"What should I do?" Nico asked herself.

She felt weird, standing in front of this door. Visiting people in the hospital was not a new thing to her; she visited her grandmother numerous times after her sudden collapse 5 years ago. She stills remembers that day, and how much her grandmother scared her.

Luckily, her grandmother could be saved. The situation was serious though, cerebral haemorrhaging, or something. Nico wasn't sure what the doctors meant by that back then, and she's not sure she understands even now.

And then there was him too. And then her mother. No matter how many times Nico told her to slow down and relax, her mother just wouldn't listen. Especially not after he was gone. To Nico it always seemed like her mother's work-obsessed behaviour worsened because she wanted to escape from their apartment. She didn't want to be reminded of him every hour of the day.

Nico and her siblings were playing around with toys when they heard a loud crash. They quickly rushed to the kitchen where they saw their mother lying on the floor. Their first reaction was to scream simultaneously.

Nico was scared shitless of course, but she couldn't panic in front of the three little ones. They were even worse at handling extraordinary situations like this, after all. So after 2-3 curses later (which she hoped her siblings didn't hear, or at least didn't understand), Nico rushed to the faucet, got a bottle of water, and poured all of it on her mother's face.

Good thing Nico learned how to act around an unconscious person in school. She never would've thought it would ever become useful, but guess what, life is full of surprises.

Nico then gathered all her strength and turned her still unconscious mother on her side. She then finally grabbed the phone and dialed 112. 5 minutes and a stupid dispatcher later, Nico finally gave her address and her mother's current status to the ambulance.

During the wait that lasted only 9 minutes but felt like 9 years, Nico constantly checked her mother's breathing. Meanwhile her siblings were still crying and hopelessly calling their mother's name, which didn't make Nico's situation any better.

"Sigh. What a stupid day that was." It'd be a lie to say she wasn't sentimental about the whole ordeal or that she didn't cry when her mother woke up at the hospital. "She could've died if it wasn't for me." And she also liked to brag about her heroic act that day.

Well, if she is standing right here she might as well enter, right? Or maybe she shouldn't bother her? It's not like they were close friends or something like that. She really doesn't know anything about Ueda.

And when Nico actually thinks about it, hospital rooms are really not fun. They all smell the same. The kind of smell your brain is hardwired to perceive as repulsive. Something you should avoid. Similar to the smell at the dentist's.

Nico knows these rooms are not bad, they exist to let people heal after all, but she can't help but feel anxious whenever she has to enter one. If she has the option, she'd rather avoid one, to be honest. She also avoids doctors as much as she can. If she is sick then she'd rather stay at home and cure herself than let a doctor with her nasty white gloves…

"Can I help you?"

Nico is so far up in her memories and ramblings she doesn't notice the woman standing right next to her, most likely trying to enter the room in which Nico is standing in front of. The woman's voice sounds a bit cold and a bit too neutral, so she winces a little bit.

"Oh, I umm…" Nico mutters, which doesn't help her situation at all. She only realizes now that she has been standing in front of this door for 3 minutes, like a true idiot. No wonder this woman is giving her the stink eye.

The woman steps closer to her and Nico winces again, but thankfully the lady only asks another question. "Do you know her?" She asks, with the same neutral tone that creeps Nico out. "Uhh, know who?"

The lady turns her head away and looks at the door. For a second, her neutral expression is replaced with a forlorn look. "Kana, of course. You are standing in front of her room." She then turns back to Nico with a questioning look.

Nico panics for a second. She cannot tell this woman she is just standing there for no reason, right? She really doesn't want to make an ass out of herself again. "I'm her friend!" Nico blurts out, surprising the woman for a second.

For a second the woman looks at her with a raised eyebrow that makes Nico feel as awkward as humanly possible. But then, the lady's sour expression is replaced by a permanent smile. And when she opens her mouth to speak again, her tone sounds much friendlier. "Oh! I didn't know a friend was going to visit her today!"

The woman puts her hands together, which definitely is an overreaction in Nico's opinion. "Then, why not come in? I'm Kana's mother, by the way." Before Nico could object, the woman grabs the door handle. Before opening the door, the woman looks at her again.

"You won't believe how happy she'll be to see you!" She exclaims.

Great, what do I do now? Nico thinks. She is 101% sure Ueda will be freaked out when she sees Nico, a girl she doesn't even know, claiming to be her "friend". Also, Nico really, really doesn't want to enter any hospital room right now. No repulsive hospital smell, no doctors with sterile gloves, no sick people….

"Wait!" Nico shouts, a bit louder than she should've. The woman turns around in surprise and gives her that questioning look again. "I'm…not actually her friend." Nico explains. The woman raises her eyebrows again, this time much higher. Great, she definitely thinks I'm a creep now.

"Then what are you doing here?" The woman asks. Nico takes a deep breath. She might as well explain the actual situation before things get even worse. "I'm…just a schoolmate. I heard of Ueda's accident as well and kind of…felt bad. I visited the hospital with a friend today and accidentally found her room. Thought I'd drop by." Nico looks at the nameplate again. "I'm sorry."

The two stand there awkwardly in suffocating silence until the woman speaks up. "You can come in if you want. I'm sure Ueda will be happy, even if you two don't really know each other." Nico silently nods, and the woman opens the door.


"Dad. Are you serious?"

The man continued his search through the room. Under the desks, inside the lockers, on top of the lockers… "Just give me another minute, Maki." The girl sighs, in the sissy way that annoys Nico and everyone else who hates her.

Her father continues his search for the holy grail, even though both of them know he won't find it. They have been searching for it for the past 5 minutes, and the room is so small…

Maki sighs again. To emphasize her annoyance even more, she stomps with her foot. Her father chooses to ignore her but gives up his search seconds later, finally deeming it a lost cause.

"I think the cookies are in my office." Mr. Nishikino states matter of factly, trying to look as cool as possible. Maki doesn't appreciate it.

"And you only came to the realization now?" She asks, and her father only gives a sheepish smile in return. "I was sure your mother put the cookies here this morning, but some staff member probably thought it was better to bring them to my office."

