It was a Saturday evening in Akihabara and Honoka and her two best friends, Umi and Kotori, walked through the glass door of A-Live, a fancy yet not too fancy restaurant. They were wearing clothes that aren't worth describing because they do not play a role in this story whatsoever. (If you absolutely have to have a visual picture, imagine them all wearing striped one piece swimsuits with squeaky flotation devices that have little ducky heads sticking out of them around their waists because that would be frickin' adorkable.)

Honoka had some issues opening the door and she expressed her complaints out loud.

"Why the heck would they put a handle on a door that you push to open!?"

"I don't know but you need to relax. We're in public and-" That's when Umi noticed three oddly familiar people sitting at the table that Honoka was leading her and Kotori to.

Umi pulled her two friends behind this divider that some restaurants have. You know, for decorative purposes... probably.

"What is the meaning of this!?" shouted Umi somewhat quietly so that she wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. She wasn't too happy with her companion right now.

"It's a triple date!"

"Huh?" Kotori was just as confused as Umi was but she wasn't mad.

"It's exactly how it sounds. I figured we could flirt with A-Rise to build a stronger bond between them and Muse. Appearing with A-Rise on stage or on TV would cause our popularity to soar. Plus, all of us could get ourselves a new girlfriend!"

"Ooh, scandalous!", exclaimed Kotori.

"Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?"

"'Cuz you guys might not have come if you knew."

Umi sighed a sigh to end all sighs and said, "That's correct, I wouldn't have gone but now that we're here we can't just go and cancel the reservation... You really are something else Honoka."

"Eheheh." laughed Honoka sheepishly.

"Let's sit down at our table. I don't think they saw us yet so act natural.", said Kotori.

As to be expected from a group of juvenile girls, they couldn't play it cool. Kotori whistled while walking stiff straight, Honoka was acting paranoid (constantly looking in every direction with a slightly crouched stance), and Umi simply had this facial expression that said, "I just murdered someone and shoved the body in a refrigerator but it's all good because I cleaned up the blood and disinfected the crime scene."

Everyone in the restaurant was painfully aware of their presence except for Tsubasa, Erena, and Anju. They must've "A-Risen" out of their seats to go to the bathroom because they were nowhere to be found. Most women tend go into public bathrooms in packs for some reason so that's a likely assumption. They probably didn't leave the building because their matching leather biker jackets (that were obviously their's because each one had an "A-Rise" logo studded with rhinestones on the front pocket) were hung over three chairs on one side of a table. This meant that our heroines were safe, but they could feel bone-chilling leering coming from all corners of the room. Because A-Rise wasn't among the onlookers, the HonoKotoUmi trio got away unscathed.


Shortly after Honoka and her subordinates claimed their spots the girls from A-Rise returned. Tsubasa greeted her rivals that sat on the opposite side of her table.

"Hey guys! I thought I saw you come in but then I looked again and you weren't there anymore so we checked to see if you were in the bathroom but here you are."

"Yup, we're here!" said Honoka cheerfully. Anju and Erena smiled back at Honoka and Honoka noticed that Anju's smile was a little bit wider than Erena's. It could've just been her imagination though.

Once everyone finished saying their hellos a tense atmosphere was formed and nobody spoke a word. This would've turned into an awkward silence but a handsome waiter came by to ask what the girls wanted to drink. Umi and Tsubasa got water, Kotori and Erena ordered iced tea, Anju wanted cola, and Honoka had a taste for chocolate milk. It would seem that most people wouldn't dare have chocolate milk on a first date no matter how much they liked it because they wouldn't want the other person to perceive them as being childish but truthfully, the person that you're trying so hard to impress probably wants chocolate milk too. (Life Tip: Always follow your heart and your taste buds when ordering stuff at a restaurant because if somebody discriminates against you based on your food choices, they don't deserve to eat or drink anything.)

"Is that everything?"

"Yes sir.", said Tsubasa politely. Half of the girls thought to themselves, "Of course that's everything! Do you see any more people here!?"

"Alright, I'll return shortly with your beverages. Here are the menus in the meantime."

"Thanks." This time it was Kotori's turn to say the formality.

Honoka was the first to open her menu and right off the bat she started talking about how tasty everything sounded. Umi was getting annoyed hearing about it so Honoka talked to the person sitting across from her instead.

