EPISODE III: A New Honoka

"Anyone seen Honoka?" Hanayo stretched her arms along with the girls in afternoon practice. On this particular day in their school idol career, µ's leader couldn't be accounted for. They hoped to kill some time with some warm-ups, sometimes without her showing up.

"She said she has something to do at the library first," Umi answered. "But for Honoka to be this late to practice is just…"

By no means was this trend an isolated case. The confounded looks among µ's ranks showed their reservations for the past few weeks. Every day of practice from that point on felt different without Honoka to lead the way. Either Umi or Eli could take the reins on her behalf, as it had always been even before the manager joined, but the lacking feeling persisted. Indeed, days of doing things as a full group of nine have made them inseparable.

"She and the manager have been going to the library a lot lately," Umi added. "To be honest, I expect that to be the last place to find Honoka."

"This started when the manager began training her, right?" Hanayo said.

"I guess," Umi replied. "Maybe it means she's finally taking her responsibilities a lot more seriously."

A stoic Nico scoffed at the absurdity hidden in that argument. "You think she'd find a bit more time for the club, don't you think?"

"I don't think Honoka has forgotten her responsibilities in the club," Kotori took a stand for her best friend.

"Kotori's right," Eli concurred. "The manager is with her. Besides, we're talking about Honoka here."

The girls shared a chuckle or two. Honoka losing time for school idol stuff? The gods must be crazy to let that happen in a lifetime. Everything µ's has worked up until today has been, in large part, the brainchild of a proactive mind. Everything the girls built with their song and dance has been driven by no less than their charismatic leader. The warm-ups continued, sans the load in the girls' chests.

After at least two sets of warm-ups, the school idol of the hour and the manager joined the girls. Even if the cause is for a better Honoka, Nico doesn't take to tardiness well. "You're late. Again."

"Sorry," the manager stood in for Honoka. "She really needs to brush up on her math. Library time took longer than expected."

"Are you done with your errands, Honoka?" asked Umi.

"Yeah," Honoka nodded. "I'm ready to start practice."

Nico shoved her face toward Honoka, too close for comfort. "You better be. My body's already sore from half-an-hour of warm-ups."

"Really sorry," Honoka lowered her head in shame.

The last thing the group needed was fighting among themselves. Maki got in between the two. "Cut her some slack, Nico. Honoka may not be leader material, but it doesn't stop her from trying."

"Now, now," Eli intervened. "Why don't we save our energy for today's practice?"

And so, another day of practice honed the group's song and dance for the competition to come. A delayed Honoka aside, today's practice never felt out of the ordinary. The investment of blood and sweat with each line sung and step taken turned to merits in their performance. The smiles on the girls' faces showed their passion for the sport. Everyone expected their leader to give it her all and lead the way, which she didn't fall short of both.

Maybe the gods aren't crazy. Yet.

~O~

No matter the extent of their training, the girls dropped exhausted after an hour of song and dance. A water break was in order, as well as a meeting about an opportunity to get the µ's name out. The manager opened up with a bold idea, to which everyone save for Honoka reiterated: "A live show after Love Live?"

The plan itself wasn't unusual. If anything, school idol groups serious about achieving fame would use every chance they get to get their name out. What surprised the girls, however, lay somewhere in between the lines.

"That's right," the manager said. "The end of this Love Live means the beginning of the next one, so school idols will be busy preparing for it. Whoever fires the first shots will have the advantage."

"A live show? In two days?" said a frantic Umi. "Would we be even ready on time?"

"I thought we all agreed not to rush things anymore," Hanayo added.

"We aren't," the manager smirked. "We've been planning this for weeks."

A resounding "What?" hit the manager and Honoka right away. Confused looks and spit takes aside, the news earned the girls' attention.

"Guess the cat's out of the bag," the manager said.

Cue a cat springing out of Rin's bag next to her. "Nya! How did that get there?"

The little powwow paid no heed to the cat that scurried away. All eyes were fixed on the big news.

"Sorry if we didn't keep you all in the loop," the manager said. "Honoka and I wanted this plan to be a surprise. It'll generate more impact that way."

Before anyone could ask what the plan was, an excited Honoka beat them to the punch, opening her arms to the suggestion of: "Another live show in Akiba!"

