Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own LoveLive. I'll try my best to own you at Score Matches, though.
Staring into the cloudy sky as she sat, the steady sound of flowing water behind her, she tightly gripped the filleted concrete edge of her seat in an attempt to settle her nerves. Exhaling a small white mist, she wondered why she was so bothered.
It's just a sign of gratitude, she convinced herself, it's no big deal. Alriiiight, I'm gonna-
"Niiiiico-chan!"
At that moment, someone's cold hands cupped her cheeks from behind. Unable to completely suppress her surprise, she let out a small squeaking sound before quickly standing up and turning around. There she saw two of her juniors, both of whom were grinning, though for understandably different reasons.
"Oh, it's just Rin and Hanayo. You two sure are late."
"Ehhhhh~? I was sure you'd be all 'what's the big idea, you idiot? You almost gave me a heart attack!' or something." Making an exaggerated frown of feigned disappointment, Rin walked around the bench and wrapped her arms around the older, though not exactly larger, girl. Speaking of which, Nico noted that the cat-like girl had been more open to initiating physical contact with her, though she didn't really mind. "Plus, Kayochin and I are actually early by 3 minutes! Nico-chan just came too early, nyaa~"
Without pushing the other girl away, she played along. "Hmph! You still made me, Super Idol Niconii wait for you, so you're late. And what's the big idea, you idiot? You almost gave me a heart attack."
"Ahaha, alright, we're sorry for being late for today's meeting. Though, it's almost 3 PM. I'd understand Honoka-chan, but Umi-chan, Kotori-chan and Eli-chan are usually at least 10 minutes early to anything. Where's everyone else, Nico-chan?"
"Ah, Hanayo, didn't I tell you? It's going to be just the three of us. The others seemed to have some other business for today." Not exactly the truth, but not exactly a lie either, Nico wryly thought that it was just like her to say such things. The others did indeed have business to attend to, but none of them were so pressing that they couldn't attend a meeting for an hour or three. Nico had actually decided to invite only Rin and Hanayo from the start.
As the two nodded and hmmed in understanding, Nico continued. "Well, let's not waste precious daylight. We should get going!"
They went into a nearby Mc's to to fend off the cold, though Hanayo didn't seem to be having any problems with the temperature even with just a short-sleeved dress. Must be the difference in body mass, Nico thought. That doesn't explain why Rin wasn't cold either, though, when she was wearing a rather short skirt. They were rather similar in build, loathe as she was to admit the comparison to someone two years younger, yet Rin wasn't fazed at all. In fact, it wouldn't have surprised her to see Rin sweating from the nonexistent heat.
As predicted, with only the three of them, it ended up with Nico dominating the entire decision process, but for some reason it felt like they were dismissed much earlier than usual. The meeting didn't even take 20 minutes! Then again, given her original agenda, that meeting actually stretched on longer than she expected.
"In the end, we weren't able to decide anything aside from the song list. Still, a new year live sure sounds fun. It's a shame that we can't squeeze in a new song for the occasion, but I guess we can't have everything." Hanayo picked up her half-finished plastic cup of soda and took a sip.
"Still, three solos and three duets, huh? And two group songs as bookends to boot. This might be our longest live ever, nyaa~" Rin leaned her weight against Hanayo's back, almost causing her to choke before quickly catching herself. "I'm sure Kayochin will do great, nyaa~ And I can't wait to see Eli-chan and Nozomi-chan perform that song together."
As Nico watched the two girls in front of her, she was once again reminded of the bond they shared as friends. While she sometimes felt like an outsider, it did give her a sense of comfort to see two people so close to each other. She then wondered if they could be that close to each other... and quickly decided that it wasn't the time to be thinking such things. Before the two of them decided to leave, she needed to bring it up.
"Actually, since it's just us three anyway, Niconii has a tiiiny favor to ask of you. Is that fine?"
"Haaaaaaaaaaah~ this pendant looks so cute!"
"Kayochin, is that the riceball pendant that makes you gain weight at double the rate?"
Nico mentally snorted as a look of horror slowly formed on Hanayo's face. She had indeed heard of that urban legend before, even considered trying it to perhaps give her figure a fighting chance had the fat gone to the right places, but a look at the price tag just made her lose more weight. And anyway, it's not like it could be true. Probably.
