Last time on Love Live!:
µ's holds a date auction without Soldier Game Trio, A-Rise is there too and Maki is too gay to function, bidding for Nico in the heat of the moment because she has a big lesbian crush on her... no i didn't watch mean girls last night what do you mean
"On a side note," Eli suddenly said, "did you just spend 400,000 Yen for a date with someone you argue with every day?"
Maki grimaced. "Papa's going to kill me."
Since Umi and Eli didn't know Maki's father well enough to be able to judge how much truth was in that statement, they placated her with awkward pats on the shoulder. "Why don't we just...focus on the auction right now and worry about that later."
Looking up at the stage again, they noticed that Rin's turn had long begun and that the bid was around 300,000 Yen by now. The first year student would do a small excited jump every time someone increased the bid, she could hardly stand still on her feet.
"Adorable," Anju said with a giggle, startling Umi who had forgotten about her presence altogether. "Almost makes me want to bid too."
"Why don't you," Erena challengingly asked.
"Oh, you know I don't like it when you're all sulky," Anju chuckled, giving her fellow group member a flirty wink.
"Guys, not here," Tsubasa drily said.
Umi held her breath, suddenly feeling her heart pounding fast. Was it what she thought it was? Could it be that even A-Rise had a secret no magazine should ever know about?
"Sonoda-san?"
"Yes!" Umi stiffly replied, a little bit too loudly because the moderator turned to her in confusion, thinking she had made a bid. But when he didn't see a raised hand, he turned back to the general audience.
Umi let out a sigh of relief, but tensed up again when Anju asked her, "Are you okay? I noticed you shivering."
"No, I'm fine, thank you for asking."
Umi cleared her throat and took a deep breath to cool her head. She had to stop being nervous around A-Rise or she was going to create a false image of herself. She didn't want them to think that she was always like this, so easily embarrassed and shy, she wanted to project more of her calm and collected side. Wanting to prove that she wasn't as socially awkward as she seemed, Umi straightened her posture and turned to Anju.
"Um, Yuuki-san-"
"Please, Anju."
"Then...please call me by my first name too," Umi managed to somewhat calmly say, feeling herself getting braver. "I was rude not to offer it in the first place, please excuse me."
"That's fine, I like your last name," Anju smiled, "but your first name is cute too. Then, Umi-san, what is it that you wanted to say?"
"Er, yes, about that autograph, are you still interested in getting one from me?" Umi began, suddenly feeling two pairs of eyes boring into the back of her head.
"Why, of course," Anju questioningly replied, surprised that Umi still remembered.
"As soon as the auction is over, I will head backstage and search for an appropriate medium to sign." Umi was quite proud of herself when she managed to say all that without stuttering.
Anju noticed the µ's member visibly putting effort into the conversation, trying to overcome her shyness this way. 'So cute' was the only thing she thought in that moment but didn't say because she didn't want to discourage Umi, who would only get flustered again at a direct compliment. "That is very thoughtful of you, thank you. But I just thought of something even better than an autograph."
And she pulled out her phone. "How about your number, Umi-san? This way, we don't always have to rely on Tsubasa or Kousaka-san for communication between A-Rise and µ's."
A bit overwhelmed by the unexpected suggestion when she had just been waiting for a 'yes thank you', she stared at the phone in Anju's hands for a few seconds before she reacted.
"Y-yes, of course," she quickly said, fumbling in her blazer pockets for her phone. She could still feel Maki's and Eli's gazes on her, and a ticklish sensation ran down her spine. She wanted to tell them to stop staring, but instead pulled out her phone and gave it to Anju.
Umi watched slender fingers with purple nails swiftly tapping on the phone screen, entering a series of digits before they hit dial, and Anju's phone screen lit up with Umi's phone number.
"There you go," and Anju handed her phone back. Lowering her voice and tilting her head towards Umi, she added, "Tsubasa is such an unreliable and biased source when it comes to µ's, but I'm sure you've already noticed that. This is why I feel so much better now that I have your number, Umi-san."
