The phone call wasn't as harrowing as Nico had feared. Basically, Maki called a truce in hurting each other, and even admitted she'd mostly been on the giving end of that.

Nico told her all about her dream. Maki's surprising answer was that she'd had a similar dream once. In her version, it was Honoka announcing Kotori was leaving and Muse was breaking up. Nico was yelling at Honoka, and Maki was holding her back and comforting her.

At that, they laughed together for the first time since the break.

"We do agree Nico wouldn't go gracefully if that happens," Maki said.

"Well, Nico put a lot of herself into Love Live!, a lot of herself into Muse. More than Nico thought she had left to give. If Nico's current project makes her more self-reliant and well-rounded, that could change. It might be possible to pursue the idol dream with or without a team, but what a lonely road that would be!"

"I can see why you'd have a lot of resentment against me, currently, Nico-chan, but it feels like in my dream I was picking up on some towards Honoka. Or is that just me being crazy?"

"It's not!" Nico responded. "Nico spent a very hard year climbing up to where she could be a real school idol. And chivvying her bandmates to climb up with her. Then it all broke up, and a middle-schooler that Nico had promised to add to her group passed away. And Honoka, who doesn't seem to take anything seriously, suddenly has a successful team with almost no fighting and refusal to practice and so on. And it just made Nico even sadder and angrier."

"So, this is stuff left over from when you were stealing her food and spying on us?" Maki asked, trying hard not to smile.

"It is," Nico admitted. "What was life or death for Nico seemed like it was a whim to Honoka and her friends." After a bit, she added, "You know, Maki-chan? What Papa wanted was for Nico to make people smile. Actresses do that. Singers do that. Heck, good cooks do that. Papa and Mama wouldn't have wanted Nico to drown in sadness for a year, all alone in that club room, looking out on the world of idols like a lost soul."

Maki actually felt good about Nico. First time in a long time, she mused. "I'm proud of you for realising that, you know," she said.

"Okay ... ehhhh ... Nico knows it's a bad idea to bring up this dating project. But one thing, is it okay?"

Maki decided she could bear it, and told Nico so.

"Nico has been training with Umi, you know that much?"

Maki hummed in agreement.

"Nico went running up the famous steps when she wasn't with Umi-chan. And Nico remembers how fast Honoka-chan went up, and Nico is now faster. So, if Honoka hasn't been training harder than before ..."

Maki laughed out loud. "Good for you, Nico. But try to remember that you actually owe Honoka a lot. Even the way you said you felt like she stole me from you in the piano room, well, being in Muse gave me back, with interest. I am not sure we would have ever gotten together without Muse, you know."

Nico promised to do just that. Then they talked. About Nico's family. About Maki volunteering at the hospital. About Maki's upcoming recital - which would overlap with Honoka, if that's how things were going. Nico volunteered to tell everyone in Muse and coordinate, so Maki wouldn't have to be immodest.

All in all, it was an even better conversation than they'd had at the cafe near the station.