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dreaming-gamer · 4 years

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DMC week Day 1: Weapon – V & Nico

Gen, no shipping.

Warning: Angst towards the end.

V had never expected such an atmosphere, but there was something tranquil about being able to sit on the couch in Nico’s RV, just quietly reading the pages of his beloved anthology for perhaps the hundredth time. A soft purr rumbled against his sandal-clad feet. It was usually harder to tell his feline companion’s feelings, compared to Griffon, but at the moment, Shadow seemed perfectly content with a nap, as well as keeping V off his feet for a bit.

The summoner couldn’t deny the recent days of fighting was starting to leave an aching strain in his muscles. This moment of rest might be short, there were still many demons about after all but until Nero returned, they could only wait in this safe spot that Nico had parked in.

Speaking of the self-proclaimed Queen of machines, she was currently happily tinkering away at the latest piece of demon parts V had salvaged for her and V could admit it was a relaxing sound to hear in the background. Gears being twisted, her small exclamations of discovery, the clink of tools and metal meeting. Her work left a smell of oil in the air, but it was not unpleasant compared to the stench of demon blood and guts he had gotten so utterly used to by now.

“Oh-hee! I am a genius!”

The sudden shout was louder than most of her exclamations during the last hour and made Shadow lift her head. V kept his gaze on the book, just as fast footsteps thundered his way.

Making a mental note of which page he was on, V raised his gaze but had no time to ask what she had now figured out before she let out a huff.

“What, Nero’s not back yet?” Nico’s hand went for her tool belt, found the package and pulled out a cigarette for herself.

“It would appear not.” V agreed matter-of-factly, softly closing his book. “Did you need him for something?”

The grin that grew on Nico’s face matched a cat that just got a bowl of cream, she grinned all around the cigarette as she took a drag.

“That thing ya brought back resulted in something real special. Wanna have a peek? Free of charge!”

V felt a smirk tug at his lips.

“Well, if you are being so generous…”

Shadow moved just enough for her master to get up properly, using his cane for a bit of support to rise. Making his way through the small space of the RV, the sight that greeted him at the artisan’s workbench was certainly… odd. The design was quite unlike any of the earlier Devil Bringers she had made and V had found the Pasta Breaker an interesting enough design choice. This Devil Bringer didn’t look like a hand even.

This object was blue, didn’t resemble an arm at all really, though V could see where it was supposed to attach.

“I call it the Mega Buster!” Nico proudly declared, just as the soft ruffle of wings left V’s tattoos.

“Oh yeah, what does it even do? I don’t know if you noticed but it’s not even a hand!” Griffon snickered, setting himself down on one of the cupboards.

“That’s because this one shoots. Maybe ya wanna be target practice, little chickee?” The artisan replied, lowering her voice.

“I had enough of those damn blasts fighting the thing! You could thank me!” Griffon exclaimed, his feathers ruffled so he took to disappearing into his host but V couldn’t help smirking a bit at the exchange. He knew his familiar had not forgotten the threat of the steel pot. As for the battle itself, V did not miss those energy blasts either, the lower hem of his leather coat was singed off. If Nero could harness that power, well, wouldn’t that be useful? The showing of her recent creation sparked a question he had been wanting to ask for a while.

“If you do not mind me asking…” V started as Nico took another drag of her cigarette. “...how did you come up with the idea for these Devil Bringers?” V was genuinely curious, Nero’s case was certainly special, considering how one of his arms had been lost. But V had never heard of a prosthetic limb being built with such potential for combat. Boisterous she might be, but Nico did have quite a knack for the mechanical, that he could not deny.

Nico snorted, letting out a laugh.

“Yeah, that’s a fun story alright. So Nero came wobblin’ back to Fortuna right, demanded I’d fix an arm for him. Sure, I was onboard, but then the psycho dropped a one-month deadline! Hell, he didn’t get that something like that would take half a year at least!”

V nodded, letting her continue while swatting away the cloud of smoke she blew out in his direction. Either she didn’t think about diverting the smoke, or she just did not care. The RV was her castle, after all.

“So we stood there arguing about it, when there was this guy who barged in and told Nero there was demon trouble! I told the jackass to get in, ya could tell from his face he wasn’t skipping that fight.” Nico grinned, exhaling a small cloud through her nostrils. “Damn, never seen a fight like that up close. The demon was called a Blitz or whatever. That didn’t matter though. What mattered was the way its remains were all sparky after Nero turned it to shish kebab. And that’s when yours truly got the idea for the Overture.” She stated, a proud glint evident in her brown eyes, smoke dancing around her grin.

“An impressive feat, for such a short amount of time.” V nodded as her story appeared finished.

“I know, right? So, you want me to have a lookie at what ya got? Maybe I can give ya an upgrade since Nero’s new toy’s all done.”

Before V had time to consider her offer, the mechanic snatched the cane from his light grip. V let her even though the gesture was quite rude, he felt a bit of… curiosity. Along with no small amount of doubt, considering the cane’s origins as well as well as other factors. Yet a bit of curiosity if her self-proclaimed, and quite proven genius, could find out anything about the cane that he had missed. He stayed silent as she examined his cane, just curiously watching while leaning lightly against the counter while she tapped the cane with a tool. Turned it over from every angle and checked it, even brought it close to some slivers of demonic remains to check for a reaction. There was a tiny spark as she brought the cane down on it and then, the small piece of demon flesh disintegrated.

“Metal seems good for conducting demonic energy. But is that all it does?” She sounded a bit disappointed at the lack of findings.

“It lets me finish off demons, as long as they’re weakened. I believe that will have to do.” V didn’t really have any other expectations of it, at this point.

“Oh, wait, maybe I can make some kinda coating on it? Let’s ya cut through demons more easily.” V could almost see the gears in her head starting to work, the spark of inspiration coming to life.

Admittedly, it didn’t sound like an impossible idea. But…

“I thought you used up today’s materials.” V stated, his gaze falling on the slivers of demonic remains that now looked like nothing but grains of what had once been.

“So what if I did? There’s still demons roaming about out there. Oh-hee, Nero might even bring something back!” Excitement was alight in her eyes as she took out her cigarette, put out what was left of it against an ashtray on the counter before handing back V’s aid.

V took the cane, leaned on it slightly, finding the inspiration that seemed to hit her at the mere thought of more work to be quite interesting. She clearly lived for this, just as she had claimed she wanted to be legendary like her grandmother.

“You just might become that…” He said in thought, slightly to himself.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, pardon me.” V smirked and she just raised an eyebrow before grabbing for another cigarette.

”Just ya wait, I can equip ya with something better for kicking demon ass. Or maybe ya want a nice frying pan, for when the lil’ chickee gets too much?” Nico snickered, her grin almost sympathetic. V smirked, maybe she could come up with something brilliant for him as well. But for now, it was much better if she concentrated those efforts on Nero.

”I appreciate the offer. But I believe I’m properly equipped, for now.” V knew his reality did not include running around with a sword on his back, swinging it around was not in his cards. A gun might be another thing but he felt no need to start wielding one now. He had to resort to other means, his familiars. Shadow materialized herself, as if on cue and put her large head against his leg, pushing softly.

Ah, he had not noticed how he was starting to lean just a bit more heavily on the cane, an ache returning to his knee, making the nerves tremble.

“If you excuse me, I have some reading to do.” He said, warmed by his familiar’s silent insistence. If he had an opportunity to rest, he should make use of it. Nico didn’t seem to notice his trembling, nor his familiar’s… caring behavior.

“Pff, sure. But the offer stands, ya hear? How about a cane that suits yer height?” Nico joked, walking past him as V sat down on the couch again.

“It’s not necessary.” A joke it might be, but V nevertheless felt a warm feeling in his chest over her insistence to try. Along with a slight… ache, wrapping around his heart and squeezing.