Though Umi's cheeks were tinged red, she managed to calmly say, "I'm glad I could be of help. It's the least I can do."
"So polite," Anju dreamily sighed, turning to Erena. "It's been a while since you treated me like that, Erena-chan."
"I'm afraid I don't understand," Erena replied, frowning in confusion.
"You always tease me about my weight," Anju complained with a pout. "You know I'm sensitive about that, but you still poke my belly at every dance practice."
Umi wasn't quite sure if she was still allowed to listen in on them now that the conversation had taken a different turn. It felt too private for her to be a part of this but at the same she was too intrigued by the relation between them to stop listening.
"If you're going to wear a crop top to our dance practices then I might as well enjoy it."
"Guys," Tsubasa impatiently inserted, but got ignored.
"So you enjoy pinching my belly fat? Maybe I should go on a diet..."
"You've gotten the wrong impression," Erena was quick to correct her, "you're perfectly fine the way you are. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel self-conscious about your weight, I didn't mean to. And I will be more considerate from now on."
"Erena-chan..." Anju sounded happy. "Could you stop the tickle attacks then?"
Erena thoughtfully hummed for a second, then, "No. You're too cute."
"Guys!"
A-Rise finally fell silent after Tsubasa's second warning.
Umi didn't quite know how to feel about the conversation she had just overheard because she had witnessed a completely new and different side of A-Rise. She wanted the rest of the members in µ's to know of this too, but she also wanted to keep it a secret to protect A-Rise.
"Umi," came quietly from her right side, and Umi jerked her head towards Maki, who was frowning at her. "What do you think were you doing just then, exchanging numbers?"
"I'm social-networking for µ's?"
"Sure," Maki muttered, before she got serious. "I don't trust her. Her eyes always look like they're undressing someone."
"Maki!" Umi hissed, aghast. "You can't judge her from looks alone. Besides, doesn't Nozomi have similar eyes?"
"That just proves my point, you know Nozomi isn't the pure shrine girl she sometimes looks like."
"What about Nozomi?" Eli joined the conversation at hearing her best friend's name being mentioned.
"That she's been in love with you for years," Maki said in a completely serious tone, choosing to prank Eli because she was annoyed that Eli only now decided to participate in their discussion when Nozomi's name was dropped.
Umi stared at Maki in disbelief, wondering why she would do such a cruel thing.
"W-what, wait, Nozomi?" Eli stuttered in shock, her eyes widening. "How – how do you know? Who else knows? Am I the only one who doesn't? What did she say?"
"Nothing. She said nothing because I lied. We weren't talking about Nozomi. Well, not directly."
Maki somewhat regretted doing this to Eli because she realized her joke had been of poor taste. She wouldn't want anyone to joke with her about her loved one either, giving her false hope only to crush it few seconds later.
Eli's face went through the expressions of shock, disappointment, embarrassment and hurt before they settled on anger. "Maki..."
"Yes, yes, I'm sorry, that wasn't funny," Maki admitted, now feeling really bad because she had hurt Eli's feelings. Also, Umi's reproachful gaze wasn't helping either.
Eli seemed to be too upset to actually reply to that, her jaw all tense and shoulders stiff when she pretended to pay attention to the auction again. She had just missed the end of Rin's auction; the first year student cheerfully waved to the crowd and bowed deeply in thanks.
Maki hated feeling all this guilt lasting heavily on her shoulder, she wanted to do something that would free her of those bothersome emotions. "Ne, Eli, what if I tell you that it wasn't completely a lie?"
Eli's body turned rigid, but she forced herself not to react rashly. "I don't believe you."
"You don't have to. It's still true," Maki quietly said. She wanted to add more but paused when Nozomi walked to the front of the stage, replacing Rin. The third year student smiled coyly, waving at the audience, to which the fans reacted wildly with screams and shouts. When Nozomi spotted Eli, she waved at her too, but in a shy manner where she barely raised her hand. Eli's troubled expression was gone in an instant, her face relaxed and she softly gazed back at her best friend with a small smile.
