Bullet Time
Some time after Helel's emergence, yet another Avatar had risen. Designated as Ketu and like its namesake, the Avatar was a headless giant with four massively strong arms. Despite having no eyes, that did not hinder the Avatar's march into Tokyo at all.
Stopping it were the iDols of µ's, specifically the Calliope, Erato and Euterpe. Calliope and Erato closed in on the Avatar, attacking it from two sides. However, Ketu attempted to push away the iDols as though they were not worth its time.
Meanwhile, Euterpe was at the sidelines to shoot at its core from the distance… or so it was supposed to. In its cockpit, Hanayo stood there stumped and her hands trembled as she took aim.
"Steady Hanayo… steady…" she thought.
Her focus was cut off as Ketu intercepted Calliope's attack and threw the iDol down. For the split second, Calliope was directly in front of Ketu's chest and blocking out the Avatar's core.
"No!" Hanayo screamed.
Euterpe opened its arms and, but the shot was already made. It shot two nearby buildings.
And the image paused; it was on a video screen. The members of µ's (sans Nico and Maki) were watching the mildly disastrous battle that had occurred in the past.
"See!" Umi chided, holding a remote control in her hands, "Hanayo, you are lacking concentration! Had you fired a second sooner, Printemps would've defeated Ketu sooner!"
"Sorry…" Hanayo bowed in shame.
"It's okay, Hanayo-chan. We did find out it sensed air vibrations to move about, which was how it predicted our moves…" Kotori comforted.
"Hanayo, shooting is very delicate, especially in high-stress environments like the battlefield." Umi lectured, "You realistically only have a small window of opportunity, so every second counts. No time must be wasted."
"Sorry…" Hanayo muttered.
"No fair!" Honoka exclaimed, "Why are you giving us such a bad review when you gave lily white a glowing review? Because you're its centre!"
"Considering that we defeated Rahu within 5 minutes, you got nothing on us," Nozomi pointed out.
"But that was just a flying head!" Honoka cried, "Anyone could've taken it out!"
"We defeated Rahu due to our well-thought startegy." Umi addressed, "Of course, learning from others will help you."
"Don't worry, Kayo-chin will improve!" Rin happily claimed.
"Uh… Sorry…" Hanayo muttered again.
"Don't worry Hanayo-chan, we'll get better." Kotori smiled.
"And it's just Umi-chan being her usual cranky self," Honoka added.
"Anyway, just where're Nico and Maki?" Umi wondered, "I will be reviewing BiBi's recent battle against Chernobog soon."
"They told me it's their time of the month," Eli sighed, "How on Earth can theirs be in synch?"
"They sure gotten closer in recent months, closer than the rest of us…" Nozomi joked.
Meanwhile, inside a washroom within Phoebus Apollo, Nico and Maki were engrossed in their conversation. While Nico shouted from her cubicle, Maki contemplatively mulled from the sink.
"At first I thought it was coincidence with Arke… then there were Helel and other Avatars since," Maki said, "There can be no doubt about it, Nico-chan…"
"That what?" Nico shouted, "That the Avatars are looking for that thing?"
"From the little we know, it is implied to be an energy source of sorts that may surpass all that the Cold War had to offer." Maki continued, "I know not its true power, but it is definitely not worth dooming this city for it."
"Are you gonna get your minion to dig up the place?" asked Nico mockingly.
"Perhaps, Nero has proven himself surprisingly competent," Maki replied, "Besides, the land had been reclaimed by the government since… Eh!"
The main door to the washroom opened and Eli's head popped out. Maki turned in surprise, cutting off her speech. And that triggered Nico, whose head peered out from her cubicle.
"What the Hell are you doing?" Nico screamed, "Can't you understand a maturing maiden's needs?"
"I'm sorry, but they're reviewing our battle performance soon and you should be there," Eli said, "Nico, can you be faster?"
"Okay okay, wait a minute!" Nico grumbled.
Elsewhere, Captain Minami was inside her office. Although she was alone, she acted as though she were addressing someone. Behind her was a large computer screen.
"…On further news, as requested, I've split the team into three subunits based on your recommendation. At all times, there will be one subunit on standby to maximise our readiness…" she spoke.
While Captain Minami spoke, the one she was addressing was silence.
"…Uh… I await further instructions from you, Superintendent-sama." She ended her report.
