Oh, no. I can't stop with the AUs. Well. Also, part of this fic is inspired by a tumblr post, that I can't remember who posted, but credit to them for the initial idea. Initial OOC Maki. Enjoy, Nico!
You have tried everything.
At the age of fourteen, you had desperately tried to find a suitable job. You tried applying at maid cafés, faking your age, to earn at least a bit of money. It didn't help the fact that you looked several years younger than you actually were; the manager of the café said he didn't accept ten-year-olds. You were fourteen back then, for goodness sake! All you wanted was to attend to new high school that had opened up recently–UTX. Tall, new, fancy, and not to mention insanely pricey. Every girl in Akihabara's dream school, for sure. But with this lack of money, there was no way you could apply there.
With no luck, you had no choice but to attend another nearby high school when the time came. Otonokizaka Academy–a run-down, old-fashioned school with disgusting uniforms and a small amount of students. When you entered, there were only three classes in your year. Your mother was struggling to handle three children, though, so you decided not to complain and prevent being a fourth. Instead, you tried being more of a sister to your siblings–you started packing their lunches to let your mother rest in the morning, and entertained them when entertainment was required. Though she never said anything–she was too tired most of the time, anyway–you knew your mother was grateful inside. After a while, you even picked up cooking and would go grocery shopping weekly to prepare dinner each night. It was as if you were the mother.
Then you met her.
It was like any regular day, really; you woke up early, prepared your siblings' lunches, left your family's apartment and headed to school. At least, that's what everyone else though you did. Hastily throwing on a coat and sunglasses (a facemask, too), you walked out of the apartment complex, walking, walking…right past the way to school. You headed straight ahead, intending to take a detour like you did everyday. Except today was your first day as a third year student at Otonokizaka. You cast your eyes down to the green ribbon that was tied neatly onto your blouse, before tucking into the coat, hidden.
As you trudged forward, you couldn't help but glance at your body. You had the figure of a twelve year old, and this was constantly annoying you. Sure, you were glad for the free balloons they gave out at festivals–but weren't these mere acts of pity of a child? You were seventeen; you should have a sharp face and a reasonable bust size and long legs and no childish features, and yet here you were with a babyish look and a flat chest and short, thin sticks that were your legs.
"Welcome to UTX! We are UTX's school idols!"
Shocked at the sudden noise, you jerk your head up to realise that you have reached your destination. You stare wistfully at the large screen on the exterior of the school, wishing it were you that everyone was watching. This was why you came everyday: so you could glare at the people on the screen who could have been you, if you were just born into a wealthier family. Only you weren't. Only you weren't, and you were stuck with three younger siblings and a mother who didn't act like a mother. Oh, how much you would give up your current life for a richer, better one. Immediately, the guilt kicks in and you mentally slap yourself several times for even considering the thought. You loved your mother and each of your siblings with everything you had. After all, that was why you even bothered to help them in the first place, right?
"Bye-bye! Be sure to watch out for us! I'm Kira Tsubasa!"
"I'm Toudou Erena."
"I'm Yuuki Anju!"
"And we are A-Rise!"
Hmph, you think to yourself, looking at your watch. I could beat them any day. Another reason why you didn't have many friends–besides your childish demeanor–was your pride. They often called you proud, conceited and with a large ego. You had fought to deny it, though it only contradicted everything you had said. In the end, you had retreated into your shell. Friends weren't an option.
You turn briefly to leave, when your eye catches a glimpse on crimson. You face that way instead, and you see a red-faced girl in the uniform of the school you were standing in front of, looking around helplessly. Not to mention looking incredibly stupid. You take this opportunity, striding up to the girl. It was the start of the new school year–she was obviously a first year at UTX.
You pull off your sunglasses and facemask as you approach the girl, shoving them into your coat pocket, though you keep your own school uniform hidden. Swearing silently, your notice that the hem of your skirt is visible under your coat.
You tap the girl's shoulder. She whips around, then stares at you like were asking her a question that couldn't be answered. "W-Who are you?"