"She does love you, you know."
Eli's smile faltered. "Even if you say that, I won't believe it until she is the one to tell me so."
"How stubborn," Maki sighed.
"I don't want to hear that from you," Eli replied with a weak chuckle. "You can't even tell Nico that you like her."
"That's...that's something completely different," Maki defensively said. "Also, this isn't about me. Even Umi is too blind to notice what's really going on in front of her. I can't believe you two are my upperclassmen."
"What about me?" Umi asked in confusion.
Maki let out a quiet groan in frustration. She decided to cut to the chase. "You like Kotori, don't you?"
Frozen stiff, Umi panicky thought about denying it but her words got stuck in her throat when she met Maki's eyes, seeing no bit of curiosity or anticipation in them at all. She already knew. There was no point in lying anymore. Seemed like everybody's secrets were out.
Umi lowered her head and slowly nodded.
"Then what are you doing with...her," and Maki subtly nodded to Anju, who was laughing at something Erena had said.
Umi had learned from her mistake and refrained from turning around to see who Maki meant, instead logically deducing that she was most likely talking about Anju.
"I'm not sure I understand," Umi replied in confusion. "What do my...feelings for Kotori have to do with A-Rise?"
"Wow, okay," Maki turned to Eli in exasperation, hoping to get her help in talking some sense into Umi, but Eli was no longer approachable for talking. The blonde was nervously following Nozomi's auction, restlessly shifting in her seat as the bid grew higher and higher, her hands tightly gripping her chair as if she was stopping herself from raising them.
"265 grand, 270 - and two hands over there, 280, nope not anymore, 285...which is also a thing of the past, we're now at 290,000!"
Eli's left eye twitched every time someone new raised the bid.
Maki turned back to Umi again. "Change of plans, we have a new priority. We have to make sure Eli doesn't bid for Nozomi or today's auction will really end in a disaster."
Maki's serious tone evoked Umi's focused side, and the second year student nodded without hesitation. Both decided to halt their previous conversation for the time being.
"Eli," Maki nudged the girl to her right, but she got no reaction. "Eli! I know what you're thinking. You can't."
"But you did too," Eli replied without thinking, not taking her eyes off Nozomi, who seemed to have noticed Eli staring at her. She smiled at her and mouthed 'Elichi' with a wink.
Maki could almost observe Eli's resolve not to bid taking a critical hit.
"It's because I already did something so dumb that you can't too," Maki said through gritted teeth, not happy to be reminded of her mistake that was probably going to cost her a lot more than just money. "Don't make the same mistake, µ's can't take a second scandal."
"Listen to Maki," Umi urgently said, joining Maki's attempts to calm Eli down. "She's absolutely right. Eli, please act as the rational upperclassman we know, you were the Student Council President for two years!"
"I could use my college funds," Eli muttered to herself, "I could take that modeling job that they've been wanting me to do forever."
"We lost her," Maki groaned. "Umi?"
"I'm afraid we have no other choice," Umi gravely said. "We have to physically restrain her."
"But that's going to make it obvious that she wants to bid!"
Umi raised an eyebrow. "More obvious than when she actually bids?"
Maki blinked once, then, "So what do I do?"
"Holding her hands should suffice for now."
"This is ridiculous," Maki muttered, but still did as she was told, reaching for Eli's fidgeting hands.
"Maki?" Eli questioningly looked down on her fingers intertwined with Maki's. "What's the meaning of this?"
"You'll be thanking me when it's over," Maki grumpily said. "Just stay still."
Eli wanted to further question about the reasoning behind this when the moderator shouted, "385,000! 385,000 going once!"
"Nozomi," Eli breathed, getting even more restless because her best friend wasn't looking at her, instead expectantly gazing at the moderator and waiting for him to finish the auction.