Maki grunts and twirls her hair in annoyance. "Why are the cookies so important anyways? It's not like I'm going to starve to death without them." And I don't feel hungry at all, Maki says to herself. "Besides, if I was hungry I can just ask the cook to make me something. Anything, for that matter."

Her father steps closer and pats her head. "You always complain about your mother neglecting you, and when she actually spends so much time for you you act like an entitled princess." Her father laughs.

Maki mutters something under her breath which her father doesn't hear. "Whatever. Let's get her cookies and get over with it." Before Mr. Nishikino can answer Maki storms out the room.

"Hey, not so fast!" He shouts, half jokingly.


When she enters, the first thing she sees is whiteness. It's always whiteness. Everything is white, the walls, the equipment, the bed, even the clothes of the patient.

In the middle of this whiteness is a young girl with black hair. Both of her legs are in plaster, but everywhere else she seems fine and healthy. She has an unreadable blank expression. Her face doesn't change much when she notices the two.

Kana looks at the familiar face first, her mother. She visits her almost daily (not like she has anything better to do) so her presence has become the norm. Her mother smiles at her (she always does), but Kana just looks away.

She looks at the unexpected visitor next. At first she doesn't recognize her and only wonders what a stranger is doing here. Then she finally remembers the girl from school. Still doesn't explain why she's here.

Her mother stands there a bit dumbfounded. She thought her daughter would've been happy to see one of her schoolmates, but Kana's expression didn't change. It's true she has been quite sour and moody ever since that day but she sincerely hoped a new visitor would make her a bit happy…Or a bit less moody at least.

"Kana, she is from Otonoki too. She said she wanted to visit you." Her mother states, trying to sound as nice as possible. Kana looks at Nico with a smug expression. "Is that so?"

Nico doesn't know what to make of that expression, or the cynical tone aimed at her. Perhaps she really came at the wrong time? "Uhh, yeah. Everyone's been talking about you since the day of the accident, and I just wanted to check how you were doing."

Kana's doubtful expression doesn't change. She doesn't seem to care too much about what Nico has to say. Her mother notices the strange atmosphere, although she doesn't really understand why her daughter is being so cold today. She opens her bag and takes out some chocolate bars.

"I brought you your favourite. I know you already ate the ones I gave you two days ago." She puts the chocolate bars on the small table next to Kana and smiles at her. Kana smiles back, but her smile feels forced.

"Thanks, mom."

Suddenly, her mother's phone rings, and the woman quickly tells the two that it's an important call and she should go outside. Before leaving the room she gives an encouraging look to Nico. The "I know she is hopeless, but try to find something to talk about" kind.

Nico looks at the girl in bed again. Kana motions her to sit down on the chair next to the bed. Nico follows her orders and quickly sits down. Her legs no longer feel sour after all that standing, but now she feels even worse being so close to a girl she barely even knows.

Jesus, even Maki was better than this.

"Did they finally send someone to shut me up?" Kana suddenly blurts out.

Nico only looks at her, dumbfounded. She has no idea what this girl is talking about.

"What are you talking about?"

Kana stares into her eyes with the smug look she had earlier. "Don't play this game with me. I know she or her goons sent you." Kana suddenly grabs one of those chocolate bars her mother bought her and removes the packing.

Nico takes a deep, agonizing breath. "Look. I honestly have no idea what you are talking about. We are not friends by any means but you have seen me in school enough to know that I'm not part of any group and I have no idea what goons you are speaking of."

Kana looks into her eyes again, but Nico holds her gaze this time. The girl looks away with a defeated look. "Fine, I believe you. But why are you here, really?"

"Wow, let's not go so fast. First of all, who the hell is she?" Nico asks, eager to unveil this mystery…the 3rd mystery she has gotten herself into in a single day. Quite an achievement.

Kana looks at her nervously. "Let's just drop the topic…" Nico shakes her head. "C'mon, if you accused me unjustly I demand an explanation." Nico points her finger at the girl for added dramatic effect.

The girl looks away nervously again. She stares at the walls for seconds before turning back to Nico. "Kagura, of course."

Who?

"What Ka-"

Their conversation is cut short by Kana's mother. She returns to the scene nonchalantly, quickly noticing the friendlier atmosphere. I knew things would go well!

"Sorry about that." The woman sits down next to Nico. Her daughter looks at her suspiciously. "What was that call about?"

"It's…" The woman looks at Nico nervously before continuing. "…It's the company. Apparently they really liked my application and wish to interview me tomorrow." The lady smiles proudly at her daughter who only frowned in return.

"Not like it's the 100th time I'm hearing this story." Kana says with a hint of malice in her voice. She looks straight into her mother's eyes. Her mother looks down to avoid her daughter's gaze.

"I'm trying my best…"

Kana only groans in response. "Maybe you are not trying hard enough!"

Her mother knows better than to respond with excuses. They argued about this topic a lot already. Instead, she turns towards Nico. "So, have any questions to ask? I'm sure Kana would gladly answer them."

Nico looks at mother and daughter but chooses to ignore the strange air between them. "First I wanted to ask if you are feeling better?" She asks with a hint of concern in her voice, and hopes Kana won't think she is just acting like she's interested.

Because for the first time since forever she was actually interested.

Kana looks at her two injured legs for a short second. "I'm feeling much better, thanks. I thought the pain would be a lot worse, but thankfully I was wrong."

"And do you think you'll be able to walk again?" Nico asks impulsively, because this is the question she is the most curious about, but she regrets it immediatelly. Both Kana and her mother look away from her with a saddened expression.

"I…I don't think I will." Kana blurts out. In a few seconds she regains her composure and her blank, neutral attitude returns.


"Nico is not answering to my texts."

Nozomi pokes Eli's side to get her attention. Her blonde friend is currently busy reading one of her textbooks. What a strange girl, studying even when her dear best friend comes over to have some fun.

