Hi all! Sorry for the pause in story uploads but let's get right into in.

"Blah" — Speech

"Blah" — Speech in another language

'Blah' — Thoughts

[ Blah ] — Text

*Blah* — Sound effects in speech

(Blah) — Author's notes

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Love Live! School Idol Project. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Knock Knock

"Come in."

The door opens and Umi peeks her head in. "Mrs. Yakumo?" She spots a blonde woman sitting behind a desk.

Yakumo looks away from a computer screen and smiles, "Ah," she waves her hand. "Come in come in you're right on time."

Umi nods as the blunette steps into the room and closes the door.

Yakumo tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear and gestures to a chair. "Come sit."

Umi shrugs off her backpack and takes a seat across from the older woman.

The blonde fully turns to Umi. "How are you? Doing fine with finals?"

"I am well and I finished my last test yesterday."

Yakumo nods, "Good good. So how well do you think you did?"

Umi slightly tilts her head. "I believe I did well."

"Confident as always but let's not take any more of your time." The blond turns back to the screen and presses several buttons on the keyboard. "So it seems like you finished your general education categories."

Umi nods, "Yes. Also your advice really helped me with creating a better class schedule."

"Happy to help." Yakumo turns back to Umi. "So you are finally getting started on your Kinesiology program?"

"Yes."

"You were going to be a fitness instructor right?"

"Yes. I am planning to go for undergraduate."

The blonde tilts her head. "...Hm."

Umi blinks, 'Huh?' "Um, is something wrong Mrs. Yakumo?"

"Have you ever thought of graduate school?"

The student raises her eyebrow. "Not specifically. What brought this on?"

"You have potential Umi." The blonde leans on her table. "You can earn more than just an undergraduate degree."

"I..." Umi purses her lips to the side.

The counselor raises her hand. "How about this? I'll talk and you can listen and ask questions. Sound good?"

'I am already here so I might as well listen.' Umi nods.

"Okay first off..."

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. .

30 minutes later...

. .

.

"...And we have a... nontraditional program that can substitute your internships." Yakumo glances at the clock. "Oh my, would you look at the time. It seems our appointment is over Umi." She pulls out a folder. "I've said mostly everything but here's the rest if you want to look." She passes it to Umi.

The teen accepts it and stands up. "Thank you Mrs. Yakumo. I will... consider it."

"Take your time." She waves her hand. "Have a great break Umi."

"Thank you again Mrs. Yakumo." Umi closes the door on her way out. She makes her way to the train station and looks down on the folder. 'Master's degree huh...'

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. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . .

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Home...

"Hey mom? Dad?" Umi takes off her shoes.

"In here honey."

Umi walks into the living room to see her mom and dad lounging in the couch.

Yori smiles, "How's school?"

"I'm done with the semester."

"Are you taking summer break?"

"I am taking a couple classes."

"That's great but be careful not to burnout young lady."

"I'll be careful." They lapse into a quick silence. Umi purses her lips and fiddles her backpack strap with her hand.

"Umi?"

"Do you..." The blunette sighs, "Do you think graduate school is a good idea?"

Yori's eyebrows shoot up and she looks at her husband. He shrugs and Yori looks back. "We don't know honey."

Umi slumps her shoulders. "Oh."

"Don't misunderstand me honey. We can talk about the pros and cons about this but at the end of the day this is your choice." Yori and her husband stand up and walk over to Umi. "Whatever you choose, just know that we will support you."

Umi smiles and hugs her parents. "Thank you." She takes a step back and unstraps her backpack. "Can we talk about it then? I want to go over some things."

"Sure," Yori and Umi's dad walks to the table.

Ding

Umi stops and takes out her phone; it is a message from Nico: [ Hey you busy Sat? ]

[ No. ]

[ Then lets meet up. I got a big surprise. ]

Umi raises her eyebrow. 'A surprise?' She hears her parents moving the chairs and she quickly texts back. [ Ok. Is 12 good? ]

[ Yup. Can't wait. ]

[ Talk to you soon. ] Umi pockets the phone and sits down with her parents. She takes out the folder and places it on the table. "This is what the counselor told me..."

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. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . .

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Saturday...

Knock

Umi waits a few seconds and hears thumping from inside. The door opens and Nico beams at the taller girl. "Umi!" She hugs Umi and pecks her lips.

Umi smiles as she returns the hug. "Nico."

"Come in." Nico separates from the blunette and leads them inside.

They walk through the hallway and Umi looks around. "Where is everyone?"

Nico turns her head. "Mama took the kids out to the park so it's just us here."

"Okay." They reach into the room and Nico spins around with a big smile on her face. "So what's the surprise?"

Somehow her smile becomes bigger. "I'm graduating early."

Umi blinks several times in silence.

"..."

Then her eyes widen, "Oh."

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"OH!"

"YES!"

Umi wraps her arms around Nico to pick her up and spin her around. "Congratulation Nico!"

"O-Oi! Put me down!"

Umi spins Nico a couple more time and then sets down the petite teen. "I'm sorry but this is a monumental occasion."

"I'm going to assume that means great."

Umi shakes her head.

Nico takes Umi's hands. "Now I can focus on my idol career and get a big following. And hey, when you graduate in a couple of years, you can become my trainer."

Umi froze, "Ah." 'Of all the things...'

Nico raises her eyebrow. "Hm?"

"Well..."

.

. .

One explanation later...

. .

.

"Oh..."

Umi bows her head. "I am really sorry about breaking our deal."

"Hey whoa whoa." Nico gestures with her hands. "It's not like the end of the world." She sighs, "And besides, we didn't know any better when we made that deal."

"But—"

"Actually," Nico cups her chin. "Was there a time limit?"

"I..." Umi tilts her head. "I don't believe so."

"If-If you still want to be my trainer, I can wait."

"I—" Umi smiles, "Thank you."

"Oh yeah," Nico snaps her fingers. "A new trainer is going to be on my team soon."

"A trainer?"

"Well she is also a dance instructor so that's a two-in-one deal."

"Hmmm."

"Yeah I had some chats with her and she seems decent. Though she would rant about her mentor from time to time."

"So what do you want today? Umi blurts out. "We should celebrate your graduation."

Nico blinks at the sudden question, "Oh, sure. I actually planned to make lunch and stay here. Are you okay with that?"

Umi smiles, "I would enjoy that."

Nico smiles back. "Alright. I'll go cook now so make yourself at home." She makes her way to the door. "I'll call you when it's done."

"Thank you Nico." Umi watches Nico's back as she disappears from the door. She continues staring at the empty space. 'A new trainer...I need to graduate as soon as possible.'

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Fin.

Phew! It feels really good to start writing again after a long time. But I hope that I can make more stories since I have summer school so who knows.

Thanks for reading

Constructive criticisms are appreciated

Bravo Tango out.