"Ugh... I can't do this..."

"The most important thing about climbing a mountain isn't the courage to try, it's the courage to give up."

"What are you talking about, Nozomi? Are you saying that I should just stop trying to work on this really important song!? That would cause major problems!"

Nozomi went over to where Umi was sitting with her head cradled in her hands and patted Umi on the head. They were both in the student council room. Umi was there because she thought of the place as a mellow productivity space and Nozomi was there to fill out papers for the student council. They were sitting next to each other at a long table but only Nozomi's pen was moving.

"No, that's not it. I'm just suggesting that you should take a break. Maybe you could get some inspiration from whatever you do during that time, like when we went camping on that one trip."

Lifting her head, Umi look at Nozomi and said,

"I don't have time for breaks and besides, nothing got accomplished during that mountain climbing activity."

"Oh my naive little Umi-chan, you may not have accomplished the task at hand but you at least accomplished the task of giving yourself a hand in the future."

"...What?"

"I'm saying that even though we never got to the top of the mountain that day we still gained some skills that can assist us in future ."

"Like?" Umi needed some proof. Nozomi sometimes says baseless things just to cheer people up.

"Uh..." Nozomi was struggling to find and answer but she created one eventually. "Like, the power of friendship!"

"Friendship huh?"

"Yes, friendship! Hey, maybe you could write a song about friendship?"

"Nozomi, do you realize how many songs we already made about friendship?"

Nozomi took a wild guess, "9?... Am I right?"

"Who knows, but I do know that there are plenty of them."

"Yeah... Oh, I got one!"

"I'm scared; what is it?" Umi had become frightened of Nozomi's wild ideas.

"You should write a song about something you love!"

"I don't love anything."

"Sure you do. Don't you love me?"

"I guess? You're just an ordinary senpai to me... but I can say that I'm smitten with archery."

A pen clicked, signaling that Nozomi was done with her paperwork. She stood up and slammed her hands on the table, knocking Umi's paper on the floor. It gently floating downwards on the way in all of its blank glory.

"Archery! That's it! Now you can incorporate your 'Love Arrow Shoot' phrase into something."

"Y-you know about that!?"

"Everyone knows about that. It's old news. Anyway, you should go to the archery range and shoot a few rounds. It'll clear your mind at least. I'll accompany you."

"Hm...", said Umi in hesitation.

"What could possibly go wrong?"

"I'd have to say that shooting someone with an arrow would be pretty bad."

"Quit making excuses. We're going there right now!"

Nozomi carried Umi bridal-style all the way to the range just because she could. It caused a few other students to turn their heads.

"Put me down!"

"Yes princess."

"Don't call me 'princess' ever again!"

"Yes princess."

It was expected that everyone except for spectators be equipped in protective gear while at the range. While Umi was suiting up, Nozomi observed the other archers.

They had dead-serious expressions and were emotionless right until they were at the point of releasing their fingers from the string. When that happened, there was a glint of light in their eye; A sparking speck of adrenaline being channeled into the tip of the arrow.

Next either came a harsh slapping noise or a satisfying cushiony sound depending on where the arrow penetrated the target.

Umi came back to Nozomi clad in specific armor.

"How dashing, Umi-chan. You look ready to join the war against homophobia."

"... P-please don't look at me too much while I'm practicing or else I'll get nervous."

You could just feel the heat radiating off of Umi's face.

"Nope, I'm gonna stare at you the whole time. Pressure is a good motivator."

"There's no changing your mind, is there?... Fine, but obey the rules of the range. I don't want to get banned because of you.

"Will do."

There was a rusty, metal sign on a wooden post that pointed out the rules. Basically it was saying that you could get shot if you step over the white line and to not shoot while people are retrieving their arrows.

Umi got into position on the dusty dirt ground, feet shoulder-width apart, and facing perpendicular to the round target 20 yards away. She shot her first arrow.

Slap! It landed quite aways off to the left as a result of the uncomfortable gaze that Nozomi had on her.

"Aim to the right more!", shouted Nozomi from afar.

"I already know that! It's your fault that I'm off!"

"Don't blame me! Blame your lack of concentration!"

"I don't want to hear it!"

In the past, Umi used to be very formal with Nozomi for the sole fact that Nozomi was older than her but lately a barrier had been brought down by an onslaught of familiarity. Being with someone in the same room a lot tends to do this.

Eventually, Umi got used to Nozomi's vexing eyes scanning her every move and she improved as she kept at it.