"Hey A-Rise girl with the same hair color as me, check it out! They have lots of spaghetti!" (Honoka pronounces "lots of" like "lotsa". Remember this. Otherwise the next part won't make any sense.)

"My name's Anju..."

"Sorry, let me try that again..."

Honoka re-positioned herself, cleared her throat, and revised her words.

"Hey Anju-chan, check it out! They have lots of spaghetti!"

Anju was a bit surprised at Honoka's immediate use of "chan" when she said her name but it didn't bother her at all. In fact, she found it to be quite refreshing. Breaking free from the standards set by society takes a lot of courage (or carelessness in Honoka's case). Although, Anju had to ask, "What's 'lotsa spaghetti'? It sounds foreign but I can't tell what language it is."

"That's because there's no such thing as 'lotsa spaghetti'."

"But you were just talking about 'lotsa spaghetti'."

"I think you're confused. Here, I'll use it in a sentence: 'I hope she made lots of spaghetti!'"

"I'm sorry but I don't understand. It still sounded like you said, 'I hope she made lotsa spaghetti'."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I said... 'lots of spaghetti'."

Honoka and Anju were getting frustrated and their friends were all giggling at the dynamic duo.

"What's so funny!?" said Honoka and Anju in unison. This made everyone else laugh even harder.

"Oh nothing!" Kotori was able to pull herself together to give them an answer (if you can call it that). They both pouted.


"Here are your drinks ladies." It was the waiter. He set the cups down on the table gently and handed out 6 straws.

"Are you ready for me to take your orders?"

"Yes sir", said all six girls at once.

The waiter jotted down everything they said on a notepad and then walked away, leaving the group to come up with more things to talk about. Conversation didn't happen though. Besides for the sound of Honoka blowing bubbles in her chocolate milk with a straw, it was quiet yet again and Umi was getting really uncomfortable. She had to end the silence somehow so she figured that she'd address something that she felt needed to be said.

"Um... Tsubasa-san, Erena-san, Anju-san?"

Everyone looked at Umi in anticipation.

"Excuse me, I'm not sure if Honoka mentioned this to you or not but apparently this is some kind of date according to her. I just wanted to say that I am not interested in dating anyone at this point in time... That is all..." Umi was blushing hard at her confession and it didn't help that everyone was looking at her either.

"Umi-chan!? What are you saying? Come on! That's not fair to them! This is a date!"

Tsubasa intervened, "It's okay Honoka-san. Although this was suppose to be a triple date it's fine that Umi-san doesn't want to participate. I myself am not even sure who is suppose to be with who."

"Yeah Honoka-chan, you didn't plan this out very well... no offense." Kotori added her two-cents.

"You're right Kotori-chan. Let's just make this a friendly outing where us school idols can get to know each other better." It was difficult for Honoka to say this because she was really looking forward to going on a date but since she was a leader she felt obligated to take one for the team every now and then. She learned how to hide her disappointment when need be because of it.

"Anyway, I was thinking that we could play this ice-breaker game I made up just now. It's called 'Personal Investigation'".

With a creepy title like that most of the girls were hesitant to even know what the game entailed but Anju was genuinely curious about it so she asked, "How do you play, Honoka-san?"

"First, you ask somebody a question. After they answer it they get to ask a question to somebody else and the game goes on and on like that."

"You didn't make that game! That's just '20 Questions' but with a ridiculous name!" Umi is always the first one to correct Honoka whenever she says or does something wrong.

"Oh alpaca puffs, foiled again!" (Translation: "Darn, you caught me.")

The laughter that erupted from a certain area of the restaurant was so outrageously loud that one waiter had to tell them to keep it down because they were disturbing the other customers.

When things died down Erena asked, "So, when are we going to play this game?"

Honoka answered, "Right now! You already asked the first question and since I answered it, I'll ask someone else one. Let's see here..." Honoka had her hand on her chin in a contemplative fashion.

Right as Honoka was about to ask a question Tsubasa said, "Hang on, I think we should only ask questions to people from different schools otherwise we may not be able to get to know each other as well. Is that alright?"

They all nodded in agreement.

"Wonderful! Okay Honoka-san, you can ask your question now."

"This was meant for Umi-chan so it really won't apply to anyone from A-Rise..."

Upon hearing her name being called, Umi's ears perked up. She really wanted to know what Honoka's question for her was.

