Riko knew she was blessed.
She had a roof over her head, food to eat, a family that supported her with everything she set her mind to, a good education, and the luxury to explore her hobbies and herself at her own leisure. She was well-off and financially stable, money being nothing but a small problem to her as she went about life. She had morals and ideals she held to her chest, showing kindness to the many people that showered her with generosity.
And, of course, she was blessed with the greatest people she was proud to call friends.
They were a strange bunch, Riko had to admit. After all, no one in their right mind would call a mikan-obsessed leader, a uniform-obsessed right-hand man, an industrial metal-loving school director, a motherly scuba diver, a closeted idol lover, an overly-shy girl, a bookworm, and a not-too-discreet chuunibyou normal at all. If anything, Riko should have been the outlier in this unique bunch. She had nothing outstanding about her, except for, perhaps, the fact she played piano (and that she secretly enjoyed a certain genre of manga, but none of them needed to know that).
But all eight of them, led by that amazing leader, welcomed her with open arms and cherished and loved her as if they knew her all their lives.
Riko would be lying if she said she wanted to cry every time she thought about how blessed she was to know these people.
Her days have been brighter ever since she joined Aqours, her laughs ringing through the air whenever she messed up during practice on the rooftop. Her afternoons have been busier ever since she joined Aqours, her frustrations rising as she forced herself to compose, only to have Chika and the others drag her out for a much-needed break. Her evenings have been more eventful ever since she joined, her smiles growing whenever she glanced at her phone to see Chika and Dia bickering in the group text with Kanan and You acting as mediators while Mari and Yoshiko acted as instigators.
Riko's life was bursting at the seams with happiness, love, and hope whenever she was with Aqours.
"Riko-chan? Are you okay?"
Riko blinked, her thoughts coming to an abrupt halt as she turned away from the sun hiding behind the ocean. Chika was standing beside her now, her hair messier than usual due to practice and the light ocean breeze. Riko smiled when she noticed how red Chika's cheeks were—Riko admired how hard Chika pushed herself during practice.
"I'm fine," Riko said as she turned back to the view. The sun was almost gone now, its rays leaving streaks of orange that gradually faded to pink. "I was just thinking."
"If you're still worried about the getting the steps right, it's okay. We're still learning."
Riko chuckled as she shook her head. "I'm not thinking about that. I'm thinking about something else."
"What's that?"
Riko turned back to look at Chika. "How blessed I am to have met all of you."
In the distance, she could hear the laughter of the others ringing through the air, followed by a screech that surely came from Dia. A moment of silence passed between the both of them before they burst into a fit of giggles.
"You think about that, too?" Chika asked as she settled down.
"Wait, you do, too?" Riko said with mild surprise, her eyes growing wide as her smile faded.
Chika's smile, on the other hand, never went away as she turned towards the sunset. "Of course. I think about the future of Aqours, and how everyone is doing, and how I need to be there for everyone. I think about how much everyone wants to do this with their best foot forward. I think about how our hearts are reaching for the future with all of their might, and how no matter what happens, we'll be holding each other's hands as we move forward. Whenever I think that, I realize how all of our feelings turned into one."
Riko let out a small breath of amusement. "That sounds like it would make a good song, actually."
"What would?" Chika asked as she looked at Riko confusedly.
"The last couple of lines that you said. The ones about our hearts and the future, and how we'll move on while holding each other's hands," Riko explained. "It really conveys what I've been feeling, lately."
"Well," Chika said as she reached out to intertwine their fingers together, "I'm glad that we feel the same way."
Riko squeezed Chika's hand, and she felt Chika squeeze back. "I am, too. I'm glad that our feelings became one."
They fell silent once again, and together, the both of them watched the sun set and the sky turn into a peculiar, yet not unpleasant shade of light pink, their hands never letting go of one another.
Riko was truly, truly blessed.
AN: hi. it's been a while. this month has certainly been a ride - this is actually the first story i got finished this month. and i actually finished it in an hour! i'm so happy.
to those who don't follow the seiyuus of the franchise, aqours had their first live! and during one of the songs, omoi yo hitotsu ni naru, riko's va was playing the piano, but messed up and had a panic attack. chika's va immediately went up to her to comfort riko, as did several others, and while she calmed down, the audience changed the color of their kingblades to sakura pink, riko's image color. they were cheering for her and eventually she strong enough to continue with the performance. this story was based off that incident. as a performer, i know how hard it is to perform, especially when under immense pressure. i really feel what riko went through. my heart aches for her so much i actually tear up when i think about it, lol.
and, if i'm being honest, this work is also has a message that i wanted to send to my readers. this is my 50th work on fanfiction, this month has been a struggle for me in more ways than one. i know it's frustrating when an author doesn't update for a long period of time, but i would like to thank all of you for being patient and having my back along the way. i'm truly humbled and blessed to have you guys supporting me.
this story also serves as a birthday gift to my friend. follow her on tumblr idiototakus. she also has an ff account named Sensitive Soybean. check her out. and thank you for having my back - i'm blessed to have known you for this long.
i hope life treats you well - all of you deserve it.