Maki tightened her grasp on Eli's twitching hands. Umi nervously stared between Eli and the moderator, wishing he would end the auction faster.
"385,000 going twice!"
Eli had begun to struggle against Maki's grip. "Bibi will soon release a new single, I'm sure the royalties will be enough to pay that off..."
"Eli!" At this point, Maki was fighting to keep the blonde's hands down.
"385,000 going three times!"
"Wai -mpf!"
Umi had clamped her hand in front of Eli's mouth just in time.
"Sold! Congratulations, your date will be with Tojo Nozomi! Lucky winner, hold up your number!"
Eli slumped down in her seat, no longer on edge. On the contrary, all energy seemed to have left her body. "Nozomi..."
Maki slowly let go of Eli's hands and shared a worried glance with Umi. She could only imagine what Eli was feeling right now. Even if Maki regretted putting µ's into a difficult situation with her rash action earlier, she didn't regret bidding for Nico. Because at least she knew she was going to be the one on a date with her, and no one else. No stranger, no possible pervert or worse, a charming millionaire. Unlike Eli, Maki didn't have to deal with the unknowing or the helplessness.
"Hey," Maki quietly said. "I'm sorry."
Eli slowly shook her head. "No, you've done the right thing. Thank you."
"Eli, I'm sure Nozomi wouldn't want you to feel troubled about this," Umi said.
At the mention of her best friend's name, Eli looked up at the stage again, but Nozomi was already heading to the back of the stage, leaving the spotlight for Honoka to take.
"You know you can trust Nozomi," Umi said, being able to empathize more than Maki because she too had to accept the fact that her loved one was going to go on a date with a stranger. "The date will mean nothing. It's natural for an idol to spend a lot of time with strangers."
"Umi's right," Maki continued, "you should believe in Nozomi more. You are worrying too much."
"Easy for you to say," Eli sighed, raising an eyebrow at Maki. "You got your date with Nico."
Maki flushed and turned her face away. "I was just trying to cheer you up."
"I know," Eli breathed out, not really blaming Maki for any of this. "Argh, I was so stupid, I should've listened to my gut feeling. I should've stopped Honoka when I had the chance."
The three of them turned their head to the stage to gaze at the person who instigated all of this.
Energetic and cheerful as ever, Honoka greeted the audience by waving with her whole arm, then clenched her fist and told everybody to fight on.
"Honoka's ideas usually tend to have unfortunate side effects," Umi grimly said. "I always think I should be used to it by now, but every time I'm proven wrong."
The other two could only hum in agreement.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your last chance to bid for a date with a member of µ's!" The moderator announced. "How much will Kousaka Honoka be worth? Let's find out together in 3, 2, 1...go!"
"300,000."
Umi, Maki and Eli simultaneously turned their head to the left, staring at the A-Rise leader who had calmly raised her hand. Despite not being surprised at all about Tsubasa bidding for Honoka, they couldn't refrain from looking at her in disbelief because of the high initial bid.
Unsettled by Tsubasa's participation and the huge price surge, the auction hall had fallen silent. Even the photographers forgot to take pictures, more interested in finding out what was going on.
But the one who was affected most was by far Honoka. At first stunned about Tsubasa's generous bid, she slowly came to realize that this was her favorite idol bidding for a date with her. Kira Tsubasa, leader of nationally successful school idol group A-Rise, had come to bid for her and she seemed to be intent on winning if her high starting bid was anything to go by.
Honoka touched her cheeks, wondering when they had gotten so warm.
The moderator cleared his throat, visibly uncomfortable about the tense silence in the auction hall. "Seems like this will be a fast one," he jokingly said. "From zero to 300,000, let that roll over your tongue, people. Can anyone keep up?"
Someone in the back confidently shouted, "320,000!" to which someone else in the middle replied, "340,000!"
"400,000."
