and continued her schooling in Tokyo. Chika and You would be better off without someone like her anyway.
She buried her memories and feelings from those days, drowned them in homework and reading... but eventually she had to move to Uchiura permanently.
So here she was, still running away, still putting off the inevitable confrontation... What kind of a person did this to her best friends?
Riko arrived at her home, a lone tear running down her cheek. "I'm sorry..." she murmured.
Episode 4 - Two Girls' Feelings
The sound of irritated tapping echoed throughout the diving store, drawing a sigh from Kanan as she looked over to the cause of the disturbance. She frowned. "Dia, you're more wound up than usual. What's wrong?"
"Nothing," replied Dia automatically, her eyes still staring at the book she had brought with her.
"Obviously something's wrong. You only fidget this much when you're really scared, like that time we went into that haunted house when we were little."
Dia's brows furrowed, but she still refused to look up. "It's a very scary book," she snapped.
Kanan scoffed. "Yes, it's so scary you've been afraid to turn the page for the past half-hour," she remarked.
This time, Dia did look up. Her cheeks puffed up in a pout. "I. Am. Fine," she declared.
"If you say so," said Kanan, rolling her eyes. Dia returned to her book.
3... 2... 1...
"My older sister is starting a school idol group," announced Dia, "And she asked me to join."
"Well that doesn't sound so bad. You love school idols! Why don't you join her?"
Dia clasped her hands nervously and brought them to her chin. "You know why," she replied.
And indeed, Kanan did know why. If Ruby was going to be a school idol, then in Dia's mind, her group would unquestioningly make it big. After all, big sisters were infallible like that. But when, not if, they made it big, they would have to go to Tokyo to perform for Love Live. And going to Tokyo was out of the question for Dia.
Kanan hid a small smirk. She remembered when she found her best friend, nearly catatonic as she tried to make sense of Tokyo's train system, clutching her favorite plush penguin and mumbling under her breath about how much of a twisted mess it all was. It was actually really funny, not that she could say that to Dia.
"Dia, you can't let one bad experience control your life. Sure there will be scary times, but there will be a lot more good times! That's the journey every school idol goes through."
Dia frowned. "Big sis won't be scared," she retorted.
Kanan raised an eyebrow and gave her a look as if to say, 'Have you MET your sister?!', but settled for a more measured approach instead. "Maybe, maybe not. But the thing is, she's not doing it alone. And if you join her, you won't be alone either."
"But I don't really know the others! I don't want to drag my sis down!"
"Then I'll join too!" declared Kanan, grabbing Dia in a big hug. "I'll join, and we can be school idols together, like we were always meant to be!"
Dia smiled. "Thanks," she said, returning the embrace. The two hugged in silence before Dia decided to add another thought. "But you were supposed to be with me when I got lost in Tokyo too."
"They were having a sale on chef's knives!" protested Kanan, "I had to look!"
The two shared a laugh, and they both knew everything was going to be okay. Then a noise from outside caught their attention.
Dia and Kanan looked out a window to see a bright pink helicopter about to land not far from them.
"Wow. I wonder who's in there?" pondered Dia.
"Probably someone with more money than sense."
Episode 5 - The Headmaster That Doesn't Do Anything
"Well, well, well, what's all this then?" asked You with a chuckle as Ruby led her school idols into the student council room.
Ruby stepped forward bravely and handed her a form. "The five of us would like to form a school idol club!" she declared proudly.
You looked over the roster, her heart melting at seeing so many people come together to share the dream of being a school idol. "Oh? You got your little sister to join too?"
The younger Kurosawa sister nodded emphatically. "I'll Dia my best!" she said determinedly.
You giggled. "Alright then... Everything looks in order..." You nodded and smiled. "Okay! From this day forward, I hereby approve this club for school idols for Uranohoshi Girls' High!"
The five girls cheered in happiness and excitement. Though they were a little loud, You was fine with letting them continue so long as they got no noise complaints. Just then, the door opened and a blonde first year entered. The cheers quickly died down.
