#sonoda umi's father

[idolaxhcrt]

Honoka kousaka

★~ Name: Honoka kousaka ★~ Age: |17-20| ★~ Height: H 82 ★~ Weight: W 58, ★~ Birthday: August 3 ★~ Blood type: O ★~School : Otonokizaka High School ★~ Idol group : µ's ★~ Hobbies: watching Foreign films, Foreign TV shows ★~Likes: Strawberries ★~ Dislikes: Bell Peppers ★~ Horoscope: (Leo) ★~ Hometown:Tokyo ★~ Series : Love Live!

Tagged~ Honokachan

Interesting Facts:

★~Honoka fulfills the smile attribute of the µ's second years.

★~Honoka is the Leader of µ's

★~According to Kotori's Q&A answer, Honoka's side ponytail was originally made by Kotori back when they were children.

★~Honoka liked milk when she was in elementary school.

★~The only thing Honoka is good at, other than cheering people up, is making rice cakes

★~In the manga, which was published before the anime, both Umi and Honoka were portrayed to be members of the kendo club.

★~Honoka enjoys swimming and collecting stickers. Her special skill is often finding money on the streets, which she attributes to good luck. She is also the leader of the school idol group μ's.

Starting from the second season, she succeeds Eli Ayase as Otonokizaka High School's student council president.

In the manga version, before starting an idol club, Honoka is in the Kendo club with Umi and is good enough to win a tournament.

About:

Honoka's family owns a Japanese sweets shop named Homura. She lives at the back of the shop with her mother, father and her younger sister.

Since she was young, she has been friends with Kotori Minami, and she befriended Umi Sonoda after inviting her to a game of hide-and-seek.

She is also friends with Fumiko, Hideko and Mika at school. Her grandmother and her mother are both graduates from Otonokizaka.

Honoka is an optimist who is never afraid to take risks. She is always in a good mood and likes to look at the bright side of things.

She is determined and once her mind is set on something, nothing can stop her.

This is believed to be the driving force behind μ's formation and success. But because of her persistent personality, she often overexerts herself.

Her personality is similar to Rin Hoshizora's because they are both determined, hard-working, and fun-loving.

Honoka, Rin and Nico Yazawa had to work hard to pass exams in order to enter Love Live!, and are known as the 'Three Idiots'.

She likes to eat bread, but she doesn't like eating red bean paste or white bean paste despite working at her family's Japanese sweets shop.

[oumiyuki]

The Daily Life of Loving a Really Cute but Dense Vampire Ch10

Weekends Without You: Sunday

May you enjoy~ XD

Sunday; a day for respite, leisure and quality time with yourself or with family and friends. Or for a high schooler like Honoka, eldest daughter of the popular Manjuu store, Homura, an early morning to prepare and help the store.

The door to the still slumbering orange haired vampire opened, and the one in charge of wake up calls entered.

“Onee-chan, wake up. We’re helping out for all of Sunday.” The redhead little sister turned on the lights, causing the bed to groan.

Ugh…why is there light? What day is it? What time is it?

“Yukiho…Five more minutes…” The blanket requested.

“Your morning five minutes is as good as five hours, so no.” Yukiho pulled the blanket away and Honoka flipped upside down to hide away from the light.

That’s not true…Ah! The light is so bright..!

“Ahh!! The light! The light is..! It’s hurting me..!” Honoka shouted exaggerating the situation as she squirmed on her bed.

Yukiho looked on with uninterested eyes. “Really, Onee-chan? This light can’t hurt you and the sun is not even up yet, so that isn’t a reason.”

The sun isn’t up yet? Then all the more we should still be tucked under our warm blankets and sleeping, Yukiho!

“Exactly!” Honoka backed herself up against the wall as she pointed at her little sister whom raised an eyebrow at her sister’s sudden exclamation. “The sun is not even up! We should be sleeping too!”

Yukiho sighed, she should have expected it. “The sun is working on the other side of the world.”

Working..? Other side of the world..?

Honoka blinked. “Eh? Really? I didn’t know that…” Honoka was pretty much awake as her eyes widened in awe for the sun’s hard work.

“Mm-hm. Now let’s-” Yukiho took a step closer to pull her sister out of bed, but that got Honoka agitated as she grabbed her blanket and rolled herself in it.

“T-That’s a different case all together! Good night!” Only Honoka’s messy hair was visible as she curled herself with her blanket, attempting to become one with it.

I’m not letting go of this blanket even if my life depended on it! I’m sleeping!

Yukiho sighed. “Do we have to do this every Sunday morning?”

We don’t have to if you leave me alone…

The Honoka-blanket-roll shook before pretending to be still.

“Onee-chan…” One last chance was given for the adamant older sister to get out of bed, but silence and stillness was the reply.

Nope. I’m not giving in. Sleep calls me!

A grin curved up the redhead’s lips. “It’s your choice.” Yukiho climbed up Honoka’s bed and sat on her.

Eh? Wait! Is Yukiho going to-

“Oof!” Honoka-blanket-roll tried rolling away, but was stuck. “Yukiho!” She complained.

You know I won’t throw you off! You’re cheating!

“Wake. Up. Now.” Yukiho pulled at the blanket while Honoka held on to it tightly.

“Don’t’ wanna!”

“Get. Up. Now!” Yukiho tugged again in which Honoka pulled.

I’m not giving up without a fight!

“I’m telling mum on you!” Yukiho began the threatening tactic while Honoka shook her head in defiance.

What? The Mum Card? Sheesh!

“I’m not afraid of mum!”

“I’ll get her to cut your allowance!” Honoka flinched and wavered for a moment before steeling her resolve; hugging the blanket closer to her chest she pouted at her younger sister.

Uu…my allowance…I can’t buy more bread or stickers if my allowance gets lesser than it already is!

“I’ve got savings and Maki-chan!” Yukiho rolled her eyes.

“Sure you have savings. I’m telling mum to ban you from eating bread!” Honoka gasped and loosened her hold which allowed Yukiho to pull most of her defense away.

B-Ban?! From bread?! That’s a catastrophe! I can’t not have strawberry jam bread!

“T-That’s not fair!” Honoka puffed her cheeks out and sat up to have a stare down with her sister that was sitting on her lap.

“You’ve got to work for bread.” Yukiho stated.

Work for bread…Yukiho is a demon…

“Boo…” Honoka’s fighting spirit has mostly thrown in the towel as she kept her pout.

“You could have made things easier for yourself…” Yukiho muttered as she got off Honoka and the bed to head downstairs.

It was a battle between sleep and bread…

“I love sleep too…” Honoka was still sulking.

“You love everything at a certain time. I don’t see you sleeping early when you have sleepovers with Maki-chan and Umi-chan.” Yukiho pointed out.

“That’s different!” Sleeping in and staying up are two different matters regarding love for sleep.

How can you not understand wanting to chat more during a sleepover with your best of bestfriends and sleeping in while you still can!

“And you love the sun once you put on No-Burn.”

The sun is warm and not painful once I apply Maki-chan SP60…

“There’s no reason to dislike something that doesn’t harm you anymore…” Honoka tries to defend her fickle likes and dislikes.

“Can you get ready so I can help you with the sunscreen and then we can start helping out with the store? The faster we start, the sooner we finish.” Yukiho smiled encouragingly to her laze seeking older sister.

Ah, right. Yukiho is going to help me with my back…Eh? Starting earlier means more work! You can’t cheat me, Yukiho!

“Helping out the store doesn’t work that way.” Honoka sulked her way to the bathroom.

 The routine sister battle of waking and staying in bed for has long as she can prolong it ended, and Honoka and Yukiho were down at the store helping with serving customers and restocking while the sun has long hung above the clouds and customers flowed in and out.

Today is kind of busy, but it’s fun to see the satisfied or expectant smiles of the customers~

Honoka had a jolly grin as she served the next customer; taking his order and billing.

“Honoka, Yukiho, I’ve got a delivery task for the two of you.” Honoka’s mum called for her daughters’ attention.

“Okay~” Both sisters replied as they gave their attention to the next instructions to be given.

I wonder where we will be delivering manjuu to today~

“Take these three sets of manjuu to the airport for Mr Juuman. He will be in a suit at terminal three. You can give him a call when you reach. Deliver it by 11am.”

“Got it.”

“Oh~ Mr Manjuu~” Honoka giggled while her mum gave her a stern look.

“Don’t make fun of others name.”

“I’m not~ Mr Manjuu agrees! He says, ‘I know, I tell my parents that they should have named me Manjuu instead of Juuman.’ !”

Honoka’s mum smiled. “Well, if he doesn’t mind. But don’t mindlessly comment on other’s name, some might not like it.”

Everyone should have a good sense of humour like Mr Manjuu and not be upset~ But…I suppose I understand.

“Okay~” Honoka took the packed manjuu and started for the exit with her younger sister.

“Follow me.” Yukiho led the way.

“Aye, aye~” Honoka answered twice since she was a little put off that her younger sister is the one leading, not that they didn’t give her chances; five late deliveries in a row because she got lost was enough, and two times the manjuu didn’t get delivered because Honoka dropped them or got them destroyed because she was playing with stray cats added to the reason.

I can so deliver manjuus on my own~ I always can when it’s Umi-chan’s or Maki-chan’s house!

Despite Honoka’s indignant feelings towards not being allowed to deliver on her own, she was still grinning happily as she skipped beside her younger sister.

 Reaching the airport ten minutes before meeting time, Honoka was looking around for the bread store. Airport strawberry jam bread is of a different level and different cost too.

“Don’t get distracted, Onee-chan. Look for bread only after we safely deliver the manjuus.” Yukiho chided.

“Okay~” Honoka chimed as she started looking out for their recipient.

“Should we call?” Yukiho looked to her older sister for decision.

“Or we could sniff him out?” Honoka beamed excitedly.

“You know his smell?” Yukiho deadpanned.

“Um…Like manjuu?” Honoka made a wild guess.

“Then you’ll be circling yourself for sure.” Yukiho frowned at the image of Honoka walking in circles as she was following the smell of manjuu in her hands.

“Ehehe~” Honoka laughed sheepishly with her hands behind her head. “Let’s call Mr Manjuu then~”

Yukiho took her phone out and dialled. It didn’t take long for Mr Manjuu to pick up and give them the proper directions to find him.

“Mr Manjuu~” Honoka waved as she ran over to the customer with her manjuu in hand.

“Onee-chan!” Yukiho felt embarrassed at the attention her older sister was drawing to herself with her childish behaviour.

The man in the dark blue suit laughed heartily and returned the wave. “Honoka-chan, Yukiho-chan.” He greeted with a wave each. “You’re as energetic as usual.”

“With the power of manjuu!” Honoka lifted the boxes of manjuu in her hands proudly.

“You didn’t even eat any manjuu today.” Yukiho pointed out.

Honoka turned to her sister and winked. “I sneaked a few!”

Yukiho squinted at her older sister disapprovingly and muttered under her breath. “You definitely only drank the blood…”

“Yes, manjuu will indeed provide me with the energy to last the twelve hour flight and then reenergize me after my business is done.” Mr Manjuu chuckled while Honoka giggled along, Yukiho could not help but smile at the relaxed scene.

“Well, I’ll be heading off first. Thank you for delivering the manjuu to me.” Mr Manjuu pulled his wallet out of his pocket to pay.

“Thank you for your patronage!” Honoka accepted the payment with a smile.

“We look forward to seeing you again.” Yukiho added.

Mr Manjuu laughed another hearty laugh. “So do I. Give my regards to your parents. Your father just makes the best manjuu!” Mr Manjuu gave a backhand wave as he went off to the departure point.

“Bye bye~” Honoka waved for longer before jumping around. “Let’s get bread!” She exclaimed with the cash in hand.

“Let’s head home.” Yukiho took the money out of her sister’s hand and safe kept it away from her hungry sister’s reach.

“Boo…” Honoka pouted at the loss of means for a snack.

 Before they could reach the exit, a loud scream sounded and a man in a dark hoodie rushed past them.

“H-Help! A-A thief! H-He stole my purse!” A dressed in bright purple old lady was panting behind, unable to catch up with the thief.

A thief? Stealing from a helpless old lady too!

It didn’t take a second thought for Honoka to take action. “Don’t worry, obaa-san! I’ll get your purse back!” Honoka dashed after the thief, taking care to not run too fast that others will be suspicious.

Yukiho blinked, surprised at the turn of events, but without missing another beat, she quickly ran after her sister.

“Onee-chan!”

“A trip and a kick!” Honoka had an excited smile; this sort of running – controlled and filled with adrenaline is rare. Yukiho nodded.

The moment Honoka was running beside the thief, she flashed him a bright smile. “Hey! Stealing isn’t nice!”

“Huh?!” The thief eyes bulged widely at the orange-brown haired high school girl who was able to catch up to him with no signs of exhaustion, he was expecting middle aged security guards not little girls.

“Here’s a dessert for you!” Honoka stuck her feet out and tripped the thief. “It’s called just desserts!”

“Wahh!” The thief fell head first for the airport’s shining floor but didn’t reach it as Yukiho was in front to give a kick up his chin so he was sent the other way and fell on his butt. “Ugh!” He lost his grip on the purse when he landed so Honoka swiftly took it back.

“And I’ll be taking this~” Honoka did a happy twirl with the purse in hand.

“At least apprehend him, Onee-chan.” Yukiho chided as she did the job instead.

“Whoops! Sorry!” Honoka apologized but knew Yukiho won’t have a problem holding down the human thief.

“L-Let me go!” The thief struggled in vain.

“Oh, just stay still.” Yukiho pretty much effortlessly maintained the grip on the thief’s hands, holding it behind his back so he can’t run.

“I’ll return the purse.” Honoka got an affirmative nod before she ran off.

Where’s the obaa-san~ Ah! There she is!

Honoka ran up to the purple dress old lady who smiled in relief when she saw Honoka running up to her with her purse in hand.

“Obaa-san~ I’ve got it back~ Hehe~” Honoka returned the purse with both hands and a slight bow.

“T-Thank you so much, little girl.” The old lady thanked as she took her purse in hand. “How can I repay you?” The old lady was already opening her purse but Honoka placed a hand on hers to stop her.

“You can do that by staying safe, healthy and happy!” Honoka gave a show of pearly whites to the surprised old lady.

The old lady chuckled after a time. “You’re a nice child…I hope you continue growing into a happy and healthy child too.”

“Hehe~ I will! I will grow taller too!” Honoka declared with a fist to her chest. “Ah! I’ve got to go to my sister! See you!” Honoka waved and ran off.

“Yukiho~” Honoka called when she saw her younger sister. “Where’s the thief?”

“The security police took him away. The purse?”

“Returned to the old lady, safe and sound!” Honoka beamed and stood with her hands to her hips proudly. Yukiho smiled, equally proud of her sister. “I would have like to give a piece of my mind to the thief though…” Honoka had a thoughtful look.

“He’ll be getting it at the station already.”

“Hehes~ I guess!” Honoka and Yukiho barely exited the airport when a shout stopped them.

“M-Miss! Um! O-Onee-chan-tachi!”

The Kousaka sisters turned around to face the voice that belonged to a light blonde haired girl who looked like she was around the same age as Yukiho – middle school.

“Are you calling us?” Honoka gave a warm smile to the light blonde haired girl who now had her hands to her thighs, catching her breath.

She nodded vehemently. “Y-Yes…”

“Um, is there something you need-” Yukiho asked but was cut short when the light blonde raised her head revealing starry eyes at the two sisters.

“Y-You two was so cool earlier! The way you effortlessly caught up to the bad guy and apprehended him!” She spoke animatedly with admiration shining in her eyes.

“Um…We-” Yukiho tried to calm the girl down while Honoka just nodded along, smiling with pride.

“How you tripped the bad guy was so cool! ‘Your just desserts!’ ” The girl looked at Honoka as she spoke and imitated Honoka’s lines.

“Ehehe~ It was?” Honoka rubbed the back of her head slightly embarrassed.

“Onee-chan-”

“And how you gave a…sky upper kick? That was just soo~ cool! He practically flipped and was rendered unable to run!” The girl continued fangirling, now Yukiho was the one embarrassed.

“It’s all in a day’s work as a hero!” Honoka put a fist to her chest proudly once again.

“Hero?” If possible, the girl’s eyes were shining even more.

“Yup!” Honoka nodded. “I’m Kousaka Honoka! Hero for those in need!” Honoka sent a wink before broadening her already broad smile.

“Wah~” The light blonde girl had both hands held together as she stared at the Hero, Honoka, in awe. “W-Would you like to come over to my house for some tea and chat?” The light blonde girl grabbed both of Honoka’s hands into hers, asking for their time earnestly.

Don’t need the tea, but a chat sounds fun~ Ah, but we still have to help with the store, so…

“Ah…Um, we couldn’t impose on your house so suddenly-” Honoka knew better than to agree just to skive on work.

“It’s no problem at all! I’ll be living with my older sister from today, and she’s really nice! So I’m sure she won’t mind!”

If she’s as friendly as you, I’m sure she won’t mind.

Honoka chuckled in her mind. Yukiho scratched her cheek lightly, not sure how to handle the ball of energy inviting them to her house. “We are actually working right now-”

“Oh…” The light blonde girl’s expression was crestfallen, Yukiho felt guilty for making the cute girl sad.

Ah…She looks so sad, her grip on my hand have loosened a bit too.

“Yukiho…” Honoka felt sad for the girl too. Yukiho gave her older sister a look saying ‘What am I supposed to say?’

Well, we can’t just leave her sad…That’s not what heroes do!

“Actually…” The light blonde girl started, and Honoka and Yukiho waited for her to continue. “I’m new to Japan, and I might get lost…So…I was hoping you Heroes can guide me there…” The light blonde girl looked up expectantly.

Of course you can count on us heroes!

“Of course! I’ll bring you there!” Honoka immediately replied with a bright smile which brought the girl’s smile back too.

“You mean we will bring her there. You’d get everyone lost.” Yukiho interjected while Honoka pouted.

“Boo…You don’t know that…”

“Sure I do.” Yukiho smiled cheekily at her older sister.

A giggle interrupted the sister’s back and forth and they returned their attention to the light blonde girl. “Oh, thank you so much! I’m Ayase Arisa, by the way. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier.” Ayase Arisa had a light blush as she bowed a greeting, she learnt that Japanese are respectful and bow to each other thus her bow.

“It’s no problem, Arisa-chan!” Honoka took Arisa’s hand in hers to give a reassuring squeeze. Arisa beamed at the honour of getting her hand held by a hero.

“So…where’s your house, Arisa-chan?” Yukiho followed her sister’s way of addressing the new girl; she kind of wants to be friends with the light blonde girl anyway.

“Oh.” Arisa showed the address she got from her older sister to the two who nodded.

“It’s this way then!” Honoka pointed to a random direction while Yukiho took the hand and pointed it to the right direction.

“This way.” Yukiho smiled as she started walking.

“This way, Arisa-chan!” Honoka did not falter from her mistake and gestured for Arisa to walk first before she followed. Arisa was even more enamoured by Honoka’s gentlemanly act as she caught up to the charming hero’s younger sister.

 Sunday; a day for respite, leisure and quality time with yourself or with family and friends. Or for a high schooler like Kotori, mother-daughter bonding in the morning and window-shopping for the rest of the day.

Kotori managed to get out of breakfast with minimal teasing damage from her mother, and now it was nearing noon, so she decides to leave the house for today’s window-shopping cum inspiration gathering.

Since Kotori already visited some of the stores yesterday, she skipped pass them, only taking a glimpse with an appreciative smile before heading for the further stores she did not visit since she made detours with Eli and Rin.

Mm~ I wonder what clothing designs I’ll get to see today~ That could inspire me for drawing Honoka-chan~ Ah, I mean draw something to amaze Honoka-chan!

Kotori almost filled her head with the orange-brown haired, cheerful classmate that she has a crush on within seconds. Closing her eyes as she continued walking a few steps ahead, she opened them after reciting multiple of twelves to see a opened door store. A single mannequin stared back at her in its white blouse and grey overcoat.

Ah…spring can still be kind of cold with the spring breezes that blow through town every now and then…Honoka-chan would look so cute in that long sleeved woolly overcoat…

“Ahchoo!” Kotori covered her nose and mouth as she sneezed softly. Feeling the second wave of spring breeze blow by, she shivered and hugged herself. “Ah…It’s kind of cold today…”

Kotori was going to take another step when she felt warmth engulf her. A long overcoat was placed around her shoulders and warm hands pulled her closer as the owner of the coat tried to close the front.

“Um…” Kotori could guess who the kind, coat owner was, but she didn’t want to make a wrong assumption and embarrass herself.

“The weather report said windy today, Kotori-chan.” The coat owner placed her mouth near Kotori’s ears as she spoke. “You should have worn more clothing.” The owner’s breath tickled Kotori’s sensitive ears which made her glow red.

“H-Honoka-chan…I did not catch the morning news so…” Kotori lowered her gaze onto the loving hands that wrapped around her; her heart also did a few skips when Honoka giggled in her ear.

“Well, the weather report also said there’s a chance of Honoka, so you’re in luck.” Honoka tiptoed to let her cheek reach Kotori’s as she snuggled from behind.

“H-Honoka-chan…” Kotori leaned backwards into Honoka for more warmth and contact.

“Mm?”

“I hope that weather report was for me only…I wouldn’t like it if the chance of Honoka-chan happened for someone else…” Kotori turned her head slightly to try and catch the warmth-bringer’s sight.

Honoka chuckled. “Of course it’s only for Kotori-chan!” Honoka moved to position herself in front of Kotori. Their gazes met and they both slowly leaned closer to one another, Kotori’s eyes were slowly closing and…

Kotori blinked out of her spring daydream when a bicycle’s bell sounded. Kotori was now looking at the grey overcoat on the mannequin instead of on Honoka or herself. There was also no smiling gingerhead in the vicinity, neither was it as cold as her daydream before the warmth-bringer arrived, nor as warm as when the warmth-bringer came.

Ah!! I was daydreaming of Honoka-chan again..! And I thought I could get through the weekend without thinking of Honoka-chan too much…

Kotori’s mind felt guilty, but her heart was feeling very warm, and her lips curved into a huge, silly grin without her permission.

But Honoka-chan is just so adorable…and kind…and warm…Ah~

Kotori held her reddened cheeks for a few more minutes, basking in the afterglow of meeting Honoka in her daydreams on a weekend. After those precious few minutes, Kotori took her sketchbook out to draw the grey overcoat before walking again, to get inspiration from elsewhere.

“Oh, this is different.” Kotori stopped outside a store that had a section for rainwear. “It’s not like it doesn’t rain in spring after all…” Kotori smiled at the displays.

I wouldn’t want it to rain when I’m outside though…Ah, that rain jacket looks so cool.

A black rain jacket was glistening from the sun’s reflection behind the glass window, and it sported two large pockets on the front and large press buttons.

Those large pockets would be good for keeping our phone or wallets inside…Hm…I wonder what rain shoes they have.

Kotori approached the display window to check out the full set.

Ooh~ The shoes look like leather boots!

Kotori went in to pick it up.

Wah! It’s so light! Well, lighter than leather boots that have metal belts on it too…This rain shoes has the look of a leather boot, but the lightweight of a rain boots! How fascinating…

Kotori’s eyes glazed over for a moment but broke out of it when the sunlight shined into her eyes for a moment.

Ah…

Kotori placed the boots back down and shied away from the light for a moment to regain her eyesight.

I should walk somewhere else…Ah, the idea of rainwear in spring is nice too.

Kotori went outside the store and took her sketchbook out to jot the new ideas before continuing her window-shopping.

 It was not hard for Arisa to find her new home as her worrywart of a sister was pacing outside the front door in wait for her.

“That’s my older sister!” Arisa pointed happily to the tall blonde who crossed her arms across her chest as she paced about.

Yukiho and Honoka followed the finger to the person in question; it did not take long for another unexpected reaction to occur from the orange-brown haired vampire. “Eli-chan!”

Eli looked up and was surprised by a blur of orange that was now hugging her. “H-Honoka? What are you doing here?”

Before Honoka could answer, because she was busy hugging the surprised Class President, another voice spoke up. “Onee-chan, you know the Hero?”

“Eh? Hero?” Eli was even more flabbergasted as she tried to pry Honoka off her.

The mentioned hero released Eli from her hug and stood straight with a fist to her chest, smiling proudly again. Arisa nodded, while Eli’s expression morphed into heavy worry.

“Did something happen? Are you alright?” Eli held her little sister dearly, checking for any injury until her sister giggled.

“I’m totally alright, Onee-chan. I’m so happy to see you!” Arisa hugged her older sister tightly, which Eli gladly returned.

The moment was disturbed by an “Aww~” from the Hero bystander.

Eli had a lopsided smile at the bizarre situation; she was not expecting her classmate to be here and be called a hero after all. “So, anyone going to explain to me what happened? Honoka being a hero…I can’t imagine that.”

“Boo! Eli-chan, I’m totally hero material!” Honoka pouted playfully while Eli chuckled.

“How about tea while I tell you what happened, Onee-chan? I promised them tea for bringing me here!” Arisa smiled broadly at the exchange between the older sister she admired and respect with the cheerful hero she has come to admire and respect in the past hour.

“Of course, come on in.” Eli guided her little sister and guests into her humble abode.

Eli’s house had two levels, and the living room had two long sofas despite living alone, so Eli and Arisa took the one facing the television while Honoka and Yukiho took the adjacent one.

“I’ll get us some tea then.” Eli stood up.

“Oh, Onee-chan, I brought some from Russia!” Arisa got up to grab the gifts from where she came from.

“Arisa-chan and Eli-chan came from Russia?” Honoka’s eyes were shining with excitement.

I wonder what Russian sounds like~ Arisa-chan and Eli-chan sound quite normal.

Eli nodded while waiting for her younger sister to bring her the tea leaves. “Our grandmother is Russian, so we’re actually quarter Russian.”

“Ohh~”

“Do you even understand what that means, Onee-chan?” Yukiho figured that ‘Oh’ is a generic answer when her older sister didn’t understand something.

“I…I do…” Honoka averted her gaze from everyone to stare at the carpet.

Eli could not help but grin. “It just means that I’m not fully Russian, and that I’m part Japanese, Honoka.”

Honoka looked up with more understanding. “I see! So you can speak both Russian and Japanese!”

“That’s right.” Eli smiled, happy that it did not take further explanation for Honoka to understand. Arisa returned with the tea, so Eli headed for the kitchen.

“C-Can I call you Honoka-san?” Arisa shyly requested.

Honoka nodded happily. “You can just call me Honoka!”

Arisa beamed. “And can I call you Yukiho-chan?” Arisa’s eyes were sparkling.

“Eh? Er…S-Sure…A-A-Arisa-chan…” Yukiho was having a hard time making eye contact with the eyes that were filled with admiration and honesty.

“Honoka-san! Yukiho-chan!” Arisa tried calling the two heroes once more as Eli returned with the brewed tea and some snacks.

“You don’t have to add the ‘san’, Arisa-chan!” Honoka gave a huge grin to Arisa.

“But I learnt that ‘san’ is added for respect for someone who is older…” Arisa was hesitant to break what she learnt.

“Eh? Mm…” Honoka thought for a moment. “It might be, but I insist that you drop the ‘san’! It feels so distant.” Honoka had a thoughtful frown, she did not like feeling distant to the people she wants to be friends with.

“T-Then…Honoka…chan?” Arisa decided to go with ‘chan’ instead of ‘san’.

“Better!” Honoka beamed which made Arisa feel glad that she did not upset her hero.

“So, explanations?” Eli demanded with a wry smile as she made herself comfortable on her side of the sofa.

Arisa turned to face her older sister and started telling the tale of the Hero Honoka and Yukiho and how they stopped the thief at the airport and reclaimed the safety. Honoka gladly added in sound effects as she moved animatedly, while Yukiho smiled shyly at the twos enthusiasm at relaying the events.

Once the story ended, Eli was left speechless. She felt awe even though she was not there to witness it. She understood that her younger sister loves action shows, but she also knew her sister won’t lie, so what happened must have been true, regardless of possible exaggeration.

