"When Nico died, it was like someone cut my strings. I really had no idea how much I thought of her as a little sister."

They were in Nozomi's shop near the shrine where she was still a miko. It was somehow affiliated with a spiritual shop in Kagurazaka. It was popular. Nozomi had no qualms about discussing sensitive topics in between dealing with customers. The kind and graceful way she dealt with the people that came in reminded them of why they'd come. By the time she could justify closing early, a couple of hours after Cocoro and Maki arrived, she already had the gist of their situation, and she told them she was convinced they really were communicating with their past selves in their sleep. She had invited them behind the tapestry curtain to the tiny room she took her tea in.

"And now, wow," Nozomi continued. "Cocorochin, do you know what's involved here?" She looked at Cocoro sympathetically.

"You mean," Cocoro said with a determined expression, "for us?"

Nozomi nodded.

"We decided things will play out as they play out. My big issue wasn't outcomes or having to make some awful choice between Nico and Cocoro. I would save Nico, if I could, regardless ... it's not like it will kill Cocoro or anyone else I love."

"Yeah," agreed Cocoro, nodding vigorously. "Save Onee-chan, and things will happen as they happen."

"But aren't you tempted to send back word about being together?"

Both girls shook their heads. Nozomi looked relieved.

"I highly doubt you could do anything if you did have a selfish attitude. That's good."

"If Maki and I are meant to be, I would still not begrudge them being together first, if only to ease Nico through the rough passage she was in."

"And I vaguely remember her being that way then. I have no idea how this sort of unscientific weirdness works, but I don't want either of us distracted."

"And if they ask? Nico, Maki or Cocoro?"

"Depends on why they want to know," Cocoro said. "If it's just curiosity, we'll give a short message that we can't change the past too much."

"And if they need distracting, tell them Cocoro is an idol now, too."

"I agree with that," Nozomi said. "Nico associates all of that with her fear of being alone. Neither of you saw that awful period. It was mostly in her second year."

"She told me a lot about it," Maki objected.

"Yes, but you didn't see it. The Little Match Girl was her nickname, and honestly, it fit her."

"Why didn't you do more, Nozomi?" Cocoro blurted out.

"Well, honesty makes me say I was afraid. I entered Otonokizaka after our latest move - I went to two grade schools and two middle schools, you know. I wasn't even sure I'd be able to stay there. And I didn't want the reputation of the two loner girls forming a pair."

"If it helps, I know Nico, and she'd have felt bad about it, but she probably would have done the same," Maki said. She flinched a little when she realized she was back saying, "I know" and not "I knew."

"She would," Nozomi said with conviction. "That's one of many downsides to her chosen path in life. You have to worry unceasingly about what people think of you - believe me, she knew what a figure of scorn and pity she'd become, she just couldn't come up with any way of changing it. Along with things like she couldn't have relationships except in deep secrecy, and so on. I wish to all gods out there she'd discussed everything with her family as she went along. But being the assistant mom taught her a very bad lesson, never to ask for help, no matter what, because no one will help you."

Cocoro looked guilty, and Maki glared at her. They'd discussed this, endlessly. Yes, life had been unfair to Nico as a child. Nonetheless, her family had been her main joy in life. The villain there was poor communication. If only they could send messages back to Nico's first year, everything would be guaranteed to have a wonderful outcome, but they couldn't.

When Maki said as much, Nozomi nodded, and she looked sad.

"You know, you will have a few months at most to start changing Nico's attitude."

"I have an idea. It's not exactly wonderful," Cocoro began.

Maki had a bad feeling. She knew Cocoro quite well by now.

"If Nico or Cocoro ask, and even if they don't. We tell them Nico needed to be with Maki more. We tell them I'm with someone, but I'm still a successful idol."

"Oh, Cocoro, no!" Maki said, raising her voice.

"Oh, yes," she replied, firmly. "This is not us us, Maki. This is a different Maki and Cocoro. I love being an idol. I love having a girlfriend. This is what is going to make them happy. And eventually they become us, and we're happy, too. And like I said, even if you stay with Nico and I get a girlfriend, and we truly are meant to be, then somehow that will still happen. I have faith in that."

"It will," Nozomi agreed. "I'll probably remember a bit. You two, only a very little, in your dreams. Cocoro and you will just be a little closer than she normally would be with her sister's girlfriend. If you had years of time, Cocoro would not be right, but you don't."

"We'll still be in each other's lives, still side by side, saving Nico, Maki. And we still have now. I say we bag everything - I've been saving up favors so I can do that - and we enjoy each other's company, going forward."

"It's weird, Cocoro," Maki said. She was fighting tears.

"It is weird, girlfriend. But it's also a miracle. Please, let's not get so worked up over it being some sort of impending doom that we forget that. We're witnessing a miracle. We're part of a miracle."

Nozomi decided to shift the mood. "If you had to pick now, who would it be?"

Cocoro pointed at her nose questioningly, and Nozomi nodded.

"Oh, my. Well, are those girls in Uonuma fair game? The oldest is only a couple years younger than me, and if it was fair game for Maki to switch to me from Nico ..."

"No, I agree. Which one?"

"Well, hmmm. Maybe the loser in that second-year triangle?"

"You wouldn't nudge them into making it ..." Nozomi stared off into space ... "Chika and Yoh, would you?"

"Well, they spent a long time with that Chika girl going back and forth, right? It was only when Yoh went to sea that Riko won, if you could call it that."

"Riko reminds you of me, right?"

"Well, yeah. Plus, frankly, why was it even a contest? The Yoh girl sacrificed practically her whole life goals and free time to Chika and that group, Aquawhatever."

None of them could remember the exact name offhand.

"Just saying," interjected Nozomi, "that any suggestions like that would probably interfere with saving Nico."

