#honotsuba

“Honoka! Can you get those boxes out to the backstage?! We need them there!”

“On it! Can anyone help me with these?!”

“Lily White’s on stage, and Hanayo and Kotori are busy with our outfits! Find someone else!”

Honoka stared at the stack of plastic bins filled to the brim with props needed for Bibi’s turn on the stage. The tower of boxes was intimidating, but she would not let her friends down. Filled with a newfound determination, she leaned down, took a deep breath, and lifted the box from its sides. The box was heavy, but just the thought of all those loyal fans out there experiencing the best μ's could give out was worth the strain on her arms. The box sure was heavy though, and there were at least five more of them. Some extra hands would sure be-

“Ara, Honoka-chan. Do you need help with that?”

Honoka stopped and looked back. She had passed Anju, who was drinking from her water bottle and refreshing herself before her next song. How could she have forgotten?! The sole reason Honoka was so pumped for this live was because they would be sharing the stage with A-RISE! They would even end it with a mashup that Maki and Anju had managed to come up with, despite the different tones the two school idol groups went for.

“Y-Yes! I’d be in your debt!” Honoka nodded quickly. “There are more of these boxes right outside our changing room.”

“Okay, Honoka-chan! I’ll think of something you could do later, now I’ll get Tsubasa and Erena to help.”

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“You set us up for this?” Erena was always willing to lend a hand for live prep, but the sheer amount of boxes baffled her. μ's had three times their members, yet they could only spare one? And for some reason, Honoka’s “five or so boxes” had at least doubled in quantity.

“We need to make this live a success. Especially this one!”

“Anju’s right. We shouldn’t leave a bad impression on these girls now that we’re working together,” Tsubasa agreed and went in for the first box. Holding it tight from its sides, she pulled up. The other two simply stared in both amusement and surprise when their leader could only muster a grunt and not make the box move a single inch.

By the third attempt, Anju and Erena bursted out laughing, much to Tsubasa’s embarrassment.

“What’s wrong, Tsubasa-chan? Is the plastic tupperware too much for you?” Anju did her best to fight back her laughter to throw a jab at her friend.

“Come on, don’t be mean to her. You know her petite build can only lift so much.” The cool facade Erena always put on was now long gone as she laughed hard.

“Well, I don’t see you two trying!” Tsubasa protested and stepped aside to let the other two try to lift them.

“Don’t be so upset, dear. We’re just teasing you.” Anju’s apology lost most of its credit when she patted Tsubasa’s head. Letting out a deep breath to calm herself, Anju leaned down, took hold of the box, and… grunted as she tried to pick up the box.

“Ha. Ha.”  Tsubasa mocked Anju as she tried and tried in vain to pick up the box.

“Let me give it a try,” Erena spoke up and went for another box. Securing her grip, Erena pulled up, and after letting out a strained voice she managed to pick it up. “This is… kinda heavy.”

“And you said you saw Honoka-san running with these?” Tsubasa found it hard to believe. Taking one of the sides of the box Anju was trying to lift, both girls pulled up at the same time and managed to lift it.

“Yes, she was-”

“Coming through!” Honoka came running and quickly and effortlessly picked up another of the plastic boxes. Once lifted, she was jogging in place and smiled to the trio. “Thanks a bunch! I really owe you guys!” With her quick thanks out of the way, Honoka sped through the halls of the backstage once again.

“Uh, wow,” was the only thing that Erena could say as she just saw Honoka run as if she was carrying nothing.

“Y-Yeah, uh, ‘wow’ sure is a word I’d use,” Tsubasa stuttered as she kept looking at Honoka in the distance. Had her arms always been that toned?

Anju smiled mischievously as she saw Tsubasa’s face get progressively redder and sweatier, and it was not because of the heavy box they were holding.

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“So, buff arms?” Anju inquired.

“Shut up,” Tsubasa mumbled as she looked away and tried to cover her face. She cursed that they had to sit down and wait for μ's to finish their next few songs as they were up next.

“Hey, Tsubasa,” Erena called out and pointed at the screen. “You know this song?”

“Yeah, it’s Wild Stars, what of it-?” The moment Tsubasa looked up at the screen in their waiting room broadcasting the stage, Honoka was the focus of the camera as she was pulling one of her arms back and clearly showing her well defined bicep. 

Tsubasa wanted to scream.

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“That was a great performance, congratulations.” Tsubasa extended her hand for a handshake but was taken aback when Honoka instead went in for a hug. It took her a moment, but Tsubasa embraced her back.

“You guys were amazing too! And your new song was so good! Nico wouldn’t stop talking about it, too.” Honoka let go but held on to Tsubasa’s hands as the excitable school idol bounced up and down.

“I’m glad you liked it. I mean, that you guys liked it.”

“Hey, Honoka-chan.” Anju tapped on Honoka’s shoulder. “Remember you said you’d do something in return for helping with those boxes~?”

“Wait, you did?” That was the first time Tsubasa heard of this. As far as she knew, they were only helping to make sure things ran smoothly.

“Oh, yeah! I did do that! What do you want me to do?”

“Pick her up. Like a princess,” Anju requested with a coy smile.

“Wait, what-”

“I can do that!” 

Before Tsubasa could react, Honoka put an arm behind her back and one behind her knees and in one swift movement lifted Tsubasa, who could only let out a yelp. The petite brunette held on to Honoka as if her life depended on it, inadvertently placing the palm of her hand right on Honoka’s arm. Suddenly, Tsubasa became much more aware of all of the bodily contact she was having with Honoka, and her face lit up with a bright red blush. She wanted to cover it, but the best she could do was press her face on Honoka’s shoulder, which only embarrassed her more.

“Everything okay?” Honoka asked, worrying about how stiff Tsubasa suddenly got. “Do you not like getting picked up?”

“Oh no, she’s loving it,” Erena chimed in and joined Anju’s shit-eating-smirks club.

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