A/N: Welcome back to "Save The Last Dance"! I'll be perfectly honest here, I've had this chapter completed for a couple days now, but I've had an illness, so I've been more preoccupied with that. Anyways, enjoy the chapter, which (I think), is my new longest chapter for any of my stories.
Chapter 4 - Reinforcements
After the brothers agreed to work with μ's, they had went home, their new deal with Nozomi weighing heavily on their minds, but Adam had eventually quelled any notions of backing out by saying, "She's paying us double. And the best bit? We get to street dance for a bit." With that, the pair resolved to see this job through to the end, regardless of the difficulty they were bound to face...
The Next Day...
Otonokizaka High School
As Honoka led the way up to the rooftop, Nozomi said to the other members of μ's, "I messaged Adam that we were meeting up, and he sent back an affirmative. He and Jamie are..." She started, before Honoka opened the door, and stopped dead in her tracks. Looking past her, the girls gazed in shock at the sight that was before them.
"Apparently, they're already here." Nozomi finished, as the group of idols looked at their 'partners', who were leaning on the wall besides the door. "You took your time." Jamie spat, causing Nico to growl slightly, before Eli placed a hand on her arm to pacify her. "Apologies. We got held up." Umi said, getting a nod from Adam, as he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Jamie, back in the cage." He stated, before the elder brother relaxed. As he straightened up, μ's could see that, instead of their standard jackets, the brothers were wearing black tracksuit bottoms and vests, Adam's being black and Jamie's in red. Due to this, they could spy that their arms, especially Adam's, were quite muscular. "He could suffocate me with those, and I'd thank him." Nozomi thought to herself, before shaking her head to clear it, despite somewhat enjoying the notion.
"So, how's this going to work?" Jamie asked, cracking his shoulder. "Well, how about you see what we've got so far, and we'll discuss how to factor your moves into it?" Honoka suggested, getting a shrug from the brothers. "Fair play." Adam replied, before the girls spread out into their starting positions. "Adam, could you be so kind as to press play?" Nozomi asked her ex, who sighed. "Fine." He spat, walking over to the music player they had brought, before looking at them. "Ready?" He called out, getting nods from each of them. "Alright then, here we go." He said, pressing the play button...
As the girls danced, Jamie lightly elbowed his brother in the side. "There's no way we can move with this beat. Too slow." He explained, getting a nod from Adam, who didn't look away from the idol's performance. "Aye, you may be right. But we don't run from a job, Jamie. Rule number 1. You know that." The younger brother replied, getting a scowl from Jamie. "Good point. But c'mon, bro, even you've gotta admit, this idea's stupid. Idols and street don't mix. So why you so eager to leap to these girl's aid?" Harbinger replied, causing Adam to scoff. "I'm not. The sooner we finish this job, the sooner we never see Tojo or Ayase again. Also, you know how much I love to dance when I get an opportunity." He stated, causing Jamie to concede his point and shrug, just before the music came to an end, and the idols ceased their performance.
"So, how was that?" Honoka asked, as μ's tried to regain their breath. "Not half bad." Adam replied, pushing off the wall. "However, Miss Kosaka, could you show me that final move of yours again?" He continued, causing Honoka to smile and nod. "Yes, sir!" She stated, before performing the action that he asked. "Like that?" She asked when she finished, holding the pose. "Exactly. It's not bad, but..." He said, before moving behind her. "May I?" He asked, getting a nod from the girl. "Alright, then..." He said, placing his hands on her waist, noticing that she tensed slightly, before relaxing. "Alright, now, when you next perform that move, I want you to try two things, alright?" He said in an authoritative tone, getting a nod from Honoka. "Which are?" She asked, before Adam pushed her leg slightly further outwards with his foot. "Does that hurt?" He asked, before Honoka shook her head. "Good. Next time you do that, put that leg out a bit further. I also want you to try..." He said, before making her straighten her back more.