Eli slaps Nozomi's hand and the purple haired girl only laughs in return. "Maybe she is busy?" Nozomi giggles. "That girl has no friends. Well, besides us. And from what I heard from Ms. Maeda, she is the type to avoid any kind of work or activity if possible." She pokes Eli's side again, who dared to peek into her textbook, again.

"So no, she definitely isn't busy." Eli tries to grab her best friend's hand, but this time Nozomi is quicker and quickly pulls away. "Stop that!" The blonde says, and pushes Nozomi off the bed. Nozomi falls down spectacularly, but she continues to laugh.

"What's with you today? You are starting to become more hyperactive than Honoka." Nozomi slowly crawls back up and lands right next to Eli. She quickly grabs the textbook and throws it away. "Who knows, maybe that paint was a bit bad for my health. It did smell a bit iffy."

"Well, you were the one who wanted to paint the walls today." Nozomi checks her phone again to see if Nico replied. No, still no reply. "That reminds me. Remember how you asked me to ask the instructor if Nico could join us?"

Nozomi looks at her curiously. "Yes. What about it?" Eli takes a sip of her soda before answering. "When I asked the instructor, he said Nico cannot help us out today because she left the school with Maki."

That sounds interesting, Nozomi noted. "Why did they leave the school? Decided to have a duel in the middle of the forest or something?" Eli takes another sip of the soda, then throws the empty can in the trash.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. I think she accompanied Maki to her family's hospital."

Interesting. "But it's already close to 8PM. Isn't curfew at 8?" Nozomi asks curiously, but Eli only shrugs in response. "Maybe Nico is staying over at Maki's?" Eli proposes the idea, but regrets it immediatelly.

"Oh, I bet they must be having some fun right now." Nozomi says with a mischievous grin, which makes Eli blush. "Nozomi, they are like…13."

"Actually, Nico is 15 already, the same age as us."

"Oh, right…I always forget."


"Oh that's nothing compared to what this little devil over there did when she was little!" Kana's mother exclaimed, pointing her finger at her daughter jokingly. For the first time in weeks, Kana let out a laugh.

"Mom, don't bring up that old story again!" The girl shouted, but she was still smiling. "Jeez, why is that the only thing you talk about every time someone visits us?"

The three have been chatting and ranting about various things for the past 30 minutes. At first Kana was a bit reluctant to open up, but her mother managed to get her out of her shell with her cheerful attitude. Time flew by so fast, and Nico didn't notice it was already 7PM.

"Please leave that old story be, mom. It's too embarrassing!"

Nico was a bit surprised by the sudden change of attitude. It's not like she didn't enjoy the friendly atmosphere, but she couldn't help but feel as if there was something neither mother nor daughter wanted to talk about.

"Fine, alright. How about the story with the cat?"

As Nico sat there, between mother and daughter, she couldn't stop thinking about the two's odd behaviour towards the other earlier. The woman was nice (even though she didn't seem so at first), and Nico somewhat enjoyed listening to her ramblings, and she also liked how flustered her daughter got whenever the woman mentioned something embarrassing.

"Urgh. Why do you always have to bring up every stupid story…" The girl shook her head.

And what about that strange talk they had earlier, when the mother was busy? Nico was good at playing dumb but this time she honestly had no clue what Kana was talking about. Maybe the other students who bullied her? Would make sense, but on the other hand those bullies didn't seem like the kind who'd follow their victim everywhere. They just wanted to have some fun at school (because to some bullying is a form of entertainment), they had no reason to make the girl's private life hell as well.

And who is Kagura?

Nico stopped contemplating when she felt the woman's gaze on her. She swiftly turned around, hoping no one noticed her not paying attention. "When she was 5, her father brought her a small cat. I still don't know where he found him, he only told me it was "harassed by some punks on the street". Kana was very delighted, of course."

"She'd play with him every day for hours. That little tomcat never stopped playing. He also used to run around the house during the night and wake everyone up with his meowing." The woman chuckles. "Kana was about 7 when I taught her how to knit."

"Mom…" Kana looks at her mother, embarrassed. "So one day, I woke up to see our little cat with some sort of cap on his mouth." The woman giggles again. "Kana wakes up and enters the living room. I give her a confusing look and point towards the kitten."

"Then I ask, 'what's this?', and Kana only replies with "I made a muzzle for little Shiro so he'd no longer wake mommy and daddy up during the night!"

A snort is Nico's only response to this silly little story. She looks at Kana, the culprit, who looks away with a blush on her cheeks. "And what happened to the cat?" Nico asks.

Kana gives her another one of those sad, forlorn looks. "Sadly, he died last year. He was 10 years old."

Before Nico says anything the woman's phone rings again. This time she picks it up and doesn't leave the room. "Sorry, give me a minute."

Nico and Kana stay quiet for a short while, wondering what the conversation is about. After a minute, the woman hangs up. "Sorry, it was my husband." She turns to Kana. "Dear, your father says I should go home soon, since it's getting dark." Kana nods. She understands.

She then turns towards Nico. "Sorry about that." Nico shakes her head. "It's fine, I don't want to bother you for too long anyways."

"Do you have a any other questions to ask?" The lady asks hastily, grabbing her coat in the meantime. Nico thinks for a second. Well, might as well ask something personal while they are already in a good mood.

"What exactly happened? How did the car hit you?" Nico asks with the most sincere tone she could use. She really doesn't want to offend the family, or open not-so-old wounds. "I mean, it's totally fine if you don't want to answer to something like that!" She quickly adds.

Kana shakes her head. "No, it's fine. Not like I can avoid the topic for the rest of my life." Her mother looks at her, worried, but the girl tells her it's okay. "I was walking home from school. I had an exam that day so I didn't get much sleep. I didn't notice that the lights were red and…the car hit me."

Nico is concerned now. Maybe she really shouldn't have asked. "I'm sorry. It must've been a terrible accident."

"Accident. Right…" The woman says. Her daughter returns the comment with a frown.

"Mom, let's not start this again."

Mother and daughter stare at each other for suffocating seconds. Neither of them say anything. Nico decides to save this situation as fast as possible. "I think I should be going." She says, and stands up.

