Maki sat at her desk with her chin cupped in her hand, staring out the window and listening to music on her phone. She was the only one in the classroom since she had come early to enjoy some quiet to herself just like she did every day before. Maki savored any time she could get to be by herself without having to worry if someone was trying to talk to her. But today, that didn't last very long.

Someone had ripped the earphones right out of Maki's ears, causing Maki to jolt straight up in her seat, dropping her phone in the process. She quickly bent down to retrieve it off the ground.

"Maki-chan!" the person had shouted at the top of their lungs.

Before Maki could get a good look to see who it was who so rudely disturbed her peace, she found herself wrapped in their arms, her face pressed against their stomach.

"R-rin-chan…" said another voice.

I should've known.

"Maki-chan, guess what day it is!" Rin exclaimed, squeezing the redhead even tighter, making it harder for Maki to breath.

Maki muffled as much words as she could get out against Rin's abdomen as Rin held her in what looked like a friendly hug, but felt like a death headlock.

"Rin-chan, please let go of Maki-chan," Hanayo told her childhood friend, looking a bit worried at the sight of Maki's flailing.

"Aw, but Kayo-chin, today's special," Rin whined, loosening her hold on Maki's head. Finding the opportunity, Maki pushed her way out of Rin's grip and took deep breaths to regulate her beating heart.

"I think that's even more of a reason not to kill me," Maki replied sternly, sitting back on her chair and crossing her legs as she looked at both of her friends. They both had a huge smile on their face as they stared at her. "Why are you both smiling so much?"

The two girls glanced at her each before taking a step toward the curious redhead. The sudden synchronization made Maki uncomfortable; she knew they've been friends since they were children, but it's not like they were exactly on the same pace; Rin being too energetic and Hanayo being too stiff – complete opposites.

Rin and Hanayo now stood right in front of Maki, still wearing the same smile. Maki looked from one to the other and back again, trying to figure out when the best time to run is.

But before she could make a decision, Rin and Hanayo had pulled out party horns and blew it right at Maki's face.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAKI-CHAN!" Hanayo presented Maki with a neatly wrapped gift while Rin held out a small cake that had the words "Maki-chan, nya" and a smiley face written on it with red frosting. "Surprise!"

Maki, not being one to express her feelings, stared in utter disbelief. She didn't know what to say, but the silence was enough for her two companions.

"She's smiling, Kayo-chin; take a picture," Rin whispered, not wanting Maki to hear her.

At the sound of a click, Maki looked up to look at her two friends. She stared at Hanayo in confusion as she had her phone held up.

"Did you just…" Maki trailed.

"Sorry, Maki-chan," Hanayo smiled, "you just looked so cute."

Maki's face quickly reddened at the compliment. She turned her head to face the other direction, arms crossed over her chest, trying to hide how flustered she actually was. "I-is that so?"

Rin and Hanayo laughed at their friend's embarrassed state until Maki couldn't help but giggle along with them.

Just maybe, Maki thought, this year won't be so bad.

The last bell had rung to signal that classes have ended for the day. Maki quickly got up from her seat and was heading straight for the exit until Rin had stepped in front of her.

"Where do you think you're going, nya?" she asked in a serious manner, hands stretched out to shield the exit as if that was going to stop Maki.

"I have practice," Maki simply replied, looking her friend in the eye to try and intimidate her, but this time, Rin was determined to keep Maki from leaving.

"But it's your birthday, Maki-chan," Rin said in a more gentler tone. "Can't you cancel for today at least?"

Maki sighed before saying, "Rin, you know how hard I've been working, right?" Rin nodded, arms still stretched out that Maki mentally applauded her for keeping them up for so long. "And you know why I'm practicing so much, right?" Rin nodded again, arms lowering to her sides. "Then let me go."

Rin moved aside in defeat to let Maki go, but before Maki stepped out the doorway, she glanced at her unhappy friend over her shoulder and muttered, "…thank you." Maki quickly walked out, not taking a second look at Rin but she swore she heard the girl laugh.

Maki strode down the halls, checking her watch every now and then to make sure she wouldn't be running late. Mori-sensei would understand even if she was, but Maki didn't want to waste any time running around. She had to get to the practice studio as soon as she could.

