Heeeey! I'm back with a new chapter. Thank you so much for the reviews, favourites and follows! I didn't expect that people would like it since it's been ages since I last wrote a multi-chaptered fic. Cookies for everyone! ^o^ I've also checked the first chapter and corrected some of the grammar errors there. I was tired when I wrote and posted it so my apologies.

ihavenoidea: I'm not too sure. We'll see as the story goes. ^o^

Disclaimer: I don't own LoveLive! Sunrise does.

Chapter 2

Maki avoided her eyes and stared at the floor. Knowing that it is futile to hide it further, she slowly brought her hands to her lap as her ears perked up and twitched at every sound that it could pick. Nico was rendered speechless at the sight of those things on Maki. On the other hand, Maki was too embarrassed that her face is slowly becoming the same colour as her hair and ears.

"Wha... Wha..." Nico couldn't still believe it.

"I-I..." Before Maki could even explain herself, Nico noticed a slight movement from behind Maki. She pointed at the redhead, who's busy retrieving her fallen bonnet on the floor. Knowing already what the other girl was pointing at, she shifted in her seat. A long tail came into the view of the raven-haired senior; a tail that unmistakably belongs to a cat. It bore the same colour as her cat ears as it sway lazily behind the pianist.

"M...Maki?" Having finally found her voice, Nico called out to the redhead as she watched the scene unfold before her eyes. Embarrassed, the girl grabbed the nearest pillow, pulled her knees to her chest and hid her face behind the pillow.

Finally snapping out of her shock, Nico moved towards her junior. Seeing the usually-composed pianist of the group crumble before her had added to her surprise. Maki's ears twitched at the sound of the girl sitting down beside her and retreated deeper into her pillow.

"Hey..."

Still no response.

"When did this happen?" Nico asked as she slowly tried to remove the pillow from her. After a few moments of tug-of-war from Maki, Nico managed to pull the pillow out but Maki still refused to budge. Her ears drooped down and her tail curled around her. She then heard a small mumble from the girl.

"Two days ago..." Maki mumbled. She slowly brought her head up and looked at Nico. Fear is evident on those lavender orbs of hers.

"And your parents...?"

"They didn't know. I'm alone in the house when it happened."

As far as Nico remembered, she haven't heard the girl's voice tremble in fear before, so it's actually surprising for her to see the said girl so vulnerable. Grabbing her phone, Nico called her mother.

"Hello?"

"Mom, is it alright if I stay over at Maki'house?"

"Of course, dear. Until when?"

"Uhh..." Nico hesitated. She looked back at the distressed girl.

"I'm... not really sure." There was a short silence from the other end of the line.

"Okay, dear."

"Thanks, mom." Pressing the end-call button, she shut her phone.

"I'm staying over until this is over." Nico informed.

"Y-You don't have to-" Maki tried protesting before a finger was placed on her lips, evidently shutting the girl up.

"I want to. Besides, you're all alone in the house with this..." Nico gestured to Maki's ears and tail. "I'll just go home and get my stu-" Before Nico could attempt to walk away, Maki grabbed the petite girl's wrist, halting the girl in her tracks. Maki's lavender eyes looked on the other girl's scarlet orbs with fear.

"Pl-Please... stay. I'm... scared." Her voiced trembled as her tail swished behind her. Nico sighed and went back to sit on the sofa.

"You know I don't have extra clothes, right?"

"There's some upstairs."

She just gave out a sigh. She knows that Maki is just as stubborn as her so arguing with her would only tire herself out. She took a sip of her tea before continuing with her interrogation.

"So... How did this happen to you?"

Maki brought her tail in front of her and started patting the soft fur on it.

"Two days ago..."

The resident pianist of µ's managed to survive her day with a headache and slight backache. Seeing as the headache is not yet severe enough, she decided to ignore it in school. It's not yet bad that it requires medical attention from the school infirmary. Luckily, she's got some painkillers on her bag. It did ease the pain for a short while.

After saying goodbye to her raven-haired senior, Maki trudged towards her house with a difficulty because in addition with her headache, her backside started to give her discomfort. After what seemed like hours for the girl, she finally arrived at her house. Disposing her bag on the floor of her room, she immediately changed into her casual clothes and settled down on her bed, hoping that sleep could take the headache away. Because she was so tired because of her headache, she managed to sleep through dinner. She doesn't really care since she got the house all to herself, with the maids on break and her parents on a business trip for a month.

Her headache woke her up in the middle of the night. Feeling her forehead, she was stung by how hot her temperature is. Pushing herself up from her bed, Maki slowly went to the bathroom to grab some painkillers. With her blurry vision and clumsy movement, it's a miracle that she managed to choke down the pill and went back to bed. Ignoring her headache and backache, she managed to catch some sleep again. She tossed and turned in her sleep, looking for a comfortable position to sleep in. Once she managed to find one, she snuggled further and went into a deep slumber.

