*BROADCASTING ROOM - NIJIGASAKI HIGH SCHOOL - ODAIBA - TOKYO*

AKI: "How about the story, Setsuna? Do you have any ideas for it?"

SETSUNA: "Don't worry, I have a pile of notes I've written down while dreaming of what the future could hold.
I'll try to find us a story we can use in them.
I was thinking that I could come up with the design as I'm thinking through the story."

RINA: "I'll design the UI."

MIA: "Then, Babyboy and I will get as much of the music done as we can."

RINA: "I think we should start by getting one song into a playable state.
So, could you get just one song ready first?"

AKI: "Fine by me, but it's the matter of which song we-"

SETSUNA: "One of mine, please!"

RINA: "I'd like to play one of my songs too."

MIA: "I mean, me too, obviously. That means you'll have to choose, Babyboy. It's the only way we can make this fair."

AKI: "Eh?! Me?!"

SETSUNA: "I don't think there'll be any objections if you're the one who picks it."

MIA: "So, Babyboy, who's it gonna be?"

AKI: "U-Um..."

...

*MEANWHILE*

*CAFÉ MANMARU - SHIBUYA - TOKYO*

*P.O.V SWITCH - KANON SHIBUYA*

KANON: "So you're here again, hm?"

YU: "Eheheh, you did ask me if I could come again sometime."

KANON: "I didn't expect it to be this soon..."

YU: "What can I say? I'm your fan! Maybe we could even become friends?"

KANON: "Look, I'll make it clear. WE are not friends! There is no US, okay?!"

YU: "Aww..."

KANON: "Hmph... Still, it's not nice seeing you so sad. So what do you want? Another hot chocolate or something?"

YU: "Actually..."

KANON: "I'm not giving you coffee. You're too hyperactive already."

YU: "I wanted to hear you play."

KANON: "Eh? Play what?"

YU: "You know! I've heard that you're an amazing guitar player! From one musician to another, I wanna see that!"

KANON: "Why? It's no big deal, it's just something I did through middle school. It's not like I have any use for it now, not when Ren and Mei are composing... Besides, you play piano, don't you?"

YU: "Yep!"

KANON: "Then go bother them. Ask them to play the piano for you, and leave me out of it..."

YU: "Nope, because they're not you. I want to hear Kanon Shibuya play her guitar!"

?!

KANON: "You're...serious, aren't you?"

What's with this girl...? How can she be so cheerful all of the time?

She's the kind of person I usually avoid on my way to school, blocking them out with my headphones.

Why?

Because I'm shy. I don't like socializing with people who aren't my friends, and I don't like people in general.

YU: "I sure am serious!"

KANON: "Ugh, fine... Like you've shown before, you won't leave me alone otherwise. Follow me."

...

*KANON'S ROOM - CAFÉ MANMARU - SHIBUYA - TOKYO*

I guided her up the staircase to my home above the café. Luckily, nobody else was here, and we were closed for business.

So all I have to do is play this guitar and she'll leave me alone. Easy enough.

YU: "Wow! Your room is awesome!"

KANON: "Just sit down..."

YU: "Whoa! Isn't this a photo of-"

KANON: "DON'T TOUCH THAT!"

YU: "?!"

KANON: *Sigh* "Sorry... That photo is precious to me, and I don't want anyone to touch it."

YU: "Oh? I see... It's a photo of you with the other Liella! members. Don't you have other pictures? What makes this one special?"

KANON: "Why should I tell you?"

YU: "I'm curious. It must mean a lot to you to have elicited a reaction like that. Please."

KANON: "That photo was taken when Kinako, Shiki, Mei, and Natsumi joined us. It's the only photo I have of us before we joined Golden Calf."

YU: "Oh... So it's the last trace of the old Liella!, huh."

KANON: "You could say that."

Or rather it's the last remaining fragment of my soul, before I sold it...

YU: "But don't you prefer the new Liella!?"

KANON: "The victories, yes. But don't get me started on how hard the expectations are..."

And the guilt...

YU: "Working for a mega agency like Golden Calf must be tough..."

KANON: "Tough is an understatement. It's an institution set on rewiring us into idols of perfection. Your people at Nijigasaki don't know what that feels like..."

YU: "They train hard."

KANON: "Not to our standards."

YU: "Your standards, or Kamijou's?"

KANON: "..."

YU: "I thought so..."

This girl...

KANON: "A-Anyway, you came for a song. So I'll give you one."

For the first time in forever, I dusted off my old guitar, sat down with it and began to play.

KANON: "Phew..."

YU: "Kanon, that was amazing! I've never heard such beautiful guitar playing before! You're awesome!"

KANON: "Eh?! C-Calm down! That wasn't anything special..."

YU: "It was super special to me! The School Idol Fansite wrote about how much of a Superstar you are, but I feel extra lucky to see it up close!"

KANON: "Oh. That was for the School Idol Showcase, wasn't it? Just another contest we lost, it doesn't matter..."

YU: "Did you even read that article?"

KANON: "I did."

