Chapter 7: Beat in Angel

There was the saying that idiots couldn't catch colds, but that logic held little comfort for Maki who was lying in bed feeling both like a complete idiot, as well as about to die from the fever.

After Rin had left the previous day, Maki had barely been able to muster the strength (both physical and emotional) to leave the doorway and stumble back to her bed. By nightfall her temperature had shot up faster than Muse's rankings for Love Live!, and she had only just managed to hold down the porridge her family chef had made for her. Today, she had yet to get out of bed despite it being ten minutes past her usual waking time, and was wondering if it was even worth it. Probably not.

A knock sounded on her door, and her mother came in shortly after. "Oh, you're awake. Let's see your temperature..." With efficient movements polished from years of experience, Maki's mother measured the ill girl's temperature with a digital thermometer that she had placed on the bedside table just the night before.

"How is it, Mama?.."

"No good. You're staying in bed today, Maki. I'll call your homeroom teacher to let her know. Are you hungry?"

The thought of food seemed unappealing to Maki, but having been raised by doctors meant she had a good grasp of the weak condition her body was in and what it needed. "Not really, but I should still eat a little."

The elder woman nodded her approval, recognizing her daughter's judgement for what it was. "In that case I'll get the chef to make something light for you and bring it up in a while. Don't push yourself too hard." Taking her leave, the door closed behind her quietly.

Collapsing back onto her bed in a heap, Maki placed her forearm over her eyes, trying to ease the burning she felt behind her eyelids.

The week had started off on such a good note, too...

The sky was dark when Maki finally gathered her wits about herself again, vaguely remembering the porridge and medicine her mother had spoon-fed her that morning and then for lunch. Sure enough she was fifteen years old already, but it still felt nice to be babied every once in a while. That's right, it was entirely by choice, it wasn't like she was almost incapable of feeding herself at all!

Reaching for her phone, Maki frowned at the pulsing notification light. She had never been that close to her classmates, so she didn't expect any get-well soon messages from them. Which meant this had to be...

A few taps confirmed her suspicions. A whole stream of messages wishing her a quick recovery from the other members of Muse, which she replied to curtly in her usual style. But one message amongst them stood out more than any other, a short text with only three words from Hoshizora Rin.

"sorry for yesterday"

Maki gazed at her phone in a slight stupor, unsure how to respond. In the first place, she could barely remember yesterday, her memories blurring together with fevered dreams. But even after she located the specific memory of the chain of events that made up yesterday afternoon, she was still at a loss for words.

Should she simply forgive Rin? But then, she still didn't really understand what had happened yesterday. It would be dangerous- no, outright wrong to just accept the apology without understanding its full implications. Matters of the heart had to be taken seriously.

She sat up on the bed, pulling her knees to herself. Yesterday... we were talking normally. And then I mentioned Nico-chan, and Rin just... exploded.

"Think harder," the redhead instructed herself sternly. I need to remember, and rationalize it all. If I recall, Rin was yelling something about how I was always so- so close to Nico-chan...

Maki's thoughts broke off temporarily, but strangely enough there was no rush of blood to her face. Well, that was only to be expected. She herself already knew who she really liked, after all. Being close to Nico-chan didn't really mean anything to her.

But her words... Rin is jealous of Nico-chan?

... Rin likes me?

Climbing out of bed, Maki grabbed the nearest coat hanging on the wall and stumbled out to the balcony. She inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh air (as fresh as Tokyo's air ever got, anyway) to clear all the blood that had finally rushed to her head. The night sky was as clear as it could be, with every last vestige of yesterday's storm gone. The stars remained faint however, obscured by the city's light pollution.

Still, she was able to spot the Summer Triangle above her, a set of stars that she had always loved. The Tanabata legend was one she had memorised by heart, even if she was more into the scientific side of astronomy. The story of two star-crossed lovers...

She slapped her own cheeks firmly, her own cold hands delivering a much-needed shock to her brain. Focus! Run through all the evidence again before you jump to conclusions!

But no matter how she thought about it, that was the only conclusion she could come to. Even if it was Rin, who had always lacked a sense of personal space enough to cause misunderstandings, there had been plenty of signs this past week that Rin was starting to think of her as something more than just a friend.