“I was cool right?” Honoka couldn’t stop smiling broadly as she was showered with admiration and attention from the youngest of the quarter Russian pair. It wasn’t every day she was placed on the pedestal after all.  

Eli looked at Honoka’s child-like happy state and smiled, she decided to feed Honoka’s ego a bit more.

“Yes, you were really cool. I’m glad you stood up for the old lady, but I think it was dangerous to engage with the thief without a security police by.”

“Oh, that’s no problem at all! I can take on- Ah!” Honoka was jabbed by her younger sister, and she sat quietly the moment she took in the stern glare from Yukiho.

“Um..?” Eli was surprised by the sudden attack and change of mood.

“I-It’s nothing, Eli-san.” Yukiho put on a smile to cover up. “I just didn’t want to let my older sister exaggerate her capabilities any more than she should…You know, older sisters with a bighead aren’t very fun to be around with…” Yukiho averted her gaze from the two quarter Russian sisters.

Eli had a small smile. “I’m not so sure, since I don’t grow bigheads.”

“Onee-chan is very modest.” Arisa giggled softly while Eli smiled at her sister.

Honoka quickly recovered and seized the chance to lighten the mood. “I-I don’t grow bigheads! My head’s size is always the same!” Honoka held her head as though she was measuring it, which made everyone laugh even Yukiho.

“You know what we mean!” Yukiho punched Honoka’s arm lightly.  

“Ehehe~” Honoka placed a hand behind her head and laughed sheepishly.

The four continued chatting; about various things such as school in which Eli shared how Honoka was like which Yukiho agreed she could see happening, Honoka shared about Eli which Arisa agreed that her sister is that straitlaced. They also got to know that Arisa will be in the same school as Yukiho, so the younger sisters look forward to spending more time together.

“I think it’s about time we returned to the store, so…” Yukiho felt like a lot of time has passed since their delivery.

“Eh~~ I still want to chat more!” Honoka whined.

“Don’t try to-”

“I’d like to be able to talk more too…” Arisa admitted with a blush.

“Well…” Yukiho felt bad to be the one to break the happy, chatty atmosphere.

“They have responsibilities with their family, Arisa. We shouldn’t hinder their time.” Eli took the role as the voice of reasoning.

“I understand…” Arisa smiled to Yukiho and Honoka which allowed Yukiho to sigh in relief that she didn’t have to make the light blonde girl sad, while Honoka was still pouting.

“I wanna chat…”

Eli and Yukiho looked to Honoka with eyes that read ‘Can’t you be more mature?’.

Eli went to open the door for the redhead sisters while Yukiho pulled a reluctant Honoka off the sofa.

“I hope we get to meet again!” Arisa spoke to Honoka.

Honoka smiled brightly; she may be reluctant to go back to work, but ecstatic feelings for a fellow Hero-believer won over the former. “So do I! Eli-chan, I can come over to play, right?” Honoka directed a winning smile to Eli.

“Of course.” Eli returned the smile. She felt glad that Arisa was adapting quickly to Japan thanks to Honoka and her younger sister.

They waved goodbye and started for home.

“I hope mum isn’t too angry at us…” Yukiho commented but Honoka wasn’t paying attention.

“I hope so too! I’ll leave mum to you, Yukiho!” Honoka shouted and changed into a bat to fly away from her little sister; she still did not feel like returning to Homura, and the only way out of this is to escape from her little sister.

“Eh? O-Onee-chan!” Yukiho turned around to see the silhouette of her older sister in bat form disappear. “Onee-chan!” Yukiho shouted and sighed heavily. “You better return home soon!” Yukiho knew she lost her older sister already, so she has to return to Homura alone and face the music first.

 “Hahaha!” Honoka-bat laughed as she flew further away from her younger sister’s sight, she did a loop de loop before flying normally again. “Escape, successful!”

Thunder rumbled in the sky.

“Eh?” Honoka-bat blinked at the quick moving grey clouds which screamed storm. “Is it going to..?” Honoka-bat was not allowed to finish her question when another thunder shook the sky as the flashes of lightning lit the dark clouds and large droplets of water was pelted down from above to the ground below. Honoka-bat took a few of the droplets headfirst.

“Ah! Oh no, it’s raining!” Honoka-bat flew ways away from the housing district now, and she wasn’t sure where she was, but what she needed now was shelter, where she was did not matter.

Honoka-bat was soaked from head to toes and wing to wing before she landed in an alley which had a small roof jutting out for shelter from the rain. “Ah…I am so wet…” Honoka-bat dropped her wings onto the cold floor, raindrops dripping off her entire body.

Maybe I should change back to human form..?

Honoka was contemplating changing back when another human ran into the same alley shelter she was using.

Woah! T-That was a close call! That’s…

Honoka-bat made eye contact with the human, and the human’s eyes widened along with Honoka’s.

 Kotori finished her sketches and began taking a slow stroll, stopping by a bread shop, she was immediately reminded of the indirect kiss she had with the bread-loving gingerhead. She took a strawberry jam bread off the rack and paid for it.

Hehe~ Perhaps I’ll eat this later.

Kotori stepped out of the bread shop in which many people were entering and noticed that the street has mostly reduced in number and the remaining ones were hurrying somewhere. Kotori looked up to see the sky has darkened considerably.

“Is it going to..?” Kotori was given an answer to her unfinished question as the sky rumbled and began raining. “Wah!”

Oh dear! I-I’ve got protect the sketchbook!

Kotori ran in search for shelter as most stores were filled, she also neglected to bring an umbrella since the day felt perfectly sunny earlier.

Anywhere, anywhere that can provide shelter…

Kotori saw a small coverage in an alley and dashed for it, positioning her bag away from the rain and panting to catch her breath, she looked down and saw two round blue orbs staring back at her, her eyes widened.

H-Honoka-chan?

Kotori shook her head.

No, that’s a bat. Wait, a bat?

Kotori took in the state of the blue-eyed bat that was staring back at her. It was drenched and seemed to have frozen in place.

I wonder if it’s the same bat that Rin-chan saw…

“K-Kotori-chan?” Honoka-bat did not expect a human, and definitely not someone she knew too, she raised her right wing to wave but quickly pulled it back to her as she remembered Umi’s reminder to not do humanly actions.

Kotori witnessed the bat raised its wing before hugging it close to its body.

Is it shy?

Kotori gave a small smile and squatted carefully, making sure the white one piece that she was wearing did not reach the floor. “Hello?”

“Hehe~ Hello, Kotori-chan!” Honoka-bat hopped once to the front before jumping backwards. “Ah! I can’t turn back into human form! That was a close one…” Honoka-bat sweatdropped and moved her wing across her head in a show of wiping the sweat.

Kotori watched on with awe, this bat was definitely special, whether it was the same one that Rin saw or not.

This bat is so adorable…I never knew bats made such humanly actions. Ah, but it’s all wet…

“Are you okay? You must have got caught in the rain too…So did I.” Kotori giggled softly with a hand covering her mouth.

“Mm-hm, I got caught in the rain! I was up in the air and the rain got a bunch of direct hits before I could find shelter…” Honoka-bat pointed to the sky and gestured to her back, and sat down; almost changing again. “Wah!” Honoka-bat jumped to her feet. “I almost changed back into human form again…Kotori-chan…You’re making this conversation feel too relaxed!” Honoka-bat pouted at Kotori who just kept smiling, though her expression has changed from surprised to fascination and now worry.

It must be describing how it got caught in the rain…

“The rain did fall really suddenly…” Kotori looked out where the rain was falling to see that the rain wasn’t letting up, and has only gotten stronger.

“Wah…It’s raining even more now…” Honoka-bat followed Kotori’s line of sight to see the heavy rain.

Kotori returned her gaze to the drenched bat.

It must be feeling cold since it’s all wet…maybe I can help warm it up?

Kotori beckoned to the bat to come closer.

“Mm? You can’t hear me from the sound of the rain?” Honoka-bat was not cold; she also guessed Kotori’s intentions wrongly as she went over to Kotori.

It trusts me~ Now I can hug it to give it some warmth.

Kotori grinned wider, glad that the bat trusted her enough to come closer. She scooped the bat into her arms to hold it closer, with all the honest intentions of warming the little bat. However, the results were like a mischievous devil at work as she pressed the bat’s face against her rather exposed chest.

The rain had made the white dress Kotori wore stick to her body and also translucent; as the fabric and skin below is now more visible making Honoka-bat squirm.

“Ah, um, Kotori-chan! K-K-Kotori-chan..!” Honoka-bat tried to break free and pushed, but froze in mid-action when she realized that would be molesting the unknowing girl. “Ah..! I-I-I can see Kotori-chan’s pink…lacy…bra…Ah! Don’t look, Honoka!” Honoka-bat hid her face behind her wings to hide her blush.

Does it not like how I’m holding it..? I hope I didn’t hurt it…

Kotori was worried that she hurt the bat, so she brought the bat away from her chest and let it rest on her palms instead.

“Sorry, I hope I didn’t hurt you…I just wanted to warm you up because you look quite cold…” Kotori smiled a gentle but nervous smile to the shivering bat that hid behind its wings.

Honoka-bat shook her head violently when she heard Kotori’s intentions. “Y-Y-You didn’t hurt me, Kotori-chan! It’s just that-”

Honoka-bat made the mistake of opening her eyes which provided her the zoomed out view of Kotori’s tinted light pink cheeks, traces of rain from earlier trickling down Kotori’s neck to the space in between her chest, and the white against pink. Honoka-bat flipped in Kotori’s hands and buried her face in Kotori’s soft fingers, exposing her butt for Kotori to see, though since it’s a bat’s butt there isn’t a problem.

“Wah…!” Honoka-bat screamed into Kotori’s soft fingers, not sure what she should be doing.

“Eh? Um…” Kotori did not know what to make of the situation; the bat seemed to dislike what she just did, but it was making such cute noises and actions that it made Kotori want to smile.

This bat is just so adorable…It reminds me of Honoka-chan…

Kotori giggled which made Honoka-bat peek behind to see Kotori.

Ah…Maybe I could help dry it and keep it warm with my cardigan.

Kotori placed the bat onto the floor carefully and took off her short, baby blue cardigan.

Honoka-bat who just got off Kotori’s hands went wide eyed. “K-Kotori-chan?! You should try to cover as much as you can-”

Honoka-bat was cut off when Kotori used the cardigan to rub gently at its back to the wings, which Honoka-bat could not help but spread for Kotori to dry.

Ah…The bat is allowing me to dry it…Hehe~

When Kotori pat softly on Honoka-bat’s cheek, she was reminded of where her cheek was earlier. “K-Kotori-chan!”

Honoka-bat grabbed the cardigan with her feet and flew at Kotori, wrapping the garment around Kotori’s chest. “You should cover yourself! What if someone s-saw!” Honoka-bat exclaimed as she kept her altitude around Kotori’s face.

Eh? I’m not feeling very cold, little bat…

“Eh? Um…I’m okay without the cardigan…” Kotori smiled, thinking that the bat might have thought that she would be cold without.

“No, you’re not!” Honoka-bat was feeling very exasperated, and had half a mind to change back to human form so that she can tell Kotori what’s wrong, but she knew better than to do that. Honoka-bat puffed her cheeks at Kotori before crossing her wings across her chest.

Ah…I think I made it angry…

“O-Okay…I’ll wear the cardigan, since you insist.” Kotori gave a small smile, hoping to appease the bat, and it did, since the bat stopped pouting.

“Ah~ I can’t wait to finish the banner and meet that rea~lly cute bat again, nya~” Honoka-bat looked behind Kotori while Kotori turned to see Rin wearing a cat-eared rain coat as she skipped by.

Kotori would have called out to Rin if she had an umbrella, but since she doesn’t she just smiled at Rin skipping through the streets in the rain.

Perhaps Rin-chan is running an errand…

“Oh, Rin-chan hopes to see you again. Ah! If you’re the bat that Rin-chan met!” Kotori added since it’s not confirmed that the bat Rin met is the same as this one, though Kotori don’t think that there would be many bats that reacts like a human around.

“Rin-chan wants to see me again? Hehe~ That sounds fun!” Honoka-bat chuckled.

“If you know a bat that met a cat-like girl who was eating ramen in the night…you could tell your friend to go see her…” Kotori tried relaying the message, or hoped that the message would be relayed that Rin wants a second meeting.

“I will! Thanks for letting me know, Kotori-chan!” Honoka-bat beamed at Kotori with her fangs.

“Let’s wait for the rain to let up together?” Kotori leaned against the dry but cold wall and looked over to the bat who nodded and lined itself by the wall beside Kotori.

“Sounds like a plan~” Honoka-bat relaxed for a bit before going on high alert again. “I almost changed again..! Let’s talk more, Kotori-chan! So I don’t’ let my guard down…”

Kotori smiled at the bat that copied her actions.

This bat is really intelligent…I wouldn’t mind bringing it back home~ But mum definitely won’t allow it…I think…

 At a table outside the café, three vampires who decided to meet up this Sunday to get to know each other more were now stuck at the café till the rain lets up.

The three vampires don’t fancy drinking human beverages though water is fine, but since they were going to take up a table, they ordered a single hot tea in the pretence of trying the same drink.

“The world sure knows how to throw a wet blanket on our fun.” Nico has been staring at the rain falling from the clouds for some time now, while Nozomi and Hanayo followed suit to enjoy the sound of rain and quietened chatter from inside the café.

“Aw, I’m still having fun~ Don’t be such a downer, Niccochi.” Nozomi tapped lightly at Nico’s feet with her own, feeling a little lazy to move her hands.

“…” Nico frowned. “Stop kicking me. You’re going to get my shoes dirty!” Nico threw a glare at the grinning purplenette.

“I-I’m still having fun too!” Hanayo stuttered, despite opening up a lot more from spending more time with her new friends earlier in the day. “J-Just being with…N-Nico-chan and N-Nozomi-chan…is fun…for me…” Hanayo fidgeted and spun her fingers around each other nervously.

Nozomi looked over at the shy vampire with a caring and understanding gaze. “I feel the same way, Hanayo-chan. Right, Niccochi?”

Nico raised an eyebrow before looking away to hide her reddening cheeks. “Yeah, whatever.”

Nozomi chuckled at Nico’s dishonest display while Nico huffed. Hanayo looked on at the interaction between her two new friends and hope that she can naturally tease or just speak with them someday.

“So…” Nico rested her chin on her left hand. “I get that Nozomi is an annoying, spiritual-believing, glutton who loves meat vampire-”

“And Nicocchi is a short, small, tiny, petite-”

“Hey!” Nico glared at Nozomi while Nozomi raised both hands up in surrender.

“I’m just returning the favour~”

“Ugh…” Nico groaned before resting her chin on her palm again. “And Hanayo here is an overly shy, rice-loving vampire. Plus your bestfriend is a human.”

Hanayo nodded shyly.

“Well, we’re done knowing each other. Let’s-”

A cat-hooded girl skipped pass their table which made Nico stop mid-sentence. The other two followed her gaze.

“R-Rin-chan?” Hanayo recognized the bubbly, orange haired girl under the cat raincoat.

The passer-by paused her happy pace to turn to the voice that called her; her face broke into a wide smile. “Kayochin, nya! What are you doing here? I just went shopping, nya! What a small world~”

“Ah…Um…I’m with Nico-chan and Nozomi-chan…” Hanayo gestured to her company.

“Oh~! Hello, Nico-chan, Nozomi-chan nya~!” Rin greeted.

“Hello, Rin-chan.” Nozomi smiled to the energetic girl.

“Hello.” Nico greeted with her eyebrows raised, wondering who would go shopping when it’s pouring so badly, even if you have a really cute cat-hooded raincoat and rain boots.

“What did you shop for, Rin-chan?” Nozomi asked the question on the mind of every one sitting at the table.

“Nya?” Rin blinked once before bouncing. “Oh~ I wanted a glittering orange marker for my banner!”

“A banner?” Hanayo asked which Rin nodded excitedly to.

“Yes, nya! I’m gonna make a ‘Welcome Bat’ banner!” Rin’s eyes were sparkling with excitement as her broad smile portrayed how proud she was of her wordplay.

“W-Welcome bat..? Not back?” Hanayo hoped she heard wrongly while Nico frowned, and Nozomi tried to keep her grin.

“Yes, nya! Rin think bats would say ‘Welcome bat’ instead of ‘Welcome back’ right?” Rin shared her thought process with a giggle. “Isn’t Rin smart, nya? Rin is gonna welcome that really cute bat back, nya~ Rin hopes we can meet again.” Rin smiled fondly at the memory of the very interesting bat she encountered that night.

“Mm…” Hanayo didn’t know what she could say.  

“Well, Rin gotta go now, Kayochin. See you tomorrow! Bye bye, Nico-chan, Nozomi-chan!” Rin waved goodbye with the orange marker that was now getting wet by the rain before skipping off.

“…” Silence returned to the café table while Nico, Nozomi and Hanayo held worried expressions and feelings.

Nozomi tried to lighten the atmosphere. “Rin-chan wanting to meet the very different bat is so cute…don’t you think?” She looked over to Hanayo who had worry spilling out of her very existence.

“How is that cute? It’s horrible, Nozomi!” Nico the realist places the facts on the table. “That bat is definitely vampire!” Hanayo paled even more.

“W-What should we do?”

“We’ve got to do something.” Nico stated as a matter of fact. “We’ve got to do this fast before the bat visits.” Nico furrowed her eyebrows, while Nozomi nodded, agreeing that it’s better to not let there be a chance for the bat to see the Welcome banner.

“Um…Rin-chan isn’t very good with handiworks and arts & craft…So I don’t think she will be able to complete it so fast..?” Hanayo shared her knowledge for planning.

“Hm…” Nozomi hummed in thought. “How long do you think she will take?”

“Um…maybe…perhaps…it could…”

“Oh, just get with the estimation.” Nico lost her patience.

“Ah, um.” Hanayo squeaked, surprised at Nico’s raised voice. “Maybe two days?”

“Two days, huh.” Nico counted the date in her head.

“If Rin-chan focuses and does it…I think.” Hanayo added.

“That’s good enough information. How about we meet at Rin-chan’s place on Tuesday night then?” Nozomi suggested.

“To Rin-chan’s house?!” Hanayo voiced worriedly.

“Duh, we’ve got to remove that banner.” Nico pointed.

“We’ll be at her window, not her front door, Hanayo-chan.” Nozomi guessed that Hanayo thought they were planning to confront Rin face to face, but that of course was not the plan.

“Oh…Okays. G-Good luck?”

“You’re coming too, Hanayo.”

“Ehh?!” Hanayo shrieked at the thought of climbing to her bestfriend’s window to take down her hard work.

Nico stared at Hanayo. “You do know you’re the one with knowledge of where Rin lives right?”

“Ah…Right…” Hanayo only just realized.

Nozomi giggled. “With that settled.”

“What’s settled?” Nico grunted.

“Let’s enjoy our date, yes?” Nozomi clapped both hands together, grinning.

“M-Mmph…” Hanayo had a small smile, still afraid of expressing herself.

“It’s still raining cats and dogs, so we’re stuck at this café.” Nico pointed at the sky with her pointer finger.

The other two lowered their gazes, feeling slightly upset that they can’t walk around and play more.

 The sun or rain did not really matter for Sonoda Umi who was spending her weekend indoors. However, the Sonoda archery range is open-aired, so it was a fortunate thing that she had practiced scoring at least a 90% bull’s eye in the morning. She only shot an off mark when a certain orange-brown haired childhood friends of hers pop by in her head saying “Umi-chan, your form is so pretty~” which made Umi blush and lost her posture.

It was nearing evening when she did some self-study, Umi then moved to the dojo for some kendo practice with her father. The Sonoda family believes that learning the tools that humans use can come in handy as an extension to their natural ability and her father is already considering the usage of guns in the future.

Umi and her father bowed before the beginning of their match.

I hope to get three points out of Father today…

“Ha!”

No, I should not be hoping. Fight for it.

“Ha!”

They exchanged blows, side stepping and parrying for a good thirty minutes before her father got her good with a back attack.

Umi blinked out of her concentration and smiled, though it was not visible under the mask. They faced each other and bowed once more, each taking their mask out, now revealing their satisfied smiles.

Father is just amazing…I just could not decide when to attempt a fast one…

“Were you still waiting for an opportunity, Umi?”

“Yes…But Father’s stance did not seem to leave an opening for attack at all…”

Umi’s father had a small smile. “I told you; create your own opportunity.”

Umi lowered her gaze to the centre of the dojo.

Create my own opportunity…It isn’t as simple as it seems. There are so many factors to consider after all…

“Your stance was near perfect too, but I chose when to use my speed and pull a surprise attack when you were not expecting it. Or should I say, might have not been expecting that.”

Might…that’s ‘hoping’, is it not? Leaving it to the hands of fate…

“So it’s…luck?” Umi furrowed her eyebrows while her father chuckled.

“Luck is always a factor, Umi. But if you don’t do anything but play defend, you won’t get the hit.”

Umi smiled, thinking about how she had always been one to wait out for the “correct” timing, while Honoka would run off headfirst and somehow get something out of it.

If only I could be as fearless as Honoka…

Umi’s father noticed the warm smile on his daughter’s face. “Honoka on your mind?”

“Yes…” Umi answered without thinking, only realizing a second after, thus turning as red as her other childhood friend’s hair colour. “N-No! I didn’t say that, Father. I was thinking about how to improve in kendo…”

What was I thinking?! Just admitting to thinking of Honoka…Why is she so talented at embarrassing me, even when she isn’t here…

Umi knew from her father’s bemused and knowing smile that he was not buying whatever excuse she can try to come up with, so she sighed.

Children must be entertainment for parents…

“Not hanging out with her this weekend?”

“I have a busy schedule.” Umi shrugged while raising her kendo sword.

I wonder what Honoka is doing now…Hopefully not causing trouble for others or herself…

“When you want to see someone, you will make time for them no matter what ‘schedule’ says. In fact, schedule will have that person’s name in it.” Umi’s father’s eyes twinkled, while Umi felt her admiration for her father growing again. The wise words from her father always strike her to the soul; providing wisdom to the inexperienced her.

However, since this word of advice was for a matter like meeting the annoying, smiling silly, impulsive ginger, she frowned.

Why should I be the one to make time for her? She should come and find me… Wait, what am I even thinking of? Do I want…Honoka to come and find me..?

“Let’s wrap up and have dinner?”

“Ah, right.” Umi reached for her father’s sword to help return, while her father waited for her at the door.

Honoka is…She does things at her own pace so much that I can barely second guess her next action. I have to be the one to find her and set her on course.

Umi decided that her schedule would include Honoka in it anyways and so, making time for Honoka she will.

 Maki wore a white lab coat and held a clipboard as she exited another room. Today she was on patient duty instead of experiments for future medicine or other handy discovery for humans and vampires alike. The previous patient being her last for the day, she went to the lounge to relax.

“Maki, thank you for today.” Maki’s mum greeted her daughter.

“It wasn’t much, mum.” Maki wore a tired smile and stretched after taking off her coat.

“Hm…” Maki’s mum hummed in thought.

“Is something wrong?” Maki looked over concernedly.

“I’m thinking that my daughter has not been spending much time with her friends. And as a healthy teenager, she should be.” Maki’s mum had a playful smile.

Friends…Honoka and Umi are probably busy with their families’ right about now.

“Honoka and Umi would be home, no?”

“Eh?” Maki blinked and took a step back defensively as her mum seemed to have read her mind.

Even if they are home…

“Papa and I will be busy this evening, so you could go look for them for dinner?”

Dinner with Honoka…and Umi, of course. But going over uninvited…

“Honoka always drops by every now and then too, after all.” Maki’s mum chuckled at the memory of the energetic ginger popping by, surprising the family of doctors but bringing along a bright smile.

“That’s true…” Maki smiled wryly at the same memory her mum was thinking of.

It sounds fun too…Perhaps I could give it a try.

“Of course, we can always call to tell them you’re on the way.” Maki’s mum shrugged at the phone on the desk which made Maki smile. Technology is abundant in this day and age, appearing in someone else’s house without a word is could be considered rude already.

“Right. I’ll stop by Umi’s house first then.”

We could head over to Honoka’s house as per usual.

“Oh? Not Honoka’s?” Maki’s eyes widened, she can tell that the tease was coming, but she really could not do anything about. “And then stay for dinner with her, without Umi around.”

Maki did not want to, but her body reaction was out of her control, she burned scarlet. “I-I won’t leave Umi out of a…a friendly dinner…”

Maki’s mum laughed. “Alright, alright. I’ve got to go now, so I’ll just take one point for tonight.”

Maki frowned. “Mm…”

Maybe I should team up with Papa to get back at Mama from all these teasing…

Maki’s mum passed her daughter and leaned in to give her a peck on her cheek. “Have fun, Maki.”

“Take care, mama.” Maki pecked her mum’s cheek too and left with her mum.

 Maki called Umi to find out that they were having dinner already, so she said she will get dinner outside before going over to look for Honoka. Why not try having dinner at Honoka’s? Because Maki felt like it would be too embarrassing to dine with the Kousaka family on her own even though she done it before many times.

Maki entered through the front door, Homura. “Honoka-mama, is Honoka around?”

Yukiho popped her head out of the kitchen. “Onee-chan flew off after we did a delivery! Maki-chan should totally scold her later!” Yukiho popped back inside the kitchen as suddenly as she popped out.

Maki had a wry smile before frowning. “Running away from responsibilities again?”

Honoka-mama chuckled, already coming to terms with today’s case. “Would you like to wait for her upstairs?”

“Yeah, I’ll wait for her upstairs.” Maki started for the stairs but stopped. “Um…Honoka-mama, do you need any help?”

“It’s okay, the evening crowd is manageable. Thanks for the offer, Maki-chan.” Honoka-mama smiled at the sweet intentions from the redhead who was practically like another daughter to her, as with Umi.

Maki nodded with a small smile and went to Honoka’s room.

 Inside Honoka’s room, she pulled out her phone to call Honoka, but it went to voice mail, so she messaged Umi about Honoka’s absence before making herself at home.

“Do you know what time she will be back? I’m coming over now.” Umi replied.

Honoka is an unknown case.

“She ran away from work. Not sure when she will be back.” Maki sent her reply before returning to strolling around Honoka’s room like it was a museum.

Honoka sure reads a lot of manga…I won’t deny how funny or cute it can get but…she could try reading some astronomy or human anatomy some time…

Maki noticed a book with a star bookmark sticking out of the bottom shelf and bend down to take a look.

“My North Star…” Maki raised an eyebrow before flipping the book to check its summary.

The title sounds cheesy…And the story is romance, as expected…

Maki was okay with reading romance, but picking up someone else’s read is a different matter. Her cheeks were glowing as she returned the book, however, her phone’s beep surprised her and she dropped the book which opened to where the reader has stopped.

The main character, Maki assumed, placed her hand gently on the person lying beside her, obviously her crush or couple already, only the reader would know, and went on to spout cheesier lines that made Maki flushed.

“The brightest stars I see are always in your mesmerizing violets…”

Maki felt the need to blush even more when she realized the partner had violet eyes like hers, she quickly picked up the book to close it, but not before noticing the scribbles of messy handwriting that could only belong to the orange-brown haired vampire that attacked her thoughts at this moment.

“Reading a book about stars related to stars for Maki-chan!”

“…” Maki shut the book tight when two knocks sounded from the door, she fumbled in returning the book to where it belonged before standing up straight, trying to not look suspicious.

For me? What the heck, Honoka… Are you actually trying to make me flustered…Wait, why am I even feeling flustered? Ugh…

Maki hurried to her phone which made her knock into the coffee table. “Ouch!”

The door opened for Umi to see Maki clutching her leg. “You okay?”

“Y-Yeah…” Maki stumbled her way to Honoka’s bed to sit.

“Were you doing something you shouldn’t be doing?” Umi had a wry smile, blatantly trying to tease the redhead who had a complexion matching her hair.

“N-No…Just looking at what manga Honoka has…” Maki looked away, willing her blush to die down.

