Hibiki tiredly opened the door to her dorm, leaning against the door frame to support her tried weight. "I'm back.." she sleepily called out before slowly walking in with the door closing behind her. She then plummeted to the floor, laying face first from exhaustion. Miku looked to see who it was and immediately became more worried than she was previously, "Hibiki!" "Jezz, it's so late! Where have you been?" Miku asked as she walked over, looking at her dear friend and roommate. "Gomen..." Hibiki muttered from her place on the floor. "The news was saying that Noise appeared around here again," Miku explained. The drained Hibiki then responded, "Yeah... But it's fine now."

Suddenly, the news spoke something that caught Hibiki's attention. "Kazanari Tsubasa might be changing labels!" The reporter informed, "We have big news about Kazanari Tsubasa-San, who released a new CD today. A major English label, Metro Music, has been talking about marketing her overseas." Hibiki had gotten up and got closer to the tv to see what was going on, Miku standing off to the side as she stared at her friend with mixed emotions. "Since the accident two years ago, Kazanari Tsubasa has been a solo act..."

Later that night, as both Miku and Hibiki laid in bed with the two facing different ways, Hibiki began to think. "Hey, Miku..." however, she remembered that she wasn't able to tell anyone, "It's nothing..." "It.. It isn't nothing to me," Miku told her, catching Hibiki's full attention, "I was really worried because you came home so late." Hibiki then apologized, "Gomen. But thank you. You're the only one who worries about me other than Toki-Kun and Seth-Kun." Hibiki then turned over and brought Miku close with a smile. "You're so warm..." Hibiki told her.

"What's wrong, Hibiki?" Miku asked, confused by her friend's current acting. "Kohinata Miku is my sunflower. It's warmest when I'm near you. And that's the place I always return to," Hibiki explained, beginning to drift off to sleep, "It's always been that way, and it always will be..." Hibiki's hand had wrapped around Miku's, holding it gently. "U-Um, Hibiki... I..." But Miku stopped as soon as she realized her friend was asleep, "Goodnight, Hibiki."

Elsewhere, Tsubasa leaned against the wall, the shower dripping water down her body. She was remembering past memories of her and Kanade fighting together with their Symphogears. "As long as the two of us are together, there's nothing to be afraid of," memory Kanade spoke. But that image of Kanade soon disappeared, Tsubasa gritting her teeth from losing it. "That Gear belongs to Kanade," Tsubasa spoke to no one in particular but it was obvious who she meant it towards.

The next morning, Hibiki was distracted from her current task by her friends. "Bikky! Wanna go to Flower?" one of them asked. Hibiki knew the place, it was the place with her friend Seth-Kun worked at after all. "I have to do something else today.." Hibiki told them sheepishly. "The teachers need to see you again? Your life's like an anime, you know that?" Another friend spoke, crossing her arms. "All right.. We'll ask you another time." one of them told her. Miku looked down, unsure of how she really felt. "Bye, then." "See you." then spoke as they left, leaving Hibiki to her own devices.

Sighing, Hibiki put her stuff to the side. "Maybe I am cursed." Getting up, she turned slightly to look upwards which was where Tsubasa was waiting with her usual frown. "You need to come to headquarters with me again," she informed her. However, before they left, Hibiki was cuffed once more.

"Wh-WHY!?"

Once they were in Section 2, Hibiki was met with Sakurai Ryouko, who was as cheery as ever. "Okay, time to announce the results of yesterday's medical check!" Sakurai spoke, directing Hibiki's, Genjurou's, and Takiyama's, who had been there since early morning for matters with Genjurou, attention to a board where the results from Hibiki's check were located. "There's still some stress from your first time," she informed, "but basically, nothing's wrong with your body!" Hibiki rubbed her wrists as she stared at the board, "Basically, huh?" Takiyama looked at Hibiki, "This isn't what you want to hear about, is it Creme-Chan?" Hibiki nods at Takiyama before turning her attention to Sakurai, "Please tell me about that power!"