"Oh right, I should be going as well." The mother notes, and her default expression returns to her face. "I'll come again Wednesday. I probably can't come tomorrow, unless I'll be done with the interview quickly. Wish me luck!"

The woman steps closer to her damaged daughter and gives her a kiss on her head. Kana tries to avoid that, possibly embarrassed to do such things in front of her peers. "Yeah yeah, good luck." She sounds uninterested, but that small smile on her face says more than words.

"Mind if I come by next week?" Nico suddenly asks, not sure herself why. Kana is surprised and doesn't really understand why either, but she nods. "I hope you'll get better soon!"

Nico leaves the room and the last thing she hears from her new "friend" is two words.

"Thank you."


"Urgh. This was so stupid!" Maki states, giving her father an annoyed look. "I wouldn't be surprised if that idiot already left." The redhead quickens her pace. Her father is walking beside her. "I'm sure she is still here. Look, there she is!"

The man points at Nico who is talking to someone in the distance. When she gets closer, she notices it's a middle aged woman. Maki doesn't know who she is. "Looks like your friend got bored of waiting and made a new friend!" Her father comments.

Finally, Nico notices the two and looks at the young redhead with a raised eyebrow. The woman she was talking to leaves quickly before Maki reaches Nico.

"I didn't know you knew the Ueda family." Mr. Nishikino is the first to say something to Nico. Maki looks at her father, wondering why that even matters. Nico only shakes her head in response.

"After you two left I decided to explore this level. I accidentally found Kana's room." Nico explains. If that doesn't sound stupid I don't know what does.

"You are friends with Kana?" Mr. Nishikino continues his 'interrogation', which annoys Nico. She really wants to ask what took the Nishikinos so long to grab a box of cookies.

"No, but we go to the same school. I thought paying her a visit wouldn't be so bad." Maki is annoyed that she is left out of the conversation. She twirls her hair in annoyance. Nico decides to mock her and does the same. Maki snorts in response.

"Oh, I didn't know that. So you go to Otonoki as well?" Nico nods. "I do."

Mr. Nishikino notices Kana's mother outside. She is talking to someone on the phone. A large glass door is between him and the woman so he cannot hear her voice, but from her motions it seems like she is shouting.

Nico notices this and looks back. Maki looks at the woman as well but she doesn't understand what's so interesting about her. The woman hangs up the call and walks away. In less than a minute her figure completely disappears.

"Mrs. Ueda is an interesting woman." Mr. Nishikino blurts out, not sure why he wanted to say that. Nico hums in agreement. "Do you also know Kana's parents?" The man questions Nico.

"You see, that's a funny story. So after I decided to enter Kana's room I actually decided it was better if I didn't. But then Mrs. Ueda appeared right next to me and we started…talking. In the end I was sort of convinced to enter."

Nico notices how bored Maki is and decides to leave the rest of the story. "I don't know her father at all, though."

Mr. Nishikino grabs his glasses for a second and cleans the lenses with his handkerchief. "It's probably better that way."

Nico wants to ask about the father but decides to drop the topic. It's not like she is related to the Ueda family at all. Actually, she is glad Mr. Nishikino didn't got mad at her for entering a room without his permission.

"Can we just get going already?" Maki whines. She is still twirling her locks. Nico wonders how long she can keep that up for until her hand starts feeling numb.

"Alright, let's get you two back to DMHS. Just let me grab the keys quickly." Mr. Nishikino runs back to the office they were in before, and Maki sincerely hopes the keys are actually in that office and not in the other one this time.

In a minute he returns and the three leave the hospital. "Let's get you girls back to the school. I have to be back in less than 40 minutes." Maki sighs. "You are always so busy at the hospital. Just what are you and mom doing there all day?"

Her father laughs. "Well, you know, just saving some lives and limbs here and there. Also doing some paperwork once in a while. More often than I'd like, actually."

Maki starts another argument with her father. Nico decides she's had enough of that for the day and surveys the car instead. If she is right, the car is a Honda, a new model. It's beautifully dark and black on the outside, and the inside is a beige colour. The car seat is made of high quality leather, very comfortable.

It's probably not exaggerating to say that this car costs more than Nico's entire apartment. This leather is probably more comfortable than her own bed, too.

It's Nico's first time sitting in a luxury car. Princess Maki is probably used to it though. She wonders how many other cars the Nishikino family has. Probably at least four.

"Maki, stop being so grumpy and give Nico some cookies. They are really delicious, I'm sure she'd like them." Mr. Nishikino grabs the box and gives it to Maki. Maki wonders why he didn't give it directly to Nico.

She looks at the black haired girl for a second. She still has that "come fight me" expression. Of course she does. Reluctantly, Maki hands the box over. Nico grabs a cookie and bites it.

"Thanks, Maki." She says Maki in such a smug way, and for a second Maki considers throwing the whole box on her head. But then she remembers that her father is here as well, and she doesn't want to make him mad.

Maki tries to put the box back where it was before, but Nico keeps asking for more cookies so after a few minutes Maki decides to just put the box in the empty spot between the two. Maki regrets her decision shortly after, when she sees that not many cookies survived Nico.

She looks at the girl with the good appetite. Nico gives her a content look. She even puts her hand on her belly. "Why don't you drink more milk instead?" Maki mocks, quickly destroying Nico's calm mood.

"Hey, you wanted me to eat the cookies!" Nico shouts. "That doesn't mean you have to eat almost all of them!" Maki retorts, and the two move closer to each other. They stare at each other and continue arguing like kindergarten children.

Maki's father doesn't stop them, instead he just laughs at the scene.

"Then you should eat the remaining cookies! Maybe that way I won't have to hear your voice while you are eating!" Nico grabs a cookie and throws it at Maki. The redhead lets out a shriek before the cookie lands on her face.

"You little…" Maki grabs another cookie and throws it at Nico. This battle continues until Maki has enough and grabs the whole box. She throws it at Nico in full force, but she makes sure to call her an idiot first.

Mr. Nishikino witnesses the scene. Then he witnesses Nico getting closer and closer to his daughter…before putting the empty box on her head. Maki mumbles something but neither her father nor Nico can hear her.