"Hello," greeted the newcomer, "My name is Mari, and I'm here as a transfer student and as Uranohoshi's new headmaster."
A collective silence fell over the group of six. Then...
"WHAT?!" chorused everyone.
"It's true," said Mari with a nod. "I have the paperwork right here, if the student council could please look at it now." She held out the papers to Yoshiko, who only raised an eyebrow in response.
"Ah, these five aren't part of the student council. I'll take those," said You.
As the student council president looked through the various forms, Mari turned to the other five. "If you're all not part of the student council, then what are you doing here?"
"We're Uranohoshi's newest school idols!" declared Ruby, Dia nodding enthusiastically behind her.
"Ooh! How shiny!" admired Mari.
"That's right," chimed in Hanamaru, "And we're going to win Love Live and make sure our school is remembered for generations to come!"
"And once our dominion is uncontested, we shall channel the soul energies of the people into even greater feats of dark wonderment, and claim the world for the demon queen Yohane's court of the fallen," added Yoshiko. As if anyone else would say such a thing...
"My big sis will lead us all to being the best school idols the world has ever seen!" cried Dia, stars shining in her eyes.
"And we can use the fame we get to help boost Uchiura's local economy," contributed Kanan, practical as always.
"Wow..."
"Okay!" declared You, "Everything checks out, so I suppose congratulations are in order." She turned to Ruby and co. "Girls, meet your new school headmaster, Mari Ohara."
The five politely clapped, as was socially expected.
"Thank you, thank you," said Mari. "Now, my first act is to transfer all my headmaster power to you, Miss Student Council President, until such a time comes when I wish to reclaim those powers."
"EHHHHH?!" chorused the group.
"But why?!" exclaimed You.
Mari shrugged. "Because I want to have a normal high school girl's life before I grow up and do adult things. And maybe I can be a school idol too?" she said, directing that last part at Ruby while fluttering her eyelashes hopefully.
"Of course! The more the merrier!"
"SHINY!"
"Wait a minute, isn't it too much for one person to be headmaster and student council president?!" protested You.
Mari frowned. "Hmm... I guess so..."
Just then, the door slammed open and a familiar ginger poked her head inside. "Hey! You! Ah...! What are all these people doing in here?!"
"They're all school idols," answered You succinctly.
"And who are you?" asked Mari, looking Chika over head to toe.
"This is Chika," supplied You, "She helps me out."
"So she's the vice president?" asked Mari.
Chika and You exchanged a look and a shrug. "...Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"Excellent!" beamed Mari, "Then my first act as headmaster is to transfer all my headmaster power to you, Miss Student Council Vice President, until such a time comes when I wish to reclaim those powers. Enjoy!"
And with that, the six school idols left the student council room, leaving behind two very confused third years to try and sort through whatever had just landed in their laps.
Episode 6 - More Third Year Drama
When Riko walked into her classroom the next morning, she didn't expect to see Chika and You waiting for her, especially since they were both in the class next door. Little did she know the two had used their combined student council president and headmaster powers to edit the class rosters a little.
"Riko!" exclaimed Chika as the classroom quieted dramatically just for the occasion. She hopped off a desk and made her way closer to the redhead, You trailing behind her. "Guess what? There's a new group of school idols at Uranohoshi, and they're still accepting applicants." She smiled. "Why don't the three of us join them?" she proposed, before holding out a very familiar mermaid costume.
Emotions shot through Riko's mind. Fear of having to perform onstage in front of hundreds. Anger at the reminder of her failure two years ago. Mild relief that Chika and You weren't immediately and instantly furious with her for everything she'd put them through. Incredulity that those were Chika's first words to her in two years.
But above all, Riko knew one thing: she did not want to go through that again. Wordlessly, she grabbed the costume out of Chika's hands, pointedly ignoring the embroidery of Three Mermaids on the back, and threw it out the open window.