As the captain pressed a switch to end communications, she sat down and rubbed her forehead.
"He never answers back on Sundays nowadays…" she noted.
After the battle reviews, it was another round of training for µ's. However, in this case, Umi dragged off Hanayo before they began anything.
"Wait! Someone, please save me!" Hanayo screamed.
"This sort of behaviour is the cause of your detriments!" Umi shouted, "We are going to have special training to straighten you out!"
"Umi-chan, you're scaring Kayo-chin!" Rin snapped.
"Rin, let them be." Maki inputted, "Since the Helel incident, Hanayo had been spacing out too much. Surely you've noticed it too?"
"Uh… nyeah…" Rin sheepishly replied.
"Umi's strictness may get her back into shape." Maki said, "Something's bugging her, like a mental block."
"Knowing Umi-chan, Hanayo-chan's in capable hands." Nozomi beamed, "Umi-chan may seem tough, but she has learnt from the past… She will be more flexible."
Umi had dragged Hanayo to a shooting range. Donning a set of headphones herself, the blue-haired girl handed another set to the timid girl.
"You will need these. They will help to cushion the sounds." Umi instructed.
After Hanayo put on the headphones, Umi handed a pistol to Hanayo. With the gun in hand, Hanayo's hands were shaking vigorously.
"Are you afraid of holding guns?" Umi wondered, "This is strange, since you had been using them since you joined µ's. Here, allow me to take your hand."
Umi stood behind Hanayo, grabbing her hand to support her grip. They faced the range, aiming at the faceless targets.
"Now, just fire whenever you feel like it," Umi instructed.
Hanayo's fingers slowly pressed the trigger, and the weapon unloaded its rounds upon the hapless target board. It was quickly ridden with bullet holes, reducing its head and chest portions into hole-ridden bits.
"See, that wasn't so bad." Umi cheered, "You can shoot well. You just need to apply them in combat. You are the only ranged fighter in Printemps, with my two childhood friends. I can't be with them, so you have to look after them for me."
"Umi-chan…" Hanayo muffled, with tears welling up.
"Hanayo, are you okay?" Umi asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Umi-chan… uh… I don't kn-know…" Hanayo spoke, already crying, "W-when I see th-the others… Rin-chan… Honoka-chan… they're so c-close to the A-Avatars…"
"So is that why?" Umi figured out.
"I'm only a burden to us all…" Hanayo continued tearing away.
"There, Hanayo…" Umi consoled the teary-eyed girl.
While Umi and Hanayo were away, the rest of µ's carried on with their training regime. The remaining girls were doing stretching exercises, grouped into pairs except for Rin who did it solo.
As Eli bent forward, the entirety of Nozomi's weight humped onto her.
"Gosh Nozomi, you need to slim down…" Eli bemoaned.
"C'mon, the cute and clever Elichika must be a strong girl too~ Especially with those big breasts of yours," Nozomi teased, "But on other news…"
Soon after, Nozomi and Eli swapped roles. It was Nozomi who was supporting Eli's entire weight.
"Your teammates in BiBi are Nico-chi and Maki-chan, who are a tad bit too close to each other," she continued.
"What are you saying?" Eli groaned, "Please stop speaking in riddles, Miss Spiritual?"
"So far, we're in perfectly good standing with them media folks in terms of public image. Who knows what kind of scandals those two will get into if they're so lost in their passion?" Nozomi said.
"Coming from you…" Eli groaned.
Nozomi bent backward and allowed her partner to descend on her two feet.
"If there's anything suspicious about those two, I'm all ears, Eli-chi," Nozomi added.
With the conclusion of their training, the second-years left for Honoka's home. Her residence doubled as the family shop Homura, selling Japanese style confectionaries. While Mrs Kousaka was busy entertaining customers, the three girls were once again arguing.
"I did not scare her!" Umi defended herself.
"Hanayo-chan was reduced to tears. What did you torture her with, Demon Umi-chan?" Honoka interrogated.
"Umi-chan, you know that Hanayo-chan is quite meek and gets frightened easily. A softer approach is much appreciated," Kotori added.
"But I did!" Umi cried, "It's only because…"
"Hey girls! If you have to argue, do it outside!" Mrs Kousaka yelled, "Someone's running a business here!"
Overwhelmed by opposition, Umi stomped off from the shop.
"Boy, that Umi-chan…" Honoka bemoaned.
