"Text" – Bold = English (Should give you a hint as to who is here)

Riko's fingers gracefully played the last notes of her song for the concert. Taking a breath, she turned to her desk in her bedroom. "So, how was it?" She asked.

"That was fabulous!" Mari's voice was heard.

"It sounded nice," Kanan commented.

"It was lovely," Dia finally added.

Riko finished her composition in her free time. The free time she had was split between Maki and Riko, and with her piano trying to finish the song. She had to let some people hear it, but it had to be a secret from Maki. So, asking any member of Muse was out of the question. Hanamaru and Ruby were on their tour, and Yoshiko was…well, who knows what she was doing. Chika and You went back, so Riko's consciousness forced her to not ask them since they were too far away. Some people she hasn't talked to in a while were her seniors. So, she called them up on her laptop. They were happy to hear her song after all of the details of her relationship was out there.

"Thanks. You aren't lying, right?" Riko asked.

She saw Kanan sigh. "You've always had this problem, Riko-chan. It sounded great, trust us. We've been in your care for the music in Aqours."

"Correct! Riko-chan, we wouldn't have used your music for us if it sounded bad." Mari said. She got a glare from Kanan and a light slap from Dia. "Hey! I'm trying to encourage her here!"

"We know," Dia said, "You're just not doing it right. Riko-chan, it was good. You're going to be performing this in front of a crowd. Be proud of what you put out there."

"Right." Riko softly said. "Speaking of which, I'm going to invite everyone to come watch. Are you able to come then? It's coming up soon, about a week."

Riko watched as the three of them huddled away from their computer and discussed the situation.

"We should be good." Kanan said. "It would be nice to have everyone together again. We've only been able to see You-chan and Chika-chan."

"Great!" Riko happily said.

"Who else are you inviting?" Mari asked.

"Hmm. Well, I'll need to get in touch with Yoshiko-chan." Riko started to say.

"I'll be able to get to her." Mari said. "She doesn't have any tournaments coming up, so she should be okay."

"How do you know that?" Dia asked.

"Well, I watch from time to time. I need to cheer my friend on." Mari said.

"Okay, that's good," Riko said. "Hanamaru-chan and Ruby-chan should have this weekend off. Their tour allows her to get those days freed up. I've already talked to Chika-chan and You-chan, and they're good."

"Anyone else?" Kanan asked. The bluenette had a strong feeling as to who else would be coming, which was unknown to her two friends. She was smirking inside.

"Well, Maki-chan promised to come watch." Riko said.

Dia and Mari's eyebrows raised up from hearing that name. "Maki-chan?" Dia questioningly said.

"Oh, I haven't told you guys yet. I'm dating someone." Riko sheepishly said. She saw Kanan smirk. 'How does she know?'

"Can you show us a picture of her?" Dia asked, still very suspicious.

"Yeah." Riko pulled out her phone and went to her pictures. She chose a recent one, where the two of them were at the beach. It's been a month since they have been together, so they celebrated with a beach vacation. Luckily, Riko finished her work (with Maki's help), so she was able to relax with her girlfriend. The picture was them sharing a kiss as the sunset was in the background. It was a new personal favourite for Riko.

"Here." She turned the phone after admiring it for a few seconds. She saw the girls' eyes widen (except for Kanan's). And she just remembered who she was dealing with.

"That's Maki-san!" Dia exclaimed. "You're…dating Maki-san?!"

"Umm…yeah…" Riko said quietly.

"Why didn't you tell us anything?!" Dia asked. Riko could hear the irritation in Dia's voice, and Mari was giving her a stern look.

"I…forgot?"

"Unbelievable!" Dia looked at her girlfriend, who was sharing the same sentiment. "Can you believe it, Kanan?!"

"Yes, I can," the bluenette replied calmly.

"Is that why you didn't react when I said I was dating somebody?" Riko asked.

"Yeah…You-chan and Chika-chan have been keeping me up with everyone. I was surprised when I found out you were dating someone. And I was more surprised that it was someone from Muse." Kanan explained. "It's a nice story, to be fair."

"Thanks." Riko said. She was always comfortable around Kanan. She seemed so…not eccentric compared to the other members. So, it was nice to hear Kanan's appreciation.