An ache that persisted when Nico suddenly dropped a blanket in his lap.

V looked up, letting just a bit of his confusion show on his face.

“What? Ya looked chilled, trembling like that.” Nico said with a shrug. “Ya gotta speak up sometime, I can’t read minds. Well, yet.”

How utterly terrifying it would be if you could. V thought.

“Thank you.” He said. “For the… insight of your genius, as well.” Nico grinned at him, obviously pleased.

“Ya might gonna have to pay for it next time!”

“Perhaps…” She made it sound so very… certain, it was tempting to get swept up in the enthusiasm. V’s smirk fell as she continued on to the dashboard, her back to him.

“Is that jackass gonna take forever?! I wanna see him put this to use! And give me the cash.” The last bit was barely audible as Nico grabbed for the phone to dial.

V smirked to himself. Yes, Nero would be able to put Nico’s latest, as well as future weapons to good use. The summoner gently scratched behind Shadow’s ear as the panther settled over his feet again. Slowly, he pulled the blanket around his shoulders and bare arms, his trembling might not be because of a chill, but Nico’s gesture still made him feel warm, more so than the soft fabric that smelled lightly of detergent. And with it, that ache inside just seemed to grow, to squeeze tighter but he tried to shove it aside. Nico’s energetic speech as she chewed out Nero on the phone made that feeling of tranquility settle over him again along with a will to just enjoy these moments, while they lasted. So V opened up his book again, to the same page he had left earlier, while she chatted away.

Just under the leather bands on his left wrist, a tiny crack in his skin peeked through.

#dmcweek2020 #dmcweek #weapon #devil may cry fanfiction #day 1 #devil may cry v #devil may cry nico #my writing #fluff #angst

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toonstarterz · 6 years

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BECAUSE I’M NOT POPULAR, I’LL READ WATAMOTE: CHAPTER #137

Once upon a time, there was a girl. An unpopular girl. That nobody knew, nobody cared. She strived to be popular. To have dozens of friends and live the life of a socially fulfilled high school girl. After much time and effort, she had finally succeeded in her goal. She got friends. She got popular. She became normal.

But it wasn’t everything she hoped it would be.

And so Golden Week came around. She made plans with her new friends. And the popular girl can’t help but wonder...

“Is this really what I want?”

Chapter 137: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Prepare for Golden Week

Okada: “Is my forehead that big?”

Katou: I wonder if Kuroki-san is doing anything after this...?

Tomoko: “Man, I’m tired.”

Komiyama: [ Exactly what it says. ]

Y'all know the drill by now. Tomoko expects the least, ends up getting the most.

Katou is honestly a very difficult character to get right in this kind of manga. For a series as excruciatingly real as this, a beautiful, popular girl like Katou could easily come off as “unrealistic” or an “otaku’s fantasy” with the way she reaches out to Tomoko. But Nico Tanigawa manages to keep Katou within the realm of believability, and I think it’s because she treats everyone with motherly kindness. It’s her natural instinct, so it doesn’t seem forced in the slightest.

Yeah, buzz off, Kiyota! You’ve already exceeded this manga’s male quota for the next ten chapters.

It sure is swell that Tomoko’s friendship with Yuri has grown enough that even people outside of the loop can see how joined-at-the-hip they’ve become.

I’m getting flashbacks of the KBBQ dinner right now. Someone invites Tomoko, she invites Yuri, Yuri gives a double negative response, etc. What gal pals.

Again, more KBBQ flashbacks, only with a twist. At the party, Yuri took the affected role, stating that her decision to go would be based on whether Tomoko would. But now, the roles have switched with Yuri suggesting that Tomoko wouldn’t go if she wasn’t there with her. I don’t like where this is going...

Mako is totally the type to keep track of how she divides the time between her friends, always balancing a bail with a hangout. Such are the difficulties of being the “nucleus” friend.

For better or worse, Yuri‘s been taking Mako’s “rejections” in stride lately. Better, because that means she’s no longer unhealthily dependent on her best friend. Worse, because that could means she projected her attachment issues onto Tomoko and Yoshida. Have her insecurities been dissolved, or have they just been spread wider across their little quartet?

Mako and Yoshida talking when the others aren’t around is total friendship-baiting and I’m behind it 100%.

The ultimate tug-of-war between a mom who knows their daughter’s faults and a daughter who’s too stubborn to heed her mother’s concerns.

Sorry, Yuri dear, but at that, I’mma callin’ shenanigans.

It should be fairly obvious by now that Yuri is becoming dangerously co-dependent on her relationship with Tomoko. It’s not so much that Tomoko needs Yuri with her, but that Yuri needs to feel that she’s invaluable to Tomoko so that she herself can be validated. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy that can only get worse since Tomoko and Yuri are going in opposite directions, with the former becoming more self-assured, and the latter becoming more reliant.

Katou rolling her sleeves up inexplicably raises her “mom” appeal three-fold.

For those who don’t know, this the same joke that happened when Tomoko peeked at Ucchi during the sports festival. Only eating rice is suggestive of just having done something exhausting, usually perverted in nature. Oh, that Nemo.

Still, it’s telling that Nemo actually made that joke and got shot down by Tomoko right in front of the others. Their bantering is usually kept just between them, but doing it within earshot could lead to some pretty tense situations if the others jump in.

That’s quite the unique face Yuri’s making. Not exactly anger or resentment, but there’s something negative about her expression. My best guess is exasperation, but low-key, as only Yuri could. And I hate to say it, but it’s pretty hypocritical of Yuri to get all bent out of shape about Katou’s smothering, when she herself came just to “support” Tomoko.

This might seem innocuous at first, it really speaks to Yuri’s non-indulgent behavior when receiving attention from others, as is very common of introverts. Just like how Tomoko chose something moderate when Okada treated her.

The whole exchange here is incredibly awkward, but it comes off more sincerely than it is cringeworthy. The kind of awkward that makes you facepalm is the result of knowing that the whole thing could’ve been avoided, or at least done better. Okada’s apology and Yuri’s dismissive forgiveness really couldn’t be handled differently, so while there’s this unspoken barrier between them, we can get behind it because you can tell Okada and Yuri are doing their best to clear the air.

Food porn.

Is it embarrassing? Yes. Is Tomoko going to do anything about it? Nah, she’s going to milk Katou’s motherliness for all she’s worth.

And let’s be real-Can you really blame her?

This whole “normie” business didn’t make a whole lotta sense to me when I first read it, but by comparing it to another label used in the West, I was able to make a connection.

Back in the day, the word “nerd” was a derogatory term, used to insult people who were into comics, video games, anime, etc. But by the turn of the last decade or so, this idea of a nerd became antiquated when people realized that the things that nerds were once ridiculed for were actually entertaining in their own right. The standard of being a nerd dropped to the point where mildly enjoying pop culture was enough to make you a nerd. And thus, when everyone became a nerd, nobody was. And the nerd became an identity that only the most hardcore of nerds could adopt.

I never realized until now just how much social stock Tomoko has put into having a boyfriend. You’d think that after her perceptions of the “normies” evolved, she’d understand that having a boyfriend or having a romantic relationship, in general, isn’t as valuable as society makes it out to be.

Now the whole “hanging out at the cafe” thing being normie...maybe.

Quickly researches the reputation of Aoyama Academy.

Oh. So like, Stanford or Princeton. Dream on, Tomoko.

Dat tiny smile on Yuri is too precious.

One thing that I’ve always wanted to see more of is Tomoko’s sense of humor at work. She doesn’t do it often, but the few times when she casually jokes around are met with positive reception, most notably with Yuri. While the readers are more used to Tomoko’s raunchy, crude humor, Tomoko can also play up the “I’m an idiot”-type humor. And it works especially with Yuri and Nemo, who can tell when she’s half-bullshitting them.