“Hm, she should be reading her math textbook instead when she has the time…” Umi took a seat on the ground.

Maki reached for her phone. “Oh, missed your text earlier.”

“No problem, I was just letting you know that we could formulate a plan to get Honoka back home.” Umi’s mouth set in a line, not sure to smile or frown.

Maki decided to smile. “Umi the expert at catching Honoka should do the trick.”

“If it was that easy…It’s about to be night already.” Umi frowned, she did not want a repeat of Honoka’s night escapade.

“True. I’m sure she won’t be very late. It was raining earlier, so she might be taking cover.”

“I’m surprised you know that it rained.” Umi raised her eyebrows, the daughter of doctors tend to say she did not know whether it was sunny, rainy or had rainbows in the sky when Honoka shared her opinion of the weather.

“The floor was wet, so…” Maki explained.

“Ah, I see.”

The two childhood friends sat around as they waited for the third of the party to return, at times chatting, at times just enjoying the silence.

 When the rain had eased up, Honoka-bat immediately flapped her wings and flew in front of Kotori.

“Kotori-chan! The rain has let up~ Let’s go home!”

Kotori giggled. “Mmph, the rain has let up…Do you want to come over to my house? Maybe get more dry..?”

I’d like to spend more time with you…

“Mm…I’m not very sure where I am now, so I guess following Kotori-chan first would be good…” Honoka-bat landed in front of Kotori and put a wing to her chin as she thought aloud.

Hehe…The bat must be thinking right now…I wonder where it learnt all those human actions…

“Let’s go then, Kotori-chan! Before it rains again!” Honoka-bat pumped a wing in the air while Kotori stood up.

Kotori took off the cardigan that was haphazardly wrapped around her by the adorable bat beside her, so she can wear it properly. Honoka-bat saw Kotori taking off the cardigan and screamed.

“Wah! K-Kotori-chan?! B-But your chest!” Honoka-bat shot herself backwards which made her crash into the opposite wall and fell to the floor. “Uu…”

“Ah! Are you okay?” Kotori quickly donned her cardigan and rushed over to the fallen bat, picking it up gently.

“I-I’m okay…Kotori-chan…I sometimes…forget how to control my speed or strength…” Honoka rubbed her back and looked up to see that Kotori’s dress has dried considerably, so it was no longer showing off Kotori’s bra. “L-Let’s go?” Honoka-bat pointed to the outside which Kotori understood as ‘go out’, so she carried the bat carefully as she went for the exit, not noticing the dent the bat had placed in the wall when it flew backwards earlier.

Ah, bats aren’t really good with light, so…

Kotori moved the bat under her cardigan to give it coverage from the setting sun’s light.

“Kotori-chan..?” Honoka-bat who had her eyes closed for a moment of relief that Kotori’s bra was not visible, but opened them to be trapped within the baby blue cardigan and the white dress. Again, near Kotori’s chest. “Wah!” Honoka-bat fell backwards onto Kotori’s cardigan so as to not accidentally touch Kotori’s chest. She decided that shielding her sight from the world until she reached Kotori’s house was the best choice of action now, thus she wrapped her wings around her head.

“Oh, look.” Kotori commented when she stopped by the junction which she would have to part with Honoka to go to her house. Honoka-bat peered out. “This is where I walk home from school.”

“Same here~” Honoka-bat hopped to her feet and took a plunge. “See you tomorrow, Kotori-chan!” Honoka-bat flapped her wings and gave a quick wave before flying off for home.

“Ah, oh…bye bye…” Kotori was surprised by the bat’s sudden movement but returned the wave with a smile. “I hope we can meet again…”

“Me too!” Honoka-bat called back with a grin and air flip.

 Honoka-bat guessed that the front door would equate to nagging, but she knew she had to apologize, so she changed form when she was sure that no one was around, and went in.

“H-Hey…mum. I’m back…Sorry, I’m late?” Honoka smiled nervously, praying that she won’t get an allowance cut.

“Welcome back, Honoka. Umi-chan and Maki-chan are in your room waiting for you.” Honoka’s eyes widened in horror at the names of her childhood friends.

“Am I going to get scolded?”

“I sure hope so.” Yukiho crossed her arms and scowled at her sister.

“Ah…heh heh…I’m sorry for leaving you alone earlier, Yukiho…” Honoka placed her hand at her neck apologetically.

Yukiho just “Hmph” and went for her room.

“Oh well…guess I’ll have to make it up to Yukiho later.”

“You could buy her pudding.” Honoka’s mum offered.

“Mmph! See you, mum!” Honoka ran up the stairs to her room, but stopped outside, bracing herself for some scolding.

Honoka knocked her room’s door.

“You don’t have to knock the door to your own room, right?” Umi asked from inside.

Honoka laughed nervously as she opened the door slowly. “Well…I wouldn’t want to scare you…” Honoka closed the door and gave a crooked smile to the two residents in her room.

“And where have you been?” Umi wore a serious expression deliberately; she discussed with Maki earlier that they could try to be less harsh on her, but for the sake of it, she will pretend to be stern at the beginning.

“Playing in the rain, Honoka?” Maki kept her poker face, though she was smiling internally, happy to see Honoka back before sun down.

“Ah…I didn’t expect it to rain, really…It rained so suddenly! And so I was outside taking cover for some time…I saw Rin-chan too!” Honoka became bubbly as she recounted what happened.

“Don’t tell me you…” Umi left her words hanging, hoping that Honoka did not go about acting humanly in bat form in front of Rin a second time.

“Oh, I didn’t get to say hi. Rin-chan was skipping in the rain in this really cute cat rain coat!” Honoka smiled broadly.

“Cat rain coat, huh?” Maki smiled, wondering if Honoka would wear that, she blushed at the thought and quickly tried to physically erase the thought by brushing her hand above her head.

“Maki?” Umi did not know why Maki swept her hand above her head so she asked. “Is there a mosquito?”

Maki frowned. “If there was, I would be its only food source, so no.”

“Hehe~ Maki-chan would prefer someone else sucking her blood right?” Honoka bounced on her bed, sidling up to Maki which made the redhead turn tomato.

“W-Why would I even my blood to be sucked?” Maki leaned away from the vampire who was leaning extremely close to her neck.

“Stop playing around.” Umi pulled Honoka by the shirt away from the only human in the house.

“Ehehe~” Honoka naturally moved her hand behind her head as she laughed sheepishly, though she was hardly repentant.

The three conversed about their weekend for a few hours before they decided to leave before it gets too late for Maki again. Umi reminded Honoka to clean herself properly, pack for school and that they will be hunting together soon, which Honoka just nodded with her goofy smile to each reminder. Umi shook her head, she could only pray for Honoka to remember any of the things she reminded her of, before she left for home with Maki.

Author Notes

Sunday; a day for respite, leisure and quality time with yourself or with family and friends. Or for a writer like Miyuki, staying home and writing so as to be able to share with everyone some love~ X’D

Hehes~ It’s another long chapter! ^^ Sunday is fun isn’t it? And rainy shenanigans too~

I kind of realized that Honoka tend to speak her mind…so if I try to share her thoughts there isn’t much, since she might just say what she’s thinking~ :P But of course, she still thinks, just not as much as Kotori or Maki~ XP

So~ Let me know what y’all thought of this lovely Sunday the girls had~ *O* Honoka and Yukiho meets the Ayase family! (I totally had fun writing that~ Eli worries while Arisa fangirls~ hahas~ XD)

Nico-Nozomi-Hanayo trio of vampires hanging out~

Mm…anyways! *O*

Leave a comment if you like~ I’d greatly appreciate your thoughts~ XD

[recentanimenews]

Girls Whisper Softly in Your Ears in TV Anime 180-Byou de Kimi no Mimi o Shiawase ni Dekiru ka? PV

    The official website for the forthcoming TV anime 180-Byou de Kimi no Mimi o Shiawase ni Dekiruka? (Can I Make Your Ears Happy in 180 Seconds?) has posted a 90-second PV that introduces the appeal of the AMSR sound used in the anime (The use of headphones is strongly encouraged!).

  It is als oannounced that the ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response)-themed five-minute original short anime is set to premiere on TOKYO MX at 25:00 on October 14, 2021 (JST).

    PV introduction:

  Gekkou-chan, a childhood friend of yours, learns that you are into ASMR and begins to research it. When she was scratching a dummy head's ear, she heard a rumbling sound. When she hears that throbbing sound, she can't help but say, "Oh, this is a good sound..." and begins to be attracted to the appeal of ASMR. There is also a scene where Gekkou-chan's classmate, Akimizu-chan, tries her hand at ear scratching, and the water and ice sound made by Gekkou-chan's sister, Youkou-san, who says, "Let's listen to the sound of ice a lot." In addition, Gekkou-chan's mother, your sisters, and Akimizu-chan's father also appear with their character voices.

    PV:

    ♬•*¨*•.¸¸♪#180秒で君の耳を幸せにできるか？ 　　　PV解禁&放送日決定！ 　　　　　　　　　　　•*¨*•.¸¸♬•*¨ ハマっちゃったらダメなやつ☝️ ※ヘッドフォンでの視聴をお薦めします???? 10月14日より毎週木曜日25:00〜 TOKYO MXにて放送開始????????https://t.co/uo5Vrgaqu1 #きみ耳 #ASMR pic.twitter.com/7CNfowOHBy

— TVアニメ『180秒で君の耳を幸せにできるか？』公式 (@180Kimimimi) September 9, 2021

        Synopsis:

  The protagonist is "you." When your childhood friend girl Gekkou-chan hears that you are into ASMR, she buys a "dummy head microphone" and starts researching ASMR. Then there are Akimizu-chan, who wants to be friends with Gekkou, Gekkou's older sister and mom, and your twin younger sisters. The seven characters around you are drawn to the appeal of ASMR. Three minutes = 180 seconds in which you can experience realistic sounds, including ear scratching, breathing, voices, touching squeezes, ice, water, typing, and other household sounds.

    Key visual:

  Main voice cast:

  Akari Sawake / Gekkou-chan: Shiori Mikami (Akari Akaza in Yuruyuri)

Shusui Kagami: Suzuko Mimori (Umi Sonoda in Love Live!)

Hikari Sawake: Azumi Waki (Nagisa Minase in Girlfriend, Girlfriend)

Udoku Sawake: Kanae Ito (Nanami Nanase in Gundam Build Divers)

Nanako: Yu Serizawa (Shera L. Greenwood in How Not to Summon a Demon Lord)

Kanako: Aoi Koga (Kaguya Shinomiya in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War)

Jiro: Show Hayami (Ferdinand in Ascendance of a Bookworm)

    Sources: TV anime "180-Byou de Kimi no Mimi o Shiawase ni Dekiruka?" official website / Twitter

  © KimiKimi Production Committee

  By: Mikikazu Komatsu

[ryqoshay]

Putting on Hairs: Monster Manual

Summary: Short descriptions of the monster types of each girl and the role they play in the theater or in association with it. Warning: This Manual may contain ***SPOILERS*** for characters not yet mentioned or explored or for scenes that have not yet been written, though I will try to keep things limited to what has been revealed.

This chapter also may end up being edited. A lot. This whole thing is a work in progress, so unrevealed or unexplored characters may have their monster types or roles, or both, changed if a better idea presents itself.

----------

Name: Yazawa Nico Race: Weredog Werewolf Role: Star of Putting on Hairs Background: Inspired to be an actress by her father, who wanted her to share her smile with the world. She has been acting pretty much as long as she has been able to talk. She had many lead roles back in high school and college, but was unable to land one upon becoming a professional, despite her popularity with both critics and general audiences. She earned enough to hire an old high school friend, Nozomi, to be her agent. It was Nozomi that found a newly opened theater willing to give Nico her first shot at stardom on the professional stage.

Name: Nishikino Maki Race: Salamander Role: Costar of Putting on Hairs Background: Maki was born into a family of famous and wealthy movie stars. However, she grew up falling in love with live theater, instead of the silver screen. Still, she obeyed her parents' wishes and became a child star in a television series and appeared in many commercials afterward. After college, she manged to persuade her parents to let her try performing in live theater and they made the connections that landed her costar role alongside the rising star, Nico.

Name: SakurauchiRiko Race: Demon, formerly of Amdusias' legion Role: Pianist in the orchestra Background: Fearing facing an eternity of playing the cacophonous music of Hell, Riko fled to Earth in an attempt to find something else. She was quickly drawn to the piano and was able to earn a meager living playing in bars and other small venues. She applied many other places and was eventually accepted at a newly opened theater.

Name: Tsushima Yoshiko Yohane Race: Angel, Fallen Role: Assistant in the costume department Background: Cast out of heaven and cursed, Yoshiko has spent years trying to find her place in the mortal realm. Somehow, she found herself in Tokyo and stumbled into a kind woman, Kotori, who offered to teach her how to weave her own feathers into garments that could be sold at a premium. When Kotori accepted a position at a theater being opened by her childhood friend, Umi, Yoshiko decided to follow and continue her apprenticeship. Name: Toujou Nozomi Race: ??? Role: Nico's agent Background: Nico's closest friend since high school where they were in the same drama club. They moved in together in college and have lived together since. Nozomi majored in business and began her own talent agency with Nico as her first client.

Name: Minami Kotori Race: Crane Role: Head of costume department Background: Childhood friend of Umi and Honoka. Has always had an affinity toward clothing and design. When Umi started working with Dia to open a theater, Kotori jumped at the chance to make outfits for the cast. She is quite skilled at using her own feathers to imbue exceptional qualities in the clothing she creates and is happy to pass this knowledge to Yoshiko, her assistant. She is also capable of using other materials derived from other beings, e.g. Phobetor's fur or Riko's wings. Favors are her preferred currency, particularly those that will benefit the theater.

Name: Sonoda Umi Race: ??? Role: Co-founder and Co-owner of the Sonoda Kurosawa Theater Background: Childhood friend of Kotori and Honoka. Daughter of the renowned Sonoda family who already have a theater in Tokyo. However, as her elder brother stands to inherit the family theater, she has decided to open one of her own in a different district.

Name: Kousaka Honoka Race: ??? Role: Owner of Kousaka Catering Background: Childhood friend of Kotori and Umi. Took over the family catering business when her parents retired. Happily contracts with Umi's theater as often as possible.

Name: Hoshizora Rin Race: ??? (cat something) Role: Delivery girl at Kousaka Catering Background: Childhood friend, now girlfriend of Hanayo. Happily supports her girlfriend's theater obsession, even if she doesn't share it.

Name: Koizumi Hanayo Race: ??? Role: Cast member Background: Childhood friend, now girlfriend of Rin. Obsessed with theater from a young age, Hanayo has always dreamed of becoming an actress. However, she lacks courage. Rin's encouragement and support were the driving force behind her joining the theater club in high school and eventually earning a degree in acting. It was also Rin's connection with Umi through Honoka that led her to be brought on at the new theater.

Name: Ohara Mari Race: ??? Role: Heiress to the Ohara chain of hotels and patron of the theater Background: Childhood friend of Kanan and Dia. Lost track of her best friends when she moved to the United States to finish high school and then Italy for college. Returned to Japan but was only successful in reuniting with Kanan. Both moved to Tokyo when they heard Dia was opening a theater there. She owns a sizable penthouse apartment near the theater where she lives with Kanan. She leaves a room open for Dia, should she ever wish to accept the offer.

Name: Matsuura Kanan Race: Kraken Role: Owner of a dive shop and driver for Mari Background: Childhood friend of Mari and Dia. Lost track of Mari when she moved to the United States to finish high school and Dia when she moved to Tokyo for college. Reunited with Mari upon her return to Japan and agreed to move to Tokyo with her when they heard Dia was opening a theater there. She lives with Mari in a sizable penthouse apartment. As Mari refuses to charge her rent, she contributes to the household in other ways, like driving for Mari.

Name: Kurosawa Dia Race: ??? Role: Co-founder and Co-owner of the Sonoda Kurosawa Theater Background: Childhood friend of Mari and Kanan. Lost track of Mari when she moved to the United States to finish high school. Then she moved to Tokyo for college and lost track of Kanan. She is not entirely sure how Mari and Kanan learned she was opening a theater, but she is grateful for the generous donations made by Mari. She is also grateful Mari has not attempted to use the donations as leverage in her repeated efforts to get Dia to move in with her and Kanan. As for the theater, she has not openly discussed her reasons for moving to Tokyo instead of staying in Numazu where her family was already established in the industry. Upon opening, she extended an offer of employment to her younger sister, Ruby.

Name: Kurosawa Ruby Race: ??? Role: General staff at the theater Background: Younger sister of Dia. Grew up obsessed with acting, though has never had the courage to try becoming an actress herself. She moved to Tokyo when Dia offered her employment at the theater she was opening. Her best friend, Hanamaru, has suggested trying for a few minor roles, but time will tell if she does so.

Name:Kunikida Hanamaru Race: ??? Role: Theater crew Background: Best friend of Ruby who she met in middle school. Raised in a temple with few modern amenities, she has limited experience with technology. However, the temple did host many events over the years, most of which included some sort of theatrical performace. As such, Hanamaru decided to join Ruby in moving to Tokyo and applied for a position in the crew for Dia's theater.

Name: Emma Verde Race: ??? Role: ??? Background: Born and raised in Switzerland, she moved to Japan to learn more about the country's culture by way of its theater production. At least that is what she would say if asked in a public interview. In private, among those she trusts, she would admit she wanted to learn more about the differences of public perception and acceptance of monsters in Japan compared to the rest of the world.

----------

Notes: So, that's what I have at the moment. I'll keep adding details as they come to me.

As mentioned above, I will attempt to keep this chapter spoiler-free. However, as spoilers personally do not bother me, if the interest is there with my readers, I will put everything I have here, not just the details revealed in the story, up to wherever I have managed to write. This probably will result in more edit notifications, as I will undoubtedly change things, right up to the point of it being used in the story. And I'm not opposed to possible retcons if better ideas come later.

Also, many of the ??? entries are due to me not having assigned that monster type or role to that girl, though some I have assigned, but have not yet revealed. I am still working on filling my spreadsheet and bouncing ideas off several fellow authors.

However, I am more than happy to accept suggestions from my readers as well. Feel free to comment over on AO3 or send a suggestion anonymously here, or message me directly here, on twitter or Discord. If I like the idea or your reasoning, I may end up using it, and as always I will do my best to credit the sources of my inspiration.

Also, the idea doesn't necessarily need to be a perfect fit. Koto's is probably the best fit out of all of them; I really don't think I will end up doing better. WoofNic is shamelessly stolen from daily-nicotine. Krakanan was too funny not to use, though I knew she had to be some sort of sea critter. Maki started as an Ifrit and was changed to salamander because I love the idea of her being smaller than Nico. Riko is a demon to be an opposite to Yohane's angel, but I'm also amused by the contrast between Riko's canon traits and those stereotypically assigned to demons.

[lonelypond]

Love Is For Losers

NicoMaki, Love Live, 1.7K, 1/2

Summary: Yazawa Nico and Nishikino Maki are both key players on the Otonokizaka University Tennis Team. But now Nico has decided to "improve" Maki's social media and tennis game.

Love Is For Losers

Not the most flattering picture of herself, racquet ready, waiting for the return of a serve, but Maki Nishikino really liked her look of concentration. So she hit “Post.”. And the hearts and reactions and fire emojis piled on. Wait, what was that comment, from @NicoNi? “With squinty eyes like that, how can you see the ball?”

WTF?!?!?!? Junior and top tennis singles player Nico Yazawa was notorious for living on social media. Since practice started in September, she’d been leading weekly social media best practice training sessions for the Otonokizaka University team that freshman Maki had proudly never attended. And now she was trolling Maki? Was that a social media best practice?

Maki never replied to a comment, but to let the smug Nico Ni have the last word would grate across every nerve Maki had.

To quickly type, “Who’s in the top 10 national standings again? Can you see that?” seemed almost an illicit thrill. To get an instant reply of eye emojis, plus a sweatdrop made Maki laugh out loud. Quickly scoping out the coffeeshop to check if she’d drawn any attention to herself, Maki clicked through to NicoNi’s home page, Nico’s last post was a bikini shot with an obscene amount of hearts and various emoji combinations in an endless comment scroll. Maki snorted, too obvious an attention grab. Maki would ignore it and stick to tennis, which she knew very well. Ah, there was a pic of Nico rushing the net, one of her favorite ways to use her sprint speed. Maki had an in.

“Spend less time looking at my pics and more time on your approach shots.”

Another instant reply. Another sweat drop. “Nico knows. But you’re so pretty. See you at media training ; )”

Did Nico think she was going to get Maki into one of her stupid sessions like that? Maki dropped her phone on the table, sipping her espresso with a frown.

###

Maki’s phone pinged explosively. A series of messages from her self proclaimed bestie and doubles partner, Hoshizora Rin.

R: hahaha Maki Ma you really need to be here

R: Nico’s going through your TWIG account as her “what not to do on social media” slideshow

R: it’s so funny, Maki

R: (*≧艸≦)(*≧艸≦)(*≧艸≦)

R: you missed out Check out Nico’s LIVE.

Maki stared at her phone. Nico’s Live, that happened when you went to someone’s TWIG profile and clicked on their pic, right? Maki did, grimacing as she clicked on Nico’s face. Nico was in front of a whiteboard, drawing pictures of tennis rackets, disgustingly cute tennis rackets. She leaned forward, checking her phone, then grinned like someone who’d just served a winning ace.

“And @Nishikinoshot has just joined the fans watching Nico on TWIG Live…”

Maki heard Rin yell “Hi Maki!!!” in the background as Nico continued, “One of the best ways to learn how to properly conduct and promote yourself on social media is to find an influencer you respect and build a relationship with them. @Nishikinoshot has chosen @NicoNi, the smartest move she…

“I have not.” Maki shouted at her phone and then felt silly when she realized there was no way for Nico to see or hear her, or was there? TWIG kept floating an “ask to join the Live” teaser, so Maki thumbed it. Nico paused, obviously her notifications were on, another one of those winning serve grins and suddenly Maki was sharing Nico’s screen.

“Jumping into the Live. Good initiative, Nishikino..”

“Maki.”

“So why’d you pick your TWIG handle?”

What kind of a question was that?

“Nishikino shot...you know...because of tennis...the Nishikino shot always scores.” Also worked with photography, a hobby Maki wanted more time for.

“Nishikino announces her prowess off and on the court.” Nico giggled, Maki glared.

“What are you saying? That’s not right.”

“Ah, so you admit it is confusing. Make a note of that, class, it’s always best to have a tag that doesn’t confuse people.” Staring right at Maki, ruby eyes twinkling, Nico made an elaborately surprised, amused face, raising a hand to cover her mouth. “We were reading it as Nishikino’s hot, ‘cause you are.”

Maki flushed. And fumbled with her phone to end the live, not even registering what other garbage Nico was saying. And then her phone pinged again.

R: Are you all right, Maki? Nico was just having a little fun.

M: I don’t want to talk about Nico.

R: Okay.

M: That was your fault.

R: Hey, I thought you’d want to know.

M; Yeah...but tomorrow, after practice, you’re on clean up.

R: Maaaaaki (⁎˃ᆺ˂)’

###

Grunting, Maki swung through at full velocity, then grimaced as yet another practice serve skipped out of bounds. She leaned over to pick up another couple of balls. Both buckets were empty. Tempted to throw her racket, instead she shook her head, tucked her racquet under her arm, grabbed a bucket and went to the other side of the court to pick up the balls.

“Hey, let me help you,” chirped an unfamiliar voice. Maki turned. Nico Yazawa had grabbed the other buckets and was hustling for the net. Nico was always hustling, all lean muscle and speed. Her sable hair, usually put up in twin tails, was loose, still wet from the shower. She’d changed from her usual practice uniform to casual pink and black striped biker shorts and an oversized pink t-shirt shirt that slid off her shoulder and read “Killer Cute.” “Coach ended practice an hour ago.”

Maki shrugged, starting with the balls as far away as possible from the spot Nico had chosen.

“You’re always out here.”

“I take tennis seriously.”

Nico hesitated, hands on her hips, watching Maki curiously over mirror sunglasses perched halfway down her nose, “Nico sees that. But you can get trapped in patterns if no one points them out.”

“I’m fine. I win.”

“Don’t you want to win better?”

“Win better? That’s not a thing.” Maki tapped her racquet against her leg, fidgety.

“Accuracy matters.” Nico picked up a tennis ball, tossed it into Maki’s bucket, and winked, “Crush your opponents with finesse, not raw power. Fewer wasted serves.”

Maki’s hasty rush of anger changed to curiosity. Nico led the team in aces, with amazing power for someone so short. “Coach hasn’t said anything.”

“Like you said, you get the job done. And Coach has other problems...like keeping Honoka from exhausting herself in the first few volleys.”

They both chuckled at how eager Honoka Kosaka was to chase down every ball, until she hit empty. As a joke, after their last practice, Rin had her girlfriend, Hanayo Koizumi, the team manager, post a photoshopped pic of a golden retriever playing next to Honoka’s double’s partner, Umi Sonoda. Honoka had laughed longer than anyone.

Nico was right, Maki realized. Coach had been spending a lot of time on the players with more basic problems. And their assistant spend most of the time on opponent research, editing video footage.

“Nico uses a platform stance, but Maki could get away with a pin-point stance. Watch my feet.” Nico grabbed a ball, tossing it up, swinging at it with a pretend racquet. Instead of her feet remaining the same distance apart, her back foot shifted closer to the front one and then she pushed off up into the serve. “You’ve already got natural explosive power, you don’t need a nitro boost.”

Maki considered, moving her feet through the change Nico suggested. It felt comfortable, offering more control. She nodded, then jumped back when Nico clapped her on the upper arm.

“You’re a quick learner. Hang on. Nico will hop over there and you can try it out. It’s more fun with an opponent.”

“I’ll win. You’ll be crushed.” Maki winked.

Nico laughed and it echoed. “Nico didn’t teach you everything Nico knows.”

###

“So you’re a local too.” Nico was scooping salad into Maki’s bowl. They’d decided to stop for dinner.

“Yeah. My family owns a medical center so I couldn’t just go off anywhere.”

Nico paused, eyebrow raised. “Why not?”

“I’ve been working there since…” Maki tried to remember her first job at the hospital, how old was she? She remembered sitting at her father’s desk, coloring in specially made anatomy chart pages in elementary school. Did that count as a job? “Forever.”

“Ah. Nico had to stick close for family too. Three sibs.” Nico flashed a smile and three fingers. “They’re the best, but they rely on Nico.”

“Your parents work a lot?” Maki understood that.

“Yeah, my mom does. My dad died when I was little.”

Maki paled, what did you say to that. “I’m sorry” came out as a mumble.

A sigh, weary, as Nico pushed Maki’s filled bowl in her direction, “Me too. But we survived. He taught me tennis. And…” Nico put on a sparkling smile, bounced her hands up to her temple, rock hands gesture, and her voice became brighter. “Nico Nico Ni.” Then she relaxed back to normal, “He said it could cheer up the whole world..”

Maki remembered something. “Nico Nico is the ideophone for smile.”

Nico leaned forward, “So the Nishikino isn’t just for show.”

Maki shook her head, “We have a hospital in Tokyo too. I’ve spent a lot of summers there.”

“Wow, a doc and a jet setter. So why tennis?”

“I liked it better than golf. My parents said piano didn’t count as a networking activity.”

“Piano? Classic stuff.” Nico created a melody on an air keyboard.

“Some. And jazz. I get to take a couple of music classes, at least this year.”

Nico wondered if Maki realized how robotic she sounded, and how laced through with sadness her mood was as she talked about her family.

“Hey, Nishikino…”

“Maki.”

“Maki. Play for Nico sometime. Nico loves singing. My dad always said I should go on American Idol.”

“Sorry.” Maki twisted a curl of hair, “I don’t play those kind of songs.”

Maki obviously just needed to know more about Nico, which was Nico’s favorite topic. “Nico is multifaceted. We can do Ella and Count Basie, if you want. With the time you save not practicing your serve.”