Her voice is nice, you note, not too high to sound girly but instead with a low tone to it, quite mismatching with the personality you thought she would have.
You ignore her initial question, "Are you lost?"
"M-Me? Of course not!" She's proud, too, and you can't help but think of how similar she is to you; she has problems with being honest and doesn't like to admit defeat–just like you.
"Really?" You try to sound unconvinced, though she doesn't seem to pick up on your tone.
"Really!" She nods rather vigorously, but she's flustered, and you see right through her lie.
You smirk, knowing exactly how to make the fiery-haired girl fluster even more. "Is that so? That's good, then." You watched, amused, as her face twists into confusion. "Because I'm not from around here, and I'd like you to show me around the school."
Her confused amethyst eyes distort into shocked ones, clearly not expecting you to do what you just did. She starts fidgeting, then makes a show of looking at her watch and feigning surprise. "O-Oh no! I need to go; I can't be late!"
Only after the girl with violet orbs rushes off, you then realise that she wasn't the only person who was going to be late for her first day of school.
"I'm sorry for being late!"
You try to look apologetic, bowing toward the student council president. You bet she thought you were a first year until she saw the green ribbon on your blouse.
The student council president–a new one, apparently–was also a third year, though she was most likely in the top class, while you were in the bottom. Her hair was blonde, tied up in a ponytail, and her eyes were a cold blue, which matched her personality with the glare she was giving you.
"You're a third year, aren't you?" she asks, though you can tell by her tone that she was mocking you, even if her face remained expressionless.
You nod vaguely, annoyed that she was keeping you back. You hated how late students had to visit the student council during lunch.
"Then you should know better than to be late."
You were close to punching her now. You just wanted to leave the damn room and eat your lunch.
"Don't need to be so harsh on her, Elicchi." The vice president was standing in the corner; so silent you had almost forgotten she was there. She had purple hair and turquoise eyes, with a smile you couldn't tell was fake or not. But seriously: Elicchi? What kind of nickname is that? You hold back the urge to snort. "After all, Yazawa-san has family issues."
You freeze at the mention of your name. She knows your name? You mentally slap yourself again. Of course she knows your name! She's from the student council!
The president grunts. "You're dismissed."
As you turn to leave the room, you steal a glance at the vice president. She shoots you a wink and you hurry out of the door. How creepy.
You see the girl again, the next day, when you arrive in front of UTX. This time, you come earlier to avoid being late again. The redhead looks less lost this time around, instead casually standing in front of the large screen display, looking at her phone. You walk up to her.
"Oh, so you're interested in A-Rise?" you whisper over her shoulder. She jolts in shock as she turns to meet your face, shoving her phone back into the pocket of her blazer.
"Y-You again!"
"Hell yeah, it's me again." You give her a grin, but she brushes it off. She waves her hand vaguely at you, "Why are you even bothering me? You're just a kid."
You flinch. Her cool demeanor completely contrasts the flustered behavior she had shown you yesterday, which momentarily throws you off guard. She called you a kid! "I'm not a kid! As far as I can tell, I'm older than you!"
The redhead scoffs, "As if."
You glower at her, furious, but she ignores you and continues looking at A-Rise up on the screen, though you can tell that your presence is disturbing her.
Several moments of awkward silence pass, and you sigh, hesitant. "Sorry."
She lets out a sigh as well. "It's fine. It was rude of me to be ignorant." She smirks suddenly, and you feel uncomfortable under the look she's giving you. "Senpai."
You feel your face heating up in embarrassment, and you whack her lightly on her arm. "That aside, what's your name?" you inquire.
"Maki. Nishikino Maki."
Cute name for a cute girl, you think. "I'm Yazawa Nico."
You glance at the watch on your wrist; relieved when the time indicated it was not yet time for school.
"You're not from UTX, aren't you?"
You shake your head, looking down when she points to the hem of your skirt under your coat. "I'm from Otonokizaka."
She doesn't say anything, but you can see the mild disgust in her eyes. She must be rich, then. Of course she was.
