Eli always plays her guitar on the rooftop. Only, this time, it's for someone else.
-Orange-
"Eli-chan, nya!" Rin waved as she ran towards Eli. Classes were over for today and Eli was about to head to the rooftop, guitar slung over her shoulders.
"What is it, Rin?" Eli asked as the girl came to a stop in front of her.
"You're about to go to the rooftop today too, right?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
Rin looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I remember Kayo-chin saying that the Idol Research Club will be practicing there for a while, since, apparently, a wooden bench and a file cabinet got destroyed in their club room."
"...I don't want to know how that happened but okay." Eli replied. "Was that all you wanted to tell me, Rin?"
Rin shook her head. "I was wondering if you wanted to come with me and Kayo-chin on Saturday."
"To where, exactly?"
"To the theater. A new movie was released so me and Kayo-chin wanted to check it out. So I was wondering if you wanted to come?" Rin asked.
Saturday. Hmm.. well, she doesn't have any plans on that day, but Eli didn't really feel like going to the movies. At most, she would probably fall asleep ten minutes in, so she wouldn't really get the most out of the 500 yen she would spend for a ticket.
"Sorry, Rin, but I'll have to decline on that. Maybe some other time?"
Eli saw Rin's face fall a tiny bit before going back to a bright, cheery smile. "That's alright, Eli-chan! I'll be holding you up to that, okay?"
"Rin-chan!" Eli looked over Rin's shoulder to see Hanayo waving at the two. "Hey, Eli-chan!" Eli put her hand up in acknowledgement while Rin spun around and met Hanayo's wave with an enthusiastic one of her own. "Kayo-chin!"
Rin ran toward Hanayo's direction before turning around and shouting over her shoulder. "See you tomorrow, Eli-chan!"
Eli laughed and shouted back. "Yeah, see you tomorrow, Rin!"
Once they disappeared from Eli's line of sight, she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Her favorite spot to kill time was taken. Great. Eli sighed again. Well, might as well see who exactly has taken her favorite spot away. She walked at leisurely pace, guitar and school bag in tow, to the door that connected to the rooftop, the place where she would play her heart out, original compositions of course. Once she got there, she could hear the faint sound of a voice, presumably counting in a steady pace, from behind the door.
When Eli peeked through the the little glass window on the door, her breath caught in her throat. Rin was right, the Idol Research Club was indeed practicing here instead of their club room. What made Eli's breath catch in her throat, however, was a girl with hair the color of lilacs with stunning emerald irises, a generous sized chest, and a smile that rivaled the sun. In Eli's words, a goddess. The way she moved her body and carried herself was nothing short of admirable, and the way she would smile as if she had not a care in the world was what made Eli fall under her charm.
After a while of staring at the girl with purple hair, Eli quickly caught herself. What the hell am I thinking?! I just saw her for the first time and now I look like I've found my long lost soulmate! Umi would definitely call this shameless. Eli chuckled at the thought of her blue haired friend, already imagining the scenario. Anyways, I better- HOLY CRAP she's coming this way!
Indeed, the purple haired maiden was making her way to the door of the rooftop, where Eli was currently positioned at. Eli nearly tripped over herself and dropped her guitar, trying to get away from the door and back down the stairs.
"Alright, guys, we'll stop here for today." The purple haired girl said while picking up her bag. The others with her nodded and moved to get their own bags. one by one, the girls filed out of the rooftop and down the steps.
"Bye, Nozomi-chan!" a ginger haired girl had called.
Nozomi, huh? What a fitting name. Eli mused. Wait, I'm sounding like a creepy stalker. Now this is definitely shameless.
Finally, Nozomi went down the steps and turned a corner, disappearing from Eli's view. Eli sighed in relief and stepped out of her hiding place. Man, that was a close call. Well, I better get going before Arisa nags me about staying out for too long.
Eli walked through the halls of Otonokizaka, deciding that guitar playing would have to be put on hold.