As far as crazy plans go, this left everyone picking up their jaws off the floor. Nico got hers first and gave the leader the nicest words that expressed her opinion. "Have you lost your mind, Honoka?! You want us to perform at a place controlled by the champions?"

Where µ's leader got the bravado to propose such insanity, the girls could only guess. Library time must've been more than just opening a few textbooks and going over notes. But as bold as the plan appeared to them, not one felt like issuing an ultimatum to the current queens of the school idol world. Even Kotori, who agrees to almost anything Honoka says, had to look away in regret.

"Honoka, what brought this on?" Umi asked.

"I think it's a great idea, don't you think?" Honoka replied. "It's just as the manager said. The end of this Love Live is the beginning of the next one. We'll go out there and give our best performance yet. All eyes will be on us as the group that fired the first shots."

"But why Akiba?" scowled Nico. "Are you trying to pick a fight with A-RISE? Do you want people to see us as arrogant?"

"Why are you all so worked up about this?" Honoka said. "We did it before. We can do it again."

"That was before Love Live," Nico said. "This is a different ball game. If we aren't careful—"

The manager stepped in for Honoka. "We won't be careless, I can guarantee that much. That's why I spent so much time training Honoka to be a great leader. You'll be surprised at just how much she's grown these past few weeks."

Nico's frustration turned at the manager. "Yeah, sure. I feel a lot safer now."

"We'll go over the details of the live show in the club room once practice is done," the manager continued. "It won't be easy, but it'll be the shot in the arm µ's needs."

"Eek! We're gonna get shot?!" Hanayo freaked out.

"Calm down, Hanayo. No one's gonna get shot," Eli then turned to the manager. "Even if we manage to go through with this, will we be able to get everything done on time?"

The manager's confidence in his plan spoke on his behalf. "I think I'll let Honoka answer that one."

~O~

Arms sore and legs shaky, the girls found more than just a well-deserved rest in the club room. Not that practice felt more work than normal, but the girls found no words for the plethora of words their leader had to say. Everything but the kitchen sink had been planned out in the whiteboard of black scribbles. Everyone had a to-do list of their own, all doable within 48 hours. The particulars would warrant its own story for an explanation, but the girls understood their roles with just one look at the scribbles. And there was no point in doubting Honoka as the author thanks to her sloppy handwriting across the board.

"Is everyone clear on what to do?" Honoka asked. Nothing but air, at least for the first few seconds.

"Where…did this all come from?" Umi's gaze darted between the fine details laid out in front of her. "There's no way you could've come up with this on your own."

"I didn't. The manager helped me with half of it," Honoka smiled.

"And you want us to do everything on the board in just two days?" Umi gasped.

"It's doable, right?"

"That's impossible! The earliest we can be fully ready is a week."

"Don't worry, Umi. I'll help you with the choreography."

"And the costumes?"

"That, too."

"Music? Lyrics?"

"Will do."

"Theme?"

"On it."

"Honoka!"

"Whaaaaat?"

With the rest of the girls still fixated on their to-do lists, the tense air above Honoka and Umi only served to worsen the confusion. The manager stepped in between them in an effort to minimize the collateral. "Listen, Eli—"

The correction came swift as a coursing river. "Umi,"

"Listen, Umi. Why not give Honoka a chance? After all, you want her to take things more seriously. This is her chance."

"That's true, but I didn't…"

"If it makes you feel better, I'll take full responsibility if the live show fails."

"That's not what I…"

Honoka walked up to the manager's side. "This is still what you want, right Umi? Are you just gonna turn back now?"

Soon, a surge of confidence helped swing popular opinion in favor of a new Honoka. Eli led the way. "It won't hurt to try. Let's give this one a shot. I have a feeling that we'll be able to pull this off if we work together."

"If Honoka's this eager to help out, then I'm all for this plan," Kotori said.

Sensing the leader's strong desire to create a new success, The Magician made itself known to the situation at hand. "Looks like the cards are favoring Honoka," Nozomi said.

There was no need for the rest of µ's to speak up to achieve a majority vote, even with Umi as the only dissenting vote. The live show would push through. "If there aren't any objections, then let's get started," the manager declared.