Golden Week ended, and the ten idols were forced to return to their respective schools, as reluctant as some of them were to do so. When Erena had to leave the other girls behind, she bid Nico farewell with a loving kiss on the mouth in front of the others, eliciting a few excited squeals. She handed Nozomi a slip of paper as well; when Eri (and a particularly angry Nico) inquired about the paper later on, Nozomi openly admitted, grinning ear to ear, that it was the address to a very special shop in Akihabara. Erena said good-bye to each of them individually. Overall, the nine Muses had to admit, they were happy to have had Erena along. It seemed that Tsubasa wasn't the only member of A-Rise with interests of forming a friendly relationship. The other girls hoped they would get to see Erena again soon, hopefully at a cafe or an arcade instead of an opponent on the stage.

Erena hoped for the same. She knew that Tsubasa and Anju would want to visit them some time as friends as well.

Honoka and Kotori held hands as they approached the school gates one morning.

"Honoka, can I ask you something?" Kotori said. She seemed nervous, and Honoka could tell just from hearing the inflection in her voice.

"What's wrong, Kotori?"

Kotori squeezed Honoka's hand. "It's a little awkward."

"You can tell me! Totally! I'm all here for you, girl! I promise!"

"...Did you tell your family about us, Honoka? Do you talk to them about us dating at all?"

Honoka blanched; she had expected a numerous different questions, maybe some less likely than others, but she hadn't been prepared to suddenly have a question throw out regarding her family. She hadn't even mentioned them to Kotori at all recently.

"N-No, I haven't talked to them about us...I mean, Yukiho probably knows, since she's super-smart, and my parents don't ask too many questions about my personal life, so I guess not...why do you ask, Kotori?"

Kotori was holding Honoka's hand tight enough to nearly break it, but the other girl made no comment on it. "Well, I..." the silver-haired teen looked her girlfriend in the eye, "I wanted to introduce you to my mother."

"Eh? But I know your mom already?"

"Introduce you as my girlfriend." Kotori corrected.

"Ah." Honoka's eyes grew even wider. "Ah...!"

"Do you think that would be alright?" Kotori started talking faster and faster, "Honoka, are you okay with that? I haven't told her yet, but I thought maybe it was time? She knows we've been friends since childhood, but I never told her I was dating anyone, and I thought it was time to let her know. B-Better now than never, right?"

Honoka gaped. Kotori wanted to tell her mother, the principal of their very school, about their relationship. In fact, it seemed like she wanted to take Honoka all the way to her mother's office and have them introduce themselves as a couple face-to-face. Principal Minami had always been understanding, she was the one who'd given them the authority to make a school idol group in the first place, but there was something about her that terrified Honoka. Maybe it was because she possessed the power to suspend her or even expel her from Otonokizaka if she so desired. To inform such a dangerous and potentially vengeful woman that she was not only dating her daughter but had done some particularly lewd things with her in the privacy of their own bedrooms...it would be like dropping a nuclear bomb on your toe, and it subsequently going off.

Honoka looked at Kotori and gave a wry, slightly lopsided grin. "...That sounds like fun." It was impossible for her to ever consider saying 'no' to those glorious golden eyes, though. She seriously couldn't.

"Oh, yay!" Kotori embraced her lover and gave her a kiss for good measure. That act certainly helped sway Honoka a little more, but the terror was probably going to keep its residence in the pit of her stomach for as long as it could manage. Then she realized something.

"Say, Kotori, what made you decide to do this all of the sudden?"

"Eh?"

"I didn't think you were bothered about letting your mom know about us before?"

Kotori giggled. "I guess I was inspired to do during Golden Week. After seeing Umi and Hanayo finally get together, and Erena and Nico as a couple...it made me want to do something to help cement our love a little more, so we could make sure we know we'll be together for the long run!"

"I didn't know it was a race?"

"I couldn't help it! Umi and Hanayo were so cute together, it actually made me jealous!"

"Jealous? My Kotori? I didn't even know such a thing was possible!"

"Heh heh, oh, Honoka!" Kotori kissed her again.

Honoka really couldn't believe it, though. She knew that Umi and Hanayo were exceedingly adorable that they were finally a couple, but she hadn't expected it would actually have this kind of effect on Kotori. The center of Muse pondered if any of the other girls were influenced by the new pair as well.

