"Hey Umi, have you noticed how your face is everywhere lately?" Nozomi stated one day as they were walking through the city.

Indeed, Umi's face was everywhere. Not even in a good way. The city was covered in billboards of her. Umi felt overpowering shame.

For someone shy like Umi, this was a nightmare.

It all started with a simple card game of Old Maid against Honoka, using Nozomi's tarot cards. Umi was so bad at hiding her expressions, that her expressive faces were practically famous among the group of friends.

Rin decided it would be good idea to hide behind the bush and snap a picture of Umi so that more people would be able to see her fantastic faces. Right as Honoka took the good card away from Umi, her face turned into an expression of pure shock, terror and fear. Yes, you know the one.

Rin snapped the shutter at the perfect moment and captured Umi's hilarious face, preserving it forever and ever. When Rin and the others uploaded it online, they didn't expect it to get even a fraction of the attention it ended up getting.

Umi's ridiculous face had become a widespread meme.

There were Umi's face T-shirts, Umi's face phone cases, Umi's face on mugs, and thousands of jokes on the internet featuring Umi's face.

"Look everyone, it's Umi!" Honoka would say whenever she saw Umi's face somewhere.

In the city, at the idol shop, there was a whole section dedicated to Umi's face.

"I want to disappear..." Umi said, burying her face in her hands. She felt beyond humiliated and ashamed.

"But why?" Honoka asked.

"Hey look, it's the real Umi!" A kid said, approaching the blue-haired girl. He was licking a lollipop that had Umi's face on it.

Umi got so embarrassed, she made her famous face again before running and cowering in the corner.

"Wow! She really makes that face!" The kid said again. "Did you see that, mom?"

Umi started crying when the kid was out of sight.

"I hate this! I hate memes! I never wanted to be a meme, not like this!" She sobbed.

"Aw, cheer up, Umi." Honoka said. "Now everyone will know your name!"

"I don't want that!" Umi shrieked.

Meanwhile...

"It's not fair!" Nico yelled. "Why does Umi get to be a meme, and not me?"

There was silence from Maki, Rin, and Hanayo.

"I mean, seriously! I try so hard to be funny and famous, and instead Umi becomes a meme before me? She doesn't even WANT to be a meme!"

"Well, Nico." Maki shrugged, "Maybe if you stopped being so annoying..."

"What was that!?" Nico said.

"I mean, I don't get why you want to be a meme so bad. It's just something I don't understand. It's stupid." Maki smugly took a sip of tea, as if the tea was randomly there to make Maki seem even more smug. And it worked.

Nico was about to go off on a tangent but instead stayed quiet. Nico had given up on trying to reason with Maki at this point.

"You'll see..." Nico grumbled, clenching a fist as she always did.

"I'm just going to walk away." Maki said.

And she did.

"Fine."

Nico crossed her arms until Maki had left the room. Once Maki was far away, Nico sighed and punched the table in a fit of disappointment.

"Hey, Nico, nya!" Rin said, "I'll help you!"

"Me too!" Hanayo said, smiling.

"Guys... Really?" Nico was overflowing with gratitude, and it showed on her face.

"Sure we will, nya!" Rin meowed. "We'll be the Meme Team!"

"So, what are we going to do?" Hanayo asked.

"Hm... I was thinking about making an even funnier face..." Nico said, "Then we'll lie and say I slipped on a banana peel... and you take a picture of me lying on the floor with my funny face!"

"Alright!" Rin said.

So Nico began to lay on the floor, with the banana peel in the frame.

"I need a face with lots of impact..." She thought, busting out the funniest face she could possibly do.

Rin and Hanayo started laughing.

"This is great, nya!" Rin giggled.

"This is going to be lit." Said Hanayo as she snapped the picture.

They uploaded the picture online and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

The next day, they checked the computer again.

"Twelve hits, huh...?" They all said.

"Phooey." Nico felt the disappointment punch her in the gut.

