Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!

"Alright, alright. That's enough everyone."

"Aww, come on, a little more."

"Nozomi wai-"

Eli was silenced by Nozomi as the spiritual girl locked lips with the student council president. This was about the fourth time already that Eli was interrupted as she tried to start Muse's meeting, and every time by Nozomi. Their meeting should have stared ten minutes ago.

"We really should start soon.." Umi said as she watched Nozomi continue to attack Eli's lips with her own.

"As long as we can stay like this, I don't mind," Kotori said.

Umi looked down at Kotori, who was laying down on the couch with her head resting in Umi's lap.

"Well.. I wouldn't mind.. but I don't think Eli would allow this."

"Eheh, that's too bad."

"Doesn't look like anyone else minds that we haven't started yet."

Kotori looked around and saw what Umi meant. In a corner of the clubroom, Rin and Hanayo were sleeping together. In another part of the room, Nico and Maki were having their own little make-out session.

"Everyone is enjoying themselves at least," Kotori said.

"Yeah..."

Kotori noticed something different in the way Umi responded.

"Umi-chan? Is something wrong?"

"I think so... like... something is missing."

Kotori looked around again, not really sure what Umi meant. But after a moment, she realized exactly what was missing.

"Where's Honoka-chan?"

"Well, I'm here."

Rather than going to the clubroom as usual, and dealing with everyone's love sessions, Honoka ditched Muse's meeting. Instead, she made plans to visit some cafe in town with a certain someone. It may not be the best reason so skip out on Muse, but Honoka wasn't comfortable handling it right now. They'll understand in time, maybe, she thought to herself.

Just then, her thoughts were interrupted by her stomach.

"Sounds like someone's hungry," came another voice.

"Huh?"

Honoka spun around, recognizing the voice. Though, it wasn't someone from Muse.

"Tsubasa-san!"

"Hey there," she said smiling.

"So, where is this cafe you were talking about?"

Tsubasa pointed ahead of them. "It's just down the street. Think your stomach can hold until then?"

"Hey, I'm no-" Honoka's stomach growled again. She blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Uwah..."

Tsubasa giggled. "Come on, let's go."

Together they walked down the street to the cafe. Yesterday, Tsubasa mentioned that this cafe is new and only opened recently. As they stepped through the entrance, Honoka looked around. Everything looked new, and not many people were here right now. Honoka felt like there was a certain elegance to the cafe as they sat down at their table.

"In the mood for anything in particular?" Tsubasa asked as she picked up a menu.

"Not sure.."

Honoka picked up a menu as well. They were quite fancy menus, compared to what Honoka usually sees. She started making faces as she read the menu. Tsubasa looked up and noticed.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Eheh, yeah.. It's just, I don't usually eat in this kind of places. I'm a bit overwhelmed I guess."

" Say no more, I'll handle the orders then."

"Ah, Tsubasa."

Honoka and Tsubasa looked at the new voice, which seemed to be their waitress. Honoka felt she looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn't really tell.

"Hey, I came like I said I would."

"Well, are we all ready?" the waitress asked.

Honoka waited patiently as Tsubasa recited the orders. She wasn't quite what each item was, or which were for her. Either way, there was another question on her mind, but she waited for the waitress to leave before she asked.

"Do you know her, Tsubasa-san?" Honoka asked.

Tsubasa frowned slightly. "You know you don't have to be so formal. We're friends right?"

"Ah, sorry! You're right."

"Honoka..." Tsubasa giggled. "Relax. Anyway, yes I do know her. She goes to UTX with me. She told me about this place, since she works part time here."

"Oh, alright."

"Yeah.. So, are you sure this is alright?"

"What is?"

"For you to be missing a meeting for Muse. You are the center, after all."

Honoka sighed. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I mean, I know I shouldn't be skipping.. but at the same time, I don't want to go and face everyone else right now."

"You know, you'll have to face them eventually."

"I know... but not until-."

Just then, they heard a phone start ringing. They both pulled out their phones, finding out that it was Honoka's phone that was ringing. Her eyes widened as she looked at the contact.

"It's Umi-chan.."

"Do you think something happened that they need to be calling you?"

"Well... I didn't exactly tell them I was leaving."

"...Wait. You didn't tell them?"

Honoka shook her head. "No. I didn't think it would really matter. But I guess I wasn't expecting them to notice quickly and call."

Tsubasa looked at the phone. "So.. are you going to answer it?"

The phone rang for a few more seconds. Making up her mind, Honoka pressed one of the options, then held the phone up for Tsubasa to see. She rejected the call.

"Are you sure about this?" Tsubasa asked, surprised by Honoka's choice.

Honoka nodded. "I've done a lot to make them all happy. I deserve a little happiness of my own."

Just then, Tsubasa's friend returned with their orders. Honoka looked at her plate as it was placed in front of her, not expecting Tsubasa to order this for her. She waited for her friend to leave before she said anything.

"Cake?"

"Yup. Trust me, try some. Just remember to work it off later."

She looked doubtful, but picked up the fork and took a piece anyway. As she bit into it, her earlier thoughts about the others vanished in an instant.

"Mm.. It's strawberry.."

The look of pure bliss Honoka had made Tsubasa smile. She just planned on the desert treat to relax her. She didn't realize exactly how well that would work, though. Honoka looked a lot more relaxed than she did earlier when they were talking about her friends.

"Thanks for taking me here, Tsubasa." Honoka said after they finished.

"My pleasure." She took another sip of her water. "Feeling better now?"

"Mhm, a lot better."

