Chika paced around her room. She wondered, worried even, how it had gone this far. How a few moments of pleasure with her friend had led to… this. She lay down on her bed, placing a hand over her stomach. Almost instantly a wave of nausea hit her, partly through genuine sickness and partly through the consequences of her actions.

Firstly, just the fact this happened was going to change her life. Forever. She thought forward to her exams, college, university - how much of that would she be able to do? Would she have to get a job straight away? Just how much was her family willing to help? Chika never thought this far ahead in her life before, but she had to now. She had no other choice.

Perhaps the most obvious change for her was that she'd never again perform as a school idol. The ginger had brought the members of Aqours together, won the Love Live! with them - but now she wouldn't be able to see it through to the end. The one thing she adored most in her life, slipped out of her hands. She found the idea rather tragic.

Finally… she was worried about what the others in the group would think of her. Chika was fairly confident they'd support her - Mari, the only one of them who knew (so far), promised to do everything she could - but, what if they wouldn't? Would they avoid her? Hate her? Cut her out of their lives?
And what would she do? She was most worried about telling her, because all of her worries would then be passed onto her. And she was so sweet, so amazing… she could never do that to her. But, if she didn't, it was almost certain they'd fall apart, maybe forever. Which she also couldn't do - in fact, that idea repulsed her.

That was the moment she knew. She had to know. Chika got up and made a decision. It may be the only thing she was certain of right now, but the rest could wait - for now.
She was going to tell her about this. Today.

Meanwhile, You and Riko waved off the first years as they headed to Ruby's house. Well, technically they were second years now, but it didn't feel right to call them second years. That was for them and Chika - while they were third years now, they were still called the second years by the others.
Anyway, the first years were sleeping over and finishing up the costumes for their next show. As they went out of sight, the bus began to crawl on to its next destination.

"Hey, Riko." You asked the auburn-haired girl. "Have you heard anything from Chika today?"

"Well, you'd know if I had." She replied. A long sigh came out of them. Chika had apparently come down with a virus and spent the last few days bedridden. "I'm kind of starting to get worried for her."

"Me too. It's not like her to get sick like this, ever." To the two of them, the ginger was an example of perfect health - which they joked was down to all the oranges she ate. For her to suddenly come down with something is very unusual. And for her to not even let anyone near her is stranger still. It was probably down to not wanting to give whatever she had to the rest of them, but it didn't stop their concern. "Let's just hope she gets better soon. It'd be a shame if she missed the show."

"Yeah. She was so excited about the new song too, it'd kill her if she was too sick to perform."

"I know, you two worked super hard on it as well! Our first love song, too…" They did work hard on the song as well. It almost didn't get written, but after a… passionate and intense session, they broke through the impasse and created their new masterpiece. Even the third years were impressed at the song the two of them made. Passionate, and intense…
Yeah, it's best to keep what happened under wraps.

Soon, the bus made its way to Riko's stop, and the two bade their farewells. The pianist planned her evening out as she headed up the path to her house - she'd finish up her school work before having dinner, then practice on the piano and go to bed. The show has her play her piano as the backing to a tune, so she wanted to make sure the piece was nailed before then.

"Mom, I'm home!" She called out as Prelude came pattering over to her, wagging her tail excitedly. "Hello, you! Have you been good today?" The pug licked her hand as though to say 'Yeah!' Riko giggled and scooped her pup into her arms, heading to the kitchen to find her mother.
She wasn't expecting an excited ginger-haired girl talking to her, though.

"… so that's why Shiitake was absolutely furrious at me! Get it? Because she's furry?" Chika chuckled at the joke she cracked. Her mom laughed too, but Riko guessed it was out of politeness. "Oh, hey Riko! Have fun at school today?"

"Err… y-yeah. Thanks." It was certainly a surprise to see her here, happy and smiling, when the last she heard of her was that she was bedridden. "How are you? Are you feeling any better?"

"Er, still a little rough, but much better than before, thanks." The two exchanged relieved smiles. "Hey, can we head up to your room? I need to talk to you about something."

"Er, yeah, sure." She reckoned it was about the show, and whether she'd have to sit out. It wouldn't end up a huge disaster if she did - they've been training and rehearsing as five since she fell ill.

"Are you staying for dinner tonight, Chika?" Riko's mom asked the ginger. After saying she would, the two headed up to the privacy of Riko's room. The pianist gently set Prelude back down on the floor and asked her whether she'd make the show.

"Sorry, Riko, I don't think I will. Like I said, I'm still not feeling great, and if I push myself too hard then… then I'll only get worse, and… I'll ruin the show." Her voice seemed to crack as she finished, like she'd regret it if she missed this chance to perform. But then again, it was probably for the best if she sat out.

"It's alright, Chika. It's fine. You take your time and get better, okay? There's always going to be more performances for us."

"I… I'll try. Thanks. Um…" The ginger seemed to hesitate for a second. "There's… something else I need to tell you, Riko. It's, about that song we wrote. For the show."

"Oh? Is there something wrong with it?" Her curiosity was piqued. The songwriting process was, well, unique - so maybe now, a few weeks later, it's possible that it'd need more work.

"No, it's a great piece. It's just… when we wrote it, um…"

Chika hesitated. What she was about to say would change her life - and once more she wasn't sure she could do it. Sweet, sweet Riko, who had such a bright future ahead of her. But, no. She had to. She had to tell her. This was a leap of faith, into the unknown. How they'd be after she told her was anyone's guess, but doing nothing now… things would be a hundred times worse between them. That was something she couldn't allow to happen.
Her hand slipped to her belly. She took a deep breath, and took that leap.

"I'm pregnant, Riko." As soon as she said those words, she felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. Riko stared at her in dead silence, her mind probably racing to figure out exactly what that meant. With the situation quickly becoming awkward, the ginger said the first thing that came to mind, hoping it would break this tension.
"Surprise."