Nico Yazawa was sitting in her room. She was contemplating the next show that she was going to perform, maybe she wasn't ready. This continued to stress her out so she thought maybe she should practice. It was late at night but the only place she could go to sing and dance where she wouldn't wake anyone up was her backyard. She continued singing and dancing in the moonlight, not even noticing it had been a full moon.
As she hit and held the last note of the song a bright light began to shine above her. She looked up, puzzled and saw something she never expected to encounter. She was being confronted by a ghostly, flying pirate ship. She stood frozen while the anchor landed directly in front of her and a rope ladder came unraveling down one step at a time. What would she do? Nico ran inside and dialed Nozomi, hoping she would know something about the spirits.
"Nico it's 3 am what are you calling for?" Nozomi answered a bit annoyed.
"I know it's late but a ghost pirate ship just anchored in my backyard." she blurted out quickly, her hands were shaking holding the phone. A long moment of silence hung between them as Nico waited for a response.
"Nico, you weren't singing or dancing outside were you?" Nozomi finally answered.
"What? How dd you know?" Nico said with complete confusion.
"You know if you put on a good performance under the light of the full moon spirits will come. It's the only time of month they can come out and the entertainment draws them in. They're not bad, just go greet them, they might even have rewards for you." Nozomi said confidently. This was clearly something she knew a lot about, so Nico was sure she could trust her.
Nico thanked Nozomi and hung up the phone. She looked back outside at the transparent anchor, maybe she should just go say hello. Nico slid open the door and hesitantly touched the rope ladder. It seemed like it would phase right through her hand, however, she grasped it firmly and felt as if she was holding real rope. Her eyes looked up to the ship and caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a young boy about her age, but he darted away as soon as their eyes made contact. Now filled with a bit of excitement she began to climb.
When she climbed on board she finally saw the boy sitting at the helm of the ship looking out at the stars. He had black hair that looked rough and unbrushed, and as he glanced over his shoulder she saw his eyes were glowing a bright blue. She had never seen such beautiful eyes on a person before and they complimented the blue, misty glow around him perfectly.
He smiled at her warmly and she took a few steps closer to him and eventually inched close enough to be standing directly next to him.
"You know, the stars always look more beautiful the night of a full moon." the boy said looking up at the stars with a soft expression.
"I think so too," said Nico, she had never quite considered it, but he really was right. "What's your name?"
"Thomas, and yours?"
"I'm Nico Yazawa." She thought that with a name like that she was lucky he spoke such good japanese.
"I heard you song, it was so beautiful, almost as beautiful as your dancing." He blushed a little while he said it. Nico felt the blood running to her cheeks as well when she heard him say it.
"Th-thank you. I was actually just practicing a song me and my group will perform soon." She felt a little bad saying it, it seemed like he was disappointed when he heard it.
"Oh, how sad, I wish I could watch the final performance." He looked so sad. She wanted to cheer him up somehow, since she knew he would never see a live performance in person. Nico stepped back so she would have more room, then she started performing Snow Halation with more passion and effort than she ever had before.
Thomas looked so surprised, he just watched her, and slowly a smile crept across his face until he was wearing the widest smile Nico has ever seen. When she finished she held her ending pose with a smile, completely out of breath, but as soon as the song was done he started cheering like a real school idol fan. She was sure he had no idea what a school idol was, but it really warmed her heart to see him so happy.
"That was amazing!" Thomas said with a big smile. Nico had never been so happy to see a fan cheer before.
"You know," Nico said with a grin, letting her pose drop, "I can perform for you every full moon if you want." She honestly had no problem with it because he seemed very lonely and it's an idol's job to make people happy whenever they can. She saw the look in his eyes change for joy to questioning, didn't he believe her?
"Would you really do that for me?" Thomas said, sounding a bit sad. Nico thought that maybe people like her had promised things like this before and let him down. It did make sense, who would bother trying to entertain a ghost pirate boy all the time.
