CHAPTER 12

Yuki Wa Doko Ni

Uranohoshi High School,
Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture,
March 8

The walk toward Uranohoshi rooftop had become more and more of a drag for Chika. It was less than 2 weeks to Love Live Finals, and things had not progressed the way she wanted. Too many distractions hindered their preparation. Hanamaru said she was well over the chef boy from Totsuki Culinary Academy, but Chika caught her staring blankly at the horizon, oblivious to things around her. Ruby and Yoshiko were intimidated by Yon*Machi, and their performances suffered from it. Kanan, Mari, and Dia seemed to have a problem of their own, and they didn't share it with the rest of the group. And Riko… Riko couldn't have her head straight. She was choked by the relentless attention by her rabid fan.

Chika held her own fear. She missed Yosetsu, dearly, and each passing day she feared that Yosetsu was running out of time. She wanted him to be there when she sang and danced her heart out for the championship. But there had not been any progress about Yosetsu's detention, and everything seemed to drift for the worse.

The first one arrived at the rooftop, Chika opened her phone as she waited for Aqours to assemble. A few minutes of browsing would ease her mind, she thought. But instead, she was bombarded by pictures of carnage from Yon*Machi concert at Yokohama. The damages were eerily similar to those a week ago, and it made her cringe. It was the same damages all over again, perpetrated by the same freak accident, at roughly the same time.

Chika knew that history sometimes repeated itself, but the two incidents were too similar, they got her thinking that they were not random incidents. It felt more and more like somebody was trying to sabotage the Yon*Machi. She was not surprised, considering how Yon*Machi boys behaved and treated others. But to sabotage their concert twice, somebody must have hated Yon*Machi with a passion. Worse yet, Yon*Machi's next performance would be Love Live Finals. They would be in the same venue as Aqours. If the criminal decided to sabotage Love Live Finals, Yon*Machi was not the only one affected. Aqous would be screwed too, and everything Chika had worked so hard would be wasted.

"Chika-chan!" You arrived and looked over Chika's shoulder. "What are you watching?"

"Do you know that Yon*Machi concert was canceled due to inclement weather… again?"

"Yeah, I heard about it in the morning," You took out her own phone and started browsing the same pictures. "They said the 2 incidents would not ruin their plan to compete at Love Live Finals, but I'm not sure. I mean, what if there is another freak accident?"

"Do you also think the inclement weather is not actually random?" Chika mused.

"I don't know, but it seems to follow Yon*Machi," You said gingerly. "I mean, two freak incidents within 1 week, both happened right before Yon*Machi concerts. What's the chance of that?" She rolled through some reports on her phone, then played a clip where the Yon*Machi boys made a statement about the incident. The leader, the dark-skinned tall boy, stated that they were not scared by the freak accidents, and they would still enter Love Live Finals as planned. "Good for them, they are not intimidated by the weather. I know they are arrogant bullies, but I kinda feel sorry for their misfortunes. Two canceled concerts within a week will affect their reputation in the bad way. Not to mention the loss of money."

"Yeah, I can see your point," Chika leaned on the ledge.

Sometime during Chika and You conversation, Riko arrived. She looked at the two, and decided she didn't want to join the conversation. She went to a different corner and started stretching. She stole glances of Chika and You once in a while, but for the most part, she kept her head down, almost like avoiding the other two

"Riko-chan!" Eventually Chika noticed the purple-long-haired girl and couldn't help striking conversation. "Did you see the news? Yon*Machi got canceled again by the same accident!"

"Yes, I heard," Riko replied halfheartedly, still trying to avoid eye contact with Chika and You.

"When we met them at Nijigasaki, I was mad at them for treating us bad," Chika went on. "But now, I start to wish them good luck. Two canceled concerts must be hard on them."

"Everybody will have their own karma," Riko stated. "What they said to us at Nijigasaki was not nice. Now look at Yoshiko, Ruby, and Maru-chan. They are depressed and can't perform straight. If Yon*Machi is that good, the boys don't have to belittle other groups, especially aspiring idol group like Aqours. But you know, the universe is watching us, and who sow the wind will reap the storm."

"What are you saying, Riko-chan?" You caught the hidden message in Riko's statement. "Yon*Machi's misfortune is… because of Aqours?"