"That. Try to keep your back straighter. Not by too much, mind you. We're trying to make this look better. We're not trying to cripple you. Think you can try it?" He asked, getting a feverish nod from Honoka. "Very well, then. Wanna give it a shot?" He asked, stepping out from behind her. "Sure!" She replied, as he stepped over to the music player. "Alright. Here goes..." He said, pressing the play button. As instructed, Honoka performed the move, exactly as Adam had indicated. Looking to him, Honoka was happy to see that he was clapping. "Well done, Miss Kosaka!" The street dancer said, as the rest of μ's got back to their feet. "Thanks, Adam. But please, call me Honoka." The girl replied, getting a smile from Adam, which only grew when he saw Nozomi scowl out the side of his vision.
"Well, how about we see what you two can do?" Nico demanded, causing the brothers to laugh. "Happily. But if we're doing that, I warn you, we can't dance to your tune. It's too slow for us. If you want us to work with you, it'll have to be more along the lines of this." Adam explained, before tossing a MP3 player to Maki. As she pressed play, the girls looked back to Adam, as he nodded to Jamie, who pushed himself off the wall, and took up a position across from Adam. As the song dropped the beat, the pair started to move in lightning fast rhythm with the music, eventually coming to a stop to catch their breath as the song ended. Looking at their partners, the two simply got to their feet, as only Honoka, Hanayo, Rin and Kotori clapped.
"See? Our style's too fast for you to dance to. What we've just watched proves it. But if you could mix a tune like that into your performance, then we'd be getting somewhere." Jamie stated, his first words in the past few minutes. Humming in acknowledgement, Maki placed a finger on her chin. "I suppose I could try to come up with a tune more suited to you two." She said, as she passed the player back to Adam, who had collapsed onto the ground, out of breath.
"Well, the idea's good, but we're forgetting one thing." Nico piped up, drawing the group's attention. "Which is, Nicocchi?" Nozomi asked, making the pigtailed girl scowl, before she continued. "We've only got two male dancers. We'd need more if this idea is going to work." She explained, making the idols look to the brothers. "I guess that's true..." Hanayo said, before they were all caught off guard by the sound of a phone and a knock on the door to the roof.
Looking to his phone, Adam smirked and said, "Hold that thought.", before getting up and opening the door. On the other side, μ's saw that there were a quartet of boys, dressed the same as the brothers, except their vests were different colours. However, the bigger shock was when Jamie shot to his feet and embraced all of them one by one. "Alright, lads?" The elder brother asked the newcomers. As μ's got to their feet, Nozomi went to ask Adam something, but he cut her off by addressing the whole group at once. "Ladies, I thought this would be a problem, so I asked these guys to come help. µ's, meet the Militia." He explained, as the newcomers waved to the girls. "Hey, instead of introductions, why don't we show them what we got?" Jamie asked, before pulling out his phone. A second later, there was music blaring out the phone's speaker.
"Alright, good idea, bro. Okay, so first off, we've got our floor master, Hybrid!" Adam called out, before one of the boys, this one wearing a dark blue vest, stepped forward, rubbed his hands together, then started to spin on his hands, just like the group had seen during the street performance, except this boy was in a completely different league. The speed of his movement shocked the girls, as he kept changing the hand on which he spun on a dime, eventually spinning onto his back, before he lifted the lower half of his body off the ground, and spun on his head. After a couple of seconds of this, he brought his hands down and flipped back onto his feet. Looking to each other, the members of μ's couldn't help but be impressed.
Smirking at the idol's stunned faces, Adam called out, "We've got Doc, the man with no bones!" Immediately, a blonde-haired boy in a gold-coloured vest stepped forward, and what he did next, both fascinated and disgusted the spectating idols. He, for lack of a better term, crumpled to the ground, but stopped short of actually hitting the concrete, holding himself up with some unknown means, before he moved backwards, moving his legs in circles as he did so. He didn't even convey any pain on his face as he pushed himself forwards and back onto his feet. "Does this guy even have a skeleton?" Nico thought to herself, before Adam moved onto the next boy.
"Blink, Blink can groove and shake!" The Mentor called out, prompting a boy in grey to slide in front of the idols, and immediately duck into a spin. Coming back up, he moved his legs in a lighting pace, spinning them over one another, before letting himself drop to the floor. Picking himself up, he kicked one of his legs through the space between his arm and the ground, before performing another spin, this time pointing his back towards the ground as he held himself up, and sliding out of the way of the next boy. The girls were so impressed by his moves, Nozomi was sure at least one of them wolf-whistled.
