Aqours Again

WARNING:

Contains serious topics and potentially unpleasant or disturbing descriptions, don't read this if you are sensitive to these topics or have any issues with them.

Also contains massive spoilers for Love Live Sunshine and to an extent the original series.

Read at your own discretion.

Chapter 1: Where We Are Now

It had been years since Aqours had disbanded and Uranohoshi was closed down. With heavy hearts, the girls parted and went off to college to achieve their futures. Some however had their own occupations to attend to, with Kanan becoming the owner of her father's shop. It had been ages since the words "Aqours" was said, although the community had felt such an impact from Aqours that the school building was preserved for their honor and memory.

The light rain fell onto the top of Chika's hoodie, sliding gently down the sides of her head. Hands in pockets, she walked wordlessly alone staring down at the pavement. Along the way she stopped in front of the old school she had made so many memories of, gazing sadly at the partially faded sign that still read "Uranohoshi". She had made this a daily routine of this, almost religiously giving her thanks for the happy memories. So much had happened since then. Although she never went to college, she had started two part time jobs; she worked at her family's business as well as helped collect the mikans for the locals. As she came to the front of her house, she saw Shiitake sleeping soundly in his doghouse. A light smile came over her face as she lightly stroked his head.

"I'm home." Chika calmly said as she took off her shoes and let herself in. Mito was sitting alone in the kitchen texting away on her phone. Chika went to the fridge and went to look for a pudding cup.

"Did you eat the last pudding cup, Mito?"

"Huh?"

Chika sighed. "I'll take that as a yes."

A light smile crossed Mito's face. "You used to get so mad about that. When did you become so mellow?"

Chika went to her room and checked her phone. You hadn't texted yet. Chika wasn't surprised, You had kept herself busy going off to college and eventually coming back home to help Kanan with her business as a full time employee. Admittedly she was a bit jealous, the two of them were always going scuba diving and getting to spend hours at a time on boats. Chika knew she was a bit envious of You, but she was happy all the same that she'd made something for herself. Chika fell back in her bed with an arm over her face, listening to the soft sound of raindrops on the roof.

"I used to be so energetic. So lively. So...happy with life." She thought to herself. "Am I really happy like this?" Through her window she could vaguely hear a cover of "Let It Be" next door. Riko had started a Youtube channel where she sung covers and songs usually that had piano in them, and was doing surprisingly well in terms of subscribers and views. Riko would play it down that they were just a result of Aqours popularising her, but Chika never thought that to be true...well, for the most part. It was probably an influence from Yoshiko's streaming; Riko would sometimes display a bit of Yoshiko in her personality too. Yoshiko had stopped streaming about a month or so after Aqours disbanded; nobody had been able to keep in touch with her except Ruby, who Chika had lost touch with herself. Aside from Kanan, Riko and You, everyone else was...gone. She only physically saw Kanan again when she came back from college.

The sound of rain started to fade away. Chika glanced at her nightstand and saw a book she had rented a while back.

"AAH! I forgot that was due today!" Chika glanced at the clock. The library closed in 15 minutes or so. Grabbing the book, she booked it out of her room and out the front door.

"Chika what are you in such a hurry for?" called Mito.

"BOOK! RETURN! CLOSES SOON! GOTTA GO!"

Holding the book tightly under her arm, she dashed down the street.

"The pavement's wet! Don't run you idiot!" Mito called after her. "*sigh* Shiitake, what are we gonna do with her?" Shiitake gave a bark in reply.

The warm damp air blew against Chika's face as she hurtled towards the library. She almost slipped as she made a sharp turn at the entrance. She burst into the library and slammed the book on the desk.

"IS IT TOO LATE!?" she yelled. The startled receptionist leaned back a bit in her seat.

"N-No, we're still open for another 12 minutes. Also, this is a library so if you could refrain from making a ruckus…"

"O-Oh, sorry…" Chika said rubbing the back of her head. "I'm here to return this book."

"Alright...and your name?"