YU: "What did you think?"

KANON: "I liked it. It touched my heart and had a lot of valid points. Being presented in such a positive light was nostalgic, considering how much every school idol hates me..."

YU: "Do you remember who wrote that article?"

KANON: "...Yes. It was your cousin."

YU: "Same guy you slapped in the face."

KANON: "..."

YU: "He wrote an article expressing his admiration for you. So, why? Why do you hate him?"

KANON: "...He said some things that weren't true. Branding the Love Live! contest as a joke.
It was our dream to win, but SunnyPa beat us...
Meanwhile DiverDiva can walk onto Kōzushima and take SunnyPa's trophy without any real effort.
After we worked hard to perfect our 'Starlight Prologue', we weren't rewarded, yet they can put on an improvised show and win?! A ripoff of SunnyPa can beat the original?!
That's ridiculous..."

YU: *Chuckle* "I guess you don't realize just what drives Ai and Karin. While yes, Ai and Yuna are energetic, with that complimented by Karin and Mao's sexiness... There is something that makes both duos completely different."

KANON: "And that is?"

YU: "What makes them so different from SunnyPa is their rivalry."

KANON: "Rivalry?"

YU: "Yeah! Believe it or not, Karin and Ai push each other to their very limits, battling it out on stage so they don't lose to one another."

KANON: "That makes sense... SunnyPa are inseparable and they work their hardest to support each other."

YU: "Knowing someone has your back or will catch you if you fall is a wonderful feeling.
But it becomes a problem when you're relying on someone else to solve all your problems for you.

As great as SunnyPa are, it's possible that they didn't take DiverDiva's rivalry serious enough, and they were complacent.
When you get complacent, you open yourself up to making mistakes. And when you make mistakes, you look for your partner to catch your fall."

KANON: "What's your point?"

YU: "I'm saying the SunnyPa who DiverDiva defeated on Kōzushima, were not the same SunnyPa who beat you in the Love Live! qualifiers."

...What?!

But that's a lie... SunnyPa have always been fantastic... There's no way that they would give a half-hearted performance when there's fans like Keke who practically worship them.

YU: "Meaning, you've got nothing to be ashamed of. Because you took on SunnyPa at 100%.
DiverDiva caught them at 50%."

KANON: "...I suppose that makes sense. You were there too, weren't you?"

YU: "Yep, I kinda snuck onboard the Nijigasaki ship, eheheh..."

You don't just sneak on a ship and brush it off as a joke. What's wrong with her?!

KANON: "Even if I dislike your group, it's not fair to badmouth your fellow Club members like that."

YU: "Badmouth? No, not at all. Karin and Ai are the ones who told me all of that. They're itching for a true rematch sometime with both duos at full strength!"

KANON: "Yeah, but that loss caused a SunnyPa downward spiral. They lost to Margarete Wien of all people! Someone we easily defeated.
The way we see it, DiverDiva damaged SunnyPa that day."

YU: "Like how you destroyed Saint Snow's credibility?"

KANON: "Th-That's..."

YU: "The way I see it. One was deliberate, the other was not. Ai and Karin did not intend to hurt Mao and Yuna's credibility.
Meanwhile, you trampled on Sarah and Leah like they were nothing, just to make a point.
Did their dreams mean nothing to you?
And what about A-RISE? Shinonome? Touou?"

KANON: "...What choice did I have?!"

YU: "Huh?"

KANON: "We were following orders... This wasn't supposed to happen. If she had stayed back in Hokkaido, none of this would have happened!"

YU: "What happened?"

KANON: "Leah Kazuno, she flew over here to Tokyo and stormed into Golden Calf Headquarters. She wanted to challenge us and exact revenge for her inspiration, A-RISE.
Shiro-sensei was in a bad mood that day and wanted to make an example out of her. I had defied her beforehand, so she handed me a pair of scissors and told me to cut her twintails off."

YU: "Th-That's awful!"

KANON: "Anyone in their right mind would think that. So did I, and I didn't do it...
Shiro-sensei got angry, so instead of Leah, she grabbed my long hair and cut it off instead."

YU: "So that's why... Kanon..."

KANON: "Yeah."

YU: "Here I was, fangirling over the Empress of Entertainment... When she did something like this to you. I can't support her after that!"

KANON: "Yet you'll watch me do all kinds of horrible things to other school idols, like taking their territories. Yet still you support me."

YU: "I do."

KANON: "Why?"

YU: "Because it's not too late for you. You're still growing, Kanon, you don't have to walk the dark path Golden Calf wants you to."

KANON: "You say it like it's that easy... Let me tell you. It's not. Signing that contract, I sold my soul."

YU: "Then I'll help you get it back!"

KANON: "?!"

YU: "Even as a member of Nijigasaki... Even if I know the consequences of Liella! winning spell the end of my future...
I still want to support you as a fan, because I genuinely enjoy your music.
I love Liella! and no matter how hard you try to, nothing will change that."

KANON: "Yu..."

YU: "Sorry, I said too much again, didn't