AN: Hello and Welcome to this little Maki-centric fanfic I've written for our dear Maki's birthday so...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAKI!

LEGACY

Maki Nishikino sighed as she ran her fingers through the ivory keys of the piano in Otonokizaka's Music Room. This was the last day she would be here for...God knows how long, after all. She probably won't be back until their High School reunion. Their graduation ceremony just ended about an hour ago and the only reason she was staying behind was because she had to talk to Yukiho and Arisa. She already did her nostalgia trip around the school earlier and she had to say; there were so many good memories in this place. Memories she wouldn't trade for the world.

'I wonder how I would've turned out if I didn't come here.' She thought. Back then, when she was a first year, she didn't want to go to Otonokizaka but now...looking on it, the memories she shared with her friends, of μ's; she felt foolish for even thinking of such a thing. A year of being in μ's, two years of being the Idol Research Club's Vice President and a year of being the Student Council President. She honestly hoped she didn't disappoint Eli, Nozomi, Honoka and Umi during her tenure in the council. She likes to think she did a good job of it, however. In all her years of being alive, with her future laid out for her, Maki's days at Otonokizaka made her feel more freedom than she ever felt in her life.

"Maki-chan, Arisa-chan and Yukiho-chan are waiting for you in the club room, nya!" Rin enthusiastically said. Maki sighed and stood up, closing the piano's cover before walking out the door. Before walking out the door, she turned back and looked towards the piano.

"See you soon." She whispered before closing the door.

"What did you call us here for, Maki-senpai?" Yukiho asked her as she and Arisa sat in the Idol Research Club's room. Rin and Hanayo sat in the opposite side of the table, facing the two younger ones.

"There's just something we need to discuss." She said as she sat down. "The two of you are incoming third years, yes?"

"Hai." Arisa answered. Maki opened her bag and pulled something out of it. Then she set it on the table; a bright orange music composition notebook. Maki slid it over towards them.

"Maki-chan, that's your notebook." Hanayo stated in awe. Maki nodded in response.

"This is the same notebook I used to write the music for μ's."

"Maki-senpai, why are you giving this to us?" Arisa asked in curiosity as she and Yukiho stared in awe, as if they were looking at a relic from a time long ago. She guessed that, to them, it actually was. Maki sighed before speaking.

"Okay, I'm not really good at being open so I'll do this once." She said as she twirled a lock of her hair.

"I know that μ's left you, and all the future School Idols from Otonokizaka, big shoes to fill. So, if ever you find yourselves in a slump, I hope this would help you. It sure as hell did us back then. This is the only inheritance I can leave you. I know the two of you won't disappoint us and the legacy we left you. Please, take it."

"Won't you need it? I thought you weren't giving up music even after you graduate?" Yukiho asked her.

"I'll get a new one." She responded with a small smile at being reminded that she didn't have to give up music after all. Though her parents made it clear that she will pursue medicine after high school, they've allowed her to continue on with the piano, saying that she was too talented in it to give it up all of a sudden. Arisa gently took the notebook and held it close to her.

"Hai! We won't let you down!" She said with determination. Maki smiled at the girl who would succeed her as Student Council President. She groomed Arisa to be her successor, just as Honoka did her and just as Eli did to Honoka before her. Yukiho, meanwhile, would succeed Hanayo as Idol Research Club President. Looking at them now, Maki knew they made the right call.

"Should we go now, nya? The others are here already." Rin said as she pocketed her phone again. Maki nodded and they all stood up and left the room. Then they walked out of the building and from the distance they saw their parents. Rin and Hanayo immediately ran towards theirs while Maki calmly walked towards her parents, who were talking to Director Minami. No surprise, seeing as how Director Minami and her mother knew each other before she and Kotori were even born. They don't know the exact nature of their relationship, however, and they probably never will. Finally, her father noticed her.

"Maki-chan." He greeted her before wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. She gently smiled at the fatherly warmth he generated. She almost forgot this feeling. When they separated, her mother hugged her this time around.

"We are so proud of you, sweetheart." Her father said as he kissed her forehead.

"Oi, Maki-chan!" A familiar, energetic voice said. She looked past her parents' bodies and saw six people by the gates of Otonokizaka. She saw Rin and Hanayo run towards these six people and she realized who they were.

"Go on, Maki-chan. Have some fun with your friends. Your father and I took the day off tomorrow so we can celebrate then." Her mother informed her. Maki nodded with a small smile before kissing both her parents on their cheeks and running off towards her friends. Rin and Hanayo were already greeting the former μ's members with hugs. Honoka was the first to embrace her.

"Maki-chan, congratulations!" She exclaimed.

"Honoka, let Maki-chan go." Umi said. As usual, Kotori was there to pacify the blue-haired archer. Once Honoka let Maki go, she approached Eli and Nozomi.

"Hello, Maki-chan. Congratulations on graduating. Ready to go to Med School?" Nozomi greeted her.

"Thank you, Nozomi-chan. And yes, I am." She responded to the Goddess of μ's.

"Congratulations, Maki-chan. You did good." Eli said with a smile. Her statement brought Maki some relief, knowing that to Eli (and probably Honoka as well), she did a good job with the student council. The two stepped away from her, revealing Nico, who was standing behind them all along, with a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

"Congratulations, Maki-chan." She said with a smile as she handed Maki the flowers.

"Thank you, Nico-chan." Maki said with a blush in her face as she took the flowers.

"Hey, let's go have fun. We have to celebrate Rin-chan, Hanayo-chan and Maki-chan's graduations!" Honoka declared boisterously.

"Hai!" Nozomi enthusiastically responded.

"Let's go, let's go, nya!" Rin excitedly said as she held Hanayo's hand. The others immediately started leading the way towards their destination.

"Let's go, Maki-chan." Nico said as she held her hand out towards the younger girl. Maki looked at it for a second before finally taking it. They started walking for a few meters before Maki stopped in her tracks and turned around, looking at Otonokizaka.

"See you soon." She whispered yet again. She didn't want to say goodbye. That would mean she would never come back, after all. Eventually, she let Nico lead her away yet again and they started walking and talking with the others.

Thanks to them, Otonokizaka stayed open and it would stay open for many more years to come. And it would probably continue to produce School Idols, ready to bring more glory and exposure to their beloved school...

All because of them. All because of μ's...

And to Maki, that was as good a legacy as any...

"Never say 'Good Bye'. If you don't say 'Good Bye', then you aren't really gone. You...just aren't here right now." – Freelancer Agent Carolina, Red vs. Blue, "Don't Say It (S10EP22)".

AN: Happy Birthday, Maki-chan!