"Fwip" the last arrow landed in the center of the target."

"Bullseye!" cheered Nozomi.

The other club members gave Umi a round of applause and she subtlety appeared to be proud of herself.

"That looks fun Umi! Can I try?"

"Well..." Umi was torn. If she let Nozomi try it, there could be a chance of injury or equipment damage but Nozomi might also find a new hobby and their friendship may improve."

"Alright, but first we need to see which one of your eyes is the dominant one. To do this, keep both eyes open and point at a stationary object."

Nozomi pointed at Umi's face.

"You don't have to point at me!... Whatever. Next, close one eye at a time. The eye that's open while your finger is on me is your dominant eye. The non-dominant one will be to the left or the right of me."

Nozomi went through the procedure and concluded that she was right-eye dominant.

"Umi-chan looks great no matter which eye I see her through but I'm able to touch her if I close my left eye."

"N-nozomi! That sounds really dirty!"

"Hehe! So, when can I shoot?"

"After everyone gets their arrows. I'll hurry back so I can teach you the proper stance and technique before you start."

Over an intercom a range officer announced, "Archers cease fire! Retrieve your arrows and step back behind the white line!"

Umi ran at top speed, like she was running a relay race and came back panting.

"Wow! You could set a record with that time Umi-chan."

"That's... not true... Anyway, I'm going to teach you the correct formation. Pretend you have a bow in your hands while doing this."

She lead Nozomi over to an open lane.

"Since you're right eyed I want you to face to your right. Luckily you're also right-handed so this position should feel natural."

"I know some other positions that would feel natural, too." Nozomi winked with a devious smile.

"Why do you have to make everything sexual, Nozomi!?"

"Oh? Do I do that? Sorry, I didn't intend to rub you the wrong way.", another double-entendre by Nozomi.

"Gah! Please, just stop it!"

"Okay."

Umi then got behind the shorter girl grabbed her arms. She stretched Nozomi's left one out towards the target and pulled the right one back, elbow bent, with her first few fingers resting against her check, slightly curled.

This exercise required them to be in close contact with each other and both got a little flustered, especially Umi.

"S-so yeah, this is how you stand... You should go put on the uniform. I'll get it for you and I'll also fetch you a bow."

While Umi was rummaging through a storage room to get Nozomi's stuff, she thought to herself, "Why am I even doing this? Shouldn't the senpai be the one teaching the kouhai? What happened here?"

When she returned, Umi shoved the stuff into Nozomi's arms without making eye contact.

"Thank you Umi-chan. I can figure out how to put it on myself."

"N-no, I can show you."

When all of the archers were ready, the intercom blared, "You may commence fire!"

"Just watch what I do and copy me.", said Umi as she stepped up to her shooting spot. Nozomi stood in awe at Umi's flawless movements and steady posture as she followed through with the shot. It was like a work of art.

"Now you try."

Nozomi didn't respond verbally. She just attempted to do exactly what Umi did but her motion was clunky and inconsistent. Still, her accuracy wasn't horrible. It just wasn't the best.

"Good job! That was great for a beginner."

The praise was accepted by Nozomi with a fake smile. In all reality, she felt inferior to Umi. She was used to being around people that she believed were "better than her", though. For example, she was always comparing herself with Eli who was the actual student council president, not just the vice-president like she was. Not to mention that Eli and even Umi were "much more beautiful than her". (Nozomi's skewed logic here, not the author's opinion!) A replaceable side-kick; that's all she thought of herself as.

"Thanks... I think I'm done for today. I'll see you tomorrow.", Nozomi ran away, leaving Umi baffled as to why her friend took off so fast, especially since Nozomi was the one who suggested coming here.

"... Um, okay? Goodbye."

The next day when Umi went to the student council office to study Nozomi wasn't there but Eli was and she said,

"Hey Umi, you here to study again?"

"I am. Is that alright?"

"Of course it is. I would've said something a long time ago if it wasn't."

"Oh... that makes sense." Umi felt like she said something dumb.

"Yeah, but even if I wasn't okay with it, Nozomi would make sure you could be here regardless of what I said. She really does like you, Umi."

"Really? Lately she seems to be distant with me. Come to think of it, where is she right now?"

"I don't know. Since it's her, I wouldn't doubt that she's hiding in the closet spying on us or something."

"Ha-ha, she would do something like that!"

Eli and Umi giggled for a second and then Eli said, "Umi, please sit down now. You're agitating me by just standing there."

"Sorry... do you mind if I sit next to you?"

