A/N: Welcome back to Save The Last Dance! I know, I know. When The Brothers Cry is getting progress made on it, but today, I was just in a Love Live! mood, so I worked on this story, and while this chapter is short, it is indeed meaningful. Enjoy!


Chapter 3 - A New Surprise

After that announcement, the idols of μ's had (unsurprisingly), celebrated, but afterwards, they met up with A-RISE, who declared that they held no ill will towards them, despite their loss. During this conversation, Adam and Jamie held back and talked amongst themselves, which drew the suspicion of Nozomi and Eli. After noticing this, the pair had tried to talk to them, but the brothers had quickly shot them down, before escorting the idols home, and dismissing themselves.


1 week later...

After μ's met up to practice a week after the final preliminaries, they had decided to take a day for themselves, and didn't even call the brothers to cover them. At Nozomi's suggestion, they had decided to visit the shrine, to 'ask the gods to bless their performance at Love Live!' As they climbed the steps, they were talking animately amongst themselves, but Nico made sure to keep an extremely wary eye on the bushes. (She didn't want a repeat of last week's incident).

Excited as the idols were, when they reached the top of the stairs, they were shocked by what they saw; A large mat was lain out, and on it were Adam and Jamie, looking like they were wrestling! As the girls watched, Jamie flipped over Adam's back, spun, then slid through the space between his brother's legs. As he came to a stop, Adam grabbed his hand, and pulled him up to his feet. Flipping backwards as Adam leaned down, Jamie landed on his brother's back, then started to spin on his hands, his legs flying out. To the idols watching, they were surprised that Adam showed no sign of pain during the situation.

After about a minute, Jamie stopped spinning, and looked to his brother. "You good, bro?" He asked, getting a nod from Adam. "Good." Jamie replied, before standing up, and backflipping off of him. Grunting, Adam pushed himself to his feet. "Your endurance has improved, Adam. You managed to hold it." The older brother stated, as he held up a hand. Clasping it in his, Adam pulled his brother in and patted him on the back. "Well, doesn't hurt when my partner is one diet away from being 2D." Adam replied, getting a chuckle and a playful punch on the shoulder from Jamie. As the pair laughed, Adam stopped and looked behind him slightly.

"Alright, you can come out now." He called out, to the shock of the μ's members, before they sighed, and revealed themselves. "So, enjoy the show?" Jamie asked in a venomous tone, as he rolled up the mat. "W-what exactly was that? You looked like you were fighting each other, then you did...whatever that was, Harbinger." Hanayo asked, causing Adam to look at Jamie, and nod. "It's a move we made for combat. If someone comes at you, you'll be thankful for it." The elder brother explained, getting a series of nods from μ's. "So, what you lot doing here?" Adam asked. Pointing to the shrine, Nozomi said, "We're here to ask the gods to bless our performance at Love Live!" Nodding, Adam looked at his watch. "Right, well, me and Jamie will get out of your hair, then." He said, which caught the girls off guard, as his tone, which was usually laced with a hint of venom (especially when he talked to Nozomi), was unnaturally quiet and...dare they say, sad?

"Adam, are you...?" Honoka started, but the boy nodded, and tapped Jamie on the shoulder. "Let's go." He said, getting a nod from his brother, before they both ran off. "Huh...fucking rude." Nico growled, only to receive a light slap on the shoulder from Nozomi. "It's just how they are, Nicocchi. You'll just have to learn to tolerate it." The purple-haired girl scolded, causing Nico to grumble under her breath. "Right, well, shouldn't we get to praying? We can also get some practice in as well." Maki suggested, getting nods from the girls. With that, they all prayed at the shrine, then spread out to practice their choreography.


An Hour Later...

After practicing for about an hour, Eli clapped her hands together, calling an end to the session. As the members of μ's collapsed in exhaustion, Nozomi spotted Eli staring out at the city. "Something on your mind, Elicchi?" She asked, sidling up beside her best friend. "Oh, it's nothing, Nozomi. I'm just thinking about the brothers." She said, causing Nozomi to raise an eyebrow. "Oh? Since when did you care about them?" The elder girl asked in a teasing tone, causing Eli's face to redden.

