Before we begin, this is where the AU really kicks in. In this AU iDol refers to a mecha, so the characters' backstories are slightly altered to fit in with the changed history of the world.
The Charioteers
Despite the impending closure of the school, life still went on in Otonokizaka Academy for its remaining students and staff. However, attendance dropped since the school was about to close down anyway.
In the sole first-year class, homeroom period had not begun and so the students present mingled with one another while waiting for their teacher to arrive. Two students, Koizumi Hanayo and Hoshizora Rin, were chatting to each other in the free time.
"Rin-chan, have you seen the news?" Hanayo exclaimed, a rare occurrence for her.
"Must be something about iDols, right?" Rin guessed, already well aware of her childhood friend's patterns.
"Check this video out!" she continued, selecting the video player on her phone.
She laid the phone out on the table and repositioned herself to watch the video along with her best friend. She played the video, which was actually a news interview.
"With A-Rise out of commission, the Japan Self-Defence Force has unveiled their latest last line of defence. They are the iDol Section µ's, hailing from Otonokizaka Academy of Tokyo. Recently, the three iDol pilots had defeated the Avatar identified by government sources as Ymir. The nation has them to thank for our safety. Now let's go in for a live interview with these girls."
The video changed in a simple room, where the three members of µ's were seated with an interviewer.
"Ladies, please explain to the viewers your motivation as iDol pilots."
"To save our school!" Honoka instantly answered, "We plan to have the whole country to listen to our voices and cries, and save our beloved school."
"Your school must be lucky to have students like you. Which institute you're from?"
"Otonokizaka." Umi replied.
"Isn't it amazing, Rin-chan?" Hanayo exclaimed, "To think we have iDols right here in this school! I must have their autograph!"
"But doesn't Kayo-chin want to be an iDol since she was young?" Rin said, "You can be a hero like your mother."
"M-me, a he-hero?" Hanayo stuttered, "B-but…"
"But what nya?" Rin wondered, "All heroes have that burning passion to be one, right? And Kayo-chin has that in her."
"B-but Rin-chan has that burning passion and energy…" Hanayo said.
"M-me!" Rin exclaimed, "But Rin wants to be more feminine… Is being a hero a guy thing?"
"Rin-chan, only girls can pilot an iDol," Hanayo remarked.
In the Student Council Room of Otonokizaka, Nozomi was consulting her Tarot cards by herself as always.
Three cards had been laid down; two face-down and one face-up.
The Chariot.
"And to pull this unmoving chariot…"
She flipped open the other two cards.
The Strength. The Magician.
Some time after school, the second-year trio were at the school's alpaca pen. For some reason, Otonokizaka used to breed alpacas. By this time, they were down to two specimens but that made them all the more treasured by students.
Kotori was hugging the white alpaca, filling her skin with the creature's fluffiness. Not used to touching animals, Honoka and Umi only watched on as they discussed.
"Aw, so fluffy!" Kotori cooed.
"Honoka, must you be so upfront when you asked for our motivation?" Umi chided, "Now we are like mini-celebrities in campus. How can we show up in class?"
"C'mon Umi-chan, I was being honest about saving the school. That's why we became iDols to begin with," Honoka said, "Everything about this school cannot just go out like that. That's why…"
"Don't worry, fluffy one. We will let you go anywhere," Kotori was purely focused on the alpacas.
"In the worst case scenario, if the school closes, they may be sent to the zoo," Umi bluntly remarked.
It would seem that the alpacas comprehended that remark, as the other brown-furred alpaca growled and hissed at the blue-haired girl.
"You… I ha-have shot down an Avatar before!" Umi boldly boasted, "D-don't test me… I just ne-need my bow…"
"Umi-chan, don't hurt the fluffy ones!" Kotori protested.
"There, there," an additional voice called out.
Hanayo rushed to the alpacas' side, petting the aggressive brown-furred one. It seemingly calmed down with Hanayo's touch.
"I'm sorry, she tends to be quite sensitive…" Hanayo apologised, turning to see the trio, "Wait… y-you… you're… I-I've seen… I've seen you on TV! Somebody save me!"
"Uh… are you okay?" Honoka asked.