While walking away from Homura, Umi continued to mull over Hanayo's revelation to her just hours ago.
"How to reach out to Hanayo…" Umi profoundly thought.
"So you keep remembering that time when Rin was dealing with the thing inside Helel, when you were unable to shoot fearing you might hit Rin," Umi summarised.
"Yea…" Hanayo muttered.
"You had not shot anyone yet, so you have little to worry over." Umi reassured, "You just need a bit of confidence."
"I can try… but…" Hanayo replied meekly.
"No buts!" Umi insisted.
"Just please don't tell the others… I'm such a burden!" Hanayo bemoaned.
"We are a team in the end, and we have one another for support…" Umi thought, holding out her phone, "I'm sorry, Hanayo… but it's for your own good."
Although training was over, the members of BiBi stayed behind in Phoebus Apollo. Meant to stand guard against any emerging Avatars, the trio was oddly split up at the moment.
To be accurate, Eli was searching for her teammates to no avail.
"The more I get to know those two, the more I think there's something odd going on with them," Eli noted to herself, "This sort of thing… it's illegal in Japan and the media will grill us over for this… What are they gonna call it? A glass garden romance?"
"Urg… Nozomi! I hate it when you're correct!" she then yelled.
Her outcry was cut off by the ringing of her phone, wherein she quickly received the call.
"Umi?" Eli exclaimed, "What's the matter? What? Hanayo? Oh, I see… yes, don't worry…"
Meanwhile, Nico and Maki were isolated inside Maki's private quarters. Hidden under the cover of the bed sheet, the two girls scrolled down a tablet computer with only a torchlight held by Nico as their sole source of illumination.
"Yes Nico-chan, this is the document that really caught my eye," Maki said.
"To your eyes, everything there catches your eye…" Nico said drily, "Okay, let Nico take a look."
Document 0042: Preliminary Analysis on Project IDOL by Doctor [REDACTED] of the United States Special Research Corps
The Template has become a much-valued source of data. The application of [REDACTED] proves to be extraordinary and highly energy-efficient. Of note, we have probed into the possibility of reproducing a synthetic version of the Template – only its outer body, without its soul, so to speak.
With additional armour and a suitable mechanism for control, I daresay we can answer Einstein's question on what will be fought with during the hypothetical World War III.
The scions of the Template, of Project IDOL.
"If I'm not wrong, this is the beginning of the iDols," Maki concluded, "But this begs the question on what's the Template?"
"Are you really sure?" Nico inquired, still a sceptic to Maki's words.
"I too was initially wary of it, but then…" Maki continued, scrolling further down, "This proves once and for all my theory."
Document 0073: Addendum from Professor [REDACTED], member of Project IDOL
I'll be goddamned! We got it all backwards! All this time, we have been trying to get the false gods working through a system of machines. But those things are not machines; they are living beings in the end of the day – soul or no soul!
For this most complex of machines, I believe only a machine of similar complexity can operate such a being – us. Therefore, I propose a system that translates our physical ability onto these false gods. No more lever pulling to get the damned thing punching and kicking, we do the punching and kicking ourselves! It'll move according to you and you interact with the false gods.
That's it! I'm calling this system the Interactive Movement System!
"The Interactive Movement System…" Nico muttered, "The Hell?!"
"No need to shout, Nico-chan…" Maki said, "Yes, the false gods are definitely the iDols. Do you know what are idols, Nico-chan?"
"Things to be worshipped…" Nico plainly replied.
"True, but they can also refer to false gods in certain religions." Maki said, "This forms an interesting dichotomy with the Avatars, which are a term for an incarnation of the Supreme God in Hinduism."
"So you're saying that we are piloting a god?" Nico wondered, puzzled deeply.
"I'm not sure, but we need to find out what is the Template," Maki analysed.
"Are there any more documents about the Template?" asked Nico.
"Sadly, no more documents refer to the Template other than a capture log in America. It's dated after the April Fool's Rampage, so I presume it should be another Avatar." Maki admitted, "But no worries, I've gotten Nero to find more of these documents."
"Maki…" Nico muttered.
Concurrent, it was dinnertime for the Koizumi household. As usual, a lot of rice was cooked for Hanayo that rice was the only thing. While she would normally devour the entire bowl almost immediately, she was merely chewing her meal bit by bit.
"Hanayo, are you okay?" asked her mother, "Are you ill?"
