Who exactly was that woman? She just waltzed right in and decided things for us…

Oh, didn't I tell you? Kaoruko is the founder of the School Idol Festival.

What?! Really?!

Oh, but I don't think she was involved in the School Idol Festival I became obsessed with a short time ago. Isn't that right?

Yes. We took over the reins for that event.

But she was the one who first thought of such an amazing festival, so I'm sure she's gonna make this next event happen for real, too.

Hmm, interesting. But I'm gonna pass.

What? Why?! You've just gotta be in this, Mia-chi! Let's compete!

Hey, get off me… I want to build up a little more base strength so that I can give a passable performance.

Even if I can do anything I put my mind to, there's a bare minimum requirement that should be met. At least there is for me, anyway.

That's a shame. I think Rinari's gonna be bummed out about it too.

Ack… Don't bring Rina into this…

Judging from this conversation, Karin and Ai, you two sound like you're gonna sign up for the school auditions.

Of course!

What about you, Shioriko? Hey, are you even paying attention? Shioriko!

S-Sorry. My mind was elsewhere…

You'll be in the school auditions too, right, Shioriko?

No, I decline. When my sister's involved, I get the feeling that I'll get caught up in excess dramatics.

Huh? Your sister? Wait, you have the same last name—

You two are sisters?!

[Fade in/out.]

Whoa, I'm in total shock that Shio-ti and Miss K are sisters. I'm gonna message everyone about it later.

Come to think of it, when I invited Shioriko to come out on stage during the School Idol Festival encore, she mentioned something about her sister.

I wonder if that had anything to do with the way Shio-ti didn't like school idols at first…

That's possible.

But Shio-ti's totally part of the school idol gang now, so maybe… I dunno, maybe she's over it?

You might be oversimplifying things… But let's agree not to broach the subject unless she brings it up herself.

Of course, if she seems really bothered by it, we'll get as involved as we can then.

Roger that!

All right, let's change the subject. Aren't you super pumped about Miss K's event where people can put all their passion into school idols?!

The school auditions have me fired up as well.

At the last joint event, I worked harder than I ever had before and saw some pretty good results. But I still didn't get anywhere near Setsu's or Lanzhu's level.

To be honest, I'm disheartened. That's why I really want to win this time, no matter what. I want to win and see what the view is like from the top.

Same here. I learned a big lesson from that joint event, so I want to win next time.

That's easier said than done, though. There's Setsuna and Lanzhu, but we also have many other formidable rivals.

It's going to be a tough competition. We'll have to see how much we can improve our performances…

Actually, I've come up with a secret plan to beat everyone else. Do you wanna hear it?

Oh, how kind of you to tell your rival of your secret plan.

Do you wanna temporarily team up with me?

What?

I wanna try competing together with you, Karin.

Wait. Aren't we competing solo? Even if I agreed to team up, it'll just go exactly as it did before. We'll try to stay out of each other's way so much that it gets awkward.

I'm not gonna stay out of your way.

You and I are gonna duel it out on stage. And we'll show everyone our competition. What do you think? Doesn't it sound like fun?

We'll compete together on stage… So you're saying that we won't have to worry about matching each other, then?

Exactly. We'll make a song where both of us can go head-to-head with our best performances, and you and I will battle it out.

We both hate to lose, to a fault, right? So if we're up against each other on stage, we'll give really intense performances since we want to win so badly.

I think under those circumstances, we'll bring out more power in each other than ever before. What do you say?

*Giggle* We're going to take our rivalry all the way to up on stage? It sounds interesting.

*Giggle* Awesome, that settles it. Let's do this, Karin!

The only problem is the song. What's a song where both of us can clash?

Let's go and ask!

[Fade in/out.]

Ahahahaha! What a crazy idea! I love it, it sounds fun.

But are you sure you want me to write it? Isn't the little baby better suited, since she knows your strengths and all?

Nuh-uh. We want you to write it. You're our Association buddy, and we want you to play a part in the school auditions.

And besides, don't you think you've gotten to know us pretty well by now, Mia-chi?

We're always practicing and having lunch together… And ever since you became friends with Rina, it's like she took out your fangs and tamed you.

Do you hear yourself?

But we're gonna need you to sharpen those fangs again. We want you to write a song where the two of us can battle it out with our best performances.

You sure don't mince your words. Did you say it was a battle on stage? I'll join you guys up there too, as a songwriter.

I challenge you two to sing my song well!