Without even needing to shout, Tsubasa had managed to silence the auction hall once again, including the moderator who neglected his job of animating the bidders to participate, instead staring at Tsubasa, wondering what the point of this auction was when friends and acquaintances were bidding for a date with someone they saw regularly. There was going to be an uproar among fans tomorrow, he was sure of it.
"I think you could have at least given Kousaka-san's fans a chance to dream," Erena said with a sigh. "You're too obvious about her."
Umi, who had overheard this, secretly agreed. The magazines were going to have a field trip about today's events. And Honoka's reaction wasn't helping at all, she looked far too flustered to be able to blame her red cheeks on the warm temperature in the auction hall.
"What is she doing..." Maki muttered. "She's creating the perfect gossip."
"And it doesn't seem like she cares." Eli somewhat had to respect Tsubasa for being so bold. If she herself could only be more honest about her feelings for Nozomi, maybe her boldness would get her somewhere. But despite playing the strong character she wanted everybody to see her as, she didn't think there was a bigger emotional coward than herself. Aware of her feelings but unwilling to accept them or even act on them, she pursued dreams that weren't her own so when she failed, it didn't feel like the world ending to her.
Eli shook her head, not wanting to think about this, now wasn't the time. Or ever. She forced herself to follow the auction again, but it seemed like the moderator had almost nothing to say anymore.
"Er, 400,000 seems to be the new status," he slowly said. "Anyone?"
A second of silence, then, coming from somewhere on the right side of the room, an insecure voice offered, "410,000?"
"500,000."
The three µ's members sitting in the first row sharply inhaled, along with the rest of the audience.
"How merciless," Erena drily commented.
Tsubasa shrugged. "I came to win."
"My, my," Anju breathed with a giggle, "you're taking all the fun, Tsubasa. Also, I think you broke Kousaka-san."
Indeed, Honoka didn't seem like she was able to do much right now, let alone react. Completely frozen, she stared at Tsubasa with wide eyes, her mouth open in shock.
"Well, now I feel less stupid," Maki muttered. "No one's going to write about me when they can write about A-Rise." She genuinely felt a little bit relieved at that.
Both Umi and Eli weren't quite ready to reply yet, still trying to understand what was going on inside of Tsubasa's mind that made her so careless. Didn't she care about her image at all? Or did she believe that it wouldn't affect A-Rise's reputation, completely confident about their pole position in the school idol world being stable enough to last a scandal or two?
"Um," the moderator cleared his throat. "500,000 Yen would be the current bid then. Does...anyone think they can offer more?"
It was dead silent in the room.
"Then...500,000 going once, going twice, going three times, sold! Congratulations, you will be on a date with Kousaka Honoka."
Tsubasa crossed her arms with a triumphant smile.
Erena glanced at her watch. "Congratulations, Tsubasa, you just spend 500,000 Yen in less than one minute."
"Didn't expect any less from our leader," Anju said in amusement.
Anju and Erena might have expected this, but the rest of the audience hadn't. Now that the auction for Honoka was over, it was official that Tsubasa had bid half a million Yen for her. The noise level in the auction hall quickly rose with everyone starting to wildly discuss about what just happened, expressing their disbelief and surprise.
"Um, this concludes today's auctions," the moderator tried to talk over the noise, but nobody listened to him anymore. Still, he had a job to do, so after glancing at one of his last cue cards, he weakly continued, "Thank you for participating and bidding along. The money will be donated for good causes, and for that, µ's would like to express their thanks. Let's hear it from Kousaka Honoka-"
The spot where Honoka used to stand was empty and the moderator found himself gesturing to nothing. "- or not." He turned around just in time to see Honoka staggering away, disappearing to backstage.
Maki smacked her palm against her forehead, her fingers digging into her hair. "What the hell is she doing?"
"This is bad," Eli anxiously mumbled.
Umi didn't dare to look behind at the crowd that was getting more and more noisy.
