Love Live and Kamen Rider 48

"What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

"We want to get permission to use the main auditorium, and it has nothing to do with club activities." Honoka Kosaka stood before Eli Ayase and spoke up.

"The student handbook states that students are free to use the auditorium," Umi Sonoda, standing beside Honoka Kosaka, added.

"That's for after school on the day of the welcome party, isn't it?" Nozomi Tojo, sitting next to Eli Ayase, reminded her while looking at the application form in Eli Ayase's hand.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Well..." Umi Sonoda, finding it difficult to answer directly, hesitated.

"We're going to hold a LIVE!" Honoka Kosaka stated her true purpose directly to the student council president once again. "The three of us have formed a school idol group, so we want to hold our first LIVE in the auditorium."

"Honoka..." Umi Sonoda felt Honoka Kosaka was being a bit impulsive.

"We don't even know if we can pull it off yet," Minami Kotori said, lacking confidence.

"Eh, we can do it!"

"Wait, we've never even stood on a stage before..." Umi Sonoda said to Honoka Kosaka, feeling a bit dissatisfied.

"In this state, do you think you can manage?" Eli Ayase cast a skeptical look at them.

"No, no problem!"

"The welcome party isn't a game."

"They're just here to apply for the use of the auditorium." Nozomi Tojo stood up and walked toward the window at the side. "Since it's not a club, the student council doesn't have the right to interfere too much, right?"

"That may be true, but..."

"We succeeded!" Honoka Kosaka ran out of the student council room happily and sprinted back to the classroom, with the other two following closely behind, smiling helplessly.

"Why did you help them?" Eli Ayase asked Nozomi Tojo.

"Clatter."

Nozomi Tojo opened the window, closed her eyes, and said, "No matter how many times, it always tells me to do so."

"Hm?" Eli Ayase looked at Nozomi Tojo in confusion, then looked at the desk as if she had realized something.

A deck of tarot cards was resting there.

"The cards."

"Whoosh—!"

As soon as she finished speaking, several cherry blossom petals were blown in from outside the window along with a strong gust of wind, causing the cards on the desk to scatter.

"Whoa—" One of the tarot cards flew past Eli Ayase's eyes and was pressed against the wall by the air pressure.

Nozomi Tojo, who saw through everything in the darkness, opened her eyes and spread her arms as if enjoying the strong wind.

"That is what the cards are telling me!"

"Clatter."

"Whoosh—!"

In the faculty office, Senba Gari opened the window beside him, only to have his face covered in cherry blossom petals blown in by the wind.

"Ptooey, ptooey. Damn it, why is the wind so strong today?!" he said gloomily after spitting out the petals that had flown into his mouth.

"Click."

Then, a sound coming from the door made him scramble up in a panic.

"Damn it! Could it be that eternal old maid, teacher Fukagawa, coming back?! No! I have to leave immediately, or I won't be able to get away again." Saying this, Senba Gari began to grab the things on his desk, preparing to leave.

"Hm? Teacher Senba, what are you doing?" A female teacher with shoulder-length hair and half-rimmed glasses walked in from the door. Seeing Senba Gari acting as if he were dodging some ferocious beast, she asked with some confusion.

"Phew~ You scared me. So it's you, teacher Yamauchi. I thought it was that old maid, teacher Fukagawa." After seeing who it was, Senba Gari breathed a sigh of relief and picked up a glass of water from the desk to drink.

"Oh—who, did, you, call, an, old, maid~"

"Pfft!"

Suddenly, a voice that seemed to come from the depths of hell reached Senba Gari's ears, scaring him so much that he spat out the water he had just drunk. His head turned stiffly toward the door, cold sweat dripping down.

He saw teacher Yamauchi trembling as she hid outside the door, while the owner of that voice, teacher Fukagawa, was now emitting black mist from her back, her eyes deeply buried behind her hair.

"Ha, haha, ah, isn't this teacher Fukagawa? You've, you've worked hard! Oh, look, look, the next period is my class, so I'll be going first!" With that, Senba Gari disappeared in the blink of an eye in front of the two.