"I promise, I'll never let you down." It was that moment that Nico made a promise to herself that she would never miss a full moon, and her life began to change from that day. The two of them talked all night about their interests and their pasts. She had never opened up to someone like this. But as the sun began to rise, the moon began to set, and she knew she would have to leave. The rays of the sun hit the ship and it became harder and harder to feel the ground beneath her.
"You have to leave, if the ship disappears and you fall from this height, you'll die." He looked at her with disappointment, neither of them wanted to leave. He was right, though. She walked over to the ladder. She was about to start climbing down when she looked behind her, Thomas was crying. She ran over and embraced him in a tight hug.
"I'll see you in a month." she whispered in his ear and turned to leave with a quick wink.
That day at school she fell asleep twice during class, she really hadn't gotten any sleep. The other members of μ's were concerned but as usual, Nozomi convinced them it was all fine, she always seemed to know what was going on. That day at practice Nico, although tired from the night before, worked harder than ever before. She was determined to be the best school idol she could be. If Thomas only got to see one idol ever she had to make sure it was a good one.
"Good practice everyone!" Honoka said gesturing for everyone to leave. When Nico was gathering her things, she stopped Honoka.
"Hey Honoka, about our next show," She wasn't sure if this would work, but she wanted to try, "do you think there's any way we can hold it at night?" Honoka looked confused.
"Maybe, why do you ask?" Honoka inquired.
"Oh, I just wanted to make sure a friend of mine could come." Nico replied. It was the truth, maybe if the performance was outside at night, Thomas might actually get to see it.
"Hmm, how about you talk to Eli and Nozomi, they might be able to figure something out." Honoka was clearly a bit curious about the request, but didn't bother to pry.
Nico walked over to Eli and Nozomi who were talking and about to walk out of practice together. Nozomi caught a glimpse of Nico out of the corner of her eye and stopped, turning to her. "Is there something you want to discuss?" she questioned.
"There is actually," Nico said, she was sure Nozomi would understand why she wanted this so bad, "Can we figure out a way to hold our next concert at night, and possibly outside?" Nozomi smiled, she had obviously gotten the point of the whole thing.
"I'm sure we can figure something out, right Eli?" She said, giving Nico a wink.
"Sure, we can probably make that work." Eli said, giving Nozomi a suspicious look.
"Thank you so much!" Nico shouted and ran out the door. She was so excited she could almost burst. She ran all the way home and sat down at her computer. She looked up the date of every full moon for the rest of the year and marked the dates on her calender. Maybe next time I see him I can wear one of my old costumes. She thought. Nico was getting far too excited.
After a full month of waiting and practicing extra at home, the day had finally come. This month the full moon would stay for two days, so she could see him tonight and tomorrow would be the show. The moment the sun set and the sky darkened, she ran outside in a full costume. She danced and sung until the glow of the pirate ship came back once more. She eagerly climbed up the ladder. When she came to the top she caught sight of Thomas, at the helm of the ship, staring out at the stars once more. She didn't know why, but tears began to fill her eyes. Nico ran over to Thomas and greeted him with a big hug, needless to say he hugged her back. He clearly hadn't expected to see her again, despite her promise.
"You came back!" he sad to her, holding her at arm's length. He looked her up and down, making note of the beautiful dress she was in.
"Of course, I promised I would." Nico blushed, noticing how he was looking at her.
"You look amazing," he said, and she swore her heart skipped a beat.
"I've got a surprise for you too." she said, she could hardly hold in her excitement for this. She got into position and started performing the song she knew would mean the most to him. She danced back and forth shooting him winks and smiles, she was singing Dancing Stars on Me, because she knew how he loved the stars, and the upbeat rhythm would make him smile. When she finished he walked over to her and grabbed her by the waist. Despite her being out of breath, she leaned closer and he did the same. They shared a kiss like nothing either of them had experienced before. His lips were so soft and they felt almost as if they weren't there at all and that she could fall forward at any moment and not be kissing him. They broke apart and she stared into his glowing blue eyes. They both smiled, she had never expected her first love to be someone like this, and she was sure neither did he.