"My, my," Anju breathed, her gaze wandering around the room, watching agitated fans becoming more vocal about their discontent over the outcome of the auction. "I think you need to prepare a long apology for Kousaka-san, Tsubasa."
"You mean for everyone in µ's," Erena corrected.
Tsubasa dismissively waved with her hand. "Our assistant will handle that."
"Then it's time our assistant gets a raise."
People began shouting in anger, throwing accusations into the room about how unfair the whole auction had been, because they only had six candidates of µ's to bid on to begin with and now lost two of them to other idols.
Overwhelmed by the strong reactions and not used to dealing with critique, the moderator helplessly fumbled with his cue cards, knowing full well that he wasn't going to find a card that told him what to do in this situation, but trying anyway because he had been driven into a corner.
"Everyone, please!"
Nozomi had run to the front of the stage and raised one arm to get the audience's attention. "Please!"
At the sight of a µ's member calling out to them, the fans quietened down, temporarily forgetting their anger because they were more curious about what one of their favorite idols had to say.
"One year ago, when I came up with name 'µ's' for our idol group, I never imagined to one day see it printed in big letters on magazines and posters. But miracles do exist and this is why we are here today," Nozomi said, putting a hand over heart. "My cards told me that something good will happen if µ's was formed by us nine, but they could've never prepared me for this. Every day is like a gift to us, seeing you fans love us so much. We love that you love us."
Umi and Maki looked around, seeing that most fans had calmed down. Eli gazed up at Nozomi like she was facing a deity.
"I'm often told that I have the role of the supporter in µ's, and I do try to guide everyone with advice and hints where I see fit. But µ's' biggest supporter are our fans now and they give our members much more strength than I alone ever could." Nozomi smiled, extending her arms to the audience. "Your support is everything to us. You being here is proof of it, and we couldn't be more happy. I understand that some of you are upset over not being able to show it directly on a date, but please know that we have acknowledged your feelings and that we have seen you fight for us."
"Nozomi," Eli breathed, looking as starstruck as the rest of the room. Impressed by Nozomi's speech too, Maki didn't bother to tease the blonde for looking so lovesick.
Nozomi placed both of her hands over her heart. "Your feelings reached us and now it's time for our feelings to reach you too. But it can only happen if you open your hearts and let us in. Even if you couldn't win an auction today, we don't want you to leave this place feeling sad. Every single one of you has contributed to something great today because the money will go to people in need. And we can't thank you enough for that, but we will try. So..."
Nozomi paused when she suddenly found Nico and Kotori standing to her left and Rin and Hanayo standing to her right. Nico nodded to her and took her left hand. Rin did the same to her right hand. The five of them linked hands and took a deep breath.
"So in the name of µ's," Nozomi began, and then the other four joined her, "thank you very much!"
And together they bowed deeply, closing their eyes and hoping for the best.
The only ones to clap at first were A-Rise, and their claps echoed awkwardly in the auction hall. But the three µ's members sitting next to them quickly followed their example, and soon the first two rows were clapping along as well. Slowly, one by one, more people came to accept the outcome of the auction and clapped for the five school idols onstage. Gradually, the room became lively with positive atmosphere again, and the negative was pushed into the background.
"Nozomi," Eli breathed in relief.
Both Umi and Maki leaned back in their chairs, the tension leaving their body. "That was a close one."
The five school idols onstage couldn't believe their luck when they looked up to find everyone clapping for them, cheering them on again. Excited, Rin tightly embraced Nozomi from the side, affectionately rubbing her cheek against her while Nico lightly bumped her fist against Nozomi's arm as a way of saying 'well done'. Kotori and Hanayo held hands while facing each other, happily bouncing on their feet.
The moderator wiped at his sweaty forehead, looking forward to leaving this stage and taking a day or two off.
"So...where did Honoka run off to?" Maki asked when she remembered that their leader was missing onstage.
"That's what I'd like to know too," Umi darkly said. "Leaving at such an important time. If it weren't for Nozomi...I don't even want to imagine an alternative ending."
