"See you tomorrow!"

Maki waved as she parted ways with Rin and Hanayo after practice. She waited until they were out of sight before sighing deeply and pulling her scarf up to her chin, lost in her thoughts. They were just weeks away from the final preliminaries for the Love Live, but they still hadn't come up with a new song. She had been wracking her brain not just for lyrics, but for a good melody too. No amount of time spent sitting in front of the piano, however, had resulted in anything productive.

"A love song, huh…" she looked up at the cloudy evening sky. She thought back to the conversation she had had with Nozomi and Eli. After that, even she agreed that they should write attempt a love song. Desire was different from action, though, and she found herself at a complete loss. She wondered vaguely if it was because she'd never been in love.

Her cellphone rang, startling her out of her reverie. She fished it out of her schoolbag, nearly dropped it, then held it up to her ear. "Hello? Oh, mama? Yeah, I'm heading home right now. What's that?... Oh, no problem. No, don't worry, it's on the way anyway."

Maki's mother wanted her to stop by a local bakery and pick up a cake for her father's birthday. Of course, their cook usually handled the shopping and odd jobs, but ever since Maki joined μ's and started going home later, her mother had been taking advantage of that and often asked her to buy small items. Maki didn't mind at all; she welcomed the opportunity to stay out longer.

"G, G, A, C…? No, that doesn't make sense…" she mused under her breath as she walked along the busy street. Christmas was just around the corner, and there were bright, festive bulbs illuminating all the surrounding shop windows. Maki stopped to admire the way the colored lights reflected off some rings in a jewelry store.

"Maki-chan?" Maki turned at the sound of her name being called. Eli and Nozomi were both standing behind her. Both girls were wearing long, warm coats to fend off the approaching chilly evening. "What are you doing here?"

"Eli-senpai, Nozomi-senpai... I was just running an errand for my mom." Maki straightened and faced them.

"Oh, is that so? We're both heading home, ourselves. Any progress on the song?" Eli smiled warmly. Maki blushed and looked away. She shook her head, feeling a tendril of shame coil in her stomach.

"Not yet," she confessed. "It's just not coming to me."

Eli shrugged and put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. "Don't stress out too much about it. I'm sure whatever you write will sound good. I love every song you've composed for μ's!"

Maki's cheeks reddened again. "T-they're not that great…" she muttered, embarrassed.

"That's not true! They're really great. Don't you agree, Nozomi?"

Nozomi nodded knowingly. "μ's wouldn't be anywhere without you. I'm counting on you for a special love song!" she added with a teasing grin.

Without knowing why, Maki glanced at Eli. "I-It's not like I'm doing it for you," she protested. "I just want μ's to win the Love Live, okay?"

Eli and Nozomi laughed. "Well then, we're looking forward to seeing what you have!" said Eli warmly. "Khorosho! We'll see you tomorrow, okay?" They started off, leaving Maki standing in front of the jewelry store.

Maki waved as they left. She felt a curious tugging in her abdomen - no, her chest - as she saw them talking happily as they walked together. She couldn't place the emotion at all, but it flared up whenever Eli said "Khorosho" with a bright smile like that.

It had been a few months since she had joined μ's, and she still privately regarded it as the best thing that had ever happened to her. She'd been able to sing to her heart's content, make friends, and have lots of new experiences. Before, Maki had always been by herself. She had thought she needed no one and found no one she looked up to at school. Yet, she was realizing now that there were actually lots of admirable people in the world. There was Honoka, with her bright smile and unflinching pursuit of her goals; there was Umi, who was practical and responsible; and there was Eli…

Something white fluttered down in front of her. She instinctively held out her palm, and it fell into the middle of her gloved hand.

"Snow…"

She watched as Eli and Nozomi also noticed the white flakes falling from the sky. The student council president smiled in delight and said something to her friend. Maki wondered what it was; they were too far away to be heard, no matter how she strained her ears.

Nozomi pulled an umbrella out of her bag. She held it out over Eli's head, and the two continued walking like that, sharing a single umbrella.

Maki's breath seemed trapped in her chest. She knew that the two walked home together all the time, and this wasn't anything out of the normal. And yet… and yet…

The snow was falling a little harder now. Coupled with the bright Christmas decorations strung up and down the street, it seemed to distort the very air itself, giving Eli a hazy glow. Maki admired the way the light caught in the girl's hair, and suddenly, she knew what the feeling in her heart was.

She knew it, but, knowing it would never be requited, stopped herself from naming it through sheer force of will.

Instead, she took a deep breath, and forced a grin. Inside her head, a melody began to form.

"This feeling… I think I'll call it 'snow halation.'"

She couldn't wait to get home to her piano.