CHAPTER 4
Tokimeki Runners
Uranohoshi High School,
Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture,
February 6
Right after the school dismissed, Chika's phone rang.
"Moshimoshi? Chika-chan? Ayumu Uehara from Nijigasaki High School!"
"Ayumu-chan! It's been a while since we sing together at the All Stars! I look forward to singing again with you and the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club!" Chika lit up. "Tokimeki Runners is such a cool song!"
"Aw, thank you! I'm glad you like it! You see, we're all excited to host the annual Nijigasaki School Idol Spring Concert in the next 2 weeks! We are inviting school idol groups from neighboring prefectures to sing at our spring concert." Chika's heart drummed in her ears when Ayumu delivered the invitation, "Chika-chan, would Aqours come and sing at Nijigasaki School Idol Spring Concert? Maybe we can sing Tokimeki Runners again if the audience likes it!"
"Ayumu-chan, it is an honor for Aqours to sing at Nijigasaki! We will gladly do it! I will notify the others! This is so exciting!"
"Great! I'm happy to have Aqours as one of the performers! I'll tell the rest of the girls that you are coming! They will be excited! Thank you, Chika-chan!"
"Thank you for the invitation! We'll see you in 2 weeks! Ja ne!" Chika hung up the phone then group-texted her friends, 'Club room in 10 minutes. Something important to discuss.'
Ten minutes later the 9 members of Aqours gathered in the club room, wondering what Chika had to announce. Yoshiko and Ruby brought in their camcorder, anticipating a big news so they could record the reactions of the group and uploaded the clip as a marketing tool. Hanamaru carried several noppo bread with her as if the meeting would take all night. Kanan, Dia, and Mari sat at the back, trading anxious look with each other. You sat next to Chika nervously, tapping the table and muttered to herself. Riko remained composed.
"Guys, I just got a phone call from Ayumu Uehara from Nijigasaki," Chika delivered the news. "We are invited to perform at Nijigasaki High School Idol Spring Concert in 2 weeks!"
"Yosoro! I love the Nijigasaki girls! This is great news!" You blurted. "Nijigasaki has a good school idol program too, so we can trade information and performance tips with them. Might be useful in Love Live Finals."
"We can use this as a 'dress rehearsal' for Love Live Finals," Kanan added.
"But we can't sing our 'Finals' song!" Dia quickly raised concern. "Per Love Live regulation, the song we perform on the Finals has to be a brand-new song. If we sing it at Nijigasaki, we will get disqualified."
"We can perform another song," Mari said. "We have songs that we haven't performed anywhere."
"Or old songs, zura," Hanamaru chimed in. "This is just a concert zura, so we can use old materials zura."
"This concert will be cursed with extreme misfortune because of the Fallen Angel Yohane," Yoshiko mumbled to herself. "But, if we make video as an offering, it may be alright."
"We need to have somebody take video of us while performing," Ruby stated. "Chika-chan, is Yosetsu-san coming? He had helped us making video before, and he did a good job."
"Well, uh… no, he is not coming," Chika replied with a hint of disappointment in her voice. "He actually has a big project to finish, and he is trying to get it done so he can attend Love Live Finals."
"Then who's going to make video?"
"We can ask one of the Nijigasaki girls to do it for us. I don't think Ayumu-chan mind."
"Alright, so what are we going to sing over there?" Dia said.
"Riko-chan?" Chika turned to Riko, who had not said anything.
"Uh, I have a couple of songs I am working on, but they won't be ready in 2 weeks," Riko replied halfheartedly. "Then we have to figure out the dance moves."
"I'd say we take one that is close to finish, then 2 old songs that we already know by heart," Kanan suggested. "That way we can only learn to sing and dance for 1 song."
"Good idea," You added. "Maybe Aozora Jumping Heart and Mitaiken Horizon."
"Mitaiken Horizon, zura?" Hanamaru choked on her noppo bread.
"Well you did a really good job as center for this song during our cruise," Chika encouraged the bashful Hanamaru. "Just be confident. You can do this."
"She was confident because she wanted to impress that cooking student," Mari threw a jab at Hanamaru. "You know, the red-haired guy from Totsuki?"
"Ah, it's not like that, zura!" Hanamaru's face turned completely red. "We are just friends, zura!"
"You can ask him to come if you want," Chika smiled watching Hanamaru's reaction to the teasing.
"I will try, zura," Hanamaru forced a smile. "If you guys don't mind, zura."
"No, we don't mind, as long as he cooks for us," Kanan quipped.
"Alright, so everybody OK on Aozora Jumping Heart, Mitaiken Horizon, and the new song Riko is working on?" Chika said. "So let's start practicing and jog our memories on the songs we already know, while waiting for Riko to finish the third song."
"Costume? What should we wear?" You interjected.
"Something simple. Maybe just pullover with ribbons, or tanks with stretch pants. We don't have time to make something complicated, and we already spent our last yens for costume for the Finals. Just something simple."
"Aye aye Captain!" You snapped a salute.
"Alright, let's get to work!" Chika concluded the meeting. "This is going to be exciting!"
The idea to bring Soma was intimidating at first. Hanamaru was not one to initiate a romantic getaway. She was a shy, introverted girl who spent most of her time alone. If not because of Aqours, she would have been sitting alone in the library for the better part of her 1st year at Uranohoshi. Hanging out with friends was a little too much to handle, especially with a boy from another school.
But the more she thought about it, the more intrigued she got. She couldn't deny that she had good chemistry with Soma. They both loved food, although in different levels. The conversation about food never seemed to end, and sometimes they talked until exhaustion took over. They had not talked about their relationship, how their friendship would take a higher step, but romance was the only one that was logical.
So Hanamaru summoned all courage she could muster and called Soma. Her heart pounded her chest hard. It was scary, but exciting at the same time. Every time she heard the call sign on her phone, she held her breath, wondering if Soma would pick it up. She wondered what his ringtone was, and she dreamed that it was actually Mitaiken Horizon. He didn't pick it up, and the call seemed like going on forever.
What if he says 'no'? Hanamaru mulled over. She did reject his invitation to a cooking competition. What if he rejected her to make it even? Should she be mad? Should she accept it, because it was fair? But was it fair? What if he was busy cooking? Should she be mad at him for being busy, and not prioritizing her enough? But did she prioritize him? Did she make sacrifice for him? Should she?
She was about to give up and call him another time, but she finally heard the click. Her heart skipped a beat. But, to her horror, a woman's voice greeted her. "Moshimoshi?"
"Ah… uh… zura…" Hanamaru lost her composure.
"Moshimoshi? Who is this?" the girl on the other side asked.
Hanamaru was already open her mouth to reply, when she caught Soma's voice in the distance. "Megumi-chan… Who is that?"
"I don't know," the girl replied. "Scammer, maybe?"
Hanamaru quickly cut off the connection. Her chest heaved and her breaths came in sharp gasps. Her hands trembled so much her phone slipped and fell to the floor. The sharp sting in her heart incapacitated her for a couple minutes. Her stomach turned upside down, and she had the urge to regurgitate the noppo bread she had been eating all afternoon. Her eyes felt burning.
And just like that, Hanamaru's future disappeared behind a thick dark cloud.
Translation
Moshimoshi: 'Hello', Japanese greeting on the phone
Yosoro: 'Straighten the ship' (kinda like Captain Jean Luc Pickard saying 'Make It So' :LOL: )