"Chika Takami."

"Chika-Chan?" came a familiar voice from behind her. Turning around she saw a light brown haired girl with black leggings holding a book in her arms. Chika could remember that face anywhere.

"H-HANAMARU!?" She yelled in shock. Hanamaru shushed her aggressively.

"Ueh! S-Sorry." A smile grew across Hanamaru's face as she gave Chika a big bear hug.

"It's been forever! How've you been?"

"Pretty ok I guess. I didn't know you came to this library!"

"I'm on vacation with my grandparents here. They were looking to have a small vacation without too much travel, so I suggested here! Actually I'd be happy to introduce them to you, we can even get lunch together! Actually, would you like to now, zura?"

"I didn't have any plans for today, so I'm happy to come along!"

Chika stood outside Hanamaru's hotel room patiently as the voices of Hanamaru and her grandparents were heard faintly inside. Eventually Hanamaru opened the door.

"Gramma, Grandpa, this is Chika! She's the girl who led the idol group I was in during High School!" Hanamaru's grandmother resembled Hanamaru except older, having similar colored hair with a little grey here and there. Her grandfather was surprisingly tall with a haircut that reminded her of a meme she saw a while back of a blond guy singing in a high pitch voice. This accompanied by a beard made him quite the character.

"Nice the meet you both!" Chika said with a bow.

"The pleasure's all mine." Said Hanamaru's grandmother sweetly. "Thank you so much for letting my granddaughter have fun with your group."

"No problem at all! In fact I'm super glad she was able to join us!" Hanamaru smiled and rubbed the back of her head bashfully.

"So Hana, where do you plan to go?" her grandfather said with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Grampa, I told you not to call me that around other people!"

"Hana? I've never heard anyone call you that before!" Chika said with a bit of a smirk.

"You like it? I came up with it myself!" Her granddad said with pride. "It's an adorable name for my adorable granddaughter!"

"Grandpa!" complained Hanamaru, puffing out her cheeks in embarrassment.

Chika couldn't help but giggle a little.

"...and that's the story of how I almost destroyed the shed next to our house!" concluded Hanamaru's grandfather.

"A few more feet to the side and you might've been divorced right there and then, zura." Hanamaru said jokingly. They all shared a hardy laugh.

"I'm gonna go grab another drink, do you want anything?"

"Nah, I'm all good" Chika said as Hanamaru ran off with an empty tray.

"I'm really happy Hanamaru started to open up a bit with your idol band." Hanamaru's grandmother said when Hanamaru was out of earshot. "She's always been so reserved that I was worrying she wouldn't make any friends. Thankfully that wasn't the case."

"Well Ruby was also a positive influence, I think Ruby might have more an influence on her joining than anything."

"Actually...we lost track of Ruby ourselves. We tried to get Hanamaru a phone so they could stay in touch, but we had no clue how to use it. We just kept shutting the darn thing off and on a bunch."

"As tech savvy as Hanamaru herself I see.." Chika thought to herself.

"We're from the country, so we're not big on technology." her granddad said, "The most modern device we have is the lamp in our living room!"

"Are her parents the same way?" asked Chika jokingly. There was an awkward silence. Both of Hanamaru's grandparents looked down at the table with pained expressions.

"When she was only 3, they still lived with us and had gone out for a dinner to have a break from childcare and all. On the way home they...were both killed in a car crash when a drunk driver hit them head on. Not even that driver survived the crash." Her granddad rested his hand on her grandmother's hand.

"I...I never knew, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, I didn't expect her to talk about it. She doesn't like bringing it up either. But let's not ruin the day with a sad feeling, let's just pretend we never brought this up alright?" Chika nodded doing her best to put on a smile.

"Well thank you for taking us out to eat, I'm always happy to meet new folks." her grandmother said cheerfully.

"I had a good time too! Oh, Hanamaru want me to how to use your phone?"

"I've spent hours trying to listen to people explain it to me but it's never made sense to me." Chika folded her arms and puzzled for a second.