The thought made her heart race, feeling almost as if it was about to pound its way out of her chest. Rin... likes me.

Maki was hardly the kind of pure-hearted maiden who would go 'kyaaaa' out loud at this realisation, but she couldn't deny the fresh rush of blood to her cheeks that no amount of cool air could cure this time round. For a while she simply indulged in a fantasy of being with Rin, which only intensified her blush. Going on dates, shopping together, taking walks, being close...

And then a cool night breeze blew, making her clutch the coat closer to herself as she retreated to the warmth of her room. It was still early enough in the summer that it wasn't quite hot yet, plus her fever wasn't doing her any favours.

Okay, now that that's settled, I guess I can get some rest again-

Maki paused, standing in the middle of her room staring into blank space. Just how did that settle anything? Don't be stupid.

For some strange reason, she had a very strong realisation that no one was going to help them out this time round, that they had to solve everything by themselves.

This time round?..

I need to be more forward. Even if I'm sure Rin likes me, she's either still hesitating or unsure of her own emotions. I have to be the one to take the lead.

Biting her lip, Maki sat down on her bed once more and grabbed her phone.

Over in another part of the city, another girl was too, slapping her cheeks.

Maki-chan's never going to like Rin- She's never going to forgive Rin either- Rin ran away and made her fall sick-

"Rin is the worst," she groaned as she leaned backwards and fell onto her bed, sending bits of dust puffing up into the air. The uncharacteristic thoughts had been filling her head the entire day, slowly eating away at her psyche. Every time she had managed to escape from the cycle of negativity in class, just a glance at Maki's empty seat had sent her spiralling right back into it.

Even though she had tried to send an apologetic text message earlier, in the end she hadn't been able to find the right words for it. It was during one of her multiple delete-and-recompose cycles when Hanayo had startled her, causing her to send the message with only "sorry for yesterday". Well, it wasn't like she would've been able to come up with anything better no matter how long she took, so she had reluctantly left it at that.

But it had been hours since she sent that text message, and still no response was forthcoming. Chewing her lip, Rin covered her eyelids with her arm, as though hoping her cool skin could draw some of the heat away from her melting brain.

Just what... was Rin doing...

She shouldn't have overreacted to just such simple words, but that sensation... It was unbearable.

The thought that Maki might have been lost to her forever.

And yet her resulting actions might have just further sealed that fate. There was just no way Maki would forgive her.

In the first place, just what did she even want from Maki, anyway?..

Rin spread herself flat-eagled on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. It wasn't the first time she had asked herself that question, but she had never been driven this much to the edge before.

Rin has to find the answer this time... Or else Rin would never be able to look Maki-chan in the eye again.

Rin wants to be with Maki-chan because it's fun.

"So what if it is fun? Being with any of Rin's friends is fun."

No! Maki-chan is different.

"Different how?"

Just... different.

"You're not getting anywhere with this, Rin. Shouldn't you try harder?"

Rin clenched her fists, scrunching up the bedsheets beneath her. But given that it was her own mind questioning herself, there was no way to escape from it.

Being with Maki-chan makes Rin feel warm inside.

"But so does being with Kayochin."

It's... different. Being with Kayochin is reassuring. But being with Maki-chan is exciting. It makes Rin's heart go really fast and things are always so much more fun with her around and Maki-chan always looks so cute and Rin can't stop looking at her and her voice is so beautiful and-

"So what do you think that means, Rin?"

Eh? Well that just means Rin-

"NYAAAAA!" The orange-haired girl shot upright on her bed, a fierce blush blooming across her face. That was dangerous, she had almost- No no, she couldn't think of it that way, that would just ruin things amongst everyone-

It wouldn't be fair to Kayochin. Or to Maki-chan. And there was no way she could explain to the rest of Muse, she thought as she began to take her blouse off-

"Eh?"

Rin froze as her brain finally caught up to what her hands were doing. Somehow in the midst of her train of thought, she had shot out of bed and gathered her practice clothes on autopilot, preparing to change and head out for a run.

Rin can't run forever. There's no one to stop Rin from running this time round, but that's precisely why Rin has to...

This time round?