"I never stopped. I started dating Jamie after Adam had went through a nasty breakup with a girl. I didn't know it was you at the time. Then, due to Jamie caring more for his brother than for me, we split on bad terms. It even got to the point where we swore we'd kill each other. But despite all that, I still care for the two of them." Eli explained, turning to Nozomi. "Is that bad?" She asked, only to widen her eyes when Nozomi shook her head. "If anything, I'm the reason you broke up with Jamie. I'm the one who left Adam in the first place, which ended up spilling over into your own relationship troubles. Can you forgive me?" The girl asked, bowing to her friend. "Nozomi, there's nothing to forgive." Eli stated, causing her friend to look at her.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Eli asked, getting a nod from Nozomi. "Are you still in love with Adam? I've seen the way you look at him sometimes." She continued, just before Nozomi looked to the ground. "I won't deny it, but it hardly matters. After this job, the two of them will never see us again." The purple-haired girl said quietly, before she looked back up at Eli, her eyes soaked with tears. "You should tell him." Eli replied, as she put her hand on Nozomi's shoulder. "I can't. He's determined to believe that I sold out his client and got them killed. He'd never accept me after that." Nozomi choked out, before Eli pulled her into a hug. "Well, guess I'll need to kick his ass then. He's an idiot if he believes you'd turn on him like that." The blonde idol stated, getting a laugh from Nozomi. "I'd like to see that. I'd pay to see that, actually." The elder girl said, drawing another laugh, this time from Eli, as she pulled back from the hug.

"Look at that. You've got your smile back." She stated, causing Nozomi to blush. "C'mon. We should get back to practice." She continued, cutting off Nozomi's upcoming statement. Grabbing her hand, Eli pulled her best friend over to the rest of μ's...


Later That Night...

After wrapping up practice, the idols were all walking home together, having forgotten what they saw earlier, when they came to a sudden stop. "Can anyone else hear...music?" Umi asked, as all of the girls strained to listen. "Now that you mention it, yeah, I can. And it's coming from...that way!" Honoka said, before darting off. "Honoka!" Umi groaned, as she raced off after her. "Never a dull moment with those two, eh, Kotori?" Rin asked the ash haired girl in question, who smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way." Kotori replied, before she led the others after them. Running round a corner, the group nearly barrelled into Honoka and Umi, who were staring transfixed at the sight before them...

In the middle of a crowd of people, a bunch of 6 people in masks were moving in tune to music, which was foreign, but Nozomi and Eli recognised the song, despite it being in English;


"SMACK THAT

I feel you creeping, I can see it from my shadow,

Wanna jump up in my Lamborghini Gellardo,

Maybe go to my place and just kick it like Tai Bo,

And possibly bend you over,

Look back and watch me

Smack That! (All on the floor)

Smack That! (Give me some more)

Smack That! (Till you get sore)

Smack That! (Oh-oooh)

Smack That! (All on the floor)

Smack That! (Give me some more)

Smack That! (Till you get sore)

Smack That! (Oh-oooh)"


As the crowd watched, Nozomi pulled out her phone, and started to record the people in front of them. "What are they doing? They look like idiots." Nico asked, as one of the people started to spin on their head. Snapping his head back, a man nearby spoke. "They're street dancing. And by God, these boys are some of the best around." He stated, causing the girls to look at him in confusion. "Street dancers? So you know who they are?" Nozomi asked, getting a shake of the head from him. "Nobody knows who they are. They wear the masks to hide their faces. They only refer to themselves as the Militia." He explained, making Nozomi raise an eyebrow, before she looked back to the dancers.

As she continued to record, three of the boys dancing flipped over the backs of the other three, spun when they landed on the ground, and slid through the opening between their partner's legs. When they came to a stop, their partners grabbed their hands, and pulled them up to their feet, immediately being followed by the ones who slid backflipping, as their partners ducked down. Landing on the backs of those that had ducked, the dancers started to spin on their hands, to the surprise of Nozomi, who had a thought of "Why am I getting deja vu?", but they also done it in tune to the next verse of the song...


"Ooh, looks like another club banger

They better hang on when they throw this thang on

Get a lil'drink, they gonna flip for this Akon shit

You can bank on it

Pedicure, manicure, kitty-cat claws

The way she climbs up and down them poles

Looking like one of them Putty-Cat Dolls

Trying to hold my woodie back through my drawers

Steps upstage, didn't think I saw

Creeps up behind me, she's like "YOU'RE -"

I'm like "Yeah, I know, let's cut to the chase"

No time to waste, back to my place

Plus from the club to the crib it's like a mile away

Or more like a palace, shall I say

And plus I got a pal if your gal is game

In fact he is the one singing the song that's playing' (Akon!)"


At the end of the verse, the three men who had ducked down started to straighten up, as their partners came to a halt, and used their legs to push themselves into backflips. As the three who became airborne landed, they threw down small ball-like objects, which shattered on contact with the ground, creating a giant smoke cloud when they did. When the cloud cleared, the dancers, as well as the music, were gone. Scowling, Nozomi ended the recording.