"The popping tapper, Quake!" Adam stated, as a fair-skinned man leapt forward, placed one foot on the ground, and spun, putting his entire weight on his leg. Coming a stop in front of Adam, he held out a hand, which Adam took, and slid downwards into a split, making the idols watching wince. Immediately afterwards, he bounced back up, and turned towards the idols, but his movements confused them. He moved in a juttering motion, as if he was a robot. "Huh. That's...impressive." Eli thought to herself, as Quake walked robotically to the side, allowing the last boy to take the stage.
"And last but not least, Harbinger, my good ladies!" Adam called out, before Jamie slid forwards, and started to spin on his hands, just as Hybrid had done earlier. However, when he started to slow down, he swung one of his legs out across the rooftop in an arc, before pulling his entire body weight round, and launching himself off the concrete, in what turned out to be a frontflip. Landing on the ground feet-first, he bowed to the girls, but Adam saw the glare and smug grin his brother shot towards Eli. As Jamie walked back over to the Militia, Honoka looked to the rest of her friends.
"Alright, girls, I think this is going to work." She said, before Jamie scoffed and looked to her. "Work? We're gonna kick some ass!" He piped up, before the idols smiled, and stepped forward to meet their new 'partners'...
Later...
"So, since we can't try to mesh our dance styles today, I propose that we get to know one another." Umi suggested, getting nods from the group. "That sounds fair." The man named Doc said, before Umi smiled. "Well, there's one thing I want to know. How'd you all meet? I was introduced to all of Adam's friends when we were dating, but we've never met." Nozomi asked, getting a chuckle from the one called Quake. "That's cause we met after you two broke up." He laughed, before Adam shot him a glare. "Riddick..." He said in a dangerous tone, causing the man's grin to falter. "Sorry, boss." Quake said, looking down to the floor.
"So, Riddick, huh?" Honoka asked, getting a laugh from Hybrid, which drew her attention. "Yep. Like the brothers here, we use aliases when we perform. I'm Cameron Goldie. He's Ryan Clougherty." The boy in blue said, pointing towards Blink. "Hello!" The one in grey said, waving to the idols. "Doc's real name is Carlisle. He and Riddick are brothers." Cameron continued, pointing to the so-called 'Man With No Bones', who chuckled. "Adoptive. But we might as well be biological." He explained, causing the idols to nod in understanding.
"So how'd you all meet, nya~?" Rin asked, before the boys looked to Adam and Jamie, who looked away. "After Tojo and I broke up, our mother taught me street dancing to take my mind off it. At first it was just me, but Jamie joined in when he broke up with Ayase. It was then we decided to form a crew, and perform in between protection jobs." Adam explained, getting a sad look from Nozomi, who felt a pang in her chest. "Please, don't speak like that, Adam. Please don't make out that you forgot me that easily." She pleaded internally, as Eli looked to the rest of the Militia. Little did Nozomi know, her best friend was thinking along the same lines she was, albeit towards the elder Robertson brother.
"So, who joined first, after Adam and Jamie?" Eli asked, just prior to Carlisle and Riddick raising their hands. "They found us performing together." Carlisle explained, before he looked to his 'brother'. "You wanna tell them, or should I?" He asked, getting a shrug from the other boy. "Fine, then."Carlisle stated, turning back to the idols. "If I remember correctly, it was about two weeks after Adam & Jamie started looking for members..."
"FLASHBACK:
2 Years Ago...
Vale, Scotland
"So, another bust. You sure that we're looking in the right place, bro?" Jamie asked, as he and Adam walked down the town's main street. "Mum said Vale's the street dancing capital of Scotland, Jamie. If we're looking for crew members, we'll find them here." Adam replied, causing his brother to shrug. "Fair enough. So, where to next?" As Adam went to reply, he stopped, and looked down the street. "Hear that?" He asked, causing Jamie to listen intently. "Yeah, it's music. Good beat, too." He stated, before Adam nodded. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" The younger brother said, before taking off, his brother following close behind. "This is gonna be my whole day, isn't it?" Jamie thought to himself.