Nico winked, her multifaceted ruby eyes cheerful pulls as she hummed. Maki found herself intrigued. “I’ll think about it.”

“Nico will be your personal tennis coach to make sure you improve.”

“Not necessary.” Maki leaned back to signal the waiter. Time to start the main course.

A/N: Another AU Yeah August entry, college rivals was requested and the Olympics put me in a sports mood. Planning another chapter.

Still taking requests.

[surprisebitch]

My 10 All-time Fave Anime

I first wanna get it out there that there is still a lot of anime I plan to watch and have yet to finish. This current top 10 all-time fave list is based from anime I have completed. I am currently watching a lot of anime, so this list could potentially change!

Each synopsis comes from MyAnimeList. Here’s my profile if you’re interested, and feel free to send a friend request!

Anyway, onto the list! This is not in order btw, just 10 titles!

My 10 All-time Fave Anime

1. Given (2019)

Tightly clutching his Gibson guitar, Mafuyu Satou steps out of his dark apartment to begin another day of his high school life. While taking a nap in a quiet spot on the gymnasium staircase, he has a chance encounter with fellow student Ritsuka Uenoyama, who berates him for letting his guitar’s strings rust and break. Noticing Uenoyama’s knowledge of the instrument, Satou pleads for him to fix it and to teach him how to play. Uenoyama eventually agrees and invites him to sit in on a jam session with his two band mates: bassist Haruki Nakayama and drummer Akihiko Kaji.

Satou’s voice is strikingly beautiful, filling Uenoyama with the determination to make Satou the lead singer of the band. Though reticent at first, Satou takes the offer after an emotional meeting with an old friend. With the support of his new friends, Satou must not only learn how to play guitar, but also come to terms with the mysterious circumstances that led him to be its owner.

2. Rurouni Kenshin (1996)

In the final years of the Bakumatsu era lived a legendary assassin known as Hitokiri Battousai. Feared as a merciless killer, he was unmatched throughout the country, but mysteriously disappeared at the peak of the Japanese Revolution. It has been ten peaceful years since then, but the very mention of Battousai still strikes terror into the hearts of war veterans.

Unbeknownst to them, Battousai has abandoned his bloodstained lifestyle in an effort to repent for his sins, now living as Kenshin Himura, a wandering swordsman with a cheerful attitude and a strong will. Vowing never to kill again, Kenshin dedicates himself to protecting the weak. One day, he stumbles across Kaoru Kamiya at her kendo dojo, which is being threatened by an impostor claiming to be Battousai. After receiving help from Kenshin, Kaoru allows him to stay at the dojo, and so the former assassin temporarily ceases his travels.

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan tells the story of Kenshin as he strives to save those in need of saving. However, as enemies from both past and present begin to emerge, will the reformed killer be able to uphold his new ideals?

3. Assassination Classroom (2015)

When a mysterious creature chops the moon down to a permanent crescent, the students of class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Middle School find themselves confronted with an enormous task: assassinate the creature responsible for the disaster before Earth suffers a similar fate. However, the monster, dubbed Koro-sensei (the indestructible teacher), is able to fly at speeds of up to Mach 20, which he demonstrates freely, leaving any attempt to subdue him in his extraterrestrial dust. Furthermore, the misfits of 3-E soon find that the strange, tentacled beast is more than just indomitable—he is the best teacher they have ever had.

Adapted from the humorous hit manga by Yuusei Matsui, Ansatsu Kyoushitsu tells the story of these junior high pupils as they polish their assassination skills and grow in order to stand strong against the oppressive school system, their own life problems, and one day, Koro-sensei.

4. My Hero Academia (2016)

The appearance of “quirks,” newly discovered super powers, has been steadily increasing over the years, with 80 percent of humanity possessing various abilities from manipulation of elements to shapeshifting. This leaves the remainder of the world completely powerless, and Izuku Midoriya is one such individual.

Since he was a child, the ambitious middle schooler has wanted nothing more than to be a hero. Izuku’s unfair fate leaves him admiring heroes and taking notes on them whenever he can. But it seems that his persistence has borne some fruit: Izuku meets the number one hero and his personal idol, All Might. All Might’s quirk is a unique ability that can be inherited, and he has chosen Izuku to be his successor!

Enduring many months of grueling training, Izuku enrolls in UA High, a prestigious high school famous for its excellent hero training program, and this year’s freshmen look especially promising. With his bizarre but talented classmates and the looming threat of a villainous organization, Izuku will soon learn what it really means to be a hero.

5. Attack on Titan (2013)

Centuries ago, mankind was slaughtered to near extinction by monstrous humanoid creatures called titans, forcing humans to hide in fear behind enormous concentric walls. What makes these giants truly terrifying is that their taste for human flesh is not born out of hunger but what appears to be out of pleasure. To ensure their survival, the remnants of humanity began living within defensive barriers, resulting in one hundred years without a single titan encounter. However, that fragile calm is soon shattered when a colossal titan manages to breach the supposedly impregnable outer wall, reigniting the fight for survival against the man-eating abominations.

After witnessing a horrific personal loss at the hands of the invading creatures, Eren Yeager dedicates his life to their eradication by enlisting into the Survey Corps, an elite military unit that combats the merciless humanoids outside the protection of the walls. Based on Hajime Isayama’s award-winning manga, Shingeki no Kyojin follows Eren, along with his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman and his childhood friend Armin Arlert, as they join the brutal war against the titans and race to discover a way of defeating them before the last walls are breached.

6. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (2011)

Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki are regular middle school girls with regular lives, but all that changes when they encounter Kyuubey, a cat-like magical familiar, and Homura Akemi, the new transfer student.

Kyuubey offers them a proposition: he will grant any one of their wishes and in exchange, they will each become a magical girl, gaining enough power to fulfill their dreams. However, Homura Akemi, a magical girl herself, urges them not to accept the offer, stating that everything is not what it seems.

A story of hope, despair, and friendship, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica deals with the difficulties of being a magical girl and the price one has to pay to make a dream come true.

7. Hunter X Hunter (2011)

Hunter x Hunter is set in a world where Hunters exist to perform all manner of dangerous tasks like capturing criminals and bravely searching for lost treasures in uncharted territories. Twelve-year-old Gon Freecss is determined to become the best Hunter possible in hopes of finding his father, who was a Hunter himself and had long ago abandoned his young son. However, Gon soon realizes the path to achieving his goals is far more challenging than he could have ever imagined.

Along the way to becoming an official Hunter, Gon befriends the lively doctor-in-training Leorio, vengeful Kurapika, and rebellious ex-assassin Killua. To attain their own goals and desires, together the four of them take the Hunter Exam, notorious for its low success rate and high probability of death. Throughout their journey, Gon and his friends embark on an adventure that puts them through many hardships and struggles. They will meet a plethora of monsters, creatures, and characters—all while learning what being a Hunter truly means.

8. Ranma ½ (1989)

Ranma Saotome is a top-class martial artist and prodigy at the Saotome “Anything-Goes” school of martial arts. While training in China, he and his father meet a terrible fate when they accidentally fall into a cursed spring. Now, Ranma is cursed to turn into a girl when splashed with cold water, and only hot water can turn him back into a boy.

Things are only complicated further when Ranma discovers that his father has arranged for him to marry one of Soun Tendo’s three daughters in order to secure the future of the Tendo dojo. Though Soun learns of Ranma’s predicament, he is still determined to go ahead with the engagement, and chooses his youngest daughter Akane, who happens to be a skilled martial artist herself and is notorious for hating men.

Ranma ½ follows the hilarious adventures of Ranma and Akane as they encounter various opponents, meet new love interests, and find different ways to make each other angry, all while their engagement hangs over their head.

9. Love Live! School Idol Project (2013)

Otonokizaka High School is in a crisis! With the number of enrolling students dropping lower and lower every year, the school is set to shut down after its current first years graduate. However, second year Honoka Kousaka refuses to let it go without a fight. Searching for a solution, she comes across popular school idol group A-RISE and sets out to create a school idol group of her own. With the help of her childhood friends Umi Sonoda and Kotori Minami, Honoka forms μ’s (pronounced “muse”) to boost awareness and popularity of her school.

Unfortunately, it’s all easier said than done. Student council president Eri Ayase vehemently opposes the establishment of a school idol group and will do anything in her power to prevent its creation. Moreover, Honoka and her friends have trouble attracting any additional members. But the Love Live, a competition to determine the best and most beloved school idol groups in Japan, can help them gain the attention they desperately need. With the contest fast approaching, Honoka must act quickly and diligently to try and bring together a school idol group and win the Love Live in order to save Otonokizaka High School.

10. Demon Slayer (2019)

Ever since the death of his father, the burden of supporting the family has fallen upon Tanjirou Kamado’s shoulders. Though living impoverished on a remote mountain, the Kamado family are able to enjoy a relatively peaceful and happy life. One day, Tanjirou decides to go down to the local village to make a little money selling charcoal. On his way back, night falls, forcing Tanjirou to take shelter in the house of a strange man, who warns him of the existence of flesh-eating demons that lurk in the woods at night.

When he finally arrives back home the next day, he is met with a horrifying sight—his whole family has been slaughtered. Worse still, the sole survivor is his sister Nezuko, who has been turned into a bloodthirsty demon. Consumed by rage and hatred, Tanjirou swears to avenge his family and stay by his only remaining sibling. Alongside the mysterious group calling themselves the Demon Slayer Corps, Tanjirou will do whatever it takes to slay the demons and protect the remnants of his beloved sister’s humanity.

I hope you find something you like here and will check some of my faves out!! ❤️ Let me know if you do and what you think!!! x

[theraikouhotel]

Massive Headcanon Post

ALRIGHT I HAVE IDEAS!!! I think.... Headcanons below the damn cut because they’ll be separated into different series! God I hope this becomes a thing I do...

Please enjoy!! 

Fate

Raikou’s favourite time of day is dawn. She likes to see the sun coming up and the hope of a new day washes over her, making her look forward to another day of her being not insane as she believes she is. 

Shikibu secretly collects figures of the other Casters and sometimes makes them move with her magic, re-enacting something she sees in her head. She then writes out in her little diary, as if it was the most interesting thing ever when really...she made them kiss with her own figure she had gotten made.

Arturia also does baking on the side whenever she’s alone and she’s made sure that the cafeteria is empty. She’s been caught several times but they let her do her thing as she looked determined to get the recipes down. This is usually to thank everyone who has helped her, especially her master.

Tiamat likes to decorate mindlessly when she’s stressed. She’ll do it usually with Christmas decorations she has in her room, because she likes how fun they look. Sometimes it might be with Halloween ones. The Primordial Mother just likes decorating so much.

Europa sometimes might summon Talos and pet him to calm herself down. Having her bull close to her soothes her, especially when she sees things aren’t going as well. If she doesn’t have her bull, she’ll curl up and try to breathe but it doesn’t work sometimes.

Irisviel isn’t too fond of people badmouthing her children. Especially those she considers her own. She’ll kick the crap out of you so hard that you won’t even get up for the next week.

Black Clover

Asta hates it when people ask about his parents or drill into him that he should have died way too long ago. He’s never had any proper blood parents so he’ll say the Father at the church he was raised at is his dad. But when people say that doesn’t count, he won’t like it. He’ll also say that the belief in his comrades helped him live.

Noelle isn’t actually too close to the Mama Squad. She feels awkward around them. Or any sort of mother figure as she has no idea what to say. She’s also afraid of breaking down in front of them as it’s not becoming of a royal as she has drilled into her head. 

Vanessa only drinks to make sure the lonely thoughts don’t invade her mind. She hates feeling lonely and drinking helps alleviate it. But when she doesn’t, her mind starts playing on the fact that she’ll be alone forever and she just heads to bed, crying.

Bleach

Ichigo has nightmares about Yhwach from time to time. He always thinks about how he could have ended it a lot more quicker so that everyone could have lived. He always imagines several outcomes. But whenever he opens his eyes, he remembers those who have died in the War and it hurts him so much.

Orihime wishes she was as strong as Yoruichi. She has one of the strongest abilities yet she hates how indecisive she can be. She has kept to herself that her kind heart has hindered her so much, even with the amount of people telling her it’s her best trait and one that should be kept as there was enough hate in the world.

Yoruichi often feels like a failure. She has strongly felt this ever since Aizen and it continues to eat away at her even after the Thousand Year Blood War. 

Highschool DxD

Issei often feels like the girls that love him aren’t real. That he’s not really deserving of their love. He has these thoughts that plague his mind every other day that tell him that Rias is lying or that Raynare is actually still alive and is playing tricks on him.

Rias does her best to be there for everyone. But hates how her own duties stops her from doing that which instead makes her rely on Issei to see how everyone is. It’s not just as the alpha female in the harem, it’s as a friend to everyone.

Sona secretly enjoys dressing up with her sister, Serafall, as it reminds her that one day she may not be able to spend much time with her. So she never tells her to go away whenever Serafall is with her, rather she’ll just bear it and blush in embarrassment.

Date A Live

Kotori still enjoys the kids meals at the nearest restaurants as she loves how cute they are always made. She’ll always add it in with another order so she gets to indulge in how cute it is before devouring it.

Kurumi isn’t a big fan crowds. Whilst it does help her with her concealment, she feels her heart race whilst being within them. She has to take a moment in the shadows to get her heart to a more normal rate before going back in there again.

Love Live!

Umi is always the strict one. However, she almost always feels bad when she has to berate someone because in her own home, she has been treated a lot more harshly as the next head of the Sonoda household. But she keeps this fact closely guarded.

Kotori is always thinking about something. Usually about how to get Honoka to be hers only but she never acts upon it. She’d hate that she’d feel horrible if she did make Honoka only hers and “took out” the other competition that is her idol group. So instead, she gets out of this habit through fashion designing.

Mari isn’t actually a big fan of showing her wealth off to other people, only her friends. Sometimes she accidentally does it and then they try and cosy up to her. She hates that. She can see right through them and immediately denies them.

Chika doesn’t actually have many passions except idols. If it weren’t for idols, she would most likely stare blankly into the ceiling of her home as she would take over the Ryokan Inn that her mother owns. She’d just wonder what she was doing, whether or not if existing was right or not.

Karin has been offered various modelling gigs, which is of no surprise. However, there have been times when she has considered going 18+ modelling but refused in the end. She was curious yes but will never do it.  Of course, she’s just about getting by.

Emma has always been Karin’s best friend. They always look out for each other. However, Emma can see whether or not something is bothering Karin but doesn’t ever bring it up. Instead, she just wants to see her happy.

Bang Dream!

Sayo is a girl of many secrets. She only ever tells them to her twin sister, Hina as of late. Before, she’d never tell anyone about herself and if she did, it was only the bare minimum. She’s still closed off as she refuses to get hurt by anyone.

Tomoe is always overworking herself. She has lots of volunteering and things she does, which always leaves her knackered (tired as fuck) at the end of the day and all she wants to do is sleep. Even on days when she looks like she’s okay, she isn’t. She wants to rest.

Aya is clumsy and will get lost, just not as often as Kanon, her friend. However, she feels inadequate as an idol. She has trained for this but it always bothers her, as it goes into late night practices and early dawn nap times. She has considered giving up so many times, because of all the hate she has seen, even with her idol group, she’s usually the one with the most hate as she is at the centre most of the time.

Arisa is just gay as fuck. But she isn’t sure if it’s right to feel that way or not about certain people (KASUMI TOYAMA)

My Hero Academia

Kyouka has an innate talent of analysing quirks as well, she has never realised it. She has an analytical brain that can probably compete with Midoriya’s if she applied what she knew about music into hero work. 

Momo hasn’t been the biggest fan of being raised rich. She always wondered what it’d be like to live a normal life, without all the privilege and weight of a legacy she has  on top of her.

Danganronpa

Tenko has always been confused about what to feel about the ‘degenerate males’ she has met. Especially the likes of Shuichi and Makoto. She has wondered if her view of them being horrible is skewed as she seems Shuichi as one of her closest friends. But she won’t ever admit that, ever. 

Kaede really wants to know if she can stop with the piano puns. She likes to make them too much.

Makoto hasn’t exactly had the easiest time mentally. The death of his friends always haunts him even in his sleep. The screams, lights, flames, everything. He remembers all the details vividly and when he tries to reach out for them, their dead bodies are there on the floor.

Komaru has a hard time of knowing if she fits in or not as she had been taken from school and is now older than what she believes she is. She sits there wondering if it’s right to be this way now or not.

Other Muses

Jotaro is very cautious of everyone he meets. He doesn’t want a repeat of what happened in Egypt if he gets too close to anyone he likes. Even if DIO is gone, he’s never gotten rid of the feeling that someone will die in his presence or in his name.

Levi has a soft spot for his brats. He basically sees them as his children as this point and he may have been called dad once or twice by a few them. He enjoyed that but only gave them a glare.

Weiss is a soft gay for Ruby. But apart from that, she’s fine with both guys and girls. 

Mami always has the feeling of her wish being selfish at the back of her mind. It’s there nagging away at her as if it would come back to bite her in the ass so she’s always out there doing her best for her juniors and always on the look our for Kyoko Sakura.

Natsu hates how his former guild had treated him. He isn’t a dumbass who can’t do anything right, rather he’s someone who was the most attuned to his emotions as his flames prove. If he meets anyone from there, he won’t hesitate to take them out with one punch.

Lelouch actually had a crush on Cornelia for a brief moment before knowing of his relation to her. He decided to drop it and add her to the list of “Siblings I absolutely adore” but from time to time he does wonder if they weren’t related, would they take over the world together?

Haru has pictures of her friends in a small box. She also has one thing they owned within it too. She’s unaware of how strange this is.

[idolacorxx]

Honoka Kousaka~Muse

★~ name: Kōsaka Honoka

Tagged~ Ponponhonoka ★~ age: 16 ★~ height: 157 cm ★~ weight: NA ★~ birthday: August 3 ★~ blood type: O ★~ THREE SIZES:   B 78, W 58, H 82 ★~ Favorite food: Strawberries ★~ hobbies: swimming and collecting stickers , Singing, Idol work, Kendo club. ★~ horoscope: Leo ★~ hometown:Tokyo

INTERESTING FACTS

★~   She likes to eat bread, but she does not enjoy eating red bean or white bean paste despite working at her family's Japanese sweets shop.

★~ Honka’s favortite snack is Pon-pon bread.

★~ Though her image color is orange, her outfits are usually pink.

★~ The only thing she is good at, other than cheering people up, is making rice cakes.

★~ Honoka from the Dead or Alive series has a strong resemblance to her.

★~ There has also been a Q&A answered in a magazine which stated that Honoka and Kotori are childhood friends because their mothers were also childhood friends, and they've always been living on the same street.

★~ In the manga, which was published before the anime, both Umi and Honoka were portrayed to be members of the kendo club.

★~ While in the anime, it was not revealed which area of Tokyo she lives in, she lives in the lower district of Chiyoda, near Akihabara in the manga.

★~ According to Kotori's Q&A answer, Honoka's side ponytail was originally made by Kotori back when they are just childhood friends.

CHARACTER INTRODUCTION:

;;Musical start! Honoka-chan here, are you ready to have some fun desu..for me being an idol is more than i’ve ever dreamed of, I hope that you’re having fun as well, … welcome and enjoy yourself, and come chat with me if you would like, .“ 

ABOUT:

Kosaka Honoka (高坂 穂乃果 Kōsaka Honoka) is the main protagonist of Love Live! School Idol Project and is the creator and leader of Muse. She is the current Student Council President and is the center and leader of her idol unit Printemps.

Honoka was in shock of seeing that the school was closing down. After checking out UTX High School, She sees A-RISE performing "private wars" and then gets the idea of becoming a School Idol with Kotori & Umi in order to save the school.

 Umi says that she will not do it, but in the middle of Archery Practice, she starts getting distracted because thoughts of becoming a Idol get into her head. 

She then agrees to it and so does Kotori. Kotori says that she will design the costumes and Umi will write the lyrics.

The next day Honoka hears a red haired girl singing a song while playing the piano, Honoka claps and asks her if she wants to be a School Idol too but the girl angrily refuses the offer. The next day she asks the girl to compose a song for μ's using the lyrics Umi wrote.

 She refuses and Honoka asks her to just read the lyrics Umi wrote, She gives her the piece of paper with the lyrics and tells her to feel free to watch them practice. The girl then looks at the piece of paper and the next day a CD comes in the mail with the name "μ's" written on it.

Honoka pops it in her laptop and Umi, Kotori and Honoka all listen to it. The girl is singing the lyrics Umi wrote and is playing the piano. They all then realize that it is μ's song that she composed for them.

Honoka is a very cheerful energetic person who loves being a School Idol. She usually gets tired when practicing with the members of μ's but she still doesn't give up. She also loves Otonokizaka high very much. 

Honoka's family owns a Japanese sweets shop named Homura. She lives at the back of the shop with her mother, father, and her younger sister.

Since she was young, she has been friends with Kotori Minami, and she befriended Umi Sonoda after inviting her to a game of hide-and-seek. She is also friends with Fumiko, Hideko and Mika at school. 

Her grandmother and her mother are both graduates from Otonokizaka.

SONG THE IDOL SINGS:

*Someday of my life * Ai wa Taiyou Ja Nai? *Mou Hitori Ja Nai yo *Yume Naki Yume wa Yume ja nai *Shiawase Iki no SMILING!C *Senkou Resolution

[cruger2984]

Love Live Idols and its Saints - µ's

So here we are again in this edition of the '...And Its Saints' series and now it is the Love Live idols to shine through, so first up is the OGs that is µ's!

January 17 - Hanayo Koizumi

St. Anthony the Great: Egyptian monk and is known as the Father of Monasticism. For his importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Christian monasticism, he is also known as the Father of All Monks. There are various legends associating the monk with pigs: one is that he worked as a swineherd during this period. He is the patron of skin diseases, basket makers, gravediggers, and the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome.

April 19 - Maki Nishikino

Pope St. Leo IX: 152nd successor of St. Peter who is an aristocrat from Germany and a powerful ruler of central Italy while holding the papacy. He is widely considered the most historically significant German pope of the Middle Ages and was instrumental in the precipitation of the Great Schism of 1054, considered the turning point in which the Catholic and Orthodox Churches formally separated.

March 15 - Umi Sonoda

St. Louise de Marillac: French widow and social service worker who is the co-founder of the Daughters of Charity alongside Vincent de Paul. Her major shrine can be found in Rue du Bac in Paris, and is the patron saint of widows, social workers and the Vincentian Service Corps.

June 9 - Nozomi Tojo

St. Columba: Irish abbot and evangelist who is known for his monicker, 'the Apostle to the Picts'. At the beginning of the Hiberno-Scottish mission, he is credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland. In addition for being one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland along with Saint Brendan, his major shrine can be found in Iona, Scotland.

July 22 - Nico Yazawa

St. Mary Magdalene: One of the most prominent figures in Christianity and, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. Mary is mentioned by name twelve times in the canonical gospels, more than most of the apostles. Mary Magdalene is known in many Christian traditions as the ‘Apostle to the Apostles’. All four of the canonical Gospels  identify her, either alone or as a member of a larger group of women, as the first witness to the empty tomb, and the first to testify to Christ’s resurrection. She is the patron of penitent sinners and converts.

August 3 - Honoka Kosaka

St. Lydia of Thyatira: A holy woman who is mentioned in the New Testament, and is regarded as the first documented convert to Christianity in Europe. Her appearance can be found in the 16th chapter of Acts (verses 14 and 15).

September 12 - Kotori Minami

The Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary: This Marian feast day is an optional memorial celebrated in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church and it has been a universal Roman Rite feast since 1684, when Pope Innocent XI included it in the General Roman Calendar to commemorate the victory at the Battle of Vienna in 1683. Promoters of veneration of the Holy Name of Mary including Anthony of Padua, Bernard of Clairvaux and Alphonsus Liguori. Its objective is to commemorate all the privileges bestowed upon Mary by God and all the graces received through her intercession and mediation.

October 21 - Eli Ayase

St. Ursula: Her name stands for 'little female bear', and is a martyr who died in 383 AD. Her major shrine can be found in Cologne, Germany, and is the patron saint of Cologne and Binangonan, Rizal Province in the Philippines.

November 1 - Rin Hoshizora

Solemnity of All Saints: Also known as 'All Saints' Day' or 'All Hallows' Day', it is a celebrated event in honor of all the saints, known and unknown. The Christian celebration of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day stems from a belief that there is a powerful spiritual bond between those in heaven (the 'Church triumphant'), and the living (the 'Church militant'). In Catholic theology, the day commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in Heaven. There are so many customs during the event, including in Europe, Mexico (as Día de Muertos) and the Philippines (as Araw ng mga Patay/Undás).

[loyalflutist]

Fortunate Time Off [UmiMaki]

Finally got my bottom off to do an Anonymous's request (after god knows how many months). It’s rusty since I haven’t written in so long. As for RPing... It requires a distinct take on writing, so it’s not exactly helpful in a way for my growth. Regardless, hope you all enjoy it. (Or not. I'm not your father.) I'll be working on an UmiEli and NicoMaki series much later whenever I have the chance.

It’s been many years since they last had a proper moment to spend time together. Work enveloped the two’s life as if they were married to completely different entities. Sonoda Umi forced to watch over her family’s dance and martial arts academy. Not to mention the various responsibilities tacked over her two shoulders for being a member of the prestigious Sonoda clan. Nishikino Maki became a doctor. Well-- A doctor who had recently graduated from medical school. Fresh with her license, the medical professional begins anew with her job at her family-owned hospital. With great determination to break away from the hospital and create her own private practices, the redhead frantically worked up the hours in hopes of gaining the experiences and money necessary to make it become a reality.

Overall, the two… haven’t had much to enjoy each other’s company for almost a whole year. Maki constantly out and about with her on calls. Umi forced to wake up at the ungodly hours in order to prepare herself both mentally and physically for running her family businesses. Night and day. Light and darkness. Opposite sides of the coins. The married couple, unfortunately, didn’t find much of a presence in each other’s lives thanks to their occupations. At most, they’ve shared their lunch breaks, stopped by to greet each other, and slept together on the same bed.

Nico and Honoka would be hollering in the background over this. Certainly, this became a reality as they were flabbergasted by the lack of close intimacy the two shared after the wedding.

“This shouldn’t be happening!” the bread owner exclaimed.

As if to emphasize her distaste, she slammed her fists down on the table with enough strength to rattle the metallic surface. Had it not been for Kotori’s quick reaction, the coffee cups would’ve spilled its content on the furniture. The female’s face thrust itself upon Umi, the close proximity nearly making the blue-haired female smack her forehead on the other’s.

Honoka blurted, “You need to find some time off once a week to spend time with Maki! If this goes on, how can you call yourself her husband?!”

Those words resonated within Umi’s skull after meeting up with her old friends. A quick lunch break with them immediately turned to a preaching session. The preacher being that of a woman named Honoka. The confessor being that of a woman named Umi. Those words bounced around and hardly left the premise of her consciousness, its message loud and clear. She needed to spend more time with Maki. But… how? Their schedule for the next couple days were just as hectic as it would be. If not, it’s actually even worse since both Maki and Umi have a conference to attend to for the sake of their family. It almost seems impossible for a lone day to be freed from their lifestyle.

“So… what would you like to do today, Umi?”

Her wife’s voice snapped the other back into reality. She blinked. Then, the owner glanced out at the nearest window at the living room.

The weather outside of their two bedrooms, one and a half bathroom condo in the heart of the city splattered its raindrops on the glass window. A raging thunderstorm shook their surroundings. Businesses and certain hospitals were called off for the safety of their employees and employers. Civilians holed up inside their homes to prevent the rain from pouring them into the bowl that is called a severe cold or pneumonia. What started off as a light shower for the morning eventually became a dangerous downpour in the region in the afternoon. It was already a miracle that both Umi and Maki were called respectively by their families to remain home for the duration of the day. Maybe even the next day if the storm persists.