"I'm Koizumi Hanayo, one of your biggest fans!" she introduced, "I've seen the footage of you destroying Ymir and your interview! Sempai, you were great on camera… but you shine even more in real life!"
"You're… welcome…" Honoka replied, still surprised by this person's outburst.
"We… have fans…" Umi muttered, almost about to faint.
"Yup, we are doing our best to save the school and these cute fluffy ones. Right?" Kotori said, still hugging the white alpaca and the alpaca even bleated in response.
"Such a devoted cause… you would lay down your lives for!" Hanayo exclaimed, "This is amazing! I must tell Rin-chan!"
With that, Hanayo dashed off.
While running off to find Rin, Hanayo paid no attention to her surroundings. In her head, the three iDols in her school appeared right before her. To summarise, she was star-struck and in awe.
"They look even flashier in real life! Amazing!"
Engrossed was she in her little world, that Hanayo could not fathom her colliding into another person. She and the other party both fell onto the ground, with Hanayo's glasses dropping as well.
"Hey, watch where you're going, you klutz!"
"I'm sorry…" Hanayo meekly apologised.
The redhead who collided with Hanayo did not pay much attention to the apologetic shy girl, only picking up the spectacles that fell.
"Here you go," she said, "And don't misunderstand. I'm doing this so you can remember the face of the person you bumped into and engrave your guilt forever in your head."
The mysterious redhead then walked away, leaving Hanayo with her spectacles.
"That neck-tie… Isn't she from my class?" Hanayo thought.
While adjusting her spectacles, Hanayo noticed something else on the ground. It was a card of some sort…
"Nishikino Maki…" she mentally read out, "A VIP membership card for… the Akihabara Games!"
"Big news!" she finally exclaimed.
Before Tokyo's evacuation, it had been the centre of Japanese pop culture. While most of that had moved to Osaka, electronics stores and game shops still remained in Akihabara.
And among local game shops, the most famous was the Akihabara Games. It housed many of the latest games, and the centre of gaming culture in Tokyo… or what's left of it.
The VIP membership card Hanayo found by chance took her to this famous game shop, with Rin joining her. Both entered the store, and saw several people playing various games. All forms of games were available, ranging from first-person shooters, gacha, to racing games.
"Nyamazing!" Rin exclaimed, "Rin never went here before… But can't believe Nishikino-san is into these things. She's always so smart and serious, but she looks like she has a fun side nya."
"But she's somewhat scary…" Hanayo said, "Earlier, she scolded me for bumping into her… telling me to engrave my guilt forever in my head."
"So rude! Don't worry, Kayo-chin." Rin assured her friend, "Rin will force Nishikino-san to apologise to Kayo-chin."
"T-that's not what I meant!" Hanayo exclaimed, "I think she meant no harm. She even picked up my glasses… I just want to return the favour…"
"Aw, Kayo-chin is too kind sometimes…" Rin remarked, "But Rin likes that part of you. Okay, let's find Nishikino-san nya!"
"…Uh… but how…" wondered Hanayo.
"How, eh… how…" Rin echoed, "…. How… I don't know nya!"
"We can ask the shopkeeper," Hanayo suggested.
The two first-years approached the front desk, where an old man was tabulating accounts.
"Oji-san, did you see this redhead with hair this long and a very snarky tsundere attitude?" Rin asked, mimicking Maki's gestures from what little she recalled from class.
"Rin-chan, we have her picture..." Hanayo reminded, showing the VIP card.
"Oh… Pile-chan, is it?" the old shopkeeper responded.
"Pile-chan?" the two thought.
"She's always here playing our finest iDol game, so I gave her the VIP card for her dedicated patronage to the shop," the shopkeeper droned on, "In fact, she's here playing that iDol game right now. You can join her there with the crowd chanting her name. You can't miss it."
Heeding the shopkeeper's words, the duo ventured into the game shop in search of the so-called "crowd" where Maki was supposed to be.
"Nishikino-san's so mysterious," Rin said, "Never knew she's a gamer, and she's still so smart… It's not unfair nya!"
"And why the pseudonym?" wondered Hanayo.
"Pile-sama! Pile-sama!"
A chorus of cheers grew only louder as the duo trekked, leading them towards their goal. After wedging their way through the small crowd of cheerers, they found two virtual reality booths. Two people were fighting the game, with both throwing punches and kicks. A screen was set up for curious onlookers to view, displaying a PvP match between two iDols.
