Honoka and friends form a school idol group to entice more students to attend. When pointed out their group could have the opposite of their desired effect, Honoka becomes dispirited.

µ's grows to nine members with the addition of Eli and Nozomi. The group's School Idol ranking is rising to 50th, but they must reach 20th place to participate in Love Live! They must take drastic measures to reach their goal.

Honoka quits being a School Idol after she failed to realize Kotori was suffering. µ's goes on hiatus, and Honoka is left without a goal. Honoka arranges for Umi to meet her, and tells her how she really feels.

The Love Live regional preliminaries are just before the girls. Because the group is free to choose any location for their performance, Honoka suggests they perform at school, but Nico and Hanayo insist they cannot win unless they choose a location with greater impact.