“I’m… not too sure…” the female murmured, her arm outstretched and resting on the couch's head. Umi tilted her head so she would get a better view of the pianist. Since the two of them were subjected to staying in their homes, the pair exchanged their formal wears for that of their casual attire. Sweatpants and t-shirts? Something that they used to wear back when they were a part of the famous and popular idol group µ's during practice on the rooftop. The blue-haired female allowed a faint exhale to escape past her lips. “Is there anything you would like to do?”

Maki shook her head. “Nothing comes to mind.”

And… they’re stuck in a rut. Right when they finally have time to spare for each other, not a single person has a clue on what they should do in their relationship. Umi would suggest going out to go sightseeing, but the horrific weather prevents such a scenario from becoming a reality. Maki, on the other hand, would love to browse through a music shop together and pick out the next piano book to study and play for her wife. Sad to say, the weather too hindered her plans for the day. That left with nothing more than the two sitting on the couch in the living room with a blank expression. (Had Nozomi and Eli stopped by, they could’ve gotten a marker and scrawled all over their facial features because of how expressionless they were!)

However, the inherited female felt the younger one rest her head on Umi’s shoulder. Warmth seeped into her skin as the doctor rested her hand on Sonoda’s stomach. They two stared at the turned-off television in silence. Yet that tranquility shattered once Maki’s hand began to crawl underneath her wife’s shirt. Umi, not one to dull her senses, instantly noticed her movement and quickly grabbed ahold of the other’s hand.

A faint jolt ran through Maki’s body at the abrupt action. She glanced at the older female with pure… wait, is that… fear? Umi released her grip on the other as her brown hues flickered elsewhere but her own spouse.

“Sorry… I… I didn’t mean--”

“Umi.”

The very hand that once tried to touch her reached up to cup her face. Another hand joined and eventually brought Umi to look directly at Maki’s violet eyes. Then, the pianist leaned forward to place a small kiss on the other’s lips. It was brief, yet comforting.

“I should be the one apologizing. It’s just… It’s been so long since we’ve had any time together on our own.” Those hands retracted as the ex-composer looked downward. “Sorry. I know that was very sudden…”

“Maki…”

Umi wanted to smack herself on the head for being a foolish woman. How could she be so oblivious to what her wife wanted? Maki only did that in hopes of the two becoming closer. Why did Umi react that way in the first place? If anything, the archer would like to cower in the corner and pretend that such scenario did not occur. Alas, the reality is crueler than fiction. Nonetheless, there is a way to mend this problem. Taking a deep breath, Umi gathered as much of her courage as possible. Then, she settled by pressing both hands on Maki’s shoulders.

This would lead to the redhead plopping on her back. The insecurity and uncertainty that once clouded the doctor’s mind froze in its place as she gazed upward at her spouse. Strands of Umi’s hair gently had its ends touch the other’s body from their positions. The older female on top of the younger one. It took about two seconds for the medical profession to register what was going on. Then, without warning, she let out a stutter.

“W-W-What do you think you’re doing?!”

Oh, how the roles have completely reversed. That would’ve been Umi’s response! However, the owner bit back similar words that would leak out of her voice box. She has to be the dominant one in the relationship. At least, for now… but that’s not important! Right now, the older woman gently smiled down at her wife.

“I think I found out what we can do for the rest of today.” Her past self would’ve screamed at how bold she’s become in the future! Embarrassment easily crept on her unconsciously, making it near impossible for the female to even think that this could be something they would do. She’s matured. Matured mostly, that is. Umi’s face, red as a beet, remained as she tried to sound in control. “Besides, I have to agree with you from earlier. We haven’t had much time together so I would like to make it up with you today. I don’t exactly like having my time with my wife taken away...”

The archer planted a peck on her wife’s nose. At that very moment, the older female felt the arms of her spouse’s wrap around her figure in an embrace. This warmth. It was different from the previous times they’ve hugged and embraced one another. Previous times were out of casual actions. This time, it was out of desperation. Maki buried her face into Umi’s shoulder. A quick inhale to fill her sense with Umi’s scent. With an exhale, the doctor mumbled,

“Me neither.”

[lordcryosrealmoftrash]

Happy Father's day to Kanan Matsuura, Eli Ayase, and Umi Sonoda

[yocchannk]

Yoharikos child? Omg! Yas pleaseee!

I mean idk if ur talking abt my YOU hane riko, but oki i havent talked about them in a while anyways! Also disclaimer: This is apart of the quote on quote, canonical events surrounding my next gen AU, so there is some(ahem, lots of) drama. (ESPECIALLY, regarding the relationships between you, yohane, and riko)

(if u dont want drama or any storyline, I suggest just scrolling to the end, where theres mostly  just fluff)

(okay enough talking but like, there are SOME nsfw things, but not like, enough where its all about it.)

-

Yohane and Riko had twins; Yuuki Kuro Tsushima and Ryo Shiro Tsushima, Yuuki’s a girl, Ryo a boy.

Yuuki has almost impossibly good memory (Remembers everything back to the womb), and so she’s encountered times where it hurt her more than it helped her. She’s quite like Yoshiko, in a sense, she’s always very secretive on what she feels, closed off from the world for years.

Riko wasn’t aware that Yuuki and Ryo were Yoshiko’s, she figured they were You’s, as they had been dating, and she’d gotten prego at their after-party of the marriage. Yohane had dealt with extreme guilt from it, and was scarred (Hugely) because of her “mistake”.

Yoshiko chose their middle names, surprisingly, Riko and You didn’t know what they were, so Yoshiko chose them. Riko and You felt like they couldn’t raise both successfully (You mains a ship, so she’s not gonna be home often/Riko is a award winning pianist, so she wouldn’t be able to find time to give them all the necessary attention they need.) So, Yuuki was entrusted to Yoshiko.

Ryo had inherited Yoshiko’s violet eyes, but You had concluded it was because her father too had violet eyes.

Yuuki, and her infinite memory, remembers every single detail about the drama, and she’s kind of mentally unstable due to the trauma, she felt like she aged way before she was even born. She’s pretty quiet, especially regarding family and such, she acts confident and mature, but really, she’s fragile, scared and yearning for her family to bind together.

Ryo, Riko, and You are all completely oblivious to everything, they have the perfect life, pretty much. Ryo isn’t even aware of his few minutes older sister.

Yoshiko had raised Yuuki mainly in New York, she was only in her early twenty’s when Yuuki was born, and she needed an escape from her other family, so she participated in a university there. In her absence, Yoshiko was constantly trying to find someone to fill the empty role that she knew Yuuki deserved, guilt ridden and stress-filled. She went through thirteen exes, half of them didn’t like Yuuki, the others couldn’t get through Yuuki to bond with. 

Riko and You, for the entire 17 years they didn’t see Yoshiko, or Yuuki, they worried. They were ready to reunite with their (or, Riko’s,) daughter, and to raise her like they should have. 

Yoshiko tries her very best, to give Yuuki a good life, that is, and always will be, her top priority. She’s built up a video game company to give Yuuki a luxurious life, and to have something to entertain her, and, as much attention she could give, there was never a day in Yuuki’s life where she was yelled at. She just wants the best for her daughter, even if she wasn’t her legal mom. Both of them are pretty closed off from the world because of their family.

When Riko heard of the news of her daughter and her daughter’s “father” returning, she was really happy. So happy, she hadn’t even realized that her giddiness wasn’t from seeing her daughter all grown up, it was from the thought of seeing Yoshiko again. She was yearning for Yoshiko, when she thought it was Yuuki.

Upon realizing this, Riko had a huge relationship crisis. She didn’t understand why the feeling of Yoshiko returning, possibly into her arms, made her so happy and heart-aching. She was confused with every feeling for Yoshiko.

You, herself, was guilty. She slept with Chika, a year after their marriage, they were all drunk, but Riko said it was okay, well, until they found out Chika was 6 months pregnant. The scars are long gone, however.

When the two bluettes finally returned home, Riko and You were both extremely confused at Yuuki’s striking resemblance to Yoshiko. They shrug it off, thinking of it as another genetic thing. They were also surprised at Yoshiko’s large growth spurt (Riko, who drank stress-coffee all the fucking time, stopped growing and is now shorter than her fellow second years.) who was, now the same height as You, who was the third tallest in Aqours.

Yuuki, for the longest time, only referred to every Aqours member (Save papako) by their last or full name. They all were weirded out at it, especially You and Riko.

Yuuki and kotoumi kid 2, Kameko, get along like NozoEli gets along. Kameko is the only one that’s not apart of the drama that is aware of the drama. She’s pretty much the only one who see’s the fragile side of Yuuki, the one who’s been bottling up her emotions for years.

The longer Riko was around with Yoshiko near, or alone with her thoughts, Riko’s mind was subconsciously dreaming of Yoshiko, her heart ached extremely for her, Riko felt her body boiling with jealousy when Yoshiko was around someone who wasn’t her, and she still didn’t know why. Said girl, unfortunately, still can’t look or think about Riko clearly. She can’t get over her guilt, and her crush. This makes a huge gap between the two parents.

Ryo was shook when Riko and You told him about Yuuki, and their siblingship. Yuuki was partially smug.

Yuuki and Riko had a somewhat strange relationship; Yuuki, with her memory, was constantly dropping hints to her true lineage for Riko, and her true love.

Riko finally realized her feelings when she saw the messages exchanged between Yoshiko and her at the time current girlfriend, she realized upon realizing how she wished that girl was her, and how she wished she was all Yoshiko looked at and felt about. She had a long night of crying to herself because of it.

The closest the two got to one another when the intimacy was high and the tension was tense, they ended up passionately kissing due to it. Yoshiko broke the tension, and romance, from fear of destroying You and Riko’s relationship, and their family. Riko had a break down after it.

The third years were the first in Aqours besides Yoshiko to realize the drama, and then it was Chika, then the first years, then finally You and Riko.

You and Riko’s relationship was in absolute jeopardy after the realization. It got worse when Riko and Yoshiko got drunk and almost fucked, again. They were in mid-make out in bed when You, now sobered up, caught them. They divorced shortly after, it was for the best.

(heres the fluff and stuff)

When Riko and Yoshiko finally got together, as should be, Yuuki, was, not exaggerating, a fucking happy ball of tears. She was suuuper happy, she cried every morning for a week. Her dream had finally come true.

Ryo was a bit shook from the change, but adjusted quickly, he found himself happier than ever, like a piece of himself was lost and found without knowing.

Yoshiko and Yuuki felt like the burden finally lifted off their shoulders, and felt far more freedom than ever. Still, they had a hard time adjusting to the new change, and the new ability to open up and vent to their family, but Riko and Ryo had their backs.

Since then, Yuuki has taken some form of a chuunibyo (Ryo too) and now Riko can’t tell if she should be regretting it or not (But secretly she’s quite fond of the resemblance.).

Ryo and Yuuki, being siblings, and twins, have some extreme competitions between one another. Whether it be who could play piano with no mistakes the fastest, or who could finish eating the fastest. Ryo is the stronger one, while Yuuki is easily the faster one.

Riko wakes them all up, first, and always, is Yoshiko, then she wakes up Yuuki (Who, like herself, is a light sleeper.) then she wakes up the hibernating bear that is Ryo. She often has to turn on all the lights, take off his blankets, and dump water on him. Every. Single. Day.

They’re good friends with the Sonoda’s (Yoshiko and Umi are like sister and older sister), so they often have dinner with them on Fridays. Yuuki is the oldest one so she takes pride in always being the one to babysit them (Even though all credit should be sent to the third oldest one, Ukio, he IS the mom of the damn pack.) 

Yoshiko is your classic overprotective dad-mom, she’s aware of the popularity her daughter gets because of her job and success, which means she gets a lot, and a lot, of love letters, mostly from gold-diggers. So yeah, when Yuuki questions why all of the letters are gone the next day, they were burnt in the 9th Circle of Hell.

Riko and Yoshiko are both undeniably, tooth rotting fluffy, romantics. They are REALLY soft, and sweet to one another. Not only, has the variety of pet names expanded, the overdose of fluff increased. In the morning, they cuddle in bed when the kids aren’t up, and before breakfast Yoshiko’s always hugging Riko from behind, her chin on her shoulder, and sometimes feed each other. They aren’t married, but they act like they’re already on their honeymoon. It was, really vomit-inducing (Says Yuuki).

The biggest fight the duo had was when Riko found out that before they got together, Yoshiko slept with several other girls in her absence. Yoshiko didn’t even know what was wrong about it, the drama was still there and they hadn’t even reunited at the time. But then again it all clicked when she realized there was a chance of STD and getting another girl pregnant during that time. THANKFULLY, their worries weren’t true. Though Riko has Yoshiko put on a condom here and there for safety (I mean how the fuck would she get Riko preggo, wheres the logic)

Yoshiko, nowadays, has more of a Dia-aura. Serious but kind and dedicated. Dia is proud, to say the least.

Yuuki and Ryo have different bedrooms, Yuuki’s is in more dark colors (She likes dark blue), while Ryo’s is more pastel. They fight over the bathroom that connects their bedrooms, though.

The two are both your reliable senpai, they inherit the smarts and maturity of Riko (When they’re in public). It hurts how Yoshiko has three people who are at a constant rate of correcting every little thing she does (Yuuki does it because she knows how annoying it is, Ryo does it just cause, and Riko because her OCD won’t allow it.).

Yuuki and Ryo worked at 7-Eleven for quite some time because Yoshiko refused to give them the latest video game that Yoshiko’s brand released for free, and both of them reaaaally wanted it, so that’s how they worked at the same 7-Eleven Riko part-timed at for a full two months.

The two once walked in on Yoshiko and Riko having some (Very) heated sex, all of them couldn’t look one another in the eyes for a while after that.

Ryo, as the council vice president, is pretty close with Ukio, who’s the council president. Yuuki jokingly said she’d start a reelection to become president and accidentally set off a real reelection for council president. She was president for a week before she returned the role to Ukio.

Yuuki is a natural at piano, but mains the violin and guitar. Ryo plays piano and the flute.

There was a time where Riko had accidentally scheduled two recitals at the same time, so Yoshiko ended up dying her hair and changing her hairstyle to look like Riko’s. The only issue was the huge height difference, and stature. Riko’s body was far more feminine while Yoshiko had that serious business person look. You and Yoshiko often worked out too (They surprisingly got along well like they used to, despite the whole ordeal.) so both of them were pretty bulky. So at the start of the recital Yuuki was a Riko-copy, then when the curtains closed swapped with Yoshiko, who actually played (Apparently Tsushima’s are natural pianists.). Yoshiko and Yuuki were teased for their red hair for a while until they finally were able to remove it.

Yuuki is a huge prankster, and no one knows it other than her family and friends. She’s the cool mature senpai, no one would believe it if she pulled that prank and dropped a water bucket onto Koizumi-sensei. Ryo berates her after.

They once went to Universal Studios in LA. Riko and Ryo relied a lot on their English-speaking-able bluettes to get around and be a translator. Yoshiko’s accent is pretty well hidden (She was in New York for a full 18 years, her English has gotten really well since then, practically can rival Mari.)

Yuuki was born on New Years, at 11:39 PM, while Ryo was a day after at 12:03 AM Jan 2nd. They, along with Dia, celebrate their birthdays till 1AM so they get Ryo’s day as well. It’s a fun time for everyone.

Actually, all of their birthdays are absolute bangers. They play all their old songs as idols, and get blackout drunk (Which is why they have the real party separate from the kids.). They think they don’t know, but Yuuki knows everything.

[oumiyuki]

The Daily Life of Loving a Really Cute but Dense Vampire Ch13

Ch13 - Special Chapter: A Happy Mother’s Day

Author Notes

Wrote this back in May for Mother’s Day, hehe~ :P

Happy Mother's Day to all my lovely reader's mothers~ *O* Without your honourable mums, there won't be you to be reading this story! Hehe~ X'D So, I'm grateful to them and you alike!

May you enjoy~ XD

Summary: Honoka aged 5-years old ropes Maki and Umi into her Mother's Day Big Plan to make all of their Mothers happy!

“Maki-chan! Umi-chan!” the tiny gingerhead grabbed two other tiny hands in hers as she pulled her redhead and bluenette childhood friends under her blanket where her younger sister, Yukiho, aged four, was waiting already.

“W-What do you want, Honoka?” Maki asked with an irritated tone though she willingly climbed onto the gingerhead’s bed.

“Let’s hide first!” Honoka urged and helped cover up any possible light coming through from Umi’s side.

“Why are we hiding?” Umi asked.

“Because…” Honoka whispered with both hands cupping her mouth.

“Because?” Umi and Maki could not help but whisper in return.

“Because we’re planning a biiiig surprise for our mums!” Honoka whispered excitedly, her blue eyes seemingly shining in the darkness of the covers.

Honoka felt a small tug on her orange shirt so she looked over at her younger sister.

“Big surprise?” Yukiho asked in a small voice.

Honoka’s grin widened and she gave a firm nod. “Yup! A biiiig surprise!”

“Y-You’re being very loud, Honoka…” Umi looked around worriedly, though they could not see anything from outside the blankets.

Honoka clamped both hands over her mouth. “I-It’s okay, I don’t hear anyone around. Right, Maki-chan?”

Maki looked away. “I certainly can’t hear anyone.”

Umi placed an understanding hand on the four year old redhead’s shoulder; we can’t blame Honoka for forgetting that Maki is not vampire and does not have enhanced hearing.

Maki nodded her understanding before looking back at the gingerhead. “So what’s the plan?”

Honoka beamed, this time her pearly whites joined her bright blue eyes in illuminating the space. “We will swap places to shower love to each of our mums!” Honoka declared happily as though her plan made a lot of sense.

Maki raised both eyebrows while Umi looked afraid. Yukiho tugged at her older sister’s shirt again.

“Yes, Yukiho?” Honoka was still jolly.

“What do you mean?” Yukiho asked the question everyone wanted to know.

“I mean this.” Honoka then went and explained her grand idea, and took a good half hour persuading Maki and Umi into it.

  The second Sunday of May rolled by, marking Mother’s Day. All three Kousaka, Sonoda and Nishikino households took an off day from the Sweets Shop, Dojo and Hospital respectively just to celebrate this special day.

Honoka grabbed her younger sister’s hand and ran over to her mother, still clad in an apron as she was going to begin cleaning the house.

“Mum! Mum!” Honoka had a huge smile as she ran up to her mum to tackle her in a huge hug.

Honoka’s mum laughed. “Yes, Honoka?”

Honoka faced upwards to her mother with a blinding smile. “HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!” She shouted while her mum chuckled. “Your turn, Yukiho!” Honoka urged her soft-spoken sister to do the same as her.

“U-Um…” Yukiho fidgeted behind Honoka.

Honoka’s mum patted her younger daughter, encouraging her. “H-Happy Mother’s Day, mum!” Yukiho managed to shout, made eye contact with her mum before staring at her older sister to know how well she did.

Honoka was still smiling broadly and she gave Yukiho a proud twist.

Honoka’s mum laughed again. “Thank you, sweeties.” Honoka’s mum kneeled down to be of the same height as her little daughters and gave each of them a peck on the forehead, eliciting happy giggles from her children.

“Well, we’ll be off now, mum! And don’t do your chores yet! I bet U-” Yukiho clamped her hands over Honoka’s so that she does not spoil the surprise. Honoka nodded for Yukiho to release her. “I bet it’ll be done before you know it!” Honoka rephrased before taking her younger sister’s hand and running out.

Honoka’s mum smiled at her energetic pair of children as she followed them downstairs.

At the front of Homura’s door was Umi and Honoka exchanged a high-five with the blue haired girl. “Good luck, Umi-chan! Maki-chan is?”

Umi smiled nervously. “Maki is at my house already. And good luck to you too, Honoka…”

Honoka changed into a bat with her younger sister and flew off to the Nishikino’s mansion.

  Honoka-bat smiled with all fangs when she saw Maki-mama waiting for the two Kousaka sisters outside her front gate.

“Maki-mama~!” Honoka-bat called for Maki-mama’s attention below who looked up with a welcoming smile and outspread arms.

Honoka-bat did a happy flip before she transformed back to human mid-air for Maki-mama to catch her, which Maki-mama did perfectly, with a giggle.

“Aren’t you energetic, Honoka?” Maki-mama hugged Honoka in her arms before putting the five year old down to pat Yukiho who landed nicely beside her.

“Hehe~ Of course I am! We’re here to show you how much we love you too, Maki-mama!” Honoka wriggled out of Maki-mama’s hold to jump to the ground, she whispered to her little sister.

“Hm? Let’s go inside?” Maki-mama was going to turn around but stopped.

“One…Two…! Happy Mother’s Day, Maki-mama!” Honoka and Yukiho shouted in unison. Maki-mama beamed happily as she felt a new warmth in her heart, and she chuckled.

“Thank you. It’s like I suddenly have two daughters.” Maki-mama grinned as she gave each sister a pat.

Honoka giggled. “You mean four! Because Maki-chan, Umi-chan, Yukiho and I have always been your daughters!”

Maki-mama grinned at Honoka’s words. “Yes, indeed. Now come on in, so that I can pamper my two energetic daughters here right now.” Maki-mama winked.

Honoka jumped for joy as she rushed into the house. “Yay~”

“O-Onee-chan…” Yukiho called as she ran after. “Aren’t we supposed to do the pampering…”

“Ah, you’re right!” Honoka quickly ran back and took Maki-mama’s hand in hers. “Any chores for us to do? We’re experts!” Honoka tried a wink of her own, though she was not used to it, so it came off as a blink and a nod at the same time.

Maki-mama smiled down at Honoka’s energy. “Mm…How about we dust the furniture?”

“Roger!” Honoka saluted and ran for the storage in which the dusters will be found.

Maki-mama watched on, making sure to follow. She knows how clumsy the gingerhead can be.

  After an hour or so of cleaning the Nishikino’s mansion, Maki-mama saw Honoka and Yukiho sitting and standing close to the piano.

“Want to play the piano, Honoka, Yukiho?” Maki-mama opened the piano.

“Eh?! Really? We can?!” Honoka’s eyes were shining with excitement while Yukiho stared at the Grand Piano in awe.

Maki-mama chuckled. “Of course. I can teach you.”

“Yay~!” Honoka spun around in her seat, but when her eyes rested on the sea of black and white, her hand stopped above it.

Maki-mama smiled. “Don’t worry. It’s quite easy.” Maki-mama placed her hand above the gingerhead’s to guide her to each chord while telling her what they are. Yukiho sat beside her older sister trying to listen in, but after some time she fell asleep on Honoka’s lap.

  Perhaps another hour or more had passed for Honoka’s first piano lesson. Honoka stretched with a very satisfied “Mm~” and broad smile. Maki-mama smiled proudly at their progress.

“Want to play with Maki’s dolls?” Maki-mama stretched and started for the second floor.

Honoka nodded excitedly and prodded her sister awake. “Yukiho, Yukiho! Let’s go play with Maki-chan’s soft toys! You know? There are really cute ones!”

Yukiho rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn. “Onee-chan?”

“Come on!” Honoka pushed her little sister to guide her down the piano bench carefully.

The moment they reached Maki’s humongous princess-like room (it’s even bigger to Honoka and Yukiho since they were small in size), Honoka rushed for the princess bed.

“Softness~!” Honoka yelled as she jumped on the bed and let her face smack into the softness of the quilt blanket. “Ah~”

Maki-mama giggled as she saw Yukiho plastered her face on the side of the bed to feel what her older sister was feeling.

“The soft toys are here, Honoka, Yukiho.” Maki-mama pointed to a corner of the room with the soft toys of bears and bunnies and other arrays of animals sitting at a table and child-sofa.

“Ooh~!” Honoka rolled off the bed and picked up a dinosaur soft toy.

Yukiho went beside her older sister and picked up a bunny.

“Would you like something to drink?” Maki-mama asked.

“Blood O?” Honoka’s eyes started shining again.

Maki-mama chuckled. “Only a small bit, okay?” Maki-mama winked.

“Okay!” Honoka saluted once more. “How about you Yukiho?”

Yukiho looked down shyly.

“You can tell Maki-mama anything, you know? Maki-chan’s house has everything!” Honoka spread her arms wide.

Maki-mama chuckled. “Do we now?”

“You sure do!” Honoka flashed Maki-mama a broad smile.

“Um…” Honoka and Maki-mama gave their attention to Yukiho. “Can I have…B?”

Maki-mama smiled sweetly. “Of course. Entertain yourself while I get your drink.”

“Okay~” The two sisters chimed.

It did not take long for Maki-mama to return with their orders.

“Maki-mama.” Honoka picked up an orange haired doll that had a side ponytail in a ribbon and blue eyes.

“Yes, Honoka?” Maki-mama turned away from playing Yukiho for a moment.

“This doll looks really familiar…” Honoka pouted thoughtfully.

Maki-mama looked at the doll. “Oh, that’s…”

“That’s?” Honoka stared at Maki-mama with curiosity.

Maki-mama considered telling the five year old that the doll was modelled after her, and Maki personally asked Santa to gift it to her last Christmas. “That’s Maki’s favourite doll.”

Honoka blinked. “Eh? I thought this was Maki-chan’s favourite doll? She hugs it to sleep too!” Honoka picked up the teddy bear which had an adorable yellow bowtie on it.

Maki-mama chuckles and whispers in the gingerhead’s ear. “This doll that looks really familiar to you is Maki’s secret favourite.”

Honoka got excited from the word ‘secret’ and puts both hands to her mouth to signify that she won’t tell anyone, while Maki-mama laughs heartily; knowing she got at least one point on her 5-year old daughter.

  Umi, just as Honoka mentioned before leaving her house, have done a splendid job of helping Honoka-mama in cleaning the house. The tables and televisions were all dusted and the bedsheets were changed together too.

“Honoka-mama…I want to clean the top of that shelf.” Umi pointed at a shelf.

Honoka-mama smiled. “Okay. Be careful now.” Honoka-mama picked the small bluenette off the ground and raised her to a height which the five year old can easily run the duster through the shelf.

“Thank you, Honoka-mama. It’s all clean now.” Umi smiled with a nod of approval to the person carrying her.

Honoka-mama smiled, pleased with Umi’s efforts. Honoka usually doesn't try to dust the top shelves or put in the extra effort to clean the bottom of tables and bed.

“You’re so diligent, Umi-chan.” Honoka-mama gave a pat to the bluenette who smiled with pride.

“This is just normal daily duties. And dusting every corner is only right as a proper lady.” Umi held her head up with pride.

Honoka-mama chuckled. “Honoka needs to learn a thing or two from you.”

Umi nodded sagely. “I agree.”

“Well, we’re done cleaning the entire house. So why don’t you go take a break. I think Honoka’s room isn’t so dirty now too.” Honoka-mama suggested.

Umi looked at the direction of her childhood friend’s room, then back at Honoka-mama. “It’s okay. I’m here to spend time with you, Honoka-mama.”

Honoka-mama smiled. “Alright…Then want to join me in baking special Mother’s Day manjuu?”

Umi’s almond eyes light up with excitement at ‘manjuu’ since she loves Homura’s blood manjuus. “Special Mother’s Day manjuu?”

“Yup. And you can present them to your mum later too.” Honoka-mama put a hand out for Umi to take if she’d like to.

“Mmph!” Umi took Honoka-mama’s hand and pulled Honoka-mama in the direction of the kitchen below.

Honoka-mama chuckled as she followed the manjuu-loving five year old.

  In the kitchen, Honoka-papa was preparing some dough.

“Honoka-papa, are we making normal manjuus too?” Umi asked.

“That we will. But you can focus on the blood manjuus, Umi-chan.” Honoka-mama helped answer as her husband focused on beating the dough.

Umi beamed. “Will there be all types?”

“Yes, there will. So there will be an array of choices for everyone.” Honoka-mama smiled sweetly as she took out some of the blood from the fridge.

“How do I get the shape?” Umi asked with eyes all ready to learn.

Honoka-mama took Umi’s hand in hers to guide her in moulding the shape of the manjuu such that she can add the blood in before closing it.

“This…and like this.”

“Wah…” Umi was all smiles at her first success. “Let me try on my own?” Umi asked before jumping the gun.

“Of course.” Honoka-mama stood beside to watch.