"Uh… n-no! No, Mum!" Hanayo exclaimed, "Per-perfectly fine…"
"Is the training tough on you?" Mrs Koizumi inquired, "You should be eating more if that's the case. You will need more energy when you head out for your battles."
"Oh… o-okay…" Hanayo acknowledged without thought.
"I can't tell Mum that I'm such a total failure…" she thought.
Later that night, Nozomi once again laid down her Tarot cards. On her desk were three sets of three cards. She glanced over the first set.
The Magician. The Sun. The Hermit.
"And the Hermit watches over the Sun and Magician who are seeking the truth…" she said, her eyes moving over to the next set.
The Hierophant. The Strength. A facedown card.
"And the variables are set aside for the moment…" she continued, "Leading only to…"
Nozomi looked more intently at the last set of three cards.
The Fool. The Lovers. The Chariot.
"… Yes, leaving only a rampant Chariot and a Fool without guidance…" Nozomi smiled, "What is to unfold henceforth?"
The next day, the standby iDol pilots were replaced with the lily white trio. Having recently taken over, the three girls lounged in front of a television screen. While Umi and Nozomi were seated on the sofa, Rin lied down on the carpeted floor like a lazy cat.
Out of the blue, Rin got up and crushed Umi's face with her palms.
"This is for Kayo-chin! Umi-chan made Kayo-chin cry!" Rin accused.
"Ri-Ri…" Umi struggled to mutter.
"Rin-chan, let Umi-chan go!" Nozomi intervened, "I was the one who convinced Umi-chan to be hard on the reviews."
"Huh?" Rin wondered.
"You must realise, even the smallest mistake will cost lives on the battlefield," Nozomi explained, "I told Umi-chan to be harder on Hanayo-chan, so that she may improve."
"Improve?" Rin repeated.
"You didn't notice?" Nozomi mused.
"Uh… Rin may be a bit too self-absorbed recently…" Rin confessed.
"Ah... as Hanayo-chan's childhood friend, you should have noticed the changes in Hanayo-chan's mannerisms," Nozomi elaborated.
"But what is it?" Rin asked, "What's wrong with Kayo-chin?"
"As I had explained, she does not dare to shoot… or to be specific, she does not dare to shoot if anyone of us are in the way," Umi said.
"Huh?" Rin was more confused.
"Uh… perhaps we should start from the top…" Umi said.
Meanwhile, it was still curriculum hours in Otonokizaka Academy. However, Hanayo found herself relieved of her otherwise boring lesson and into the Student Council office.
Standing as though she were a convict on death row, Eli sat on her usual seat. There was nothing threatening in the atmosphere, but Hanayo was shivering bitterly.
"Hanayo, I'm sorry that I dragged you away from your math lessons for this, but it's urgent… Please don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you." Eli tried to calm the timid girl down.
"Uh…" Hanayo muttered.
"Umi told me, to tell the truth. We all wanted to help you, so please allow us," Eli said.
To that, Hanayo's head made a slight nod, still shivering.
"When I was young and in Moscow, I took part in ballet auditions… a lot of them. I wanted to go pro, even represent Mother Russia one day… and surpass both my mother and grandmother… And so, I went to all sorts of schools just for that dream." Eli recounted, "Guess what happened then?"
"Ah… ah… s-someone like Eli-chan sh-should have gotten in o-one…" Hanayo responded.
"Thanks for the flattery, but the answer was no… the government had strict criteria for their athletes and I… I failed every single last audition," Eli continued, "I would always cry after each failed audition, but you know what Babushka always say to that?"
"Ba… bush… ka?" Hanayo was puzzled.
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's Russian for grandmother," Eli apologised, "Anyway, she would always comfort me, telling me to work my way around my mistakes. Just never wallow in them."
"But your mistakes can be improved and not get worse. Hanayo's mistakes would… hurt the rest of you," Hanayo warned.
"Had you even hurt anyone yet?" asked Eli, "It's all in your head. You have to let go of mental blocks; otherwise they will really haunt you… Trust me, I know…"
In the face of Eli's words, the brown-haired girl remained silent.
Hours later, it was already the end of school. Eli stood before Otonokizaka Academy's gates and inquiring some questions to the juniors around.
