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"Sorry for the intrusion," Nico mutters flatly as she takes off her shoes in the doorway, knowing full well that even if there was anyone in that labyrinth of a mansion but her and Maki right now, her voice would never be able to reach them. She follows Maki inside with her hands shoved into the pockets of her cardigan, head tilting left and right as she takes in her surroundings like it's her first time seeing them. There are so many pieces of overly-elaborate decor that Nico doesn't think she's ever going to remember them all.

Oh, but she definitely remembers that giant piece of armor on the wall over there. She always gets the feeling like if she gets too close it'll topple over and trap her underneath, so she subconsciously leans towards the opposite wall every time they pass by it.

"Seriously, Maki, no matter how many times I come to your house, it's just way too big," she grumbles, only to catch herself the next moment.

"-- But of course, once Nico's become a super idol, she'll have a mansion like this in every prefecture!" She strikes her signature pose and smile. "Teehee."

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"Well let me know how it goes." Maki leans back onto her hands and crosses her legs out in front of her.

"Oh." Without thinking, her hand reaches up to her hair and begins twirling it. "Hanayo and Rin have been taking care of that more. I haven't been able to go to practice in a while."

"Huh? Why's that?" Nico's brow furrows in an instant. She doesn't like that strange detached tone Maki's voice has taken on -- she never sounds like that when talking about her activities as a school idol. "You're vice president, so take some responsibility!"

Maki's shoulders tense first, until she forces them to lower. She turns away, closing her eyes as her arms fold in front of her chest. Her eyebrows are tweak up slightly. "I've been busy."

Nico doesn't consider that much of an answer. "With what?"

Maki huffs, shoulders hitching for a moment. "With school, and college applications. I've been going to the hospital more after school to watch daddy at work. I graduate next year, I have to start thinking about these things."

"The hell," Nico mutters darkly, folding her arms over her chest. "So you're finally letting your parents' brainwashing get to you?"

Maki frowns at Nico. She had been nervous to tell Nico the truth. She had decided to, finally. And was instantly regretting it.

"It's nor brainwashing. I was always going to take over the family business. It's time I focus on that now."

Nico growls from the back of her throat, and then rises to her feet, no longer comfortable sitting on Maki's bed like they're engaging in some friendly chatter. Lips pressed into a thin, pale line, she glares down at Maki, and says in a surprisingly -- dangerously -- quiet voice:

"Hearing you say that so calmly really pisses me off, you know."

Maki starts only slightly when Nico growls and stands. When she sees Nico's glare it takes her a second to return it with a look of annoyed anger. "How would you rather I say it then?" She doesn't like holding Nico's glare for long and she turns away again with a huff. She doesn't let her voice shake. "It just hasn't been the same..."

Edited 2014-10-05 20:08 (UTC)

Something in Nico's expression softens for a fraction of a second, but it's gone in the blink of an eye.

"What was that?"

It takes Maki a moment to continue. "Well... we were all u's together. I don't really want to be an idol, I..." It's always strange when Maki says what she feels. She tightens her arms around herself and doesn't meet Nico's eyes. "Just wanted to be a part of u's. Now that u's is over, after Eli and Nozomi and... you left, I have to think about my future."

Nico hesitates briefly before answering. It's rare for Maki to be open about her feelings, and harder for Nico to lash out at her when they so clearly resonate with her own.

"That's not true," she says at last, planting both hands firmly on her hips. "Yeah, I loved u's too. Of course it's not going to be the same, being an idol on my own. But I love being an idol for what it is. I love singing, and dancing, and putting on shows, and making those who watch me smile." She swings one hand up, pointing it straight into Maki's face. "You can't tell me you don't feel the same. I know you, Maki. You really, really love music! You love being an idol, too!"

First Maki's eyes grow wide during Nico's declaration. Then slowly her eyebrows lower into a frown and her arms tighten around her. It's a sort of stubbornness, like when a child hates being told what to do. "What if I don't love it anymore? I can change my mind."

The corners of Nico's mouth and eyes twitch, and her voice rises in an instant: "If you're gonna lie, at least make it a believable one!"

"WELL--" Maki struggles to say anything after that. Nico's right and now she's just upset that she's right. "I'm just not sure if I can be in club right now. Hanayo and Rin understood perfectly. I have a lot to worry about, I can't do everything!" The way she says 'everything,' her voice rises suddenly. Her face is red and she has to take a moment to recollect and calm herself.

"It's just too different now..."

Nico taps her foot against the floor, impatient. Looking at Maki's face, she almost feels a little sorry for her, but it doesn't come close to her anger or disappointment.

"Well, which is it? Are you busy, or just overly sentimental?"

