Nico had to tilt her head all the way back to see the top of the building, squinting her eyes against the bright sunlight reflecting off the surface. She felt dizzy, seeing the tower stretch into the sky. Bringing her gaze back down before she fell over, she turned her attention to the screen hanging above the school's entrance. Three girls twirled around and sang, smiling widely as the TV projected their performance to the crowd gathered below. Nico crossed her arms, analyzing every second of it. They were a new group, this A-Rise, and as president of the just founded Idol Research club, it was Nico's duty to check them out.

Not bad, Nico finally decided when the dance ended and the screen went black. Not as good as her own idol group was going to be, once she managed to pull one together, but they definitely had potential. She looked forward to seeing them progress.

"What'cha doing there, Nicochi?"

Nico jumped, nearly knocking her head against the windowsill as Nozomi came up behind her. She glared at the grinning girl, motioning for her to crouch beside her.

"Get down, you idiot! They're going to see us!"

Nozomi chuckled, but she did comply, and Nico breathed a sigh of relief. She poked her head up and took a quick glance inside the music room. Good. They had gone unnoticed.

Maki was sitting at the piano, as usual, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. Nico couldn't see her expression, but by her tense shoulders and stiff legs, it was clear that Maki was nervous. And who wouldn't be, faced with Kira Tsubasa herself? Tsubasa was leaning against the piano, green eyes bright and a smirk playing on her lips. It was impossible to hear what they were saying.

Nico gritted her teeth, trying to push away the jealousy bubbling up inside her. Why did Tsubasa choose to talk to Maki of all people? Nico knew more about idols, had been watching A-Rise since the beginning; it wasn't fair. What did she have to do?

"Are you quitting already?" Nozomi looked serious, for once, looking at Nico as if she knew her every thought. "It's all up to you."

"…I know that." Nico turned away, sitting back on her heels. "But there's nothing I can do."

"Ah, so you don't really want it."

"I didn't say that."

"But just throwing in the towel on life counts as retreating, doesn't it?"

"… Yeah, I guess. What am I supposed to do, though? Do you have any actual suggestions or are you just going to keep talking weirdly?"

Nozomi grinned at the comment and Nico rolled her eyes. Why were all of her friends so weird?

"Life has to have a bit of courage and passion," Nozomi said, and you nodded along absentmindedly to what sounded like old wisdom. "Being some saintly girl isn't your thing, you know?"

"What?" Nico frowned at Nozomi. She wasn't wrong, really, but that was an odd phrase. An odd phrase that sounded very familiar, and Nico held back a groan as she realized what Nozomi was doing. "You've just been quoting A-Rise's lyrics this whole time, haven't you?"

Nozomi winked. "Hey, get a hold of justice and be sly."

"That doesn't even make sense."

UTX hadn't gotten any shorter since Nico was a first year, staring up at the huge building in awe, but this time she paid it no attention. She wasn't here to gawk or be impressed. It didn't seem anywhere near as tall, now that she had been to the top. The screen above the doors was black as she marched inside.

The lobby was quiet, only a few students milling about. They glanced at Nico, taking in her Otonoki uniform with raised eyebrows and murmured words. Nico didn't pay them any attention either. The ID scanners in front of her were a bigger problem. Damn this fancy school.

What if she just… jumped over them? Probably not the best thing for her reputation, but all the UTX students around already thought she was weird for showing up in the first place, so did it really matter? Nico shrugged and slid across the top of one of the machines, landing neatly on the other side. When an alarm didn't go off, she flashed a smile and a wink at a dumbfounded group of girls and headed towards the elevator.

It was a long ride up to the lounge in the cafeteria, and it gave Nico plenty of time to think. Too much time to think, she realized, as doubt started to creep up on her. She had been crushing on Tsubasa from the moment she first saw her, three years ago. It had started with her smile, then grew stronger as Nico saw the determination and passion behind it.

Nozomi had mentioned passion earlier; passion and courage. Nico had plenty of passion in her life, for idols and her friends and her family. Tsubasa's passion shown in her singing and dedication. Idols didn't rise to the top unless they were overflowing with the stuff.

Now it was time for courage. Nico didn't know how Tsubasa felt – barely knew her at all, really, if she was being honest, but wasn't that what dates were for? – but now was not the time to lose courage. She had to push forward, one way or another, and find that answer.

The elevator slowed to a stop, dinging as the doors opened, and Nico took a deep breath. A-Rise was easy to find, sitting in the same booth as that time when they first meet. The three girls looked up as Nico entered, sharing a confused glance between themselves. Tsubasa stood up to greet her, and Nico tried to calm her pounding heart.

"Nico-san, it's good to see you. Did you need something? We weren't expecting you…"

Better to just say it outright, wasn't it? No need to bat around the bush. Nico straightened her back and looked Tsubasa straight in the eyes.

"Kira Tsubasa, will you go out with me?"

"You've been watching that girl quite a bit, don't you think?"

Tsubasa looked up as Anju and Erena entered the room, closing her laptop and shutting off the performance.

"What can I say, she's interesting."

"I think this goes beyond simple interest." Erena sat down on the couch next to Tsubasa, opening the laptop back up to reveal the recording of Muse's 1, 2, Jump PV. Yazawa Nico was smiling brightly as the center, singing her heart out. Tsubasa had watched the video dozens of times, but still couldn't help but stare, even as Anju sat down on her other side.

"I seems our dear leader has a bit of crush, doesn't it, Erena?"

"It definitely does seem that way, yes."

"You two are being ridiculous. I'm just watching the video as reference for the preliminaries coming up."

Erena and Anju shared looks over Tsubasa's head.

"Of course you are."

Tsubasa smiled. A weight seemed to lift itself off her shoulders, one she never knew was there. Nico was still staring at her, brow slightly furrowed in determination, but Tsubasa could see the slight tremble in her clenched hands. How much courage had it taken to come all the way here, with no idea of the outcome? Tsubasa couldn't help but admire it. She admired a lot of things about Nico. Her character, her willpower, her knowledge, her idol skills – Yazawa Nico was truly an incredible person. So while the question posed to her was a surprise, Tsubasa knew exactly how to respond.

"I would love that."

Tsubasa would never forget the beautiful smile that blossomed on Nico's face.