Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to 'Love Live!'

Umi and Kotori arrived at Homura Bakery, dressed in their school uniforms with winter coats and scarves. All of µ's was supposed to meet at the venue for the preliminary finals, but the three of them had somewhere else to attend to first.

A bit before the first round of the preliminaries for this Love Live, Eli retired from Student Council President, and the title went to Honoka. Kotori and Umi were nice enough to join along with her, but now they had to attend Otonokizaka's open house today.

The entire group discussed it beforehand and decided that the six other members would meet up at the venue, and the student council trio would meet up with them after the school's open house.

As Kotori and Umi approached the entrance, Yukiho came out, and stopped in place for a second, surprised to see the two.

"Ah, Yukiho-chan." Umi called out in her direction, and she walked towards her with Kotori.

"Is Honoka-chan ready?" Kotori gave a smile, but Yukiho put on a worried face as she slowly turned back around to face the house.

"J-Just one second please," she murmured, then dashed back inside the house.

"Onee-chan, wake up!" Yukiho pleaded as she quickly shook Honoka's sleeping body.

Honoka opened her eyes in response and was immediately disoriented from being shaken awake.

"Yukiho, what's wrong..?" she asked with confusion as she rubbed her eyes to wake herself up, and her sister lightly flicked her forehead.

"Ow!" Honoka rubbed the spot where she was attacked and looked to Yukiho, only to see a mixed expression of irritation and worry.

"Don't you have to leave early for the open house?"

The mental lightbulb over Honoka's head turned on as she yelled in panic.

"Honoka…" Umi muttered with anger in her voice.

"Honoka-chan…" Kotori was more sympathetic and was glad that Honoka managed to get ready in time.

"I'm very sorry!" Honoka exclaimed loudly as she brought her hands together in apology.

…

After leaving Honoka's house and beginning their walk to Otonokizaka, the three of them talked about both Love Live and the school's open house.

"I'm not sure if many people will show up…" Honoka trailed off as she looked up towards the snow gracefully falling from the sky.

"I'm sure they'll all come, it's not snowing that hard." Umi comforted her, and Kotori nodded in agreement as she smiled.

"My mother said we should have a lot of people showing up today." Kotori looked up at the snow along with Honoka.

As the two consoled her, she was immediately reminded of the conversation she had with Tsubasa a week and a half ago, as a smile formed on her lips.

She couldn't keep getting cheered up by everyone forever.

"You're right! So, let's hurry up and meet them!" Honoka exclaimed excitedly as she broke away from the other two and started running towards their high school.

"Honoka?!" Umi was taken off guard, but she watched as Kotori happily started running after Honoka. She sighed lightheartedly, then smiled as she started running as well.

Eli was slowly getting ready for the day. She felt nervous as this would be the final Love Live for the third-years regardless if they won or lost today. Earlier, her younger sister, Alisa, tried to cheer her up when she noticed Eli's nervous behavior, but it was no use. It helped somewhat, but she still couldn't take her mind off of it. Just then, the doorbell rang.

She opened the door to see Nozomi standing there with a smile on her face.

"Nozomi…?" she said in surprise, but Nozomi playfully waved her hand.

"Hello, Elicchi."

Eli relaxed, then opened the door wide to allow Nozomi in.

"Give me just one minute, I'll be right out." Eli turned around to go finish changing but was stopped as her wrist was grabbed from behind. She quickly looked behind her to find out why she was grabbed but goes wide-eyed when she noticed an uncharacteristically serious expression on Nozomi's face.

"Elicchi, are you nervous?" Nozomi asked with worry, and Eli was stunned for a short moment, but finally smiled.

"Not anymore."

Outside Maki's house, two members of μ's stood in the falling snow as they waited on their friend.

"It's freezing!" Rin complained as her body shook from the cold, and Hanayo showed an empathetic expression.

"Kayo-chin, are we really going to perform outside in this weather?" Rin asked through shivers.

"That's what they told us. Although they also said that it should get better in the afternoon, so we should be fine then." Hanayo smiled softly, but Rin sighed as she glanced back towards Maki's house.

"I hope so." Rin mentally prayed to the weather gods, then the both of them excitedly looked towards the door of the house as Maki exited.