"I've got a surprise for you too." Thomas chimed in a singsong voice. He pulled the anchor back up and the ship began to move.
Thomas grabbed Nico by the hand and pulled her to the front of the ship. It was flying fast and gracefully through the sky above her town. He held her close as the wind blew past them. This is incredible. Nico thought.
"Thank you, Thomas. This is so beautiful." she said to him. He looked down at her and kissed her one more time.
"Promise you'll never leave me." he said.
"Of course not," Nico said, looking at him, "not for anything in the world."
The two of them stayed up all night again and neither had ever been happier. She told him to meet her at the place of the concert the next night, but didn't tell him why. She wanted this to be a surprise. He said he would and they lay down next to each other on the deck and stargazed until the stars faded to orange skies. Thomas flew the ship back to her house and bid her a short farewell with a parting kiss and she climbed down the rope ladder into her backyard. She skipped to her room with immense joy and changed into regular clothes. She still had a little time before she had to wake up, so she went to bed.
It was the night of the show and Nico was ready to put on the performance of a lifetime. They were all dressed up and the crowd was steadily growing.
"Everyone ready?" Honoka shouted with a cheery smile. They all nodded back to her. "Let's do this." she said.
They all stood in a circle and put their hands in the center. It was finally time. They walked out on stage and the crowd began cheering. The performance started and it was only seconds in when the glow of the ghost ship lit up the stage. He was here. Thomas was watching the performance and providing beautiful lighting as well. The crowd cheered louder and louder when they saw the ship, no doubt assuming it was part of the performance.
When the show was over Nico asked everyone to come to the ship with her. She introduced Thomas to all her friends and explained how they had come to meet. Everyone was shocked, but thought their story was beautiful. When the others left Nico and Thomas embraced and kissed passionately. They sat down under the stars and Thomas expressed his gratitude for all Nico had done for him. She squeezed his hand and told him the truth.
"I did it because I love you." she said.
"I love you too, Nico," Thomas said, "I knew we were meant to be the second I spotted you dancing."
From then on every full moon Nico went to see him and their relationship grew stronger every visit. They even held more and more concerts that he could come to from time to time. But when Nico graduated, she knew he would no longer get to come to those concerts. This didn't stop her though, every month she continued to perform for him, even meeting with Maki in her free time and working on new songs so the other songs wouldn't get old.
After a few years working together Maki taught Nico to play piano so she could write her own songs. And Nico did just that, she wrote songs for him every month, and even researched the history of pirates so she could understand him better. Their love was so strong, no one could stop it. Eventually Nico grew older and was no longer the same age as him, but Thomas promised he would love her no matter how old she got. She cried when she heard that, hardly believing him.
"But Thomas, what will you do when I'm an old lady? How could you still love me?" Nico sobbed.
"Trust me, I'm way older than you'll ever be." Thomas said with a wink and a chuckle.
His words were true, for Nico eventually grew very old and could hardly climb the rope ladder any more. She came once on a harvest moon and smiled at Thomas as she made her way on to the ship, however, he looked sad for the first time since she met him.
"What's the matter, darling?" Nico urged.
"I-I have to leave. Forever." He said it as if even he didn't believe his own words.
"What? What do you mean?" Nico was frantic, she knew it had to be a joke, he promised to be with her forever.
"Nico, it's my time, I have to cross over, I have to pass on. This is the last time I'll see you." He was crying now, but she understood what he was saying. He was a ghost after all, she should have expected this.
"But Thomas," she said, "I Nico Nico need you."
They both cried and held each other tightly. They spent that last night together recounting their best memories. She smiled at him one last time and let a tear fall down her face.
"Thank you for everything, Nico. I'll wait for you in the afterlife." Thomas said to her with a reassuring smile. She smiled back and looked at him with loving eyes.
"I'll Nico Nico see you there."