Rounding a corner, the brothers gazed in amazement at what they saw; A crowd of people were gathered round a pair of boys, who were moving in robotic rhythm to the beat if the music playing. They gazed, transfixed, as one of the dancers, a blonde man, dropped downwards, with the speed of his fall giving Adam reason to pause. To him, the man moved his body as if it was entirely boneless. "Does this guy even have a skeleton?" Adam thought, as he watched the man, who, by what he could only say was magic, straightened back up, without ever pushing himself with his feet. He then moved his gaze to the other dancer, who had remained standing, and was still moving in rhythm to the music. To Adam, he could have been forgiven if he mistook the man for a robot. A few seconds later, the music stopped, as the boy's performance came to an end. Applauding, the crowd started to either disperse, or go up to offer their commentary on the show. Adam and Jamie were two of the latter.
"That was sick!" Adam called out, as he and Jamie approached the pair. Looking to them, the blonde man smiled. "Thanks. Worked on that routine for a while." He said, shaking Adam's hand. "It shows. By the way, you two in a crew?" Jamie asked, as he shook the man's hand. "We've been looking for one to take us, but they've either been too full, or they've not got any interest in using our style of dance." The other man explained, before jerking his head towards his partner, a fair-skinned man who had kept silent. "It's starting to demoralize my brother there." He continued, before Adam looked to Jamie,who shrugged.
"What if you could stop looking?" The younger brother asked, causing the pair to look to him. "We've just started a crew. We're still new, but I think we could use you and your brother there. What do you say?" Adam explained, holding out his hand. Looking at it, the blonde man looked to his partner. "What'd you think, Riddick?" He asked, getting a nod from the other man, who had risen to his feet. "Hell yes!" He said, in a deep tone. "Very well." The blonde dancer replied, before turning back to Adam. "We're in, Mister...?" He started, trailing off when he realised he didn't know his new partner's names. "Call me Adam. Adam Robertson. My brother here's Jamie. Looking forward to working with you, Riddick and ...?" The younger Robertson asked, realising that he had suffered the same setback as the other man. As he shook Adam's hand, the man said...
"Call me Carlisle. Pleasure to meet you, Adam, Jamie."
FLASHBACK END"
Back in the present day...
"So, you just up and joined like that?" Nico asked, getting shrugs from Carlisle and Riddick. "Pretty much. And when Adam showed us what he could do, we decided to name him the one who'd lead the Militia." Riddick stated, causing Nozomi to turn to her ex. "Impressive." She stated, getting a shrug from the boy. "Never really cared, to be honest with you." He replied bluntly, shutting down Nozomi's attempt at conversation. "God, Nozomi, give it up. He's not interested. You're looking desperate at this point. And that's coming from me." Maki thought, shooting a sideways look to Nico, before turning to Ryan.
"So, Blink, how'd you join the Militia?" She asked, saying his alias with a teasing tone, which drew a chuckle from the boy. "I was actually the next to join after Quake & Doc. But there's not much to tell." He said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, attempting to move the conversation onto a different topic, but Maki caught onto his attempt. "Nice try. Own up." She ordered, making Ryan look to Adam, before sighing. "Fine. It went like this..."
"FLASHBACK:
1 month after recruiting Quake & Doc...
"So, that went well. Where to now, Mentor?" Riddick stated, as he, along with the other members of the Militia, walked down the street. Since he and Carlisle had joined up with the Robertson brothers, their crew had steadily climbed up the ranks to become a serious competitor for the best in Vale, and their victory in their most recent dance competition had only helped boost their popularity. "Careful, Quake. Keep that tone going, and I'll think you ain't interested in the crew anymore." Adam shot back, causing Carlisle and Jamie to laugh. "It's not that. I'm just thinking that we need more people. You know, to shake things up." Riddick replied, getting a shrug from Carlisle as he looked to Adam.
"He's got a point, Mentor." He said, getting a nod from Adam, who stretched. "Fair point, Doc. But we've approached all the good dancers in Vale. No one else is interested, or they're already in a crew." Jamie stated, causing Doc to look to him. "Not everyone, Harbinger." He said, causing Quake to adopt a Cheshire grin, and the brothers to get a confused look...