Later that same day...

Maki's hardened stare bore down like a thousand needles onto the oblivious Rin, who in turn happily ate from her yogurt cup, blissfully, or moronically, unaware of the sheer impatience her girlfriend was currently radiating. Maki tapped her fingers against the wooden surface of her desk, over and over in a rhythmic timing, not speaking a single word, waiting for a reaction from Rin that never seemed to come. Maki pouted and puffed her cheeks. She leaned over her desk, took a book out from her bag, and started to read it. If Rin wasn't going to notice what was right in front of her, then she didn't need to wait and expect it anymore. Maki sighed quite heavily into the pages.

"Maki! Maki!" Rin was suddenly clamoring for the girl's attention, only after Maki had gotten halfway through her first page. The redhead glowered, annoyed that she'd finally noticed, and lowered her book.

"What is it, Rin?"

"You wanted some, right?" Rin giggled, holding out a spoonful of yogurt to, most likely, slip it into the redhead's mouth. Maki instantly became flustered, as she was wont to do.

"W-What are you t-talking about? I never said I wanted any of your yogurt!" Maki cried.

"You had that look on your face, nya!" Rin replied.

"I...I...If I had that look on my face, then why didn't you ask me earlier, huh?" snapped Maki.

"Sorry! It's super-cute and all when you're pouty, but I like taking care of you too, nya!"

"Taking care of...! Argh, you are so insufferable sometimes, Rin!" Maki cried. Rin couldn't help but laugh, as she usually did at her girlfriend's 'tsundere' antics. She never took it very seriously, because in the end Maki's anger was always short-lived.

"Do you not want some, nya?"

Maki grumbled. As if suddenly reluctant to accept the offer, she opened her mouth very slowly and let Rin feed her the yogurt.

"Is it tasty, nya?"

"...Yes..." Maki blushed.

"Hmm, I wonder if Kayochin has ever done anything like this with Umi yet?"

"What are you bringing up those two for all of the sudden?"

"I've bugged Kayochin a lot about it, but she never wants to tell me anything about her relationship with Umi, nya!"

"That's just it; because you're BUGGING her!"

"Oh, you know what I meant by that! Kayochin tells me everything! We've grown up together! But she won't tell me about her girlfriend! Ohh, what's up with that, nya? I really want to know, nya! It's so unfair, nya!"

Maki snickered to herself. "Aren't you making too big of a deal about it? Let Hanayo do what she wants. She doesn't need you to hold her hand all the time; she has Umi to do that now."

"Eh...I suppose you're right, nya..."

"Besides,"

"Huh?"

Maki reached out and wrapped a hand around Rin's, the one holding her yogurt cup. "You should just be more concerned about holding my hand from now on, okay, Rin?"

Like a wildfire, a hot, burning blush spread itself across Rin's pale cheeks. "Ah...M-Maki..."

Maki stood up from her seat to lean across the length of the table and plant a sweet, light kiss on her girlfriend's lips. Rin closed her eyes as she let herself sink into the kiss. It was a good thing that they were alone, having gone to the idol clubroom for lunch, because they knew no one else would be here at this time. The yogurt cup was quickly forgotten for that moment.

"Rin, you should know something else too,"

"What, nya?"

"I...I only kissed you because I thought it would help cheer you up...not because I really wanted to do it myself or anything..."

"Heh heh, you're such an honest girl, Maki, nya."

Eri, Nico and Nozomi were kept busy with their studies ever since Golden Week ended. They were going to have to prepare for their final exams sooner than later, even though the only one with any true fear of the likelihood of failing was Nico herself, who had been far too consumed with her love of all things idol to spend much time studying beforehand. Eri and Nozomi were determined to make sure she passed so they had offered to help her study, but only after Nico started performing degoza poses in their presence. To say that Nico wasn't entirely thrilled with the idea of a 'study-buddy system', as Eri jokingly liked to call it, would have been an understatement. Whenever Nozomi was on task, she would read the questions aloud and then threaten Nico with a groping session if she failed to answer correctly in time. Eri, meanwhile, acted similarly to a drill sergeant, seeming like she was always on the verge of physically drilling the answers into Nico's skull after receiving several wrong answers. They were a frightening duo, but Nico needed their help, so she put up with it.