The following morning, Maki was roused by the sunlight that pierced the curtains of her room. She let out a relieved sigh now that her headache is gone. She stretched her back, which also lost its pain during her sleep. She stood up and went to the bathroom to wash her face. After splashing her face with water, she directed her gaze to the mirror. What she saw on the mirror had sent a jolt on her body, instantly booting itself up. Atop her head are two pointed things that resembled cat ears, which are covered with red fur, the same colour as her hair. Her lavender orbs widened as she saw that those things twitched when she tried to bring her hand up to touch it. The scream that was supposed to be heard got stuck in her throat with her new appendages as she scrambled away from the mirror. Hitting her bathroom wall, she sat down on the cool floor. She immediately shot up and let out a cry of pain when she felt that she was sitting down on something soft and sensitive. Looking down, the scream that was initially stuck on her throat finally got out as she saw a long tail of a cat attached to her behind. Her tail sports the same colour as her ears and was swaying behind her. She tried pulling it and let out a cry of pain when the tail wouldn't come off of her. Panic and fear etched on her face as she tried to look at the mirror again for her ears. She saw them twitching and flicking at every sound that it could pick.

'I can't come to school like this!' She thought. Stepping out of the bathroom, she grabbed her phone and texted her friends that she won't be able to attend school today. After sending the message, she plopped down on her bed again, careful not to squish her tail and tried to catch some sleep, hoping that it's just a bad dream.

"And that's about it..." Maki finished. She shot the raven-haired girl a look, expecting her to laugh but saw a serious expression on her face. Nico just gave a sigh before locking gaze with the catgirl.

"You're really a troublesome person…"

"Wha-What do you-"

"You're scared stiff and yet you refuse to ask for help. Geez…" Nico leaned back, placing her hands behind her head and closed her eyes. "So… what are you going to do now?"

Ears drooping, Maki shifted her gaze from the other girl to the teacups on the table, suddenly taking an interest in it.

"I don't know." Maki replied quietly. "I just… don't want to go out of the house for the meantime."

One eye opened as the senior studied her distressed junior. Seeing that it's hopeless to get the girl out of the house, she grabbed her phone and texted the other members. Maki's cat-ears twitched at the sound of the beeping sound coming from it.

"What are you doing?" The redhead asked.

"Texting Nozomi and Eri. I'll be taking a time off of school too."

"Wha- Y-You can't miss school!"

"What makes you think I'll listen to you?" Nico's irritation had flared up once more. "You've got a weird problem and you don't know how to solve it! Your parents are away, your servants are on break and you got no one with you here. Your stubbornness prevents you from seeking help from us! I'm staying here until you've gotten over this."

Seeing the firm determination in those red eyes, Maki sighed.

"Do what you want, then."

Nico's irritation melted upon hearing the approval of the pianist. She managed to see a small smile forming from the redhead. Finally seeing the redhead smile made her lips curled up into a smile too. Now that her irritation had subsided, she grabbed one of the cookies and took a bite on it. Chocolate chip: her favourite. She also noticed that Maki finally relaxed and also helped herself with some cookies. A comfortable silenced enveloped the two girls as they both helped themselves with cookies and tea. Nico couldn't handle the silence anymore and decided to break it.

"Can I touch them?"

Maki, who was busy drinking her tea, choked on it upon hearing Nico's words. She looked at her senior and saw curiosity etched on her face. She slowly scooted closer and dipped her head down. Nico reached up and gently scratched Maki's ears like she would with a cat.

Maki felt herself melting with the other girl's touch. She closed her eyes in contentment as Nico continued scratching her cat-ears. Lost in the pleasant bliss, she unconsciously leaned towards Nico, who chuckled lightly upon seeing the composed pianist in such a state. Her red tail lazily swayed in contentment as Maki managed to let out a soft purr, similar to that of a cat.

"Wow, Maki. I didn't know you could purr." Nico teased.

Hearing Nico's tease, Maki's eyes shot open. Realizing what happened, she immediately sat up straight, careful to not squish her tail in the process. She sent a glare towards her senior, who was chuckling lightly beside her.

"I-It's not that I can control it!" Maki retorted back.

"I know, I know." Nico raised her hands in defeat. "It's because you're part-cat, right?"

Seeing the catgirl's face flared up with different shades of red, Nico's chuckles became laughter, ringing at the quiet house. After a few seconds of laughter, Nico tried to coax the catgirl out of her embarrassment.

"Come on. Looks like you need the sleep." Nico pointed on the eyebags that pooled underneath Maki's eyes. "It looks to me that you've been up late at night." She got up and shifted the cushions. Feeling contented with her set-up, the raven-haired sat back down beside the cushions. She patted them to encourage the pianist to lie down. Nico glanced at the nearby clock. It's just quarter past 5, too early to cook dinner. Maki eyed the girl suspiciously before resigning to sleep. She lied down on the sofa, with her head, resting on the cushions that Nico fixed. When the redhead had settled down, Nico gently scratched her ears again, hoping to bring a peaceful sleep to the other girl. Feeling the pleasant bliss once more, Maki sighed in contentment as she drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

I gotta admit, Maki with cat-ears and tail would be cute. :3 Ojou-sama. 3 The next chapter might be a little late (well, it depends if I got in the mood of writing it). But I hope that you'll look forward to it!

Please review! ^o^ See you all next time! :D