The two immediately walked over to Maki as she walked through the gate.

"Sorry for the wait," she apologized, then Rin practically jumped on her for answers.

"What took you so long!? It's freezing!" she half-heartedly complained, then Maki looked away from the two of them.

"I told you to go on without me."

In response, Rin glanced towards Hanayo, who gave a nod in return as she understood.

The both of them brought their cold hands to Maki's exposed neck and face as she jerked up in panic.

"It's cold!" Maki complained, then Rin and Hanayo smiled at her.

"Like we could do that." Rin said quietly, then Hanayo faced away from both of them as she looked in the direction of the venue.

"Let's go together."

Maki brought her hands up to her own face to touch her cheeks, where Hanayo and Rin's hands were just a moment ago, then smiled.

"Okay."

Eventually, Eli and Nozomi arrived at Nico's house together, then they rang the doorbell.

Without checking the peephole first, Nico barely opened the door, then stopped as she saw both of them.

"Good morning, Nicocchi." Nozomi greeted her with a smile, while Eli showed a happy expression.

After a short pause, Nico quickly went to shut the door, but it was stopped by Nozomi's foot as Nico gasped in shock.

"Let's head there together." Eli suggested with a smile, and Nico's eyes darted between the two of them with suspicion.

"Why?" she awkwardly responded, and Nozomi quickly lunged forward as Nico was distracted, then pulled her away from the door as Nico yelled in surprise.

"Does someone need to be punished…?" Nozomi asked ominously as her hands slowly started to come near Nico's chest, and Nico blushed as she panicked.

"O-Okay! Fine, I'll come!" Nico darted back towards her door, then glanced back to the two of them who were quietly laughing.

"Let me finish changing. You two should come inside, it's freezing."

As the other six members of μ's were making their way to the Love Live stage, Honoka, along with Kotori and Umi, enthusiastically greeted all of the newcomers to the school. Just like Umi said, despite the snow, there were many students showing up with smiles for the open house.

Though they were there as the student council, they still had to sometimes sign an autograph or two for some eager students who were attracted to Otonokizaka because of μ's.

Eventually, everyone found their way into the school and were seated in the gymnasium. After being introduced, Honoka energetically walked on stage to welcome them all.

The six other μ's members stared in awe as they saw the stage for the preliminary finals. It was beautiful. They started to excitedly talk about their upcoming performance, but then all looked behind them as they heard three pairs of footsteps.

"A-RISE…" Nico murmured quietly but was then lightly pinched from behind by Maki. Nico immediately glanced towards her, but quickly calmed down when Maki gave her a serious look, then they both looked back to A-RISE.

"Hm? Where are the other three?" Erena was the first to speak among A-RISE, and Eli took it upon herself to answer.

"They had to be at the school for the open house, so they're going to arrive here later."

"Honoka did say something about that…" Tsubasa suddenly recalled, but Anju stepped forward as she gained the attention of Tsubasa and Erena.

"Will they make it on time?!" she asked seriously as she stared at the rest of μ's with intensity. Tsubasa looked at her in surprise.

"Anju…" she trailed off as the other μ's members looked at each other with slight worry for a moment, then Eli answered again.

"They should be fine. Nothing could stop them from coming," she replied confidently, and both A-RISE and μ's relaxed.

"You're right." Tsubasa said with a smirk as the thought of her ginger-haired girlfriend sprinting through snow popped into her head.

Tsubasa gave a quick glance to Erena and Anju, then the three of them continued to walk towards the venue, but Tsubasa stopped for a moment.

"We won't lose, so all of you better do your best," she warned with a small hint of happiness in her voice, then ran to catch up with the other two walking as the six other girls there smiled.

"We will!" They responded in unison.

"You can't help but worry about it, huh?" Erena rested her eyes on Tsubasa, who was looking over the balcony at the group of six, who were still waiting outside.

"A little bit." Tsubasa softly smiled.

The three of them had already changed into their uniforms for their performance as their time to go on stage came closer, but Tsubasa insisted on waiting on the higher floor until the last minute.

"Tsubasa..." Anju was worried about her, Tsubasa resembling a lost puppy as she watched the group.

"Ah!" she yelled in excitement, and both Anju and Erena immediately came running over to the balcony to see.