She would have asked Erena for help, but she was from another school, and as such, had to study a completely different kind of curriculum. How unfair life could be.

"Nico, try it again. You can do this."

"I'm not stupid!" Nico was quick to snap. "I'm just...more street-wise, that's all! That's what it is! I don't need to know the names of presidents of foreign countries that I'm never even going to visit, or all of this mathematics that are so complicate that they'd never have to be applied to normal, everyday life! All of this studying is such a pain in the ass!"

Nozomi was lurking closely behind Nico, resembling something like a stalking predator hunched in striking position, which was essentially what she was. Her outstretched fingers twitched, holding back but clearly impatient for action. "Oh ho, so 'that's what it is', huh? If Nicochi was REALLY street-smart, she would know very well what will happen to her if she doesn't answer the question...!"

Nico's face paled. "It...it was George Washington...I think..."

"That's right!" Eri clapped. "You did it, Nico!"

"Great. Thanks for the patronizing compliments, Eri." Nico gave the blonde a sarcastic thumbs-up to boot.

"Heh heh, sorry about that, but you really did do well, Nico." Eri grinned sheepishly and honestly felt a little bad for Nico. She decided she would tell Nozomi to lay off the groping. Later though, once today's studying session was done. Although the threat of molestation was a surprisingly adequate means of enforcing intellectual growth, Eri had to admit that it was highly unethical, as well as she didn't enjoy the idea of her girlfriend intimately touching other women right in front of her. Eri was not very fond of sharing when it came to Nozomi.

"Hmph! Well, I did a whole sheet of these questions, so can't we stop this already? I deal with enough school during the day! I'm not like our Center when it comes to poor test scores, so I think I can handle the rest on my own." Nico told the pair.

"But Nico, didn't you say you were afraid of failing?"

"Yeah, you can't ask for our help and then tell us you don't need it. That's not very nice."

Nico shifted uncomfortably in her seat, unwilling to look the two other girls in the eye as she cautiously replied, "I'm sure I can figure out the rest on my own...m-maybe..."

"Nicochi, do you want me to tell you something that's a fact?"

"...What?"

Nozomi placed her hands upon Nico's shoulders and gently squeezed them ."If you do not pass these exams and graduate properly, you will be held back. Think about that, will you, my dear Nicochi? You will be the very first student in Otonokizaka's long history to have to be held back a grade."

"W-W-W-What?! That's ridiculous! Idiot! My grades are still way better than Honoka's!"

"Yes, we know, but that still doesn't mean anything. Honoka isn't the one on the verge of graduating, you are. You need to shape up so you can graduate with the best grades possible! If you were held back, you could still be a school idol with the others for one more year...but it would be at the sacrifice of your pride and dignity. Do you want that?"

Nico threw her hands up in the air. "Okay, okay, I get it! Leave me alone, you two! I get the point! No amount of my undeniable, irresistible super-idol charm, as much as it's like cupid's arrow shot into a lonely love-beggar's heart, isn't going to help me graduate from this place. But I wish you two would go a little easier on me! I'm your friend!"

Eri shook her head. "It's because you're our friend that we refuse to let up, because we want to see you succeed."

"Ugh..."

"We want to be able to attend college together, Nico!"

Nozomi immediately seemed to freeze up. Then, she walked around the table to draw herself closer to Eri. She wrapped her arms around Eri's neck and kissed her deeply on the mouth, right in front of Nico. When they finally split apart, Eri's face was searing hot and Nozomi was grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, Erichi, you're sweeter than any parfait...!"

"W-W-What?" Nozomi cut Eri off by kissing her yet again.

Nico growled; how she wished she had Erena around just so she had the chance to show them up. Still, it would probably have been even more nauseating to watch Umi and Hanayo making out; those two were so inexperienced and shy, it would have been a train-wreck from the start. Nico might have even been compelled to jump in to offer her own kissing advice to help them. Eri and Nozomi continued to smooch. Nico returned to her studying on her own.

Erena leaned back on the couch and sipped from her tea cup, trying her damned hardest to ignore her two friends making lovey-dovey faces at each other on the other side of the coffee table. Honestly, it was rather difficult, especially when they started to speak. It made Erena want to sink down between the couch cushions and disappear forever, not even her own relations with Nico were this unapologetically embarrassing.