A rare moment of genuine playfulness between Tomoko and Nemo.

Of course, because Tomoko actually is an idiot at times, it can be hard to tell when she being actually stupid, or being fake-stupid for the laughs.

Mama Katou doesn’t know this yet, so naturally, she has to protect her daughter from the mean bullies. Her dialogue here could easily come off as confrontational if it were spoken by anyone else, but as we’ve seen before, Katou is more of the “quiet rage” kind of girl.

Yeah, I saw the video of Cristiano Ronaldo defending the Japanese boy from the audience. Referential humor tends to be hit-or-miss, depending on whether the joke is sustainable without it. In this case, it’s the kind that can be lost in a few years time. So despite being a piece of common entertainment knowledge in Japan, once in while for the series is just enough to keep it fresh.

I must admit, I used to think that Katou was a replacement character for Imae after she left. But now that we’ve had time to get to know her, I see that that’s not really the case at all.

Sure, Katou is caring and sweet like Imae, but what sets Katou apart from her besides her “mommy-ness” is her naivety. Katou has all the tenderness and effort of a guardian, but she lacks the sensibility...somewhat. But that bit of cluelessness is essential to rounding out her character, enough so that even this stylish riajuu can play the outcast in times like this.

Damn, girl. It’s one thing to view Tomoko as a good person. It’s another thing to see her as some societal paragon. Now I’m kind of hoping she doesn’t get corrupted by the Tomoko virus.

Even though this is being played for laughs, it does key into an actual strength of Tomoko’s that none of the others have. That being, her extreme candidness. Tomoko, frankly, sucks at pretending to be someone she isn’t, but is incredibly impressionable when she's her unrestrained self. Yes, there’s a time and place for that kind of thing, but sometimes, an incestual eroge is exactly what you need to get your point across.

Precious Lil’ Bean and Jealous Lil’ Bean. Take your pick.

Yeah, yeah, Nemo getting in Tomoko’s face is nothing new. However, what is new is how Nemo dishes it out and how Tomoko takes it. Nemo usually glowers over the girl as if to assert dominance, but she’ll occasionally crouch down, like a cheetah ready to pounce. Tomoko always cowers a bit during Nemo’s provocations, shrinking down with caution. But here, Tomoko doesn’t waver. She stays upright, even looking down at Nemo for once despite being obviously flustered. Stand your ground, Tomoko. Stand. Your. Ground.

Low-key bitching followed by buddy-buddy invitation equals the politics of friendships.

Sweetie, the girl can’t even bother to use your own name. What do you think?

Normally, I’m not fond of this kind of storytelling where the author tacks on additional, never-before-seen events to a previously seen memory just to add plot tension. The only reason I let this slide is because, as is soon revealed, this memory is more for Yuri’s characterization than for story direction. Plus, it’s interesting to compare how close they are now as opposed to back then. You win this time, Nico Tanigawa.

Taking the easy route even in college, eh, Tomoko? I expect nothing less from you.

Taking the easy route even in college, eh, Yuri? I also expect nothing less from you.

Lazy Sisters Unite!

Promised, my ass.

You’re killing me, Yuri, making me call shenanigans on you twice in one chapter. But yes, twisting your friend’s words into a promise just to suit your needs, and then playing the victim card when said friend doesn’t keep their “promise” is a serious friendship offense. As much as we will all want to Yuri have beautiful, lovely friendships with these girls, it suddenly makes a whole lot of sense why Yuri didn’t have these friendships in the first place. My emotional spectrum is out of whack right now, unable to determine whether Yuri’s behavior is a regression in character or a reconstruction of one.

Bless Mako and her patience.

Oh god, Nemo’s Yandere Stare is spreading.

Hmm, the extra text on Yuri’s date is ripe for some overanalyzing. My first instinct is to say that writing more of a description is indicative of Tomoko actually caring more about spending time with Yuri than she does with Nemo and Katou. But then again, it could just very well be that Tomoko didn’t want to be redundant and write the same thing over three times.

Whatever the reason, at least she managed to write out Yuri’s last name. I might have died if she just drew a face with pigtails.

This has always been one Tomoko’s key developments, realizing that being a normie or popular doesn’t give you a pass in life. Everyone has their own shit to deal with no matter how (un)popular you are, and now that Tomoko has gotten a taste of that, the next step for Tomoko’s personal journey could be one of self-actualization:

Stay where you are and possibly lose your roots, or go back to where you came from and potentially lose what you gained?

Exact-a-mundo. A lot of people have criticized this manga for turning Tomoko into a normie and betraying who she was. But in my opinion, Tomoko is not a normie. Such a self-deprecating label is more defined by one’s personality rather than their social network. Tomoko knows a lot of normies, but until she stylizes up her hair, disregards her hobbies and pulls a Nemo, she’ll always be our lovable mojyo.

On a final note, it’s easy to see Tomoko as the dense protagonist of harem manga right now, and yet, these punchlines regarding her “pursuits” seem to be much more effective if you look at Tomoko’s “harem” as just platonic and devoid of romantic subtext (whether or not it’s actually doing that is another story). Perhaps it’s because while Tomoko is oblivious to everyone’s jealousy, she actually has a great deal of agency that is not often seen in harem protags. The girls are so responsive to Tomoko’s actions, and thus, the emotional core of the Tomoko’s harem actually carries some well-earned weight.

Can we have more manga with a strong, platonic harem, please?

#watamote #watamote review #no matter how i look at it it's you guys' fault i'm not popular!#chapter 137 #tomoko kuroki #kotomi komiyama #asuka katou #akane okada #yuri tamura #mako tanaka #hina nemoto #review

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24hs · 7 years

Text

Pulling

pairings: nicomaki (hinted: rinpana, kotoeli, nozoumi)

raiting: T (a lil bit of cursing)

words: 8100+

summary: Maki never thought that she would meet her soulmate in a subway. She also never thought that - after they met each other - her soulmate had absolutely no idea that she was Maki’s soulmate.

» For what is known, the first Bonded – commonly called ’soulmates’ - appeared in the year 1XXX. As mysterious letters grew on their hands, palms or wrists at a very young age, they gained a lot of attention after scientists noticed a pattern in the syllables. Finding out that these built so-called Words with one or more person was a huge breakthrough for scientists all over the world and thus, the concept of the Bonded had been officially discovered.

The Words often tell one about the kind of relationship the Bonded have ; to use a popular example, earthquake could possibly mean that the Bonded may have to endure a lot of problems in their relationship.

In the age of social media, it has gotten a lot easier to meet your Bonding Partner. A great number of Internet users work with facebook, twitter, instagram or similar platforms to spread their Word and to search for their Bonding Partner. This is why the average age of finding one’s Bonding Partner dropped compared to a few decades ago. Now most people between 14 and 18 years find... «

Maki stopped reading. This wasn’t helpful in any way, every children was taught this in elementary school. If she wanted to look up theories about why or how the Words appeared for her biology class, she would have to dig further. She massaged her temples and closed her eyes for a second to relax, just to open them again, peeking at her right wrist. ’mag’, it said in pretty, cursive writing. Maki rubbed her wrist to make the pink color disappear, but like the one hundred times before, it didn’t work.

When she was a child, she always looked in excitement at her Word, wondering where her soulmate could be, imagining the words she could put together with her syllable.

When she became 13 years old, the excitement started to fade slowly, and at the age of 16, nothing was left. At this point, sensing that people her age were constantly staring at her arms, their gaze burning on her skin, it felt burdensome. It irritated her that everyone was trying to find their Bonding Partner just for the sake of it. Maki didn’t consider herself a romantic person, but damn, shouldn’t the journey be the reward? Or something like that.