Genjurou looked at her, then looked behind himself where Tsubasa was standing. "Ame no Habakiri," he started to explain, "It's the first relic, and it belongs to Tsubasa." Hibiki then became confused, "Relic?" "Relics, you see," Sakurai then continued, "are products of heretical technology, referenced in legends across the world, and impossible to make today. Most are found in ruins, but time's passage has badly damaged them. And ones that still hold their former power are very rare."

Takiyama then took over, "The Ame no Habakiri is one of these, being just a tiny fragment of a blade from legends." He then motioned to the board where the image began to show something else. "To whatever power is still left inside the relics, the only key to even harnessing and using this power is by a wave that vibrates at a special frequency," he explained, the image on the board being of a relic opening and transforming.

"A wave that vibrates at a special frequency...?" Hibiki wondered. "Essentially, a song," Genjurou told her, "The power of song activates the relics." "Song? That's right... When it happened, I could feel a song in my heart," Hibiki spoke. Takiyama nodded. "When someone activates the relics, depending on who they are and how they are, the relics will vibrate a song through their being. This song is unique to the person and the relic."

Hibiki locked eyes with Takiyama, deciding to ask a question that had been weighing down on her, "Toki-Kun... How did you get brought into this?" Takiyama gained a surprise look, glancing at Genjurou. He nods, letting him know he could tell her. "Well, I had met Genjurou when i first adopted Hiden Intelligence..."

-Kaban- (Flash back)

Takiyama looked up at the Hiden Intelligence, his nerves on full blast. Just a week ago, his father had given him the position of ceo at his company, taking over his own position. Today though was his first day. He slowly walked in, tucking his messenger bag underneath his arm. Takiyama glanced around, seeing people and Humager walking together, talking, and some even working together on his base level. However, Takiyama soon came to a stop as he stared up at a large painting that had his father painted upon it. Slowly, it was being taken down and replaced with one that was a painting of Takiyama.

'This doesn't feel right,' Takiyama muttered in his head, feeling ultimately uncomfortable, 'I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be running this company. It's my father's, not mine." All the while, he found himself wondering and was snapped out of his thinking when he bumped into a girl. This girl was Is, who stood there with her hands crossed over each other. "Takiyama-Sacho," she greeted, having already known who he was.

"Um... Y-Yes?" Takiyama responded, unsure of how he should be talking really. "I'm Is, your presidential secretary Humagear," Is introduced herself. Takiyama nodded, "I'm Takiyama, but I guess you already knew that." Is then turned and went into an elevator. "This way," She told him. "A-Alright," Takiyama followed her, entering the elevator. The doors then closed and the elevator began to move upward.

'I need to calm down,' Takiyama told himself, letting out a sigh. He was tense, he should be. But this was too much. Sure, he was taking over his father's company but his father had taken over the company when his grandfather passed away. His father may have been weirded out just as he was, but he needed to focus on the highlights of the situation. Now he didn't have to go job hunting. 'Heh,' he thought to himself.

The elevator soon came to a halt, the doors opening to reveal the CEO office. "Sugoi!" Takiyama said, walking out and looking around the room, but his eyes landed on Genjurou who was seated and patiently waiting in a seat in front of the desk. He was browsing his phone, looking for a nice pair of shoes. Is came out and walked over to the desk, opening one of the drawers to take something out.

Upon noticing Is, Genjurou looked away from his phone and over his shoulder at Takiyama. "My, have you grown!" Genjurou greeted, a smile on his face. "Um, d-do I know you?" Takiyama asked, weirded out. Genjurou chuckled, "Yes and no. You've met me before but that was only when you were still very young." Takiyama then began to think about it.

Then it clicked. He had seen Genjurou's face somewhere before and it was in one of his father's old photos from back when he was about 25. "You're Genjuro-Sama!?" Takiyama spoke, shocked. Genjurou chuckled. "Yes I am, and i'm here to greet the new president of Hiden Intelligence," Genjurou held out his hand. Takiyama nervously took it, giving it a shake. "But that isn't the only reason why i'm here," Genjurou's tone changed as he crossed his arms. "Huh?" Takiyama became confused, looking at the larger male.

"As you work here, Is will assist you with your presidential problems. But there are also other problems that you'll need to help with." Takiyama only became even more confused as his attention drifted to Is, who was carrying over a briefcase. She lifted it and turned it around, holding it out to him. Nervously, Takiyama undid the clips and opened the case, gasping upon what he saw. In the bottom was a driver and a weird trigger. In the top of the case were seven Progrise keys, each one a different color.