"Aha! I got it! Mind if I stop by here tomorrow with something? Also can I borrow your phone?"

"Where are you going with this, zura?"

"It's a secret for now!" Chika said winking and sticking her tongue out.

"Well I'm certainly not going to use it if you can't help with it so I might as well." Chika borrowed her phone and put it in her pocket. She gave them a wave goodbye and took off towards home.

"Hope to see you all soon!" she called out. Her granddad gave a big grin and her grandmother gave a warm smile, both of them waving goodbye.

"Same Chika as always, zura."

"...so that's how I met Hanamaru today!" Chika concluded.

"That's quite a coincidence." commented You. "Hey, maybe you could bring me along too so I can meet up too!" You and Kanan had finished their shifts, and the bay shone with an amber glow in the sunlight. They were out on the porch happily chatting with Chika like they had her Sophomore year and earlier. Kanan sat at one end of the table and You sat next to Chika.

"How long is she staying here?" Kanan asked curiously.

"A week or so I think. I offered to help her out with her phone so I'm going to make something tonight to help her out!"

"Careful not to exhaust yourself Chika, you don't want to ruin your sleep schedule."

"I'll be fine, there's no need for you to worry about me Kanan!"

"Fine fine, but if you exhaust yourself don't blame me!" You giggled a bit.

"Perhaps tomorrow I can treat them to my special Yakisoba!"

"Nobody knows how to make Yakisoba like you and your dad after all!" You scratched the back of her head laughing.

"You're making me blush!"

Kanan smiled at the two of them briefly until her phone buzzed. She looked at the sender's name, which read "Mari Ohara".

"Who's that from?" Chika asked curiously.

"Oh, me and Mari have been texting each other back and forth pretty consistently lately. If you want I can get you her number."

"Yeah! I haven't talked to Mari in ages, It would be nice to catch up like with Hanamaru!" As Kanan opened the text message her smile faded. The look on her face reminded Chika of back when Kanan refused to rejoin Aqours, so she knew something was up.

"Kanan?" asked You with a concerned look.

"Mari just texted me this." She said, holding her phone out to let the two of them read it. It read: "I was thinking that perhaps we can gather the Aqours members and have a super shiny reunion to check in on all of us! Don't you think that I'd be great to see our old friends again?" Chika and You exchanged curious glances. They both knew the look on Kanan's face meant something was bound to happen soon and it wouldn't be smooth sailing.

Ruby stared out the window watching the sun set over the rural meadows and forests going by. Dia was fiddling with her phone next to her with a mix of emotions on her face. Yoshiko was passed out in the seat across. After Aqours was broken up, Dia, Ruby and Yoshiko had started a small business selling all sorts of art supplies and creations of their own. Yoshiko had come up with the idea herself, Dia becoming in charge of finances and Ruby becoming a full time employee. Juggling running the store and schoolwork, Yoshiko simply became too tired to keep up her streams and left to pursue her artistic passion. Ruby sighed, almost feeling compelled to pass out herself.

"Mari has something planned." Dia spoke up suddenly. "I have a feeling in my gut, and it doesn't like this one bit."

"You're not excited to see our old friends again?"

"Of course I'm happy to see everyone again but...I know Mari too well to believe she's telling us the full story. It's not that hard to tell what she really wants us to do."

"Dia, if your hunch is right...what are you going to do? If things go wrong I'm scared our friendship will be jeopardised. I doubt you wanna hurt her feelings anymore than I do."

Dia's expression was filled with worry. She sat perfectly still staring down at her feet wordlessly. Finally she turned and gave Ruby a pat on the head and a weak smile.

"I promise it'll be fine. This isn't like what happened when we were first years. We're all still friends of Mari's and I doubt that will ever change."

Ruby nodded, but she knew Dia was just trying to comfort her. She returned to staring out the window at the fading sunlight.

"Hey Dia, if you had the chance to become an idol again, would you take it?"

Dia kept silent.