She was slightly confused by her train of thought, but gritted her teeth and put her practice clothes away. Running wasn't an option. She had to face this head-on.

Her phone lit up, with the notification she had been waiting for all day. Rin pounced on it with the reflexes of a cat and felt both relief and mounting tension as she saw the sender of the message. With a gulp, she opened it.

"I have something to discuss with you. Come to my house after school tomorrow," the message read. Short and to the point, without any hint of what the other girl was thinking.

But that was just like Maki-chan, wasn't it? Rin wrestled with her pillow and her emotions for a while, before firing back a short affirmative reply. The strange feelings welling up inside her didn't seem to be going away, and the message hadn't helped matters. Maybe she should go out for a run after all?

No, rather than running, wasn't there something else more productive she could do?..

Rin's gaze fell upon her school-bag, where a single CD stuck out.

"Ah..."

Rin had always been a little bit fidgety, but the next day practically had her on hot coals for the entire duration of school, earning her more than a few reprimands from her teachers.

"Rin, I understand you can't wait for the weekend, but can you please sit still until my lesson is over?"

"Sorry, sensei..."

"And Maki, you've been looking a bit red the whole time. Are you still unwell? Do you need to go to the infirmary? Rin can take you there if that's the case."

If anything, the redhead's faint blush only intensified into the colour of a ripe tomato. "No, I'm fine, sensei."

Their Mathematics teacher seemed disappointed at the loss of a chance to get rid of two distractions to the class in a single move, but turned her back and resumed teaching. Behind her back, Rin only continued wringing her hands nervously while Maki's blush faded to its earlier level.

In more ways than one, it felt like the longest school day either of them ever had to sit through.

...

The walk back to Maki's house hadn't been much better, with that charged atmosphere between them. The pair had simply left class together without a single word, but with plenty of awkward glances.

Rin could feel her hair practically standing up on end from all that electricity, but found herself unable to act. Her usual personality just seemed wrong for the moment, and so she was left at a loss as to what to do. The two of them continued walking side by side along the road, pointedly avoiding each other's eyes.

Completely by coincidence, their walking rhythm matched up and their hands grazed each other's ever that slightly.

"Nyaaaa!" Rin almost leapt out of her skin as all the tension was suddenly broken without warning, jumping a whole meter away. "S-sorry..."

Crap. Their eyes just met. In just a single instant, Rin found herself overwhelmed by all the strange emotions coming over her, frozen like a deer in the headlights.

Maki's eyes narrowed. And then she did the unthinkable. She reached out and grabbed Rin's hand, pulling her onwards without a word.

Jaw agape, all Rin could do was stumble along behind her classmate, staring at their linked hands with eyes as wide as saucers. This is the first time Rin ever saw Maki-chan initiate contact with anyone...

As much as she tried not to mind it, Rin found herself focusing on their hands, as though she was concentrating her entire existence on the nerve endings within the area of contact. Everything else faded away, except for the gentle, firm warmth leading her forward.

She didn't think she had ever seen such a Maki-chan before.

It was kind of... nice?

Cute?

Amazingly heart-warming that she wanted to go "NYAAAA" at the top of her lungs and run three laps around the school track?

Somewhere between all of the above. Rin wasn't quite sure.

All she knew was that the walk to Maki's house wasn't quite as long as it used to be.

Having skilfully evaded Maki's mother and successfully making their way into the privacy of Maki's room, Rin placed her schoolbag in a corner and sat herself down on the incredibly soft bed, turning to face the chair where Maki was... not there?

Instead she felt a weight land on her right, tilting her off balance and sending her head right towards-

"Bueehhh?! M-m-maki-chan! What are you doing?" Rin scurried backwards as fast as she could, putting some distance between their dangerously close faces. Though there had been no shortage of such moments this past week, this time felt entirely different and sent her heart racing.

Just- just how much changed in one day?!

"What do you mean what am I doing, Rin? It's my bed."

"E- even if you say that..."

"Ne, Rin. There's something I need to discuss with you. I would like it if you could listen to me."

"Isn't that too fast?! Well, Rin doesn't mind but- not quite ready..." Rin was at a loss, alternating between loud outbursts and timidly poking her fingers together. What are you, Kayochin? Pull yourself together, Rin!

