As the fireworks festival was underway, nine members stood on the stage, preparing for their first song as people gathered in the audience. Then, the song began.

Itsumo soba ni ite mo

Tsutaekirenai omoide

Kokoro

Maigo ni naru

Namida

Wasurete shimaou

Utatte miyou

Issho ni ne

Kotoba dake ja tarinai

Sou kotoba sura tarinai

Yue ni

Surechigatte

Hanarete

Shimatta koto ga

Kanashikatta no

Zutto

Ki ni natteta

Wakatte hoshii to negau

Kimochi ga tomaranakute

Kitto

Kizutsuketa ne

Soredemo

Akiramekirenai

Jibun no wagamama

Ima wa

Kakusanai kara

Chikara o awasete

Yume no umi o

Oyoide yukou yo

Kyou no umi o...!

Donna mirai ka wa

Daremo mada shiranai

Demo tanoshiku naru hazu dayo

Minna to nara

Norikoerareru

Kore kara nanda ne

Otagai

Ganbarou yo

Donna mirai ka wa

Daremo mada shiranai

Demo tanoshiku shitai honto ni

Minna to nara

Murishitaku naru

Seichou shitai na

Mada mada

Mijuku DREAMER

Yatto hitotsu ni nare sou na bokutachi dakara

Honne butsukeau toko kara hajimeyou

Sono toki mieru hikari ga aru hazu sa

Kono mama issho ni

yume no umi o

oyoide yukou yo

Kyou no umi o...!

Arashi ga kitara

Hareru made asobou

Utaeba kitto tanoshii hazu sa

Hitori janai

Norikoerareru

Fushigi nakurai

Kowaku wa

Nakunatte

Arashi ga kitara

Hareru made asobou

Sore mo tanoshimi da ne honto sa

Hitori janai

Muri shinaide yo

Tasukeaeba ii

Waku waku

Mijuku DREAMER

Donna mirai ka wa

Daremo mada shiranai

Demo tanoshiku naru hazu dayo

Minna to nara

Norikoerareru

Kore kara nanda ne

Otagai

Ganbarou yo

Donna mirai ka wa

Daremo mada shiranai

Demo tanoshiku shitai honto ni

Minna to nara

Murishitaku naru

Seichou shitai na

Mada mada

Mijuku DREAMER

The song finished with the blast of fireworks going up in the air, as the nine members on the stage looked up in awe at the display. One of the members, Matsuura Kanan, smiled thoughtfully.

"Y'know, our group's name was actually Aqours before."

"Eh? Really?" Another member, Takami Chika, asked. The member beside her, Sakurauchi Riko, furrowed her brow.

"Okay, there's no way that's a coincidence." Kanan shrugged.

"Then…" Watanabe You scrunched her face in thought. "Then, it must have been one of you three that wrote the name in the sand that day!" she concluded, pointing at her three upperclassmen.

"Process of elimination," Mari teased. "Two of us live in Awashima, an island away from where the three of you were." The other six members were in thought for a good five seconds before…

"AHHHH!"

They all pointed to their Student Council President, Kurosawa Dia, who playfully winked.

"It was me," she giggled.

One Week Later

A raven-haired girl was cooped up in her bedroom as her three younger siblings slept soundly, napping. Still having the spirit of an idol fan, she wanted to see if there were any groups that would peak her interest. It was then that she came across a video that, in the last week, had over 150,000 views. The video's title…

"Mijuku DREAMER, Aqours," Yazawa Nico mumbled. She then looked at their one previous video with six members. "Yume de Yozora wo Terashitai… huh?" She glanced at her phone before grabbing it and speed-dialed a friend.

"Nico-chan? What's up? I'm a bit busy."

"Of course you are, Miss Hospital Intern," she said teasingly to her former underclassman, Nishikino Maki. The other girl sighed through the line.

"Seriously, what is it?"

"There's a group that I want you guys to check out."

"Eh?"

"Their name… Aqours. A-Q-O-U-R-S."

"Nico-chan, you know I don't—"

"You and I both know you have the time," Nico interrupted. Maki could only groan. "We all know that since our disbandment… we've all gone back to music at least a few times."

It's been about five years since μ's had disbanded. Despite their busy schedules, they had all stayed in touch. They had called each other, and occasionally met up with other members.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I haven't touched the piano since then," Maki admitted, chuckling. That chuckled soon followed with a sigh. "Alright, Nico-chan, you win. I'll check them out. Should I tell the others?"

"No need. I'll conference everyone in, just gimme a sec."

Riko sat on her bed, and pulled out her laptop, going to Aqours' homepage. She scrolled though to their latest video, and smiled at the number of views. She felt her heart warm up at the sight of the nine of them together as a group. Her heart seemed to skip a beat at the thought of performing together with such an amazing group of friends.

She glanced over at her piano that rested near the balcony doorway. She got up from her bed, and opened the piano. Gently taking a seat, she placed her hands on the keys, and began to play while singing.

Aishiteru banzai!

Koko de yokatta

Watashitachi no ima ga koko ni aru

Aishiteru banzai!

Hajimatta bakari

Ashita mo yoroshiku ne

Mada

Gooru janai

The redhead sighed softly, feeling refreshed after playing such an iconic song.

"You never cease to amaze me, Riko-chan," her neighbor, Chika, complimented. Riko turned in her seat.

"Chika-chan." She stood up and went over to her balcony.

"Was that another μ's song?"

"Mm-hmm. Aishiteru, Banzai." Chika sighed dreamily.

"That's such a pretty song! And their composer, who wrote it, is just as amazing!"

"Hehe," Riko giggled. "You really love μ's, don't you, Chika-chan?"

"Of course! They're my — no, our inspiration!" Riko leaned forward, resting her forearms on the balcony.

"I do wonder, at times, what Nishikino Maki's inspiration is for writing her songs… It'd be great to learn from such a talented person like her."

Riko's laptop pinged, signaling that she got a notification. She turned toward her bed, and furrowed her brow. At the same time, Chika's sister, Mito, called for her from downstairs.

"Chika! Gimme a hand with these sheets!"

"Ah! Okay!" She turned to Riko. "I'll see you in the morning, Riko-chan! Let's catch the bus together, okay?"

"Un, see you then, Chika-chan. Good night."

"Night!"

The leader headed back inside, as Riko went over to her bed, reaching for her laptop.

"Mm? A notification from our website…?"