Serenaded by the sounds of crickets, Chika, You, Riko and Kanan headed up the slope towards Mari's mansion. Kanan walked in front, arms folded and staring down at the ground in front of her lost in thought. The other three walked side by side chatting amongst themselves quietly.

"...I don't think we have anything to worry about. We're not going to go confront a gang or something, this is Mari we're talking about." You said with her arms behind her head.

"I'm mostly worried about Kanan. She's seemed lost in her whole little world all night."

"Riko, I'm sure Kanan doesn't wanna cause a scene. They haven't seen each other in person for years so it's not like Mari could continuously force her into doing something." You suddenly moved towards Chika and pulled the ends of her lips up into a smile.

"You-hah, whah ah you hoing!?" Chika mumbled.

"Come on, we're going to see our old friends again! There's no need to be getting ourselves down!"

Chika nodded with an encouraged smile.

"Yeah! Everyone from Aqours in one place, hanging out like old times! I'd been looking for some kind of thrill recently; I think this is just what I need to get my blood pumping again!" Chika started jogging in place while repeating "Hup! Hup! Hup!" to herself. You and Riko couldn't help but laugh a bit, with Chika joining in herself after a couple seconds. Kanan started to fall back with them.

"Sorry I've been such a downer. My whole mind was in the gutter thinking about Mari, but seeing you guys trying to lighten the mood…"

"That's a rather non-Kanan thing to say!" Commented Riko. "Usually once you make a decision you stick to it."

"Maybe I'm driving myself crazy over this whole thing."

"Ooooh, someone's excited to see Mari and can't think straight?"

"Oh knock it off Chika!" The 4 of them laughed as they came upon the entrance to Mari's new home. There was already a few cars parked near the entrance, including a black car they recognized as belonging to the Kurosawa family. There was a big fence and a large gate that lead to a fancy looking entrance. Chika pushed and pulled on the gate but it wouldn't budge.

"Chika, you have to use the little pager on the wall first."

"I-I knew that!" she said unconvincingly. Kanan buzzed it, and almost immediately a high pitch enthusiastic voice answered the call.

"Helloooooooooo!~ Who's Theeeeereeeee?"

"Mari, you know it's us. Everyone else has already shown up!" Gleeful laughter came from the other end of the pager, followed by the gates out front opening inward.

"This is the part where Hanamaru would say 'Mirai Zura' wouldn't it?" Kanan jested. The group headed up the front walkway to the front door, the family crest embossed in the doorknob. They hardly had the time to admire it anyway, as Mari threw open the door and practically tackled Kanan in a hug.

"Ooooo!~ Your boobs are just as big as I remember them!" Mari said playfully.

"I'll sue you."

"Come on inside, we got all sorts of snacks and stuff! Hurry, everyone's waiting!" Mari hugged the three of them one by one as they entered. They made their way to a large living space with all sorts of tables and foods on top of tables topped with a fancy maroon tablecloth.

"You certainly went all out." Riko commented towards Mari.

"You think so? I was worried it wasn't much." The three of them sighed, getting deja vu about her stewshine. Hanamaru was at one of the tables grabbing food, apparently getting seconds. Dia and Ruby sat next to each other watching the flat screen. Yoshiko was standing with her back to them in the center of the room. Upon noticing their arrival, she turned around.

"Welcome my little demons! At long last, we have returned from the depths of hell to join forces here in the mortal world! Now, let us commence the ceremony!" Yoshiko let her cap flutter dramatically at the end of her speech.

"So that's why Yoshiko was awkwardly standing by herself in the middle of the room, zura."

"YOHANE!"

Ruby waved to them, a smile spread across her face. Dia got up and followed behind. Ruby and Chika squeezed each other in a tight hug, and the others followed suit.

"I've missed you all so much!" Ruby said bouncing up and down joyfully.

"It's good to see your adorable face again!" Chika teased while fluffing the bottom of Ruby's pigtails. Ruby looked down with a bashful look on her face. Riko turned to Mari.