Maki looked down to check her watch again, but she immediately regretted it when she smacked head first into someone else coming down the stairs. Maki caught herself before she felt the ground, softening her landing, but her head-butting victim didn't seem to have the same fate as Maki heard a loud thud and a groan following.

"Watch where you're walking!"

Maki looked up to see a girl with jet-black hair tied up into twin pigtails, her eyes as crimson as Maki's hair, and a face a bit child-looking that anyone could've mistaken her for a middle school student if it wasn't for the uniform.

"I'm sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry," Maki informed the girl, getting up off the ground and dusting herself off. "I didn't see you coming down."

The girl clicked her tongue in disbelief, making Maki twitch a little in annoyance. "Well, you're not the only one in a hurry." The girl picked herself up and quickly fixed her clothes. Maki realized how short she was, questioning if this girl really was a middle school kid who had snuck into the school before settling on the idea that she was probably a first-year as well.

The girl placed her hands on her hips and looked Maki from head to toe with judging eyes. "May I help you?" Maki asked, realizing the girl was scanning her.

"You're a first year?" she asked, stopping her gaze at the blue ribbon tied to Maki's collar.

"Yeah, I just started school here," Maki replied, a little confused. "Aren't you…a first-year?"

The girl's face looked stunned from the question then quickly turned into one of anger. "What makes you think I'm a first-year? Is it because of my height?" the girl retorted, looking at Maki with what Maki thought was one of two spine-chilling stares she's ever seen – the other being from her mom when Maki didn't do what she was supposed to.

"N-no, that's not – " Maki couldn't find the right words as the girl kept her eyes locked on to Maki's; it was hard not to look away from such an intense stare.

The raven-haired girl sighed as Maki stood erect in her place. "First-years these days…they just don't know their place." The girl picked up her stuff and looked at Maki before asking in a softer tone, "So, where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Maki unfroze from fear at the sound of the girl's less agitated voice. She didn't know what it was, but it had a pretty sound to it.

"I'm heading to Akiba," Maki replied. Realizing the reason she was in a hurry in the first place, Maki started running towards the exit of the school without another word. She had wasted too much time talking to the middle school-looking girl and she was going to be late if she didn't start heading to the studio now.

"H-hey! I wasn't done talking to you." The girl followed Maki all the way to the shoe lockers, but Maki had no time to indulge in any more conversations.

"I'm sorry, but I'm done talking to you." The other girl stopped in astonishment at Maki's bluntness. "I have somewhere to go and I'm already running late," Maki clarified, feeling a little guilty as she half jogged out the entrance.

Maki made it out the front gate when the raven-haired girl caught up to her, breathing heavily from the running.

"What are you doing?" Maki asked, looking left and right before crossing the street.

The girl lagged behind, still trying to catch her breath. "You said you're headed to Akiba, right? I'm going there too. We should go together."

"What?" Maki stopped walking to turn to the other girl who wasn't quite ready for the sudden halt in movement, causing her to trip a little.

"I said we should go together," she repeated, regaining her composure and looking at Maki, hands on her hips. "We're heading the same way anyway."

"It's fine, I can walk by myself," Maki replied, a little uncomfortable that someone she didn't know wanted to walk with her. She had a hard time talking to people in her class, what more someone outside of it.

The other girl sighed out of disappointment. "You're denying an invitation from your senpai; that takes guts." Maki flinched a little from the disapproving ton. Wait, senpai?

Maki looked down at the girl's green bowtie, eyes widening as she realized the annoying pest wasn't just her upperclassmen she was a third-year. This sudden fact made Maki started to fidget, making the other girl raise an eyebrow as she watched the taller girl move around awkwardly.

The raven-haired started to laugh at the sight before saying, "You're a funny one. You don't have to be so nervous. Lighten up!" She punched Maki playfully on the shoulder in order to relax her junior, but Maki jumped back from the unexpected contact, holding her bag against her chest as if to shield herself from an attacker. "Whoa, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Maki slowly put her bag down, realizing how much of an overreaction she had just made. The tips of her ears started to heat up from the embarrassment and she turned away from her senior to hide her self-consciousness.

"I'm sorry, senpai, but I'm running late already," Maki finally replied after calming herself down. She started to trot away from the other girl, not looking back in order to prove her point and make the third-year understand that she didn't need to follow anymore.