"Kanan! You never told us?!" Mari said in a whiny tone. Riko forgot that she was dealing with fans of Muse (which was a definite understatement). "Why not?!" Mari and Dia glared at their blue-haired friend, who was slightly cowering in fear.

"Because I knew you two would act like this. Let Riko-chan have this. Her happiness is more important than the person she's dating." Kanan stood up and chopped both girls on the head in shame.

"Right…sorry, Riko-chan." Dia apologized as Mari nodded apologetically as well.

"It's okay." Riko sighed as she forgave the two of them.

"You only know Maki-chan, right? No one else from Muse like Nozomi-san or Eli-san?" Dia asked.

"Well…I do know them." Riko flinched as she said that. She was expecting Dia to freak out again since Eli is the black-haired girl's favourite member.

"WH- Ow!" Dia was prepared to scream when she heard Riko knew her favourite member. She was abruptly stopped by Kanan's hand pulling on Dia's ear. "K-Kanan?!"

"Be calm, Dia. Or this is going to be much more painful." Kanan said threateningly. Dia saw the seriousness in Kanan's eyes.

So, she turned to Mari, expecting a similar reaction from her girlfriend. "M-Mari?"

"You should be more considerate, Dia." Mari scolded her girlfriend.

Dia saw how conserved her normally energetic girlfriend was. She felt ashamed and hung her head in shame. "Sorry again, Riko-chan."

The red-head giggled at her older friend's antics. "It's alright, Dia-san. I know how much of a fan you are of Muse." She laughed again at Dia's ashamed sigh. "Anyways, I want to invite Nozomi-senpai and Eli-senpai. I was also planning to get Arisa-senpai to come as well. I've only met them, and only met Honoka-senpai and Nico-senpai when I was with Hanamaru-chan."

"Huh, you know a lot of them," Mari commented. "Is there any reason why you want all of us to come watch?"

"Well, the song I composed…it's special. I made it for me and Maki-chan."

"Aww," Dia said, "That's nice. Is there anything special you want us to do?"

"Not really," Riko said. "If you want, you can record it. It's nothing much, I just want Maki-chan to hear it."

"That's too cute!" Mari commented, bringing a blush to Riko's face. "Have you given your song a title yet?"

"I…haven't thought about it. I guess I need one, huh?"

"Don't worry about it for right now." Kanan said. "All you have to know is that your song sounds amazing, and Maki-chan will love it."

Riko smiled at Kanan's words of encouragement. She looked at the screen and saw three smiling faces, bringing a wave of encouragement over her. "Thanks. I need to sleep now, but thanks for hearing me out."

"Of course. Anytime, Riko-chan." Dia said.

They shared their goodbyes and hung up. Riko stood up and plopped onto her bed. She was thinking about Mari's comment.

'A name…what could I name it?' She looked at her photos again, scrolling though all of her memories she made with Maki so far. Thinking about her piece, she was thinking about how it was composed. Fast and sharp notes, with a happy tone anchoring it. She stood up and wrote down the title of the song before hopping back into bed.

"A Red-Hot Love"

The day of the recital came, and with that came the nerves. Riko was frantically pacing back and forth, her mind completely muddled.

She was hugged from behind by her girlfriend. "You feeling nervous?" Maki asked.

Riko slowly nodded. "I'm performing…in front of everyone…so, I guess you could say that," Riko said as she nervously chuckled.

Maki rested her chin on Riko's shoulder and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You told me how you handled that before. We're just people in the audience, right?"

The worrying red-head showed a slight smile. "I guess…"

Maki lightly laughed. "Well, just be more confident. We'll all be there, we'll all love you."

"Thanks."

Maki released her hug, but held Riko's hand. "Should we get going then? You don't want to be late."

Riko nodded, and the two left the apartment.

…

After a bit of traffic, the two of them got to the venue. They were looking for a place to park when Maki stopped the car.

Sighing, she said, "I think it's better for you to just go before me. You don't want to be late, right?"

"I don't think I'll be the first act. I have some time. And…I want to go with you," Riko lovingly said. It melted Maki's heart to see how cute her girlfriend was being.