"So...what's the plan for tonight?"

"Eat food, stay up late and have fun!" Dia muttered something to herself, something about 'rich people are crazy' and 'I came all the way here for this disorganized mess'. The night went on, with Hanamaru stopping her devouring after getting fourths, watching several µ's dvd's and Ruby falling asleep. Dia rubbed her head as she slept on her lap. You and Chika were still wide awake dancing to the music, albeit starting to get a bit sloppy from exhaustion setting in. Kanan was putting her tray with the other dirty dishes when Mari tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey Kanan, could you come here for a second? There's something I wanna talk to you about." Kanan's expression turned more serious.

"I knew this was going to happen" Kanan thought to herself. She followed Kanan up to her bedroom. Kanan shut the door behind them so they could talk in private.

"So Kana-"

"The answer is no."

"H-Hey! I haven't even said anything!"

"Mari, you gathered all the Aqours members to your home for a 'get-together' and make everything over the top for us. You're not fooling anyone." Mari threw her arms up into an 'I dunno' expression and grinned with her tongue sticking out.

"What are you talking about Kanan? Is it so wrong to want to see my friends again?"

"Mari, you're trying to bring back Aqours aren't you?"

"HWAAAAAT?" Mari said with an exaggerated pose and tone. "Kanan you're so silly someti-"

"Tell me I'm wrong then." Mari dropped the act and looked off to the side wordlessly. Kanan hardened her gaze.

"Mari, we're not in High School anymore. This isn't the same as it was back then. We have jobs now, we don't have the luxury of dancing our days away. Besides, even if we tried, we're not school idols anymore. I didn't get a degree to leave it hanging uselessly up on the wall. Now I suggest you cut this idol business and do something with that degree of yours."

"We can still be part of our majors while doing it as a hobby!"

"No we can't! If we're doing this we're doing this as professionals, and you can't go professional in two different places. Do you want to make us look like fools, mocking Uranohoshi's memory-"

"DON'T BRING THAT INTO THIS!" Mari suddenly screamed in a choked up voice. "Cooking isn't any fun with nobody there to cook for other than strangers! I hate being cut off from the world, I want to get back everything we've lost!"

"Do you really think none of us want that either!?" Kanan retorted with tears of her own starting to form. "We can't do it! Even if I wanted to, if anyone wanted to we can't! Aqours was laid to rest 4 years ago, LET IT GO!"

"NO! I...I…" There wasn't a sound in the air other than Mari's light sobbing.

"I'm sorry Mari, but this is the way it is. Don't blame me for something out of our control."

"I-I'm...not.."

"I'm going home. I'm not in the mood to hang out right now." With that, Kanan walked out of Mari's room and headed out. Mari led herself half in a trance to her bed an let herself collapse onto it. She buried her face in her pillow and sobbed as time became irrelevant. After a little while Dia came into the room. As soon as she saw Mari's tearsoked pillow and eyes red from sobbing, she sighed.

"I knew something bad was gonna happen. Need I even guess what happened?" Mari looked down at the floor wordlessly. Dia walked over and rubbed her head empathetically.

"I miss Aqours too, but you know as good as I we can't go back to those days. We all feel that way, even Kanan. She might not look like it, but I know deep down that's how she feels." Mari wrapped her arms around Dia and let herself sob into her shirt.

"Kanan…"

Kanan walked down the street in no particular direction. She had meant to walk home, but with Mari's words stinging her she felt she had to get out and get some air. She felt bad for Mari, but what else could she say? "I have a shop to run; eventually I'll inherit it too. I don't have the time to go galavanting off on some idea we can turn back time." Kanan thought to herself. She sighed lightly, glancing back up the hill briefly. As she continued along, she eventually found herself nearing a bus stop with a vending machine near it. It didn't matter much though, as the busses were long done for the day. A girl who she assumed was a High Schooler sat on a bench nearby listening to her earbuds. She wore a blazer she didn't recognize, looking at a screen which was playing a video. Kanan was mulling over which drink to get, darting her eyes around the machine. "Green tea...Iced Tea...ARGH, I can't focus at all! What was Mari even thinking!? We could've just had a good time but…no, I shouldn't blame her for this. She's been texting me so much recently...I wonder if she's lonely…" Kanan's thoughts were interrupted at the sound of the girl humming. The melody sounded familiar to her, so she let herself drift closer to the girl. To her surprise, she saw her smiling face looking back at her. And Mari's. And Dia's. And the rest of Aqours. The girl was listening to their Mijuku Dreamer performance! The girl suddenly yelled in surprise, falling on her back on the bench from surprise.

