New Life, New Memories

Protagonist: Maki Nishikino

Genre: Romance/Drama

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Live or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Hello, everyone! My name is Yuri! Well, according to your votes from my poll, I think my Maki x Harem fanfic shall commence. I was actually waiting until more votes got in and it seems like most of you voted for the AU fic where Maki moves in due to her parents studying abroad. Now, I'm not focusing on pairings just yet. This is just the beginning. So, here it is, everyone! Enjoy~! ;)

I sit in the limousine with my hand on my chin as I look out the window. Cars are passing by, many people are walking on the sidewalk and pass by some buildings nearby. Huge buildings, in fact. Why? Because I just arrived in Tokyo, far from my homeland, Kyoto.

My parents are rich and professional doctors. However, a couple weeks ago, my father decided that we should move because both of them are going to study abroad. Though, I wasn't going with them. Instead, I'm going to the home of my cousin, Kotori Minami. I don't know why they decided that, but it's been years since we last saw each other, like about 10 years ago. Funny thing is: Kotori is shy but cheerful. She and I were like sisters when we were little.

Anyway, while my parents are away, I am now on my limo, traveling to Kotori's home. It's been a half-hour since I said good-bye to my parents and the traffic here is pretty light. I kind of forgot where Kotori lives since I last saw her.

We finally arrive in a familiar-looking neighborhood. I sit up as we stop by a huge house. My driver helps carry my luggage while I walk up to the front door and ring the doorbell. After a few seconds of waiting, the door opens and a girl with long ash-brown hair appears before me. Both of us stare at each other for a moment until she speaks up.

"M-Maki-chan?"

"H-Hey Kotori," I say, giving her a small wave.

A happy smile appears on my cousin's face as she hugs me tightly. "Maki-chan! My goodness, it's been so long!" She pulls away. "How have you been? Were you doing well back in Kyoto?"

"I've been doing well, thank you," I say. "Though, middle school was a wreck. I couldn't even hear what the teacher said since some kids were so loud."

"Oh, I know how that feels," Kotori nods in agreement.

"Kotori?" A voice calls from the kitchen. "Is someone at the door?"

"Yes, Mother!" Kotori calls back. "Maki-chan has returned!"

"Maki?" I look over behind my cousin to see her beautiful mother walk towards me. Wow, the resemblance is uncanny! Kotori and Auntie Elizabeth look almost identical! "Oh, hello there. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Kotori's mother, Elizabeth Minami, is my mother's older sister. They get along really well and were inseparable growing up all the way till they had to start college and Auntie Elizabeth had to move to Tokyo University.

"It has been a while, yes," I reply. "It's nice seeing you again, Auntie Elizabeth."

"So, I see that you're moving to our place now," my aunt says as she notices the luggage that my driver/butler is struggling to hold. "Why is that?"

"My parents are away, studying abroad," I explain. "So, they wanted me to move to your place for a while until they are done."

"I see." She turns to her daughter. "Kotori, do you want to help her get the luggage and bring it to her old room?"

"Sure!" Kotori grabs another bag by the front door as my driver sighs in relief after putting down the bags by my side and then, laves. "Let's go, Maki-chan!"

"Oh, okay." With that, my cousin and I go upstairs and walk a few rooms away until we arrive at my old room. Kotori opens the door and places the luggage on the floor and twirls around.

"I'm so happy that we get to live together~!" She says cheerfully, beaming with joy. "Starting tomorrow, you're attending Otonokizaka Academy. Your mother informed mine before you got here, so she was able to register you to that school."

"I'm going there tomorrow?" I turn to her with a confused look on my face.

"Mm-hmm!" Kotori walks up to me and takes my hands in hers. "Though we're in different grades, you and I can walk together to and from school, no~?"

Hmmm…alright, that's not a bad idea. "Alright. We can do that."

"Yay~!" Kotori hugs me tightly again. Like, really tightly.

"U-Uh, Kotoriii…co-cousin…! C-Can't breathe!" I gasp for air, frantically tapping her shoulder.

Kotori quickly pulls away with a nervous laugh. "Oh, sorry! I got carried away there~"

I sigh and just get some air back in my lungs. I turn towards my luggage. "Anyway, thanks for helping me with those."

"Oh, no problem!" My cousin says with a beaming smile. "Call me if you need anything!"

"Okay."

As Kotori leaves, I take my time in unpacking my things and getting them organized so that I'm ready for tomorrow. From today on, I will be living here and chances are I will until I graduate. Unpacking most of my things, such as clothes, books and accessories takes only about 15 to 20. However, I look over in my suitcase to notice that my first-year uniform is actually in there. Did Mom put it in there when she purchased it? …How could I have not realized that? I go over my Otonokizaka Academy uniform: a navy blue blazer, blue short plaid skirt, and black knee high socks. I can't help but smile as I think about tomorrow and how it's going to be like in this school…as well as waking to and from each day with my cousin…I think I'm going to have a good life here for a while.

After hanging up my uniform, I walk downstairs to take a break from all the unpacking and meet up with my cousin and Auntie Elizabeth in the kitchen.

"Oh, hey, Maki," my aunt says. "Did you finish unpacking?"

"U-Um, actually," I says. "I was wondering if Kotori and I could take a walk around the neighborhood, to refresh my memory of this place, get used to this city?"

"Oh, sure," Aunt Elizabeth smiles, turning to her daughter. "Do you want to go with Maki for a walk?"

"Yes!" Kotori says, jumping up from her chair and then, she trots over to take my hand. "Let's go! Let's go~!"

I nod as both of us head to the front door, wave good-bye to Auntie Elizabeth and head out.