Cocoro laughed. "Well, you asked, I answered. Besides, I wasn't done. What about the two other year triangles?"

"Well, if Ruby and the girl from ... oh, you two are better at this," Maki began.

"Saint Snow, I am pretty sure," Cocoro filled in.

"Got together, leaving Hanamaru and Yoshiko, and then whoever lost in the other two got together, which isn't that unlikely ..." Maki continued.

"What a pessimistic outlook! So Ruby/Leah but no Dia/Sara?" Cocoro asked smiling. Nozomi nodded, agreeing with Cocoro.

"Anyway, the question was who I'd pick, and my thoughts led me to Aqua-idols. I mean, realistically, would you expect me to try to break up Alisa and Yukiho? I guess I could get Alisa and Umi together ..."

Maki and Nozomi frowned.

"So, back to the Uonuma girls." Cocoro pondered for a while.

"I do think Riko would be my first choice. Yes, now, because she reminds me of Maki, but that's exactly why I would pick her - Nico would, too, if she couldn't have Maki. It's pretty simple. She's our type."

"By the way," Nozomi said, "It's not just ... oh wait, I actually met Yoshiko, she called herself the Demon Queen Yohane or something ... reminded me of me in middle school, poor thing ... she gave me her card." She fished it out and looked it over. "Aqours?" That doesn't even make sense and I know French and Latin. I think she pronounced it "akuaruzu" like Latin "aqua" and English 'ours' ..."

"But it should have two Us," Maki said.

"Like I was saying," Nozomi said, "it's not just them where relationships were tricky. The nine of us were pretty precarious. I thought Nico and I would end up an item, and when Eli first joined our school, Umi had a thing for her. They pretty quickly became the two most popular girls in the school Umi's first year, and Eli said if they started dating every girl in the school would cry. It was a joke, but not by much. Then I thought it was Eli and me, and Alisa got a huge crush on Umi, and Umi looked like she was going to date Honoka, they were both in kendo, and their friend Kotori had a thing for Umi, and Honoka got really charmed by Maki when she heard her play, and Nico was already charmed by her when they met at UTX, and Rin and Hanayo were just charmed by her generally before they started being more romantic friends, and so on. Meanwhile, the ARISE leader Tsubasa was always flirting with Honoka and Maki ...

"I remember that!" Maki exclaimed. "It made Nico furious. I actually didn't like Tsubasa after I made Nico tell me the history. She was so nice to them and all she got in return was put-downs and trying to steal away right in front of her face."

"I won't throw the first stone, there, Maki. I mean, Nico was my first kiss, and I still made fun of her in that video I shot. I think it was my old fears coming out. I had to be above you all, and she was the easiest target." She pulled out her phone. "I still have a still from that. Look how beautiful Nicocchi is."

The other two girls stared at the image for a long time, and both had tear-streaked faces when they looked at Nozomi.

"She really is beautiful," Maki said.

"She looks so much like Umi, doesn't she?"

"I am really in pain remembering that. She showed her graceful, mature, beautiful side to me - the side only her family saw, and maybe the handful of students who went to their lives. And I walked away while she was talking. So I can't blame Tsubasa and the girls too much."

"That's true, really," Cocoro agreed. "And if you wanted to change things with Tsubasa, you could have explained to ARISE all the different things Nico did for Mu's. And reminded them who started the ARISE fan club at Otonokizaka. And who went to as many shows as she could afford or get time off for, and always bought flowers for them, and so on." Then she did a double-take. "I thought Eli was your first kiss?"

"Nope," Nozomi responded, and she couldn't help but smirk. She was also happy inside that she'd completely changed the dark mood to something lighter and more fun. "I was Eli's, true, but Nico and I kissed before that."

"And the point of all this ancient history is?" Maki asked, archly.

"Well, it's like Aqours. If you have me and Eli together then you have Umi free, and maybe she gets together with Honoka, that leaves Kotori free, and who does she get with? I would say Nico - those two spent many hours a week together making costumes. If Umi gets with Maki, then Honoka is with Kotori or Tsubasa. If she's with Tsubasa, Kotori is free, so she probably gets with Nico, who's free because Maki and I have girlfriends. And if she's with Kotori, Tsubasa doesn't have anyone, so it's at least possible she notices Nico, finally. If you have me and Nico together, Eli probably gets Umi, and ..."

At that point she grinned at Maki and Cocoro, who were both holding their heads as if in pain.

"Wait," Nozomi protested. "We haven't even discussed what Nico/Hanayo leads to! Oh, and what about Umi/Alisa?"

Maki shushed her, but Cocoro looked thoughtful at that last part. She was obviously pondering if young Cocoro could stand to date Yukiho. At any rate, they had become more reconciled to letting fate decide their status, going forward. Nozomi was free the next day, neither working at the shop nor the shrine, and Cocoro and Maki now had faith that, in essence, the commitments they had now were effectively meaningless, so they were available to do anything the two of them agreed to do.

Nozomi offered to lend them several books on experiences like theirs to look over before they met again the next day. Four of them were by a British man named Dunne, and Nozomi said the first book was the most similar to their situation. Maki brushed aside the offer, and simply bought all of the books.

"It's on the same principle, Nozomi. Why should we conserve anything, really?"

As they left the shop, Cocoro phoned her agency and told them she had to cancel her commitments for the next week due to a family crisis. Maki did much the same with her classes, but called it a personal emergency. Because they could get up when they wanted - they were going to meet up with Nozomi for lunch - they stayed up late skimming through the books they got from Nozomi and discussing them.

"This feels like our honeymoon, Maki!" Cocoro said, happily.

"It's like we're pilots flying fighting missions so we have to make the most of our time, for me," Maki countered. "But I see the honeymoon thing, too."

It was a bit ironic that they'd never been so happy together as they were right then.