Nico woke up groggily to the sound of the alarm clock. She rubbed her eyes and smacked the device before letting out a long yawn. She surveyed the room: her siblings were still asleep. She made her way to the restroom and started fixing her hair. As the familiar brush wove through her hair, Nico began to wake up. And realize that a strange wetness was growing in her privates…

A deep blush bloomed over her face. She slammed the restroom door and sat on the toilet and pulled down her pants. She groaned. Another pair ruined. She started washing them after getting her woman stuff sorted out in a feeble attempt to save the panties. They really were cute.

A huge wave of pain rolled over her body.

Nico winced and slowly tried to get ready for the day.

She would get over it, of course, she would, she was Nico.

She didn't get over it. Even with the pills and whatnot. Nico sighed heavily as she put her head on her desk as the rest of the students hurried about. It was lunch and she didn't feel hungry at all, even though she struggled to make a delicious bento. But her stomach and uterus weren't having it.

She wanted to die.

"NICOOOOOOOOO-CHANNNNNNNNNNNYAAAAAAAAA!"

Her thoughts were interrupted, as well as her body, even though it wasn't moving or anything, but an all too familiar sensation slammed into her back. Arms wove themselves around her chest and she yelped as they hugged her tightly. The ache in the bottom of her stomach grew slightly larger as soft skin nuzzled against her cheek. It was too warm, way too warm, as Nico broke into a sweat.

"What are you eating for lunch-nyan? Huh? Nico-chan, you're really warm, are you alright?" Nico felt Rin's palm slap on her forehead and she groaned.

"Rin, I'm fine, now GET OFF OF ME!" Nico swatted at Rin but the agile girl already jumped away. Rin was giggling and stood beside her desk.

"…I'm having fried rice with sausages, some boiled vegetables and YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY!" Nico screamed as she hid her bento before Rin could open it.

"Awwww, Nico-chan, let me just have a little bit~"

Truthfully, Nico wasn't feeling very hungry but giving her food to a stray cat would've been a better choice than Rin. Wait a minute.

"Ah, you're here."

That harmonious, melodious, lovely voice broke through Nico's thoughts. It was Maki. Of course.

Her lower stomach ached again and she flinched a bit.

"Is something wrong?" Maki stood closer to her than Rin, who was already linking arms with the red head as soon as she came over.

Jealousy flared up in Nico. Before she could voice her distaste, Rin quickly chattered away about Nico's warmth and above-normal cattiness and suddenly—

Her and Maki were walking down to the Nurse's Office.

Nico gulped. It had all happened too fast. This morning. Lunch. Now!

"Nico, do you want to go home instead?" Maki inquired as she twirled her hair, looking at her way too interestedly.

"I-I-I'm fine, really, I think I just need to lie down. But its nothing to be worried about, its just my cycle starting." Nico stammered out, quickening her pace. They reached the Nurse's Office and lo and behold, the nurse was not there. Nico sighed and flopped onto the empty cot near the window. Maki cautiously followed and sat on the nearby cot.

Nico closed her eyes and breathed. Then she opened them.

Maki was still there.

"What is it?" Nico growled.

Maki's brow furrowed and she cleared her throat. "Well, I just thought someone should at least monitor you, in case something happened."

Nico's heartbeat sped up. "Oh. Thank you."

Maki nodded in understanding and with some embarrassment, uttered, "Any-anyone else would've done the same."

Nico turned her head towards Maki. Maybe it was the ache in her stomach, but she decided to be brash.

"Well, it means a lot to me, so thank you."

Maki's violet eyes, always dark and serious, lit up for a moment. She bowed lightly. "Your welcome." And Nico could detect the smallest, lightest pink on her cheeks. She then turned her gaze to the nurse's desk.

They stayed quiet. That was fine for Nico, but she wasn't sure if it was fine for Maki. Nico looked out the window. It was a bright, blue day. When was the last time she had been in here? When she had fallen down and walked by herself? And the nurse wasn't there as well. She had walked over to the desk and got a Band-Aid and went back to class.

It was an incredibly small wound but the fact that no one seemed to care about it made it turn into a serious injury. Well, for her. She lifted up her leg to see if there was a scar. There was none.