"You're going to kill me," Maki jokingly said. Suddenly, her phone rang, startling the two girls from their cuteness exchange. "The hospital? Hello?"

As Maki kept talking with them, it was making Riko worried. 'She has a day off, right? Is it that important?'

"Alright. Yeah, I'm going now." Hearing those words leave Maki's mouth broke Riko's heart. Maki hung up the phone and looked at Riko apologetically. "They need me at the hospital."

"They can't get anyone else?" Riko desperately asked.

Maki shook her head. "They need me specifically for it. I'm sorry, Riko-chan."

Riko felt her tears welting up. She looked down so she didn't have to let Maki see her face. "It's alright," she said quietly.

"No, it's not. You wanted me to come watch. And I'll do my damnedest to do so." Riko looked up to see a determined look on Maki's face. "If you find anyone or you learn when you are performing, text me. I'll try my hardest to finish up everything with quality and efficiency."

Riko, despite knowing Maki might not make it to her recital, couldn't help but smile with how determined Maki was. "Okay. You'll do your best. Patients are more important, I understand that." Her thoughts betrayed what Riko was thinking. 'It's selfish, but I want me to be the most important.'

"Thanks for understanding. And I promise that I'll watch it with everyone. And you'll be smiling when you finish the song,because everyone will love it." Maki said as she held Riko's hands.

"You promise?"

Maki passionately kissed Riko, surprising the girl. "Promise."

The two of them hugged, kissed, and said their goodbyes. Riko stepped out of the car and waved goodbye. Maki returned it and started heading to the hospital.

'She'll make it,' Riko thought as she wiped away her tears. 'She promised.'

…

Riko walked to the busy venue. Finding a schedule, she saw that she was performing very close to last, about 5 people away from the bottom. She texted Maki the detail. Maki replied quickly, saying that she would make it. Riko could only assume that Maki already made it to the hospital, which was a good sign.

"Riko-chan!" She heard a familiar orange-haired girl call out. Turning to the voice, she saw all of her Aqours friends, with Chika and You in the center of all of them. She quickly walked over to them and hugged Chika and You. "Riko-chan?"

"Thanks for coming. All of you," Riko said, looking at all of her friends. "Hanamaru-chan? You aren't getting swamped with fans?"

"Zura?" Hanamaru was surprised that she was the first person that was talked to. "No, Riko-san. I told my fans that I am taking some days off. I haven't run into too many fans, and the ones I've seen have been very polite, zura."

"That's good to hear." Riko said. "Hello, Yoshiko-chan. It's been a while, huh?"

"Yes, it has Lily…and it's Yohane!" The fallen angel said. Everyone laughed at the small exchange, and Riko could see the smile on everyone's faces. She knew that everyone was happy to be back together after so long.

"Are you feeling nervous?" Dia asked.

Riko nodded. "I am. I'm performing in front of all of you. I don't want to mess up, it would be embarrassing."

"Aieeeee!"

"Hmm, not bad. You are developing faster than Maki-chan did." A voice said.

"Nozomi!" A familiar blonde's voice called out to the woman groping her chest. "God, Nozomi. You only met Riko-chan once. You can't just go and do that to her."

"Sorry, Elichi!" Nozomi said.

Riko pulled the hands off her breasts and turned to the other group. "Eli-senpai! Arisa-senpai! You guys made it!"

"Hey, what about me?" Nozomi innocently asked. She pouted when she saw Riko hug Eli and Arisa. "Rude, Riko-chan."

"I'm kidding, Nozomi-senpai. I just didn't like it when you…groped me." Riko said shyly.

"I apologize for her actions, Riko," Eli said, getting a playful smack from her girlfriend.

"E-E-E-Eli…san…" Everyone heard Dia stutter.

"Huh? Oh, hello there." Eli bowed, as did Nozomi, to Aqours. The reactions were varied, to say the least.

You, Yoshiko, Hanamaru, and Ruby stayed very neutral. You and Yoshiko were happy to meet the people who inspired Muse, but they only saw the two as potential new friends. Eli and Nozomi saw Hanamaru and Ruby and remembered them. Nico and Honoka, from time-to-time, treated the two of them to have dinner. The Muse couple remembered how Ruby reacted to seeing them from the first time and how excited and nervous the young red-head was. Now, they kept in touch and have been doing so for a while now.