"You wanna know what my question was? I guess I can tell you. I was gonna ask why you get embarrassed so easily."

Of course, Honoka saying that out loud embarrassed Umi greatly. Honoka and Kotori were teasing her about it and Tsubasa and Erena were grinning but Anju wasn't as amused. She was jealous of how Umi was so close with Honoka.

Even though her feelings of envy were inexplicable, she decided not to over-analyze them and just go with the flow, but it wasn't like she was helpless. She did have the ability to try to move things along by changing the subject so she said in a gentle voice, "Alright Honoka-san, do you have a different question for one of us?"

"Yeah, I just thought of one. I'll just ask you, Anju-chan, since I'm already talking to you."

"S-sure, go ahead." Anju was getting nervous at the thought of sharing anything personal with Honoka.

"Okay, I've been wondering this for a while now..." This pause made Anju even more anxious than she already was.

"... Why do girls usually go into public bathrooms together?"

Strange glances were exchanged across the table. As the saying goes, eyes can talk. A couple of them seemed to say, "What kind of question is that!? This is suppose to be an ice breaker game not a gender study!" and the rest were like, "Yeah seriously, why do they do that? It's kind of weird now that I think about it."

Meanwhile, Anju was trying to conjure up an answer to this perplexing mystery concerning the social habits of civilized female humans. The best explanation that she could piece together was, "Perhaps they enjoy each other's company?"

Kotori replied, "Really? I always thought it was a 'safety in numbers' type of thing. You know, to defend themselves against pervy men."

"But Kotori-san, there aren't any men in this show.", Erena butted in.

"Good point... But what about the waiters?"

"They don't count. Waiters are not perverts. Waiters are and will always be pure, courteous gentlemen by nature. Since waiters are perfect and living things are not, that means that these waiters aren't alive at all so they technically can't be male or female. The most likely conclusion is that they are robots. Also, they never debuted in an episode, therefore they are not canologically proven."

"Then what about Honoka's dad? He's a man."

"He's headless, 'nough said."

"Passerbys?"

"Background scenery."

Kotori and Erena continued debating the existence of men like they were debating the existence of a divine being while the other girls kept playing "Personal Investigation." So far the game wasn't living up to its name and Anju was given the responsibility of reversing the situation by asking either Umi or Honoka a, you guessed it, personal question. (Kotori and Erena were in their own little world at the moment so they weren't playing.)

Anju didn't know who to pick. On one hand, she loved the sound of Honoka's voice but she didn't want anyone to think she favored Honoka over Umi even though she actually did. On the other hand, Umi didn't seem to want to talk much so choosing Honoka might be a more respectful option. It was a tough decision but ultimately she chose to ask Honoka a question because that's what her heart told her to do.

"This one is for Honoka-san. What do you look for in a person?"

"Well, according to me, a person has to be a living, breathing human. Otherwise they are just a corpse or some kind of wild animal, maybe both. I can't see them myself but if you're specifically talking about a person's inside body parts then-"

"Honoka, I don't think that's what she meant..."

"No, it's fine Umi-san. She gave a good answer. Very literal, I like it." Anju actually didn't care for Honoka's answer but she wasn't going to push this topic any further. She speculated whether or not Honoka said what she said in order to dodge the question or because she truly didn't grasp the meaning of it.

"Yay! It's my turn again! Here we go! Tsubasa-chan, have you ever thought about growing out your bangs? I think they'd be cuter if they were longer."

"Oh, haven't you heard? Showing off your forehead is in style now."

"No it's-" Anju was about to say "No it's not." but Tsubasa stopped her with a swift kick to the leg.

Actually, Tsubasa's bangs are always short because she keeps trimming them too much but still, she insists on cutting them herself anyway because she's too stubborn to admit defeat.

"I see... I don't keep up with fashion so I didn't know."

Anju leaned across the table and whispered into Honoka's ear, "Don't listen to her. Short bangs are not fashionable."

Honoka giggled at Anju's words. Tsubasa was pretty sure what information was being shared but she let it slide and said, "Hey Anju, ask something already."

"Um, Umi-san, could you tell me about how Muse got together?"

"I can try. It's a pretty long story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Yes please. I'm very interested."

"Okay. I suppose it all started when..."

