Welcome back to another chapter of RST.

"Blah" — Speech

'Blah' — Thoughts

[ Blah ] — Text

*Blah* — Sound effects in speech

(Blah) — Author's notes

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Love Live! School Idol Project. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Dealing with the Aftershock

"Mmmnh." Nico rubbed her eyes as she woke up. She pushed herself up the bed and looks around the room; Nozomi is on the couch reading a book and Eli was on the chair watching the TV.

Eli must have heard her because she turned to Nico and turned off the TV. "Ah good morning Nico."

Nozomi looks up and closed her book. "Hey there sleepyhead."

"*Yawn* Morning." Nico covered her mouth as she yawned.

Eli scooted herself and the chair to give Nico space. "How are you feeling?"

Nico threw the sheets off and place her feet in her slippers. "Tired but better than yesterday." She stood up and stretched her body.

The bodyguards got up as well. "Your manager told us that you have some days off."

"Oh yeah? Nice."

Eli smooths out her suit, "Any plans?"

Nico pauses and puts her hands on her hips. After a moment, she sighs and finally turns to them. "I might as well go home." She took a whiff. "But first you gotta take a shower. After you're done let's get some breakfast."

. . . . . . . .

After breakfast, they all checked out of the hotel and are on their way to Nico's house. They diverted some time so Nico can buy groceries. With that done, Nico would give directions to Eli as they entered a suburban neighborhood. Finally they reached their destination to see a light-pink two-story house; the design looks western.

Nico steps out of the car, "Ahhhh. It still looks great."

As the guards got off the car, Nozomi turns to look at Nico. "You don't go home that often?" Then she and Eli walk to the back to pick up the groceries.

"Not much and thanks for the help." Nico makes her way to the front with her guards trailing behind her. "I got this house around... four months ago. I was able to unpack most of my stuff before I got too busy. On some days I would have time to clean up." She unlocks the door and walks inside. "But it's been some time so be careful of the dust."

Inside, the stairs are on the left while the living room was on the right. There were a couple of couches, a table, and a large flat-screen TV occupying the space. There's also a window facing the front yard. In front of them is the kitchen; Nico tilted her head, "C'mon, let's put away the food while I give a mini-tour."

They followed Nico inside while she begins the tour. "The door in front leads out the backyard." On the left there is a wall where a section is cut off. Through the hole, you could see another room that is slightly lower than the first floor. A small table with two chairs is leaning against said wall. Nico points to the right, "Fridge is over there so let's go there first."

After opening the fridge door, Nico gave small sigh, "Lucky there were not a lot of fruits and veggies." The guards passed the food to Nico and she began filling the space. On the right of the fridge are a microwave and another door which leads to a space filled with a dinner table. Behind them there is a sink, oven, and another table that simulates a bar stand with a few bar stools. They are connected to form an inverted blocky U.

Done with food, Nico closed the door and turned to see them looking around the place. Nozomi couldn't help but comment, "You have a lot of tables for living alone."

Nico shrugs, "Eh, they came with the house. And who knows? Maybe I can host a little party or something like that." She waves them over. "C'mon." They followed her to the lower-leveled room. There is a hallway at the left corner of the room. "It leads to a second bathroom, laundry, and the garage door. Now let's go upstairs."

They walk up the stairs to reach a hallway. On their right there is a single door. "This is my bedroom." On their left there are four doors. "There is a bathroom, two bedrooms, and an empty room." Nico hesitated before asking, "Would it be alright if you two stay here?" Nico waves her hands. "For convenience and all that."

"It was our plan from the start." Eli assures her.

Nico takes a mental sigh, "Sorry if the rooms are small."

Nozomi turns around, "It's alright Nicocchi since we packed light."

"Cool."

The guards walked down the stairs to drive the car in the garage and get their luggage.

20 minutes later...

The guards have finally settled their clothes and gears in their respective rooms. After that, all three of them are lounging in the living room just watching TV.

In the middle of a show, Eli's phone goes off. Eli takes her phone to see Honoka's name. She accepts the call and puts the phone to her ear. "Hey Honoka."

"Hey. How's everyone?"

"We're fine. All of us are at Nico's house."

"This will be easy then. We have information of the attackers from yesterday. Can you ask Nico if she wants to know?"

"Sure." Eli turns to Nico who turns off the TV. "Nico, Honoka has information of the people who attacked you. Do you want to listen in?"

Nico hesitated, remembering last night's events. But she took a deep breath and firmly nodded her head.

Eli pressed a button and placed the phone on the table. "You're on speaker Honoka."

"Hey Nozomi and Nico."

"Hey."

"Yo."