It is then when you think of a brilliant plan. A plan that would surely work as long as you manage to get close to this Nishikino Maki, as long as you maintain a close bond with her. A plan that would get you into UTX, even for only one year–your last year in high school.
Every morning, you wake up earlier to get to the UTX school grounds, looking for a particular redhead each time. And each time, she is always there waiting for you. You notice how she often looks so bored before she sees you, and the moment you come into her view she perks up considerably. Over the past few days, you have been wondering whether you found her more cute or hot and finally decided that she was both before brushing off the thought. She was part of your plan, after all.
Each time you meet with Maki, you share stories with each other, and you find yourself knowing more about her every time you see that pretty face of hers. By the end of the week, you know her background, her blood type, her hobbies and that she likes singing and playing the piano. And before you leave UTX grounds that Friday, she holds you back for a moment.
"Nico-chan, wait!" You freeze at your name, turning around to meet her amethyst orbs.
"D-Do you…" Her face is flushed, you notice, and she's playing with her fingers nervously. Cute. "Do you want to come over to my house tomorrow?"
Her request takes you aback–you hadn't expected this at all–but find yourself smiling as you think about it. You've never been in a big house before, and you were sure she was absolutely loaded, knowing she came from a family of doctors. You give Maki a grin. "If you let me hear you sing and play the piano."
Both of you agree to this deal, with the redhead somewhat hesitant.
When Saturday comes, you're more excited than expected and you try to find a fitting outfit to wear. You're only going to her house, for goodness' sake! In the end, you pick a pink T-shirt and a matching baby-pink skirt. You glance at your phone, giving an attempt at memorising Maki's address. Your heart rate picks up at the thought of going to her house, but you brush aside the feeling. You know more or less what it means, but you don't want to accept it. Not yet. After all, Maki was only part of your plan into getting into UTX.
You yell to your mother and siblings that you're leaving, and head over to Maki's house, looking carefully at the address over and over so you wouldn't miss her home. When you arrive, however, doing all of that was unnecessary considering her house was huge; probably about ten times the size of your apartment. All the confidence you had prior to arriving went down the drain.
Hand shaking, you press the doorbell. Almost immediately, you see the redhead you came here for at the door, rushing toward you to open the gate.
"Hi," Maki manages; she is wearing a black T-shirt with a magenta star on it, along with matching pants. Your voice suddenly dies in your throat as you realise how amazingly good she looks in such simple clothing, and when she notices you staring, a light blush forms on her cheeks. "H-Hi."
"So, you want to come in?" Maki fiddles with her fingers awkwardly like she had done yesterday, and though your answer is obvious, you nod a tad too vigorously before she leads you into her house.
It's huge is the first thing that pops into your head when you step in, even though that fact had already long been registered. It was spacious, too, with everything so spread out, while your apartment had everything crammed together.
You look over to your redheaded friend, frowning when you see her twirling her hair with a finger. "What's wrong?" you ask.
"N-Nothing," comes her obvious lie.
"Don't lie to me, Maki-chan." Not liking the heavy mood, you decide to change the subject, pushing away the urge to force the answer out of her. "Oh, right! You promised you would play the piano and sing for me!"
You watch as her mood shifts and her eyes show relief, and you feel glad that you've helped her, even if Maki hadn't realised yet. She brings you to the grand piano that lies in her 'music room', which sat in the middle of the room.
She sits herself down on the piano bench, lifting the fallboard to reveal the keys. You inspect the instrument, noticing that not a single trace of dust lay on it. Seeing this, you plop down on the edge of the piano bench, next to Maki. At your sudden movement, you hear her breath hitch, as if she hadn't expected you to sit beside her.
"Play," you tell Maki when she hasn't moved at all.
"I know," she grumbles in response, taking a deep breath before her finger hits a single note.
Slowly, she presses down on each note, making a clear tune ring out throughout the room. The beat of the music picks up, though the graceful flow doesn't falter even once. Maki opens her mouth to start singing, and you listen eagerly.