“This…and…this… There!” Umi lifted a completed blood manjuu, that was relatively smaller since she moulds it with her own hands as compared to having Honoka-mama’s support earlier.

“Well done, Umi-chan. After we get more completed, we will place it in the oven.”

“Okay!” Umi chimed as she got to moulding more manjuus.

  Maki was sitting in Umi’s room. She does not have to do any chores in her home, so she did not see the need to partake in chores at Umi’s house. She did wish Umi-mama a Happy Mother’s Day before staying in her childhood friend’s room.

Maki looks around the room, not exactly looking for something, just restless. The five year old’s violet eyes caught sight of an exercise book that was quite worn out. Wondering what it could hold, the redhead picked it up, and what she saw inside surprised her. “Kousaka Honoka”, the name of her other childhood friend was written inside from page one to the last page.

Umi-mama walked in to check on the soft-spoken redhead. “Maki, are you alright on your own?”

“Ah, um.” Maki hid the book behind her, feeling guilty of looking at someone else’s belonging without permission.

“Is there something you want to ask? About that exercise book for example.” Umi-mama’s keen eyes caught sight of the exercise book in Maki’s hand the moment she stepped in.

“Um…I’m sorry for looking without permission.” Maki lowered her head.

Umi-mama smiled. “I’m sure Umi wouldn’t really mind.”

“Um…”

“And that you’re willing to apologize, it’s a sign of true honesty.” Umi-mama approached the redhead.

“Mm…Why is the book all Honoka’s name?” Maki asked as curiosity took over her.

Umi-mama looked at the book for a moment before smiling again. “Well, Umi was to choose her favourite word or something she learnt every day to write in the exercise book as a task. And I guess she chose to write the name of someone she learns something new of every day.”

Maki nodded. “I see…” Maki placed it back with the second exercise book that was already half filled with Honoka’s name.

“Want to sit outside for some fresh air, Maki?” Umi-mama suggested as she started for the door.

Maki followed silently.

  In the garden of the Sonoda household, a full setup for with a paper umbrella and mat was laid out in the open space.

“I’ll be practicing traditional blood drinking. You can feel free to sit around and watch.” Umi-mama took a seat on the mat in a seiza position, while Maki sat close by to observe.

Umi-mama added the blood from a teapot into a traditional tea cup, before she stirred it with expert speed and the appropriate amount of times needed. Maki leaned in closer with curiosity to observe from close up.

“Want to try?” Umi-mama asked as she finished up stirring the blood-tea.

Maki nodded and Umi-mama passed her a cup to stir.

“Like this?” Maki asked.

“Slowly speed up, and tilt it at this angle.” Umi-mama guided Maki’s hand to the correct angle while Maki sped up the stirring of the brush.

“Nicely done.” Umi-mama smiled and stood up when she heard the doorbell rang. “I’ll be right back.”

Maki nodded as she stared at the blood in her hands. While staring, Maki thought of Honoka and her desire to make every mother happy and decided to get creative. Maki ran to Umi’s room to grab a calligraphy brush and ran back. She dipped it into the blood-tea to write Umi-mama, I love you” on the light purple mat that Umi-mama laid out when she does her Traditional Blood drinking.

Umi-mama returned and saw Maki’s writing, and a grin grew on her face. “That’s so sweet of you, Maki.”

Maki smiled broadly and her smile grew even wider when she saw the gingerhead behind Umi-mama.

“Maki-chan~! Did you have fun? I mean, did you show how much you love Umi-mama too?” Honoka ran up to Maki, but before Maki could answer, her calligraphy caught the gingerhead’s eyes. “What is this?” Honoka ran up to the mat.

“Maki wrote it for me. Isn’t she sweet?” Umi-mama answered while the rest of the party gathered in the Sonoda’s garden.

“Aww, Maki, do I not get one?” Maki-mama asked from behind.

Maki blushed and ran up to her mother to hug her.

Maki-mama giggled. “I can feel your love for me, Maki.”

Honoka jumped to her feet. “I’ve got an idea! Maki-chan! Umi-chan! Come on!”

Umi went closer to Honoka who grabbed the calligraphy brush that Maki used and dipped it into the blood she thought was ink. “We can add our messages too!” Honoka started writing. “Maki-mama and Mum, I love you!”

Umi smiled and took the brush from Honoka. “Honoka-mama, I love you!” Umi wrote and added an “Umi too!” beside Honoka’s and Maki’s writings.

“Ahh! That’s such a good idea! Honoka too!” Honoka took the brush again and quickly wrote “Honoka too!” beside Umi’s and Maki’s writing of love for their mothers.

Maki tapped Honoka’s shoulder to let her in. “Hehe~ Here you go, Maki-chan.”

Maki wrote the same “Maki too” beside Honoka’s and Umi’s. And now, the light purple mat was filled with blood calligraphy of how much Honoka, Umi and Maki loved each and every one of their mothers’ lots.

Umi stood up with a proud smile. “I made manjuu for everyone with Honoka-mama.”

Honoka’s eyes started shining and mouth began watering. “I want to eat!”

Everyone laughed at Honoka’s enthusiasm before Maki-mama spoke up. “Don’t you have something you want to share with everyone, Honoka?”

Honoka cocked her head to the side for a moment. “Something..?”

Yukiho pretended to play air-piano for her older sister to see.

“Oh!” Honoka put a fist to her palm in eureka. “Maki-mama!” Honoka ran up to Maki-mama to take the older redhead’s phone.

Everyone sat around and Honoka raised the phone up ready to hit play. “This is from us to Maki-mama, Umi-mama and Mum!” Honoka declared and she pressed play on the phone screen.

“Happy Mother’s Day to you~” was sung by Honoka and Yukiho through the phone, with a slow, amateurish but adorable piano played by Honoka herself as she was guided by Maki-mama earlier in the day.

Maki and Umi shared a look before joining in the song.

The day ended with everyone eating manjuu made by Umi and the Kousaka parents, while they sang along to Honoka’s “Happy Mother’s Day”.

Author Notes

Was inspired to share tiny Honoka, Maki and Umi’s Mother’s Day Special with everyone~ =v= And I hope everyone enjoyed it~ hehe~ XD

Leave a comment if you like~ ^^

[recentanimenews]

Check Out Messages from TV Anime 180-Byou de Kimi no Mimi o Shiawase ni Dekiru ka? Main VAs

    The official website for the forthcoming TV anime 180-Byou de Kimi no Mimi o Shiawase ni Dekiruka? (Can I Make Your Ears Happy in 180 Seconds?) announced its seven main voice members on August 23. The ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response)-themed five-minute original short anime is set to premiere in Japan in October 2021.

  Synopsis:

  The protagonist is "you." When your childhood friend girl Gekkou-chan hears that you are into ASMR, she buys a "dummy head microphone" and starts researching ASMR. Then there are Akimizu-chan, who wants to be friends with Gekkou, Gekkou's older sister and mom, and your twin younger sisters. The seven characters around you are drawn to the appeal of ASMR. Three minutes = 180 seconds in which you can experience realistic sounds, including ear scratching, breathing, voices, touching squeezes, ice, water, typing, and other household sounds.

    Key visual:

    Main voice cast:

    Akari Sawake / Gekkou-chan: Shiori Mikami (Akari Akaza in Yuruyuri):

- A high school girl who is a childhood friend of "you".

  "Gekko-chan's addiction to ASMR is sympathetic, so even ASMR beginners can easily get into this anime. Other characters with rich personalities will deliver lots of pleasant sounds, so I hope everyone is looking forward to it♪ This is the first time in the industry that ASMR and animation have been combined, so I myself am very excited to see how it will be broadcast!"

  ????澤家月光(ゲッコーちゃん)役#三上枝織 さんよりコメント到着！ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 「月光ちゃんのASMRにハマっていく姿に共感が持てて、ASMR初心者の方でも入りやすい作品となっています。」#君みみ 10月放送スタート????????https://t.co/aMXRU1QxK0@mikami_shiori pic.twitter.com/VPcydH0Ohu

— TVアニメ『180秒で君の耳を幸せにできるか？』公式 (@180Kimimimi) August 23, 2021

    Shusui Kagami: Suzuko Mimori (Umi Sonoda in Love Live!)

 - Gekkou-chan's classmate, nicknamed "Akimizu-chan"

  "The character I play, Shusui, is a shy girl with dark personality, who doesn't have any friends, but she makes an effort to get to know Gekkou-chan through ASMR. I myself am a beginner at ASMR, so I hope to learn a lot along with Shusui."

  ????鏡 秋水(アキミズちゃん)役#三森すずこ さんよりコメント到着！ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 「私自身もASMRは初心者なので、秋水と共に色々学んで行けたらと思っています。」#君みみ 10月放送スタート????????https://t.co/aMXRU1QxK0@mimori_suzuko pic.twitter.com/DVL4xq9V6C

— TVアニメ『180秒で君の耳を幸せにできるか？』公式 (@180Kimimimi) August 23, 2021

    Hikari Sawake: Azumi Waki (Nagisa Minase in Girlfriend, Girlfriend)

 - Gekkou-chan's older sister, nicknamed "Youkou-san"

  "Youkou-chan is a free and easy-going older sister, so you can relax and be healed by her pace, and sometimes she will play a little prank on your ears, giving you both excitement and comfort at the same time. I'll do my best to play Youkou onee-chan so that I can make everyone's ears happy!"

  ????澤家陽光(ヨーコーさん)役#和氣あず未 さんよりコメント到着！ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 「皆様のお耳を幸せにできるよう、精一杯陽光お姉ちゃんを演じます！」#君みみ 10月放送スタート????????https://t.co/aMXRU1yWSs@azumi_waki pic.twitter.com/cXdxIsNbTp

— TVアニメ『180秒で君の耳を幸せにできるか？』公式 (@180Kimimimi) August 23, 2021

    Udoku Sawake: Kanae Ito (Nanami Nanase in Gundam Build Divers)

 - Gekkou-chan and Youkou-san's mother

  "When I read the script for the first time, my impression of Udoku-san was that she was a mother, but she had a very charming personality, and she was even smaller than me!... just a little bit. I wonder if my height is one of the factors that led to my being cast as Udoku-san? (laugh) I will play her with all my mischievousness and sweetness, so that everyone who listens to her voices will think, 'I'd love to have a mother like that around!'"

  ????澤家雨読 役#伊藤かな恵 さんよりコメント到着！ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 「聴いていただく皆さんに、こんなお母さんが近くにいたら最高だぜ！と思ってもらえるようにお茶目さと甘やかし全開で演じます！」#君みみ 10月放送スタート????????https://t.co/aMXRU1QxK0 pic.twitter.com/QAzA4izXsn

— TVアニメ『180秒で君の耳を幸せにできるか？』公式 (@180Kimimimi) August 23, 2021

    Nanako: Yu Serizawa (Shera L. Greenwood in How Not to Summon a Demon Lord)

 - Your sister

  "Nanako-chan is full of love for her onii-chan! She is the kind of girl who would do anything for her onii-chan, even things that make her heart beat. I think both unreality and realism are important in ASMR, so I'll do my best to make you feel as if Nanako-chan has suddenly appeared in your daily life."

  ????ナナコ 役#芹澤優 さんよりコメント到着！ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 「聞いてくれた人の日常にナナコちゃんが突然現れたような気持ちになってもらえるように頑張りたいと思います！」#君みみ 10月放送スタート????????https://t.co/aMXRU1yWSs@iRis_s_yu pic.twitter.com/h7ljjl9ROI

— TVアニメ『180秒で君の耳を幸せにできるか？』公式 (@180Kimimimi) August 23, 2021

    Kanako: Aoi Koga (Kaguya Shinomiya in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War)

 - Your sister

  "I'm Aoi Koga, and I'll be playing the role of Kanako. Kanako-chan is the twin sister of Nanako, played by Yu Serizawa-san, so I'll try to play the role in a fun way so that you can enjoy their 'twin-ness' as well as their differences as characters. They also have their own unique way of speaking, so please listen carefully...!"

  ????カナコ 役#古賀葵 さんよりコメント到着！ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 「カナコちゃんは芹澤さん演じるナナコちゃんと双子という関係なので、"双子らしさ"もたっぷり楽しんで頂ける様、楽しく演じようと思います。」#君みみ 10月放送スタート????????https://t.co/aMXRU1yWSs@824_aoi pic.twitter.com/q6f4kujwNW

— TVアニメ『180秒で君の耳を幸せにできるか？』公式 (@180Kimimimi) August 23, 2021

    Jiro: Show Hayami (Ferdinand in Ascendance of a Bookworm)

 - Akimizu-chan's father

  "I wonder if Jiro Kagami is a wild and a little decadent character? I think he's different from the characters I've played in the past. I'm a little worried about how much I will be able to deliver the dialogue three-dimensionally by using a dummy head microphone (ASMR). And on the other hand, I'm not sure how everyone will perceive it, but I'm very motivated to give a good performance at the real recordings, so please look forward to it."

  ????二郎 役#速水奨 さんよりコメント到着！ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 「本番でいいパフォーマンスが出来る気満々ですので、是非、ご期待ください。」#君みみ 10月放送スタート????????https://t.co/aMXRU1QxK0@show_ism pic.twitter.com/PJPNA8O1t3

— TVアニメ『180秒で君の耳を幸せにできるか？』公式 (@180Kimimimi) August 23, 2021

    Sources: TV anime "180-Byou de Kimi no Mimi o Shiawase ni Dekiruka?" official website / Twitter

  © KimiKimi Production Committee

  By: Mikikazu Komatsu

[dimensiontripperhibiki]

Let It Burn (44/?)

Next chapter of Let It Burn, thanks a lot for reading and of course all of your questions/suggestions/headcanons. I do love answering them so feel free to keep ‘em coming. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter.  Warning(s): Sexual scenes, Blood play maybe, Biting, drinking blood. And violence of course. 

Riko wasn’t all that surprised when she woke to the scent of fresh paint. She supposed she was getting used to it after rooming with Hibiki for the past 2 weeks. Even when the girl wasn’t having visions, she was constantly painting or sketching something. She sat up, yawning and rubbing her eyes. She thought briefly of getting up and making the trek downstairs to make herself some coffee. It still felt a little strange to be in the house of someone who was virtually a stranger. She hadn’t even really spoken much to the members of the other group. She’d only had fleeting conversations with them. She had just slung her legs over the side of the bed when she finally looked around. Any thought she’d had of getting coffee slipped away when she noticed Hibiki painting on the walls around them. Almost every part of the walls were painted but it was what was on them that concerned her. Rin, wearing a yellow suit with a lightning bolt on the chest, facing a manic looking girl Riko didn’t recognize. She certainly recognized the woman who lay dead in the background though. Sonoda Kasumi.