She glanced at her computer clock. 06:38 PM. If she didn’t want to miss the train for her meeting with Nozomi, she had to go now. She stood up, sighing, and grabbed her bag. Before leaving the house, she made sure that her Word was covered by her jacket.

While putting her earphones in, Maki went through her favorite playlist. Tchaikovsky’s Lake in the Moonlight started playing, and she put her phone away. Looking for a pole to clasp so she wouldn’t fall, Maki tried to make her way through the crowded subway. Finally, she found a spot near to the now closing doors. As she stood still, trying to hold balance, a girl wearing pig tails and a pink cardigan bumped into her after squeezing her petite body through the already closing subway doors.

“Excuse me”, the girl, who didn’t sound sorry at all, muttered. Maki frowned. She watched her clinging to a near pole - she needed to stand on her toes to reach it. Maki’s mild irritation faded. Cute. Her eyes met hers for a second. Pink Cardigan’s eyes glowed in a strong shade of red and suddenly Maki felt pulled in her direction. Puzzled, she lowered her gaze.

What the hell was that?

Glazing at her shoes – the girl wore two different socks -, Maki waited for her station before she dared to lift her head again. Pink Cardigan picked up her phone, her sleeve slipping down to reveal ’netic’ in such a bright shade of red it hurt to look at it.

Maki’s fingers unconsciously found their way to her own wrist, shoving the fabric away. In this very moment, she didn’t care that she was standing in the subway, people all around her – widen eyed, Maki stared at her. Her mind went absolutely blank. The music’s volume, drumming in her ears, reached its peak.

Magnetic.

Maki vaguely noticed that the subway had stopped and people start pushing her away to make their way outside. She didn’t care about what she thought about before, she wanted to meet her now. She needed to. Her movements were hypnotized, her heart was mesmerized.

She desperately tried to reach out for her possible Bonding Partner. Hastily, she pushed the people in front of her away, her heart beating to her fingertips-

Lake in the Moonlight ended on a melancholic note, leaving silence to Maki’s ears.

She was too late. Her soulmate was gone.

She stood at the subway’s entrance hall, and even though there were hundreds of people surrounding her, she never felt more alone than right now.

“Nozomi!” Maki let out a curse under her breath after she bumped into the commode in Nozomi’s hall way. Carelessly, she threw her second keys in a corner and hastily hung up her jacket, ignoring Nozomi’s worried “Maki?”.

“You won’t believe what happened to me earlier in the subway!” She limped to the living room without noticing the person sitting next to Nozomi, who looked at her in confusion. “I was-” Maki swallowed the rest of the sentence when she finally saw her.

This couldn’t be. Her mind must be playing games with her, right? There was no way that this was-

“Hi”, Pink Cardigan smirked. “I’m Nico. Nice to meet you.”

Maki just stood there, unable to say anything along the lines of “There’s a high chance that you’re my Bonding Partner and maybe we should go on a date or just, you know, marry immediately” to a simple “Hey, what’s up?”. Instead, she pulled her jacket over her right wrist. The spark of hope she felt while seeing Nico’s Word was gone, now she only sensed the old, well-known vulnerability.

After a few moments passed - way too much moments for the whole thing to not become awkward -, Nico looked at Nozomi with a half looped smile. “Is she, like, deaf or something? Geez, you could have told me sooner-”

“No, no, she’s not”, Nozomi hurried up to say after realizing that Maki wouldn’t talk for herself.

“Yeah”, Maki spoke up, voice husky, “I’m-”

Nico - her possible soulmate, for fuck’s sake -, interrupted her. “Hey, I remember you!” She eyed Maki, whose ears grew red at the intense glaring. “I saw you in the subway! Caught her staring at me like she never saw a pretty girl before”, she said to Nozomi, who chuckled, her hand covering her mouth.

“I wasn’t- staring-”, Maki spluttered.

“Hah, you totally were-”

Nozomi had stopped giggling and gave Nico a warning look that made her shut. Maki took her loose hand gesture as a sign to sit down next to her. When they both stayed quiet – Nico relaxed, Maki tensed -, Nozomi cleared her throat.

“I’m glad that you’re here now, I want to ask you - and Nico - a favor. A rather big one.” She paused for a moment.

“But wait, you wanted to tell me something, right? Before I interrupted you.” Maki’s face went even redder at Nozomi’s polite description of her interrupting, which was just her silently gazing at Nico like a dead fish.

“I, uh… ”, she croaked, trying to think of something that wouldn’t reveal her silly tries to reach out for Nico, “I saw two guys having a fist fight in the subway, so… that’s what I wanted to tell you”, she finished flatly

Lying to her twisted Maki’s guts, but she really didn’t want to talk about this issue in front of- well, the issue. Then again, she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to talk about this anytime else.

“So, uh, what’s the favor?” Maki was never happier about changing the subject. Nozomi’s face lighted up. “You and Nico are one of my closest friends, and I cherish the bond between us deeply-”

“Get to the point, Tojo, I still have things to do”, Nico yawned, but grinned right after to express that she was only joking. Nozomi smirked. “Right. So what I want you to do is to help me with a project. Maki’s very good at composing”, she told Nico, who had put her chin in her hands and listened closely. Maki lost herself in eying Nico’s profile, followed the line of her jawline up to her lips and nose.

“And Nico here is a very skilled singer”, Nozomi continued, not noticing that Maki was spiritually absent. “Geez, stop, I’m already blushing”, Nico said although Maki couldn’t identify any sign of flattery in her face. Nozomi softly squeezed Nico’s knee to silent her again. Maki couldn’t help to notice that Nico’s legs were long and slender. She turned her head to Nozomi. Her moves felt mechanical.

“Anyway, what I’ve meant to say is”, Nozomi went on, “I want you to write a song together.”

The first thing that came to Maki’s mind was no. There was no chance she was going to do this.

“Not to doubt your opinion or anything, Nozomi, but how do I know she’s, you know, qualified?” Nico tilted her head in Maki’s direction. Maki could feel the same irritation that bubbled up in her chest on their very first meet rising up in her again.

“I’m very qualified, thank you very much”, she snapped at Nico, forgetting that she originally was ignoring her. Nico didn’t look very impressed.

“You’ll have to trust me”, Nozomi softly said

“What do you plan to do with a composed song, anyway?”

For now, Maki decided to keep overlooking Nico and hoping that she wouldn’t see her nervously fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

“Basically, it’s for Otonokizaka. Do you remember the whole school gathering for a meeting last week? In which Principal Minami said a few words about a festival?” - “Vaguely”, Nico hummed

Maki’s heart skipped a beat. Nico attended Otonokizaka? Her school? Nozomi misinterpreted Maki’s horrified expression for a confused one and explained:

“Nico and I are in the same year, but it’s no surprise you didn’t recognize her, she doesn’t participate in clubs and rarely studies, so she doesn’t get any awards she could be known for.”

“I deserve an award for dealing with you”, Nico growled, “why do you like to put me into a bad light in front of every new person I meet?” Nozomi smiled so innocently bright at her Nico flinched. “Alright, alright, let’s just move on. You were saying?”

It took all of Maki’s concentration to listen. Her mind spun and her head hurt from the chaos in it.

“So, Principal Minami planned to do a festival soon, mainly for middles choolers that are looking for a high school, but also to gain a bit money for the school’s budgets and stuff like that.”

“She said all of this?”, Nico frowned, visibly trying to recall. “No, but I’m in the student council, remember?”, Nozomi snickered. Nico scowled.

