This won't be the end, we still have a little ways to go, but...
I am so... SO sorry about this...
*Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!
Honoka got an actual day to just rest. And while she did spend the whole day with Tsubasa, they had decided to stay home and do nothing. The next day was the day that both Muse and A-Rise would start to ramp up their practices in preparation for Love Live. For all twelve of the girls involved, this meant that each day was going to get harder and harder. They had two weeks to pull everything together, and there would be no more time to take it easy.
Of course, the road for either group wouldn't go so smoothly. As with every round, the song used had to be an original song, and has not been performed at all prior to the event night. And Muse's first obstacle would be creating the song. Similar to an earlier round, their creative trio was having trouble. Umi in particular couldn't put together lyrics that she was happy with.
Nozomi had suggested they try coming up with a love song, to which the others easily agreed. Considering their relationships and what they've been through recently, everyone thought it would be easier this way. Though that wasn't really the case, as Umi, Maki, and Kotori were still making slow progress.
It was by chance that one day they ended up together at Nozomi's apartment. Maki happened to follow Nozomi and Eli all the way to the apartment after practice. And after some conversation, the rest of Muse was invited over.
Something they haven't had in a while was time to bond. The last time they did was at Maki's family's summer house. But this night, Muse got another chance. They got to spend time together and bond as a group of nine friends, not as couples. They had a lot of fun, despite the size of the apartment. Whether or not they realized it, the atmosphere went back to before all the love and drama of the past few weeks. Of course, it was only Honoka that noticed. But she didn't say anything, recognizing how well everyone got along again.
Though they didn't talk about the song itself, the night still struck inspiration. At the meeting the next day before they started practice, Umi had finished the lyrics, Maki had composed the score, and Kotori had sketched the costumes. They could finally move forward, but now they were two days behind schedule.
Unexpectedly, Honoka suggested that they all give up their weekend to make up for those two days. While a few were a bit hesitant, Eli and Nozomi backing Honoka up on her decision convinced the rest of the group. Though, this meant that they would be practicing every day until the day before. By this point, everyone understood that it was necessary, and made sure to take care of themselves outside of practice.
So for the next week, Muse juggled their idol practice with their school work. Maybe all the work Eli and Nozomi made her do was secretly a blessing. She found herself thinking it'll be worth it to just do her assignments than to put it off like she usually would. Though, that still didn't take away that she wasn't exactly a model student, so it still required a lot of effort. She thought on occasion that the others probably had each other's help for their assignments. She would've probably felt jealous if the work didn't take up most of her needed effort.
Honoka and Tsubasa had agreed that, for the best interest of their friends, they wouldn't see or speak to each other in any way until this last round of the preliminary was over. Of course, that didn't stop her from thinking about the A-Rise center. A couple of times, she found herself staring at her phone as it sat on her desk or while she was in bed. She somewhat hoped it would go off, but she knew that Tsubasa knew better than to do that, especially after they promised each other.
Though, what she didn't know was how close Tsubasa actually came to doing just that.
A-Rise had a similar problem as Muse started with. But because they were only three members, everything fell upon them to handle. They worked around their block in a different way. There was also some added pressure for them. Being the reigning champions, they had no doubt that there were expectations for them to make it to the finals once again.
Whether or not those expectations were really there, the three A-Rise members felt that amount of pressure anyway. And just like with any other school idol group, they still had to balance their school work in the middle of all this.
In the middle of the second week, Tsubasa had almost been tempted to call Honoka. Between the pressure, practice, school work, and a hint of exhaustion, she really could have done with hearing her voice. One night she had begun dialing the number, but luckily she came to her senses after seeing her bracelet.
The night of the final preliminary round finally came. It was to be set in the town square. The space provided a nice stage, and the biggest audience they've seen yet. The area was decorated by dazzling lights, and the excitement and energy of the crowd was felt all around.
A-Rise had just finished their performance. Muse watched off to the side, in a separate area from the rest of the crowd. They all watched as expected, but one person paid extra attention. After all, it was the first time she got to see her lover in two weeks.
As she watched them get off stage, Honoka felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and met the turquoise eyes of her spiritual senior.
"Hey," Nozomi greeted. "You okay?"
Honoka nodded. "Don't worry, I'm confident that we'll do well."
"That's good to hear. But that's not what I meant."
Honoka turned back to where A-Rise last was. "I know. We haven't seen or talked to each other for the last two weeks. I can't wait until this is over."
"It will be soon enough. But you know what we have to do first."
"Of course," Honoka turned to smile. Then she went to hug Nozomi.
"Oh? What's this all of a sudden?" Nozomi asked playfully.
"I just want to thank you. You've been looking out for Tsubasa-chan and me ever since that day. Even if I didn't notice before, I do now. So, thank you."
Nozomi smiled and played with Honoka's hair. "What are friends for?"
The two of them returned to the other members. They were all busying themselves with their clothes and each other's. Not that anything was out of place, but it was a way to calm their nerves a bit. They all stopped as they saw Nozomi and Honoka approach.