It's a pretty nice day outside, to be honest, even though it's a little chilly. Kotori and I take a walk around the neighborhood. Things have changed a lot since I last came here, but there is no denying that the memories I have of this place come back pretty quickly and the feeling of familiarity is definitely there. New homes were built, the roads were remade and there are more people coming and going now. While we walk, Kotori and I chat up a storm to catch up on things we missed. Kotori studied and had a good time and good grades in elementary and middle school. Though her mother is pretty busy with her job and Kotori often had to manage the house on her own, she didn't mind at all. I guess my cousin was always very dependable with doing house work. She even told me that her mother taught her how to cook long ago. I file away for later the thought of trying one of Kotori's dishes sometime soon.

We continue to walk around the neighborhood until I notice that we reach near the streets. Kotori turns to me and smiles.

"Let's explore some more, Maki-chan~!" She says, giving my hand a squeeze. "There's a lot more that you need to see!"

"Ah, okay." I quickly follow my cousin across the street and enter the city before us. For as long as I can remember, when I was little, Kotori and I used to walk around in the city with our parents all the time. Of course, at the time, there weren't this many buildings and restaurants and stores and such. Clearly, progress has worked its magic in this city while I was away. New buildings, new roads, etc. The two of us continue down the sidewalk until Kotori notices a red building across from us.

"Oh, I remember this place!" She says, pointing at a restaurant. "You and I used to go to this ramen restaurant with our moms when we were little. Boy, we had chicken ramen every time we went there. All of us loved this place~"

I nod in agreement. "You're right. I remember, too. I actually can't believe it's still in business…"

"Hey~! Do you want to go there again sometime?" Her big, golden eyes gaze at me with glee.

"Sure. Anytime is fine with me," I reply, giving Kotori a tiny smile. I almost blush when she almost dazzles me with her smile.

"Oh, that's wonderful~!" She cheers. "Let's ask Mom, too! She might even let us go on our own since, you know, we're both grown up…sort of."

I giggle. "Kotori, cousin, we are grown up. We aren't kids anymore, right?" She blows me a little raspberry and then, shrugs.

"Well, I guess," she then looks up at the sky. "Ah~! Such a beautiful day! Say, Maki-chan, do you want to go for a walk in the park for a while? We haven't done that since we were kids, too."

"Alright. Let's go," I reply with a firm nod. Kotori smiles and squeezes my hand again as we walk some more and, looking at the new buildings, stores and restaurants. However, just before we cross the park's gates, Kotori insists we take a break and go for a snack. I shrug and tell her that it's okay, so we grab some crepes from a nearby stand and sit at a little table for two to enjoy our snack. I glance at my cousin, happily munching on her crepe. It's been a long time since I last saw her…but she's still so very cute. Cute, affectionate personality, cute looks…Cousin Kotori is just cute. Kotori takes notice of my staring and tilts her head in confusion.

She's so cute.

"Is there something wrong, Maki-chan?" she asks. I pray that she didn't notice me blushing.

"O-Oh! It's nothing," I reply, waving my hands back and forth.

"Hmm…okay." She's clearly not convinced, but goes back to enjoying her crepe.

After about 15 minutes, both of us finish our food and continue our "tour", stepping through the familiar park's gates.

"Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden," I read the inscription on the gates.

"Yes," Kotori says. "This is the place where our moms often took us when we were little. We would all walk to that bridge over there and enjoy the nice, fresh air." She turns to me, smiling wide and cute as usual. "You and I used to hold each other's hands as well, Maki-chan." She whispers, gazing down at our joined hands.

My face gets warm. "W-We were just kids back then, that's all! Besides, you were the one that always wanted to hold my hand…and I can tell you still do, cousin."

"Hehe~! I couldn't help myself then, and same now~!" Kotori giggles, intertwining our fingers.

I sigh and manage to fight back a heavy blush as both of us walk towards the bridge, stand in the middle and look up at the sky. Sunset is almost upon us…and only then do I realize that we spent about 2 hours taking this tour of the city! But…still, I feel it was worth it. Time well spent with my cousin and exploring the city, my old home away from home, and see how it has changed since the last time I was here.

The place has changed…but it's still comforting in its familiarity.

"Maki-chan," Kotori says, gently bringing me back from my reminiscing, her hand gently squeezing mine and rubbing the pad of her thumb over our intertwined fingers. "Let's promise that we're going to have a great year together. Okay?"

I nod with an honest, gentle smile. "I promise." Though I'm a bit nervous about joining classes at Otonokizaka Academy tomorrow, I do look forward to the guarantee of walking to and from school with my cousin every day. Maybe I will make new friends there as well. Both of us turn and gaze at the setting sun shining down upon us until it is time to leave.

Later that night, I sit in bed, chatting with Mama on my smart phone a few minutes after showering and putting on my PJs.

"Yes, everything's going well so far…Mm-hmm. I start school tomorrow and I'm walking with Kotori everyday. Yes, I'll be alright, Mama. Okay, I love you. Good night."

I hang up the phone, gazing out the window to see a full moon.

Yes, I feel this is going to be a good life for a while, here, at my cousin Kotori's.

A/N: First off, I would like to thank Major Mike Powell III for beta reading this. And for Kotori's mother, I really felt that Elizabeth as her first name fits her. I mean, she kind of looks like an "Elizabeth" to me. Anyway, the other members of Muse will appear in the next chapter. And for shippings, save the suggestions for later because I already have one in mind. And it's not Nico x Maki. I'm sorry, but I feel that Maki should be shipped with everyone else.

Feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review. ;)