Seeing that Senba Gari had left, the black mist behind teacher Fukagawa dissipated. Looking in the direction where Senba Gari had left, she said with some indignation but also helplessness.

"Honestly, I just haven't found a suitable man yet. Is it really as bad as he says? Don't you think so, teacher Yamauchi?" Saying this, teacher Fukagawa looked at teacher Yamauchi, who had just sat down to rest.

"Ha, haha..." Teacher Yamauchi just laughed it off, thinking to herself, No, teacher Senba is right, you really are one. However, she only thought it; she wouldn't dare say it out loud.

In the classroom of Class 2-B, Honoka Kosaka was speaking excitedly to her two childhood friends in front of her.

"Great! This will be the first step toward becoming idols."

"Becoming idols is still too early, Honoka," Umi Sonoda reminded Honoka Kosaka from the side.

"Umi is right. After all, we don't have any experience, and we have no way to handle things like costumes or songs," Minami Kotori added from the side.

"Even if we succeed, what comes next? What do we do after that? We don't have enough spare funds to keep this going later on, so forming a club is a must."

"Ugh, why is becoming an idol so hard!" Honoka Kosaka said, looking distressed after hearing Umi Sonoda's words.

"It can't be helped. Being a school idol isn't simple to begin with; it's still a type of idol, after all." Watching Honoka Kosaka's reaction, Umi Sonoda said with a helpless sigh, "Also, setting aside the issue of club members, what about a faculty advisor? The vice president already reminded us that we must have one."

"That's right. Honoka, I heard from my mother that ever since Otonokizaka decided to close down, many teachers have resigned, and the others certainly won't agree to it," Minami Kotori reminded her just as Umi Sonoda finished speaking.

"Ugh, this..." Honoka Kosaka was clearly troubled.

At that moment, the ringing of the class bell brought the three of them back to their senses. They returned to their seats, though Honoka Kosaka was still thinking about the club.

A few minutes later, Geki Senba walked into the second-year classroom and stepped up to the podium to address the girls below.

"Yo, ladies, class is starting. Everyone, take out your textbooks."

Down in the audience, Honoka Kosaka, who had been agonizing over the club issue, felt a spark of inspiration the moment she saw Geki Senba. She stood up from her seat in a flurry of excitement and pointed at him.

"I've got it! It's decided, it'll be you, Geki-sensei!"

"Huh?!" Geki Senba looked at Honoka Kosaka with a strange expression.

Naming

After class, in the teachers' office, Geki Senba sat at his desk, watching Honoka Kosaka, who stood before him looking awkward. Minami Kotori and Umi Sonoda stood beside her. Geki Senba rested his forehead in one hand and spoke with a helpless tone.

"I'm telling you, what are you being so awkward for? If anyone should be awkward, it's me, alright? Honestly, tell me, what on earth are you girls trying to do now?"

"Uh, actually, it's like this. I want to ask you to be our faculty advisor and help us host Love Live, so please!" Honoka Kosaka said, pressing her palms together in a plea to Geki Senba.

"Eh?! Honoka, when did you think of this? Why didn't we know?"

"That's right, Honoka. And isn't this a bit rash?" Minami Kotori and Umi Sonoda voiced their doubts in unison.

"...Why me?" After bowing his head in thought for a moment, Geki Senba looked up at Honoka Kosaka.

"Eh?" Honoka Kosaka tilted her head, looking at Geki Senba as if she didn't understand his question.

"I mean, why me? Plenty of other teachers could do it, and I don't really know much about this school idol thing of yours," Geki Senba said, looking at Honoka Kosaka with a weary expression.

"That's not it! It's because of what you said to me on the rooftop earlier that I, Honoka, fully decided I had to become an idol! So please, Geki-sensei, be our advisor!" With that, Honoka Kosaka bowed deeply to Geki Senba.

"Since Honoka has said as much, then I, too, ask for your help! Geki-sensei."

"Me too, Geki-niisan, please!" Umi Sonoda and Minami Kotori followed Honoka Kosaka and bowed as well.

"..."

Geki Senba watched the three girls quietly as they pleaded with him. If he refused, he felt he wouldn't be able to look at himself in the mirror. He sighed and said:

"Sigh, alright, alright. I give up, you win. I'll do it, so get up already."