Eventually, the victor of the match was announced and the man on the left knelt in defeat. The winner turned around and exited the booth; Maki's face was a familiar to both Hanayo and Rin.
"My Bastet-sama!" the man groaned.
"You should know that the Midnight Cats are pitiful in long-range," Maki elaborated, "I simply took advantage of that."
"Nishi…" Hanayo interjected.
"Who? It's just Pile here," Maki replied, "And what do you want?"
"Uh… uh…" Hanayo fidgeted while producing the VIP card she found, "You dropped this just now…"
"Uh… thanks…" Maki replied, her face slightly reddened.
"You can at least be more thankful to Kayo-chin!" Rin exclaimed, "And you better apologise to her for your rudeness and make it up for her!"
"If you guys can stop bothering me, I suppose…" Maki awkwardly replied, "I can help you with your homework, or any medical advice you need, or if you are curious about playing classical or jazz…"
"Wow, you're so talented," Hanayo admitted, "And I believe that's the latest version of iDol Festival you're playing. It's so cool!"
"Huh? It's nothing much really," Maki humbly explained, "It uses a watered down variant of the Interactive Movement System, so it only registers limb motion."
"Not just that!" Hanayo elaborated, "iDol Festival has a Story Mode where you can fight Avatars, with the option of modifying your iDol. This version even has a PvP Mode for challegnes. It is amazing, no revolutionary, in the gaming world!"
"Kayo-chin's at it again~" Rin sighed.
"You seem to know your stuff," Maki conceded, "How about this? You and I co-op to defeat an Avatar. This arcade is the only one in Tokyo with that option."
After "persuading" the man to leave the booth, Hanayo occupied the left booth. Despite all her interest in iDol, it was her first time playing such a game at this level of virtual reality. While the actual system had visors, the game settled for screens. Four wrist and ankle braces were strapped on as focal points for the booth's sensors to detect motion.
In the right booth, Maki stood here and was firm while selecting her iDol. From her looks, she was spoiled for choices.
"How about this?" she remarked.
Her screen displayed the iDol called Eos, piloted by Yuuki Anju of A-Rise.
"A-Rise eh?" Hanayo mused, "Then I think I will choose…"
Hanayo's screen displayed the iDol called Selene, piloted by Toudou Erena also of A-Rise.
"A-Rise co-op!" the crowd cried.
"And our foe will be… this guy," Maki continued, pressing a button.
All screens displayed the three-headed dragon demon Zahhak, the same Avatar that put A-Rise's career as iDol pilots to a rather premature end.
"A-Rise grudge match!" the crowd roared.
"Let's go… and your name?"
"Koizumi Hanayo. Our iDols are long-range, huh?"
"Just hit them and run about. It will not end up like real life."
The virtual battle began with both Maki and Hanayo controlling the Eos and Selene and facing their opponent, the Avatar Zahhak. The crowd of fans erupted in cheer, with Rin looking on intently.
Both girls moved their arms and legs rapidly, adopting various fighting stances. Though they were indeed punching and kicking the air, both seemed as though they were actually fighting the actual Avatar. Both of them had a clear understanding of the iDols they were controlling, using them to their potential.
"Pile-sama! Pile-sama!"
"Amazing…" Rin thought.
From the back of the crowd, Nozomi silently looked on the screen and watched the fight.
"The Strength has pulled The Chariot towards the talented Magician…"
From the screen, their fight with the virtual Avatar was displayed in all its glory. Two iDols with purple highlights were brawling a three-headed serpentine dragon that was supposed to be Zahhak. The heads of Zahhak were trying to bite onto the two agile iDols, fleeing from the heads while launching their attacks from afar. As one head was about to bite onto Selene, Eos' twin pistols shot out its eyes and that head was blinded.
"Hanayo, just dash about. The eyes are all mine."
"Then again, the core is next."
Selene simply ran about the virtual landscape, as though playing a game of catch with the heads. With any head that nearly caught Selene, they were only repelled by Eos. If any went for Eos, Selene would just blast at the heads directly.
"Watch out, Nish… I mean, Pile-san!"