"J-Jeez, don't stare over someone's shoulders like tha-"

"S-Sorry! I just noticed that you were…" The girl had stopped mid sentence and stared back at Kanan with a look of astoundment.

"You're...You're…"

"Uh, are you all ri-"

"K-K-KANAN MATSUURA FROM AQOURS!?" The girl leapt up in Kanan's face with a joyful smile and eyes burning with passion.

"Y-Yeah. That's me."

"CANIGETYOURAUTOGRAPHITSSUCHAPLEASURETOMEETYOUI'VEDREAMEDOFMEETINGYOUINPERSON-" The girl stopped to catch her breath.

"Sorry about that...I'm just so excited to meet you in person!"

"I can see…"

"I came here on vacation hoping to meet you guys in person. I'm like your #1 fan, your story with Mari was super touching!"

"Mmm." Kanan looked off to the side with a saddened expression crossing her face. The girl gave her a worried look in return.

"You...still keep in touch right?"

"Oh no it's not like she's lost connections with me, she just…" Kanan paused. "She was having us get together at her new home here and-"

"Aqours!? Back together!?"

"No, it's not like that!" Kanan said angrily. The girl reeled back a bit in shock.

"S-Sorry for that, you see...I just had a fight with Mari. She wants to bring back Aqours, but I keep telling her we have jobs and such now. I can't go back to the way it was, none of us can. I didn't have all these responsibilities when I was in High School."

"But...didn't you always watch your shop during High School?"

"I guess but...are we really cut out for being professionals? We have degrees now, we have jobs, we...we…" Kanan lost her train of thought.

"You're worried about them aren't you?" Kanan hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.

"I don't want them to go ruining their lives chasing a dream after all this work to become something for themselves. Mari could excel in the cooking field because of her passion and her connections, Dia's expertise and Ruby's dedication can help Yoshiko with her business and…"

Kanan trailed off. She couldn't even remember what they were doing for work anymore.

"I don't want to pry into your private life but...I really hope you're willing to reconsider. Aqours means a lot to me, and I'd be the happiest girl in the world if you brought everyone back together. They may have a future, but are they all happy with it? There's no point in trying to dedicate your life to something you can't enjoy." Kanan pondered for a second. "Something we...don't enjoy…?"

"Random jump of subject but...when does the bus come?"

"The busses don't run this late."

"W-WHAT!? I've been waiting here forever for a bus to come and you're telling me there wasn't one coming? I really gotta go now, but it was a pleasure to meet yo- WAIT AUTOGRAPH AUTOGRAPH!"

"Alright, Alright, give me a second…" The girl eventually dragged her into also getting a good amount of photos after having several things signed.

"Ok I really need to get going before I distract myself anymore. I'm super super SUPERSUPERSUPER pumped that I got to meet you in real life! Hopefully things work out with you all!" With those parting words, she dashed off.

"Same to you!" Kanan called back with a smile. Kanan paused until the girl was out of sight. Turning around, she headed back up the hill towards Mari's House. "I forgot to ask that girl her name...ah well, whatever her name was she might have just been the catalyst Mari needed…"

Kanan hovered her finger over the pager. She knew it would would be awkward coming back, but she knew Mari at least would be there if everyone already left. "Dammit Kanan, why did you have to be so stuck up?" She turned on the pager.