"But that surprised me," Maki said as an afterthought. "I didn't expect Nozomi to be the one to step up. Ne, Eli, wouldn't that have been your call?"
Eli slowly shook her head, replying with a weak smile, "Nozomi has always been the more levelheaded one between the two of us."
"Now that you say it," Umi thoughtfully said, "it does seem true."
"Honestly, none of this would have happened if it weren't for..." Maki trailed off, choosing to show who she meant by glaring at Tsubasa. "I knew they were trying to ruin us."
She hadn't said it quiet enough though; Anju had overheard most of it and understood that Maki was blaming Tsubasa for everything that had happened after Honoka's auction. She wanted to apologize on behalf of her friend, but she was interrupted by the moderator.
"The winners please report to the front desk to confirm their bid and to choose a method of money transfer. Further information about time and location regarding the date will be given there. As a reminder, the autograph session with Ayase Eli, Sonoda Umi and Nishikino Maki will begin in half an hour. Thank you very much and have a good day."
And he quickly left the stage, almost tripping over his feet in his hurry to get away.
The five µ's members onstage decided it was time to leave too, waving at the crowd one last time before they walked off and disappeared backstage.
"Let's go," Eli said and stood up. "I want to meet the rest before we get busy again."
Maki hummed in reluctance, not really eager to face a certain black-haired girl. "You guys go ahead, I first have to go to the front desk anyway."
"Can you even pay it off right away?" Eli asked her.
"Well, Papa gave me a credit card for emergencies," Maki muttered, cringing at the thought of having to explain to him how she managed to pour 400,000 Yen down the drain. "Probably not the kind of emergency he imagined, but it will have to do."
Umi and Eli weren't quite sure how rich the Nishikino family was, so they couldn't tell whether wasting 400,000 Yen was a big deal or not. Though they had the feeling that it probably wouldn't matter much, they knew that Maki was raised in a way not to throw money around, so she would still get some trouble for it.
"It will be fine, I'm certain of it," Umi encouragingly said, putting a hand on Maki's shoulder. "We are starting to earn our own money too. Once Bibi's new single is released, I believe it shouldn't be too difficult to balance out that deficit. And don't forget that we're always here for you too."
Her words achieved the desired effect; Maki managed to shake off the doomed feeling that had been accompanying her ever since she made the bid for Nico. Her chest felt lighter too.
"Thanks, Umi," she quietly said with a small smile. "I'm going now. See you in half an hour."
Umi and Eli watched her walk off.
"Good job, Umi. I feel like this little crisis has only made us grow closer," Eli said, smiling. "I look forward to the day where Maki doesn't feel like she has to put up defenses around us anymore."
Umi lowly chuckled. "It will be sooner than we might think if Nico plays her cards right."
Letting out a short laugh, Eli replied, "Then let's hope for the best. Shall we go too?"
"You can go ahead, I want to say goodbye to A-Rise," Umi said, gesturing for Eli to go first.
It surprised the blonde that Umi voluntarily stayed behind to socialize, wondering how much she had missed by not sitting directly next to her. Did A-Rise, specifically Anju, get that much closer to Umi that the latter one felt comfortable enough to initiate conversation now?
Like Maki, Eli was still suspicious of Anju's true intentions. But her desire to see Nozomi again outweighed by far and it didn't take her long to decide. "Then, see you later."
Umi nodded, watching her walk off.
"You didn't have to do that," Anju said behind her, having heard the part where Umi said she'd stay for A-Rise.
Upon turning around, Umi noticed that Tsubasa was no longer standing with them, most likely at the front desk too.
"It would be rude to leave without a word," Umi answered, "I actually should be apologizing for my friends' behavior."
"That is alright," Erena waved her off, "after the stunt Tsubasa pulled off, I expected you to stop talking to us."