"Really?! Yay! That's great!"

Hearing Geki Senba's reply, Honoka Kosaka excitedly grabbed the hands of Umi Sonoda and Minami Kotori, jumping up and down.

Watching the expressions on their faces, Geki Senba's mood improved slightly, and he asked Honoka Kosaka:

"By the way, what's the name of your club?"

However, Honoka Kosaka's next words made Geki Senba's face turn black instantly.

"Club name? We don't have one. We haven't even formed the club yet, since we need two more members to make it official."

"..." Geki Senba.

"..." Umi Sonoda.

"..." Minami Kotori.

After hearing Honoka Kosaka's words, the expressions of the other three turned strange. Seeing this, Honoka Kosaka asked curiously:

"Hm? Umi, Kotori, and Geki-sensei, what's wrong with you all?"

"What's wrong with us? I should be asking what's wrong with you?! Little Honoka Kosaka~ do you think it's fun to toy with your teacher?" Geki Senba said, wearing a 'kind' smile as he looked at her.

"Uh, this... Geki-sensei, the look on your face right now is terrifying. And when have I ever toyed with you?" Honoka Kosaka broke into a cold sweat, instinctively taking a step back.

At this moment, Minami Kotori quietly walked up to Honoka Kosaka and whispered into her ear.

"Honoka, did you forget? A faculty advisor only officially becomes an advisor once the club is actually formed."

"...Ah, ah, well, I was just so excited I forgot! But Geki-sensei, you already promised to help us, so you absolutely cannot go back on your word!" Honoka Kosaka said, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Yes, yes, I won't go back on it. Honestly, I'm exhausted just dealing with students like you." Geki Senba rubbed his forehead helplessly, then stood up and ushered the three girls toward the door.

"Alright, class is starting soon. Get back to your lessons immediately, and I'll come find you during the lunch break."

With that, Geki Senba pushed the three of them out and closed the door.

Seeing him close the door, Honoka Kosaka turned to Umi Sonoda and Minami Kotori.

"Hey, Umi, Kotori, class is starting, let's hurry."

Then, the three of them headed toward their classroom.

-Time Divider

During lunch break, Honoka Kosaka was sitting under the old tree at school, enjoying her meal, with Minami Kotori and Umi Sonoda sitting on either side of her, while Senba Gari sat beside Minami Kotori.

"Didn't I tell you already?" It seemed that Umi Sonoda criticizing Honoka Kosaka's behavior had already become a daily routine. "Forget about the idol group for a moment, just go and submit the application as soon as possible."

"Why?" With a mouthful of Kosaka Bread, Honoka looked at Umi with a confused expression.

"Bread again?"

"My family sells Japanese-style sweets, so bread is quite a rare treat for me."

"You're going to get fat!" After the retort, Umi sat down next to Honoka.

"Are you trying to show off how well you usually eat?" Senba Gari looked at the bread in Honoka Kosaka's mouth, recalled the instant noodles he had been eating at home for the past few days, and couldn't help but cover his face.

"Is that so..." Honoka said, though she kept on biting into her bread.

"Honoka, Umi, Kotori, oh! Teacher Senba is here too."

"Hm?" Senba Gari and the three girls, Honoka Kosaka, looked ahead to see Hideko, Mika, and Fumika walking toward them.

"Yeah, I came here to rest and happened to run into Honoka and the others, so we're just hanging out together. What about you guys?"

"We saw the news on the bulletin board," said Fumika, who wore her brown hair in braids.

"We heard you're planning to start school idol activities," added Mika, who had short, earthy-colored hair and a boyish appearance.

"I never expected you to participate, Umi~" said Fumika, who wore two brown pigtails, looking a bit surprised.

"Ah..." Umi looked at the three of them, caught off guard, and then lowered her voice to ask Honoka, "What did you post on the bulletin board?"

"Hm! A notice about holding a live performance."

"Ugh!" Surprised, Umi leaned back.

"This is too reckless!" An angry Umi walked quickly down the school hallway. "There's only one month left! We haven't done anything yet, you're being way too naive!"

"But Kotori said it would be okay~"