"… And so I heard this very loud shrill saying… Someone, please save me!" the junior recounted, "Oh yeah! And then two girls in our uniform was dragged another girl out of the school. I think they're second-years… but one of them was damn loud and cheerful."
"Alright, I have the all the needed information. I will call you for further questioning," Eli concluded her cross-examination.
With the junior walking away, Eli looked out into the flight of stairs and face-palmed herself.
"Goodness, it has to be Honoka…" she bemoaned, "…But maybe that's what Hanayo-chan needs the most right now…"
Even after school, Hanayo's misadventures continued on. Wristed away by Honoka and Kotori, the Printemps trio went to Homura. At the front door, Mrs Kousaka happened to be there sweeping the doorstep.
"Honoka! And Kotori! And you are?" Mrs Kousaka called out.
"Uh… I'm Koizumi Hanayo… Honoka-chan's teammate…" Hanayo replied.
"Ah, one of my wayward daughter's new friends!" Mrs Kousaka beamed, "Are you interested in our famous manjuu?"
"Mum!" Honoka exclaimed, "I want to treat Hanayo-chan!"
"Treat me?" Hanayo thought.
"Hmm… I suppose sampling is logical, but you'll definitely want to buy them afterwards! Mrs Kousaka exclaimed, "I'll have your father prepare them on the double. Honoka, bring them to their table."
Upon her mother's instructions, Printemps found a nearby table for their meal. It was a traditional Japanese-style table, where the trio wrapped their lower halves in the sheet.
"Uh… Honoka-chan… why treat me?" Hanayo asked.
"Oh, it's to compensate Hanayo-chan for Umi-chan being too strict with you yesterday," Honoka answered, "Seriously, Umi-chan is a demon!"
"You know Umi-chan can be quite obstinate…" Kotori remarked.
"But does Hanayo deserve this?" she muttered.
"Of course not! We will one day rise above Umi-chan and make her eat her words!" Honoka boldly declared, leaping from the table.
"No… I mean… I… Since we were together as Printemps… I've been causing us trouble… And I was so clumsy and…" Hanayo explained herself.
"Enough Hanayo-chan, all of us make mistakes all the time." Kotori said.
"But what if my mistakes…" Hanayo tried to say.
"Correct!" Honoka cut her off entirely, "And besides, you have us! Not just Honoka and Kotori-chan, there's also Rin-chan and Maki-chan and Eli-chan and Umi-chan and Nozomi-chan and Nico-chan. All of us will be there to support one another! None of us will ever be left behind!"
"Honoka!" her mother yelled, bringing a tray of manju to the table, "I told you many times before not to place your feet on the table!"
"Sorry Mum!" Honoka cried, keeping her feet under the sheet.
After Honoka managed to settle down, the trio began eating the manju prepared for them.
"You know… you were wrong about Umi-chan…" Hanayo said, "She was nice to me and guided me during the special training. It was Hanayo who is too scared…"
"Don't worry about that." Kotori smiled, "We can take this one step at a time."
"But Umi-chan said we cannot just take it easy!" Hanayo exclaimed.
"Well, this is this subunit's style and no one can object to that," Honoka said, "Fear not, Hanayo-chan! Whatever problems you have, we will face them… together!"
The following day was Printemps' shift inside Phoebus Apollo, but these girls would not be given the luxury of boredom. The alarms sounded all over Tokyo once more, indicating that another Avatar was about to emerge.
However, denizens of the city were puzzled by the apparent lack of giant monsters roaming the streets. The Avatar in question was roaming from beneath the land, burrowing deep underground.
The Central Command kept on monitoring the situation as the Avatar burrowed its way through.
"Madam, we have confirmed its codename – Fafnir."
"Fafnir appears to be releasing a corrosive substance that aids in its burrowing."
"Chances of it surfacing appear to be slim, though the alarms have been sounded in Tokyo as a preventive measure."
"All is going well so far," Captain Minami acknowledged, "But more importantly, the Avatar's coordinates?"
"It has been stationary for the past 5 minutes… underneath the iDols bay, Madam."
"All non-essential personnel has been evacuated from the area; only Printemps remain for engagement."
The iDols bay was the area where the iDols were maintained when not in battle. Due to Fafnir's emergence, the area was evacuated so that it may become another battlefield.
Printemps had already boarded their respective iDols, all armed and ready for combat. However, nothing really happened and the Avatar still remained underground all this time.
While waiting, Hanayo still recalled what happened before.