"Would you like a treat, my darling Tsu-Tsu?"

"Can you feed it to me, my sweet An?"

"Oh, it would be my pleasure~!"

Tsubasa closed her eyes and opened her mouth, going 'ahhh', as she waited for Anju to pick a chocolate wafer from the plate and gently place it into her mouth. Anju giggled as she performed the expected action, and Tsubasa happily chewed the wafer apart in her mouth. Anju pinched her cheek.

"You two are unbelievable," Erena remarked.

"Hee hee, sorry about that," Anju chuckled.

Tsubasa licked her lips. "Erena, aren't you interested in anyone? You deserve to have a significant other as much as anyone I know. I feel a little bad that we've been doing all of this in front of you for so long."

"I do have someone. A little imp in particular." Erena smirked. She hadn't exactly told her friends yet. She wondered how bad they claimed they really felt, considering they kept doing this all of the time.

"Wait, what?"

Umi approached the alpaca stables with little reservation; she knew Hanayo would be here, in fact she'd texted her earlier asking to meet at their 'usual spot'. She whipped her hand up to protect her face as she was suddenly struck with a gust of wind. Her blue hair fluttered in the breeze. She wanted to call out to her girlfriend, or even text her to see where she was, but she soon caught sight, thanks to her trained eye, of a smidgen of brown hair hiding behind the far-most stable. Umi hurried to confront her.

"Hanayo!"

Hanayo removed herself from the wall and turned, her cellphone in her hand. She waved it at the girl for a moment before shoving it away into her bag. "Ah! Umi! There you are!"

Umi ran up to the girl, before stopped just short of grabbing her in a hug. She stood there awkwardly on the balls of her feet for a moment. Hanayo smiled. Taking a deep breath and squeezing her eyes shut tight, Umi leaned in and kissed her on the lips. She didn't tremble.

"You're getting better, Umi!" Hanayo complimented her when the bluenette broke away.

"Heh heh...thanks...I'm trying, but it's hard."

"You can do it. You can't doubt yourself. Just thinking of it like it's your archery."

Umi smiled. "Come on. let's go inside."

"Okay!"

Umi and Hanayo, hand in hand, entered the stables from the back-door. The alpaca were preoccupied with their eating, and even though there were more than a few unpleasant smells radiating inside the stables, it really mattered very little to the pair, as all they could and would focus on was each other, nothing else. They cancelled out their surroundings with ease, just as Umi did whenever she truly focused on the arrow she was about to let fly. It wasn't Hanayo's assigned day for caring for the alpaca, and the school pets already had their hay moved around and their feeding trough filled. They ignored Umi and Hanayo as they sat down in a pile of fresh hay together. It crunched and crackled beneath their skirts.

"Why did you want to come here?" Hanayo asked.

Umi blushed. "Um...w-well...I'm not entirely sure...I guess it was just a need to see you..."

Hanayo grabbed Umi's arm. "You wanted to kiss me in private, right?" she asked.

"Uhhh..." Streaks of red graced Umi's ears and neck.

"I...I wanted to see you again too, but...Rin, maybe Maki, would probably get in the way, so...I'm kind of glad that you requested to meet in private..." Hanayo grinned sheepishly.

Umi returned a similar awkward grin, but she was soon leaning in to take Hanayo's lips in her own once more. The more times she did it, the more comfortable she grew, and the more she wanted it. Umi herself was shocked at how compelled she was to try and kiss Hanayo all the time, a far cry from her days being afraid of experiencing sexuality. Fortunately, the first-year wanted it just as much, if not more. Hanayo's fingers gently reached up and rubbed Umi's cheek as she moved herself into the kiss. One of the alpaca grunted, but it kept its back turned, almost as if it knew what was going on behind it. They kissed and kissed, soft and gentle, a feather's touch on her mouth. Umi was unwilling, or unable, to become more passionate in her make-out, even if she felt the passion nestled in her heart. Hanayo wasn't ready to experience that passion yet, but all the same, it was a mutual feeling between them that resonated with each and every sweet kiss. Umi felt a tongue run over the surface of her teeth; Hanayo liked to take an extra step now and then, but she never dared to go further.