-Orange-
Classes were dismissed as Eli once again made her way to the rooftop to watch the Idol Research Club practice their routine. They held Live Shows once a month and a good half of the student population always came to watch. This month was no different. Eli observed that their training regime looked a bit harder than the last days since their Live Show was due this Friday. Eli always had her eyes on Nozomi, observing every movement, every mistake, every feature.
Crap, maybe I am a creepy stalker. A creepy musician stalker.
Eli would watched them until they would dismiss and go home, until Nozomi would walk out and pass by her usual hiding place, until she would disappear around that same corner every afternoon.
But this time, Nozomi didn't walk by her hiding place.
"Hello~" A voice behind her said. Eli almost jumped out of her skin. She quickly swerved her head around and was met with a goddess. It was Nozomi.
Before she could admire Nozomi up close, Eli caught herself and asked. "How the hell did you get there?!"
The girl laughed. "Oh, I have my ways~" Yup, definitely an odd one. But that made her more attractive, in Eli's opinion.
"Yeah, ways," Eli muttered. Nozomi smiled a smile Eli can only describe as 'so-pretty-I'm-about-to-melt'.
"You always come here to watch us practice right?" Oh, so she'd been caught. If Rin or, worse, Maki found out, then she wouldn't be able to live this down.
"..Y-yeah.." Eli said, averting her eyes.
Nozomi's smile grew wider. "Thank you for supporting us! It means a lot to us that we are slowly gaining more supporters. And a musician has been added!" Nozomi pointed to the guitar slung on Eli's shoulders. "Do you compose your own music?"
"Yeah, most of them are just instrumentals, though. I'm not really good with lyrics and all that." Eli answered.
"Wow, that must be amazing, being able to create your own music."
Eli chuckled. "Well, music is the only way I can express myself freely." Eli's expression then turned solemn. "You see, I'm not good with words. I'm socially awkward, as you would call it, so words and getting along with other people aren't really my forte. Because of this, I turned to music."
Eli then started to get lost in her thoughts, forgetting a certain purple haired girl standing in front of her. Nozomi stared at Eli's solemn face and suddenly had an idea.
"Hey, what's your name?" Nozomi asked. This seemed to snap the blonde out of her thoughts. Eli mentally kicked herself for not introducing herself beforehand. Though, she was kind of a stalker so she really didn't want to be found out.
"My name's Ayase Eli."
Nozomi beamed at her. "Well then, Elicchi,"
"E-elicchi!?"
"I'm Toujou Nozomi. Would you like to be my friend?"
Eli's gay heart melted. The goddess just asked if I wanted to be her friend. I think I can die happy.
Eli snapped back to reality and answered a little too loud,
"Y-yes! I-i mean, if you're fine with someone like me, then..." Eli trailed off as Nozomi hugged her, catching her off guard.
"T-toujou-san?" Nozomi looked her in the face.
"Call me Nozomi, Elicchi."
Eli's face heated up at the close proximity. "S-sure, N-nozomi," Nozomi smiled at her again. Eli was sure she was going to faint on the spot. Luckily, she didn't.
Nozomi broke the hug, much to Eli's disappointment, and waved. "See you tomorrow, Elicchi. You will come by tomorrow and watch, right?"
Eli couldn't help but smile warmly. "Yeah, I'll be there." Nozomi giggled and waved again as she walked away, disappearing around that familiar corner.
Eli couldn't help the stupid smile that threatened to split her face in half as she walked home.
-Orange-
It was after classes once again, Eli deciding to hang out in her classroom a bit before heading up to the rooftop. Umi and Maki happened to be passing by, so, with a bit of convincing, Eli now had company. One story lead to the next until Eli accidentally let slip about Nozomi. She ended up telling the whole story about how Rin had informed her about the Idol Research Club, how she had indeed proved that they were practicing on the rooftop, how she deliberately watched them practice, not one of them interrupting her.
"So you decide to stalk this Nozomi chick and then both of you became friends." Maki summarized the story Eli had told them while pinching the bridge of her nose. Eli purposefully left out the part where she was called out by Nozomi herself.