“Shit…” Riko breathed as she inched away from the bed, noticing Hibiki was still in a trance like state. She bolted for the door, not bothering to pause to change from her nightwear. She headed down the hallway, in her haste not bothering to pause to knock on Future Honoka’s door before she burst into the room. Honoka and Nozomi were still in bed, the former kissing the latter’s neck as she pressed against her from behind. Riko noticed that while both were fully dressed, Nozomi had buried her face into her pillow and was gasping softly as Honoka’s hand moved under the blankets. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” She clamped her hand over her eyes and turned away for good measure. “What the hell?!” Riko winced at the anger in Future Honoka’s voice. “S-Sorry, it’s Hibiki-chan. She’s painting again. I think you need to see this. It’s about Rin.” Future Honoka groaned in response. So much for her idea of spending the early hours of the morning in bed with Nozomi. “Sorry.” She whispered to the blushing girl in her arms. She slipped out of bed and headed for the door. “Nozomi, let the others know we need them in Riko’s room. Make sure you find Rei and Yume. We’ll need them too.” “Right.” Nozomi answered as she too got out of bed. Future Honoka followed Riko to her bedroom. She wasn’t sure what she expected to see when she got there but nothing could have prepared her for the painting on the wall. Her chest seized with panic as it always did when she saw Tsubasa but the look on the A-Rise members’ face made it all the more terrifying. “Sonoda.” Future Honoka stepped closer to the wall Hibiki was painting on, noticing vaguely that the artist was still going. “Are you kidding me?” “I figured you might say something like that.” Riko mumbled, glancing at Hibiki in concern. She hoped she would stop soon. Behind her, Future Honoka heard the others rush into the room. Looking back at them, she noticed Kotori, Maki, Rin, Nico and Hanayo were all missing. Yume’s eyes widened and she quickly took out her cell phone. “Someone hacked into my doc...MAKI!” Rei cringed as her daughter’s name was mentioned. Of course her daughter would be up to something. “We don’t know that.” Nozomi nervously cleared her throat. “Maki isn’t in her room.” “REI!” Yume exclaimed, her face turning red with outrage. Rei winced. There was only so much she could say to defend her daughter in a situation like this. “I’m sure she had a reason.” “A REASON?!” Yume exclaimed angrily, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. “Kasumi cannot be killed! That dream is one of the worst I’ve had and you know that!” “Then Rin-san is supposed to stop her…” The group’s attention turned to Chika who had spoken up softly. She was staring at the wall with wide eyes, her hand grasping her head. “Chika-chan…” Riko gasped, hurrying to Chika’s side. Honoka and Kanan moved at the same time, making their way to Chika. “What the hell is she wearing?” Eli asked skeptically as she eyed the painting. “It’s a costume.” Umi sighed in exasperation. “Have you met Rin? She loves comics. Kotori probably made it for her.” “And now your daughter is dragging mine into her rebellion!” Yume pointed out in annoyance. “As soon as I find out where they are, I’m putting a stop to this.” Rei groaned at the comment. She was doing her utmost to keep Yume from interfering with Maki and Kotori’s relationship but Maki wasn’t exactly making it easy for her. “Even I know Kotori well enough to know she won’t be roped into anything she doesn’t want to do.” “I mean it this time, Rei. I’m done being patient with this.” Yume growled before she turned back to the painting. “We need to find out where they are before they get themselves killed.” “Well I don’t see Maki and the others in the painting.” Rei pointed out, noticing that Yume seemed to be backing away from the topic of Kotori’s relationship with Maki. “So…” She trailed off at the sound of Hibiki’s paintbrush clattering to the floor. “Whoa!” Future Honoka exclaimed as Hibiki swayed on the spot. She caught her quickly as she fell. “Guess she’s done.” Nozomi watched as Honoka picked Hibiki up and walked across the room to the bed, gently setting her down on it. Despite the situation she felt the corners of her lips twitch slightly. Even after everything she had been through, Honoka could still be sweet and gentle at times. “As I was saying, we need to find the others.” Yume said impatiently. She glanced at Rei. “Do you think Arisa could…” “No.” Rei interrupted sharply. “No she can’t.” Yume sighed in response. “Well we need her to so we can stop this. I’m not asking, Rei. You need to do what you usually do and set your personal feelings aside. You had no problem doing it when you wanted to use Nico for her blood.” Eli frowned at the discussion. “Don’t you think you should ask me or my dad instead if you want to use my sister’s ability?” “My apologies. You’re right, of course.” Yume said politely as she turned to Eli. “I only asked Rei because she’s practically your mom at this point. We need to find Rin, Eli. Arisa is the only person who can do that.” “I suppose...as long as it’s only Rin she’s looking for and not Sonoda. I don’t want her trying to find her after last time.” Eli shuddered to think what could have happened. “Of course.” Yume said while Rei gave a heavy sigh in response. “I’ll ask your father too, of course.” “Thank you.” Eli said quietly. She wasn’t entirely sure her decision was the right one but she knew they couldn’t leave Rin out there alone. She felt a hand slip into her own and looked down, following the arm up to Umi who looked equally as anxious. “We need to move fast.” Future Honoka ordered as she walked away from the bed. “Right, everyone get dressed. If you have orders, you’ll hear from us.” Rei declared, casting an irritated look at Yume before she headed for the door. ---- “I don’t want you to go.” Honoka blurted out suddenly as she watched Eli tug on her jacket. She noticed the blonde falter slightly in her movements before she turned around to face her. “Eli-senpai…” “You know I have to.” Eli said gently, noticing that Honoka was wringing her hands in front of her. She stepped forward, taking them in her own. “I have to go and save Rin.” “So I’ll go instead.” Honoka said quickly, gripping Eli’s warm hands back. “You should be here, protecting Yuki and Umi-chan and the others.” “They need someone with an offensive ability.” Eli pointed out softly. “I’m sorry, Honoka. I have to go, I don’t have a choice. If I could stay here with you, Umi and Yuki I would. You know I would.” Honoka nodded and threw her arms around Eli’s neck, hugging her tightly. “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid. Don’t throw yourself into danger, I can’t...I can’t lose you too. You almost died the last time you went on a mission.” “For you.” Eli said softly, hugging Honoka back with one arm while she used her other hand to gently brush over Honoka’s hair. “I’ll be more careful this time. So I can come back home to you, Umi and Yuki.” “Promise me.” Honoka said firmly, hugging Eli tighter. “Promise me you’ll come back.” Eli caught the breathy tone of Honoka’s voice, letting her know her girlfriend was panicking. “Shhh.” She hushed gently, drawing back slightly. As much as she could anyway, with Honoka holding onto her so tightly. She was used to it. Honoka still had nightmares about Yukiho’s death. She would wake up, distraught and trembling, seeking out the comfort of either Eli or Umi. Looking for reassurances that they were still there and they wouldn’t leave her. The nightmares were less frequent with Yuki there but they still happened. “Listen to me, Honoka. I swear I’m gonna come back. I have to.” “But what if you don’t?” Honoka insisted frantically. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you, Eli-senpai. Sonoda is crazy. She almost killed you last time.” “My mom almost killed me last time.” Eli said softly, brushing Honoka’s hair back from her face. “I know it’s dangerous. But it’s something I have to do. Nothing’s going to keep me from coming home to you. And Nico’s going to be there. She’s not going to let anything happen to me.” Honoka wanted to argue but she knew there was nothing she could say to change Eli’s mind about going. She gripped the lapels of Eli’s black jacket and pulled her in, kissing her deeply. Eli’s arms went around Honoka in turn, holding her close as she kissed her back. Slowly, she drew away and pressed her forehead to Honoka’s. “I love you.” Honoka blushed at Eli’s expression of love. “I love you too.” She reached up to cup Eli’s cheek in her hand and kissed her again, slower this time. “You have to come back. So the four of us can get out of here after this is over. I want to live with you, Umi-chan and Yuki. By ourselves, not...like this. I want to go somewhere where we can be ourselves and be together and...what I’m saying is I want a life with you and Umi. I want it all. A house and maybe more kids.” Eli stayed silent, waiting with baited breath. “I’m so happy with you and Umi-chan. I’m so in love with both of you.” Honoka confessed, her voice hitching slightly. “I know Kotori-chan and Maki-chan are getting married and it might seem like I’m saying this because of them but I would marry you right now if it didn’t mean I’d have to choose between you and Umi-chan.” Eli felt her face flush crimson. “Honoka…” “I just wanted you to know that. Before you leave.” Honoka said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. “I’m coming back.” Eli said firmly. She wrapped Honoka in another strong embrace before she reluctantly drew away. “Go and find Umi, okay? I’ll be back before you know it.” “Right.” Honoka closed her eyes as Eli kissed her once more. When she opened them, the blonde was gone. ---- “Eternal, can you hear me?” Nico winced as she heard Maki’s voice in her head. She slid down from Rin’s back. “Fuck you, why couldn’t you give me the codename Invincible or Unbreakable? Anything but Eternal.” “I come up with the best codenames, nya!” Rin announced out loud. “Shhh!” Nico hissed in annoyance. “In your head, Rin! We’re going to get caught if you’re not quiet!” “Yeah, yeah.” Rin thought back, a frown on her face. She didn’t see how they would get caught, given that they had just run up the side of a skyscraper. They had only just gotten to the roof when Maki had spoken. “Eternal suits you, nya. I make the best superhero names.” “No you don’t.” Maki argued. “Whatever you say Thinker!” Rin retorted. Nico snorted out loud in amusement. “She has a point there. Isn’t that a villain name?” “Nico, shut up.” Maki responded. “I’m just saying…” “Kotori thought of it so shut it!” Nico rolled her eyes at the explanation. Of course that was the reason Maki was getting so defensive. “You’re so whipped.” Maki scoffed. “Look who’s talking. Phase tells me she tops.” Rin smirked. “Ha, even I top!” Maki’s eyes widened in surprise. She wasn’t entirely sure she had even heard Rin right for a moment but noticing Kotori looked just as astonished, she assumed she had. “Do you even know what you’re talking about?” “Making out. Duh.” Hanayo growled under her breath. “Bolt, you need to focus on the mission at hand. You too, Nico-chan.” “What? Don’t blame me for this!” Nico thought back defensively. “They’re the ones who started talking about sex. Blame Thinker for bringing it up!” “We ALL need to focus.” Kotori, who had been silent up until that point finally voiced her opinion. “Are you two on the roof yet?” “Yeah.” Rin answered, glancing at Nico. “Do we know where in the building Sonoda is?” “The taller building next door.” Maki answered seriously. “Second floor from the top, there’s an office. I told Nico where it is so she’ll point it out.” “That one.” Nico said quietly as she pointed out one of the middle windows of the CORPS building. “Seventh from the left.” Rin hummed in thought. “How are you going to get through, nya? I can just phase.” Nico shook her head. “You don’t need to phase, just throw me at the window.” “Eeeh?!” Rin exclaimed loudly, earning herself a glare from Nico. “That’ll set off the alarms.” “So? Just throw me and then get over there, okay? Throw me hard. We don’t know what kind of glass it’s going to be.” “How am I gonna throw you though?! I don’t have super strength. I know you’re small but...nya!” Rin jumped back slightly as Nico let out an angry growl. “Do I have to spell everything out for you?” Nico rubbed her temples. By the time they got into the building it would be too late. “Don’t you…’heroes’ have some kind of extra strength? Just throw me and hurry up about it. Build up speed and throw me. It’s simple.” “Okay, okay.” Rin took a deep breath. “Stay here.” She took off running and Nico watched Rin’s orange streak lap around the roof five times within as many seconds. She almost gasped when Rin ran into her, picking her up. She supposed it was fortunate that the wind didn’t bother her eyes because she couldn’t afford to close them. Rin looped several more times before she reached the edge of the roof and threw Nico off. Rin repeated her lap once more and then jumped off after Nico, speeding up her molecules to phase through the glass as it shattered, flying toward her. She sped through the window, catching Nico before the girl hit the ground. Nico couldn’t deny that she was impressed. Her face and hands had still been cut by the glass but at least she hadn’t broken anything by hitting the floor at such a high speed. Within a few seconds her cuts were gone, leaving only blood in their wake. “FREEZE! INTRUDERS!” Nico drew her knives from her belt and threw them at the guards, hitting them square in their hearts. “Well well…” “A-Anju-taichou.” An agent stuttered as Anju stepped away from the desk where Sonoda Kasumi was sitting. “A speedster and the indestructible one.” Anju remarked as she paced forward. She stood in front of Kasumi’s desk, her arms crossed in front of her face and an amused smirk on her face. “I’m the Bolt!” Rin exclaimed defensively. “Fuck.” Nico breathed out. “Eternal. And we’re here to save Sonoda Kasumi so step out of the way.” Anju looked briefly taken aback. Not for long though. “Bullshit. And the Bolt, really? Silly girl, superheroes aren’t real.” She paced forward, taking a sword from one of the agents. “This should do just fine.” ---- Hanayo growled as she typed at her keyboard, her eyes on her computer screen. “Why can’t I hear them?” “Because I’ve closed the channel between you and them.” Maki answered, looking up. “I need to focus and you seem really angry at the moment. I don’t need that in my mind right now.” Hanayo sighed loudly. “I need to go to the gym. I can’t be any use here.” “Don’t get caught, Hanayo.” Maki warned as Hanayo started walking away. Hanayo waved Maki off and jogged up the stairs. She phased through the door only to come face to face with Future Honoka and Eli who were approaching it. In surprise, she stopped using her ability and Honoka took the chance to grab her arm. “Where is she?” When Hanayo didn’t answer she gave the girl a light shake. “Answer me, Hanayo!” Hanayo stuttered out the coordinates as well as the floor number and office and Honoka grabbed Eli’s arm before she teleported all three of them to the room. The room was in chaos when they got there. Rin was running around, taking down agents as they entered the room and Nico was repeatedly slamming what seemed to be herself against the wall. “CHANGE BACK TO THE ORIGINAL, I’M NOT IN THE MOOD FOR YOUR FUCKING MIND GAMES!” Rin suddenly appeared in front of them, a bit flushed. “What’s going on? Why are you here? Kayo-chin?” Hanayo shrugged sheepishly and looked around for Sonoda. She was standing behind her desk, a puzzled look on her face. She didn’t look especially concerned though. Future Honoka strode over to Sonoda’s desk, punching a remaining guard in the face when he tried to intercept her. “If you don’t get the hell out of here you’re going to die. Do you understand?” Kasumi raised an eyebrow in response. “Tell me, is this because of some kind of precognitive vision from Yume, you know they aren’t always accurate?” Future Honoka shook her head. “It’s from someone else, with a stronger precognitive ability.” Kasumi didn’t look surprised. “You mean Ryo’s kid. The painter?” “Enough of this!” Honoka growled angrily. “You either come with us or…” She was cut off by the sound of a scream from the doorway. She turned quickly in time to see a red streak go past her. A second later, Rin was unconscious on the ground. “I was going to do this earlier but it was fun watching Bolt and...Eternal, was it?” Tsubasa said in amusement as she came to a stop over Rin’s body. She kicked her, rolling her onto her back. “Super speed...this should be useful.” Eli clenched her hands into fists, going up in flames. Tsubasa turned on the spot and paced over to Kasumi’s desk. “So are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?” She threateningly raised her hand. “Where is she?” “I’m not telling you, Tsubasa so please put your hand down.” Kasumi replied calmly. Tsubasa growled under her breath. “I really hate you, ya know? Who the hell are you to give me orders?” Honoka swung her fist toward Tsubasa, intending to punch her but the girl disappeared suddenly, reappearing behind Kasumi. She remembered with a sinking feeling that Tsubasa had taken her ability back when her past self had went after Kasumi. “You took my ability…” “I wonder what’s in this head. Your power must be exquisite. In fact I never got the chance to copy the telepath. Such a passive ability needs more...physical tampering. One can’t just look at it.” Tsubasa commented, mostly to herself. “MORE POWERS, THAT’S ALL SHE NEEDS!” Nico, who had effectively knocked Anju out, tossed her aside and started over to Eli and Future Honoka. Tsubasa raised her hand, revealing a knife. She turned Kasumi around and lifted the blade, pressing it to the woman’s forehead. “Honoka!” Eli cried out, giving Honoka a harsh shove to get her attention. Honoka came to her senses and stopped time. She experienced a moment of shock when she saw Tsubasa still moving but then her shock was replaced with disgust as Kasumi started screaming. She looked away, feeling bile rush to her throat as Tsubasa used her ability to wrench Kasumi’s skull open much like she had with Chika. Kasumi went silent and as she stood there Honoka felt time unfreeze around her. Eli and Nico were both shocked to see Tsubasa shove Kasumi onto the desk, her skull open. Nico turned on Honoka. “What the fuck did you do?!” “She could move through my time freeze, I couldn’t…” Honoka trailed off, shaking her head. “I couldn’t stop her!” “Of course she could move, she has your ability!” Eli exclaimed in disdain. “And she has super speed! You were meant to teleport behind her and get her out of here! How could you be so...so…” “Stupid.” Nico finished for Eli who trailed off, her teeth gritted in anger. “Do you even know what this means?” Behind the desk, Tsubasa laughed darkly. “So the telepath has been here the whole time? I can hear you, Nishikino.” Maki felt her heart skip a beat in her chest. “Nico, what the hell is going on?!” “Shit.” Nico cursed, her eyes still fixated to Tsubasa. “What?” Maki insisted hurriedly. “She’s dead, Maki.” Nico thought back to Maki, her hands clenching into fists. “There’s nothing we can do to stop her now.” “I’m glad you realize that.” The sound of Tsubasa’s voice in her head sent shivers through Maki’s body but she refused to answer. “Where is Rin?” Nico looked away from Tsubasa’s manic eyes. She couldn’t look at her anymore. “She’s knocked ou...HANAYO, BEHIND YOU!” Hanayo turned to see a guard rushing for her. In her panic, she phased through the floor. Eli threw herself forward, hitting the guard in the face with a flaming fist. He landed next to Rin, out cold. “Now I can find Erena.” Tsubasa said to herself. “Over my dead body.” Nico scowled, stepping forward with her fists clenched. Tsubasa smirked. “You know I could take your ability but I quite like the ones I have now. Maybe if I cut you open and examine your brain’s nerves I could learn it.” Nico was about to make a scathing retort when Tsubasa ran out of the room, using her newfound speed to do so. “What do we do now?” Eli stared at the ground, her body still engulfed in flames. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do.” Nico said hesitantly, glancing at where Hanayo had fallen through the floor. She hoped she was okay. “Guess we just wait around for her to come for us.” She sighed and went to Rin’s side, kneeling down next to her. “The mission is a failure, Thinker. Bolt is fucked up.” Maki cleared her throat. “From what I can tell, Phase has fallen several stories.  I can’t get a read on her right now but I think she’s okay. How the hell did this happen?” “Why don’t you tell us that, Honoka?” Eli turned on Honoka, her eyes blazing with silent anger. “How the hell did this happen?!” “I told you, s-she was just too fast. I choked, I didn’t know she had gotten this powerful this fast. It took me years to learn how to master the time stops. I’m sorry.” Honoka stuttered, her eyes wide. “You could have teleported behind her, you could have grabbed Kasumi and left. You could have done SOMETHING!” Eli was on the verge of yelling as she stepped toward Honoka. “You’re meant to be the best, you’re meant to be the one who’s going to SAVE us and you can’t even…” “Eli.” Nico warned, looking up. “Stop. You’re just scared.” “DAMN RIGHT I’M FUCKING SCARED!” Eli yelled, her flames darkening slightly to a murkier blue. She kept her attention focused on Honoka though. “I know you could have stopped her! I know you could have done something but you didn’t want to, did you?” Future Honoka took a small step back, her heart pounding frantically against her chest. It was like Eli could see right through her. “No. I didn’t. I let her…” Eli surged forward and grabbed Honoka by the jacket, shoving her hard into the closest wall. “Do you know what you’ve done? She could kill us all.” “Eli.” Honoka choked out, her eyes filling with tears as she grasped at Eli’s wrist. It seemed the blonde had no intention at all of letting go “I’m sorry, she was too fast. I couldn’t have stopped her.” “You didn’t TRY!” Eli exclaimed loudly. “You could have at least tried! Now she’s going to come for us. She could come for my family! Honoka, Umi, Yuki, Arisa, my dad, NOZOMI!” Honoka gasped as Eli’s flames licked at her skin and clothes, lighting the clothes and scorching her skin. “E-Eli-senpai.” “Eli, STOP!” Nico threw herself at Eli and knocked her backwards, away from Honoka who quickly patted her clothes to put herself out. “Are you insane? What the hell are you doing?! Maki, talk to her!” “She’s faster than Honoka, Eli. She would have gotten away anyway.” Maki directed her thoughts toward Eli whose flames lessened slightly. “She’s tapped into the fastlane, she’s faster than any of us can stop right now. We weren’t training to deal with this. We need to do that if we want to contain Tsubasa.” “R-Right.” Eli looked at Honoka, at the burns on her skin. Burns from her own hands. “Honoka…” “I’ll go and find Hanayo.” Honoka’s voice was slightly choked but Eli couldn’t see her eyes. She was looking away. “Nico, get Rin and Eli outside. Please.” She left the room without waiting for an answer. “You’ve gotten slower.” Honoka flinched as Maki’s voice filled her mind. “How do you know?” “I’ve been studying Rin for a while.” Maki explained. “You know she can even phase like Hanayo now. I know she’s faster than you but I also know that you really hate Sonoda.” “Ugh, I hate that you can tap into my thoughts.” Honoka paused at the end of the hallway, looking this way and that before she continued on ahead. “It’s understandable after what she did to your Umi and Eli. What’s she’s done to Kotori and  my Honoka…” “ENOUGH!” Honoka exclaimed out loud, gripping her head. “I didn’t LET her die, okay? Just leave me alone.” “All I’m saying is deep down you want her dead.” Honoka growled angrily. “I didn’t want it. In the end, I was just slower than Tsubasa. Just like you said. I haven’t trained with a speedster ability user in a long time.” Maki hummed in response. She was skeptical but didn’t argue. “Hanayo is outside. Everyone else is waiting for you so get out of the building.” “Everyone else…?” “Nozomi too.” Maki answered, knowing what Honoka would want to know. “How did she…?” “She found where we were hiding out and forced us to tell her.” Maki said with a wince. “Besides, she said she could...feel you or something. I don’t know, just hurry up and get out there. She’s waiting.” Future Honoka didn’t waste another second before she teleported herself out of the building. She stumbled a little, grabbing her head. “What the hell…?” “Senpai!” Honoka looked up in time to see Nozomi rushing toward her. The girl collided with her hard and hugged her as tightly as she could. Honoka felt her throat constrict, her eyes stinging with tears. She vaguely felt time freeze around her before her knees buckled beneath her and she collapsed to the ground, Nozomi going with her. She buried her face in Nozomi’s shoulder, sobbing quietly. Nozomi rubbed Honoka’s back, her own eyes smarting with tears which she blinked back. She could feel Honoka’s pain even though she was trying to block it out so she could focus on helping her. When Honoka quietened just a bit, Nozomi spoke up. “You in time out again?” Honoka nodded silently. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” “She’s dead. I let it happen. I wasn’t fast enough. I wouldn’t have been but I could have tried. But I wanted to see her die. For Umi-chan, for Eli-senpai, for Kotori-chan. She hurt them all and I wanted to see her dead. Like them.” Honoka pulled back, gripping the front of Nozomi’s shirt. “I just wanted it to be fair, Nozomi. I wanted her to suffer. You understand, don’t you? Please say you understand, I can’t take you hating me too.” “Shh.” Nozomi gently soothed Honoka, brushing her hair back from her face. “I could never hate you. Of course I understand. What happened?” Her gaze flitted down from Honoka’s eyes, just briefly and she did a double take at the sight of burns on her skin. “Elichi…?” Honoka’s lower lip trembled. “She hates me.” She managed to force out, her voice thick with tears. “My Eli-senpai never...she never...I don’t know what I’m going to do, I can’t…” “Hey, hey. It’s okay.” Nozomi’s heart seized in her chest as Honoka’s breathing grew ragged and fast, her chest heaving. “It’s okay. Just breathe. It’s okay. Elichi doesn’t hate you. Just breathe with me, okay? I’m here, you’re safe.” “But Eli-senpai…” Nozomi cursed under her breath. “Your Eli-senpai loves you. That’s all that matters, alright?” She gently rubbed Honoka’s back, trying to calm her down. “Elichi doesn’t understand. She can’t. But from what you’ve said, I know that your Eli could never hate you. I’m right, aren’t I?” Honoka nodded tearfully. “But I don’t want any Eli to hate me.” Nozomi drew Honoka into another tight embrace and cursed Eli under her breath. It was amazing and painful to see, that Eli could reduce the usually strong and composed Honoka to a small, frightening child in minutes. Without even meaning to, most likely. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’ve got you.” ---- Nico stood in the doorway to the infirmary, her gaze fixed to Hanayo who was sitting at the side of Erena’s bed. Hanayo seemed to be watching the girl intently. “Why did you save her?” Hanayo flinched in surprise at the sound of Nico’s voice. She looked up, forcing a slight smile to her lips. “Because it was the right thing to do. She was being tortured in there.” Nico hummed and walked further into the room. “But the psychopath wants her.” “That’s why it’ll be good to tell her we have her.” Hanayo said reasonably. “Leverage?” Nico asked, raising an eyebrow. “Yes.” “Fuck, people should never underestimate you.” Nico said, slightly awed by the girl next to her. Hanayo smirked and shrugged her shoulders in response. “It was the right thing to do anyway. We’re not going to let Tsubasa take her.” “So...Rin was taken to the future painter’s room.” Nico said, squeezing herself into the seat next to Hanayo. Hanayo growled under her breath. “It’s weird to see you think angry.” Nico said with a slight chuckle. “Should I be worried?” Hanayo shook her head. “She just pisses me off. What she’s doing to Rin-chan…” Nico watched the way Hanayo’s hands curled into fists. “Cursing too. Now I’m definitely worried.” “Nico-chan.” Hanayo sighed in exasperation. “I’m sorry.” Nico mumbled, leaning in to press a kiss to Hanayo’s shoulder. “Did the fall hurt much?” “Only when I hit the floor.” Hanayo joked. “I’m fine, just bruised is all. Rei-san thinks I cracked a rib.” Nico thought for a moment. “I have an idea.” “Wha…?” Hanayo gasped as Nico suddenly moved on top of her, straddling her legs. She was shocked but she grasped the girl’s hips anyway, to steady her. “Nico-chan?” “Bite me.” Nico whispered, pulling her turtle neck down. She brushed aside her hair, having left it down after she’d showered to wash all of the blood away. “Huh?!” “Bite me.” Nico repeated patiently. “I want you to take my blood. So you can heal. Please, Hanayo.” Hanayo swallowed thickly, her gaze shifting to Nico’s neck. “It’ll hurt a lot. If I’m the one who does it. You can feel when I touch you so...” “I want it to hurt a lot.” Nico interrupted quickly. “Come on. Just do it.” Hanayo didn’t have it in her to argue with Nico anymore. Leaning forward, she kissed Nico’s neck before she began to suck, taking her time to build up pressure. Nico sighed and closed her eyes. Hanayo was right, it did hurt. But it felt good too. “Just like that.” She mumbled, feeling Hanayo start to use her teeth. Hanayo bit down sharply without warning and heard Nico release a soft moan at the feeling. She couldn’t resist the urge to phase her hands under the girl’s sweater and bra, her fingers sliding over her breasts. She shuddered as Nico arched into the touch. She felt Nico’s hand sliding into hair and then she tasted blood and simultaneously felt it on her lips. She sucked hard, feeling the warm liquid spill onto her tongue. Nico turned her head and pressed her mouth to her shoulder, trying to suppress a rising moan. She whimpered as Hanayo continued to suck and without thinking about it, she began to grind down against Hanayo’s lap, gently at first until Hanayo noticed and started to help guide her movements. She felt Hanayo start to pull away and pressed a hand to the back of her head, urging her back. “More.” She insisted softly. Hanayo seemed all too willing to do as she was told and went back to it without hesitation as Nico rocked her hips back and forth against her lap. The soft gasps and whimpers coming from Nico were intoxicating, she thought as she squeezed at Nico’s breast. She slipped her free hand between them and phased it through Nico’s pants, eagerly brushing her fingers through Nico’s folds. She hissed, surprised to find how aroused Nico was already. She rubbed lightly back and forth for a moment before slipping two fingers into Nico. Nico cried out, the sound muffled by her own shoulder as she started to grind down relentlessly against Hanayo’s fingers. Hanayo kept going, addicted to the taste of Nico’s skin and the feeling of her blood, slipping over her tongue. It didn’t take long for Nico to tense, bucking against her hand as she moaned softly to herself. Slowly, Hanayo stopped sucking and Nico shrunk forward against her, exhausted. Hanayo gently kissed Nico’s neck, watching the pierced skin heal. “Do you feel better?” Nico asked, panting softly against Hanayo’s shoulder. “Much.” Hanayo said with a small smile. “Me too.” Nico mumbled. ---- Hibiki woke to an ache in her head and a subtle dryness in her throat. The aftermath of her visions always felt something like a headache. She looked down, finding an arm curled around her waist and her brow furrowed in confusion. She was in her room so she couldn’t help but wonder if it was Riko who had inadvertently embraced her in her sleep. She turned over, slowly, already planning how she would make a quick getaway if it was Riko. She froze in place when she found Rin lying next to her instead, her face, arms and what Hibiki could see of her shoulders and chest above her tank top bruised. The bruises were healing quicker than normal thanks to Rin’s ability but Hibiki shuddered to think how bad they must have been. Hibiki looked around and noticed F!Honoka and Nozomi sitting against the wall a few feet from the bed. Both looked exhausted and Honoka looked injured. Hibiki could see a few burns scattered on Honoka’s neck, shoulders and upper chest. “What happened?” Future Honoka looked up from Nozomi, whose head was resting on one of the arms Honoka had wrapped around her knees to hold them close to her chest. “Rin? She wouldn’t go to her room. She wanted you. You saved her. We um...couldn’t stop Tsubasa.” “Oh.” Was all Hibiki could think to say to that. She didn’t really need to say anything else. Future Honoka hummed softly in response, her gaze returning to Nozomi. Hibiki took another moment to look around the room before she looked to the two of them again. “Is she out? Rin too?” “Rin was knocked out, Nozomi is just sleeping.” Future Honoka said softly. “She wanted to wait in here for Rin to wake up.” Her brow furrowed slightly in confusion. Both she and Nozomi knew that her past self would be waiting for the blonde to get back yet Nozomi had insisted she wait in the room with her. Hibiki nodded and looked at Rin. “Is Nico-chan okay?” “Yeah, she’s fine. She’s with Hanayo.” Hibiki shivered at the mention of Hanayo’s name. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, the girl scared her.