"So about last night's attackers." There are sounds of paper rustling on Honoka's side. "Their names are Akio Akemi and Fumio Akemi." Nico inhales a small gasp but before Eli or Nozomi could ask Honoka continues. "They had no prior history and this was their first offense."

Nico sighs. "I see. How long will they do time?"

"About three years each."

Nico stands up and walks over to the window. "...Can you cut some of that time?"

"Eh?" Even Eli and Nozomi stare at Nico. "But why?"

Nico pauses again, playing with the curtains. After a while, she turns back to Eli and Nozomi. "Back then my family was very poor. We had to live in an apartment and my parents had to take many jobs to stay afloat. But I didn't let that stop my dreams of becoming an idol. I would go to auditions and meet other girls who wanted the same thing."

"It was there I met their older sister, Madoka Akemi. She was kind, honest, and doesn't act like a fake. Her situation at was almost like mine. In our last audition together, one of us would be chosen and sponsored by the big production company. But there was a high entry cost and the loser can't be a pro idol." Nico shrugs, "And here I am."

All three of them are silent when Honoka asks, "Are you doing this for her?"

"Yeah. I would be devastated if any of my family went to jail for a long time."

"...Alright. I'll see what I can do. And thank you for telling us."

"Sure. Talk to you later."

"'Til next time." Click

Eli takes the phone and pockets it while she and Nozomi stood up. Nico walks and stops in front of the guards. "I wanted to say thank you for last night."

Nozomi smiled, "Your safety is our highest priority."

"Still," Nico hugs both of them, "Thank you."

They both hug back and Eli whispers, "It's no problem."

They separate and Nico walks to the kitchen. "Want to eat lunch?"

"Sure." They followed after her.

. . . . . . . .

Police Station

Two people are sitting in front of a table; Akio has a black eye while Fumio has a cast over his broken right hand.

The door opens and Honoka walks in with a folder. "The both of you will go to jail for a year and a half."

Akio raised his eyebrow, "But the officer said we would be looking at three years."

"My client wanted the two of you to have less time."

Fumio tries to cross his arms over his chest. "That bitch is probably saving face." He winces as his left hand brush the cast, "And fuck that blonde."

Honoka snaps the file shut and stalks toward Fumio. She glares at him as she towers him. "Be grateful that my client is merciful after what you two have done." She hisses and leans down on him. "She is giving you a chance so I suggest you to get your shit together."

Fumio shifts in his seat and averts his eyes. Before it got any tenser the door opens and a women come in slightly disheveled; she is wearing a waitress uniform and some of her brown hair is sticking out.

The men faced the woman at the door. "Big sis!"

Honoka steps back as Madoka rushes toward her brothers and looks over their injuries. "Oh my god! Are you two okay?!"

Honoka coughs into her hand, catching Madoka's attention. "Ah Miss Akemi. Thank you for coming."

Madoka bowed slightly, "Miss Kousaka. Can you tell me what's going on?"

"These two tried to attack Miss Yazawa at her concert. They failed and will be serving one year in jail."

Madoka rounded on them, "Why!?"

"It should be you at the concert!" Fumio snaps. "It was your dream wasn't it!? Not her—"

Honoka is curious at his pause and looks at Madoka's face; there is so much disappointment shown in her eyes. Fumio looks away in shame.

"My dream was to be an idol and there are times I wish to be one. But that is in the past and I hold no grudge for Nico." She turns to Honoka and bowed, "Thank you."

Honoka shrugs, "You should thank Nico. She wanted to give them a lighter sentence."

"Oh. Can you pass my gratitude to Nico?"

"Why not do it yourself?"

"Ah... I think I shouldn't face her right now."

"She doesn't blame you for this."

"It's just..." Madoka averts her eyes.

"Alright I won't push. Well, I'll leave you three alone." Honoka walks out of the room as the siblings talk to each other; it was more of Madoka scolding the brothers. Once the door closes, she nods at the officer standing nearby and makes her way out of the station.

Her phone buzzes and she sees that it's Umi's message: [ Mission completed. ]

Honoka typed back, [ Good job. I'll get your debrief as soon as you come back and I'll give you an update on Nico's situation. ]

[ Got it. ]

Honoka shivers a little bit when the front door opens. She pockets the phone and rubs her hands to stave off the upcoming cold as she walks to her car.

.

Fin for now.

Notes:

-The house is modeled after one of my friends since it's easy to reference.

-Urgh I still need improvement on how to describe places.

- Can the victims drop or lessen the charges or nah?

There will be one more chapter before I go into hermit mode for November; I hope I don't accidentally write a story in my term paper.

Thanks for reading

Constructive criticisms are appreciated

Bravo Tango out.