Later...
"Hey, Doc. Same to you, Quake. What's up?" The boy in grey asked, shouldering his bag, as he grabbed onto Carlisle & Riddick's hands, and pulled them in, patting them on the back. "Not much, Ryan." Doc replied, before the boy saw Adam and Jamie standing behind his friends. "So, those your new crewmates?" He asked, getting nods from the QuakeDoc pair, as they had come to be called.
"Yep, that's them. Ryan, meet Jamie Robertson, also known as Harbinger..." Carlisle explained, pointing to the older Robertson, who raised a hand in greeting. "S'up?" He asked, getting a nod from Ryan. "S'up?" He replied in kind, shaking Jamie's hand.
"And next up, meet the Militia's leader, Adam Robertson, the Mentor. He's Jamie's younger brother." Carlisle continued, before pointing to Adam, who held out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Ryan." The Militia leader said, as Ryan shook his hand. Now that they were closer, Adam could see that the boy was wearing what looked to be a dog tag around his neck. "Same. Any friend of Carlisle and Riddick is a friend of mine." The boy replied, getting a chuckle from Carlisle. "The hell you laughing at?" Ryan asked, turning back to his friend. "Funny you said that, Ryan, as we've got a favour to ask." Doc said, causing Ryan to raise an eyebrow. "Go on..." The boy stated, although he had a wary edge to his voice.
"We want you to bring Blink back out." Carlisle explained, causing his friend to relax. "Oh, is that all? Then yeah, I'm in!" Ryan stated, turning to Adam. "Would you allow me the honour of joining your crew?" He asked, holding out a hand. As Adam went to reply, the group was surprised when they heard the sound of Timbaland's "The Way I Are" blaring.
"Shit, give me a second." Ryan stated, diving his hand into his pocket. "It's my mum." He said, withdrawing his phone and looking at the screen. "Oh, my God." Riddick groaned, as Ryan sent a reply to the text he had received. "What?" Ryan asked, picking up on his friend's tone. "That is not your ringtone, is it?" Quake asked, despite trying to hold back laughter. "What, it's the coolest thing ever! Alright, fine. Here, listen!" Ryan shot back, before selecting the song from his phone's playlist. Immediately, the full song started to blare out of the speakers.
"THE WAY I ARE:
I ain't got no money
I ain't got no car to take you on a date
I can't even buy you flowers
But together we can be the perfect soul mates"
As the song had been playing, Ryan had started to bounce to the beat. "Here we go, h-here we, watch me, watch me!" He said, before he started to walk up a nearby set of stairs. "Alright, Ryan..." Adam said, crossing his arms, "Let's see what you got." Smirking, Ryan turned back to face them, just as the song started its chorus...
"Talk to me, girl
Oh, baby, it's alright now, you ain't gotta flaunt for me
If we go and touch, you can still touch my love, it's free
We can work without the perks just you and me
Thug it out 'til we get it right
Baby if you strip, you can get a tip
'Cause I like you just the way you are
(I'm about to strip and I'm well equipped
Can you handle me the way I are?)
I don't need the G's or the car keys
Boy I like you just the way you are
Let me see you strip, you can get a tip
'Cause I like, I like, I like..."
From the beginning of the chorus, Ryan had never stopped moving. First, he had started to pull on his shirt lightly, working his way down, before pushing his hand into his pocket. Moving with the tune of the music, he stepped slowly to the side twice, then spun. It was at this point that the Robertson spectators were impressed. "What?" Adam said, a smile on his face, as he watched Ryan turn to the side & move his right arm forwards as if he was going for a punch, only to retract it back and shoot it forwards again, a move Adam noticed was akin to the way a piston moved inside an engine. Next, Ryan took off the backpack, and let it roll down the stairs, before placing one of his feet on the step below him, and turning backwards while stepping downwards onto the step.
As they bounced to the beat, now fully impressed by Ryan's skill, Adam and Jamie could only gaze in fascination at what Blink did next. In quick succession, he raised his hands up slightly in a repeat motion, leaning backwards as he did so each time. When his back was near the steps, he straightened back up, then bent backwards once again, however this time, he done the lean in one big movement. "Whoa!" Jamie exclaimed, as Ryan straightened back up.