“So I would perform on a concert? With her song?” Nozomi hummed in agreement. “You don’t have to decide whether you want to do it right now as there’s still a lot of time”, she explained, looking at Maki, “just make sure to inform Eli when you have-”

“There’s no decision to make, were going to do it!”, Nico beamed and reached out to press Maki’s arm. Maki flinched at the sudden touch. She prayed for her head’s color to stay normal and not to turn into deep red. Nico jumped out of her chair.

"I gotta go now, I still need to go shopping for dinner”, she hugged Nozomi and then turned around to Maki. “I’ll text you later so we can set up a date for a first meeting, alright? Nozomi can give you my number.”

She winked at Maki - oh dear god - and then closed the door behind her. Maki felt like a tornado stormed through her life, wrecked everything and left after 15 minutes. Nozomi smiled at her and squeezed Maki’s hand.

“She’s something, huh?” Maki didn’t reply. “I know she seems a bit”, Nozomi searched for a fitting adjective, “fierce, but trust me, she’s a good person.” Maki nodded, not sure if her thoughts about Nico were appropriate for her friend to hear.

“Also, you don’t have to do all of this if you don’t want to. It probably feels like you don’t have any right to decide since Nico is quite the leader, but you do. Think about it carefully and then talk to her about it. Don’t feel pressured to swim with the flow only because she’s a bit dominant.” Dominant was the wrong word, Maki thought, pulling would be better.

“I should go now, too”, Maki muttered with a dry throat. When she stood up, Nozomi grabbed her hand again. “Maki”, she said earnestly, “is everything okay?” Maki wanted to cry at her honest worries, but instead she just nodded and smiled.

“See you soon, Nozomi.” As she stepped through the door, Nozomi called after her. “I’ll text you later, get home safe!” Maki shut the door and exhaled loudly.

No one was ever going to believe her this.

The time between Maki saving Nico as her contact in her phone and their first official work-meeting was, to put it lightly, absolutely horrible. Every time her phone buzzed Maki had to force herself to not jump up immediately to pick up her phone and look who texted her.

When she did, though - after a respectable waiting time of approximately seven minutes - she felt weirdly disappointed when it wasn’t Nico who sent her a message. She still spent a lot of time reading their conversation - because when she’s on her phone anyway and drowns in boredom, nothing speaks against scrolling through their chat, right? At this point, Maki could recite what Nico’s been texting so far in her sleep.

Maki Nishikino added Nico Yazawa on Line.

Maki: Hello, this is Maki. Please tell me when you have time to meet up.

Nico: are you always this formal? anyway, i only have time after school and singing and dancing class, so im free around 7 in the week, on weekends around 3~

Maki: You take extra classes?

Nico: well, yeah, since im becoming an idol. figures, right?

Maki: I guess.

Nico: so when do you wanna meet?

Maki: You can come to my place the day after tomorrow at 7 if it fits for you.

Nico: yup, sounds great Nico: can you send me the address?

After Maki did, Nico didn’t reply. She didn’t want to bother Nico once more to ask her if she got her message, so she just hoped that Nico would arrive without problems.

At 4:15 PM Maki came home from school. She was more or less relaxed since she still had one hour and 45 minutes until seven o'clock. Definitely enough time to prepare everything.

At 5:00 PM Maki became a bit nervous - but still enough time to think about how they should proceed (and how she could avoid being physically close to her).

At 6:00 PM Maki had done nothing productive. She spent her time sitting in front of a blank paper and thinking about whether Nico was singing or dancing right now.

At 6:50 PM Maki told herself to just “fuck it” and improvise. She couldn’t have felt more hysterical.

When the door bell rang, Maki’s heart dropped. She took her time to breathe in and out slowly before opening the door.

“Are you a princess or something?”,Nico snorted and stomped past Maki into the house. Maki swallowed a sarcastic comment (“Welcome, come in, oh no, it’s totally okay to wear your shoes inside”) and closed the door behind her. “So, do you want to drink something?” She made an awkward hand gesture to make Nico sit down. “Yeah, thanks.”

The uncomfortable silence between them kept making Maki’s heart beat through her whole body. “Where are you parents, by the way?”, Nico spoke up after putting down her now empty glass.

“Shouldn’t they, I don’t know, be all excited about their child bringing someone home?”

“I didn’t- bring- are you always like this?” Maki was completely thrown off the track. Nico raised an eyebrow. “Like what, exactly?”

“Like, you know-” Maki waved her hand around, hoping that Nico would understand what she meant without her speaking it out loud. She didn’t. “Gorgeous? Stunning? Absolutely-”

“Cocky”, Maki ended. Nico grunted.

“That was most definitely not what you were thinking about, but alright, I’ll let it slide this time.”

Maki was already exhausted. Not only that she was insecure about what she should feel towards this girl, her personality seemed to clash with hers all the time. “Do you wanna start with composing now?”

Again, the look in Nico’s eyes made Maki feel like she had no choice at all. “Yeah, let’s get started.” Maki hurried to lead Nico to their music’s room (mainly so she wouldn’t stare at Nico like an idiot).

“I can’t believe you have a room dedicated to instruments”, Nico said, her voice echoing in the hall-like room. Maki watches her brushing over a Cello so lightly it looked almost reverent. “That’s one from Stradivari and its about 300 years old”, Maki commented flatly in an attempt to be funny, but Nico pulled her hand back like it suddenly stung her. “Are you for real?” Maki noticed Nico’s expression changed into something she couldn’t quite identify, and abruptly she was weirdly aware of her parents wealth.

“Um, anyway”, she muttered, “yeah, let’s start.”

She sat down on the stool in front of her grand piano when she realized Nico was still standing. “Oh, sorry, I’ll get you another chair-” Nico pressed Maki, who stood up already, down to her stool again and squeezed her body beside hers. “Don’t worry about it”, she casually said.

“Alright”, Maki said, trying to sound as casual (failing terribly). “What do you want the song to be about?” Nico hummed. “I haven’t really thought about it yet, but I guess something lively and bubbly would be nice, don’t you think?” - “So no deep lyrics”, Maki stated. Nico looked strangely offended.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It kind of is, though, isn’t it?”, Maki stared at the piano keys in front of her. “Music is supposed be meaningful and to make you feel something.”

“Happiness is a feeling, too.”

“Is that why?”, Maki blurted out. Nico lifted her head to look her in the eyes. “Hah? Why what?” - “Its that why you want to be an idol? To make others happy?” Nico smirked.

“Ten out of ten, Nishikino. Living from people’s smiles sounds just amazing to me.” Maki glared at her. Nico looked so satisfied with her plan, her future idea, it made Maki feel fuzzy inside. Nico smiled brightly at her - Maki flushed at the sight of a smile this honest.

“What about you? What do you want to do in the future?”

The fuzzy feeling inside her chest vanished. “I’m becoming a doctor, I guess”, Maki said. Nico frowned and turned her upper body to her, forgetting the piano in front of them.

“You don’t seem very content about that.” Maki cringed.

“Well… my parents own the hospital and I’m their only child, so…” She bit on her lip, but stopped when she saw Nico’s piercing look. “It’s okay, I’ve been studying a lot and I don’t want to be that wasted, also..”

Maki stopped because even she heard how pathetic this sounded. “You shouldn’t do anything you don’t want to”, Nico spoke up. “In general, but especially on something you will be involved with your whole life.”

“Does that count for soulmates, too?”

Maki froze on what slipped through her lips. Nico did, too, but smirked awkwardly after. “I guess. Haven’t meet her yet.”

“Still, that’s a good philosophy-”

“I don’t want to, you know”, Nico suddenly interrupted her. Maki stared at her. “What?”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong”, Nico was the one biting her lip now, and by the way she fiddled with her fingers Maki suddenly realized she had never told this anyone. “Some day I want to, but not right now”, Nico muttered. “I just don’t want the universe to choose my life partner, you understand?”, she said quietly. “I want to meet them in a random place, hell, I don’t know, maybe a bar.” Or a subway, Maki thought.