"This is the Zero-One driver and it's Progrise Keys. It's a defense mechanism created by your great grandfather and used by your father. At the time, Noise hadn't shown up but Hiden Intelligence and the world were facing a grave threat. Humagears were being hacked and turned into creatures called Magia, being used to bring about humanity's extinction," Genjurou explained.

Takiyama slowly removed a Progrise key from the top of the case. "Your father fought long and head and eventually won, having been fighting for people's humanity and Humagears' dreams." Takiyama pressed the button, activating it.

Jump!

"And now, it's your turn to help humanity and Humagears."

-Flashback end-

"After that, he brought me here and told me everything. To be honest, I didn't care about being president anymore then because I was more worried about being there to help people,"Takiyama finished up. After that, everything was silent. Genjurou, breaking the silence, began to speak up, "Anyways, we call the few who can activate and wear the Symphogears, or Relics, "Candidates". That means Tsubasa and you."

Sakurai smiled and leaned down in front of Hibiki, saying ,"well? Do you understand the power that's awakened a little in you? I'll answer any questions you have!" "U-um." "Go ahead, Hibiki-Chan!" "I don't understand at all." This caused Genjurou, Sakurai, and Takiyama to sweatdrop. Takiyama at least expected her to understand a little bit of it. "I guess it is a little hard to understand right out the gate," Sakurai said, "Afterall, it took Takiyama-Kun here a week before he fully understood everything we had explained to him." Takiyama pouted from being called out.

"Well, be sure to remember this. The creator of Sakurai Theory, the technology that crafts the Symphogears from relics, is myself," Sakurai told her. However, Hibiki told them something that she hoped they would have explained before, "But I don't have any relic. So why..." The board then showed an xray of Hibiki's chest, showing her ribcage with small shards of something in the middle of it. "You should know what this is," Genjurou said. "Hai, that's from when I got hurt two years ago!" Hibiki said. Takiyama nods. "Correct. When that happened, Kanade was protecting you while her Symphogear was breaking apart. Some of the shards from her symphogear pierced into you," he explained. "Hundreds of tiny fragments, impossible to surgically remove even with Humagears because they were too close to the heart," Sakurai told her, "Our investigation showed that this shadow you see comes from fragments of the third relic that Kanade once used, Gungnir." Hearing that, shocked Tsubasa to the core even more so then she already was. She had Kanade still, sure. But she was still devastated from Kanade losing Gungnir and hearing that it was now inside of Hibiki struck a bad nerve, causing her to leave the room.

"Um... Can I really not tell anyone about this?" Hibiki asked, standing up. Takiyama looked at her and shook his head. "Creme-Chan, if people knew you had a Symphogear or that Symphogears exist, everyone you know and possibly even those you don't know could be endangered," Takiyama explained, "It can put their lives on the line."

"Their lives..." Hibiki muttered, her eyes feeling like they were gonna water at any second. In her head, memories flashed by of her and Miku and her and Seth. "What we're aiming to protect.. It isn't something that's a secret. It's everyone's lives and dreams. That... doesn't come easy," Takiyama told her. "Would you keep this power a secret? So we can do just that?" Genjurou asked. "We want you to understand that the power you have now is that great..." Sakurai spoke. "Humanity can't easily defeat Noise. If a human body touches a Noise, they turn to sand and fade away. They're also almost impossible to damage them," Genjurou said. "Two of the exceptions are a boy in rider gear and a girl wearing a Symphogear. As head of the Japanese government's Special Disaster Response Team, Section 2." "And as President of the Humagear company Hiden Intelligence." "we'd like to request your help again."

"Creme-Chan, will you use the power of the symphogear gifted to you to help us fight the Noise?" "I can save people with my power, right?" Hibiki asked. They nod. Determined, Hibiki said, "All right!" Right after that, the sensors went off, alarming everyone. "Genjurou! Send me the location as soon as you can!" Takiyama told the leader before running out, heading for the elevators. He tapped an earpiece in his ear, accessing a secure server, "Naki! Requesting AIMS assistance!"