"What are you doing?" Maki asked, her gaze returning to Nico, focused on her raised leg. Nico put it down and turned to Maki.

"Just checking to see if there was a scar."

"Did you get hurt recently?" Maki's pitch became higher and she was leaning forward. When did Nico become so meticulous about the younger girl's movements? It was because of the idol club, yeah. The dancing. Nico was doing research.

"Umm, no, it was a year ago."

"Oh. Well, if there is a scar, I could lend you some lotion. It would help get rid of it, if that's what you need."

"Ah, thank you." Nico sat up quickly. "I actually do have some other scars!" She was trying to change the subject, since her pain was not giving up. Maki looked interested.

"Like?"

Nico blushed. She knew of a big scar but the location was, to say, not appropriate. "Umm, its kinda in a weird place…if you don't mind that, ah heh heh."

Maki was now extremely interested. The redhead chirped, "No, no, I don't mind. What happened?" Nico remembered that Maki WAS from a family that owned a hospital. Wait. Did that mean she likes injuries? Oh. Oooooooh.

Nico moved to the edge of the cot and swung her legs over the edge. "Well, since you're so eager." Nico began to unbutton her cardigan, partly because of the heat and partly because of wanting to please Maki. Wait. Not in that way. Of course not. Why would she even do that?

Maki's small blush increased in size. "I see what you mean."

Nico was too focused on the buttons on her cardigan and shirt. "Yeah, well, you haven't seen it yet." What was it about brandishing scars that agreed with Nico? It was more of a boyish attitude, but it might've been because her siblings would get hurt and she would show them her own battle scars to make them feel better. But what was she doing now? Too late.

Nico removed her ribbon carefully and laid it beside her. She started unbuttoning her white shirt and stopped at five buttons, revealing the top part of her bra. Ah. That was too much. But it would cover the scar-

"Nico!"

Maki's concern rang through her voice and Nico couldn't help but enjoy the fact that the younger girl was so worried. Then Nico understood why her father took such joy in showing her mother his scars.

Maki got up from the cot and walked towards her. "Nico-I mean-that looks incredibly painful! What happened?" She leaned closer to Nico, her chin nearly touching her forehead.

Nico's whole face became red. She wasn't expecting this reaction. She struggled to tell the story. She had it all rehearsed but now, it was hard to make light of it. Maki looked so concerned and worried.

"I fell off my bike. On a hill. And landed in some rocks. Lame, right? It wasn't supposed to be so bad, but the way I fell off, I hit my shoulder first-" Nico let down her shirt, revealing her shoulder, where the scar began. "—then I rolled down the hill, I ended up breaking my collarbone—" Nico traced the scar with her index finger as it scrawled over her collarbone, under, and towards the middle of her chest. "—and that's when I landed on the rock. Pretty crazy, huh?"

Usually people would scream, shudder, or something like that, but Maki was quiet instead, her head bowing down.

"…Maki?"

The redhead wiped her face before raising her head. She laughed quietly. "Actually, it sounds horrible. But why is the scar so big? And why haven't we ever seen it? You know, practice…"

Nico sighed. How many times did she sigh today? "Well, I usually cover it up with foundation or something else. When I get sweaty it gets shown but I adjust it and make sure it's alright."

Maki nodded. "Ah, no wonder you take breaks a lot alone…and here I thought that—" Before Maki could finish though, Nico sneered. She couldn't help it.

"What, did you think I was being lazy? Me, the universes' top future idol!?" Nico bellowed, putting her fists on her hips. However, Nico was putting up a front just as Maki was. She had seen her tears but decided not to comment. She didn't mean to make Maki cry, so she decided she would try to cheer her up.

It worked as Nico watched Maki chuckle. "Honestly…"

Silence. Then, Maki looked Nico in the eyes.

"May I-May I touch it?"

Nico gulped. Usually it was family or her siblings that asked. And she obliged, of course. If it was friends, they would be wary or wouldn't ask at all.

"Y-Yeah. Go ahead. It doesn't hurt anymore."

"Then, excuse me."