"She sometimes acts so unreasonable," Anju added with a sigh. "We're sorry you had to see that side of her today. But as soon as she has her sights set on something, there's no way to talk her out of it. Believe me, we tried."
"You don't have to apologize," Umi said, feeling sympathy since Honoka too was difficult to convince otherwise once she had a specific goal in mind. "Our leader is exactly is the same."
"Speaking of, I hope Kousaka-san is alright? She didn't look so well to me," Anju said, frowning. "Or maybe Tsubasa finally scared her off."
Umi still wasn't too happy about Honoka abandoning her duty when she had been needed the most, leaving Nozomi to prevent a disaster from happening. "She will manage."
"Then, Umi-san, we don't want to take up more of your time, I'm sure you need the break. Thank you for everything today, it was a pleasure."
And Anju pulled Umi in for a hug, causing the other girl to stiffen up because she wasn't used to close physical contact with people she didn't know well. She awkwardly patted Anju on the back and when her eyes met Erena's, she quickly pulled away.
"Sonoda-san," Erena said with a polite but reserved nod, offering her hand. Umi took it and suppressed a grimace at the strong handshake. "Until we meet again."
As soon as the two A-Rise members turned around, Umi held up her right hand just to see all the blood rushing back into it.
Maki tucked her credit card back into her wallet, sighing deeply. She had to think of a way to tactfully tell her parents, she couldn't take the risk of letting them know through gossip magazines. Her father's reaction worried her more than her mother's; her mother would probably let her be after a scolding or two, after having lectured her on the importance of correct money management. She had a feeling that her mother wouldn't go so far to ask her about her intentions behind bidding for a date with Nico. Good mothers always knew.
Maki shivered. She didn't want to know what her mother thought she knew about her daughter's love life. Why couldn't she have spent 400,000 Yen on something more easily explainable, something that she could advocate in front of her parents without feeling embarrassment eating her up?
"Maki-chan."
She dropped her wallet in shock at hearing the voice of the only person she wasn't ready to face right now.
Nico bent down and picked up the wallet, offering it to the girl who lost it. "Here."
"Th-thanks," Maki mumbled, not daring to look up as she took back her wallet.
If Nico wasn't feeling sheepish herself, she would have loved to tease an embarrassed Maki, but now could hardly stay calm herself. "So...400,000 huh?" she awkwardly said, fumbling with the hem of her pink cardigan.
"Look," Maki took a deep breath, "I don't know why I did it and I get it if you're not...Anyway, we don't have to go on that...date. Let's just – forget about it."
"I can't do that."
"Eh?"
Nico looked to the side, her voice becoming smaller, "You spent 400,000 for that date. Wouldn't it be unfair if you didn't get it?"
"I-I," Maki hated her cheeks for betraying her by turning red, "I did it for charity. And I raised the overall value of µ's, so don't think too much into it."
A hurt look crossed Nico's face before she growled, "Maaaki-chaaan..." and she reached up to pinch Maki's cheeks, stretching her skin. "You're not being really honest, Maki-chan, why can't you just admit you wanted to go on a date with Nico?"
"It hurts, it hurts," Maki whimpered, grabbing Nico's hands and pulling them off her. "Fine! So what if I did?"
Stunned about the honest reaction, Nico stumbled a step backwards. She had only been teasing Maki, not expecting a confession. "Y-you did?"
Her face burning bright red, Maki refused to say any more. She had embarrassed herself enough today and all in front of the wrong person.
But her expression only made Nico realize that Maki was serious about her, and she suddenly felt her own cheeks heating up. "Oh."
Nico pulled at the sleeves of her pink cardigan until her hands were hidden, facing to the side. "I guess you deserve it since you won that auction fairly." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, you have a week to think of a plan. Make it worth my time."
Without waiting for a reply, Nico turned around and hurried away.
Staring after Nico until she was out of sight, Maki then looked down on her wallet in her hands. She had a feeling that those 400,000 Yen she had spent to get a date were just the beginning. "Papa's really going to kill me."