Reaching to the front of his neck, Ryan grabbed his dog tag, and pulled it all the way around his head, while stepping backwards up the stairs. Now, he was at the top. Making one last spin, Ryan stepped backwards, before taking one step forward, and flipping off the stairs. Due to his momentum, he cleared the entirety of the steps he had just climbed up. When he landed on the ground, he tucked into a roll, and came to a stop in front of Adam. Straightening back up, he reached for his phone, and stopped the music.
"You're in." Adam said immediately, causing a smile to appear on Ryan's face...
FLASHBACK END"
Present day...
"Not much to tell, huh?" Maki asked sarcastically. Ryan's story had been a lot longer than Carlisle and Riddick's. "Shut up." Ryan said, looking to the ground. "It's embarrassing to remember." He said, causing the group to laugh. "No, I'll tell you what's embarrassing; having that song as your ringtone." Jamie piped up, causing Ryan to glare at him. "Oh, that right, you son of a..." He started, before tackling Jamie to the ground. Shooting to their feet, µ's went to help, but Adam held up a hand. "Leave them be." Looking down to the pair, the girls saw that the pair were laughing. "You still fight like shit. You still fight like shit!" Jamie said, as he managed to pin Ryan to the ground. "Alright, you win...dick." Ryan groaned, before Jamie released him, and pulled him up to his feet.
"So, by process of elimination, that leaves Hybrid. How'd you join the Militia?" Kotori asked, getting a smile from Cameron. "Well, obviously, I was the last one to join the Militia, but it ain't exactly a glamorous tale. I just up and asked them if I could join, and they let me when they saw my skills. That's it. It all started when they were looking for a place to practice..."
"FLASHBACK:
Not long after recruiting Blink...
"Alright, the best I can do for you is to fit you in with Cameron's class." The owner of the studio said, causing the Militia members to look to the boy in question. "You don't get in the way of his dancing class, you can practice here. If you can't even work with that, then I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere." He continued. Looking to the rest of his crew, Adam shrugged and said, "Better than nothing. Besides, everywhere else is taken.", getting nods from the rest of them.
Well, almost the rest of them.
"This is not gonna work." Ryan groaned, as the owner left the room...
1 week later...
Well, Ryan was (only partially) wrong. The Militia found they could practice freely. It was Cameron who ended up having a problem, as his dancing class would constantly be distracted by watching the street dancers. One day, about a week after the Militia came into the studio, Cameron had had enough.
"C'mon, guys!" He groaned at his students, who all ignored him, and looked towards the Militia. Sighing, the dancing teacher turned and looked at the other group in the room, before sighing. "Fuck it." He said, before walking over. "Hey, Mentor!" He called out, drawing the boy in black's attention.
"What's up, Cameron?" Adam asked, as he and his crew walked over. "I wanna be in your crew." Cameron replied, making the Militia smirk. "Look, Cameron, I appreciate the thought, but, no offense, cha-cha-cha really doesn't mesh with what we're doing here." Jamie explained, making Cameron smirk himself. "Yeah, so I cha-cha, who cares? Pays the bills, and chicks dig it." He stated, making Riddick laugh. "Do they really?" He asked. Shrugging, Cameron continued. "Regardless, I have been known to get pretty 'crunked', if you know what I mean." He rattled off, before Ryan looked to Adam.
"This competition we've got coming up is gonna be hard enough as it is. We don't need any help from 'Rico Suavee' over here." He stated, shooting a look to Cameron. "Oh, ouch!" He said sarcastically. "'Rico Suavee', huh? You don't think I got it, do you?" The dancing teacher asked of Blink. "Well, no offense, but you haven't shown that you do." Carlisle piped up, making Cameron shrug. "Good point. So, you wanna see what I got?" He asked, starting to unbutton his shirt. "No. No, we don't wanna see what you got!" Ryan said, as Cameron tossed his shirt to the side, revealing a blue vest top underneath. "Hit the music." He said to Carlisle, who turned on the stereo, which began to play a beat.