"It's okay. Maybe it'll suddenly explode soon..." Hanayo said.

Nico was clicking the comments on the picture. There was one.

"I can tell this is fake. It isn't very funny either." It said.

Nico realized she was reading the comment in Maki's voice and suddenly suspected it could've been Maki on anonymous.

"CURSE YOU NISHIKINO..." Nico cupped her hands into a fist as she felt the rage consume her.

"It's okay Nico, nya." Rin tried to console her. "We'll do something with even more impact."

"But the thing is..." Nico sighed hopelessly, "Memes are never staged. They're never intentional. They just happen. To the most unsuspecting of people."

"But Nico, we could always fake being unintentional." Hanayo said. "Like, maybe we can just do crazy things. We're bound to become memes. We can do it!"

So the Meme Team decided to research memes to see what kind of things were trendy, and to "unintentionally" create something along those lines.

"Here come dat boi... Rare Pepe... Pretty much all of Shrek..." Nico listed.

"Well, have you noticed that all three characters are green, nya?" Rin suggested.

A green spark lit up in Nico's head.

"...That's it!" Nico beamed. "Green is a meme color! I should wear green ribbons in my hair!"

"You should dye your hair green, nya!" Rin meowed.

"And paint your skin green!" Hanayo squeaked.

"That's it, that's it, yes!" Nico began cheering, and laughing maniacally.

So Nico spent all night getting green paint and accessories for her look. She even painted her fingernails green and bought green sunglasses that made everything look green.

The next day...

"It isn't St. Patrick's day, freak." Maki said, crossing her arms.

Nico ignited into flames the moment she heard Maki's voice. Green flames. Green flames of rage.

"Well, it isn't rotten tomato day either but I still see you walking around. What's up with that?" Nico spat.

"That was a weak comeback." Maki said in her smug tone of voice.

"Well, unless you shut up, you'll be red everywhere too when I'm through with you. We could be the green and red duo."

"Oh, I'm so scared!" Maki mocked Nico.

Nico, losing control, charged into Maki, who had her foot out. Nico, the little green gremlin, tripped over Maki's foot and tumbled right into the wall and the multitudes of framed idol pictures fell on Nico's butt.

It could've been funny. It could've been the perfect meme.

But nobody saw the scene except for Maki, and nobody was recording it either.

"Darn it..." Nico punched the wall. She wanted to make a hole in the wall so it could be like the meme where someone frames a hole that was punched in the wall.

But Nico couldn't leave a hole no matter how hard she tried. And even if she did, Maki wouldn't frame it.

The next day, Nico decided giving up being green. She washed out all the dye and paint in the shower and put away her green ribbons for good.

"No matter how hard I try, I'm never funny." Nico said. "I'll prove to Maki that I can be funny and that memes are great."

Memes made people happy. Memes made people al over the world smile. Why couldn't Maki appreciate that? Did she want the world to be a sad, terrible place?

"All I want to do is make people happy. Why does Maki always act like that?"

For the next few days, Nico tried and tried.

From recording herself being stung by bees, to yelling her longest "Nico Nico Nii" ever until she fell over coughing, she wouldn't give up.

"I'm going to record Hanayo punching me in the face!" Nico said on camera.

"Nico... why would I ever punch you in the face?" Hanayo squeaked.

"Because it'll make me famous!" Nico said.

"But Nico..."

"Don't hold back." Nico said, "Really let me have it!"

"Okay, but..." Hanayo whimpered, "This is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you."

Suddenly, Hanayo's fist was speeding towards Nico's face before she was even aware.

"GAH!" Nico cried out. "I wasn't rea-"

Before Nico could say she wasn't ready, Hanayo punched her again.

"HANAYO PLEASE." Nico said again.

Hanayo roared like a lion and punched Nico again.

"AAAAAAH!"

