It was a view like they had never seen. The building wasn't as big as some existing in Tokyo but the aura surrounding it made it special.

Muse walked past the main entrance and were warmly received by the receptionist, a girl with a tiny face, big eyes and a sweet smile. The girl was wearing a cute pink costume which was the uniform of female employees.

They were told to get to the elevators and ascend to the last floor so they could meet the president.

The lift stopped on a few other floors before they arrived at the 25th. In one of the floors, a group of 3 beautiful girls appeared. It was A-Rise.

"Ah, Honoka and everyone!" Kira Tsubasa greeted them. "Are you here to talk to Hiroyuki-san?"

"Tsubasaaa! Who is that Hiroyuki person you mentioned?" Honoka answered looking confused.

"Honoka, that's the president's name! How can you not know that?" Umi scolded their leader.

"Ahah, that is so you Honoka. You guys still don't know this building well, isn't that right?" Tsubasa said.

"Yes, what about it?" Nico intercepted the conversation, her tone of voice was quite hostile.

Maki slightly shook the girl. What was she thinking, being so rude to their senpai?

The A-Rise members decided to ignore Nico's disrespectfulness.

"How about we show you around when your meeting ends?"

"Ah, that would be helpful, arigato gozaimasu." Eli bowed.

A-Rise smiled at them before leaving the elevator on the 23rd floor.

A few seconds later, Muse reached the last floor.

There was a single huge door just outside the lift. Without further ado, the girls knocked on the door and walked inside.

"Yokoso, Muse!" Hiroyuki-san welcomed them. "Please, have a seat."

The president of S:RE was just like any other executive person. He had black hair, short dark brown hair and wore a dark but elegant suit.

As soon as Muse sat down, a man dressed in a butler's clothes served them a cup of tea.

"This man here is Duda Mariusz. Just like Ayase-san, he is half Japanese and he will be your manager from now on."

"Yoroshiku onegaiishimasu." Duda-san bowed.

The girls greeted him back.

"I'm not going to hold you in here for long. We're just going to discuss about your first job." The president cleared his throat. "Classes are almost starting, as you are aware. Our company signed a contract with Love Live! and we'll be hosting a special live show a day before schools open. We wanted you to be the opening act for the show. What do you girls say?"

"Really? We accept!" Honoka didn't waste any time in responding.

The other members moved their heads in agreement.

"I didn't expect us to be able to perform for Love Live! again. Waa, now I'm nervous..." Hanayo was in the verge of tears.

"Ahah, don't worry. You sang and danced for the shows a few times. It won't be any different. Well, it will kinda, since now you won't be up for voting. But you won't perform alone. A-Rise will be the closing act. So, if you feel nervous, you can always hang out with them." Duda tried calming them down.

The meeting continued for more 10 minutes and they were finally finished.

Just like they had promised, A-Rise was waiting for them in the lobby.

The first thing Tsubasa and company showed them was the cafeteria on the first floor, right beside the lobby. Between the 2nd and 5th floors were gym rooms to exercise. Until the 10th floor rested a few more gyms but solely for the purpose of dancing. From those up to the 15th were the studios for music making. The next 5 floors had big auditoriums and resting rooms with beds and saunas. The last floors were mainly used by the executive members of the company, so they were filled with conference rooms and such.

The tour was fairly long and thorough.

"How about we rest a bit in the cafeteria?" Anjuu suggested.

Nico utterly opposed and quickly walked out of the building.

"What is wrong with Nico-chi, today?" Nozomi glanced at Maki, thinking she'd have anything to do with her mood.

"Hey, it has nothing to do with me." Maki replied, a little bit annoyed by the accusation. "Minna, go ahead of me to the cafe. I'll go check on Nico and we'll join you shortly." The red-head bowed to A-Rise apologizing for the previous girl's behavior.

Outside, Nico was sitting on some stairs, sulking like a child.

"Nico-chan, what was all that about?" Maki voiced as she also sat down on the stairs next to her friend.

"I don't like them."

"Who, A-Rise? But didn't you like them before? Why the change of heart now?"

"Look, I do admire them as Idols. Their work is like no other. But I don't like them as people, specially Tsubasa." Nico suddenly stood up. "I feel like she's faking whenever she smiles towards us. And the way she looks at Honoka is way to suspicious. Even Nozomi thinks the same. She just doesn't have the guts to say it to them."

"You mean she just doesn't want to be impolite like a certain girl we know." Maki chuckled.

"Hey, don't make fun if me!" Nico pouted.

"Well, I do get some weird vibes coming from those 3 girls."

"So you do agree with me! I'm right, right?"

"We can't be certain of that yet, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt." Maki gave the girl reason so they could meet the others in the cafe fast.

But Nico had other plans in mind.

She grabbed her friend by the hand and started running.

"I want to let out some steam. Come with me to one of the gyms."

"Eh? I don't know if we can just barge in without permission."

"I'll find a way or I'm not called Nico, the best Idol in the world!"


Obs: The girls finally met their superiors and got to know what their first gig will be. They got reunited with A-Rise and will be working together for the next weeks. Some girls don't seem to like them but Honoka is always around them. How will their partnership work?

And what does Nico have in mind?

See ya in the next chapter! ^^