"Kayo-chin! Kayo-chin!"
"Pile-sama! Pile-sama!"
The blinding of the heads did not impede their movements, with all three heads still continuing their blind assault. However, their hit-and-run tactic managed to weaken or distract Zahhak to some extent. As the screen showed, as the serpentine beast moved about, a faint yellow light could be seen from the holes and defined well by the coiling body of Zahhak.
"The core is in sight! Hanayo, snipe that down!"
"Uh, okay!"
"Snipe…" Rin thought, "They are attacking the core!"
Selene distanced itself even more, leaving Eos to fend off any attacks from the now-blinded heads. If they did not pursue Eos, it simply blasted at them until they did.
"Okay, I'm ready to fire! Go!"
From the safety of distance, Selene fired out a round towards the open spot in Zahhak's coiled body. The Avatar stopped movement and collapsed in a splatter of ichor.
"Game Over. You Win."
"Pile-sama! Kayo-chan!" the gathered crowd roared.
Both Maki and Hanayo left the booths, with Rin returning her friend's spectacles to their owner. Since the game was over, the crowd dispersed and went on their devices.
"It was lucky that we fought on a plain terrain." Hanayo chatted, "A-Rise fought it with so much obstruction that they couldn't do hit-and-run, or risk bringing the fight to the city."
"And those three heads make it almost impossible for one person to handle, so a co-op is the only way out," Maki explained further, "I must admit… that was a fun time playing with someone else."
"Huh? Don't you play this almost everyday?" asked Hanayo.
"Either solo fights or playing against random challengers…" Maki admitted, "This is my first time playing co-op."
"Oh… if you need someone to play with again… I can…" Hanayo said, before being interrupted by a tug of her arm.
"Let's go, Kayo-chin. Let's leave Pile-san here to her game," Rin bluntly and mockingly said.
As Rin was about to drag Hanayo away, Maki grabbed Hanayo's other hand and pulled her back.
"What's wrong with you?" Maki retorted, "Were you jealous of your best friend being with someone else?"
"No!" Rin shouted, "And we were in a hurry, right? You should be lucky you got your card back!"
"It's not like I need you to get this card back!" Maki yelled.
"You should stay out of our way!" Rin shot back, "At least Rin does not use pseudonyms, Pile-san!"
"P-please… don't fight…" Hanayo pleaded.
But both Maki and Rin gave each other death glares, frightening the meek Hanayo into an outburst for help.
"Somebody, please sa…" Hanayo cried out for help, but stopped by someone gagging her.
At this point, Nozomi had one hand gagging the almost-screaming Hanayo. But the more shocking part was her other hand, freely groping the first-year's breasts. The shocking picture was enough for both Rin and Maki to let go of the distraught girl.
"Hmm… I would say over 80… quite big for a first-year…" she droned in.
"Stop violating Kayo-chin!" Rin shouted.
"Rin, don't be rude to our upperclassman," Maki said, "She's our Student Council Vice-President, Toujou-sempai."
"My, how observant, Maki-chan~" Nozomi beamed, letting go of Hanayo, "I was merely helping Hanayo-chan here to defuse your situation. She must be honoured to have two classmates fighting for her ya~"
"Uh… uh…" Hanayo was still traumatised by the groping experience.
"But since you guys are disturbing the peace in uniform…" Nozomi continued, "All of three you are to report to the Student Council Room after school tomorrow."
The next day, the school bell denoted another end to the school day with Otonokizaka students. While it meant the end of another school day, it was only the beginning of a private session in the Student Council Room for three first-years.
Rin, Hanayo and Maki stood before Nozomi, who was reclining in the seat normally reserved for the President. Of course, since Eli was not around, Nozomi decided to take the chair to centre herself in the room.
"I'm sorry…" Hanayo muttered, "I-it's all my fault."
"Kayo-chin, if it were anyone's fault, it would be Pile-san here…" Rin accused, still glaring at Maki.
"You were the ones who insisted on going to that shop," Maki defended.
"If you girls don't make peace, I will give you three the breast rubs you will never forget." Nozomi threatened, a threat that kept them down, "I personally would like the three of you to make peace, so you girls are going to learn more about yourselves. See these cards before you."