Still, things were starting to feel hopeless. They'd been at it for almost two hours, and the night seemed to be setting in. She'd asked the two to come with her and help her pick shop for that gratitude gift. If anybody knew the appropriate gift, it would be them. In fact, having them around was similar to cheating against the last boss, but she had no time to worry about that at the moment. However, so far they'd only gotten takoyaki instead, along with one stuffed toy for each of them. At that, she puffed out her... uh, she bubbled up in pride as she remembered what happened in the arcade.
"You hesitated there. What were you about to say?" Nico said in a low, venomous tone.
"Nico-chan, who are you talking to? I don't see anyone, nyaa~"
"Ah, don't mind me. Just mumbling to myself."
With no more than a raise of the eyebrow, Rin went back to looking at the display cases, leaving Nico to her silent recollection.
Hanayo had been on a losing streak while playing the crane game, having spent no less than 10 tokens with no luck. She saw a bird-shaped plushie, one that reminded Nico of Kotori and made Rin hungry for some reason, and ended up really wanting it. Of course, Super Idol Niconii, being an upstanding senior and friend, decided to come to their rescue. Borrowing a single token from Hanayo's remaining meager stack, she went ahead and somehow caught three toys in one go, including the bird plushie Hanayo wanted. Hanayo decided to give Nico the panda plushie as thanks, and gave Rin the remaining one, which was shaped like a Dr. P**per bottle for some reason.
Little things like these make Nico wish that their days as school idols could last forever... But she can't have that! Being a school idol with the girls in u's was just a stepping stone. She would become the world's happiest idol, Super Idol Niconii, and share her smile to the world! However, sometimes... just sometimes... she just wanted time to stop. She wrapped her arms around herself, reminding herself of that sensation.
"Sigh. This isn't the time to be getting sentimental. We haven't found anything!"
Surfacing from the sea of her mind, her feelings of frustration returned. How was it so hard to pick a suitable gift for the occasion? Perhaps picking Christmas eve was putting on some extra pressure? She couldn't understand it herself. She decided to check their progress with the other two.
"So, have you found anything nice?"
Hanayo raised her hand. "Ah, I found this really cute necklace and-"
"You mean the riceball locket?"
"No! No, this one is different. Look, here, see?" Hanayo was rather cute as she blushed, Nico concluded. Not as cute as she was, but it really was no contest since she was a Super Idol so she let it slide. The girl pointed to one case, and as Nico's eyes passed upon them, she almost gasped.
"Woooow, it's so cute, nyaa~"
A silver chain with a small ring in the middle. It might have looked plain to others, but to her it was as if it was sparkling. "It really is cute."
However, Nico closed her eyes. It was silver, and a piece of work to boot. There was no need to look at the price to know that her meager allowance would not be enough to cover it.
Hanayo didn't seem to notice, as she had already returned to browsing through the displays right after pointing to it, but Rin saw it. Acceptance, a sad smile. It was gone in a flash, but that moment didn't go unnoticed.
"You know, Nico-chan..." Rin wrapped her arms around her senior, gently, slowly. "You don't need to think too hard on what to give as a gift."
"Rin..." Nico didn't resist, nor did she complain. All she could do was look away.
"I'm sure whoever is going to receive this gift will feel all of the effort you put into it, and they'll be so happy that it won't matter what it actually was in the end. Have more confidence in yourself." Without giving Nico room to respond, Rin unclasped her hands and let go of the other girl before walking out the door. "Kayochin, let's go to the next place! I'm starting to get hungry, nyaa~"
"Again?" Giggling at her friend's antics, she followed suit. She hadn't noticed that little scene between the other two. She stopped by the door and turned around. "Nico-chan, let's g-wait, ah, Rin-chan!"
Without allowing her friend to finish, Rin tugged Hanayo by the scarf and pulled her. "Nico-chan, we'll be going on ahead, nyaa~. Here we go, ramen!"
"Ehhhhhhh~!? Ramen right now?" Hanayo's complaint fell on deaf ears as their voices grew further, drowned by the noise of the crowd.
Nico sighed to herself. How embarassing, I showed my vulnerable side in front of a junior. How can I live with myself now? She couldn't wipe the smile off her face.
Hoshizora Rin. At first glance, what you see is a girl who's active in sports, has an endless stamina only rivaled by her endless appetite, and is not very good at studies mostly due to a lack of trying.
However, she's also the sort of person who always has an eye on her friends. She's always there to give them a push on the back when they need it. Sometimes, she treasures them so much that she lets herself take the backseat. And yet she shines, as bright as the constellations up high, and no amount of light pollution could get in the way of that. No, that's not right. She shines because of that willingness to help. If Honoka is the one who walks in front giving everyone the courage to move forward, Rin is the one who stands in the back to make sure nobody is left behind.