At least, that was the idea.

Maki's face never changed the whole way to the train station: her eyes glaring at everyone and everything passing by, her lips twitching slightly, and her jaw tightly clenched that her mouth was starting to hurt. This level of annoyance was new to Maki and she didn't like it, yet it came crashing down on her all because of the girl standing next to her.

Maki glanced at the short third-year from the corner of her eye, watching as the raven-haired girl happily hummed a tune. At the sight of how cheerful the other girl was, Maki sighed and relaxed her expression, deciding just to give in and make the most of the situation. After all, the girl did come running after her again and followed her all the way down to the station despite Maki's quick pace – a pace the third-year found hard to keep up with which was evident when she started breathing heavily once they had stopped at the platform. The girl scolded her for making her walk faster than intended to which Maki replied that she didn't ask her to follow her in the first place.

"So, why are you heading to Akiba?" Maki asked, looking straight ahead at the fast moving buildings. The girl stopped humming and turned to look at her, a look of shock on her face. "W-what is it?"

"It's just…" the girl trailed off, leaving Maki to become even more anxious, "…you started the conversation." If Maki could punch this girl, she would. The girl laughed at Maki's expression of irritation. "I live in Akiba."

Maki's face loosened when she realized she was losing to the girl's game. "Oh, is that so? Must be…fun," Maki finally let out, stiffening up a little since she didn't know if that could count as a compliment.

"You don't have to try so hard," the third-year said, laughing at Maki's comment. "It has its ups and downs. Nothing special."

Maki could only guess, but her senior's voice sounded a bit miserable as the last words had slipped out of her mouth. She peeked at the girl again, trying not to make her notice that she was watching her. The shorter girl was humming another tune, a little less happy than the first time, but Maki could see a small smile playing along her face.

Maybe I'm overthinking it.

The train started to slowly stop with the speaker repeating the words "Akihabara," signaling Maki and her escort to start heading for the doors. They both had walked out at the same time, hands brushing slightly. Maki jerked her arm away from the other girl, but her companion didn't seem to notice the contact as she was already walking ahead.

Maki followed behind the raven-haired girl without saying a word. Maki blushed a little, touching the spot where her hand had brushed against the other girl's. She looked at the girl's smaller hands that were swinging by her side as she was trying to fight her way out of the growing crowd. Maki wondered what it would be like to hold such small, but delicate looking hands.

What am I doing? Maki thought, slapping her forehead with the palm of her hand.

"What are you doing?"

Maki stopped right before running straight into the third-year and realized they had already made it out of the station and onto the sidewalk. The other girl was looking at Maki with concern.

"Uh – I was just trying to wake myself up," Maki managed to let out, hoping she would believe it.

"Really? You looked pretty awake to me just a minute ago," she replied, not buying the lame excuse, but let it go as she saw Maki's flustered face. "Well anyway, I'm headed this way." The girl pointed in the opposite direction Maki needed to go.

"Then I guess this is where we part," Maki said, feeling a bit of relief and pointing in the other direction. "I need to go this way."

"Well thanks for walking with me; we should do this again," the girl suggested, smiling at what Maki thought to be out of appreciation.

"Y-yeah, sure, senpai, anytime," Maki replied, mentally slapping herself for practically agreeing to meet with her again.

"Nico."

"What?"

"My name is Yazawa Nico," the girl stated, looking a little annoyed that she had to repeat herself. "You can just call me Nico."

Maki's heart started beating faster at the idea of calling an upperclassman so informally. Nico stared at her, waiting for Maki to reply.

"Then, N-Nico…san," Maki stuttered, holding her breath at the pressure that was just placed on her.

Nico laughed and said, "We'll work on that. Well, I'll see you around then, uh…"

"Nishikino Maki," Maki answered.

"Oh, then see you around, Maki-chan." The girl started off the other way, leaving Maki to stand there dumbfounded. Chan? What's with that?

Maki let out a small sigh and watched Nico walk away until she had turned a corner and out of view. Despite the annoyance Maki had felt, she was glad Nico was persistent about walking with her. Maki never really walked home with anyone since she always had practice in Akiba and neither Rin nor Hanayo went that way.

