Santa Existential Crisis

Towards the end of the semester in Otonokizaka, students were preparing themselves for the winter break ahead. After exciting news of their school idols' victory over UTX's A-Rise, µ's was the talk of the town and many looked forward to their appearance in Love Live.

On the other hand, the victorious members of µ's were no one to rest on their laurels – they knew the real battle would be in Love Live, against representatives from the other prefectures of Japan. As such, a final meeting before the school closed for winter break was at least essential.

For µ's, this was business as usual. Eli gave her words of encouragement and wisdom. Umi reported available club budget and expenditure needed for their performance in Love Live. Everyone was purely focused on Love Live… well, almost everyone…

"Okay everybody, rest well for the Christmas season." That was among Eli's many pep talks to her comrades in µ's, but the first to mention the famous holiday so far. The conversation just diverged from there.

"Nya, it's Christmas time~" declared Rin, always happy and spontaneous, "Rin hears Christmas bells a rin-ing~"

"Snow! Free presents!" cried Honoka.

"Honoka, be sure to wear enough layers of clothes if you insist on playing in the snow," lectured her childhood friend, Umi.

"Honoka-chan is so energetic even in this weather," laughed Kotori.

The maelstrom of words and chitchat was cut off by Maki's voice, as though she had an announcement to make before her friends:

"Everyone, I would like to invite all of you to my vacation house for Christmas… you know, the one we went to previously… the one in the mountains…"

"Yeah, we get to live in the rich man's house!" exclaimed Honoka.

"That would be fun," Nozomi quipped, "The last we went there was for business, so a leisure trip there is lovely."

"Maki-chan, th-thank you," Hanayo spoke.

"Can we light the fireplace nya?" asked Rin.

"Of course not, Rin!" cried Maki, "I've already explained it. How is Santa-san supposed to come down to a chimney full of charcoal?"

Maki's reply was somewhat awkward for her friends, who were used to the redhead's logic-grounded rhetoric. In fact, her words invited an almost snickering laugh from a certain twin-tailed girl.

"Maki Maki… you still belie…"

"Nico-chan, don't!" Honoka scolded her senior, "You can't!"

"Please don't, Nico-chan!" Rin joined in the condemnation.

"Nico, this is not appropriate…" Eli attempted to reason with the petite girl.

"Maki-chan, Nico-chan's only sprouting nonsense…" Kotori was trying to divert from Nico's crude behaviour.

"No, let her speak," Maki was determined to silence the annoying girl who was supposed to be her senpai, but was the ultimate subversion of an archetypical senpai.

The others grew quiet and dread filled the clubroom, fully aware and expecting what was to come. The conclusion was obvious and that fear consumed everyone. They wanted to stop this, but they knew it was already too late. A headlong collision between two headstrong characters… and the fallout would only be dreadful. Only Maki and Nico were oblivious to this dread; the former out of blissful ignorance and the latter out of her conceit and Napoleonic complex ego.

"So you were saying?" Maki continued.

"Maki, you're such a kid!" Nico continued laughing at Maki, "Santa-san is not real. He is just a story parents tell their kids! You are so childish for believing in Santa-san!"

"But… but he… he came down every year…" Maki was taken back by such accusation, struggling to reaffirm her faith, "Ther…there were h…his…"

"No doubt your parents doodled the chimney themselves," Nico explained.

While normally Maki would enter a wisecracking banter with Nico that would result in her victory over the immature girl, Maki actually saw reason and rationality in that one person she would least expect it from. Dots in her head were connecting; lines were drawn to a simple conclusion.

There is no Santa-san.

The sweet face of a cheerful child enchanted by the Christmas season simply vanished in a blink of an eye, leaving only a scouring face haunted by humiliation and shame. That was the most fitting description for Maki's face at the moment.

"I'm sorry…" she spoke, a voice drained of all feelings, "…Light up the fireplace."

"Maki-chan…" Honoka spoke up, whether to respond to Maki finally giving in or out of her concern for the shattered girl.

"Don't worry, the party is still on," Maki continued, trying to regain her shattered composure, "I need to use the ladies' room. If you would excuse me…"

Despite what she said, one does not simply take their bags with them on a mere trip to the toilet. The writing was on the wall to everyone else, except for maybe Nico.

Everyone stared at Nico; their eyes acting as persecutors and executioners desiring the destruction of that shameless girl who dare shatter a girl's fragile heart.

"What?" Nico demanded, still oblivious to her 'crime'.

"You killed Maki-chan's innocence!" Honoka yelled.

"She looked so sad…" Kotori muttered, "…I hope she's alright…"

"Nico, you really shouldn't," Eli lectured, "At least, not during this winter break."

"I wonder if this would affect Maki-chan in the long run," Umi thought out loud, "Will she be in good condition for Love Live?"

"She'll be alright. This is Maki we're talking about," Nico defended herself

"I don't know… Maki-chan may seem strong, but she is actually quite vulnerable on the inside," Hanayo pointed out.

"This is all Nico-chan's fault!" Rin frowned.

"Don't worry, Maki will recover by Christmas Eve!" Nico proclaimed, "She should be thanking Nico for bringing her one step closer to the adult world."

No one was buying Nico's flawed logic, and their accusing stares continued on. To be fair, only one pair of eyes did not stare – they were in fact closed in concentration.

Nozomi was quietly contemplating the tense situation that befell her school idol group. Laid down on her table were several Tarot cards, most of them were facedown. Among them, only one was face-up – a reversed Major Arcana XVI: The Tower.

"And to solve this problem…" she thought, lightly tapping another card.

The spiritual girl flipped face-up another card, revealing it as Major Arcana II: The High Priestess.

"Oh Nozomi power is up next…" she thought, with a smile forming in her lips.

A fanfic born from a detail in Season 2 Episode 2, where Maki asserted her earnest belief in Santa Claus with Nico almost mocking Maki for it. Expanding on that scenario, this fanfic is what we got here.

With Maki's childhood wonder crushed by Nico's ruthless hands, what will become of µ's and more importantly, Maki and Nico?