“Look, I know I probably sound edgy and like a rebellious teenager right now, but- do you understand?"

A week ago - hell, two days ago - Maki would have. Now, as her soulmate was next to her, her thigh touching hers, she didn’t understand anymore. “I do”, she lied. “I don’t believe you.” Nico raised an eyebrow. “That’s your problem”, Maki said through gritted teeth.

She had never met someone this annoyingly blunt. “If you don’t get it, just say so”, Nico said, ignoring Maki’s comment. “Fine”, she inhaled sharply, “I don’t get it. If you know the universe’s got someone you will love eternally, why wouldn’t you to want to meet them as fast as possible?”

Nico stared at her.

“Do you?” Maki blinked. “Do what?”

“Do you do everything possible to meet the one?”

Maki didn’t answer at first. This conversation led to a direction she didn’t like at all. “No”, she eventually responded. “That’s pretty hypocritical, you know”, Nico smirked. “Giving me advice and not following it.”

Maki turned away from her and laid her hands on the piano. “Let’s just start, we already wasted enough time.”

“No, we’re not done here”, Nico frowned and brushed Maki’s hand. She stiffened.

“Everyone acts like meeting their soulmate is already the ending while it’s only the beginning”, Maki muttered after a small pause, not looking at her. “There’s a reason it’s called a Bonding Partner, you need to fucking bond first.”

Nico looked at her earnestly - and then burst into laughter. “I can’t believe you cursed, that’s so cute”, she giggled. Maki, offended at first, grinned soon after and chuckled too, relieved they curved the risky topic.

Nico laid her head onto Maki’s shoulder. Maki stretched her back. “You know what, Nishikino?”, Nico said, sounding sleepy. “You’re alright. We should do something soon. Like, as friends.” Maki’s heart jumped.

“Sounds great, Yazawa.”

Maki turned around until she heard Nico saying, “Nishikino! Here!” Maki blinked when Nico ran up to her. “Hi”, she grinned, a little bit out of breath, and Maki smiled back. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go!” Nico grabbed her hand and pulled her to the first booth - Ballon pop. While Maki aimed terribly – Nico kept distracting her through grimaces and light tackles -, Nico even won a small stuffed animal (a cute panther).

“You can have it”, Nico said patronizingly after showing off for ten minutes. “Thanks.” Maki hid her face behind it so Nico wouldn’t see her red face, but of course she did anyway. She giggled.

“Hey, when we’re getting to the arcade, I’ll win something even bigger for you!” Nico held her word. Watching her dancing to expert mode - jumping, quick hip thrusts and wiggling - made Maki almost sweat, too. When she bounced off stage, already receiving her price, she hugged Maki tightly.

“What was that for?”, Maki mumbled, carefully laying her chin on Nico’s head, while Nico folded her hands behind Maki’s back and pulled her closer. “Just felt like it.” They stood like this for a moment – was it her or Nicos heart that beat that fast? - until Maki whispered, “Nico?”

Nico looked up to her, cheeks red from dancing. “Yeah?”

“You smell.” Nico pushed her away and gasped. “I don’t!” Maki laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. “Why are you surprised? You’re sweating.”

“I gave my best for you on the dance floor and that’s how you thank me?”, she pouted. “That’s really mean, Maki!”

“What do you want, then? As a ’thank you’?”, Maki pressed her lips together as if that would take her slipped out words back. “What would you be willing to give?” Nico’s voice was husky. Maki bit on her lips. They cleanly passed the line between casual friends-talk and not so casual flirting and she didn’t know how to deal with it. At all.

“Here”, she pulled a five yen coin out of her pocket and showed it to Nico. “Let’s get some cotton candy, shall we?” She didn’t wait for a response, instead she stomped in the direction she assumed a cotton candy booth would stand. She didn’t see Nico’s torn expression.

Eating pink cotton candy, they walked through the amusement park in silence. Maki was thrown back to their first meeting at her home - the tensed silence had turned to a comfortable one in the five weeks they’ve been knowing each other.

“Are you wearing jewelry, Nishikino?”, Nico gasped in faked shock and grabbed her hand. She turned Maki’s hand in hers and looked at the golden ring. “It’s pretty.”

“Thanks.” Maki knew Nico didn’t care about her ring, she just wanted an excuse to hold her hand. She already know because Nico kept doing this since their first cinema visit, and then in the zoo, and also in the endless cafés they’ve been to. She wasn’t complaining, though. Nico’s hand was always warm and dry and she always drew circles with her thumb on Maki’s skin. It was incredibly nice. Maki loved it.

“Where do you wanna go next?” - “Do you have a fear of heights?”

Maki clang to the Ferris wheel’s pole until her knuckles turned white. “Everything alright?” Nico sounded way too smug. “Yeah”, Maki said through gritted teeth. When Nico turned her hand to the other side to admire the sight, Maki closed her eyes and prayed that it would be over soon.

“It’s your turn to decide”, Nico said when Maki carefully stepped out of the cart. Stretching herself so her shaking hands and trembling legs wouldn’t be noticed as much, she acted like she was thinking about it - while she exactly knew what they would do next. She grinned at Nico.

“Do you have a fear of haunted houses?”

“That joke was really lame, you know?”, Nico groaned, her voice echoing. “I’m probably going to break my legs in here, it’s so dark!”

“Then just don’t slip”, Maki said flatly. This was one of her not so well thought-through ideas as she was probably as much afraid as Nico was right now.

“Wow, what kind of advice, what would I do without you, N-” Nico screamed when something touched her face. Maki flinched. “Oh, fuck it”, Nico muttered and hold on to Maki’s arm.

“You made me do this, so you can suffer as well.” Maki scoffed even though Nico couldn’t see her.

“Do you think we could go the way we came from and just leave?”, Maki asked and breathed in sharply when a clown-mask popped up in front of her. “We could always try.” Nico’s voice didn’t sound as confident as usual. “Yes, let’s do that-”

They turned around and looked into what looked like an pitch black abyss. “Or let’s just head to the exit quickly?” They sneaked through the haunted house, constantly afraid of what could be lurk behind veils. When they entered a new room, the light went back on. Suddenly both of them were extremely aware of how close they were - and let go of each other.

“This is gross”, Maki shivered and tried to focus on the floor, the only thing that wasn’t drowned in fake blood. “Yeah, it kinda-” Nico squeaked when suddenly a girl with nasty cuts on her throat and arms shambled towards them.

“If i was you I would try to leave”, she growled, “otherwise you’ll get killed soon.” Nico and Maki exchanged a quick look.

“Run?”

“Run.”

They grabbed each other’s hand and started sprinting past the actor. When other artists came, they squealed and ran faster until they arrived at the exit. Nico panted and Maki leant on her knees to catch some breath. “I’m glad we’re out of this”, Nico breathed out and Maki snorted. “Yeah, me too.”

Nico picked up her phone to check if she had new messages. Maki caught herself staring at her wrist, which was well covered by Nico’s cardigan, just as all the times they met before. In a weird way, it was funny. They both hid their Words and agreed to keep it this way without talking about it. Nico didn’t know Maki’s Word, but Maki knew hers.

“Eli said they’re on their way”, Nico said, not looking up from her phone. “But it’ll take some time until they arrive, wanna do one last attraction?”

Maki wrung out the hem of her shirt and shook her head. Little water drops rained onto the ground. “Have I already told you that I hate water rides?”

“Just about a hundred times.” For some reason Nico - who stayed completely dry during the whole ride - avoided eye contact with Maki. Rather she seemed to stare at-

Maki blushed and turned around to untie her jacket from her hips. “Bad day for a white shirt, huh?”, Nico smirked, but the comment lacked her usual confidence. “Oh, fuck off”, Maki muttered, slipping into her jacket and closing the zip.