"Well, I wouldn't call it stalking. Just blatant admiration, staring from afar." Eli answered.
"Yes, that would not be qualified as stalking since Eli is not following Toujou-san around like a hunter tracking down game. However, behavior such as that can be qualified as creepy obsession." Umi chipped in.
"...Thank you for the, uh, explanation, Umi. But, I am not obsessed with her!"
"Uhuh." Maki deadpanned. "Try telling that to your prerecorded voice fawning over her." She took out a tape recorder and pressed play. Eli's voice flowed out from the speaker talking about Nozomi.
"Maki! You recorded what I was telling you?!"
Maki shrugged. "It's good blackmail material. Can't pass it up." Eli glared at Maki.
"Umi, help me here." Eli pleaded.
"Sh-shameless..." Umi had a hint of pink on her cheeks, eyes looking anywhere but Eli, as the recorded voice kept on babbling about Nozomi's...curves.
"Umi!"
"Excuse me," A new voice said. All three turned to the source of the voice, Maki pausing the tape recorder in the process. "Can I borrow Elicchi here for a moment?"
"Nozomi!"
Two heads turned to Eli. And then back at Nozomi. Nozomi giggled and took hold of Eli's arm, dragging her to the door of the classroom. Eli barely snagged her guitar resting beside her seat.
Umi and Maki just stared as Eli was being dragged away by a purple haired girl with emerald eyes. Realization dawned on Maki.
"Wait... That must be.." Maki turned to Umi. "Umi!"
"On it." Umi said as she took out a video camera. "Maki."
"Operation Find More Blackmail Material Against Ayase Eli is under way!" Maki announced as she trudged after the pair with Umi following right behind.
-Orange-
Nozomi dragged Eli to the rooftop, a place both of them knew well. Once they got there, Eli got Nozomi's grip off of her.
"So, why'd you drag me one story up to the roof?" Eli asked.
"I'd like you to meet the other members of the Idol Research Club!" Nozomi smiled. As always, Eli ogled for a bit. Nozomi got a bit nervous with the odd face Eli was making at her.
"Uh, Elicchi?" That seemed to snap Eli out of it.
"Y-yes! You were saying?"
Nozomi's smile never once left her face. "I said, I would like you to meet the other members of the Idol Research Club."
Eli, not one to keep people waiting, put on a serious face and said, "Well, then, what are we waiting for?"
Nozomi had a remark to that but kept quiet. "Shall we?~"
Eli opened the door, letting Nozomi walk in first. She then entered and was greeted by a sight of three girls. Nozomi stood beside a ginger haired girl and gestured to Eli. "Nicocchi, Kotori-chan, Honoka-chan, I'd like you to meet Eli-chan."
One hand on the strap of her guitar slung on her shoulders, Eli raised her other hand in greeting and smiled. "Nice to meet you. My name is Ayase Eli."
They were all momentarily blinded by Eli's aura. Despite being a really awkward person and an overall social loner, at first glance, Eli can look incredibly handsome and incredibly beautiful all at the same time.
Nico used her hands and dramatically shielded her eyes from Eli's aura. "Woah, so bright..."
Kotori giggled at Nico's antics. Eli sweat dropped. Honoka approached Eli first and stuck out her hand.
"Eli-chan, my name is Kousaka Honoka! Honoka is fine, though." Eli took her hand and, before she could react, Honoka shook it so hard she felt her arm might come off.
"Honoka-chan, I think Ayase-san looks a bit uncomfortable." Kotori put a hand on Honoka's shoulder. Thank the gods. I thought I was gonna have my arm ripped off. Eli thought. Well, she surely is energetic.
Seeming to realize only now Eli's discomfort, she quickly let go and bowed over and over. "I-i'm sorry, Eli-chan! I didn't think I shook it that hard!"
Eli weakly smiled, clutching her arm. "D-don't worry about it. I'm used to it..." She said the last part in a whisper.