"C'mon Hanayo-chan! There's another Avatar out there for us to defeat!" Honoka cried out.
"Uh… you and Kotori-chan go first… I will only get in your way," she replied.
"No! We are going there as a team! Team!" Honoka yelled.
"But… what if I… I shot you…" Hanayo voiced out her fears.
"But Hanayo-chan hadn't shot us yet," Kotori said, "Sometimes, making a bad move is better than doing nothing at all."
"Oi, enough talking. More walloping!" Honoka said, grabbing Hanayo's arm and dashed off with Kotori catching up.
"Wait! Somebody, please save me!" she shouted.
"This place is so closeted… I'll really shoot someone like this…" Hanayo thought.
"Printemps!" Hideko called out, "The Avatar is emerging from underneath your positions. Prepare to engage!"
The floor rumbled as though a mini-earthquake struck. The metallic plates that formed the area's flooring gave way as Fafnir emerged. A giant grotesque worm broke into the area, constantly spilling a yellowish liquid that melted through concrete, rocks and metal.
At once, Calliope leapt in to chop off Fafnir's serpentine body. However, the Avatar avoided the reckless attack altogether and it slithered away. Erato joined in to add pressure, though the Avatar effortlessly avoided all attacks against it.
While Calliope and Erato were at the forefront, Euterpe was once again standing behind and in inaction. Hanayo refused to take any form of action.
"I can't… the thing's moving too fast… and they're moving along with it…" Hanayo thought.
"Hanayo-chan, help us!" Honoka cried out.
"But…" Hanayo was still caught in her thoughts.
And then Fafnir began coiling around Calliope, wrapping around the iDol's torso and arms. Unable to fight back, Calliope struggled under the Avatar's strangulation.
"Ahh!" Honoka yelled.
Meanwhile, the Central Command managed to supervise the battle from surveillance cameras. Even they were concerned by current developments of the battle.
"Madam, Fafnir's acid is attempting to breach through Calliope. Internal circuitry and its pilot could risk serious injury."
"We have identified the location of its core. We can still defeat it if we destroy it."
"But it cannot be Erato's spear. We do not know if it might hit Calliope as a result."
"I see…" Captain Minami recognised, "We have only one choice left. Contact Koizumi-san."
The battle within Phoebus Apollo's iDols bay was temporarily halted due to Fafnir binding Calliope in place. Unable to move at all, Calliope's armour slowly melted away under the torrent of Fafnir's acidic secretion, frying internal circuitry and that same pain was translated onto Honoka herself.
All this while, her teammates in Printemps were forced to look on not knowing what to do next.
"Printemps, are you there?" Hideko's voice called out from the communications system.
"Yes!" Kotori replied, "Hideko-chan, we're in trouble… Honoka-chan is…"
"We are aware of Honoka's predicament and Fafnir must be stopped." Hideko responded, "And we believe we have a way to kill two birds with one stone."
"What is it?" Kotori asked.
"We have identified the Avatar's core, thanks to Honoka no less…" Hideko continued, "The core is on its body, around the location of Honoka's pilot core."
As Kotori observed, around the Calliope's chest was a mess of Fafnir's body. Among the scaly body and acidic secretion, a glowing core shone like a gemstone.
"But I can't pierce through it. I will hit Honoka-chan," Kotori confessed.
"We need Hanayo-san to shoot through that core. Two shots are necessary; one to hit its outer layer and the second to destroy the core." Hideko explained.
"M-me?!" exclaimed Hanayo, "B-but…"
"No time to waste, the acid is digging more and more as we speak." Hideko interrupted, "We leave the fate of everyone to you, Hanayo-san."
As Hideko signed out, Hanayo was left to ponder over the current dilemma and a stream of thoughts flashed across her mind.
"You realistically only have a small window of opportunity, so every second counts. No time must be wasted." Umi cautioned her.
"You just need a bit of confidence." Umi pointed out.
"You have to let go of mental blocks; otherwise they will really haunt you…" Eli's words echoed.
"Sometimes, making a bad move is better than doing nothing at all." Kotori remarked.
"We need Hanayo-san to shoot through that core." Hideko suggested that.
"Hanayo-chan, help us!" Honoka cried out.
"Waste no time… Confidence… Let go… C'mon Hanayo…" she thought, with eyes closed.