In the end, it turned out that the camera wasn't even on, so none of the footage was caught. All Nico ended up with was a bloody nose, a missing tooth, pain, and disappointment.

"Oh well. Maybe I'll just give up now." Nico said, putting on a fake smile.

"Are you sure, nya?" Rin meowed.

"Yeah... I've grown and realized... it isn't worth it and I should just live my life." That's all.

Nico was smiling. But it didn't look genuine. She looked strained and like she was lying.

Looking closely, there were tears in the corners of her eyes. Tears that she had tried so hard to conceal...

Nico began to walk away to the girls' room as Rin and Hanayo watched her concernedly.

Maki walked in the bathroom to empty her leftover tea in the sink, when she heard crying.

"Dad, I'm sorry."

It was... Nico, doubled over in the last stall. She was gripping a picture of her dad and herself, both smiling and saying "Nico Nico Nii". Nico had left the stall open, and Maki saw everything.

"Nico's dad..." Maki thought. It suddenly occurred to her that she never saw Nico's father before. "Is he... dead?"

"I'm so sorry..." The sobbing continued as Nico talked to her dad. "I'm worthless. I can't even make people smile. All I do is act stupid and get hurt, and then people hate me. I've made more people sad than happy... I mean look at Maki! She hates me!"

Maki suddenly felt a weird emotion. She couldn't walk away. But she couldn't let Nico see her dropping in...

She went into a stall opposite of the side of Nico and listened more.

"It's all my fault that you're gone. If I didn't want donuts that day, you would've never drove to the store, and got into that accident..."

Maki's heart took a hit.

"All you wanted was to make people happy, right? So I wanted to make the world happy for you... but instead, I..."

Nico sighed and began taking really deep breaths. It seemed like she was getting herself together now. Maki quickly noticed and ran out of the bathroom before Nico would notice that she heard everything.

The hallway strangely seemed even longer when Maki walked down it. Longer and emptier. She suddenly realized that her face was pink from holding in her emotions.

"Nico..." She thought, lamenting everything she did to her. "I never knew she had such a sad story..."

All Nico wanted was to keep her father's dream alive.

"Nico, I'm sorry. I... want you to be happy too."

That night, Maki shed a tear.

The next day...

"Have you heard? Nico's going to launch herself out of a cannon!" A student said.

What!?

Maki had overheard many things, but this had to be the most shocking...

"I'm sorry, but what!?" She asked.

"Nico Yazawa should be in the courtyard right now..." The students said.

Oh no.

Maki started running. Her feet were moving on their own, and her heart was pounding so hard that she could feel it in her face.

In the courtyard, people were gathered around Nico, who was going to fly out of a cannon over a statue in the schoolyard and into a giant pile of rice...

Maki got there just in time to see Nico shoot out.

"NOOOOOO!" She shrieked.

"NICO NICO NIIII~!" Nico sang as she flew through the air, fantastically soaring out of the cannon.

Nico felt like she was soaring. Maki felt like she was falling.

Everything was happening in slow motion, but not slow enough. Maki couldn't run fast enough. Her voice couldn't come out fast enough...

"NICO!" Maki screamed. Nico was now flying too far left of the mound of rice she was supposed to land in. Even Nico knew at this point. This wasn't going to turn out well.

Maki couldn't watch.

Nico, despite trying to break her fall, hit the ground. The cold, hard ground.

"Nico..." Everything and everyone went painfully quiet. Students held their hands over their faces and mouths. Rin and Hanayo were as still as statues as they huddled together, terrified.

"Nico!" Maki began to cry and rushed to Nico who was collapsed on the ground.

"Someone call an ambulance!" She shouted, "She isn't okay!"

All the members of Muse rode in the ambulance with Nico to the hospital.

"Nico..." Maki sobbed. "This is all my fault." She said. "She wanted to make people smile so bad, and I let her down..."

"Maki, come here." Rin offered a hug to Maki, who was in hysterics.

