Chapter 4: NicoPana
"Songmates"
Nico froze.
She'd heard mumbled words and suddenly the name "ARISE" sounded out from the quiet white noise that had previously engulfed her.
"Did you say ARISE?" she blurted, without thinking, to the startled first year that'd been walking by with another girl with short, orange hair.
"Y-yes…" the girl stuttered in response, obviously and understandably caught off guard by Nico's outburst. She had cute brownish blonde hair and gentle mauve eyes hidden behind thick framed glasses. "I did…"
She seemed like one of those super shy types, but Nico could only think about the fact that this girl shared her music tastes, letting her excitement and enthusiasm take control.
"They're my favorite group!" Nico chirped happily, waiting for the girl's response.
"Mine too…" she responded quietly, her face growing pink.
"Have you listened to their newest album? Nico asked, bouncing on her heels, hardly able to contain herself. No one around her knew about, nonetheless enjoyed, ARISE and their music.
The younger girl's shy expression shifted into frustration.
"No, I haven't been able to."
Nico's eyes bulged.
"You have to come over!"
"Huh?"
"To my place! I've got the CD and bonus DVD and it's amazing! You're seriously missing out!"
The girl shared a nervous look with her friend who grinned and gave her double thumbs up. "You go and have fun, Kayochin! I'll just go bug Maki-chan for a few hours!"
The ginger haired girl dashed off, leaving the girl with her upperclassman.
"So… your name's Kayochin?" Nico asked awkwardly. "That's a very interesting name."
She shook her head. "No, no! Rin-chan just calls me that. My name is Hanayo. Koizumi Hanayo."
"Yazawa Nico."
Hours later, they were sprawled across Nico's bedroom floor, various snack containers and bottles littering the surrounding area, both girls practically crying as the credits rolled on the Live Concert Exclusive DVD.
Hanayo's personality had done a complete 360 around ten seconds into the film and was now weeping softly with the older girl.
"That was so amazing!"
"I told you so!"