Outside, Noise were hoarded together. Takiyama can be seen running towards them, having already strapped on the Zero-One driver. "Well, lets try you out, Kuma-Chan!" He took out a light blue Progrise Key and activated it.

Blizzard! Authorize!

Takiyama kept running, to the right of him, Rising Grasshopper landed on the ground and began to jump after him. To his left, a silver bear with light blue lines running across its body landed and roared before running after them. Takiyama flicked the Progrise Key out, readying. "Henshin!"

Progrise! Attention Freeze! Freezing Bear! Fierce Breath as Cold as Arctic Winds

His Zero-One armor formed onto him but the neon yellow armor moved in places as the bear jumped onto Zero-One, creating a moving iceberg. However, it soon shattered as Zero-One was clad in a new transparent blue armor over his base suit.

(Play This Game/No Game No Life op)

Mawari tsuzukeru

haguruma ni wa narisagaranai

Heikin enjiru

tanjou kara hajimatta jigoku

Zero-One started the battle by ducking under a swing from a Noise before swiping at one, clawing into its 'face'. Placing a hand on two separate Noise, they began to freeze becoming frozen still glaciers. He then spun and kicked one, shattering it while also sending chunks of it flying at different Noise.

Asobi hanbun de

kami ga michibiita

banjou no sekai

no no no game no life

Nurui heion wo

bassari kirisutete

Eikou e no kaidan ni

sonzai kizamunda

Zero-One then kneed a Noise in the gut, freezing and breaking it's head off afterwards. He then bashed his fist in a Noise, grabbing one from behind it and ripping it in half. Raising his arms, he blocked an attack from one Noise only to receive countless. Inside his helmet, he frowned and turned his hands, "Freeze."

Me ni utsuru no wa

kanzen shouri no unmei

Nani mo kamo

keisan-doori

Kaete yaru

somaranai kuuhaku de

Vast amounts of cold air blew from the jets on his hands, freezing the noise where they stood as soon as it came into contact with them. Next, he punched through them to get rid of them. He then turned around to continue on beating the Noise was met with the back side of many of them combining into one sludge.

We are maverick

kyuusai nante iranai

Donna rifujin

osoou tomo

Kateba ii dake no hanashi darou

Kakehiki to

sainou ga

muhai izanau

Umare naoshita inochi de

tanoshimu sa

Jibun dake wa

jibun shinjiteru

"Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron."

Bits of the Noise came off before whirling in the air, spinning towards Tsubasa in front of it. Zero-One smirked and ran towards the Noise. Tsubasa jumped into the air, blades on her ankles unhooking before relocking into place, allowing her to slice the bits to ash. Tsubasa landed on the ground as Zero-One nicked it, freezing a part of it. Why did he miss it? Because Hibiki had shown up, kicking the noise in the jaw.

"Tsubasa-San! Toki-Kun!" Hibiki called out. Tsubasa growled before leaping into the air, electricity sparking from her blade.

Blue Flash

The slash blew up the Noise, destroying it for good. But in the air, Hibiki was still falling. Below her, Zero-One was positioning himself to catch the girl. This time, he caught her. "Gotcha," he let out a sigh of relief. "Tsubasa-San!" Hibiki spoke, getting out of Zero-One's arms, ignoring the fact that he caught her, and running over to Tsubasa, "Right now, I may slow you down, but I'll do my best! So... Please fight with me!"

"Yes." This brought a smile onto Hibiki's face. "You and I... let's fight." But her grin quickly changed. Tsubasa lifted her blade, pointing it at Hibiki. This left the girl confused. However, it didn't get far as Zero-One stepped in front of Hibiki, grabbing Tsubasa's blade. "Leave her be..." He told the cold girl, "She's just here to help people, not to be your punching bag." Tsubasa's eyes slightly closed, glaring at Zero-One. "If you want to fight anyone," Zero-One's grip began to tighten, the edge of Tsubasa's blade beginning to drop in temperature, "Then fight me. After all, I wasn't quick enough to stop Kanade from losing her Symphogear. So blame me and stop blaming Hibiki or yourself..."

-Chapter 4 End-