Umi's world was one of grandeur, a world rich with possibilities and one with little struggles. Kotori's world was one of unrest, hardship and fleeing. Even if the two worlds felt so far apart, they were so close together.

Umi's world was the elves' world. Perfect, or as close to the word as you could get. Kotori's world was the faun's world. Difficult and filled with fear. But the worlds clashed often, in disastrous ways, but only for the fauns, they were seen as game, sub creatures. And that was just the way it was for them.

The fauns had little power to fight back, their numbers having dropped and with the superior skills of the elves, they had no choice but to run, what else could they do? This was the same in Kotori's case, always in hiding, always in fear. Accompanied by no one, there was only one thing for her to do. Survive.

The elves had no such worries. A civilised society with a prestigious class system in place, the elves were happy, and few considered the fauns a worthwhile ethical issue to talk about. They were game; the elves were the hunters, what else mattered?

The Sonoda's family social status was extremely high, top archers raised for generations to an almost unattainable status and Umi took pride in that, but she couldn't help but feel that she was brought into a loveless family to merely continue the family name. She was treated to the best and she was slowly beginning to build up her skills to become the best archer in her family. The Minami family had almost been wiped out many years ago, but in a stroke of luck, Kotori had survived, but fauns knew how to live alone and in the wild, they'd been taught and it was instinct.

These worlds could not have been further apart, yet so close together at the same time.

Umi had taken it upon herself to practice in the forest this afternoon. Taking out her oaken bow, carved intricately and engraved with her initials, and a carefully crafted leather quiver, equipped with identically made arrows, with strong steel heads and delicate feathers.

Giving one last look inside the house, she left hastily. Even if her family had a huge reputation, she couldn't help but feel disjointed from it. They had different thoughts and different morals, particularly with the fauns. With her thoughts nowhere near at ease, she ventured into the forest and readied her bow.

She was sensitive to the slightest movement around her, especially when out at this time. There was danger in the woods, whether it was predators, or a violent faun. She began to shoot her arrows, plugging them in the trees with significant enough force, quickly and efficiently. Letting out a sigh, she lowered her bow and scuffed her foot on the grass, and suddenly…

Snap.

It was only a quiet snap, but it was definitely enough for her ears to pick up. She was instantly back on guard, readying an arrow in her bow and raising it towards the sound. "Come out."

A high pitched squeak came from behind the bushes, and she could hear whatever was there taking a few small steps back, before it poked its head around the tree. Umi could tell instantly from the horns that it was a faun. Kotori's eyes widened at the sight of the bow and she quickly hid again, her fear getting the better of her as she let out a small whimper. She wanted to run but something kept her frozen in place.

Umi began to skirt around the edge of the tree, but she lowered her bow. This scared looking faun couldn't be a threat, could she? Letting out a sigh, she decided to try to calm it - no - her down. She didn't know what prompted her to do this. She should be killing her on sight, as she'd been taught, that the faun's life meant nothing and she was to enjoy the hunt, but how could she? The faun was scared. But Umi supposed she would be scared too if her race had been hunted down as enjoyment for years and years.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"I-I don't know i-if I should believe you..."

Umi stopped before she had fully skirted the tree. How was she to do this? She wasn't particularly diplomatic. As she bit her lip, she decided to take a gamble. She placed her bow gently on the grass behind her along with her quiver and slowly skirted round so she could finally see the faun fully. She could tell the faun had seen some hardships, her clothing dirty, ragged and patched up and only covering more important areas, while Umi always looked neat, well presented and clean, and her clothing giving off an impressive air of superiority, even amongst others of her own kind.

She could tell she was in a state of pure fear, shaking slightly and extremely jumpy from the way her eyes were darting around. Umi wondered what she'd possibly seen to make her act like this in an elf's presence, but she wasn't sure she truly wanted to know.

"I'm unarmed."

"W-why are you not...? I mean... Y-you should've... Y-you would've..."

"Killed you?" Umi's frown deepened, "I have no reason to."

At this, Kotori straightened a bit, her trembling not as violent as before. "B-but you're an elf... E-elves kill fauns..."

"Well... I don't. I have no reason to and I don't plan to kill any fauns. There's no pleasure in it."

Kotori was at a loss for words. She couldn't be sure if Umi was lying, but something told her she wasn't.

"What's your name?" Umi asked, out of sheer spontaneity. She was curious about her, she wanted to know more, but... She didn't know why.

"K-Kotori... Kotori Minami..." Came a shy response. Umi would've thought she would've protested and refused, but rather she'd responded quite quickly.

"I'm, ah... Umi Sonoda." The two stood in an awkward silence, finally punctuated by Umi's voice. "I should probably be going... Before my family begins to search for me."

Kotori nodded in understanding as she watched Umi pick up her bow and shoulder her quiver. Kotori couldn't help but admire the intricate craftsmanship on the bow, as well as admiring the elf it belonged to. But she couldn't think in such ways, what was her mind making her think?! With a quiet sigh, Kotori waved a small goodbye to Umi as she disappeared back in through the trees from which she came, leaving Kotori there in a stunned silence.

What had just happened? It was a miracle she was alive at all in her mind. Elves were hunters, no - killers, right? So why was this one different? And why had she talked to her in such a way that mind her feel calm? It… Shouldn't have felt right, but it did. And she couldn't help but wonder if Umi would be in the same place tomorrow.

Okay, so this is my first Love Live fic, actually, my first fic ever to be honest. So forgive me for not being the best writer to grace this site ^^;

I apologise for any mistakes I may have made, any formatting errors or whatever and I apologise if the chapter is too short or something like that.

But regardless, I hope you enjoy this KotoUmi story if you're going to keep on reading future updates. Feel free to give constructive criticism and point out any mistakes I've made, because there is more than likely going to be a few in this.