Everyone else gathered around Maki.

"It's okay... don't blame yourself." Umi said.

"But... Nico's dad..." Maki said. "His dream was to make people smile too. But then he passed away in an accident... So Nico wanted to become a meme and make people happy for her dad."

"Maki, how do you know all this?" Honoka asked, her hand cupped over her mouth.

"I overheard Nico talking to a picture." A tear dripped down her cheek. "It seems like Nico loved her dad very much..."

"Oh..." Everyone said. They all shared a good cry.

"All this time, Nico's been hiding her feelings... She's never even told us this. She's such a strong person." Maki said.

"We should do something for Nico." Honoka said. "We'll throw her the biggest, best party ever."

The next day, Nico woke up from her mild concussion. It turned out that she broke her nose again, however, along with her right arm.

Maki was the first to visit Nico once she was awake.

"Go away." Nico said.

"Nico..." Maki used a gentle tone of voice Nico never heard before.

She looked to Maki and saw she was smiling, her face red, as if she had been crying.

"I just want to say, I'm sorry." Maki said. "I heard you talking to your dad, and... now I'm sorry. All you wanted was to make people smile, so..."

Maki smiled. It was the most beautiful sight Nico ever saw.

"You made me smile." Maki said, "You're closer to your goal."

Nico, who was hiding everything in not so long before, let the tears slide down her cheek in front of Maki for the first time.

"But... Maki..." Nico sobbed. "Now that I'm hurt, all I did was make people sad again..."

"But you made me happy." Maki said, "Because I got to be friends with you."

Nico looked at Maki with teary eyes.

"Do you want to come outside with me, Nico?" Maki asked.

Nico nodded and wiped her tears, feeling vulnerable. She tried to smile.

When they got to the lobby of the hospital...

"SURPRISE!"

All of Nico's other friends were there, holding cake and surrounded by colorful balloons and banners.

"Nico, this is for you, nya!" Rin cheered.

"Happy birthday!" Hanayo said, "Even though it isn't."

"See these smiles?" Honoka pointed to her face. "They're for you! Nico, our favorite meme!"

"Wait, what?" Nico said.

"You became a meme!" Honoka cheered, "You're famous for being, well, you!"

Nico looked closer at the cake and saw that it was covered in funny pictures of her. Wow! Just the way she liked it.

Eli pulled a string and it started to rain fan letters.

"Everyone loves you, Nico!" She smiled. "See how many fans you have?"

Nico was so happy, overwhelmingly happy!

"You know what this calls for?" She bounced.

"Oh no, is Nico going to sing?" Umi said.

"You know it!" Nico yelled.

Rin took out a trumpet and started to play a little tune.

"Hey!" Nico, Rin, and Hanayo jumped to the beat. "We are number one!"

"Now listen closely." Nico said.

"Here's a little lesson in meme-ry, this is going down in history! If you want to be a meme number one, you have to work hard, wear a smile and have some fun!"

"Just follow my moves, and dance around, and make a lot of joyful sound! NO, DONT TOUCH THAT!"

Hanayo slipped on a banana peel for real, sliding right into Rin, who bumped into Nico, who got a face full of cake.

"HAHAHA!" Nico laughed, pink icing and cake crumbs covering her face. "This is the best party ever. Thanks guys!"

So Nico went down in history as the idol who made everyone smile. She may have been small, but she had a heart filled with laughter and joy, and that was all that mattered.

Author's Note: Well that was melodramatic. Everything I write turns into angst, huh? To think this originally was supposed to be a funny story. (Albeit, with a sad twist.)

I always thought of Nico as a somewhat sad character, it seems like she's depressed to me, but hides it well. That's just me though.

When I heard that Nico's dad is canonically dead, and that he taught her Nico Nico Nii, i thought of this story. Surely there's more sides to Nico than being a little pest all the time, I thought.

Nico is my best girl because of this. I like to see different sides of her.