"Watch." Cameron said, stepping back, as Adam nodded. "Alright, Cameron, the floor's all yours. Let's see what you can do." He stated, getting a nod from Cameron, who took one look at his class while rubbing his hands, before executing a flurry of hand spins, even faster than any move Ryan could perform. Looking to his crew, Adam saw they were transfixed on what Cameron was doing, as were the man's students. As the Militia moved closer to get a better view, Cameron pushed himself backwards onto his feet. Pausing for a second, Cameron then launched himself back to the floor, his shoulder taking the brunt of the impact, before moving into spinning on said shoulder for a few seconds. Placing his foot on the floor, he pushed himself off the floor, coming to a stop to catch his breath.
"Bravo!" Carlisle called out, as he and Riddick applauded. "I can't believe it!" Riddick chimed in, which caused Cameron to shrug. "Whatever." He shot bluntly, before walking off. Looking to Jamie, who shrugged, Adam looked back towards Cameron.
"When you available for practice?"
FLASHBACK END"
Back in the present...
"So, I'm guessing that they call you Hybrid..." "'Cause I dance 2 styles? Yeah." Cameron said, interrupting Rin, who smiled at him. "After Cameron joined, we began to win competition after competition. He really is our ace in the hole." Carlisle explained, getting a laugh from Cameron. "You guys could hold your own, even without my joining in. But, I think that enough's been said about us. What about μ's? There has to be a story there." The boy in blue said, before the girls looked to Honoka. "Well, it's not exactly exciting..." She said, before beginning to explain the idol's history...
A few minutes later...
"...and that's pretty much it." Umi finished, making the boys widen their eyes. Even Adam and Jamie, who had been looking out over the city, had turned and listened to the idol's story. "Damn. Your story's got ours beat by a long shot." Carlisle stated, getting smiles from each of the girls. "Not really surprising, if you think about it. These girls are all completely different, but they all share a love for being idols, whereas each member of the Militia is similar to the others in some way, besides loving to street dance." Adam piped up, making the girls look to him and nod.
"He's got a point." Kotori said, causing Adam to crack his neck. "Course I do." He said in a joking tone, before looking at his watch. "What d'you lot say we get going? It's kinda late." He asked, prompting everyone else present to look to their own watches. "Good idea. Could we meet back up here tomorrow?" Eli asked, getting nods from the Militia, although Jamie simply gave a jerk of his head. "Sure. Shall we?" Cameron asked, gesturing towards the door to the roof...
A couple minutes later, the two groups were exiting the school. "Thanks again, you guys, for partnering with us. With your help, Love Live! is ours for sure!" Honoka stated, making the boys smile and nod. "No problem, Honoka. The pleasure's all...WATCH OUT!" Adam went to reply, before he and the Militia shot out their hands, and pulled μ's back from crossing the road, just as a truck roared past, blaring its horn. Falling backwards onto the ground, the boys saw that they had managed to save all of the girls, but some of them were more unfortunate than others; Cameron had pulled Hanayo and Rin out of the way, Carlisle made himself land underneath Honoka, Umi & Kotori, Riddick had grabbed Maki, and Ryan had protected Nico. Adam and his brother, however, had been the most unlucky, with them landing on top of Nozomi and Eli, respectively.
Looking down, Adam locked eyes with Nozomi, who immediately erupted into a blush. "Adam, I..." She started, but she was cut off by the boy asking, "You good?" Closing her mouth, Nozomi simply nodded, before Adam pulled her up to her feet. "Nothing sprained?" He asked, which drew a look from her. "Adam, I'm fine." She stated, before the boy reluctantly nodded, and turned to the rest of the group, missing the raise of an eyebrow towards Nozomi, courtesy of Jamie.
"Everyone else good?" He asked, before the rest of the group nodded. "We're good. Just a little shaken up." Honoka said, getting a nod from Adam, who turned to his brother. "Ayase doing good?" He enquired, getting a reply of "Just making sure." Turning to the blonde, Jamie asked, "Well?" "I'm fine. No damage." Eli stated, but Jamie wasn't convinced. "You sure?" He asked, causing Eli to glare at him. "Jamie, I said I'm good. Back off!" She spat, making Jamie tense. Immediately, her face turned apologetic.
