"We're the last team to carry out the mission."
Nico began matter-of-factly, as the 3 BiBi members huddled in the corner of Muses' extended clubroom.
"Judging from our modus operandi our 'mission' would be more of a comical prank…" Maki muttered under her breath, twirling her crimson locks.
"─So here's what I've got…" Maki came back into focus on Nico. Eli and Maki braced for the dramatic events to come.
"Well everything is in place!" Eli whispered into her phone to her unit mates.
Uncertainty washed over Eli as she snuck a glance at the hidden props behind the desk.
A singsong voice called out, "good afternoon, Elicchi~" Nozomi entered the Student Council room as her usual cheerful and relaxed self.
"Sorry I took too long… I went for a walk through the garden and saw two stray cats…" Eli drifted away in her thoughts, away from Nozomi's words.
Nozomi and Eli fell into step easily, stapling papers, signing proposals, filtering requests. They complimented one another. That is, until Nozomi's pile was finished. Just as Eli hoped.
"Ah, Elicchi let me help you with yours so ──"
"N-nah it's alright, I'm almost done. Why don't you take a break? This warm weather is perfect for napping!" Eli smiled widely, almost hysterically, winking at said girl. But the strained smile slipped Nozomi's attention as she stretched and yawned contentedly, "wake me when you're done", and settled at the table with her head in her arms.
Eli had a sudden urge to pat the other girl, but she stopped midway, withdrawing her hand. Instead she whispered, "thanks for your hard work" and quietly exited the room, giving her two unit mates outside a thumbs up.
Nozomi woke up to an empty room.
"Elicchi? …." Eli's bag was gone. A wave of frustration rushed over Nozomi. She left without me? Without a note either?
How long did I sleep? Nozomi glanced at the digital clock. 5:00, 9 June 2026 ── wait what?!
"Year 2026?! But how ──"
Her frantic thoughts were cut short as two mature looking girls burst through the doors, their lively bantering stopping once they saw Nozomi.
"Who is that?" The shorter girl whispered to the taller one. The taller one seemed to come to some sort of a realization.
"Whoa Nozomi-senpai! Back to see the school? We are part of the Student Council now, would you mind giving us your autograph?" The taller one held out her notebook, eyes twinkling with excitement.
"O-of course…" Nozomi reached out a shaky hand to sign it.
The two 'Student Council members' squealed and grabbed they paperwork before running outside, wishing Nozomi good luck with her current idol activities and a happy visit.
Once they left, Nozomi grabbed the table for support. "What the heck is this? Am I dreaming? Am I foreseeing the future?" She anxiously tapped her fingers on the desk, desperately trying to collect her thoughts.
"Nozomi!" a familiar voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned excitedly to the source of that voice, the window. Oh how badly she wanted to run into said girl's arms, how badly she wanted said girl to tell her that this was just a dream, just a dream.
She never got to. Said girl was standing in the garden below the window, dressed in a surprisingly mature dress. The likes of something Nozomi had never seen Eli wear before. She wasn't looking at the window. She was looking at something further away from the window. Something out of her plane of view. Something that wasn't Nozomi.
Still in her flurry of excitement Nozomi tried to reach out to her best friend, to name this as just a nightmare ──
A similarly maturely dressed girl with a purple braid down her back reached out to her Eli. Eli gently held her hand, "have you seen all that you wanted to see?"
The purple haired girl nodded, smiling gently. "Happy birthday Nozomi." Eli's face leaned unbelievably closer to that girl, that imposter. Did they just k-kiss?! Nozomi fumed from her window, but her voice would not work.
Nozomi watched in horror as Eli led that girl out of the school gate ad they soon disappeared.
Nozomi turned away from the window, unsure what to make of things. Her heart clenched. Did she teleport into the future where there is another her? Or did she see a vision of the future? Nozomi prayed it was the latter. Eli l-loves me in the future?!
Deep in her whirlwind of thoughts, she failed to notice many things. Namely, Eli and Maki re-entering the gate, the latter carrying a thick purple wig; the digital clock changing back to the original time; and that the 'mysterious' purple haired girl failed to speak the entire episode and she was at an angle where she couldn't see her face
"Nozomi? Are you ready? Let's leave together." Eli knocked on the door before entering.
"Ehh?!" Nozomi looked up dumbfounded. Was that just my imagination? Or was that really a vision of the future?! J
Eli snapped her fingers in Nozomi's face. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Let's go." Nozomi collected her things and they left, said girl appearing to be noticeably more cheerful, albeit a little dazed. This will be one more story to write in her diary.
Nico and Maki watched the backs of the two seniors as they left the gate. "Is she really that dense?" Nico muttered, suspicious. To which Maki replied drily, "that all-knowing character must be a ruse." She still clutched onto a purple braided wig.
Omake:
The next day, Eli, Nico and Maki had to treat the two first-years from the drama club to juice. Nozomi still remains her happy, oblivious self.
A/N: Hello, I'm really sorry about the late update once again. There hasn't been that much time for me to type this out because of my national exam this year ─excuses─ but thanks for reading and supporting this story! I can't really bear to end this series though… I'll probably try to drag it out as much as I can because I'm on break now. Thanks again!