Maki didn't seem to mind, however, leaning backwards and removing the pressure on Rin. "Okay, then maybe we can just talk about other things first?"

After casting about wildly for a topic, Rin remembered that which had left her sleepless for half the night. "Maki-chan, here," she offered a slightly-scrunched, but still readable slip of paper from her pocket.

"This is..."

"Lyrics for the song. Uhm, Rin's not very good with words or rhyming but... Rin really tried her best nya!" Trying her best had been an understatement. Rin had almost torn half her hair off with how hard it had been to fit lyrics into the intense beat, though she couldn't deny that it was a very exciting song to work with.

The weight opposite Rin on the bed lifted. "Then let's give it a shot."

"Ehh? Aren't you going to check it first, Maki-chan?"

The look thrown her way was questioning, almost as if Rin had been the one who asked something odd. "You wrote it with all your heart, didn't you? I'm sure it'll be fine if that's the case."

"Maki-chan..."

The redhead sat herself down in front of the computer, pulling up the music file and adjusting the volume before bringing it back to the start. "Ready, Rin?"

Calm down, Rin told herself sternly as she stood up and pulled out her own copy of the lyrics. Taking a deep breath, she made a sound of affirmation.

The music started, with a drum into and heavy beat that startled Rin- that part hadn't been in the copy she had been given, so it appeared Maki had continued working on the accentuating instruments yesterday even while she was sick.

"Well? Signs of a slight fever

Come a little closer
I know! Let me cure that for you"

Maki led the beginning into the song, with her voice's alluring lilt making it hard for Rin to keep her gaze on her lyrics.

"Even if you just sit there I still know
You're in pretty bad shape
Your chest feels (hot), it feels (painful)
You've done it (at last), you've fallen in love"

This time, Rin couldn't help but sneak a glance at Maki, even as the more focus-heavy alternating part of the song began. When she had written this part, she hadn't really had any clue how it would end up, but somehow it was a lot less chaotic than she had secretly feared.

Maki's beautiful voice somehow blended with her own rougher tones smoothly, managing to retain both the flow of the song and their own individuality- or something like that. Rin was certain Maki could explain it better.

"Soon...
"I want to be alone with you disease" has befallen you
Let me give you a sweet medicine"

Rin had always known music was beautiful, but this was one of the few times she had actual shivers running down her spine as her voice harmonized perfectly with Maki's on the last line. She didn't have the words for it- not at this moment, maybe not ever, but there was only one thing she could definitely say about this.

It was fun.

Unable to resist the beat, she leaped to her feet just seconds before the chorus kicked in, her legs dancing a jig to the beat without any conscious input.

"Beat in Angel
Have fun, temporary as it may be
Seriously?! Angel
My needle doesn't hurt at all
If you meet my gentle eyes you'll be numb from passion
Prepare yourself - you can't escape
Feather-covered Angel Beat!"

Somewhere along the way, Maki had joined her in standing too, though her feet remained planted to the ground. But the grin spreading across her face even as she sang was impossible to miss.

"Oh,baby! Dance dance Angelic!
Oh,baby! Dance dance Angelic!
Oh,baby! Dance dance Angelic!
wow..."

As she sang the repetitive lines, Rin found her gaze locked with Maki's, communicating on a level beyond words.

Just like how their voices were harmonizing, so were their emotions in this moment.

"Hey! You're not allowed to move
I'll hug you tightly
You know? The beat is growing more dangero-"

Without warning, Rin found herself back on the bed, pinned down beneath Maki's arms. The emotional high from singing quickly transitioned into a different sort of warm giddiness.

"Maki...chan?"

"We can't just stay simply friends," came the husky reply in one of her ears. It was totally off-beat at this point, but it wasn't like Rin could really hear the music anymore either.

"Your symptoms are awful, Maki-chan," she giggled back as Maki raised her head above Rin's, with hooded eyes and an enchanting smile.

Rin closed her eyes.

The ensuing moment was both magical and amazing. Rin wasn't quite sure how these things were done, but she eagerly reciprocated with her tongue exploring Maki's mouth as eagerly as she could, her arms wrapping around the other girl's back to pull her closer. She purred softly, eliciting a quiet moan from her partner as well.