Yazawa Nico, huh? How does your other half deal with you?

Maki managed to only be fifteen minutes late despite all the distractions – or technically, one huge distraction. She walked into one of the taller buildings in Akiba, made up of glass windows that looked out over the always-bustling streets. She hit the elevator button for the tenth floor and silently waited until the doors opened into a lobby that contained a reception's desk with a huge sign behind it reading Mori Music Tutorial.

"Oh, you're here today," the receptionist said as she watched Maki step off the elevator from behind the desk. "I didn't think you were coming when I didn't see you earlier." Her name was Shizuka Aoi, a third-year business major in college, working to help pay for her tuition ever since her father passed away in her final year of high school. Aoi was one of the few people who Maki appreciated to have around, letting her guard down around the older girl because to her, Aoi was like a big sister she never had.

"I had a bit of a run in," Maki replied, resting her head on top of the counter, feeling a little tired now that she made it to her destination. "Is Mori-sensei here?"

The young receptionist typed away at her computer before replying, "Yes, he should be waiting for you in his studio. You can head there now if you want. Or you can go home and enjoy your birthday." Aoi propped her elbows on the counter and rested her hand on her intertwined fingers, smiling at Maki with a look of victory.

"You remembered," Maki replied, smiling back at Aoi.

"Of course I did," Aoi answered, looking a little hurt that Maki accused her of forgetting. "What would that make me if I forgot your birthday?" Maki stared at the girl before Aoi continued, "Why don't you come and celebrate with me after your practice?"

Maki stood up without replying and started to head for the double doors that led into the hallway. She heard Aoi giggle as she watched the retreating younger girl; "I know, you're busy as always. But I hope you know that you can't just ditch your future partner when the time comes."

Maki stopped herself, one foot in the lobby and the other in the hallway. "Well I hope my 'future partner' understands that I have goals."

Aoi sighed at her junior's naivety, but then smiled at her determination, something Aoi hardly ever saw nowadays much less from a first-year in high school. "I hope they do too. Practice hard." Aoi turned back to her computer and Maki watched her for a few seconds until stepping into the hall.

Mori Family Music was a well-known music tutorial school in Akiba where some of the best young musicians went to be tutored by past participants and winners of regional and national competitions. The school was brought up by Mori Kazuo, a known musician in his school days, hence the leading name of the school. Maki had been coming to this school since she was seven, begging her parents to let her be tutored by, as Maki put it back then, "one of the greats."

Every since Maki could remember, music was her escape from the world and it was the one thing she never doubted could bring her joy. She loved playing music, composing it, and listening to it; everything about it brought her a sense of relief and happiness, a kind of happiness that she didn't feel anywhere else.

After walking down the hall for sometime, she finally reached a door with sign on the front that read Mori Kazuki. Maki opened the door to the studio; it was spacious and bright as the sun shone through the huge windows that occupied one side of the room. The studio held only a few things: a bookshelf filled with tons of books and notebooks that carried unfinished music scores, speakers hung off the corners of the walls, and a desk holding only a computer stayed in one corner.

And lastly, in the middle of the room sat Maki's favorite thing in the world: a dark brown grand piano, well kept and touched by only a few. Maki admired the instrument as it shined against the rays of the sun. She gently touched the piano, making sure not to leave any smudges behind. She opened the fallboard slowly, exposing the white and black keys as she sat down on the stool to get a better look at them.

"I see you still admire the old thing," said a voice, hard with a little bit of gentleness in it.

Maki turned to find her longtime tutor, Mori-sensei, standing at the doorway of the studio, holding a folder filled with what looked like music sheets. He held a smile across his face, watching his student enjoy herself with just the sight of the instrument she dearly loved.

"I-I was not," Maki muttered, feeling embarrassed that someone had been watching her.

Mori-sensei chuckled as he closed the door behind him. "No need to be embarrassed, Maki-chan." He placed the folder on the desk and pulled the chair to sit in front of the computer.

Mori Kazuki was, Maki guessed, to be around his 70s, but you wouldn't really be able to tell with how energetic he was. His white hair was always neatly kept and his clothes carefully picked by his wife, but his glasses were a little too big resulting in it sitting awkwardly on his nose.