"Ruby! You never told me you met Eli-san!"

"Sorry, onee-chan." Ruby apologetically said.

The Muse fans of Aqours had additional varied reactions. Kanan bowed back to the two and told them how much of a fan she was in her usual calm voice. Chika asked for a hug, which they both gave to her. Eli giggled and said how much Chika was like Honoka, which brought a blush to the Aqours' leader's face since she was being compared to her favourite Muse member. Dia and Mari were the most energetic as they were meeting their favourite Muse members (Eli for Dia and Nozomi for Mari). The seniors talked to them and asked them about general topics, ranging from idol talk and their careers.

While this was happening, Arisa was beside Riko as they watched Eli and Nozomi interact with the rest of Aqours.

"Hey, Riko-chan?" Arisa said.

"Yes?"

"Where's Maki-senpai?"

Riko sighed and lightly smiled from hearing Arisa's obvious question. "She's…at the hospital. They needed her…"

"Oh." Arisa felt the saddened feeling from Riko.

"She said that she'll be here…when she's done…" Just saying the words was making Riko feel depressed. Maki might not be able to make her concert, and she should understand that. But, all she wants is for Maki to be with her for the most important times. Like this.

"She will be, Riko-chan." Arisa said, trying to lift the red-head's spirits. "You just have to trust her."

Riko smiled from Arisa's encouragement. "Thanks, Arisa-senpai. I know…I just have to trust her…"

Arisa surprised Riko with a side hug. However, Riko knew what Arisa was doing. She was just trying to assure her that Maki would be here. And it was comforting to be in Arisa's embrace.

"Hey!" Riko called out after Arisa released the hug. "I have to get ready. Thanks for coming everyone!"

They all said their responses and smiled.

As Riko left the group, her smile that she showed in front of her friends turned into a small frown. But, she remembered Arisa's words and Maki's words. 'She promised that she would be here. And…I trust her to do so…'

…

Riko checked her phone constantly, waiting for some notification from Maki. But, with only one more person before her, she still saw nothing.

'Maki-chan…you'll make it…right?'

"Ms. Sakurauchi. Please get ready to perform."

Riko started to walk to the door. Every step she took, she hoped that her phone would go off once. Once she got to the door, she knew that there wasn't a single notification. No ringtone, no vibration, nothing.

'She must be driving back here. She's probably almost here. She just wants to surprise me.' It was the only thoughts she could think of to have a glimmer of hope.

With those lingering thoughts in her mind, she turned off her phone and opened the door to play.

…

"Maki isn't here yet?" Eli asked her sister.

Arisa looked around, but she wasn't able to see Maki anywhere. "No. But she will be before Riko-chan performs!"

'...Right, Maki-senpai?'

"Please give a welcome to Riko Sakurauchi, with her original piece: 'A Red-Hot Love'."

Applause was heard from the whole room. Riko was an established piano player in the scene, so everyone who was a fan of her was here. Riko didn't care about any of that.

Once she came out, she went to the center of the stage. With desperation, she scanned through the crowd to even see a hint of the familiar red hair. But, it was to no avail. With a bow to the audience, she took her seat and began to play.

Dia had her phone out, recording the entire thing. Even though she, Mari, and Kanan have already heard the song, they couldn't help but join in with everyone's adoration for the piece. It was fast paced, with sharp notes played and a jovial vibe being the center of it all. Eli, Nozomi, and Arisa (despite being worried that Maki isn't here) sat in amazement. They could only compare the piece to some that Maki did, but they could hear the passion in it. The members of Aqours knew that Riko's piano playing was great, but they didn't know that Riko could put this much dedication into a song. Everyone knew that this was for Maki. And so, it only worried them that Maki wasn't here to listen to it.

Riko played the final notes and took a breath. She played her heart out, and she could only hope that Maki was here to listen to it. Standing up and turning to the crowd, everyone's heads turned to a sudden door opening. With the small bit of light coming from outside the auditorium, Riko could see who it was. She took a bow, wiped her tears away, and walked quickly back to the holding room.

"No…No…" Was all Maki could say before she quickly ran to where Riko would be.