“Where are Eli and the others?” Nico seemed like she wanted to overcome this quickly, too. “I think they’re right-” A girl with orange hair stormed to them and hugged Nico, who almost fell. “Around the corner”, Nico closed. “Geez, you gained some weight, didn’t you, Honoka?” Honoka pouted. “We came all the way for you and that’s how you great me? That’s rude!”

Nozomi walked up towards them, Kotori and Umi next to her. Rin, Hanayo and Eli followed. Nozomi smiled at Maki.

“So, what are we going to do?”, Umi asked. Rin squeezed Hanayo’s hand. “Do you have a suggestion?” Hanayp looked flustered. “Let’s go eating something first?”, she asked, her statement sounding like a question. “That’s a great idea!” Rin ruffled Hanayo’s hair. “Eli and I ate in a really good Indian restaurant a week ago”, Kotori spoke up. “Indian sounds nice”, Nico said and so it was decided.

Maki looked out of the window. The streets were dipped in dimmed light as the sun was just going down. “It’s pretty, right?” Maki turned to Nico, who gazed in the same direction. “Yes”, she said quiet, not wanting to draw the others attention to them.

Honoka was discussing something about the food with Rin and Hanayo, Nozomi showed Umi something on her phone and Eli and Kotori were looking for a dessert they could share later. Nico smiled at her. Her eyes were glowing in the warm light.

“Hey, it’s your turn now”, Nico remembered. “It was my idea to go to the amusement park.”

“Your turn with what?”, Honoka, who sat to Nico’s right, interfered. Maki glanced at Nico, unsure how to explain their rather unique agreement to choose different locations for meetings alternately. Nico understood. “That’s none of your business!”, she scolded Honoka. Maki covered her mouth so Honoka wouldn’t see her laughing.

Nico grinned at Maki when Honoka didn’t look her way. Maki smiled back. A moment later, when Honokas attention was already on something else, Maki mouthed to Nico:“ Let’s go stargazing next time.”

Nico beamed.

“Maki, are you ready? The limousine is waiting.” - “Yes, Mama, just a minute”, Maki cursed under her breath and hastily brushed her hair. It only looked worse. “Oh, damn it-” Maki grabbed an old shirt as a provisional rag for the just pushed over nail polish. The deep red looked like blood on her desk.

“Maki, we really need to leave now!”

“Yes!” Helpless, Maki watched the liquor drip to the floor. She would just take care of this later. She hurried down the stairs to her parents. Her father was frowning, probably irritated about her being late. Maki quickly adjusted her dress. “Can we go now?”

“Yes”, Maki muttered and entered the car.

Maki blinked and lowered her head right after they entered the hospital and most pictures had been taken. She checked for the tenth time if her gloves still covered her Word (they did).

She had escorted her parents to events like this since she could walk on her on, but this was something different, something more grand than usual. It was the Nishikino hospital’s 100th anniversary, so Maki assumed the press’s attention was going to focus on her, the “heir”.

Even though Maki knew what she was supposed to say - “I will take over the Nishikino company gladly when the time comes”, “I will become a great doctor”, “I will make my parents proud” -, she was nervous. Her thoughts switched to Nico all the time. Maki would be calmer if she was next to her, making her usual stupid comments.

Her mother grabbed Maki’s shoulder. “The reporters want to talk to you in ten minutes, prepare yourself”, she said. Instead of looking at her, she smiled at the cameras. “Yes.” Maki straightened her back. She fiddled with the clasp of her clutch when it suddenly start vibrating.

Maki turned her back to the cameras - her mother would scold her for this, for sure - and fiddled her phone out of the bag. “Nico? The timing is a bit bad right now, I’m-”

“I need you”, Nico interrupted her, sounding stressed. Maki frowned - another scolding. “What? What’s wrong?” Nico cursed. “I need to pick up my brother from kindergarten, but- hey, don’t do that- my sister’s sick, she has a fever and won’t stop crying- can you come over and look after her while I get my brother?” Nico sounded really desperate. Maki’s throat was dry. “Nico..”

“Maki, please.”

Maki hesitated. “I’m there in ten minutes”, she hung up without waiting for a response.

“Mama? Papa? I’m sorry, but I am leaving. A… friend needs me. Right now.” She ignored her mother’s aghast and her father’s angry expression and hurried towards the exit. She also ignored the reporters taking pictures of her.

“Miss Nishikino! Where are you heading?” “Are you meeting a lover? Or a soulmate?” Maki froze for a moment but kept walking. The only thing that mattered right now was Nico.

When she started knocking on Nico’s door, it already swept open.

“She can take her meds again in half an hour, they’re on the kitchen table. Change the wet rag on her forehead when it gets dry again, and if you need to eat something, there’s still left overs in the fridge.” Nico paused, trying to remember if she forgot something.

“If you need anything, call me. I need to go now.” She took Maki’s face in her hands and gave her a hasty kiss on the cheek. “I owe you one, Maki", Nico said and smiled at her. Then she was gone.

Maki touched her cheek all the time until Nico came back.

“You don’t have to pay, you know”, Maki said while Nico was already whipping out her wallet. “Don’t be ridiculous, you helped me out yesterday, I’m just trying to do you a favor.”

Maki didn’t response to that. “I hope you weren’t doing something important? Didn’t really let you talk”, Nico muttered. Maki thought of the headlines, such as “Nishikino heir ditches anniversary gala” and “Has she had enough? Maki Nishikino storms away from parents’ most important event” and hoped that Nico didn’t read the newspaper.

“No, I was just studying.”

Nico breathed out, relieved. “Good.” She received the tickets for the planetarium and showed them to Maki. “Wanna go?”

“This is… really magical”, Nico whispered.

“Isn’t it?” Maki turned her head to Nico. The stars reflected on Nico’s eyes. “I think”, Maki paused, “this is my favorite thing to do.”

Nico gazed at Maki. “Maybe you could study astronomy.”

Maki adjusted her arm chair to avoid looking at her. “I’m studying medicine.”

“Maki.. ” Nico’s voice was husky. “We talked about this when we were at your place, remember? And we didn’t know each other well enough to talk seriously but now we do and-” Nico took a big breath.

“I don’t think you should become a doctor.” Maki stared at her. “What?”

Nico looked more stern than usual. Maki realized she wanted to talk about this for a while.

“You’re not happy”, Nico whispered, “at all. And you haven’t even started and- I don’t- I just don’t want to see you breaking, do you understand?”

“Can’t we talked about this another time?” Stargazing always had been a way to escape, and now her problems clinged to her skin like a nasty smell. She felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“Please, Maki.” Maki looked in Nico’s glowing, pulling eyes. “Please be happy.”

Visiting Akihabara in the afternoon on a Saturday wasn’t Maki’s best idea. She made a grimace and pushed her way through the crowd. After all it took some time to get there, she could just get this done and get Nico this idol DVD box she had eyed for a while but never bought.

She smiled at the thought of gifting Nico something. Technically, they had never done this before - sure, Nico sometimes payed for her cake when they ate in a café or in a restaurant and yes, Maki sometimes payed for their cinema tickets - but they never gave each other meaningful, with love stuffed presents. Which was why Maki was keen to be the first to do it.

“Thank you, but this isn’t what I was looking for”, she bowed towards the shop assistent and smiled apologetically. “I hope you find something for your Bonding Partner, come back soon!” Maki flushed. She never told the assistent that she wanted to purchase a present for a soulmate - she didn’t even talk about a gift. Did the soft care in her eyes (that seemed topop up only when she was thinking about Nico) revealed her intentions?