Maki scowls at Nico. For a moment back there, Maki had thought she could open up to Nico. She's now regretting the attempt. Not that it was that much of an attempt to begin with.

She huffs and rolls her eyes, leaning back onto her arms and glaring to the side. "Just forget it," she mutters.

"I'm not going to," she plainly announces. "I want you to keep being an idol."

"Why do you care?"

Nico's mouth pinches, twists, and then straightens back out. This girl can be such an idiot. Of course she cares. Would she be saying all this otherwise?

She glances off to the side, not sure how comfortable she is with that admission now, but ultimately determined to remain honest still. Unlike a certain someone.

"'Cause Maki looked happy as part of u's."

Maki takes a while to respond. The honesty in Nico's words stings more than she'd ever admit. Nico can tell her answers aren't right, but even Maki wouldn't really know what to say. She's as much a jumble on her own.

But Nico is right. Maki was happy in u's. As much as she was stubborn to join and help, and difficult every other time, she had been happy. She'd loved it.

And it's that very fact that makes her involvement in the idol research club all the more difficult. The loss of the seniors hit her the hardest. Hanayo and Rin had been able to tell and they'd taken on more work to let her take a break. But she was still upset. She didn't want to take a break. She just didn't know what to do.

And that was the truth.

"I... I was happy with u's." She says finally, voice low, still not looking back at Nico. "The happiest I'd been in a while. But that was with everyone, with Eli and Nozomi and Nico." Shes just repeating herself. She doesn't know any other way to say it. "I'm no good without the rest of you."

"You don't know that! You're just giving up without trying."

Nico pauses to consider her words, and her voice loses a bit of its rough edge as she continues. "Look, at the start of last year we were all just a bunch of mismatched strangers, and by the end of it we'd become -- us, you know? We got to know each other. We won the Love Live. That happened in just one year. When you think about it that way, it seems obvious that a lot more great things can happen this year too, right? You can make even more precious memories. Won't you regret missing it just because you're so hung up on the past?"

A bit clunkily, she sits back down next to Maki and adds: "And you still have us, stupid."

Edited 2014-10-06 03:58 (UTC)

Maki's eyes narrow more and more as Nico speaks. She's right, of course, and somehow that makes Maki angrier, or more upset, or at the very least annoyed. She's not sure what she feels, there's so much to it. She just feels something is off. With her and everything.

And she knows everything Nico is saying is true. It all makes sense, of course. It should be that easy. She knows Nico's right and she should just accept it.

But she can't. And she doesn't feel it.

She feels lost. Disconnected. She wants to stay in the idol group but a voice in her head keeps asking her what it's good for. She wants to study hard and get into a good school, but a little voice tells her she'll regret not having any fun. No matter what she decides there's always a voice pulling her in the opposite direction.

When Nico sits down next to her, her weight shifts Maki on the bed and it's like her thoughts jumble enough for them to clear for a moment.

'You still have us.

She knows she does. When she texts Nico she always responds quickly. Nozomi checks in on her more than she needs to, and Eli is never too far behind. She knows they're there. It's just still different.

Maki's always been too hard-working or stand-offish to really make friends. Usually people hate her. But somehow these eight people never did. And the slightest change to them makes her afraid she'll lose them anyway.

Her glare has changed to a look of worry, her cheeks red from holding back tears. Like she's holding everything back.

She doesn't even know where to start, if she wants to say anything at all.

Finally, Maki reaches out a hand and places it on top of Nico's.

Nico knows, of course, that everything she said was true. Yet knowing Maki, she fully expects her to continue her pitiable protests for hours to come rather than utter the words 'you're right'.

But not a single word of protest leaves her mouth, and instead, she reaches for her hand. This situation feels so alien to Nico that she honestly has no idea what to do. Her shoulders tense, and her first instinct dictates she should pull back her hand, but even she knows well enough not to act on it.

"... Oy," she says after a brief yet uncomfortably weighty pause. "What is it?"

The way Nico responds to Maki reaching out to her makes her feel incredibly stupid and self-conscious and Maki pulls her hand back as if Nico's skin suddenly became boiling hot. She crosses her arms against her stomach and turns away flippantly, as if that could

"N-nothing, nevermind," she mutters and stands up to pace to the other side of the room, not really looking for anything in particular. She walks to the first thing she sees -- the intercom -- and pretends that's what she was going for. She presses the button and, "Kaya?"

It takes a moment for the response, "Yes, Miss Maki?"

"Could you bring some snacks and juice? Whatever we have is fine."

"Right away, Miss."

"Thank you." Maki remains standing near the intercom as if not sure what to do next and feeling to embarrassed to look back at Nico.