Kazuki was the son of Mori Kazuo and just like his father; he was well known as a prodigy of the piano, winning tons of competitions since he was in grade school. After ten years of playing professionally around Japan, Kazuki had retired from the stage to be a tutor for young musicians, feeling he needed to share his talent to the next generation. He then took over the music school after his father's death and has been happily enjoying the presence of his students, Maki being one of his oldest.

"I'm a little surprised you came," he said, his face too close to the computer screen due to his waning eyesight. Maki couldn't help but inwardly laugh a little at her tutor's hunched posture.

"I need to practice," Maki simply replied. "The piano competition is already next month and I can't afford to be wasting time."

Mori-sensei leaned back into the chair and looked at his student with eyes that slightly disapproved of Maki's stubborn way of focusing too much on music, but he knew how much it meant to her and he admired how hard she's been working.

"As much as I love seeing my students spend their time practicing with all their heart," Mori-sensei started, "you're still young, Maki-chan. You should go enjoy some time with friends once in a while. You'll be meeting your life partner soon, so you should learn to go out instead of locking yourself up in the studio."

Maki turned to her teacher, a bit annoyed since he was the second person to mention meeting her "perfect match." As if that mattered to Maki right now, she had more important things to think about and for her, playing music was one of them. Whoever her partner ends up being would need to see that and if they didn't, then she didn't understand how they would get matched up in the first place.

"Playing music means more to me than meeting my partner right now," Maki snapped back, her fingers lightly brushing over the keyboard. "It's not like I received a letter yet anyway and it's not guaranteed when it will come. I don't need to worry about that at this moment."

The tutor sighed, but grinned at Maki's strong-will. "Well since you came all this way, might as well put you to work." He opened the folder he had been holding and handed a few scores that were new to Maki. "Practice these and don't complain later."

Maki had come home to a lit house; an unusual sight since her parents usually came home when Maki was already asleep and left before she even woke up. Maki stepped inside the mansion and took her shoes off before saying, "I'm home," wondering if anyone would actually respond.

"Ah, Maki, welcome home." Her mom popped her head out of the living room door to greet her now 15-year old daughter. "How was school?"

I haven't heard that question asked in years.

"It was the same," Maki casually replied, walking passed her mom without a glance. Her mom followed right behind and quietly hummed to herself, making Maki a little suspicious. It was already suspicious enough that she was home so early; even if it was for her birthday, her parents never really celebrated until they had some free time, which was always weeks after her birthday.

"How was practice?" her mom asked, trying to make conversation.

It wasn't that Maki didn't like talking to her parents because she did wish that they would spend more time with her, but today just wasn't the right day. After having her ear talked off by a certain third-year and her wrist arching from the constant piano playing, she wasn't in the mood to be having a cheery mother asking her questions.

"It was okay," Maki told her mom, sitting down on one of the dining chairs and placing her school bag on the table. "Just trying to get ready for the upcoming competition."

"Maki," her mom said in such a serious tone that it made Maki jump.

"Yes, Mama?" Maki answered, looking up at the older woman, a little nervous for the next words that may come out of her mouth.

"I wanted to wait until your father came home," her mom started, "but I'm sure you wouldn't want to wait that long."

Maki raised an eyebrow in confusion, waiting for her mom to continue on with her explanation. "Wait for what?"

Maki's mom let out a deep breath as if to calm herself before she could reply. She smiled at her daughter, who was still looking at her strangely, and said with excitement in her voice, "As we all know, you turned 15 today…"

And you still haven't said happy birthday.

"…and we all know what happens when someone turns 15…"

Who doesn't know?

"…and I'm so glad I'm able to be here with you for this moment…"

Where is this going?

"…and that I'm the one presenting this to you."

Wait…please don't tell me.

"Today, I received some mail…"

Please, just be about anything else.

"…and a very important letter."

What letter? Not my letter. What is this woman saying?

Maki's mother pulled out a crisp white envelope that she had been holding behind her back, and presented it to the stunned Maki who was still trying to process what was happening. On the front of the envelope, in gold lettering and written in perfect cursive handwriting, the name "Nishikino Maki" shined. And on the bottom left corner, in black, was the official stamp of the Department of Marriage.

"Congratulations, sweetie! They found your perfect match!"

Well, damn it.