“Goodbye”, she muttered and stepped out of the shop. While she was already eyeing another shop with A-RISE, a popular idol group, on its windows, her phone vibrated. When she wanted to accept the call - Nico? Wasn’t she in class right now? -, she already hung up.

Maki turned her back to the street and dialed Nico’s number, putting a finger in her ear since her surroundings were quite loud. She pressed the phone closer to her head.

“Nico? Can you hear me? Sorry, it’s so noisy here-”

“Yeah”, Nico’s voice was hollow. Maki hoped it’s tinny sound sprang from the phone’s connection and not from Nico. “What’s the matter? You got me all worried-”, Maki’s forced laughter died immediately when Nico cut her off.

“I think I found my soulmate, Maki.”

Maki froze. “What?” Her voice broke.

“I.. there’s a girl and her Word fits with mine.” Nico still sounded pressed.

Maki didn’t know how to react. This felt like a really, really bad dream.

“But.. that doesn’t mean she’s your soulmate”, Maki heard herself saying. She wondered if Nico could hear her voice drowning in desperation. “I mean, it could be coincidence, right?”

“Could be”, Nico paused and took a long breath, “but also couldn’t be. That’s why I’m meeting her later and-”

“I’m your soulmate.“

Time stopped. As much as it felt like detoxification, it also felt like swallowing new poison. Maki’s finger knuckles turned white from tensing. “Nico? Have you heard what I said?”

“I.. have to go”, Nico finally said.

Maki sobbed at her emotionless response, and whimpered: “Please, Nico, say- something-”

Nico hang up.The sudden silence on the phone turned to white noise filling her head. Maki shut her eyes and tried to breathe in and out slowly so she wouldn’t hyperventilate. It didn’t work.

She dialed Nico’s number – she needed three attempts to hit the right numbers because of her blurry vision and shaky hands -, and held it to her ear. It went immediately to her mailbox.

“Hey, Maki!” Maki quickly wiped over her eyes and turned around. “Nozomi, what are you doing here?” When Maki wanted to return Nozomi’s smile, it vanished. “Why have you been crying?” Maki just loosely waved her hand around as a response because even if she wanted to answer, she couldn’t. Nozomi took a step towards her and pulled her into a hug. Maki pressed her head into Nozomi’s neck

“It’s going to be okay”, Nozomi whispered, stroking Maki’s back. “It’s alright.” But Maki knew it wasn’t. She lost the person she loved the most and, what was worse, it was all her fault.

Tired, Maki opened the door. The lights were turned off, so her parents probably still were in the hospital. She slipped out of her shoes, hung her jacket on a chair and sat down, listening to the clock’s ticking. What now? She buried her face in her hands.

Ironically, this felt similar to when she first met Nico. She couldn’t focus on anything, her thoughts were blowing up in her mind. Her body felt like it was run over by a truck.

Maki peeked through her hands and stared at the white wall. A tear ran down her cheek and dropped on her arm.

Even though they didn’t share a typical Bonded relationship, Nico still was the best thing that ever happened to Maki.

She never had this much fun with any other person before, and even when she was afraid - was it of haunted houses or of the future-, Nico never had let go of her hand to make sure she was safe. Maki had never felt this unsafe before, now that she knew Nico was-

Someone knocked multiple times and Maki flinched. She stood up and shuffled to the door. "Hello?”, she muttered, not looking at the visitor, until they growled:“ What the hell do you think you’re doing, Nishikino?”

Maki’s head rose abruptly until she met Nico’s eyes.

“Nico”, Maki whispered.

“No, no Nico, we have to talk right now-” Nico’s fist flew up and grabbed Maki’s collar, crumbling the texture. Maki didn’t dare to breathe in front of Nico’s furious, very close face.

“You never said one word to me”, she hissed, “in all those weeks I was in love with you and you never told me anything-” She started crying now, just like Maki did. Maki sobbed so hard she barely could understand what Nico was saying. Love?

“I told myself that this would never work out and that it’s not meant to be and-” Nico’s sentence ended in a sob, and she looked Maki in the eye. Her glow was stronger than ever. “Maki”, she let go of her collar and sobbed, “I-”

Maki pulled Nico in a hug. Her nose was running, her eyes red and her lip trembling.

An hour ago, when she hugged Nozomi, she was at her worst. Now, hugging Nico, she was at her best.

They let go of each other. Nico rubbed her shaking thumb over Maki’s cheek. Maki reddened, and Nico giggled.

“Nico?” - “Yes?” - “Can I kiss you?” Nico blinked - and flushed, too. “You may.” When Maki finally, finally kissed her, Nico stood on her toes. Maki pulled her closer, her hands on Nico’s back.

“I love you”, she muttered against Nico’s lips.

“I love you too, Maki.”

They stayed up all night, bodies close and hearts closer.

When Maki told Nico about everything that went through her mind these past weeks, she shed a lot of tears, but it was alright, because Nico kissed her softly to make up every single one.

Maki blinked and stretched carefully so Nico wouldn’t wake up. The sun was just rising. Nico’s eyes were closed, but Maki was sure that they were glowing right now, even if she couldn’t see them.

Nico was by her side.

In the end, everything was alright.

“I still can’t believe you named our song after our Word.” Nico scoffed in Maki’s direction. “It’s meaningful! What’s wrong about That’s Unfair Magnetic Today?” Maki gruntled. “It’s like you want the whole world to know about our Word.”

“My, my, we’re thinking big, aren’t we? Right now, the only people that will hear this song are future Otonokizaka students. Besides”, she ran her hand through Maki’s hair and grinned. “I want everyone to know that you’re already taken.”

“Shouldn’t that be me? I’m not the one finding people with fitting Word combinations all the time!” Nico pouted.

“You know, you should probably be glad about Frenetic. If she wasn’t, maybe you still wouldn’t have confessed.”

“What are you saying, you were the one to confess first!” - “I wasn’t, you totally were-”

Nozomi opened the door to the makeup studio. “Are you guys finished? The audience is waiting!”

Maki turned around to Nico. “I also can’t believe you made me go on stage with you.”

“Come on, Nishikino, it’ll be fun! I’m with you, remember?” Maki smiled.

“Yeah.” Nico took Maki’s face in her hands and gave her one last kiss.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

“Then let’s go!”

Maki Nishikino (23), astronomer at NAOJ, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, recently made a great stir when she got married to the nation’s idol Nico Yazawa (25). After they entered into the bond of marriage, a grand party was held, which a total of over 400 guests attended. Due to business reasons both women keep their surname, but in private they’re called Mrs and Mrs Yazawa.

We asked Maki Nishikino if being refered as Nico Yazawa’s wife rather than as a successful astronomer irritates her.

“Not at all!”, she said, laughing, “I’m very proud of what my wife has accomplished so far, and I’m madly in love with her. There’s no place for such things as envy or insecurity.”

And how did she deal with cutting ties with her parents?

“We did in fact not cut ties, even though the wedding was the first time we’ve met in years. But we’re on good terms now.”

Now?

She hesitates. “My parents and I had some issues to solve when I was younger, but thanks to Nico they’re all gone. She helped me overcome them. All in all, I’m a better person because of her.”

Mrs Nishikino laughs again.

We congratulate Nico Yazawa and Maki Nishikino to their wedding and their beautiful Word “Magnetic”!

P.S.: Mrs Nishikino hinted that they have something great planned. So, who knows? Maybe we will hear about the two lovebirds soon. Stay tuned!

#nicomaki #love live #writing #oh my GOD i want to die #watch this get like 3 notes #jokes aside im really proud of finishing this??#i know its rather short compared to other works but im not used to write anything over 1000 words so!!#that was definitely a mile stone for me as a writer #even though there are some scenes id like to rewrite some day #but not today #bc sometimes u should just let things be #mainly because i dont have energy right now to do it #ya. hope u enjoy

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