Riko sat at the dining table, and ate in silence, until her mother spoke up.
"So… your group is… taking a break?" she asked, as her daughter set her chopsticks down. "In the middle of Love Live?"
"We're still participating," Riko said bluntly. "That's the one thing that I'm sure of."
"Riko…" Her mother admired her daughter's resolve, but something didn't sit right with her. She stood up, and picked up her finished plate. "Make sure you pick up your dishes."
"Un…"
Riko's phone vibrated, and she opened it to see that she received a message from Maki.
Can we meet after you're through with classes? I'll be waiting outside the convenience store.
"Maki-san…" She gulped and quickly replied.
Yes, we can meet.
"Ah, Riko-chan!" Chika exclaimed. "Let's head home together!"
"Ah, gomen, Chika-chan… I have to meet with Maki-san right now."
"Eh? Maki-san?"
"Yeah. She heard about our decision to go on hiatus, so…" The redhead let a sigh leave her lips. "Surely, she's gonna try to talk us out of it…" They went over to their shoe lockers, and Riko grabbed her outdoor shoes. "I can't keep her waiting, Chika-chan. I'll see you later; let you know how it goes."
"Sure. See ya 'round!"
As Riko left, Chika received a message from Honoka.
Chika-chan. Do you have a minute? I wanna talk to you. Can you meet me at the beach near your school?
Chika gripped her phone in her hand, and took a deep breath before grabbing her outdoor shoes, and heading to the beach.
Maki, Nozomi and Eri were waiting outside the convenience store, Maki checking the time on her phone.
"Classes should be over by now, right, Maki?"
The redhead looked over to her right to see Riko, smiling softly before bowing.
"What did you want to talk about?"
Sitting in the shade, still outside the convenience store, Riko glanced between Eri and Nozomi, both of whom gave her their brightest smiles. Maki exited the store and handed the three girls each a bottle of water before placing herself beside Riko.
"I'll be honest. This whole hiatus thing… it's pointless."
"Eh?"
"You girls still have a duty to fulfill!" Eri put in.
"Do you intend to stay put during this hiatus, and just let your Love Live ranking drop?" Nozomi asked softly. Riko gripped her water bottle.
"All of your efforts before and after you became a group of nine, do you really want all that to go to waste, and just let Uranohoshi close down?" Maki insisted. Riko avoided Maki's eyes. Maki crouched down, as their eyes met. "Riko-chan!" Riko flinched. "As your mentors, we do not want to see you fail. You all… want to shine, don't you?" She took Riko's hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "Right now, this isn't about saving your school. Right now, Riko-chan, this is about keeping that bond with your group. I can see how much they all mean to you."
Letting those words sink in, Riko thought back to what she said to China at Aqours' summer camp.
"This is exactly where I wanna be. I've never been happier."
Thinking back on that had brought a tear to her eye. She felt the damp sensation on her cheek, but didn't wipe it away. Maki smiled softly, and gently wiped her tear, as she sniffled.
"Even if I decided to prepare a song… I wouldn't know where to start. My mind's been blank."
Just then, Nozomi received a message from Nico.
We're ready for you here. Chika, Honoka, Kotori and Umi are on their way.
Nozomi nodded to Eri, and the blonde placed a hand on Riko's shoulder.
"We want to help."
"Eh?"
"If you're in that much of a slump." Maki gave a wink. "Let us help you! We can practice at my villa." She squeezed Riko's hands tightly. "What d'you say, Riko-chan?"
Six members of μ's, and eight members of Aqours were all gathered at the villa.
"Umi-chan, are they on their way?" Honoka asked her friend, as Umi checked her phone for messages. The μ's bluenette smiled after receiving a message from Eri.
"Yes. They're on their way." Honoka squealed, not being able to contain her excitement.
"This is gonna be so fun!"
Once all eighteen members were gathered up, Eri split everyone into groups of four, with the exception of two people keeping an eye on the progress.
"Mm… alright! Here's how we'll split everyone up!" Eri presented a chart with which members were in charge of what position.
Musical Composition: Maki, Riko, Eri, Chika
Choreography: Kanan, Dia, Rin, Honoka
Costume Design: Ruby, Nico, Kotori, You
Lyrics: Umi, Hanamaru, Yoshiko, Nozomi
Monitors: Mari, Hanayo
"Looks like Mari-san and Hanayo-san are the odd ones out," Dia pointed out as Mari shrugged.
"Mm, this way we could keep some people in line!" she said. "Right, Hanayo-san?"
"Un! Ganbarimashou, Mari-san!" Eri clapped her hands together.
"Alright, now that that's settled! Girls from μ's, let's make sure that we help make this a success for Aqours!"
"Let's huddle up, girls!" Chika said to the rest of her fellow members. They huddled up, and placed their hands on top of one another.
"Wait," You said. She smiled, and formed her hands so that her fingers formed an "L". "Why don't we do this?" She demonstrated, letting her index fingers touch. "If we all put these together… we'll go from zero…" She held up one finger. "… to one!" Chika's eyes gleamed.
"That's a great idea! Alright, one more time!" They all connected their fingers to form a large zero. "From zero to one, let's shine with everything we've got! Aqours!"
"Sa~nshain!"
They lifted their fingers up, and smiled their brightest smiles, the members of μ's looking on at their excitement. Just then, Honoka had an idea.
"Hey…" She held up her fingers, holding a "peace" sign. "For old times' sake, girls? How 'bout it?" Eri smiled softly, chuckling.
"Sure, why not?"
The nine members of μ's held their peace signs together to form a nine-pointed star.
"μ's… myujikku… staato!"
The other members of Aqours couldn't contain their smiles as their idols said their signature call for the first time in five years. Everyone's hearts were one, and they were confident that they would save their school.
They would never forget the efforts of their idols and mentors for as long as they lived.