KotoNico Day Five: Two More Days Allowed

NicoTori have had their first Yazawa home-stay. Having weathered that storm, Kotori decides to move their love life along when they return to the Minami household. Meawhile, Nico's acting career takes off, and her only worry is that her friendship with Maki has clearly slipped away.

Nico set her alarm early enough that she had plenty of time to make breakfast. Kotori woke up and without saying a word changed into her uniform. Normally Nico would have stayed in her pajamas until she was done cooking, but they did have an apron, so she changed as well. Kotori followed her to the kitchen, looking like she wanted to help. Since Nico often cooked with her mother or Cocoro, they actually had two aprons, so Nico handed her one. The breakfast was more elaborate than at Kotori's house — even the one Nico made for her. Kotori reflected that Umi would run every ounce off of Nico, so she hoped she enjoyed it. But better not to mention that to Nico until she had to deal with it. Surprising her with things had worked surprisingly well. Kotori laughed at that way of putting it in her mind, and Nico looked at her, puzzled. Kotori made a lips-are-sealed gesture, which only confused Nico more, but she and Kotori finished breakfast. Kotori set the table, and Nico brought the food out. Then she went and woke her siblings, knocked on her mother's door, and said, "Breakfast, momma."

When she came out to the kitchen table, it was a little unreal for Yazawa Kotono, seeing her daughter and her new girlfriend sitting next to each other at a breakfast they'd made together. (She noticed the omurice wasn't quite up to Nico's standards, so Kotori must have finished it). Mainly because, apparently, this was her temporary girlfriend. Kotono felt old. Which was no way to feel when you'd decided to go out and seek romance. She decided to, instead, congratulate herself for being so open-minded and keeping up with her turbulent teenager's volatile social life.

When they parted at school, Kotori winked and told Nico she'd have a surprise ready for her that night. They were back at the Minami's after all, because Principal Minami would still be out of town. Practice was the same as before. Nico tried to approach Maki, who was so cold and unresponsive Nico had to give up before she broke down in tears. It was clear Maki thought Nico was turning the rest of µ's against her. If Nico had given in to her tears, Maki would have probably seen that as yet another example of depicting her as a villain. But she did say, "Nico has never, not ever, not even once, ever, said one bad thing about Maki-chan. Nico has never done anything to make Maki hate her except, Nico supposes, fail to be a good enough girlfriend. Maki-chan has no right to hate Nico." She had to leave it at that.

Despite feeling so depressed she almost couldn't move, when Nico got to drama rehearsal, she was able to focus and forget her troubles. In fact, she even nailed all the lines in the voice-over in English, when the director experimented. She decided it sounded good enough that Nico's (Chrysanthemum's) part of the voice-overs would be in English. Since they would be recorded anyway and played over a speaker during the play, Kanako-san simply had Nico re-do two of the places where it hadn't come out right, and Nico was done with that part. She also gave the rest of the voice-overs to Hana to finalize, while she coached Nico on some of the finer points of the Chrysanthemum performance. She filled in lines for the missing girls who had to come in later, as usual. She told Nico they'd be early the next day. She decided that all of Nico's songs would be in English only, too. That way, Nico could legitimately call it an almost all-English role on her acting resume. Just the dialog would be in Japanese so most of the crowd wouldn't use the thread. The voiceovers and songs combined had more lines than the dialog lines.

It went so well, it lifted Nico's mood over Maki's continued hostility.

Kotori had many surprises waiting for Nico. She had embarrassing, sexy underwear in Nico's size she made Nico change into right away, and to go over it, Kotori had laid out a skimpy, peek-a-boo outfit based on the Otonokizaka uniform. Nico's had the wrong colored ribbon — a blue first-year's. By now, she was used to suppressing her objections and simply playing along, so she did.

When she got out there, Kotori, dressed similarly but with her proper red ribbon, had cleared the entire living room and moved the couch to the wall. She listed things she and Nico had had trouble with at rehearsal that day, and said they would practice. Nico smiled and said Kotori was crazy.

Kotori looked at her semi-seriously and told her to call her "Sempai." Nico had a sinking feeling. Were they descending to cosplay and role-play? Well, at this point, what was the point of pride anyway? So yet again, Nico went along. They practiced vigorously, somewhat indecently, for an hour, and gave each other blunt feedback. The only time Kotori objected is if Nico failed to call her "Sempai," but otherwise she was fair game. Sure enough, Kotori made Nico call her "sempai" in the bath, then in bed. Before bathing, she made "Nico-chan" strip for her, slowly and sexily. And they both put the lingerie on after the bath before climbing into bed. They made out for quite a while before it came off again, too. They didn't spend as much time "as usual" with each other - Kotori told Nico she had a "big, big day" the next day, but wouldn't say any more. She just said Nico needed to be rested and in good shape.

As she fell asleep, Nico reflected that in two days, this would end, "just when I am getting so used to it." But she realized much more and it would have been impossibly painful, and that she and Kotori both had other interests floating out there. Either way, Nico was now an "experienced girl," not the innocent she'd started the year as. Hopefully, she'd eventually toughen up, though not so much that she got jaded. The thought was somewhere between a wish and a prayer.


Preview of KotoNico Day 6: One More Day Allowed

"Your grades are even better than they were in your first year, Yazawa-san. My daughter told me what happened to you during that year. It's probably good she waited, because if I had had your past misfortune in mind, I wouldn't have approved school idols this time around. I talked with Ayase-san and my daughter, and they both say you're caught up and trying your hardest at school. Kotori has pointed out to me that soon you need to be furthering your career goals. She showed me the video she shot, and it's very good - a credit to the school."

"There is someone that will hear this, and she will think it is about her. It is not you. It could never be you.
Never, ever would I see you like this. I want you to know that."

"So, you have my permission to skip a morning or afternoon period when you need to, as long as it doesn't interfere with your grades. Your teachers are familiar with people leaving even just to study for the exams, so simply notify them the day before if you can. And good luck, today! No, I won't tell you what Kotori and the others have in mind, my lips are sealed."