"Our uniform!" cried You, as she practically dove towards the window.
"NO!" shouted Chika and Riko in unison as they literally tackled her to the floor before she could do anything stupid.
They landed in one big girl pile, each of them surprised at what had just happened. You was the first to break the silence. "So you do still care about us," she said softly.
"Of course I care!" sniffed Riko, burrowing her face into You's neck. "There wasn't anyone before the two of you, and there wasn't anyone after the two of you either..."
Chika and You exchanged a smile. "I think we should find a quiet place to talk everything out, yeah?" said Chika, standing.
You nodded. "Let's do that." Without further adieu, she wrapped her arms around Riko and hefted her in a princess carry.
Riko squeaked as her face flushed bright red. "W-W-What are you doing?! I can walk!" Both her friends chose to ignore her.
"To the student council room!" declared You, practically kicking down the door as she ran. "Yousoro!"
"To our love nest!" agreed Chika as she followed. The ginger stopped at the threshold of the classroom and poked her head back in. "Oh, this an approved absence! The headmaster has given her permission!" Then she departed to catch up with the two she loved.
Episode 7 - Tiro Finale (Obligatory Flashback Episode)
The Uranohoshi school idols cheered and hugged, basking in the glorious aftermath of their first Live as nine. Their song was heartfelt, their hearts were fluttering, and the audience was filled with dogs wearing glow sticks on their heads. It was absolutely thrilling.
And at performance's end, there was only one question on Chika's mind. "Hey, so how did you come up with the name for our group anyways?" she asked.
Ruby chuckled nervously, "Well, it's not exactly a meaningful story or anything, but..."
* Flashback *
"We are not calling ourselves Descendants of Darkness!" said Ruby in exasperation, crossing her arms stubbornly.
"Such a title is exquisitely elegant! A perfect fit for the demon queen and her most loyal and beloved of little demons!" argued Yoshiko, posing dramatically and demonically. She then dropped her persona as she added, "And it's still a lot better than Breadwinners!" She gestured to Hanamaru who, ironically, was midway through eating a loaf of bread.
Hanamaru glared as she practically sucked down the bread like a vacuum cleaner on steroids. "It's a very good name! Just think of all the sponsorship deals we'll get from bread shops nationwide, zura!"
Ruby huffed. "I still think Shrinking Violets sounds much better than either of those!"
All three girls growled as they shot stubborn glares at each other, none of them wanting to give an inch. Then, just as suddenly, all three girls sighed loudly and sat back on the cushions on the floor of Ruby's room.
"Alright, look," said their redheaded leader, "We've been arguing about this for three hours straight... Why don't we just put all these names into a hat, then draw one at random? Whoever wins, wins. Is that okay?"
Hanamaru and Yoshiko exchanged a glance, but ultimately nodded in agreement. So Ruby found a nice hat, they each wrote down their proposed names, and into the hat they went. Ruby was about to draw when the doorbell rang.
"That's gotta be the pizza we ordered!" said Yoshiko excitedly as she jumped up.
"Good idea," agreed Ruby, "Let's eat first. We'll be in a better mood for later."
"Yay!" cheered Hanamaru, "Dinner, zura!"
"Eh?! Didn't you just eat half a dozen bread rolls?!" questioned Yoshiko in amazement as the three exited Ruby's room.
Several seconds later, a pair of bright green eyes framed by a curtain of obsidian hair popped into Ruby's room, having overheard everything. Sneakily, Dia slipped into her older sister's room and grabbed a piece of paper. Eyes wide and shining, she wrote 'Aqours' on it and stuck it in the hat, before skipping off gleefully.
After dinner was over, the second year trio returned, and Ruby plunged her hand into the hat.
"Eh? I think the paper's stuck..." she said.
"Do you need help, zura?"
"No... I... Got it!"
Ruby, Hanamaru, and Yoshiko gathered around the folded paper. Once Ruby unfolded it, they all read out the name they had chosen in unison. "Dry Clean Only?!"