"What the...?" Maki asked, getting a chuckle from the man who had spoken to them earlier. "They always do that. Trust me, nobody's ever caught them." He said, getting a smile from Nozomi. "Really?" She asked, as she rewound the video she had recorded. "That's...interesting." She said, as she focused on one particular movement of the dance. "And it's funny. I'm sure I was hallucinating, but I think one of them made eye contact with me. Just before that smoke appeared." She said, before the man laughed. "Which one?" He asked, before Nozomi turned her phone round to show him a still image of one of the boys, dressed head to toe in black, the only thing out of place being his white mask. "That's the Mentor. He's the leader of the crew. The colours of the boys stay the same. That's the only identification we have." The man explained, causing Nozomi's eyes to widen.

"The Mentor, you say?" She asked, rewinding back to the start of her recording...

"That's very interesting."


Later that night...

Robertson Residence

As Adam and Jamie entered their home, they tensed when another voice greeted them. "Long night?" It asked. Whirling round, Adam let fly a throwing knife, which embedded into the wall beside the speaker, who was revealed to be Nozomi when his eyes adjusted. "Your aim's off." She stated bluntly, getting a scoff from her ex as he turned on the light. "It is if I was aiming to kill you. Luckily for you, you're our current paycheck." He shot back,getting a smile from Nozomi.

"What you doing here, Tojo? And how'd you get in? Last I heard, breaking and entering was illegal." Jamie demanded, before Nozomi placed a key on the table. "Is it really, when you never asked for this back?" She asked, causing Jamie to scowl at Adam, who growled under his breath. "So, what do you want?" The elder brother asked. Settling back in her chair, Nozomi asked, "You two have a fun night?" "Yeah, we were, until you came back into it. Why do you care, of all people?" Adam spat, getting another chuckle from her. "I don't. But I thought you'd like to know, I saw something you'll want to see." She explained, before sliding her phone over the table. "It's already loaded. Just hit play." She ordered, with Adam pressing the button to start the video.

As the brothers watched the video, Nozomi giggled internally when she saw them tense up. When it ended, Adam glared at Nozomi as he slid her phone back to her. "And what's this all about?" He asked, before she slid the phone back across the table. "Watch this part again. Something about it strikes me as, how you say, familiar." She stated, as Adam hit play again. When it started back up, the brothers saw that the boys in the video were performing the same move they were practicing at the shrine that morning. "Looks disturbingly similar to your so-called 'combat move', doesn't it? The way I see it, there's a number of options; 1, you've made that move up as you've said, and someone else has stole it. 2, you were copying someone else's move, making you liars. Or 3, which is my personal favourite, the move in that video and your 'combat move' are similar, because the people who perform them are one and the same." Nozomi rattled off, before raising a hand to catch the phone Adam had tossed her way. "You two are part of the Militia, aren't you?" She asked, causing Adam to scoff. "So what if we are? What, you gonna reveal our identities to the world or something?" He demanded, as Nozomi stood up. "No." She said, stepping closer to them...

"I wanna make you an offer."


The Next Day...

Otonokizaka High School - Rooftop

"I'm sorry, what? I must have heard you wrong, Nozomi. These two are part of that group we saw last night?" Nico demanded, pointing a finger at the brothers, who scoffed. "Better believe it, Shorty." Jamie spat, causing the girl to open hee mouth to reply, but she was cut off. "Nicocchi, enough. And yes, you heard me right. Adam and Jamie are part of the Militia. They're street dancers." Nozomi explained, before Maki cleared her throat. "So, they're street dancers. What of it?" She stated, the ever-present coldness of her tone on full display. "I'm glad you asked Maki." Nozomi replied, before turning to the brothers.

"I want you to help us win Love Live!"

After this statement, a few seconds of silence occurred, before the group exploded in a chorus of "HUH?" Immediately, Eli had slammed her fist against the wall. "Are you fucking serious, Nozomi? There's no way in hell I'm working with that asshole!" She demanded, pointing a finger at Jamie, who glared at her. "Feeling's mutual, Blondie." Jamie shot back, causing Eli to move towards him in a manner that displayed her intention to punch him. Luckily, Umi and Honoka managed to grab and pull her back.

"What would even be in this for us? I'm case you've forgotten, Tojo, we're street dancers, not idols. We couldn't mesh our styles even if we wanted to." Adam asked his ex, whose eyes twinkled. "How does double the payment we originally settled on work for you?" She asked, causing the brothers to look to each other. "You perform with us at Love Live!, I'll pay you both, and then we part ways for good. Agreed?" She continued, before extending a hand. Looking at it, Adam said, "Just one question." "Which is?" She asked, before Adam shook her hand.

"When do we start?"


A/N: Yeahh...I went there. At least you now know the significance of the story's cover photo. Anyways, I'll see you all in Chapter 4 - Reinforcements. Madman out!