"Yes, this is the Ohara Residence. Sorry but were kinda busy right no-"

"Dia, it's me." There was a pause.

"One second."

A few seconds later the gates opened up. Kanan walked nervously up to the house. Dia greeted her at the door with a mix of emotions on her face. Kanan kept a saddened deadpan stare at the ground in front of her. Walking back into the hall, everyone was looking at her with mostly saddened and worried looks. Kanan gave a bow to everyone.

"I'm sorry for the mess I made. I acted too rash and now I've made a mess out of a fun night. I did some thinking and I think we should discuss this as a group instead of just making the decision for myself. Am I allowed to come back to the party?" Mari got up and walked over to Kanan; She wrapped her arms around her.

"Oh Kanan, I knew I couldn't stay mad at you for long!" After taking a seat, the question hung in the air above the awkward silence.

"How about a show of hands?" Dia suggested. "All those opposed, raise your hands." Dia half raised her hand, but when nobody joined along she put her hand down.

"All those in favor?" Mari's hand shot straight up, but everyone else remained anonymous.

"I think it's a bit more complicated than that Dia. We all want to see it happen but…" Kanan trailed off once more.

"Allow me to ask you all a question instead. Are you happy with your life right now? Do you think it's worth the risk of becoming a professional idol if you can at all?"

"Being an idol was a lot of hard work…" Ruby spoke up. "...but it was some of the best times in my life. I would love to be able to perform at my sister's side just like we used to, more than anything!"

"On one hand I want my business to be successful…" Yoshiko said with her gaze to the wall. "...but I felt like I belonged with you all. Having Ruby and Dia help me out only proves that."

"Despite what I said earlier…" Kanan paused in the middle of the sentence. "I wish I could be an idol again and have fun with everyone. I just worry about jeopardizing your futures of everyone...especially after all we went through to make it this far."

Suddenly, Chika stood up. She started dashing towards the door, pausing only to gesture for everyone to follow.

"Chika! Hold on a second!" You called as she gave chase. Everyone else followed suit. Chika ran down the hill with the night breeze blowing on her face. She dashed along the seaside road, assaulting her with the strong scent of the ocean. She heard her own voice echo in her head. "I need to go beyond being a normal person and become the normal monster, Chika-chi!" She dashed along the side of an old guardrail, down a little hidden path and into the old field behind Uranohoshi. With everyone in tow, Chika dashed out into the middle of the field and took in a deep breath.

"GAOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Everyone stood and watched Chika a short distance away.

"I can't keep up the life I've been living like this! I don't want to stay here doing the same thing for the rest of my life! I want to get back that radiance we lost!" Chika put out her arm with an overpowering sense of confidence to the other members.

"Yeah we have degrees! Jobs! Businesses! We always managed schoolwork and business with our lives as idols, who says we can't do that now? We're all friends, we can help each other find our radiance! WHO'S WITH ME!?" Chika held her fist in the air, panting from running out of breath. At first, everyone stared at her. Then You put her foot forward and walked over to Chika.

"I want to shine again too! I'm ready to set sail with you Chika, full steam ahead...Yousoro!"

Mari followed suit, giving Chika a thumbs up as she ran over.

"Thank you Chika! I'll make sure we can be as radiant and shiny- no, shine even brighter than before!" Riko, Hanamaru and Yoshiko fell in too, Ruby dashing after them.

"R-Ruby!" Dia called after her.

"What are you waiting for big sis? Come on!" Dia sighed, then looked up with a smile.

"I doubt I could talk you all out of it. Alright, you win. I'm in."

Everyone stood in a semi-circle looking Kanan's direction. Kanan looked out at the smiling faces, and she felt herself start to tear up. She dashed after them, wrapping her arms around Chika in a half-tackle, half hug.

"Let's do it Chika! Let's bring back Aqours!" Chika let her tears roll down her cheek.

"It's a miracle...We've been blessed with another miracle…" Chika thought to herself.

"Normal monster Chika-chi is going to find her radiance once more!"