"Well, this is it," Eli said, looking around. "It's finally time."
The others looked to Honoka, who nodded. "This is what we've been working towards from the beginning," she said. "I'm really proud and happy that we were able to even make it this far together. But we're not stopping here. Muse won't stop until we've reached our goal. We will be the best. We will win Love Live."
Eli smiled. "Well said. Alright everyone, hands in."
They did their usual cheer before a performance. The stage lights had dimmed, and they were asked to take their places on stage. They did so, all the while the noise from the crowd slowly dying away. Once they were set, and the place was silent, the piano introduction to Snow Halation started.
The cheers from the crowd was very relieving as Muse exited the stage. Of course, those cheers alone weren't enough to decide the winner. Still, the crowd never lost its energy, and it was still as noisy with chatter as at the beginning while everyone patiently waited for the results.
Muse and A-Rise were in the back along with some others, getting their belongings together before they went out to join the crowd to wait for the announcement. Unlike with the crowd, it was silent between those in the back. No one really knew what to say to each other, other than a quick compliment here or there.
Honoka had gotten her bag already, and looked around until she found who she was after. Luckily it didn't take long, as Tsubasa had done the same.
"Finally," Honoka said, immediately going up to embrace Tsubasa.
"The wait is over," Tsubasa said, smiling.
"Yeah..." Honoka tightened her embrace. "I've missed this so much."
Tsubasa held tighter as well. "Me too... It's been too long."
As Honoka was letting go to face Tsubasa again, she suddenly felt a lot of weight against her. She held Tsubasa up until she could straighten herself.
"Are you okay?" Honoka asked.
"Yeah... Just a bit tired."
"Well, we can go to my place after the results are announced."
Tsubasa smiled. "I can't wait for that."
"Um, Honoka," came Umi's voice as she walked up to the two. "We're all about to go outside. The announcement is soon. Do you want to come?"
"Ah, of course," Honoka replied, smiling. "We'll be right behind you."
Umi nodded before she turned around to rejoin Kotori and the others. Tsubasa told Anju and Erena, and together both groups made their way out into the crowd. They all made sure to let go of each other, as their relationships still weren't publicly known. The only ones to know about Muse and A-Rise's dating lives were their families and friends from school. They let each other go just in time, as they were greeted with cheers and applause the instant they were outside.
Tsubasa and Honoka stayed with their respective groups for the results, but they made sure to keep each other in sight. Once the winner was known, they would slip away together at the first chance they got. Easier said than done, as they were getting impatient.
After a few minutes, one of the large screens was showing Love Live blanked out. The crowd took notice immediately as people were pointing and talking about it. The crowd started to quiet down as words were passing across the screen, and finally the moment they were waiting for arrived.
After letting their groups know that they would be leaving, Tsubasa and Honoka slipped away from the crowded area. It was quiet between them for a while, as they soaked in the events of the night. They were happy, but they were also very tired. With the round finally over, and the excitement for one starting to die down, they felt their efforts from the past weeks start to catch up with them.
"Congratulations again, Honoka-chan," Tsubasa said.
"Thanks, Tsubasa-chan. Are... Are you doing okay?"
"Just a little tired... But I'm fine. Still surprised that we lost, though."
"I'm surprised, too. You three were really good when you went on stage."
"Even so, you all were better in the end."
Honoka glanced over at Tsubasa, who has yet to take her eyes off the ground.
"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" she asked.
"I'm fine, really." Tsubasa finally looked to Honoka and smiled. "I'm happy for you. But I'm just really tired."
"Okay.. Well, it is the weekend now. We can spend the night together again."
"My parents are out again. We can go to my house."
"Great. We'll have the rest of the night to ourselves."
Tsubasa returned her attention to the ground. "Yeah... That'll be nice."
Honoka smiled. "Is someone thinking of those things again?"
Tsubasa didn't reply, and Honoka assumed she was lost in her thoughts now. Honoka took the time to pull her phone out of her backpack, so she could tell her family where she was going to be. She paused as she reached the stoplight to start dialing her sister's number. Though when she looked up, she noticed someone who should've been next to her.
"Tsubasa?" She called out.
She didn't answer as she continued to cross the street absentmindedly. Honoka was about to call out again when she noticed lights shining from the side. She turned to look further down the street, and her heart nearly stopped. Her bag and phone dropped onto the sidewalk as she moved instinctively, rushing out onto the street.
Tsubasa felt something push her from behind. The sudden force had send her flying forward onto the sidewalk. Before she really had time to get her bearings, there was a loud skidding sound behind her, followed by a loud crash. She spun around instantly. There was a truck crashed into a wall nearby, with tire marks in the path that Tsubasa would have been in that moment, had she not been shoved. But what else she saw made her freeze, horrified. She rushed back onto the street, dropping to her knees as she arrived.
"Honoka-chan?!"