A shade of horror flashed over Riko's eyes. Her face turned as white as paper. Her body tensed, as if her muscles squeezed in epileptic contraction. She quickly turned away from You's inquisitive gaze. "No, I don't mean… I don't mean anything. It's just… you know, a figure of speech. An expression, that means nothing."

But You was not to be denied. "Riko-chan, do you know something?"

"Me? No, I don't… I don't know anything! I don't know more that you do. I mean… well, I just speculated that the incidents were inevitable because Yon*Machi are not being nice to people… I mean, we Aqours don't deal with that kind of revenge… I mean, paying back, obviously… Oh My God, what am I thinking? Look, forget what I just said, OK? Forget about the Yon*Machi stuffs. We have to focus on what we have, to win Love Live Finals."

But the damage had been done. Chika held Riko's hand and looked at her in the earnest. "Riko-chan, if you have a problem, you have to tell us. We are your friends. We can help you. If we can't solve your problem, we can help you go through it."

"I don't have a problem!" Riko pulled her hand off Chika's grip. "I'm just… you know, talking nonsense. Forget what I said. Let's practice. Last night I had some ideas on position progression…"

But You grabbed Riko's shoulder. "Riko-chan, I know you're hiding something. You can trust us. We are your friends. We are here for you, just like you are here for others."

Riko bit her lips. She looked at Chika, then at You, then back at Chika again. Her gaze shifted from denial to fear to angry and confused. She broke free from You's grip, then turned away and looked at Mount Fuji in the distance, as if asking for strength from the snow-covered behemoth.

"Riko-chan…" Chika muttered.

Riko sighed, and relented. She drew her phone out of her purse, and handed it to Chika with a trembling hand. Chika was initially clueless, but she saw two dozen new messages on Riko's messenger bank. She opened it and a smorgasbord of pictures leapt from the screen, showing broken sound system and lighting equipment. A few pictures showed Yon*Machi boys with utter frustration hanging on their faces. The last few messages were romantic letters that showed support for Riko's quest to Love Live Finals, ended with a large energetic message 'AQOURS FOREVER!'

"Shinjirarenai…" Chika covered her mouth with her hand.

"Riko-chan, this is… this is…" You was at the loss of words. "This is… wrong."

"Everybody will get their comeuppance," Riko said bitterly. "They were arrogant bullies that insult other idol groups. If it wasn't Yoarashi-san, somebody would do it eventually."

"Well, yeah, but… not like this," Chika replied. "Riko-chan, hurting other people is not alright. Yes, they hurt us, but we don't have to be like them. We don't have to hurt them back. We can get back at them by beating them at Love Live Finals, to prove that we are the better school idol group. We have to report this to the police."

"Police?! No, I'm not going to the police!" Riko cried out. "They're going to investigate us! We cannot go to Love Live Finals if the police know about this!"

"Riko-chan, this is criminal intent," You joined in. "If the police get their hands on this, you will be implicated, as witness at best, as accomplice at worst. Special victim unit will interrogate everybody: you, Chika-chan, the rest of Aqours, our family members. Every single one of us must go through trial by jury. Our lives will never be the same. Save us some trouble and let law and order do their work."

"How?" Riko turned and looked at Chika and You with tears hanging on her lids. "I tried my best to stop him from doing this. He wouldn't listen. He wouldn't stop until Yon*Machi is out of the competition. He wants us to get a good chance of winning Love Live Finals by taking out the strongest competitor."

"We could've come up with something if you told us sooner," Chika mused.

"And do what, exactly?" Riko looked at You. "Your guy is out of his jurisdiction." Then she turned to Chika. "Your guy cannot even leave school." She took a step back, then picked up her bag and left. "Sorry," she said weakly, "I cannot jeopardize Aqours' chance in Love Live Finals. I will deal with this matter later. For now, my focus is Love Live Finals."

Chika and You watched Riko leave the roof, not knowing what to do. They stood dumbfounded for a long time, drowning in their own reckoning. They didn't talk for a long time. Eventually You snapped out of it, shooting a blank stare at Chika. "What are we going to do, Chika-chan?"

"I don't know," Chika said matter-of-factly. "I really don't know."