“Are you okay?” Honoka asked in concern, having noticed the shiver. Hibiki nodded silently. Honoka was silent too for a few long moment until she spoke again. “What else have you drawn?” “Death mostly.” Hibiki said softly. “I even drew the death of my mother. That was after she took me away from my father.” Honoka bit the inside of her cheek. “I’m sorry.” She watched Hibiki shrug her shoulders and noticed the vulnerability in the girl’s eyes. “It’s all a front with you, isn’t it? The sarcasm and cockiness. Building up walls so nobody will get to know who you really are.” Hibiki rolled her eyes. “Thank you, Miss obvious.” “Hey.” Honoka said gently. “Sorry.” Hibiki sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m not used to talking to people. Besides Rin and sometimes Riko.” “So...who killed your mom?” Honoka asked rather bluntly. “My birth.” Hibiki answered hesitantly. “She transferred her ability to me, making her weak and causing her lifespan to decrease.” “What?!” Future Honoka’s eyes widened in surprise. “My father is normal.” Hibiki said with a shrug of her shoulders. She continued after a moment. “Only male ability users can transfer abilities into a baby. They have more energy compared to women. Female ability users with a normal male can either have normal children or transfer their ability and lose it.” “I see.” Honoka mused thoughtfully. “Rin is right, you are smart.” “Not as smart as the nerd duo.” Hibiki muttered, leaning back against her pillows. “Maki and Hanayo?” Honoka guessed, raising an eyebrow. “Bingo.”  Hibiki answered in the affirmative. “And I’m pretty sure Hanayo wants to kill me. Literally. Which makes how smart she is even scarier if I’m honest.” She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. “I hate this.” Honoka slowly shifted out from under Nozomi, making sure her girlfriend was steady before she got to her feet. “Can I hug you?” “What?!” Hibiki’s eyes snapped open. “You look like you need a hug.” Honoka clarified, taking a step forward toward the bed. “From someone who’s conscious. It’s been a long day, huh?” “Why would you…?” Hibiki shook her head in confusion. “Why would you want to?” “You remind me of myself, a little.” Honoka said sheepishly. “So it’s kind of like...I could see you as a kid sister in a way.” “I’m fifteen.” Hibiki pointed out. “I’m twenty.” Honoka countered. Hibiki sighed but relented. “F-Fine, if you want to.” Honoka crossed the room to the bed and leaned down, drawing Hibiki into a gentle embrace. The girl was stiff in her arms for a moment but finally relented, melting into the hug and burying her face in her shoulder. Hibiki took a shuddering breath. She’d always hated parental figures but this person seemed safe. She hugged her back, hesitantly. Nozomi opened her eyes slightly, having woken when Honoka had moved. She watched Honoka hug Hibiki thoughtfully. It was nice to see her girlfriend trying to befriend someone.  For a while it had seemed like Honoka was intent on distancing herself from the group. Nozomi had been sure that what had happened with Eli would only make that worse. Her hands balled into fists at the thought. ----- Honoka was close to dozing off between her girlfriends on the bed when the door to her room flew open, startling her back to full consciousness. “Nozomi-chan!” She exclaimed when she looked to the doorway, finding Nozomi standing there. “Why did you open the door like that? You could have frightened Yuki!” “Yuki-chan is down the hallway with Kotori-chan and Raven-san. I saw her on the way past.” Nozomi said, stepping into the room without waiting for their permission. She focused on Eli who was staring at her silently. “I need to speak to you. Alone.” Eli stood from the bed, crossing her arms. She knew what Nozomi was going to say already. “You can say it in front of them, it’s fine.” “Honoka-chan shouldn’t be here for this.” Nozomi said steadily, her gaze fixed to Eli. “She’s fine.” Eli said again, refusing to back down. “Fine.” Nozomi replied through gritted teeth. She took a deep breath before she spoke again. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Eli sighed. “So you’re taking her side. I figured you might.” “This isn’t about sides. You burned her, Elichi!” Nozomi accused loudly, anger seeping into her voice. “That’s not okay!” “She let Sonoda DIE!” “Because of you! Sonoda had Arisa killed in the future. She did it because she hated Sonoda for you!” Nozomi’s voice gradually rose. She threw her arm out to the side, pointing at Umi who sat up straight, her eyes wide. “And she did it for Umi-chan. For everything that...evil woman did to her! She wasn’t being selfish. She didn’t even mean to let her die and yet you burned her!” “So I’ll apologize…” Eli said, a little taken aback by how angry Nozomi seemed to be. “I didn’t mean to, I was just angry.” “It’s too late to apologize! Do you know that she was so upset that time stopped itself so she didn’t tear a hole in the damn continuum?!” Nozomi growled, her hands curling into fists as she remembered how distraught Honoka had been. “When I found her, she couldn’t stop crying. Telling me you hated her and…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “You have no idea what you did to her.” Eli swallowed thickly. “All I did was yell at her and set her clothes on fire. She knows I can’t control my ability. Why does she even care wha…?” “Because she fucking loves you, you idiot! She worships you. You’re the closest thing she has to her Eli. You’re the closest thing she’s ever going to have again to the person she loved more than anyone else!” Nozomi exclaimed. She could barely believe Eli could be so oblivious. “She loves you just as much as Honoka-chan does, if not more. How do you think Honoka would feel if you burned her?” “E-Eli-senpai wouldn’t…” “Exactly!” Nozomi turned to Honoka who looked nothing short of startled. “You trust Elichi more than anyone else, don’t you? You feel safest with her.” Honoka hesitated for a moment before nodding. “And Umi-chan.” She mumbled, reaching for Umi’s hand. “That’s how Honoka felt.” Nozomi quietened down a bit as she looked back to Eli who seemed to be gradually realizing what she was saying. “Her Eli was her safe place. Her protector. And you hurt her, Elichi. Deeper than any burn you left her with.” “I’m sorry.” Eli mumbled, looking down at the floor. “I’m not the person you should be apologizing to.” Nozomi said sharply. She watched Eli flinched and sighed, forcing herself to soften her tone. “You’re my best friend and I don’t want to hurt you. But I love her. I know her better than you, better than any of you and I know how much you’ve hurt her. You need to fix this. The Elichi I know would want to fix this.” Leaving Eli to ponder that, she stormed out of the room, closing the door behind her. The room was silent for a moment, until Eli raised her eyes, cautiously looking to Honoka. “I would never…” “I know.” Honoka said as Eli’s voice cracked. She shifted away from Umi and patted the space between them. Eli crawled into it immediately, feeling arms go around her from the front and back. Umi pressing against her back and Honoka holding her close to her front. “I fucked up.” Eli whispered, thinking back to how Future Honoka had looked at her. She had called her Eli-senpai, pleading with her to stop. “I really really fucked up.” “You can fix it.” Honoka whispered, kissing Eli’s forehead. “I know she’ll listen to what you have to say if you go and talk to her. I would.” Eli gave a slight nod. “Umi?” She shifted, looking over her shoulder. “What do you think?” Umi smiled sadly. “I don’t think I’m in any position to give you advice about how not to hurt Honoka’s future self. Bit if anyone can fix this, it’s you. Honoka loves you in any timeline. Just talk to her.” “Thank you.” Eli gently pecked Umi on the lips before she turned to do the same with Honoka. “I don’t know what I’d do without the two of you.” ----- “What are you doing?” Future Honoka flinched, letting out a yell of surprise at the sound of someone’s voice from the doorway. She spun around, her hands half raised to defend herself but she relaxed when she noticed Rin standing in the doorway to the kitchen. “Rin! Don’t sneak up on people!” “I didn’t, nya!” Rin exclaimed, her eyes wide. She leaned to the left, trying to look past Honoka to see what she was doing. “What are you doing?” “Making tea.” Honoka answered simply. Rin stepped further into the kitchen, her nose scrunching up slightly. “It smells weird.” “It’s chamomile. Nozomi-chan used to make me drink it in the future. She said it’s calming.” Future Honoka answered as she watched Rin hop into one of the stools in the kitchen. “You’re not calm?” “No, I…” Honoka frowned, shaking her head. “What do you want?” Rin turned serious suddenly, clasping her hands in her lap. “I want to thank you.” Honoka shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve saved your ass. You were always getting into trouble in the future.” “It’s not just that, nya!” Rin exclaimed quickly. Honoka frowned at the younger girl. “Hm?” Rin took a deep breath. “I wanted to say...thank you for being nice to Hibiki. Earlier in the bedroom, I mean.” Honoka’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh god, you weren’t knocked out. You heard that. I thought you were asleep! You were faking?!” “Maybe.” Rin shrugged sheepishly. “Damn it.” Honoka muttered, pressing her hand lightly to her forehead. “Look, I just...thought she needed someone.  I’m still me, you know. You still...know me.” Rin grinned and hopped down from her seat. “Yes you are.” Honoka took a step back as Rin paced forward. Her face flushed with embarrassment. “What do you want?” “A hug.” Rin declared. “No!” Honoka resolutely shook her head. “No more hugging today. I’m done.” Rin frowned, pausing in front of Honoka. “You gave Nozomi-chan a hug. And Hibiki.” Honoka was about to declare her innocence when she noticed something. “You know, I find it strange that you don’t call her Hibiki-chan.” “She’s cool.” Rin shrugged her shoulders. “It doesn’t fit her...NYA, don’t change the subject!” Honoka smirked at Rin’s annoyance. “You really like that girl.” “Stop changing the subject!” “Why? She is your...girlfriend, isn’t she?” Honoka had to admit that she did get a kick out of teasing Rin. It was something she’d never gotten to do with her Rin because the girl had never been in a relationship. “Shut up!” “Fine, I’ll stop.” Honoka smiled, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “But you have to tell me what she did to catch your attention so badly.” Rin huffed. “I-If you give me a hug I’ll tell you.” Honoka rolled her eyes. “Fine. Get over here.” She opened her arms though she wasn’t quite prepared for how quickly Rin flew into them. She winced though counted herself lucky that Rin hadn’t used her ability. She felt Rin’s arms go around her and tentatively hugged her back. She had intended to pull away after a few seconds but she didn’t, taking a moment to ponder the fact that while she and Rin had shared a deep respect for each other and cared for one another as friends and comrades, they had never really hugged much in the future. The moment was broken by Rin. “You’re a good hugger.” Honoka shook her head and carefully pulled away from the embrace. “So your turn.” Rin gave a shrug, a cheeky smile on her face. “You’ll just have to spend more time with Hibiki to find out. It’s worth it, nya.” “Eeeh?!” Honoka exclaimed, watching Rin run from the room in a streak of orange lightning. She shook her head, staring at where Rin had stood just a few seconds ago. “She’s probably going to go and find her now.” “I usually see her outside sketching.” Nozomi’s voice sounded, causing Honoka to turn toward the doorway. “I think Rin-chan finds her interesting because she’s different from her.” “So opposites attract.” Honoka elaborated thoughtfully. “Kind of like…” “You and me.” Nozomi finished Honoka’s sentence for her with a soft, albeit weary smile. She walked into the kitchen and stepped over to Honoka. “I don’t suppose you have one more hug left in you?” “For you? Always.” Honoka opened her arms and Nozomi stepped into them. Sighing blissfully, Honoka rested her chin atop Nozomi’s head, holding her close. “Rin isn’t the only one who saw what you did by the way.”  Nozomi said softly, resting her head against Honoka’s chest. Honoka blushed. “Shit, this is ruining my image.” “Don’t be embarrassed. I find it adorable that you see her as a little sister.” Nozomi looked up, flashing a soft smile. “Ugh, you heard that part.” “Yes.” Nozomi leaned up, pressing a gentle kiss to Honoka’s lips. “You don’t have to worry about letting people in. You should, you don’t have to keep up this...facade.” Honoka worriedly bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s okay.” Nozomi said quietly. She understood why Honoka would be reluctant to do so. She lifted her hand, brushing her fingers against Honoka’s cheek. Future Honoka caught Nozomi’s hand and held it to her face, turning to brush her lips against her palm. Her eyes locked intently with Nozomi’s and she held her stare for a few seconds before she spoke. “What’s wrong?” Nozomi shrugged her shoulders. She knew better than to say there was nothing wrong. It seemed Honoka could see right through her. “I talked to Elichi.” Honoka’s face fell at the mention of Eli’s name. “O-Oh?” “I couldn’t just leave it alone after what she did to you.” Nozomi said earnestly. “We argued. Umi was there too and she...I think she was trying to stay out of it. Elichi feels bad, she told me so in the end. She didn’t want to hurt you. I knew that would be the case but I needed her to understand what she’d done.” “Nozomi…” Honoka sighed softly and glanced down between them. “I didn’t need you to say anything to her. I’m an adult, I’ve dealt with worse than that.” “I don’t believe you.” Nozomi slid her arms around Honoka’s waist and gave her a gentle squeeze. “I know how you feel about your Eli. I know how much it hurt you for...Elichi to burn you. She needed to understand too.” Honoka wasn’t convinced but she didn’t attempt to argue. “I guess the argument made me think about how much I’ve changed over the past few months. I don’t want to stay the same.” Nozomi let go of Honoka and strode over to one of the drawers, emerging with a pair of scissors. Honoka straightened up in concern as Nozomi took her hair ties out. “Nozomi…” Nozomi gathered her hair in one hand and drew it around to the front as best she could. She cut it just below shoulder length with no hesitation. Honoka inhaled sharply as Nozomi let her cut hair fall to the floor. Her Nozomi had never done anything so drastic about her appearance. The most she had done was start wearing her hair in a single braid, or tied up. She walked over to Nozomi, reaching up to touch the shortened locks. Nozomi felt her heart wrench as moisture gathered at the corners of Honoka’s eyes. “W-What’s wrong?” Honoka shook her head. “I’m just...it’s nothing. You really are your own person.” She let her hand drift down to Nozomi’s shoulder where it lightly rested. “I’m...so in love with you, Nozomi. You’re my rock.” Nozomi’s chest tightened and she reached up to grasp Honoka’s hand on her shoulder. “And you’re mine. I love you too, Senpai.” Honoka smiled softly and leaned up to give Nozomi a tearful kiss. “You have to let me fix your hair a little though.” She whispered, drawing away ever so slightly. “To straighten it out.” Nozomi nodded and drew Honoka back to her, kissing her deeply. Her hair could wait, for now. ---- “Remind me again why we’re spying on Rin-chan and Hibiki-chan.” Nozomi requested from where she was sitting on the step outside of the back door with Future Honoka. It took Honoka a moment to realize that Nozomi had spoken. She’d been too busy watching Hibiki and Rin. Hibiki was sitting on the grass, while Rin was laying down, her head resting in Hibiki’s lap. “What? Oh. We’re not spying on them, we just happen to be out here at the same time. Do you think they’re actually dati-” She was cut off as Rin leaned up and Hibiki leaned down at the same time, pressing their lips gently together for a split second. “Nevermind.” Nozomi rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh.” “I never knew Rin was that smooth.” Honoka said thoughtfully as watched Rin place her head back in Hibiki’s lap. Nozomi shrugged her shoulders. “She’s never been attracted to anyone before. Those two must talk a lot under our noses.” “I think they’re cute.” Honoka decided as she watched them. “Hibiki is calm, she’s good for Rin. Like fire and water.” “Hibiki is water.” Nozomi chimed in with a nod of her head. “She can adjust to change. Rin is...definitely fire.” Honoka hummed in acknowledgement and leaned into Nozomi’s side, resting her head on her shoulder. She smiled faintly, feeling Nozomi tilt her head to rest it against hers. Hibiki looked up with a sigh. “We can hear you, you know. Do you find us especially interesting or something?” “Uh-oh.” Nozomi mumbled, detecting the defensive tone in Hibiki’s voice. “Now you’ve done it.” Rin sat up, a slight concerned look on her face. She knew Hibiki wasn’t good with people. She gave the girl’s arm a gentle squeeze of reassurance. “Did you need something, Honoka-chan?” Honoka shook her head. “No, we’re fine. We just felt like getting some air. Right, Nozomi?” “Uh...right. Sure.” Nozomi said with a roll of her eyes. Honoka was so obvious, at least to her. “We weren’t doing anything.” Hibiki frowned, seemingly not believing Honoka. “We were just talking about uh...London. I used to live there.” Future Honoka brightened at the new information. “Oh, how long did you live there? If you don’t mind me asking?” Deciding not to butt into the conversation, Nozomi elected to listen silently. It was better that way, she figured, seeing as Hibiki had only just grown more comfortable with Honoka and she didn’t know her all that well yet. “Since I was four.” Hibiki answered, raising her voice a bit to be heard. “My mom took me away from my dad after they divorced.” “Why?” “Because my dad wanted to use me for his benefit.” Hibiki got to her feet, stretching slightly and Rin stood up next to her. Rin growled under her breath. She’d heard plenty about that scumbag. As Hibiki walked tentatively closer to Honoka and Nozomi, she followed close behind. “So why are you here then?” Honoka asked in confusion. “Because my father demanded it.” Hibiki sighed in response, glancing at Rin. She paused once she was closer to Honoka. “He’s working with CORPS as a donor.” “Oh.” Honoka mused, taking a moment to think about that. Nozomi cleared her throat, taking advantage of the brief silence. “I’m meant to be meeting with Kotori.” She said softly. She leaned in, fleetingly kissing Honoka’s cheek. “I’ll see you later.” Hibiki watched Nozomi go, her brow furrowed in confusion. “Meeting…?” “Oh, Nozomi is kind of the...shrink here.” Honoka said with a hint of pride in her voice. “More like a friend who’s really good at listening. She’s been helping the others. She’s an empath so it’s good to talk to her.” Hibiki nodded as she stared after Nozomi. “So she’s your girlfriend?” Future Honoka nodded without hesitation, glancing back over her shoulder for a moment. “Yeah, she is. She’s pretty great. If you ever need to talk to someone, Nozomi is the one. She doesn’t judge, she just listens.” Rin smirked at Honoka’s response. “I’m gonna tell her you said that.” Honoka surprised Rin by shrugging in response. “Nozomi knows what I think of her. You can go ahead and tell her.” Rin huffed. Hibiki listened to the two of them, feeling a little awkward. She was surprised when Honoka looked back toward her. “So do you know Maki and Kotori?” Honoka asked, trying to include Hibiki in the conversation at hand. “You three would probably get along pretty well.” “Ah, I think Maki and I...got off on the wrong foot.” Hibiki said hesitantly, remembering her first encounter with Maki. “I was an ass to her. And she did read my mind so I’m not sure about her. I haven’t really met Kotori.” “If you can get past what she did, Maki is a pretty forgiving friend.” Honoka leaned back on her hands, peering up at Hibiki. “I tried to steal her girlfriend too many times to count.” “That’s pretty messed up.” Hibiki said in amusement. “In my defence, Kotori was my girlfriend first. Well…she would have been. It’s complicated.” Honoka said with a shake of her head. “The point is, if Maki can get past that she can get past most things. And you tried to save her fiance, she’s probably already forgiven you.” “That would be nice. I like moving forward.” Hibiki said quietly. “Maybe I’ll try talking to her sometime.” “That’s a good idea. If you’re gonna be sticking around for a while you’ll need friends.” Honoka slowly rose to her feet, deciding to give Rin and Hibiki some time alone. “If you ever need to talk, come and find me, HIbiki.” She lifted her hand in a wave before she walked back toward the house. “Gotcha fellow crow.” Honoka paused briefly, confused but she brushed it off with a laugh and with a wave goodbye, walked back into the house, leaving Hibiki with a rare genuine smile on her face. Hibiki turned to Rin. “Ready to move forward?” Rin stepped close to Hibiki and swept her up, off of her feet. “Of course.” She said, kissing Hibiki briefly before she ran back into the house with Hibiki in her arms. ---- Maki paused at the bottom of the stairs to the basement as Hanayo let out an angry yell and swept her arms over the desk, knocking some paper and gadgets they’d been working on to the floor. “Angry today, I see.” “She won’t say anything!” Hanayo growled angrily. “She may be weak but she still won’t fucking TALK!” Maki raised an eyebrow as she walked further into the room. “Rin”? Hanayo shook her head. “Erena.” Maki bent to pick up everything Hanayo had knocked from the desk. “You tried to interrogate her?” “Someone has to.” “You should leave that to me.” Maki pointed out quietly. She stood, placing everything back where it was meant to go. “You were busy with your mom and Kotori.” Hanayo frowned, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Sorry.” Maki apologized, leaning her hip against the desk. “She’s fiercely loyal to Tsubasa. She won’t budge and it’s pissing me off.” Hanayo muttered irritably. “I see that. Nico-chan is rubbing off on you.” Hanayo lifted her gaze to Maki. “We’re not talking about Nico-chan.” “Right.” Maki said slowly, eyeing Hanayo. It had been clear that there was something wrong with Hanayo as of late. “Maybe you should talk to Nozomi. About how angry you are. It could help.” “I’m not angry, I’m just frustrated.” Hanayo said, getting up from her seat. She paced across the room to the whiteboard where she, along with Maki, had been writing down anything that could help with the situation. From equations to operations. “This is useless. None of this is helping! We need to enhance RIn’s body armor but there’s no way to do it without...” “Weighing her down and making her slow.” Maki finished for Hanayo. “Maybe she should train with weights to get her strength up. We also need Honoka to train with her. She hasn’t sparred with Rin in months, that’s why she was slower than Tsubasa.” Hanayo gave a loud sigh and turned away from Maki to focus completely on the board. “We need to figure this out or we’re just going to keep screwing up. Rin-chan couldn’t do anything against Tsubasa out there. All she could do was take down guards. Any of us can do that.” “So you’re still angry with Rin then.” Maki said, raising an eyebrow. “That’s none of your business.” Hanayo said sharply, catching Maki by surprise. She looked back to her, her hands clenching. “Rin is being reckless. And so are you for that matter.” “Wait, what?!” Maki exclaimed in surprise. “What are you talking about?” “You’re both distracted by your damn relationships!” Hanayo exclaimed loudly. “It seems like Nico-chan and I are the only people who aren’t distracted by our relationship! Our work is never affected by it but you and Rin are completely different.” “What is that supposed to mean?” Maki asked, at a loss. “I’ve never been distracted by Kotori.” “Then why is she here?!” Hanayo demanded, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “This was meant to be a team of three!” Maki planted her hands on her hips. “I could ask you the same question. Why is Nico here?!” “Because she’s actually useful!” “Watch it, Hanayo.” Maki growled, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the edge of the table. “That’s my fiance you’re talking about. You know I can’t lie to her. Not after last time.” Hanayo didn’t bother to ask what last time was about. She didn’t feel the need to. “And yet you and Rin-chan both got pissed when Nico knew even a little bit about what we were doing. You’re such hypocrites. It’s like you think your relationships are more important than mine!” “Nobody said that, Hanayo.” Maki said, trying to calm down in an effort to keep Hanayo calm too. “I know you care about Nico.” “Care about her?” Hanayo asked skeptically. “Would you say you only ‘care’ about Kotori- chan?” “Well...no but it’s not like you’re in love with Nico or anything.” Maki said cautiously. She really didn’t understand Hanayo’s relationship with Nico, she had to admit. “Right?” “That’s not your business.” Hanayo said again. “Screw this, I’m going to try again with Erena.” Maki was silent for a moment but as Hanayo walked past, she spoke up. “Hanayo.” She turned quickly to see Hanayo hesitate near the stairs. “You really should speak to Nozomi. You need some help.” As Hanayo disappeared up the stairs, Maki tiredly slid into the seat at the desk. She really needed to smoke. She rested her head on the table but flinched when after a moment she felt hands slide over her back to her shoulders. “It’s just me.” Maki relaxed at the sound of Kotori’s voice and the feeling of warm breath against her ear. “Did you hear any of that?” Kotori gently rubbed Maki’s tense shoulders. “Would you be mad if I said I was standing on the stairs? I used my ability. I-I wasn’t spying or anything, I just didn’t want to interrupt.” “It’s fine.” Maki said quietly. She gave a soft sigh, feeling Kotori’s hand travel down her arm to take her hand. She opened her eyes as Kotori lifted her hand and watched her girlfriend gently kiss the ring on her finger. “Did you hear what she said...about you?” “Oh, that I’m useless?” Kotori shrugged sheepishly. “She has a point. I don’t really do anything around here. Everyone else does a lot more than I do.” “You’re not useless.” Maki turned, causing Kotori to take a small step back to give her space. “You’re our spy. And I need you, Kotori. I can’t focus without you. Hanayo has a point about that but it’s the only one she has. You’re not useless.” Kotori smiled softly as Maki wrapped her arms around her waist. “You called me your fiance earlier.” “Because you are.” Maki said, tilting her head back to look up at Kotori. “I’m not going to hide it.” “My mom’s gonna be pissed when she finds out.” “So let her be.” Maki let go of Kotori and stood, drawing her close to kiss her instead. “I can take whatever she has to throw at me.” Kotori giggled softly and kissed Maki back. TBC

[lonelypond]

A Coffeeshop Christmas Carol, Ch. 3

Love Live, NicoMaki, 2.6K, 3/?

Summary: We check in with our cast for a breakfast update.

Maki refused to schedule anything before 11 a.m. And now that she wasn't taking pre med cattle call chem and bio classes and was instead the resident composer people had to make an appointment to work with, that was usually fine. Her mother, however, had always been a morning person. Which is why Maki's phone was buzzing, interrupting a weird dream about Muppets and Nico and turnips. And roast beef. Maki needed breakfast and coffee before dealing with her mother, but ignoring calls always made things worse. Maki grabbed her phone, refusing to raise her face off her pillow.

"Good morning." Irritatingly brisk.

Maki grunted.

"Did I wake you?"

"What do you need Mama?"

"Your father wants to send the plane to pick you up for Thanksgiving."

Maki sat up, panicking. She was not ready to go home and…"No."

"We always have holidays together, Maki. And last year, you…"

"That doesn't matter.." Maki didn't want to talk about last year. Or this year. Last year, she'd disappeared into New York City for the entirety of the holiday season, spending every night at a concert or a play, refusing all of her parent's invitations, not wanting to discuss her decision to drop out of med school. She still didn't want to discuss it. There had been no signal yet that her father would talk about anything else.

Tudor didn't shut down on Thanksgiving. Most of the students actually stayed, many prepping for the Christmas pageant that Nico….Nico! Maki remembered a detail from her conversations with Nico that might save her.

"I have to stay. They need me to prep for the annual Christmas pageant. And the director hosts a Friendsgiving for students who don't go home…" Maki inhaled, feeling her chest fill with a mostly air, minor confidence mix, "I'm going to help."

Her mother didn't hide the disappointment even as she tried to be encouraging about Maki voluntarily taking part in a social activity. "That sounds...kind. Can we help?"

"No, Mama. I'm sure Nico has everything planned. She's been doing this for years."

"Nico?"

"The Christmas Pageant director. She teaches drama."

"Ah." Another pause, "How are Rin and Hanayo. We miss them too."

"They're fine. I saw them last night. My boss had a jam session. Rin loves a chance to play her maracas."

Maki's mother laughed, "I was always surprised when she didn't shatter them. An energetic performer."

"I'm always surprised that she has so much energy after coaching."

"She's at a different school, right? And Hanayo works with you."

"She heads the IT department so I don't see her."

And then her mom went into closing the deal mode. "When you come back for the holidays, bring Rin and Hanayo with you. The jet has enough seats. And i"m sure their families miss them."

And Rin would love flying in the Nishikino jet. But Maki had no plans to make a holiday stopover in Chicago. As she yawned, she decided that that was not an argument she would have with her mother today. So she punted.

"Okay."

"Good. Text me the details when you know them."

"Goodbye, Mama. I have things to do."

"Keep in touch…"

And Maki ended the call before her mother said anything else and flopped back into her pillows. If she slipped back into sleep, the conversation might fade, like a dream.

###

A bright morning, an amazing night last night with new friends, and now, enough time to stop for coffee and casual conversation on a bright, crisp, sunny morning, warm for November but still chilly enough for Nico's cashmere stole over sweater, beret, skirt, tights, and kicky shearling cuffed boots.

The coffeeshop was bustling with students and faculties, Nozomi off in the back somewhere getting the morning bread delivery from the Bread and Brew. Now, thanks to a chat with Honoka last night, Nico had a better appreciation for the foundational component of her favorite lunch sandwiches. So still a little high on her public performance, Nico ordered her usual morning coffee and half a French Toast order. While the barista poured her coffee, Nico looked for a seat. She spotted a bright blonde ponytail and recognized another new friend, Eli Ayase, the choreographer. As Nico approached the table, the dancer groaned, and dropped her head into her hands.

"Tell Nico what's worrying you." Nico slid into the seat next to Eli, "Nico has solutions."

Eli turned her head, blinking, "Get Nishikino to let me use Tchaikovsky."

"Eil, Eli, Nico talked about this. Maki has a point. And Nico's A Christmas Carol adaptation is modernized so it makes sense to have an updated Nutcracker as well."

Eli flipped the pages in an appointment book. Nico was surprised by the pencil on paper approach to something that could be digitally streamlined. "I don't have the time to supervise my student's choreography and ensure it's at an appropriate level for a public performance."

"These are senior students, right? Your best students."

Eli's nod was reluctant.

"Have some faith in them."

"But this is my first year, what if…"

Nico shook her head, "This is a learning environment. People will see them at whatever level they are and assess accordingly." Nico closed Eli's planner, "Nico has seen dance performances in the past. Tudor has a high quality bar for students."

"That's why I took the job." Eli admitted, grudgingly, "But I'm responsible…"

"No. You're responsible for grading their efforts, not making their efforts for them."

Eli was surprised by Nico's fierceness.

"Are your actors' performances not reflections of you?"

"Of course. Casting is a Nico strength, but then, then…" Nico hummed, "you have to step back and let them grow themselves. Give them too much advice, or put too much of your own experience on to them," Nico hesitated, slumping, "and you could discourage them without even knowing it."

"How's my favorite customer today? Do you need more hot water?" Nozomi's voice boomed. "And here's your breakfast, Nico. Usually you just get coffee."

Nico was chewing a bite before the plate had settled on the table. "Nico had a busy night."

"Ooohh." Nozomi slid into a seat, "With the hot redhead you stole from me?"

"Nico didn't steal anyone. And no. Nico was talking about performing. A jam session with Umi and Maki."

"Oh, at the Bread and Brew. Honoka was talking about that this morning...sounds like a gay old time."

Eli was glancing back and forth between Nico and Nozomi, a slight blush on her face while her brows were lowered in confusion.

"You explain." Nico scarfed down her breakfast.

"Professor Sonoda runs a jazz speakeasy in the basement of the local bakery we buy bread from."

"That seems…" Eli frowned, remembering the never a hem out of place, always seven minutes early Umi Sonoda she'd see around campus. "Out of character."

Nico nearly snorted out a chunk of French Toast. "You should hear her sing "Corcovado". It could convince anyone to sweep her off to Brazil."

"Really." Nozomi sat forward, staring into space, a dreamy smile on her face, "I'm gonna have to twist Honoka's arm for an invitation."

"Tell her Nico sent you." Nico finished her coffee, chest puffed out proudly. "My song got me on the guest list. Nozomi, I'll see you later. And Eli, if you want to talk about your students, Nico's door is always open."

Eli shrugged, still watching Nozomi stare into space. After a few moments, Nozomi shook herself out of a daydream, "Let me get you that hot water."

Lips tight in a frown, Eli gathered up her planner, repacking her bag, "I have to get back to campus."

"Stop by after classes."

"Too much to do." Eli said matter-of-factly, "I really don't have time for new habits."

And with a brief wave, Eli left.

###

Umi appreciated her morning routine. Honoka would be coming back from a night at the bakery, her morning deliveries done. There would be fresh bread, fruit, a protein, and tea waiting for Umi after her wake up workout. If Honoka weren't too tired, she'd tell Umi about her night. But when Kotori was back home, everything was in a disarray. Honoka would turn the driving over to an employee, there would be quicker breakfasts because getting up and getting moving was harder with Kotori there, smiling, and nuzzling closer. Umi had managed to get them all around the breakfast table before 9 a.m. She was due at the college for a meeting at 10. Which left Kotori only 15 minutes to attempt to upend her winter plans.

"Umi, you need to come to New York. It's so pretty, decorated, all the lights, all the music, you'll love it." Lashes fluttered irresistibly over deep honey eyes.

"I have responsibilities."

"You said Maki was going to conduct the Pageant Ensemble." Honoka brought over a tray of chocolate croissants. "Try these. One of my new work-study students made them."

"Ooohh…" Kotori bit into the fluffy, buttery crust. "Nozomi would probably like to add these to the coffeeshop menu."

"Excellent suggestion, Kotori. Now if you'll excuse me..." Umi put a croissant neatly in her snack bento.

"No." Umi giggled, poking her croissant at Umi's mouth until Umi took a bite. Then Kotori leaned in closer, "Umi…" Kotori dragged out her name and Umi groaned, "pleeeeeaaaaasse, pretty please come to New York for the holidays. I want to show you off. I made you this blue and gold wrap, you'll look like a present."

Umi shifted, uncomfortable at the knowing gleam in Kotori's eye. She put another croissant in her bento, to have something to do.

Honoka closed the bento, adding it to Umi's bag, along with the morning coffee thermos, "It'll be fun, Umi. Kotori has a friend with a cabaret. We can have a Christmas show."

"I have a Christmas show right here."

"Which you're not really involved with this year…" Honoka kept pushing.

"And you said Nico's an amazing director."

"But Maki's never done anything like this. And there's already been some trouble with Ms. Ayase." Umi wondered how Nico was going to balance those personalities. But she'd always been very successful with the young actors she'd taught. Obviously, Nico had a touch for diplomacy.

"Which you said Nico handled." Honoka echoed her thought. Honoka paid too much attention to inconvenient things.

Umi was five minutes past her must leave the house by to be 35 minutes early time. She slid her bag over her shoulder as sh stood. "I will consider it, Kotori."

"We're going to New York!" Honoka cheered, then bit into another croissant, "I'm going to give Kasumi more hours."

"Do not overwork students, Honoka."

"Do not overwork Umi, Umi." Honoka wagged a finger, face contorted into Honoka's version of serious, blue eyes teasing.

Umi giggled. "Meet me for lunch in the cafeteria, Kotori?"

"Of course." Kotori stood, to kiss Umi on the cheek, "I wouldn't miss it."

###

Kasumi was awfully cute when she yawned, Shizuku thought, taking a momentary pause from drilling screws into two by fours. But should she look that tired?

Kasumi saw her and waved, vaulting up onto the stage with more energy than Shizuku expected, "Hey, Shizuko, Kasumin brought you a fresh from the oven breakfast treat."

"Oh, did you have to work?"

Kasumi nodded, handing Shizuku a croissant and biting into one of her own.

"You're late, Kasumi!" Professor Yazawa called from where she was looking over a blueprint, "And did you bring treats for everyone?"

"Of course, Kasumin did," Kasumi twirled over to where Nico had set up a table.

"Take it to the coffeepot." Nico pointed offstage, where a temporary food services table had been set up.

"Yea, ma'am." Kasumi saluted, Nico smiled.

"Five minute break. Everybody's slow this morning."

Mumbles of "sorry Professor" accompanied the rush for sugar and caffeine. Kasumi returned to sit down next to Shizuku.

"Tasty." Shizuku petted Kasumi on the head, "Good job."

"Hey, crumbs!" Kasumi scrambled fingers through her hair.

"Sorry."

Kasumi yawned again, "'s'okay."

"Did you get any sleep?"

"I'll sleep after this. No other classes today."

"Do you want to meet for dinner? Maybe prepare for the Christmas Carol auditions?"

"Kasumin could sing...stop by after your class, you have one this afternoon, right?"

"French drama. We're studying Moliere."

"Sounds trez dull."

"It's actually fascinating to see how working in the theatre affected both Moliere's and William Shakespeare's writing. They were both extremely influential playwrights and cultural touchstones."

"Very Shizuko." Kasumi yawned, stretched, and stood, "If I don't keep moving, I'll fall asleep. What are we working on?"

"Platforms."

Kasumi sighed, "Hand me a drill."

Shizuku did as requested, only letting herself enjoy a minor thrill when the sides of their hands brushed. Yes, it was ridiculous, these tiny...crumbs of moments, but Kasumi was too cute to ignore and too oblivious to confess to. So Shizuku continued to challenge and compliment, hoping for a breakthrough as they worked together.

###

At the piano, empty score sheet ready for pencil and notes, Maki rifled through Nico's A Christmas Carol script. She really wasn't in the mood to read it through. At least A Christmas Carol was mostly about ghosts and greed. She could save working on the touchy feely Christmasy merry muck of the Fred scenes until she absolutely had to. Nico had tagged the songs so Maki pulled out a page of lyrics near the beginning. The Marley-Scrooge duet. She could work with that. Maybe make it a little gay, Maki chuckled to herself, remembering her conversation with Nico yesterday. Maki glanced at the cast of characters for basic descriptions. In modernizing, Nico had made Scrooge and Marley partners in a music label. So any music could be worked into the plot naturally. Nico's scribbled note said both Scrooge and Marley had individual gifts they'd put aside for differing personal reasons.

Maki kept thinking about last night, and playing for Nico. She couldn't help wondering what Nico's performance had been like from the audience. The audience had been caught up in Nico's charm while Maki had been so occupied trying to keep up on a song she wasn't that familiar with, she hadn't been able to spare any focus for watching Nico's performance. But still, she'd been hearing Nico's voice in her head all night. It was bright and shrill and yet somehow soft, a series of flirty confident demands that had had the audience oohing, a nicely turned twist of wry humor with some of the lyrics...Maki was sorry not to have been in some other seat, fully absorbed in the performance. Instead, she'd been laying down a basic 101 rhythm, not even able to showcase her own potential mastery of the selection. But Maki had thrown Nico into an impromptu situation instead of a collaborative one and now almost regretted the impulse that had made her break into Nico's conversation with Kotori and Umi. They could have planned something together if Maki had put any thought into it, a true duet instead of a Nico solo spotlight that Hanayo had spent an hour swooning over. Maki hadn't had anything to contribute to the conversation except, yes, Nico had been pretty easy to play for.

Back to this duet. How would Nico sing this? Maki closed her eyes and let her vague memories of Nico's performance be replaced by imagining Nico mouthing the words in front of her, letting a new theme take over from the Ellington. There could be, should be give and take, Maki hummed something in a lower register, closer to her own, a Scrooge for Marley to bounce warnings of suffering off of. Her fingers found the piano keys and she added the textures to the simple melody that had started this. What would Nico think?

A/N: Lunar New Year upcoming. I'm taking a break from theatre to do some writing so if there's an AU you want an update for, let me know.