Revision of the characters and subplots have been completed. Now restarting...Project A.
"Would Takami Chika-san please come up to the director's office?"
Chika looked over to the loudspeaker in the corner of the classroom, as did most of her classmates. Lunch break had just started, after all, and she didn't think she did anything worth being called up to the office.
"Oi, Chika-chan. What did you do?" You asked, looking between the speaker and Chika.
"I didn't do anything!" Chika retorted. Even so, she closed her lunch box and stood up. The director didn't like to be kept waiting.
"Can I trade lunches with you?" Riko asked as Chika passed her friend's seat. "I'll leave mine for when you come back."
"Yeah, that's fine. Wish me luck that it'll just be a short thing!" Chika waved to her two friends as she left the classroom. She started down the hall, walking briskly to get to the office as quickly as possible. Hopefully, the director wouldn't keep her too long; Riko's lunch was waiting for her!
When she reached the office, she found that the door was already open, which was strange. "Excuse me…" Chika said, hesitantly taking a step inside.
"Just hurry up and come in."
Surprised, the second year did as she was told. She hadn't expected the student council president being there for whatever it was that the director had called her for. Still, she had to greet the third year properly. "Hello, Dia-chan!"
"How many times do I have to tell you?! It's Dia-san while we're at school! Dia-san!" Dia shouted, emphasizing the honorific.
"Okay, okay. Sorry." Chika tried to look apologetic but she couldn't hide her smile. "So, you wanted to see me, director?"
"Yes." Mari said. The serious expression on the blonde's face caused all of the students in the room to become serious as well. "It's regarding the project my family and the Kurosawas have planned."
"Ah…has it been decided who will be in?" Chika asked, now understanding why Dia was there. The project in question had been funded by both the Kurosawa and Ohara families, to create a television show focused on students at Uranohoshi Girl's High School. She still didn't understand why she had been called up to the office though.
"Yes." Mari said again. "And the leader of the school idol group has also been decided." The blonde looked sharply at Chika. "Chikacchi, you are to be the leader of Aqours!"
"Yes!" Chika responded immediately. "Wait, what? How did I become leader?!"
"You see…" Mari said, casting a glance in Dia's direction.
The other third year picked up on the cue and started explaining. "We took all of the applicants' names and put them on a poll for the townspeople of Uchiura to vote on. Only the top six would be chosen, as Ruby, Mari-san, and myself are already involved in the project."
Chika nodded. Everyone who applied already knew that three of the nine available spots were taken up.
"The top six's submitted pictures, along with our own, were then put on a public poll to see which of us would be leader. The votes were overwhelmingly in your favor, so you are now the leader."
"I-I see…I guess that makes sense. So, I will be meeting the other chosen members soon?" Chika asked, already eager to get started with the project.
"Well, you already know most of them." Mari said, laughing a bit. "We will let you know when the project will start. Just thought I'd tell you your position first so you can enjoy it before we begin."
"Okay! Thanks, Mari-chan!" Chika bowed to the director and excused herself from the office. She ran down the halls back to her own classroom, excited to share the news with Riko and You.
"…so how long are you going to stand behind the door, Kanan-san?" Dia finally asked, now that Chika had left the office. Mari also turned to look at the space behind the open door as Kanan sheepishly pushed the door shut.
"I was gonna surprise her but she was so focused on you two that she didn't even question why the door was open." Kanan complained, walking over to Mari's desk. "Plus, you didn't even tell her that I got selected too!"
"You said you wanted to do that yourself, Kanan." Mari pointed out.
"That was before!" Kanan shouted. She quickly realized she was trying to win an unwinnable argument and changed subject. "And you, Dia!"
"M-Me?!" Dia blinked, taking a step back as Kanan turned to her.
"What was with your strict student council president act?!"
"I-It's not an act! I am the student council president!" Dia yelled back. "You pushed me into this position, remember?!"
"Ah. Right." Kanan patted Dia on the head. "But that doesn't mean you get to yell at me for no reason! Your punishment is a hug!"
"Noooo!" Dia struggled to get out of Kana's crushing embrace to no avail. She was simply not strong enough to break free from the other third year's hold.
"Kanan." Mari said. She walked around her desk to where the other two third years were standing. "No fair! I wanna hug Dia too!" Not one for thinking before doing, Mari launched herself at her two friends.
"Pigyaaaaaah!"
The scream echoed down the halls, reaching even the first-year classrooms. Most of the students ignored it, as it was a pretty common occurrence, but Hanamaru looked up from her lunch. "Was that your sister, Ruby-chan?"
"Probably…" Ruby said, sighing a bit.
"You going to go see what happened this time?"
"No. I can't be a proper high school student if I cling to my sis all the time." So, she said, but Hanamaru could see Ruby's hands trembling. It would be hard for Ruby to stay away from Dia; they'd always been extremely close.
Out of respect for Ruby's determination, Hanamaru dropped the issue and turned to the other first-year who was sharing their lunchtime. "And how are you holding up, Yohane-chan?"
"First off, it's 'Yoshiko'. And I'm doing fantastic." Yoshiko mumbled, facedown on her desk. "Now please be quiet and let me sleep a little please."
"Another late stream, zura?" Hanamaru said, ignoring Yoshiko's request completely. "You really should stop doing that."
"No way! Live-streaming is all I've got since I don't get an allowance like the two of you!"
"You'll get wrinkles from staying up late." Hanamaru replied, pausing to take another bite of her sandwich.
"Hanamaru-chan, I think you should let Yoshiko-chan rest before our next class." Ruby said, interjecting before an argument could break out.
"Two versus one, Zuramaru. I win." And with that, Yoshiko fell silent, doing her best to nap for a few minutes.
A few days went by before the project officially started. Chika, who had been waiting expectantly for this day, arrived at the meeting place an hour late. She had intended on arriving early, but since it was a Saturday, she'd forgotten to set her alarm clock.
"Sorry I'm late!" She yelled as she ran in through the school gates. "I overslept…huh?" As she looked around at the gathered students, she was shocked that she knew most of them. Of course, Mari had said so earlier, but she didn't think she knew nearly the entire cast.
"Look, Chika-chan! We got picked for the group too!" You and Riko cheered together. Chika trotted over to join her two friends and high-fived both of them.
"I knew you'd get in!" Chika said, as a way of congratulating them. She turned to Kanan. "But I didn't know you applied too, Kanan-chan!"
"Of course I did." Kanan said, a smug expression on her face. "If I'm not around, who knows what trouble those two would get into?" She gestured at Dia and Mari, who were both busy talking with the film crew.
"Probably less trouble than if you hadn't joined them." Ruby mumbled, just barely loud enough to be heard.
"I heard that."
Chika couldn't hide a smile as Kanan chased Ruby across the courtyard. She turned to look at the other two first years, who were the only two at this point she didn't know by name. "Hey there! I'm Takami Chika! What are your names?"
Yoshiko and Hanamaru looked at each other.
"Zuramaru." Yoshiko said, pointing at Hanamaru.
"Yohane-chan." Hanamaru said, pointing at Yoshiko. Then, she turned on her friend, shouting, "See? I knew you'd say my name wrong zura!"
"You did the same thing! It's 'Yoshiko' not 'Yohane'!" Yohane retorted. The two started bickering with each other, both forgetting that Chika was still standing in front of them.
I was right to do this. Chika thought as she imagined the next few weeks of working together with all of the other members of Aqours. It's going to be so much fun!
Also Muse is going to appear in this, so look forward to them.
Please leave a review! :3