For the next 10 minutes Umi was talking more than she ever had in a long time. Tsubasa periodically interrupted to ask questions. Eventually Anju stopped paying attention because the story turned into a Q&A session between Umi and Tsubasa and she felt like a third-wheel.

She wasn't the only person not listening. Honoka could care less about what Umi was talking about because she experienced it first hand. Anju recognized this so she tried to stir up some small talk with Honoka.

"Honoka-san, you look bored. Why is that?" Sometimes you just have to ask questions that you already know the answer to in order to connect to people.

"Just between you and me, Umi-chan is a terrible storyteller."

"Well, I've certainly heard better..."

They both smiled at each other in mutual agreement.

"I'd hate to disturb your conversation girls but your food is ready."

"Yummy! Thanks mister waiter dude."

Honoka always got excited when the topic of food was mentioned. It's one of her greatest joys in life after all... That and a certain cute A-Rise girl but she wasn't aware of the last one yet.

"No problem ma'am. Enjoy your meal."


Umi ended her story and Kotori and Erena finished up their debate (Erena won) to eat some delicious food. Coincidentally, everyone ordered spaghetti so even though there wasn't any "losta spaghetti", there was still lots of spaghetti.

The rate and technique in which everyone ate was varied. For example: Kotori ate very small bites at an above average pace like a bird would, Tsubasa took big bites, Umi had to eat very slowly to make sure that sauce didn't go anywhere, Erena preferred to use a three-tined fork as opposed to chopsticks so she could pretend that she was Poseidon and stab her seafood spaghetti with her "trident", Anju liked forks too because they made it easier for her to neatly wrap up the noodles for a hassle-free delivery, and Honoka just ate like a two year old that had a basic concept of table manners.

As time went by the food disappeared and so did the girls. They each paid for their share and pitched in to provide a tip for their supposedly robotic waiter before they left.

Everyone parted ways except for Honoka and Anju. It just happened that way since their houses were kind of in the same area. Since they didn't live in the same exact house they too had to separate but when Honoka tried to walk off Anju grabbed her arm.

"What's up Anju-chan? Aren't you going home?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to thank you for today. I had a nice time. You looked a little off though, like something was bothering you."

"So you noticed huh? I thought I was doing a good job hiding it. How did you figure it out?"

"Believe it or not, I am unusually adept at reading what other people are feeling. The average person could never tell."

"That's amazing! Don't worry about me though. The reason why I was upset was because this 'date' wasn't even a date."

"I knew that so that's why I wanted to ask if maybe you'd like to go on one with me sometime?"

"Seriously!? You're not saying that out of pity are you?"

"Nope. You're such an interesting girl... and you're not ugly either so..."

"So, you like me?"

"You could say that."

"Like, 'like' me?"

"Probably? I'll know for sure once we go out some more."

"Alright. Hey, would you like some dessert? My family owns a bakery. We have the best bread and I'll treat you to some of you'd like."

"Bread for dessert? Carbs are basically sugars so that makes sense."

"What, they are!? I guess that's why Umi-chan told me not to eat bread all the time."

"Yeah, but it's fine in moderation. I'd be happy to eat some with you tonight."

"Then come on! My house is right around this corner!"


Honoka took Anju's hand and ran off to her house which was also the Homera Bakery. When they got inside Honoka's mom was behind the counter.

"Hi Mom! This is my friend, Anju-chan."

"Hello there Anju-san. Did my daughter drag you here? She's always so forceful."

"Cut it out Mom! You're embarrassing me!"

"That's a mother's job."

"Nuh-uh, a mother's job is to feed her children. Could you get us something to eat?"

"But didn't you just go out for dinner? The last time I went out for dinner I ate food..."

"No, I mean that we want dessert!"

"Oh really? I just made some mochi. Would you like some?"

"Yeah-"

"Not you Honoka. I was talking to Anju-san."

"Yes, I'll try it. Thanks."

"What about me, Mom!?"

"Fine, you can have some too. Here, take it to your room right away and don't bother Yukiho. She told me that she was doing something very important and that she doesn't want to be disturbed.", said Honoka's mom as she handed them each a plate of sticky goo-balls.

"K, let's go Anju-chan. My room's upstairs. Follow me."


As they were ascending the stairs Anju couldn't stop thinking, "I-I'm going in Honoka's room! And we'll be alone together! No-no, this is just an innocent invitation for dessert, nothing more. I have to get a hold of myself."