Nico laughs at the sight and mocks the redhead. When Maki manages to get the box off, her head is as red as her hair. This makes Nico laugh even more. Mr. Nishikino turns back to see what's so funny and when he sees her daughter's face, he starts laughing too.


"Come on, it only has 15HP left!"

Loud shouts follow as Eli deals the final blow. The monster before her drops dead, and the village is saved.

"That was so close! You only had like no HP and one potion left!" Nozomi gives her blonde friend a slap on the back. "The next boss is yours." Eli jumps off the bed and goes to the kitchen.

She returns seconds later with two cans of soda.

Nozomi takes one can and opens it. Her friend sits back on the bed, ready to continue where she left off.

"You can have the next boss too if you want." Nozomi proposes, and Eli accepts the offer excitedly. "Are you sure?" Nozomi nods. "Yeah. I like watching you play."

Nozomi grabs her phone. She checks for new replies and rejoices when she sees that Nico finally responded. She begins writing her reply which catches the blonde's attention.

"What's up? Did Nico finally respond?"

Nozomi corrects a word she typoed and then hits the send button. "Yep. Looks like your story checks out, she went to Nishikino General Hospital with Maki and only got back just now."

Eli moves closer to Nozomi and reads her conversation with Nico. "Did you really have to mention that age thing to Nico?" Nozomi giggles. "She asked what we were talking about, I just told her the truth."

"And what's with that Kagura thing?" Eli asks curiously. Nozomi only shrugs her shoulders in response. "I don't know. She just asked if I knew someone at Otonoki who is named Kagura." Eli wonders why Nico asked something like that out of the blue.

"I hope you didn't say anything embarrassing about me." Eli looks at her best friend accusingly. Nozomi smiles. "No, why would I do that?"

Eli raises her eyebrows. "You always do that. Come on now, scroll up. I want to see." The blonde tries to grab the phone but luckily Nozomi is faster. "Hey, if you didn't say something dumb again there's no reason not to show me, right? Nozomi?"

Nozomi grins.

"Nozomi!"


The air is chilly around the school. There's no one outside or in front of the school, and many rooms are already dark. The students of Date Masamune High School are getting ready for the night.

Curfew is in 20 minutes but neither Nico nor Maki feel like they have to rush. Instead, they enter the school peacefully and slowly, not really talking to each other.

They go up the stairs and reach the first floor. Before they go further up something catches Nico's interest.

"Look, the walls have been decorated!" Nico shouts excitedly (finally those plain ugly white walls will be gone!) but Maki tells her to be more quiet. "They probably painted the walls while we were gone."

Nico walks closer silently, not wanting to wake up anyone.

"What are you doing?" Maki asks, annoyed.

"Checking out the art, grumpy pants." Nico motions Maki to follow her. Maki sighs. "Nico, we have to reach my room in 15 minutes or the nurses will be angry."

Nico doesn't listen and walks even closer. "Come on, some people just spent hours to make this place better and there you are acting like Maeda. Besides, we are already inside the building."

"Maeda who?"

"Nevermind."

Maki finally gives up and follows Nico. They walk through the hallway slowly, taking a look at every figure or object painted on the walls. Some paintings are rather basic but some do stand out with how well-made they are.

Nico abruptly stops in front of her. She looks right to see what Nico is staring at so intently. The figure of a young woman is painted on the wall. Nothing is unusual about it except for the purple hair.

Nico has an idea who painted this one.

"Heh." Nico takes out her phone to check the time. She finally notices the unread messages. She opens the folder to see that the one sending them was no other than…Nozomi.

Well, isn't that convenient.

"What's wrong?" Maki asks, stepping closer to Nico. "It's Nozomi bugging me about something stupid again."

Maki looks at Nico's phone curiously. "What did she say?" Nico scrolls down to her latest message. "I don't know. Didn't read her texts yet."

"Then how do you know it's stupid?"

"Because it's Nozomi."

Maki doesn't question her any further. Nico begins typing her reply and Maki steps a bit further away, respecting her privacy.

From: Nozomi

Hey, how are you doing? Eli wanted to ask you to join us but you left.

From: Nozomi

Are you still busy? =)

To: Nozomi

Sorry for the late reply. What did she want to ask? :/

From: Nozomi

We volunteered to paint the walls today. I wanted you to join.

To: Nozomi

The walls on the first floor?

From: Nozomi

Yep. Why?

To: Nozomi

So I take it this beautiful mermaid with purple hair who looks strangely similar to you is your doing?

From: Nozomi

Oh, so you saw it!

I worked hard, you know :^)

To: Nozomi

I bet…

From: Nozomi

Did u like it?

To: Nozomi

Truly a piece of art only second to the Mona Lisa.

From: Nozomi

That's so sweet of you to say 3

To: Nozomi

It was sarcasm…

From: Nozomi

So what were you doing all day?

Taking care of Maki? 8)

To: Nozomi

I'm not going to ask how you know that.

From: Nozomi

Eli told me. She asked the instructor.

She's next to me right now.

To: Nozomi

What are you guys doing?

Playing Tarot?

From: Nozomi

She invited me over. That's why I messaged you, actually.

I wanted to ask if you want to come over too.

To: Nozomi

Well, read your message a bit too late then.

Maybe another time.

From: Nozomi

It's never late to come over ;)

To: Nozomi

.

From: Nozomi

So what did you guys do?

To: Nozomi

We went to her fam's hospital.

Strange things happened…

Nico wasn't really sure mentioning anything was a good idea. Just one strange word and Nozomi will immediatelly know something happened. Now she'll continue to ask her until she gives her the answer.

From: Nozomi

Oh yeah? What happened?

I hope you two are ok.

To: Nozomi

It's a bit late now. I'll tell you some other day, ok?

Btw, do you know someone named Kagura? From Otonoki.

Nico honestly doesn't know why she thinks Nozomi would know, but Nozomi seems to know everything so might as well ask her, right?

From: Nozomi

Kagura? I don't think I know anyone with that name.