"Jamie, I..." "Forget it." The Harbinger stated coldly, cutting off her statement. "Blondie's all good, boss!" He called out, getting a nod from his brother, who looked to Eli, who was staring at Jamie. "Alright, then. I guess we can take you guys home. Unless you'd rather go yourselves?" The Militia leader asked, before the girls shook their heads. "We'll be fine. Thanks, anyways!" Honoka said cheerfully, as the idols picked themselves up. "See you tomorrow, guys!" She called out, waving to them as she ran off. "Honoka, wait up!" Kotori cried out, as she and Umi took off after their childhood friend.
"I'll be fine. Thanks for the offer, though." Nico said, before walking off herself. "Kayo-chin, Maki-chan and I live in the same direction. We'll be fine, nya~!" Rin squealed, pulling her two fellow first years along with her. "Rin, slow down! You're gonna rip my arm off!" Maki scolded, before the trio disappeared from sight. This only left the Militia with Nozomi and Eli. "Riddick, Carlisle. Could you walk me home?" Eli asked, getting nods from the two, before Adam sighed.
"You'd be better off if Harbinger takes you home. He's the only one who knows where your home is. You'll get there quicker." He stated, causing Jamie, as well as Eli, to snap their necks towards him. "I'm sorry, bro, but you know I'm right." He continued, cutting off Jamie's response. "He's got a point, Elicchi." Nozomi piped up, causing her best friend to sigh, before nodding. "Fine." She stated, shouldering her bag. "Shall we?" She asked, prompting Jamie to gesture forward. "Lead the way." As the pair walked past him, Adam grabbed Jamie by the arm. "I'm only gonna say this once. Play. Nice. Got it?" He demanded, before Jamie smirked. "Boss, she's part of the group we're protecting. We're all good." The Harbinger replied, before freeing his arm and walking to catch up with the blonde idol.
"Actually, Mentor, could you walk me home?" Nozomi asked, getting a series of smirks from the remaining members of the Militia, as Adam sighed again. "Fine." Turning to his crew, he jerked his head. Nodding, the street dancers took their leave. "Let's get this over with." He said, turning back to Nozomi. "Okay." Turning round, she began to lead the Mentor in the direction of her home...
A few minutes later...
"Alright, spill it. Why'd you want me of all people to walk you home?" Adam demanded, after Nozomi unlocked her door. "Can you come inside? It's getting cold out here. I promise, I'll answer your question." She asked, noticing that Adam clenched his hand into a fist. "Fine. But make it quick. I've got a practice with the Militia later." He growled, making Nozomi nod, before he entered the hall, closing the door behind him.
After sitting down at her table, Adam looked to Nozomi and asked, "So, what's up?" Sitting at the chair next to him, Nozomi turned to him, her gaze locked onto the floor. "Adam, I'm sorry for asking this, but...do you still think that I sold you out?" She asked, getting a scoff from Adam. "Are you for fucking real?" He growled, making her jump at his tone. "Tojo, you're the only person I told about him. Other than the people involved with the job, you're the only one who knew who he was." He continued, before he saw Nozomi's eyes welling up with tears.
"Adam, I swear, I had nothing to do with that. What will it take for you to believe me?" She cried out, reaching for him, only for Adam to jerk away. "Then how do you explain the fact that he got killed the day after I told you who he was?" The Mentor demanded, causing Nozomi to fall silent. "That's what I thought." He spat, rising to his feet. "The Militia will help you win this competition, then I'm gone." He stated, getting a single nod from his ex, who stared blankly at the table. "Good. Now, I've got a practice to get to." Picking up his bag, he walked over to the door, and slammed it shut behind him. At her solitary spot at the table, Nozomi clenched her hands into fists, as tears began to flow from her eyes. As she cried, she thought to herself...
"Adam, I swear, I'll prove my innocence to you. And when I do, I hope you'll show me the love you once did again."
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that! And here's another bit of honesty; I really hate this version of Adam. He may be a self-insert of myself, but at this point in the story, I absolutely despise him for his treatment of Nozomi, who is one of my favorite characters in the entirety of anime. Anyways, I'll see you all in Chapter 5 - Dark Horse.
Madman out!