Even if Maki had been the one doing the pushing the whole of today, at this very last moment Rin refused to let her have the upper hand. With a twist of her body, she broke off the kiss and flipped the two of them over.

Maki, the elegant princess with a clever mind and a strong personality, was simply lying beneath her with her hair disheveled and a lost, searching gaze, waiting for Rin to make the next move.

Without hesitation, Rin dove back in.

An hour later, the scene in Maki's room was back to how it was before. After all the tension had been released from the air and the pair had finally satisfied themselves, Maki was back to her chair while Rin was back to sitting upright on the bed, her gaze fixated solely on her hands clenching her skirt.

"Rin."

"Y-yes? Can I help you, Maki-chan?" Somehow, Rin was back to her oddly polite speech that Maki had ever only heard once before when Rin had become lead- No, wait a minute, this was the first time she had ever heard Rin speak that way.

"... Rin, it's a little bit too late to be behaving shyly."

"Bu-but..."

"Well, it's a little bit late on my end too, but Rin, would you go out with me?"

"... Yes..."

A frown creased Maki's forehead. "Rin, what's wrong?"

"Are- are you really sure you want Rin, Maki-chan? I mean, Maki-chan is really beautiful and cute and smart and Rin is just..."

Maki crossed the room once again, sitting down gently on the bed so as not to startle the skittish cat. "Rin, why do you think that about yourself?"

"But Rin is..."

"Rin! You're not listening," Maki crouched down in front of Rin, taking the girl's hands in her own. "You're really beautiful as you are. Even if your grades might not be that good, all of that doesn't matter to me because I know you're a wonderful person and that's what really matters. I don't know why you would ever think otherwise, but you're the Rin I fell in love with, and there's no mistake about it. Can you believe in that, Rin?"

"... Mmh."

"So if you don't trust yourself, at least trust me, Rin. Trust me when I say you're incredibly cute and I'm really lucky to have you."

"Maki-chan..."

"I love you, Rin."

"Rin... Rin loves Maki-chan too."

Rin pulled her hands free from Maki's grasp, leaning forward to hug Maki from where she was. Awkward as the positioning was, Maki leaned forward and put her head in Rin's lap, anything for them to get closer to each other's warmth-

A knock on the door sounded, followed by its opening. Maki found her brain in overdrive once again, thinking about what her mother, poised at the doorway, would see. Rin, sitting as inelegantly as she always did with her legs slightly apart, and Maki crouching down in front of the other girl with her head buried in the other's lap.

Well, crap.

"Ara, I seem to have picked another bad timing to enter."

Maki's blush finally returned in full force after being suppressed for the entire afternoon. "Mama, this- this isn't what it looks like!"

"Eh? What does it look like?" Rin tilted her head in confusion.

"Not helping!" With a groan, Maki lifted her head and rubbed at her temples. With Rin around in her life, it seemed like things were just going to get that little bit more chaotic whether she liked it or not.

"Well, I just came to tell you girls that dinner will be ready soon. Will you be joining us, Rin-chan?"

"Definitely, Nishikino-san! Or hmm, should Rin call you Okaa-san from now on? Maki-chan, what do you think?"

The nerve in Maki's brain finally snapped from the embarrassment.

"Ah mou! Imi wakannai!"

Author's Note: Uhm... Hi?

Sorry. I know it's been somewhere around ten months since the last update for this fic. If you've read this far, then you should also have noticed that the entire chapter sounded very forced and out of my usual style. I really can't say anything but sorry about that. It just irks me to leave stories hanging though, so I thought I'll come back to complete this one. It's finally my summer holidays so I get a bit more free time to work with. Which I really need because these days the words need to be dragged out instead of flowing naturally... ehehe.

I haven't really been reading other people's fanfics, so I'm not sure how this site has changed since I left. Been too busy with life. :v That, and being admin for the Love Live! Wikia. And translating old material. Fun fact: Maki's original character concept used to have her disliking the piano! Hard to believe, right? So much transpired in these past 5 years of Love Live!.

Well anyway I'm going off-topic here. There's an epilogue planned for this story so I'll see you all again, hopefully sooner this time ^^"

Ciao~