Nozomi spread out 22 Tarot cards across the table, all of them facedown.
"These cards will see through your predicament and anxieties," Nozomi explained, "This will help you to understand one another."
"So it's like fortune telling nya…" Rin remarked.
"That's so illogical…" Maki scoffed off.
"Oh we have a cynic here," Nozomi laughed, "Pick any card, Maki-chan. They will see through your tsundere exterior."
Irritated, Maki singled out one card from the set and took it out. She flipped it face-up and everyone looked at the drawn card.
The Magician. Reversed.
"So talented eh, Maki-chan? A pity they have to be restricted~" Nozomi deduced.
"I-it's not my fault! I had to…" Maki cried.
"They?" wondered Rin.
"Nishikino… they own a private hospital," Nozomi continued, "Your parents definitely would like their only daughter to succeed them, to restrict their talented daughter to specific areas. You even hid your identity just to act unrestricted."
Maki said nothing, just her face reddening.
"She can't do what she likes…" Rin thought.
"Okay, next is Rin-chan!" Nozomi went on.
Rin picked up a card from the remaining cards and revealed it.
The Strength. Reversed.
"What a waste… you doubt yourself too much," Nozomi said.
"Rin doubting? No!" Rin protested.
"Rin-chan always had issues with her image since she was young," Hanayo explained, "Just because some boys made those remarks, she changed out of those skirts."
"Kayo-chin!" Rin exclaimed.
"Why did you even let guys decide how you can be?" Maki chided, "You can wear whatever you like and no one can say otherwise."
"…" Rin bowed her head.
"And lastly, Hanayo-chan!" Nozomi beamed.
Like the previous two, Hanayo picked up a card from the leftover cards and opened it.
The Chariot. Reversed.
"Victory is so near, but you must be careful not to give up so easily," Nozomi said.
"I…" Hanayo murmured.
"Kayo-chin is always so hesitant, she doesn't like telling others about her dream to be an iDol pilot and is always so shy about it," Rin explained, "Kayo-chin should be proud she has an interest."
"And you should follow it through," Maki added, "You are very good, better than those regulars I've seen in the shop."
"I'm… sorry…" Hanayo murmured softly, almost inaudibly.
"Although all of you know more about yourselves, I will still not trust you three to get along just yet…" Nozomi said, "I know of a solution though… for Maki-chan to be true to her talents, for Rin-chan to not let gender stereotypes get to her, for Hanayo-chan to claim her victory… Have you seen the news? The latest iDol group, µ's…"
Admittedly, this is the longest chapter for now. And now for the trivia:
Midnight Cats refer to another school idol group in Love Live, mentioned as one of the groups who passed preliminaries and even a small cameo in one of the episodes. I find Bastet a fitting name, as the cat guardian deity who protects Ra during his nightly journeys.
The iDols of A-Rise (Eos and Selene) are references to the children of the Titan Hyperion, so Tsubasa's iDol is obviously called Helios. This is just like how µ's iDols are named after the mythological Muses.
As mentioned in the beginning, the characters' backstories are somewhat altered for the sake of this fanfic. Hanayo's interest now lies in iDols, possessing knowledge over their many fights with the Avatars and her mum was a former iDol pilot in this AU. Maki still has talents in piano (classical and jazz, as she claimed in the anime), but she turned out more rebellious in this AU and secretly plays iDol games to 'de-stress' herself.
The Pile pseudonym is actually the stage-name for Maki's VA, Pile-san.
New additions to Tarot symbolism:
Hanayo: The Chariot (her wanting to achieve her idol dreams and the internal [her childhood dream] and external forces [Rin and Maki] involved)
Rin: The Strength (symbolising her inner strength and courage)
Maki: The Magician (talented)
And to answer a query from this anonymous Guest (if you are viewing this), well... Eli and Nozomi may have joined in as iDols, they are not part of µ's yet (and Eli seems to object having more members, especially from her school). And I would say The Hermit suits Eli the most. In the series, Eli serves as the mentor figure the others can look up to.
In my eyes, Hanayo is meek and has to be pulled about by her own desires and the encouragement of friends to triumph. In fact, I settled for The Chariot after remembering the scene from the anime where Hanayo was being pulled by both Rin and Maki to get her to join the second-years in µ's.