Honoka, Kotori and Umi ran towards the group of six and were welcomed with open arms as the entire group smiled and laughed happily.

Tsubasa finally relaxed while Anju breathed a sigh of relief.

"They made it…" Anju was happy and Erena nodded in response.

Ever since their leader began dating the leader of μ's, they became more invested in μ's than ever before. They were supposed to be rivals, but they couldn't help but be happy for them.

"Let's get ready." Tsubasa turned away from the balcony, her serious expression returning now that one of her main worries was gone. Anju and Erena looked at each other for a second, then smiled.

"Yeah!" They both responded energetically, and A-RISE started running to their preparation room.

After μ's reunited, they immediately went to their preparation room to quickly change into their costumes. They were all nervous, but also excited. They missed out on the last Love Live, and this was their chance to make up for it. They were all motivated to win here and now. With Honoka's suggestion, they quickly began to rehearse what they could.

Erena held Tsubasa's hand, and Tsubasa held Anju's hand as they stood side by side, ready for their turn. When they heard their group's name, they all looked at each other for a moment with the same hopes and thoughts in mind, then quickly went onto the stage to perform 'Shocking Party.'

The nine members of μ's stood on stage, holding hands in a line.

Honoka wasn't able to see Tsubasa's performance, but she already knew that A-RISE performed amazingly, so now they had to match that.

With closed eyes, every member of μ's thought about what motivated them to be on this stage today. They recalled how the group formed, their hardships, their precious memories, and the entire journey that led to them being here.

The motivation to win resonated within all of them, and they moved to their formation as they began to sing their new song, 'Snow Halation.'

μ's and A-RISE stayed with their own groups after their performances, waiting in different locations as they both intently stared at the screen where the results would be shown.

Tsubasa and Honoka couldn't be together just yet. They each had to be with their idol groups for this moment.

An attention-grabbing noise came from the screen, and the letters on it slowly changed to reveal the winner of the Love Live preliminary finals.

Winner: μ's.

A-RISE stared at the screen for a long moment as they let the feelings sink in. They were able to watch μ's performance since it came after theirs, and they even discussed it afterwards, as they talked about how μ's was going to win. Still, they each held the hope in their hearts that the screen would show the name A-RISE instead.

Tsubasa was the first to turn around and walk away. Erena and Anju gave a worried look for a moment, but quickly followed her.

They had given it their all and there were no lingering feelings of frustration, but it still hurt just a bit. As they walked, they started their conversation on Love Live, their own feelings, and their future.

μ's celebrated their win for a long time. They were all ecstatic, still unable to believe the results even an hour after the fact.

The group enjoyed their long-awaited reward for their demanding practice sessions, and after having enough fun to last the month, finally decided to head home for the day.

Meanwhile for Honoka, she stood in front of the door to Tsubasa's house, filled with nervousness.

Was this too early? What kind of look would Tsubasa give her? What if being here today ended up hurting her?

She quickly shook her head, disregarding the doubts in her mind, then quietly entered the key as she unlocked the door.

"Pardon the intru-" she started to enter the house with a soft voice, but froze in place when she saw Anju standing near the entrance.

"A-A-A-" She stammered in a panic as a million thoughts floated in her head, but Anju grinned as she reached out and grabbed onto Honoka's shoulder.

Guiding the leader of their rival group as she was about to explode from confusion and embarrassment, Anju walked into the living room as Honoka tripped due to being distracted.

"Ow…" she whispered to herself after the small pain, then looked up from the ground to see the three members of A-RISE staring down at her.

"Eh..?"

ENDING NOTES:

Hello everyone.

The Love Live preliminary finals has finally happened, and of course, μ's managed to win.

The first half of this chapter is essentially how it was in the show as I felt it was essential to write it in, but with minor differences I've added with how I imagine the characters in the story. I hope nobody minds.

Personally, I like the chapters with Tsubasa and Honoka being cute more than this, but this is a necessary trial in the story.

With this, the preliminary finals arc is essentially over, and the story will continue on. I still have the story of these two leaders to tell, it won't end here.

And now, Honoka is in a dangerous situation with the three members of A-RISE.

Thank you to everyone who reads my story! I'm really happy that I can share this with other people.

Please continue to look forward to future chapters.