Welcome to Memories of Her. This will be a series of one-shots that shows how the various social link characters (focusing a lot on the non-SEES members) react to finding out the death of Minako along with coping and such. Anyway, first chapter is for Maiko!

Maiko rocked back and forth on her heels. She looked down at the nice new blue dress she had made her mother buy just for this day. She sucked in a deep breath. "You can do it Maiko," she whispered to herself.

Right on cue, the bell signaling the end of the school day for Gekkoukan High School rang. This was it! She turned to watch as students began walking out of the building and out the gate. Maiko rocked back and forth on her heels as she scanned the crowd for a familiar ponytail and silver hair barrettes.

Maiko had been waiting forever for this day. It's been a few months since she had moved in with her mother in another town. She had come back for the week to spend some time with her father and catch up on things. However her mother wasn't the only reason why Maiko had been excited to visit Iwatodai.

She didn't know how long she stood there by the school gate but soon the amount of people coming out slowed to a trickle and then to a stop. She frowned. There was no way Maiko could have missed her. She had her eyes peeled and she had checked everyone who had worn a girl's uniform.

"She's probably at an after school activity," Maiko told herself. She was very involved from what Maiko could recall. "She'll be out soon." She touched her braid buns to make sure they were alright before she sat on the ground next to the school gate. She had told her mother she would be out all day to catch up with friends from her old elementary school so Maiko did have time. "Hopefully she'll come out soon…"

Maiko didn't know how long she waited. Students would come out every now and then but it was never her. "Maybe she didn't go to school today…" murmured Maiko after what was probably the fiftieth time.

"Hey, are you waiting for someone?"

Maiko looked up to see a female student looking down at her. She had short light brown hair that barely touched the base of her neck and a white choker designed with a heart around her neck. A pink sweater was tied around her waist.

"Uh yes." Maiko got her feet and dusted herself off. She put her arms behind her back and looked to the side. "Umm, I was wondering…is Minako Arisato still in school? I've been waiting for and…" She trailed off. The expression on the student's face was so odd.

"Are…are you Maiko by any chance?"

Maiko's eyes widen. How did this girl know her? "Yes I am."

A hand went to the student's mouth and she took a few deep breaths before smiling. "My name is Yukari Takeba. I was a friend to Minako."

Oh! Maiko had run into a friend of hers! What luck! She probably knew where Minako was.

"Come…come with me. I'll…I'll take you to Minako."

Why was she talking so funny? However it looked like staying here was no good. "Uh okay." Maiko checked her braid buns before following Yukari away from the school. "How did you know my name?"

"Minako talked about you a lot," Yukari replied. "She said you were a good girl and was very bright and cheerful."

Wow! Maiko couldn't believe that Minako would talk about her to her older friends. "Minako talked a bit about her friends in school too. Not too much though…"

The station now in sight, she glanced over at Yukari in confusion. Where were they going?

"We need to go to the shrine," explained Yukari.

Oh! Of course! The shrine! That was where she had met Minako! Duh! It would have been better to go there first instead of the school. Maybe she had contacted Yukari and Yukari was taking her to see Minako.

They reached the platform just as the train was pulling in. The girls hopped on and off they went to the shrine. Maiko rocked back and forth on her heels as she watched the city pass on by. This was taking so long! She wished this was a super-fast train that would get them there instantly. She looked over at Yukari but the older girl looked like she was lost in thought so Maiko returned her attention to the scenery.

Soon enough the train pulled into the station. Maiko was the first one out and she took off running a bit towards the shrine.

"Maiko. I need to tell you something before you see Minako," Yukari said as she quickly caught up with Maiko with her longer legs.

"Uh okay…" Maiko paused in mid-step.

"Let's keep walking and talking." Yukari sucked in a deep breath. "A couple months ago…Minako was fighting. She was fighting…an evil, let's just put it like that."

"Oh wow really?" Maiko's eyes widen. Wow! Minako was amazing!

"Yeah." Yukari nodded with a smile. "She was amazing. Anyway, while she was fighting this evil…she won in a sense."

Maiko grinned. Of course Minako won! She was Maiko's amazing older sister after all! She could take on anything and win!

"However…everything didn't go as planned." They had reached the top of the steps.

Maiko looked over at the playground on the left where she had met up with Minako so many times in the past. She wasn't there though. She turned to Yukari. "What do you mean that everything didn't go as planned?"

"Minako, I know, wouldn't want me to lie to you. She would want you to know the truth no matter how sad it can be."

Maiko stared at Yukari. What…what was she talking about?

"Follow me." Yukari led Maiko to the side of the shrine. Maiko knew there were graves on that side so she never went over there. "Minako fought to keep her promise. The promise to meet again on the roof for graduation day….she fought with everything she had and well….that was the only promise she could keep…"

Maiko felt the world around her stop as Yukari stood in front of a grave. Fresh flowers lay at the base. "What…" She stood in front of the grave, her eyes reading the words on the gravestone over and over. "No! You're lying! This isn't true!" She glared at Yukari. She…she was tricking her! This was just a sick joke! It wasn't true!

"I'm sorry Maiko….I'm sorry I couldn't lie to you…" Yukari's face was stricken with grief as she looked away.

Maiko didn't even know she fell to the ground until she felt the pebbles dig into her thighs. She sucked in a few deep breaths but at the same time she couldn't. Her vision blurred as tears began leaking out from her eyes. "You…promised," Maiko whispered through her tears. "You promised that we would see each other again when I visited. You promised to take me out to get a hamburger…"

Maiko's words trailed off to full-blown sobs. She felt Yukari's arms wrap around her. "I know this is hard," whispered Yukari. "I miss her too. I'm sorry…I'm sorry I couldn't break it to you a different way."

Maiko was barely paying attention to Yukari anymore. She just cried. There was nothing else she wanted to do in the moment. So she cried.