"Hanayo, you really don't mind us...as a couple?" Umi was still a little embarrassed describing her and Hanayo's relationship as a 'couple' in spite of everything; she was gradually becoming accustomed, but it still felt rather foreign, the whole concept of love.

"Of course I don't. Umi, you helped me and cared about me in a way that not even Rin could." Hanayo assured her. "I don't know what it is you see in me, when I'm probably the most plain and average of the girls in Muse, or even this whole school..."

Umi sighed. "Maybe we both put ourselves down too much...?"

"Heh. Maybe."

"But, you really don't mind me being the 'extrovert' compared to Honoka or Kotori? Don't you remember when I nearly threw a fit watching a couple kiss in a movie?"

"I don't think you're as extroverted or socially awkward as you may think, Umi. You know how to kiss too. You do well."

"Th-Thanks..."

"You're far cuter than you may think too, Umi!"

"Ah! C-Come on now! Please...don't say that..."

Hanayo stroked Umi's cheek. Umi stared back at her girlfriend for a few moments, looking longingly into those violet eyes. 'Beautiful,' she thought.

Their next attempt to kiss was unfortunately cut short, as a familiar voice let out a cry.

"Umi! Hanayo! Is that you in there?"

Umi immediately snapped up to a standing position, and Hanayo pushed herself back onto her feet as well. Honoka was leaning over the rail next to the white alpaca, which Kotori was currently cuddling by rubbing her face into its fluff.

"Honoka? Kotori?" Umi had honestly thought they could hide out here and be alone; no one came down to the stables after the care session was done.

"I thought you might be here, but Kotori told me that it wasn't likely." Honoka flashed a grin. Kotori was too busy indulging in cuteness to provide her own comment.

Umi shook her head. "Did...did you see anything?"

"Nothing that we didn't already know." Honoka teased.

"Argh!"

Hanayo pat Umi's shoulder. "They do know we're a couple now, Umi. We weren't very good at excusing ourselves in the forest."

"Argh..." Umi buried her face in her hands.

"You two are a pretty cute couple. Almost kind of perfect for each other, you're both so shy, you can help each other out!"

Even Hanayo started to get flustered from that remark. Umi began trembling. She almost wished she had a bow and some arrows available right now.

"Honoka..."

"Kotori wanted to see the alpaca before heading home, but I told her that you two might be here! I really did! I was standing up for your love!"

"Honoka!" Umi started to march toward the orange-haired girl, her eyes briefly hidden behind the shadow of blue hair, and Honoka immediately backed off.

"Kotori, let's get out of here and leave these two alone!"

"Aw, but Honoka, the alpaca-"

"We can come back and see them tomorrow morning!"

"Huh?" Kotori looked over and saw Umi storming after them. "Oh, okay! Honoka, wait for me! Have a good night, Umi! See you tomorrow! Good-bye to you too, Hanayo!"

"Yeah, bye, Hanayo!" Honoka waved.

Hanayo dimly waved back as the two second-years ran for their lives, Umi stopping at the railing that stood between her and them. She ground her teeth for a little, but eventually, her senses returned to her.

"Umi?" Hanayo approached her girlfriend with a modicum of caution. Umi turned to face her, looking quite bashful now.

"...I'm sorry about that. I just can't stand that girl sometimes."

"Heh, but it's thanks to her that we even got the chance to become friends!" Hanayo pointed out.

Umi blinked. "That is right, isn't it?"

Hanayo kissed Umi long and hard, and the bluenette nearly let her knees give way.

"Let's return to where we were...i-if you want, Umi..."

Umi hugged the first-year. "I do."

Hanayo and Umi didn't know if they really were perfect for each other, but right now, in each other's arms, it was more than good enough for them.

Honoka and Kotori held hands as they walked away from the school.

"Honoka, that wasn't very nice, teasing Umi like that. You know how she has her anger issues."

"I know, but!" Honoka leaned and kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. "After your mom proved so accepting of our relationship, I couldn't help but feel a little happy! Oh, we probably should have told Umi about that, shouldn't we?"

Kotori giggled. She kissed Honoka back, but this time on the lips. "We can tell her tomorrow. Oh, you're so adorable, Honoka!"

"Heh heh heh...!"

"Not as adorable as an alpaca, but still!"

"H-Hey!"