Chapter Text
Timeskip into Three Months Later…
In the streets of Monzen-Nakacho, there is a restaurant run by the Miyashita family. The daughter of the family also works here part-time as she brings smiles to her customers of young and elder.
“Here’s your order of Monjayaki.” Ai serves three orders of Monjayaki to Yu, Ayumu, and Setsuna “For my best friends studying in the last year.”
“Thanks for the food, Ai-chan.” Yu thanks her, she then asks while they are spending their lunch at Ai's restaurant “Anything special?”
“Mmm… we bought a new sauce to try out.” Ai advertises her fellow club members with flair. The highlight of the season is where Yu does not mind trying out Ai's recipe.
Ai's restaurant is having a good time having locals and tourists from various places. When Ai is working, the young-ins or students come talk to her while serving plates. Of course, they have to wait for her nearby. She keeps a smile to their faces and willing to assist their feedback or concerns. Ayumu, Yu, and Setsuna sometimes check on her on different days when they are currently in their third year. Setsuna and Ayumu are busy flipping the mixture while Yu practices, both of them are wife material as the cool kids say nowadays.
“A lot of customers come through so fast.” Ai says with a little strain, she is getting tired from here “Summer is already at its peak.”
“Do you think you will get an internship at a tech center?” Yu asks now that Ai is right beside her.
“Studying to work at a Tech Center was not my first choice when I enrolled in the Information Processing Track.” Ai briefly explains “Not that I did it for Rinari, I wanted to see how it benefits businesses.”
“Rina-chan did tell me why you are studying in the InfoProc track. Internet of Things?” Yu teases her, Ai pats her head in response.
“Wrong, Yuyu. I didn't tell her why- Because she would create a mind reading mod on her Mood-Activator Headset if I told her so.”
“Rina sure learns to lead technology for a small world.”
“You have yet to see what she can do beyond expressions.”
A small pep talk takes away Ai's stress. The squad are close to finishing their lunch but Ayumu almost flipped an accident.
“Watch out-” Ayumu splatters a bit of mixture on Yu's cardigan, Yu notices it and wipes off “Sorry, did it stain your clothes?”
“No, it is fine.” Yu assures “You barely missed the whisk when you showcased it to Mia-san.”
“Mia-chan never experienced cooking on her own so I had to.” Looking at Yu's monjayaki… It is nearly overcooked but edible to the tastebuds. Much to Yu's bashfulness, Ayumu offers her help and perfect her food.
Once Ai leaves the table, Yu, Ayumu, and Setsuna then exchange their day-to-day activities outside their club. Yu is a bit confident on what she can share with them and then Setsuna feels nervous about how the day went.
“Did your music courses go well?” Ayumu asks.
“A lot has happened.” Yu answers, briefly turning into a short story. “Mr. Taylor was our guest instructor.”
“Mr. Taylor, Mia-chan looked rosy red when her father came in, right?” Setsuna asks while Ayumu giggles in a mischievous manner.
“I think so. I never bother to ask more questions because I would disturb her. He is open to correcting errors whenever he hears an off-key note from one of our classmates.” Yu answers.
“Was he strict?” Ayumu asks.
“A little but I can bear with it. He has so many accolades that he is well-respected with my classmates throughout the day. I'm a bit jealous that she is both a composer and school idol. How creative.”
“I hope you can join us but then we'd interrupt you in creating music for all nine.” Ayumu teases.
“Twelve, R3BIRTH still considers me whenever they wants to envision their expressions into a song.” Yu adds; much to Setsuna who glances back at her.
…And this is how Yu spent the day before making her way to Ai's restaurant. What does Setsuna have to share? The time that R3BIRTH and Setsuna interact with transfer students who will be enrolling to Nijigasaki High School next year.
“Oh… it is going well for the Student Council. Shioriko and Lanzhu were handling a few new students who came from South Korea.” Setsuna tells a story of her interaction with the foreigners “None of us have heard of the Korean language before and we almost panicked. Not even Lanzhu learned the essentials.” Setsuna takes the anticipation of Yu and Ayumu to her advantage on storytelling.
“How did it go?” Yu asks to see where the story continues.
“The Vice-President learned essential Korean and she communicated with the new students, she helped around school and we thought we were done for.” Setsuna then concludes her story “The Vice-President captures the qualifications of becoming a Student Council President next semester. The transfer students are interested in studying in our school next year.” Yu rewards her with a smile and sparkling eyes while Ayumu giggles in response to her story. The tall girl, after cooking enough monjayaki for them and then cooking one serving of her own, then sees Yu and Setsuna are glancing at her. She is the only one who has not told a story yet. This is because Ayumu Uehara went studying in London, U.K. as foreign exchange student to help out a fan of hers to realize her dream as a school idol.