Why?

To: Nozomi

I was just curious.

Anyways, what are you and Eli doing?

From: Nozomi

We are in her bed :^)

To: Nozomi

And what are u doing there?

From: Nozomi

Just playing with things…

Want me to send a pic? 8)

To: Nozomi

Please don't.

From: Nozomi

Ok. We are actually playing games.

And occasionally chatting about stuff.

To: Nozomi

I hope you didn't talk about me.

Or Maki.

From: Nozomi

Oh, acting territorial, aren't we?

To: Nozomi

Yep, you totally were talking about us.

Bet you made 1-2 sex jokes while you were at it.

From: Nozomi

:^)

Eli didn't like my jokes, sadly.

To: Nozomi

A prude and a pervert.

Nice duo. I can only imagine what her response was.

From: Nozomi

She actually said I shouldn't joke about that cuz both of you are 13.

To: Nozomi

Fuck you.

Maki pokes her on her arm to finally get her attention. "Nico, we really need to get going."

To: Nozomi

I have to go now.

See ya.

From: Nozomi

Aww :(

Good night!

Nico quickly puts her phone in her pocket and runs after Maki who is already making her way back to the stairs. "Hey, wait!" Maki turns around. "Stay quiet and be faster!"


Who might this Kagura be?

While Eli is making dinner in the kitchen, Nozomi is left with her own thoughts. Of course, Nico's strange question is the first thing that comes to her mind. Nozomi is perceptive enough to realize this "Kagura" probably has something to do with the "strange things that happened" as Nico put it.

Nozomi wonders just what strange things could occur at a hospital. A new patient in critical condition might be taken to the hospital (like in those movies and TV shows) exactly when the main character happens to be at the hospital. But that sounds too extreme, so that's not what happened.

She has been Eli's right-hand (wo)man for the past 1,5 years and she helps her blonde friend with the paperwork all the time, but Nozomi doesn't remember ever seeing a student with the name Kagura. It's a rare name nowadays.

Maybe it's a girl from another school? Or it could be a famous person, like a celebrity. But why would Nico ask about such things?

Nozomi's inner rambling comes to a stop when Eli returns with the dinner. She carefully gives the tray to Nozomi. "Be careful not to get anything to touch my bed!" She orders, making a funny motion with her hand, like a grumpy middle-aged wife.

"Roger that." The blonde sits down next to Nozomi and the two begin to eat. The fried fish with rice and a little bit of mayonnaise tastes amazing, as always. Good thing Eli has become such a great cook.

"You are getting better at this every day, Eli." Nozomi states proudly. Eli smiles back in return. "Well, I had a good teacher."

"Those cooking courses last summer did amount to something, huh?" Nozomi says to herself, but Eli hears her too. "Yes, and I'm still thankful for it."

The two continue to eat in relative silence. After they are finished, Nozomi takes the two trays, the empty bowls and the used chopsticks and goes to the kitchen. In the meantime Eli grabs a magazine and searches for an interesting topic.

Not many topics interest her, though. Not many topics common in girl's magazines, to be exact. Somehow, Eli just doesn't find typical girly topics interesting. The only thing she likes is fashion, but stupid horoscopes, tests and interviews with fake teen idols don't catch her interest at all.

She finally finds a 2-page article about this season's fashion. She looks at the new clothes and brands that are apparently popular right now. A coat catches her interest, but it is kind of expensive. Maybe she has enough money saved to buy it, if she really likes it.

When Nozomi returns to her side, Eli puts down the magazine. "Is everything ok?" Nozomi looks at her surprised, not expecting her friend to notice her spacing out. "I'm just thinking about something."

Eli looks at her with curiousity. "What is it? Tell me."

Nozomi hears footsteps downstairs. Alisa is probably watching TV in the living room right now. Maybe they should invite her to play with them next time. The three used to spend afternoons and evenings like this together all the time when Alisa was little. Now that she is 11 and more mature (according to her), she prefers to spend most of her time alone or with her peers.

"I'm just thinking about what Nico said. You know, the "strange things" part." Nozomi grabs the bottle of water and drinks. "By the way, do you know anyone at Otonoki who is named Kagura?"

Eli shakes her head. Of course. "Nope. Maybe there is someone who I don't know or never saw her name, but I doubt it." Nozomi sighs. "You know almost everyone, after all."

"That's exaggerating a bit, haha. There are plenty of students I don't know. Remembering the name of 400 students would be a bit difficult." Eli grabs the magazine and opens it at the same article. She shows Nozomi the article and points at the coat of her dreams with her finger.

"I'm thinking about buying that one. Do you think it looks good?" Eli asks with the sincerity girls have whenever they ask their closest friends about fashion. Nozomi takes a few seconds to look at the coat. It does look rather comfy.

"I think it looks pretty good. But isn't it a bit too costly?" Eli jumps down from the bed and goes to her drawer. She then pulls out the small ceramic pig and looks inside the small hole on top of the pig's head. "I think I have enough in there to buy it."

Nozomi snorts. "You look ridiculous with that pig thing. I wonder what the other council members would think if they saw you right now." Eli puts the pig back in the drawer and looks at Nozomi, offended.

"I like it, okay? I think it's cute. Besides, I can't just throw out a childhood memory." Eli states with the voice of a child, and Nozomi chuckles. "Isn't that the money box your mother gave you before you started high school?"

"H-How do you know that?!" Eli asks, looking like a kid caught with hands in the cookie jar. "You told me when you first invited me over, remember?" Nozomi replies.

The blonde girl looks away sheepishly. "Oh, right."

"Anyways, why don't we start the racing game again? We can do a round or two before you go home, right?" Eli asks, but Nozomi shakes her head. "Nah, not now. Let's just check out these magazines together. I bought them this morning."

"I bet you don't want to be beaten by me again." Eli states, matter of factly. "Not my fault you are such a nerd and never let anyone win."

Eli snorts. "Not my fault you are only good at card games."


It's exactly 8PM when the two reach Maki's room. How punctual.