Cheers for the love!
I'm glad to be here; our presence exists right here
Cheers for the love!
It's only just begun, I'm counting on you again tomorrow: we've yet to reach our goal
You find yourself smiling as you listen to her voice, watching at her fingers dance easily over the keyboard like it was no big deal to play such a complex piece.
Smile, when you're sad let's blow it all away
If you can laugh, the scenery will change peeking through the clearing weather
Even when you're unsure, the road leading to happiness
Comes into view under the blue sky
When Maki finishes the song, you applaud loudly. She turns around, giving you a shy smile, "I-It wasn't that good–"
Your laugh interrupts her. "You have a lot of problems with being honest with yourself."
"But it really wasn't–!"
You shake your head. "It doesn't matter if you think it's not good enough. I think it's good, Maki-chan! And…"–you lower your voice–"your singing is really good, too…"
She blushes at the compliment, but you know she deserves every word. Maki gives you a small pout. "It's too bad, really…"
"What?"
"My parents own a hospital," she explains, "and they expect me to inherit it when I'm older. So my time with music…" Her voice cracks. "It's as good as over."
"No." Your voice is low and dark when you speak, taking Maki by surprise.
"W-What?"
"You can't seriously give up."
"I-I don't have a choice!" Maki exclaims. "It's already been decided that I'll study medicine in college. I wish I could continue playing the piano, but–!"
"No," you repeat. How could she give up her dream so easily? Even you had tried–and never stopped trying–to be the closest you could be to an idol. You would do anything if it meant that one day you'd be the brightest shining star, brighter than every other star in the world. You love the feeling when you could make people smile. "You shouldn't let other people shape your future. What is yours is yours, after all."
She doesn't say anything, and you take this as a sign to continue. "You love music, so you should be following this dream to be a great pianist!" You pause to take a breath. "Even more, you're talented! You're good at it, you like doing it, so you need to take a step up and say that you're not going to be a goddamn doctor. I mean, look at me!"–you gesture to yourself–"this seventeen-year-old, me, who looks like I'm twelve, wants to be an idol. A person who goes on stage and sings and makes people smile. Someone I can never be. But I'll never give up, because it's my dream!
"It's hard, being criticised for looking five years younger than I actually am, and knowing that I have hardly any talent at all." You smile sadly. "It doesn't mean I'll stop trying though. One day, I'll become the world's number one super idol. And one day, you'll be the world's number one pianist and singer. Okay?"
You can see the tears cornered in Maki's eyes, threatening to spill, before you notice you're almost in tears yourself. A moment of hesitation before you run forward and pull the redhead into a tight embrace. At the sudden contact, you feel her body stiffen, but she loosens up soon after, returning the hug. "Promise me you'll follow your dream," you whisper into her ear.
"I promise." Her voice is scratchy, but it holds no lie and you know she's telling the truth. You ditch your plan of trying to get into UTX; Maki is good enough. You let the warmth in your chest take over, after ignoring it for a whole week. You look up at the taller, younger girl, and see her violet orbs staring right back at you.
Slowly, tentatively, you lean in. She gets the hint and though hesitantly, she leans in as well. Your lips meet hers halfway, and you tighten your grip on her. Your first kiss wasn't exactly how you had imagined it to be; yet you didn't really care. Maki was Maki, and that was okay. Her lips tasted like vanilla and strangely, tomatoes, you notice. Gasping for air, both of you pull apart, immediately missing the contact.
Her face is flushed when you look at her, and the moment your eyes meet hers, she averts eye contact. "I love you," you tell her, and you can feel the heat rising up to your own cheeks as the words leave your mouth.
"I-I love you too, Nico-chan." You both go into another hug, initiated by Maki this time. "Thank you," she mutters with her face in your shoulder.
"You're welcome," you reply, pressing a chaste kiss onto Maki's head. "As long as you keep your promise."
Nice, long fluffy story, haha. I've never tried writing in second person POV, but it was pretty fun. Hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review!