“Ayumu?” Yu asks. “Ayumu-san?” Setsuna mimics.
“I don’t have anything significant to share-” Ayumu tries to put away her story from them, but because Yu holds her hand without her awareness, she gives up and confesses “I got my Light of Blessings Card.”
For context, Love Live! All Stars is two years and eleven months old and there are many limited UR cards from now. Out of all of the Nijigasaki URs in the game, Light of Blessing Ayumu is the most desired card ever for Voltage Scoring with a skill set for dedicated frontline and fast-paced Voltage Gaining. Of course, because it is an Ayumu card, Yu and Setsuna are celebrating her luck by scouting her own card.
“Ayumu, you’re an angel!!!” Yu cheers, prompting Ayumu to hug Yu’s side.
“Uh hey!” Setsuna calls them out, much to Ayumu’s smirking. Of course, Ayumu continued her story but the details of what she is talking about is up to anyone’s imagination.
“Studying in London felt more organized than it was in Odaiba.” Ayumu explained how her trip went “I was able to meet up with a fan of mine after sending a message to know what it’s like to be a school idol. After she continued her inspiration, she asked if she could visit Japan to watch my live shows in person. I answered yes and wished her good luck in pursuing her dream to become a school idol in the U.K.”
The brief story put Yu, Setsuna, and Ai in awe. Of course, being the only one visiting London alone, hearing a brave Ayumu encounter an idol fan would be a journey, and the journey she made.
“Idol culture in the U.K. have their own set of idols whether it be from school or reality series.” Setsuna then browses on her smartphone to see the entertainment of the United Kingdom “Shizuku-san told me about notable examples like Big Boy and Cross Factor. The people in the U.K. are handsome, beautiful, tall, and dreamy.”
“You could say that- Someone around my age, Morgana Von Amour, decided to help me as her chaperon to ensure my studies work well and safely.” Ayumu’s mention of Morgana gave Yu and Setsuna assuring nods, but Ai did not know who she was.
“Who is Morgana Von Amour?” Ai asks, “Sounds like she’s French.”
“She is an exchange student in the Philippines with volunteer experience on chaperoning lone foreign exchange students in the European and U.K. region.” Yu describes Morgana.
“A French girl can also study in the Philippines? Mademoiselle Morgana would love to visit here someday to try out the menu.” Ai played along Morgana’s name, which all three did not mind as Ai has yet to meet Morgana one day.
“She is kinda like me but more diverse.” Ayumu notes “I’m sure she will visit Japan in a few days. For now, I only have a few weeks left until the term in the U.K. is over.”
“Are there final exams there?” Setsuna asks.
“No, it’s an exam to assure my studies there will acknowledge Nijigasaki High.” Ayumu gives the long answer.
“It’s the final exam then!” Setsuna and Yu exclaim.
To note, Morgana Von Amour will be appearing in the next arc of this fanfic series so do look forward to her debut.
After eating lunch, Yu, Setsuna, and Ayumu leave Ai’s restaurant.
“Thanks for the meal!” The three bid farewell to Ai, they will meet again in school tomorrow.
The three return to school and they are waiting for the next bus to fetch them and commute.
In the Student Council’s room, after a day of duties, Uzuki and Satsuki leave the room and R3BIRTH are cleaning up paperwork and gadgets they used to call it a day. Easy day for most of them but Setsuna notices her body became slowly frail. It is not specific to her physical condition or her trauma, but it is generic tiredness growing on both sides.
While Mia is sorting papers, Setsuna collapses after climbing down a stepladder. She is halfway to getting to her chair.
“Shit, Setsuna-” Mia curses and pulls Setsuna up “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, Mia-san.” Setsuna thanks Mia for the help “There’s nothing wrong with me. My legs are getting tired from standing up”
She is lying.
Lanzhu observes what Setsuna is doing to continue her student council work and takes a quick look on how to relieve her legs from stress. She found an idea, that is where she helped her do something first before going to sleep.
In Setsuna’s apartment, she is doing yoga at home before going to sleep. It is recommended by Lanzhu because she notices she has to maintain her leg strength if she wants to continue performing intense movements. Yoga also helps calm her mind and finesse where idol activities have multiple things to do on stage. Singing while dancing? Already done this before. Singing while dancing for a long period of time? Her stamina cannot keep up.