Thankfully they didn't run into any staff member or teacher on the way. Not like they would punish you for it, but nobody wants them to think you are a rebel or a bad student, right?

Maki's room is the same as before. Organized and clean to the point where it's unsettling, like there's no personality to this room. Sterile like a hospital room. Well, her parents work at a hospital, so it makes sense.

As soon as they enter, Maki collapses on her bed. "Jeez, I feel so tired. I feel like my legs are dying…" The redhead says, and Nico only snorts in return. "Quit being such a drama queen, you're fine."

Maki turns towards Nico, aims, and throws her pillow at her. This takes Nico by surprise so she doesn't dodge. "Wow, you really feel like throwing things today, aren't you?" Nico notes sarcastically.

"Shut up. The thing in the car, you started it."

Nico doesn't feel like responding to that unjust accusation. Instead she checks out the new book on Maki's desk. The life of Richard Wagner.

"Wow, sounds boring." Nico notes, and Maki unfortunately hears. She quickly jumps up and takes the book out of Nico's hands. "Well, I don't find it boring!"

Nico shrugs her shoulders. "Whatever. Do you like classical music, or something?" Nico doesn't know much about the genre, but she knows that Wagner was a famous composer. And she does listen to some classical music once in a while, though mostly when her head really hurts and she cannot fall asleep…she read once that classical music is good for your health and calms your soul.

"I guess. I really like listening to classical music. In fact, I'm 100% sure classical or jazz is way better than anything you hear in the radio nowadays!" Maki looks at Nico with the face of a true snob. Nico finds it funny that everything Maki does is snobby in one way or another…well, maybe not everything, but a lot of things.

"What is your favourite instrument?" Nico asks out of the blue, but Maki seems somewhat happy that she asked this question. "The piano, of course." Maki looks at the only picture in her room, a photo showing a young girl (probably Maki, since the girl has red hair) in front of a piano.

"Can you play the piano?" Nico asks the rhetorical question, although she already knows the answer. She is perceptive enough to know something like that.

"Of course!" Maki exclaims, and for the first time today, she smiles brightly. She looks sort of endearing when she smiles, Nico thinks.

Maki walks closer to the picture and grabs the frame. She takes a closer look at it, then puts it back. "When I was young, I used to play all the time. I had my first competition when I was 7 years old, and I actually got second place, even though everyone else was older than me."

Nico looks at the picture again. The Maki from the past seems to be smiling. That's a rare occurance nowadays. "And what did your parents say? I mean, getting second place against older children is pretty amazing."

Maki turns away with a sad expression. "My parents asked why I was only second." Maki let's out a painful laugh. "I guess they're right. I should've been even better, and won."

"No, they are not right at all!"

Maki is surprised by Nico's reaction. She expected her to mock her for making a huge deal out of something trivial like this.

"First of all, you shouldn't care about what your parents think! You know you gave it your best. Second, getting 2nd place is an amazing achievement. No one expected you, a 7 years old to rank so high, yet you did."

Maki looks at the old photograph once more. When was it taken again? When she was only starting to learn how to play on her beloved instrument, or after her first real competition? She doesn't remember, to be honest. She spent literally every second of her free time in front of the old piano, so guessing when the photo was taken is nigh impossible.

She still remembers the first day. It was 3 months after her sixth birthday. She has just begun elementary school and she was too nervous about the new situation. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't make new friends. Maybe it was her overachieving behaviour that irked the other kids. Ever since day one, she'd always answer the teacher's questions first, she'd always be the first to finish a task, the first to get dressed in P.E. class, and of course, the best at every subject.

She was too young back then to know how the world works; how kids work. Even if you are truly intelligent and work the hardest, you won't get what you want so much. You won't get friends – because that's not how you make friends. Her method was perfect for only one thing: making other kids envy her, fear her, or think of her as someone you cannot get close to.

Sadly, she only understood this later. When it was too late, and she didn't feel like trying anymore.

At night, her mother gets a phone call. It's her grandmother; it's about something urgent. Later, when her mother hangs up, she tells Maki that her grandmother decided to move to the countryside, because the air there is better for a lady her age. And naturally, her grandmother cannot bring her old piano with her. She hasn't been using it for the past few years, so it's not like parting ways with the old instrument will be hard.

Maki doesn't really get what a piano is at first. And truthfully, she doesn't even care that much. At this point, she is still nervous about her social life in school. Yesterday, a girl from her class asked her if she could borrow her homework. Maki gladly gave her homework to the little girl, and now she was hoping they'd become friends with this girl.

They didn't become friends.

The girl politely thanked her for her homework, but she never really interacted that much with her afterwards, unless the situation called for it. The girl continued to be nice and polite to her, but Maki was hoping for something else. Something…more.

When she gets home on that faithful day, her good mood is pretty much gone. She exits the car without much care for anything and forgets to say goodbye to the driver. She is surprised to see her mother standing in front of the house today. She is usually busy until late at night, but not today.

Her mother gives her a warm hug and motions her to get inside. "I have something to show you!" She says, and she sounds more excited than usual. Maki wonders what made her dear mom so excited, considering she is always calm and collected.

Her mother's good mood also brightens the little redhead's mood as well. She slowly walks towards the large living room (giant would be a better word), not sure where she is supposed to look for this 'present'.

When she reaches the center of the living room, she doesn't notice anything at first. She looks at her mother, who is still holding her hand, with a questioning look. Her mother gives her a warm smile and points at the large black object in the corner of the room, right next to the window.

Maki doesn't know why, but the instant she lays her eyes on the large piano, she feels attracted to it. It's a strange feeling, like being sucked in with your own consent. She wants to get closer, she wants her small hands to touch the surface of the old instrument, but she has no idea why.

Her mother gently pushes her from behind. "Go on, take a closer look. I'm sure you'll love it."

Maki follows her orders. She gets closer and finally touches the piano. It feels cold. It's also bigger than her, which scares her a little bit. She sits on the chair in front of the piano and checks out the front part. She only sees a lot of buttons. Large, very large buttons.