"I don't care Umi, but you know, your politeness is only cute for a little bit, then it gets annoying."

Umi couldn't believe how rude Eli was being to her today but she sat next to her anyway.

"I know that it's none of my business but is something bothering you, Eli?"

"Nothing in particular. It's just 'one of those days'. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

"Yes, like when every little thing irritates you. It happens to me sometimes."

"Exactly! Girls can be so moody, especially Nozomi. She's extremely sensitive."

"I didn't know that. Do you think that's why she's avoiding me?"

Eli tilted her head in confusion and said, "I'm not quite following. Did you say or do something to her that would make her resentful? Not that you are capable of being mean to a senpai, but she over-reacts to pretty much everything."

"Well, we went to the archery range together and she left immediately after she took her first shot. I'd understand if the shot was lousy but she did well. I said, 'That was great for a beginner.' and-"

Eli interrupted, "Hold up. I think I understand what happened. You shot before she did, correct?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"You are a seasoned archer and Nozomi isn't. Nozomi knows this but she still compared her abilities with yours. Man, when will she ever learn..."

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"No it isn't! How she acts is selfish! When you put yourself down for stupid reasons you're thinking about yourself way too much."

"I meant that you're amazing for knowing that much about Nozomi, not that her behavior was amazing."

"Oh... well, it's not like I researched her or anything. When you date a person for over 2 years you get pretty acquainted with their ugly side."

"I forgot that you two dated. I'm sorry that it didn't work out."

"It's not a big deal. I mean, people break up all the time and then they find someone else. It's just life. I think she has her eye on you so if you decide to pursue her too, be careful. She's a handful."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Don't let what I say discourage you though. Nozomi is a wonderful girl if you know how to put up with some of her antics. Unfortunately, I was unable to."

"I see... I'm bad at tuning in to people's emotions and since Nozomi is so good at that maybe we'd... we'd make a good pair?" Umi blushed at her statement.

"Maybe..." Eli may or may not have been jealous; hard to tell.

Meanwhile, Nozomi was chilling out in the closet in the back of the student council room. Where else would she be at a time like this? If people were talking about her she knew because Nozomi knows everything! (That's why her name is Know-zomi!)... Nah, she just wanted to eavesdrop. She kind of wished she didn't though because Eli said some hurtful things about her but it did give her some perspective on how her behavior was affecting Umi.

She decided to stay hidden until Eli went away which didn't happen for a few hours. Standing up in a tiny place like that for that long took dedication and strong leg muscles.

"Alright Umi, I'm heading out now. Make sure that everything is put away before you leave."

"Okay, see you later." Umi waved goodbye.

"Finally, she's gone!" Thought Nozomi. The closet door started to open up but then all of a sudden a different door opened. It was Eli again. Apparently she forgot something and she was taking forever to find it.

"Damn it, Elichi! Hurry up! I need to talk to Umi-chan. Also, I'm hungry and I have to pee!" Nozomi almost said this out loud but she didn't.

Eli and Umi shuffled around the room for a bit in search of Eli's missing object.

"Found it! Thanks for helping me, Umi. Now I'm really going. See ya!"

"Bye! Take care!"

It was Nozomi's time to shine. The closet door swung open with a bang which startled Umi.

"Wah! W-what was that!?"

Umi turned around and found Nozomi on the floor because she tripped and fell in the process of making a grand entrance. By instinct, Umi went to assist Nozomi.

"Nozomi!? Are you alright? What were you doing in there?"

After being helped up by Umi, Nozomi answered, "Oh, hi there Umi-chan! I'm fine and dandy, except for the fact that Elichi was gossiping about me. I just thought it would be fun to spy on you two but I never thought that you'd be talking about me."

"So you heard everything? I know that we joked about you being in the closet but you actually were in there... Sorry about all that. We weren't saying anything bad about you. You may have interpreted it that way but I think that Eli is just concerned about you and the way you go about things and I agree with her."

"Umi-chan, I've been out of the closet for a long time now."

"But you literally just came out a few seconds ago..."

"That joke flew right over your head, didn't it?"

"What joke?"

"Never mind, but guess what?"

"What?"

"I realized some stuff from that conversation you had with Elichi."

"You did?"

"Yeah, 3 things actually.

1. I am way too critical of myself.

2. Elichi is still in love with me.

3. Umi-chan is just as sweet as she usually is."

At first, Umi didn't know how to respond to this. The first and third points weren't as shocking as the second one so perhaps she should ask about it.