They walked down the hallway and Honoka stopped at the first door on the left.

"This is my younger sister Yukiho's room. I know that my mom said not to impose on her but I really want you to meet her."

Honoka knocked on the door.

"Yukiho, open up! I want you to meet my new girlfriend!"

Anju couldn't believe that Honoka called her her girlfriend. Were they even girlfriends yet? She'll have to discuss this with Honoka soon. She still didn't want to interrupt her "sister-in-law" with whatever she was doing though so she tried to stop Honoka.

"Wait-"

It was too late. Honoka already slid open the door and they witnessed a self-conscious, half-naked adolescent girl kneading her breasts in an attempt to make them larger.

Yukiho was mumbling to herself, "Alisa said this would work but how long do I have to keep this up for? It kinda hurts..."

The door was shut by Anju just as quickly as it was opened and Yukiho didn't see or hear a thing because she was too busy fretting over herself.

"She's so weird. Why does she care so much about that?", whispered Honoka.

"I can always meet her some other time." Anju felt a little guilty for seeing something that she wasn't supposed to and was not sure how she'd ever be able to face Yukiho after this.

"Haha, sorry about that. My sis is kinda strange. My room is the next one down."


They entered and Honoka motioned for Anju to sit at the table in the center of the room. Anju observed her surroundings. The place was actually tidy despite Honoka's personality which Anju didn't know that much about yet. It also had a very welcoming feel to it, just like the person who occupied it did.

Honoka joined Anju at the table with the mochi and served some to her friend.

"It's not bread but our mochi is good as well."

Anju took a bite of the chewy confection and perked up in delight.

"Mm, it's very tasty! Do you know how to make stuff like this too, Honoka-san?"

"Yeah, but my parents are much better at it, especially my dad. Can you cook or bake at all?"

"I'm decent at cooking but I can't bake to save my life."

"That's kinda cute."

"You think so?"

"Yup."

"Say, Honoka-san, earlier you addressed me as your girlfriend. Is that truly how you think of me?"

"Well yeah, you're not my boyfriend... unless there's something you haven't told me about, but I'd like you either way."

"I'm definitely a girl! I was just asking if we're dating or not..."

"We are if we're going to go on dates. Date is such a funny term to use, isn't it? When I hear the word 'dating' I think of writing 6 numbers on people. Is that normal?"

"'Normal' is a funny term too. It can mean so many different things but it your case it doesn't matter if it's normal or not. Your thoughts are yours so they're special and special doesn't really equal normal but that's a good thing." Anju answered that truthfully without hurting Honoka's feelings. What a saint.

The girls polished off the rest of the mochi in total silence but unlike at the restaurant, this stillness was comfortable and warm. Anju appreciated it just like she did the snack.

"Thank you for the mochi Honoka-san. It was excellent."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"Yes, I'll have to buy some later when I have a chance. Anyway, it's getting pretty late. I think it might be a good idea for me to head home now."

"Okay Anju-chan. I really enjoyed our little date today. Let's hang out again soon. I'll show you the way out."

Honoka said farewell to her guest and went back upstairs. She flopped down on her bed and broke out in a big goofy grin.

"Hehe! I got my date after all!"


Afterword

Long time no see, friends! As I expected, this chapter was tough to write but it's done and I'm pretty happy with the outcome. At first I wasn't sure about whether or not I should allow pairings with A-Rise members because there isn't much reference material for them but then I figured I could create my own reference material. I guess that means Yukiho and Alisa are legit options too. Heck, even the moms are shippable. Why not? (Honestly though, I'm much better at writing about the 9 main girls instead.)

Okay, I need you guys to vote again. Here are the rules in case you forgot:

[Rules: 1. The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter 2. The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, EliUmi, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. 3. If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. 4. If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to vote again for some reason. 5. No threesomes (or foursomes, or fivesomes, etc.) 6. Guest reviews don't count (They do for review purposes, just not for voting. It's because there is a possibility that the same person could use a different guest name in different chapters. Not saying that any of you will do that though but I just want to be sure.)]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli, NicoPana, NicoUmi, KotoMaki, HonoMaki, NozoNico, HonoAnju

Past winners: Bleach010915, kryuu27, Rin Hoshizora, VariantEiko, GATX105VividPanzer, Rakugei, elliemei, Kevincruelz, cielo oscuro