Euterpe's hands were definitely shaking as it raised its twin guns slowly. Opening her eyes, Hanayo gulped as she kept absolute focus. In her mind, the world froze.
The Avatar Fafnir was directly in front of her iDol, coiling around Honoka's Calliope. Kotori's Erato was nearby, discarded its weapon and with arms wide open.
"All of us will be there to support one another! None of us will ever be left behind!" Honoka's voice hollered.
"I can't let them down! We are µ's! We are Printemps!" Hanayo screamed.
She pressed the triggers and Euterpe's twin guns fired off. The two bullets whizzed through the air, flying towards the Avatar's Achilles Heel. The first bullet hit the core, cracking an outer protective layer. Then, the second bullet flew and struck the same location twice.
Upon contact, Fafnir let out a painful roar as its grip over Calliope loosened completely. Acidic secretion continued to let loose, even more rapidly than ever. With the Calliope freed, Erato sprang forward and carried off the damaged iDol to safer grounds.
"Good job, Hanayo-chan!" Kotori beamed.
"I… I've did it…" Hanayo muttered.
News of Fafnir's defeat reached the Central Command, receiving visuals of the defeated Avatar's corpse and Calliope safe and sound.
"Target has been eliminated."
"Calliope and its pilot are still functional, albeit requiring medical attention and repair works."
"Okay. Have a team to disinfect the entire area, repairs to be done on Calliope and medics to attend to Kousaka-san stat!" Captain Minami issued her orders.
Meanwhile, in Otonokizaka Academy's Student Council Room, Nozomi continued to fiddle with her Tarot cards. Three cards lay before her.
The Chariot. The Fool. The Lovers.
"A leap of reckless faith and the power of choice… who knew that it'd be enough to guide the Chariot towards victory…" she mused, "And… what about our curious lil' Magician-chan?"
Nozomi turned her head and saw The Magician card on its own. She took out a card from her deck and looked at it.
The Empress.
"So she knows eh?" she wondered, "Interesting…"
Suddenly, the door opened and Eli walked in.
"Ah Nozomi, good that you're here." Eli began, "Stop playing with your cards. We need to talk, official Student Council matters."
"Sheesh, Eli-chi's such a joy-killer…" Nozomi teasingly groaned.
"I got a call from the Captain… I mean, Chairwoman… They said the base was under attack just now by an Avatar." Eli explained, "Thankfully, Printemps managed to stop it and Hanayo made the clutch move."
"I presume she did improve herself eh?" Nozomi wondered, "Was it the work of a certain Student Council President?"
"Nah, in fact, I think it's high time we discuss who will lead the school after us," Eli said, "And I think I know who to recommend."
After the battle against Fafnir, Honoka was immediately sent to the medical bay for recovery. As Honoka rested on her bed and Kotori and Hanayo coming to visit her, they found another unexpected person – Mrs Nishikino.
"Sensei!" they exclaimed.
"Please do not be so loud." Mrs Nishikino hushed, "The patient needs rest to recover. The mind needs to recognise the pain is not that of the body's."
"But Nishikino-sensei, what are you doing here?" Hanayo asked.
"Since Maki joined, I figure I should do my part as both a mother and an old friend," Mrs Nishikino said.
"Old friend?" Kotori wondered.
"Your mother and I were classmates during high school. You definitely have the family resemblance there," Mrs Nishikino laughed, "I will take my leave then."
With Mrs Nishikino leaving the scene, Kotori and Hanayo continued looking at Honoka at bed. She was still sound asleep, utterly unaware of her surroundings and in bliss.
"Hanayo-chan, it's all thanks to you," Kotori thanked.
"Huh? M-me?" Hanayo exclaimed.
"Absolutely, you saved Honoka-chan and you were definitely the hero of the day," Kotori said, "Sure, the press won't be able to capture your glory, but we will… in our hearts."
"No, it's all thanks to everyone that we killed Fafnir," Hanayo said, "I couldn't do it without everyone."
Honestly, I find it surprising that Hanayo, the relatively least popular character in Love Live and eternal underdog, has stirred such a massive chapter. Even I am surprised (and I have no love for Hanayo to begin with). I liked how it turned out in the end, and I am pleased that the subunits will be making their mark in this fanfic.
Since the beginning, I was set on making chapters focusing on each and every member of µ's. Now that that's done, we move on to the plot of the show. Stay tuned.