"She even forgot to do her 'nyaa' thing for a while there," she said to nobody in particular.
Sighing in a mix of relief and disappointment that came with deciding not to spend after all, she looked into her bag and checked if the scarf she made was still there.
"Effort, huh?" She looked at her right hand and recalled the number of times she'd pricked herself while trying to embroider the final touches. She then closed her bag as she walked out the shop.
"I guess now is as good a time as any for ramen."
As it turns out, looking for a single ramen shop in a district littered with them in a 1 block:1 shop ratio wasn't such an easy feat, so it took Nico another 8 minutes before giving up and calling Hanayo to ask for directions, after which she received a chain of apologies and unintelligible mumblings that only stopped after she told her to get a hold of herself and actually tell her where they were.
The meal passed uneventfully, as most of the conversation content was slurping, slurping, and more slurping. They were rather hungry, apparently, and they only noticed this after actually seeing food in front of them. Well, aside from Rin, who was already complaining about it when they left the accessory shop. They left right after eating, when night had completely fallen.
"Um, you two, thanks for today. You were a great help." As they walked together, Nico began.
"Oh~? Nico-chan sure is honest today, nyaa~ Winter might never end at this rate!"
"Oh, shut up, will you? I'm trying to thank you here. You have Super Idol Niconii's gratitude, so you should feel honored."
"Ahaha~ Well, we didn't really help you much, and you weren't even able to pick your gift, but I had a lot of fun today. Thank you, Rin-chan, Nico-chan. And not just for today, too." Hanayo held her hands to her chest, and closed her eyes.
"This year has been a miracle for me. I never would have thought I'd fulfill my dream of becoming a school idol in all of my life. But more than that, I've been blessed by such wonderful friends to laugh with, smile with, cry with, even argue with, and make up with afterwards. Rin-chan, thank you for helping me find the courage to say what I wanted and staying with me along the way. I wouldn't be standing here right now without your help."
"Kayo-chin..."
"Hanayo..."
The three of them stopped by a nearby Christmas tree on a street, just smiling at each other. "Hmm, you started this, Nico-chan. You should take responsibility, nyaa~."
"Wha-what responsibility?"
"This." Rin took the other two into her arms. At first, the response was plain surprise, but they quickly managed to return the hug. After a few moments, Nico noticed that Rin was shaking. Her shoulder was also starting to get wet.
"Hey, Rin, are you droo-" Just as she was about to turn her head, Rin tightened her grip and talked in a small, quavering voice,
"Don't look. It's embarassing... nyaa~"
"I see."
Before she knew it, even Hanayo was sobbing. It was all she could do to stand strong and be there for them as their maelstrom of feelings subsided.
I guess I still have a long way to go if I want to be the 'Super Idol Niconii who brings smiles wherever she goes' if the smiles I bring come with tears, she thought.
After the storm of emotion subsided, Hanayo excused herself as she was the only one whose home was in another direction, which left Nico and Rin to themselves.
"Rin," Nico began, "I have..."
"Hm? What is it, Nico-chan? You sound serious, nyaa." Rin turned her head to face her. Now that the tears have passed, she was back to her normal self. It was as though the damp warmth she felt on her shoulder just a moment earlier was nothing but an illusion.
Nico's hand reached for her bag, but she hesitated for just a moment.
Just a moment was enough.
"Never mind, it's nothing. I should go now, my house is this way." At that, she did a sharp 90 degree. She didn't look back.
"Alright, nya. Take care of yourself, Nico-chan~" She waved at her friend.
"You too, Rin." She couldn't look back.
"Um, Nico-chan?"
"Yes?" There was no room for regret.
"Merry Christmas, nyaa."
"Yes, merry Christmas."
After walking a little further off, she finally turned around, unable to resist the urge. Rin wasn't there anymore.
"I guess there's no room for me just yet." The tears Rin had shed were not of a friend. They were of a girl in love. It wasn't so hard to tell.
After all, they were just like the ones rolling down Nico's face just then.
Note
Even right now, I'm wondering if I should post this here, but whatever. It's been more than a year since I wrote and posted anything here. I might as well go ahead, since I made this as a Secret Santa present. Props to /u/Miauii for giving me the idea, albeit indirectly. Excuse the crack nature of the pairing, it just kinda happened.
If you play School Idol Festival, try dropping by the /r/SchoolIdolFestival subreddit. It's full of people willing to help you out.
Have a wonderful Christmas day, everyone. Better than Nico's, at least.