Kotori approached her next, bowing as she spoke. "Nice to meet you, Ayase-san. I'm Minami Kotori. I hope we can get along." She straightened up and smiled.
Minami? Wait, isn't she... "Minami? Are you by any chance Minami-sensei's daughter?"
"That's right." She replied.
"You know..." Eli started, "My friend, Umi, told me that she has the ho-" Eli was stopped by a hand slamming forcefully to her mouth.
"Eli," Umi smiled in that creepy, dark way. "We talked about this, right?" Eli shivered.
"U-umi... Wait, what are you doing here?"
Umi's menacing aura disappeared, replaced by uneasiness. "I..uh..."
"Umi, you gay idiot! You blew our cover!" Maki shouted from her place by the door.
"Maki! What the hell are you doing here too?" Eli shouted. "Don't tell me... you guys followed me here, didn't you?"
Umi tugged at her collar with her right hand, her left hand holding the video camera behind her back. Maki looked the other way and whistled, hands clasped behind her back. Like they could fool anyone though.
Eli sighed, exasperated. "Let me guess, more blackmail material?"
Maki and Umi reluctantly nodded.
"Gee, you guys are the greatest best friends ever."
"Why thank you, Eli." Maki replied, smirking.
"That was sarcastic, Maki."
"I know."
Nozomi cleared her throat. "Uhm, Elicchi..."
Eli turned back to the four members of the Idol Research Club. "I'm sorry about these two children. They have yet to learn discipline." She gave an apologetic smile.
Umi seemed unfazed at being called a child while Maki looked put off.
"Hey! Who are you calling a child?!"
Eli sent a pointed look to Maki. "You. Now, shut up or I'll give you a time out in the corner."
Umi tried to disguise her laugh as a cough. She failed, though. Even the Idol Research Club couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Eli cracked a smile.
Maki did, too.
Soon, enough everyone on the roof was laughing their hearts out.
Once the laughter had died down, Nozomi spoke up. "Elicchi, I think this introduction has been dragged on long enough."
"You're right. I'll introduce the children-"
"You're still going on with that?" Maki cut in.
"-some other time." Eli finished.
As Eli, Umi, and Maki motioned to leave, Nico cried out,
"Hey! What about me? Don't I get an introduction? I'm Super Idol Nico-Nii for freakin' sake!"
Maki wanted to say something, but, Eli, thinking it wasn't anything good, beat her to it. "O-oh, right. Really sorry about that." She rubbed the back of her neck.
Nico huffed in annoyance before putting her pointer and pinky fingers up in a stance beside her head. "Nico-Nico-nii!"
Maki tried to hold back heaps of laughter but failed. "H-holy c-crap, I think my...s-s-stomach is about to bur-" Another bout of laughter. Nico looked ticked off.
"And who are you?"
Maki found space in between her laughs and answered before she went off into a giggling fit. "N-nishikino Maki. First year."
"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Laughing at your upperclassmen. Such disrespect!" Nico pointed an accusing finger at Maki.
Maki stopped laughing to make an unreadable face. Eli looked desperately at Nozomi, looking for help to control the situation. All she received was a shrug and an amused smile. Eli was trying desperately hard to not drag Maki into the school again.
"You know, I don't even want to laugh anymore."
Nico backed up a bit. "What's with those faces?"
"Uh, Niccochi, I think Elicchi here is about to have an aneurysm so, if possible, can we all go now? It is getting pretty late." Nozomi said while putting a hand on a very unamused-looking Eli.
Maki instantly tensed upon seeing that look on Eli's face. She was in for a lot of trouble. Maki slowly inched her way to the door, walking backwards.
"O-oh yeah, I forgot I had something to help my mom with. So I-i'll see you guys later!" Maki made a run for it. Eli followed close behind, the look never once leaving her face. Nozomi sighed and walked in after them, going to make sure that they don't wreck anything. Nico crossed her arms and soon followed.
All of this while Kotori had fallen asleep on Umi's shoulder when they were talking, the latter not able to do anything while Honoka snapped a picture.