Maki sat besides Nico and leaned towards her. Due to the closeness, Nico could see Maki's fingers tremble. She felt Maki's breath, gentle and warm on her own chest that tickled somewhat. However, Nico willed herself to stay as still as possible. To maintain this feeling.

Finally, Maki's fingertips brushed against the tip of her shoulder and wove down towards the start of the scar. Nico's rough scar seemed so dissonant from Maki's supple skin and Nico was envious. She was also proud, in a weird way, to be able to feel the other girl's fingertips on her flesh.

In response, her stomach ached more, much more painful than before. Nico whimpered a bit.

Maki drew back swiftly as if she had pushed down Nico.

"I-I-I'm sorry, I-"

Nico babbled. "Its fine, its fine, its just my stupid period."

Maki hesitated and then finally reached out again. She was faster this time, her fingertips tracing the scar. They carefully went over Nico's collarbone, grazing them, and then as the scar dipped downwards, Nico's heart sped up.

She hoped that Maki wouldn't sense it.

Maki continued to make her way and finally stopped at the end of the scar, her fingers perched above Nico's chest.

Maki whispered softly. "It's rough."

Nico chuckled. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

Maki looked up at her. "Do the other…girls know?"

Nico hesitated. "…no." That was a lie. It had happened on accident. Kotori was helping her with her clothes and Nico forgot to put on the cover-up. Kotori apologized profusely and Nico tried to laugh it off. Kotori laughed it off and commented on how "strong" she was.

Maki, however, had heard Nico's doubt and…was she…her mouth was frowning…she was! Maki was pouting!

Nico grinned again. "Whaaaat, are you jealous or something?"

"N-No, I just, well, I just think you should be more comfortable about it." Maki's hands balled into fists. "You go to so much effort to cover it up and I feel like, no, I know that its troublesome to keep hiding it." She looked into Nico's eyes firmly. "I-I think you shouldn't hide things, painful things."

Nico was confused. "But, this happened a long time ago-"

Maki shook her head. "No, I mean, now, right now, you shouldn't try to act so tough all the time! I mean-today, you won't tell anyone what's wrong but I know that you weren't not feeling well. What if you didn't tell anyone? What if you fainted?"

Nico's heart stopped than started again. Oh. This is why she was so concerned. This is why she was crying earlier. This—

Maki was quiet. Her face was completely red, almost as red as her hair.

Nico breathed deeply and began buttoning up her shirt, murmuring. "You're right, I do hide things about myself. But, that's only because I don't want to trouble anyone." She tied her ribbon around her neck neatly and began shrugging into her cardigan. "I'd rather make mistakes and learn from them and take care of them on my own. I don't want to be overly dependent on others."

Maki grunted. "Well, I didn't say you have to be dependent. Just, you know, trust others. Trust…Trust me."

Nico stopped buttoning her cardigan.

Maki cleared her throat. "I…I…I do the same thing. I want to be on my own but I realize now that that's…lonely…and I can help others. I learned this after joining U's, meeting everyone, and all the experiences we've had." Maki spoke in a slow, deliberate manner, as if the words were directly coming from her thoughts. As if she wanted to make sure the message was sent. "We can choose to be alone but we can also choose to be with others. It's scary, but, its comforting to know that someone is there for me as I am for them."

Maki looked up at her, her eyes steeled and somewhat angry.

"So, don't shoulder everything. And don't think of yourself as a burden."

"Maki…"

The younger girl quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve in a messy manner, unlike her usual self. Nico hadn't seen tears but the haphazard wiping made Nico smile widely.

"What are you smiling for?!" Maki shrilly asked as she scooted away, as if realizing how out-of-character she was. But it wasn't, really.

…So this is Maki's true self, Nico mused, watching the younger girl fidget and make excuses. Nico interrupted as she put up her hands. "Oh, Maki-chan, everything's fine! Nico nico nii! As long as you depend on Nico, everything's fine! Nico nico n—"

Maki half laughed, half yelled, her face a strange mixture of bewilderment and happiness. "Sh-Sh-Shut up! Shut up! You're not making sense!"

Nico laughed as well.

She had forgotten how painful the scar was.

THE END