"Nozomi, I'm glad that you recognize that you have some insecurities that need to be addressed. I personally have my own issues to overcome regarding my tendency to be reserved most of the time so you aren't alone in that aspect. Also, I'm flattered that you think so highly of me but I'm not all that pleasant to be around. Anyway, I was wondering, why do you think that Eli is still in love with you? You don't have to answer if you don't want to though. I'm just curious."

"Oh Umi-chan, stop it with the negative self-talk! You are very pleasant to be around. I know this sounds hypocritical coming from me but don't sell yourself short. You're amazing in many ways."

"Thanks." Umi has trouble accepting compliments so Nozomi's comment made her feel a little uncomfortable.

"About Elichi being in love with me, it's totally obvious, at least for me it is. She shows signs of jealousy and tries to put on a tough front when talking about me but I can see right through her. She still respects me as well, although, some of her remarks are kinda uncalled for."

"Yeah... Do you still love her too?"

"That's a difficult question. I don't love her romantically anymore but I do love her as a friend. I'd even go so far as to say that we are best friends but we need our space right now. In the meantime, I'd like to be single but it's hard because I have this growing attraction towards you. I wasn't going to tell you but..."

"Me too! I like you too Nozomi!", declared Umi. "But I don't want to jump the gun and end up messing up our friendship. I'm sorry..."

"Don't be sorry. I feel the same way. Let's just enjoy each day as it comes and if things are meant to be then so be it. I can use my cards to predict an outcome but I think we should figure this out by ourselves."

"Yes, that's a good idea. You say some very inspiring things, Nozomi. Can I quote you in some of my songs?"

"That would be awesome! If possible, let's have them all be Lily White songs."

"Sure, but what about Rin?"

"Rin is Rin. She doesn't care what we sing about as long as she can dance to it. I do have something to admit though."

"And what would that be?"

"When we went mountain climbing that one time I made that quote about having the courage to give up on a whim because Rin was struggling and you were so enthusiastic about getting to the top. I wanted to help Rin but you wouldn't listen to me unless I used empowering words."

"Poor Rin... I feel kind of bad about it now, but your quote is still meaningful even though the intentions of it were strange."

"Ha-ha! I said a bunch of weird things that day, didn't I?"

"You did and so did I. Again, poor Rin. She was so confused. She saw a different side of us that not many people know about."

"Well, I hope that we can expose more of these traits as time goes on."

"Yeah, that would be nice... Say, Nozomi?"

"Yes?"

"Um, can we go out for parfaits? I always wanted to do that with you..."

Both Umi and Nozomi blushed for different reasons. Umi didn't know that "going out for parfaits" was code for "going to Nozomi's apartment to do ecchi things".

Nozomi appropriately responded with, "You see, going out for parfaits was me and Elichi's thing but how about we go eat some barbecued meat? I wanna see Umi-chan get sauce all over her face."

"Okay, but I assure you that I won't make any sort of mess. I am a proper young lady."

"Good luck with that. You don't know what you're getting into 'young lady'."

"Oh yeah? I'll prove you wrong!"

"Let's see you try. Race ya to the front gate?"

Before Umi could answer, Nozomi took off.

"Hey, wait up!"

In conclusion, Nozomi and Umi had a wonderful time and they learned a lot about each other. Also, Umi didn't just get sauce all over her face but she got it in her hair as well.

Afterword

If you can't tell, I had trouble ending this... It could've continued but I feared that it would've dragged on and got boring. About that dominant eye thing, I bet about half of you tried it. (If not, try it. It really works!) Anyway, thanks for reading as always. It's incredible how shippable everyone in LoveLive is so let's keep these ships sailing and come up with our next pairing! Of course, I'll need your help to do so. Here are the rules to voting in case you don't knew them already:

[Rules: 1. The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter 2. The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, EliUmi, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. 3. If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. 4. If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to vote again for some reason. 5. No threesomes (or foursomes, or fivesomes, etc.) 6. Guest reviews don't count (They do for review purposes, just not for voting. It's because there is a possibility that the same person could use a different guest name in different chapters. Not saying that any of you will do that though but I just want to be sure.)]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli, NicoPana, NicoUmi, KotoMaki, HonoMaki, NozoNico, HonoAnju, NozoUmi

Past winners: Bleach010915, kryuu27, Rin Hoshizora, VariantEiko, GATX105VividPanzer, Rakugei, elliemei, Kevincruelz, cielo oscuro, Bucchan