"Good. So, are you ready to go?"

Honoka tilted her head. "Go where?"

"Well, you're already missing your meeting. So we might as well make the most of it. We're going around town."

"Around town?"

"Sure. We can go shopping, or visit the arcade." She shrugged. "Whatever you want."

Honoka sat there and considered it for a few minutes.

"Mm.. alright. Actually, there's one place I want to stop by before we do anything else."

"Oh? Alright then, lead the way."

Tsubasa handled the bill, and they left the cafe. Their walk was somewhat quiet, as neither really talked much. This left Tsubasa to her thoughts, as she was wondering where Honoka would want to go. Lost in her thoughts, she nearly bumped into Honoka as she stopped in front of the place she wanted to go. Tsubasa looked at the building, finding it wasn't something she was really expecting.

"A bookstore?"

"Don't be so surprised," Honoka said with a smile. "I don't exactly read the way you're thinking."

Tsubasa gave a confused look as Honoka led the way into the bookstore. She followed Honoka through a few different sections until Honoka finally stopped to look. As Tsubasa stood next to her, she looked at the books on the shelves.

"Manga, huh? I'll be honest, I'm not that surprised."

"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?" Honoka asked with a smile. She ran her finger along the spines of a row of books, counting numbers out loud until she found the volume she was looking for.

"Well, it's not that surprising, is it?"

"Umi-chan and Kotori-chan were surprised when they found out." She opened the book and started flipping through pages. "Ah, it's not this one."

"What about the others?"

"You mean Muse? They don't know. Really, only Kotori-chan and Umi-chan know, aside from my sister." She placed the book back and pulled out another one.

"They don't? Why not?"

"Well, it's not like it's very important to know, right? It just never came up."

"It might be to some people.." Tsubasa said under her breath.

Unknown to her, Honoka still heard her comment. But she pretended to be focused on the book and missed the comment. She decided to move the conversation away from her a little.

"Do you read manga a lot, Tsubasa?"

"Me? Not really..I-"

"Great." Honoka got up and shoved a book into Tsubasa's hands.

"Eh? What's this?"

"Your new manga. Give it a try when you get the chance."

"A-alright."

"Great! And when you're finished, you can come over and I can let you borrow the rest of the books."

"You have the rest of the books?"

Honoka nodded. "Yup! The whole series. I'll give you a hint, it's one of my favorites."

"Then.. if I can borrow it from you, why do I have to buy the first book?"

"Trust me, you'll want to keep it." Honoka smiled. "You just don't realize it yet."

"Is it really that good?" she asked as she studied the cover.

"Mm... well there's that, too. I'm sure it'll make more sense later."

Tsubasa eyed Honoka. "You're being awfully vague right now."

Honoka made an innocent face. "I'm sorry. I hope you'll forgive me."

"A-alright alright, just stop with that face. It hurts you know."

"Oh, I know. You don't get around a strict friend like Umi-chan by just asking things."

Honoka giggled as Tsubasa let out a sigh. Honoka grabbed a few more books and they went to buy the books. As they were about to, Honoka took the book back from Tsubasa and paid for it before Tsubasa could say anything.

"You didn't have to do that.."

"Just think of it as a gift from me."

"But still-"

Honoka put a finger on Tsubasa's lips to silence her. "Nope. This is a symbol of our friendship. Alright?"

"...When you put it like that..." she let out a defeated sigh.

Honoka smiled. "That settles that then."

"Well since you want to play like that.." Tsubasa grabbed hold of Honoka's hand and started leading her.

"Eh? Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Honoka almost had a bad feeling about this. But the place Tsubasa had in mind wasn't that far, as they entered another building soon enough. Honoka looked around. It was a small accessory shop. She quickly realized what Tsubasa was planning. As she was about to protest, Tsubasa turned around.

"You bought me the book as a sign of our friendship, so it's only fair I buy you something in return."

"Guess I had that coming, didn't I?"

Tsubasa gave a smile that told Honoka she was right. Slowly, Tsubasa started browsing through everything. She picked up a few things and would place it against Honoka to see how it looked. Then she put them back, not satisfied.

"Ah, how about this?"

She picked up a small orange flower necklace. She held it against Honoka, smiling.

"Perfect. This will work wonderfully, don't you think?"

"Mm.. well it's cute."

"I think so, too. It definitely matches you."

Satisfied, they bought the necklace. Right after, Tsubasa took out the necklace and put it around Honoka's neck. She went back in front of Honoka to admire the look for a little, smiling.

"Yup, it definitely fits you."

"T-thanks." She looked at her phone. "Ah.. I should be getting home soon."

"Already?"

"Yeah. I have to help out with my family's store a little today."

"Ah.. Alright."

Honoka caught the subtle hint in Tsubasa's voice. "Would you like to walk me home again? I can give you some sweets to take home."

Tsubasa smiled. "That sounds great."

Together, they started walking toward Honoka's house. They took a slightly different route, to avoid running into anyone from school. They also walked a little slower than normal, as if they knew the other didn't want to part just yet.

Hey guys, nobodD here!

Well, not really much to say about this chapter. Friendships gotta start somewhere right? As for the manga part, well it was me trying to not write another dress-up scene X3 Also because Honoka had all those books in her room (not very neatly, according to Yukiho) so I figured that'd be a great way to kick things off.

Yeah, Honoka's a little out of character in this. Okay.. maybe a lot. But hey, it might make things more fun X3

Alright, that's it from me. See you next time, hopefully when I'm done being emotional about season2 ending... haha. Bye for now~