Her mother pushes one of the keys, which makes a loud sound. Maki is surprised at first but then she tries pushing one. It makes another sound, different from the last one. Now braver, Maki puts her hand on the piano and starts hitting the keys randomly. Various sounds echo through the room, sounds that do not fit well together.

Her mother gently pats her head. "You have to push these keys in a specific order. The order depends on what you want to play." Her mother steps a bit closer and plays a short and very simple melody. She cannot actually play the piano, but she remembers the two pieces her grandmother taught her when she was very small. She still regrets not learning how to play the piano.

She closes her eyes while she is playing to be more immersed. While she plays, she feels like she flies back in time. Memories of her own mother, Maki's grandmother, playing the piano in the living room many, many years ago.

When is finished, she opens her eyes. Her little Maki is looking at her in awe. "Did you like it?"

Maki nods vehemently. "It was really nice!"

Mrs. Nishikino pats her little daughter's head again. "Do you want to learn how to play the piano, Maki?" Her mother asks. The answer is obvious.

Seven years later, she still remembers her mother's question, ringing in her ears every day.

"…"

Nico looks at her, a bit concerned. Judging by the girl's expression, she must be thinking about something sad, so Nico thinks it's better not to ask.

"I guess you are right."

Maki grabs the book about Richard Wagner and sits down on her bed. Acting like nothing happened, she opens her mouth to speak.

"It's getting late and I'm sure your parents must be worried about you."

Nico quickly looks at the clock. Maki is right, it's getting close to 20.30. She has to hurry or her siblings might get the wrong idea. Good thing she cooked tonight's dinner this morning. One less thing to worry about.

"You are right, I should get going." Hastily, Nico turns around and opens the door. The door creaks a bit, and Nico really hopes she didn't wake up anyone.

Before leaving, she turns back towards the redhead.

"You know, I'd really like to hear you play sometime."

The girl looks at her with an unreadable expression, but she seems happy. She tries to conceal her smile with her book, as expected from a dork like her. Even though her face is covered, Nico can still feel the excitement in her voice.

"Maybe someday?"


The walk home is nothing exciting. As expected of Nico she misses the bus by a second, and the good old driver doesn't feel like waiting for her today.

She suddenly remembers that the bus schedule is a bit different during the night because less people are waiting for the bus, so less buses come and go. Nico quickly runs up to the signs at the bus stop and prays to God that she doesn't have to wait an hour for the next bus.

The gods listen to her this one time and she happily notes that the schedule only changes after 10PM and the next bus will be here in 15 minutes.

When she finally gets off the subway it's already 9PM. She quickens her pace and quickly reaches her apartment. No old lady is holding the elevator today so she reaches her destination quickly.

She stops in front of the front door to listen in. She doesn't hear any footsteps nor voice. Her siblings are probably sleeping already. Nico silently enters the flat and changes into her pajamas. Before going to sleep she makes sure to check on all three of her siblings.

As expected, her mother is not at home. Probably doing night shift again, huh.

Even though Nico is tired, she cannot go to bed with an empty stomach so she enters the kitchen, looking for some food. To her surprise, a bowl of the dinner she made is waiting for her on the table.

Nico smiles.


"September 21 – Sixth day

Today was a very eventful day.

In the morning I actually felt a bit sick so I wanted to stay at home. Then Nozomi happened and I changed my mind… But I don't regret my decision.

I spent most of my day with Maki. She is not exactly the most pleasant girl but she is tolerable.

Maki had a medical check today but her parents couldn't come for her…so it was my task to escort her to the hospital. Some idiots in front of the building tried to harass Maki but I defended her (heh).

While I was exploring the ground floor I accidentally found Ueda Kana's room.

At first I wanted to enter, then I changed my mind, and then I changed my mind again.

Kana seemed a bit emotionless, but that's understandable in her condition. I'm glad she is getting better, though."

Nico closes her journal. She feels content with yesterday's entry. Even though many strange things happened yesterday (some she didn't even mention in the entry), she still felt successful. Escorting Maki to the hospital wasn't much, but she was happy to be with her. Who knows what could've possibly happened to her otherwise.

It's still two hours until school starts. Her siblings are still sleeping and her mother's already gone, so currently she is all alone.

Even though she feels good about herself, her first conversation with Kana, and the events on that quarantined floor left a bad taste in her mouth. She has no idea what's going on, but she feels like it's something bad. That conversation she overheard definitely didn't sound any good.

The two people, whom she didn't see, also mentioned "that Nishikino girl" in their short conversation. But what does Maki have to do with all of this? She doesn't seem like the type of girl who'd get into shady situations like this.

And what about Ueda? Nico feels, no, knows the girl is hiding something and she is unwilling to discuss that. She even told her mother to be quiet about it. Nico has no idea what her problem is, but she is sure it has something to do with her current state, and the person named Kagura.

She also met a lot of interesting people today. Mr. Nishikino was certainly not the way Nico expected him to be…she thought he'd be the serious daddy type with scary opaque glasses (he did have glasses though, although the lenses weren't opaque at all!). Nico was pleasantly surprised.

Then there was Mrs. Ueda. Although their meeting wasn't the most fortunate, and Nico was sure she made an idiot out of herself, things did work out in the end. She feels sorry for the woman though, she cannot even imagine what she must be going through. It's admirable how she continues to smile after that tragedy.

And then there's Kana, of course. Nico doesn't really know what to think of her yet. The girl seems hollow, almost like an empty shell. Very few things can get her in a good mood. She also seems to be hiding something, and Nico is sure her secret is going to bite her in the ass one day.

Nico wants to help the girl, just to prove her bullies that Ueda is stronger than they'll ever be. But she doesn't know how to help. She can't give back her ability to walk, after all.

Nico looks over to the left. Her phone is right next to her notebook.

Maybe she can help.

With a pained sigh (because she really doesn't want to do this), she grabs her phone and starts writing her message.

To: Nozomi

Hey

Can we meet up at school?


A month and ten million exams later I finally return! (Sorry for the wait)

Thanks for all the kind words, I'm really happy so many are enjoying my story!

Reviews and criticism are welcome!