“You were aware of my condition. Was it obvious to you?” Setsuna asked while Lanzhu is also doing yoga, both of them are communicating to each other through a video call.
“Not likely, having physical conditions means that your choreography will have to be adjusted to prevent or slow down any imminent injury.” Lanzhu says while attempting to maintain her posture with one foot above her head “If you need to, I could substitute you on your behalf.”
“There’s no need to worry about it, Lanzhu-san.” Setsuna assures her “After the next School Idol Festival and First Live with You, I have never felt so free to do anything I want to focus only on the club instead of Student Council.”
“Really?” Lanzhu asked with a patronizing face. “Why are you still working chores on the Student Council when you announced that you retired?”
“I came voluntarily to help out Shioriko and the others.” “I had little time to do it after Ayumu left.”
“Oh right, Ayumu is studying in London as a Foreign Exchange Student.” Lanzhu realizes that Ayumu is away for a few months, and then she really misses her “I confirmed with my mom that Ayumu’s term in London will end in Late September. I miss Ayumu so much! Her body is so smooth and fluffy!”
“You seem to have a crush on her-” Setsuna teases, only to get to turn on her hot side of the hot-and-cold Lanzhu.
“No I don’t!” Lanzhu rejects and recollects “Anyway, I’ve felt attached to work as a school idol together that me, Shioriko, and Mia are able to make songs together as R3BIRTH. That’s Rebirth with a 3.”
“I’m happy to see you changed your heart.” Setsuna compliments as their yoga is about to be over “Feel free to talk about it anytime. We need to show everyone that we are all school idols as Friends But Rivals.”
“I like your idea.” Lanzhu finishes her yoga and sniffs the wafting scent of her mother’s dinner a few blocks away “I will be off now. Mommy is about to leave work in time for dinner. Zàijiàn. ” (Mandarin Chinese: “Goodbye”)
They end the video call and Setsuna sits down in her bed.
After doing yoga, Setsuna relaxes her legs after a half-hour of standing. She then sees a picture of her, Ayumu, and Yu after the First Live with You. Her lights are off so she is about to sleep.
“We’ll see each other again in person.” Setsuna whispers as her phone rings, she sees Ayumu and picks up the phone “Ayumu-san.”
“Hey, Setsuna-chan.” Ayumu greets her in her usual apartment.
“It’s been a long time since we talked.” Setsuna replies “The remark that I said before you leave went sour. I am sorry about worrying about you and Yu-san.”
“It is okay, I know you and Yu-chan will get along while I’m gone.” Ayumu then thought of a good idea to play “I checked your new video singing ‘Yada!’ and I wanted to play a game with you while I’m in Japan.”
Snapped, Setsuna forgot to check who uploaded the ‘Yada!’ Karaoke PV and swipe to her socials. It turns out it became public on video sharing services everywhere.
“W-w-w-who…” Setsuna begins to stutter and finally asks out of shock “Who uploaded my karaoke PV?!”
“Guess you do have a soft side to our heroic School Idol.” Ayumu says as she sends a link to the destination that they will go to this weekend “Ai-chan reserved a weekend-long tour to Mt. Takao tomorrow. It is just our third years’ time to bond with each other.”
“We planned this a week before your flight back to Japan started.” Setsuna then asks what game they will be playing “What was the game that we will be playing?”
“The Tsundere Game.”To Setsuna’s surprise, Ayumu wants to play a game of hot-and-cold with Setsuna and their targeted love interest is Yu “Let’s see if both of us can convince Yu-chan which one of us is the better tsundere. Yu-chan will not know this throughout the trip.”
“I’m not sure if this is a good idea to act differently to the others.” Setsuna tries to decline her invitation from the game but Ayumu decides to use a manifesto against her to stop pressing the phone icon. It is exaggerating of course.
“I wanted to feel free from Morgana’s lessons back in London so help out a friend?” Ayumu pleads with cute olive green eyes to Setsuna’s dark gray eyes. What else can Setsuna expect about Ayumu, she quietly whines and takes a few seconds to make an answer.
“I guess…” Setsuna half-heartedly accepts her game and then decides to turn red “But do not be late, Ayumu-san. Go to sleep.” This makes Ayumu giggle at her reaction from her request.
“Tsundere Setsuna-chan…” Ayumu plays along with her voice “See you tomorrow morning.” She ends the call and goes to sleep.
Setsuna sighs heavily from the phone call and then mutters out word before drifting to sleep. “This is going to be a great weekend.”