Please note that in this story, Maki is 22 and Nico is 24.

A/N at end ;

Chapter 1 - Maki's Rival

Lightly glossed lips curved upwards at the sight of the magazine cover. Maki slowly picked up the flimsy magazine, her smile growing slightly bigger. She was on the cover in a red-and-green Christmas outfit, holding a small present against her chest. Her smile made her look innocent, but her entrancing violet eyes made her look a little daring at the same time. After staring at the cover for a little while, she flipped to the page with her interview on it. She remembered answering all the questions with a smile. After skimming through it, she closed the magazine and set it back down on the bookstore rack. As soon as she turned around, she was greeted by the sight of a short girl, with sunglasses, raven black hair in pigtails, and a tan coat on. The girl didn't seem very happy, but Maki just assumed she was shy. She figured it was one of her younger fans, so she bent down and tilted her head at the girl.

"Hello, little girl! Would you like my autograph?" she said sweetly.

"Never." the girl replied. Maki was shocked, and she made a puzzled face. "I'm just here to warn you. You're about to lose your spot in the entertainment world."

The crimson-haired idol was offended, and she stood up straight. Her expression went from puzzled to angry. "Excuse me? I'm not gonna let a 10 year-old tell me what's going to happen to my career. If you have nothing else to say, I'm leaving!" she turned to leave, but the girl grabbed her wrist. She turned to look at her, teeth clenched and eyebrows furrowed. "What is it now?!"

"Hey, I'm not 10, I'm older than you, in fact! Also, I'm not finished. I'm about to tell you who is going to be the one to steal your spot in the entertainment world, your fame, all your opportunities, it's all gonna be taken by one person. And that person is..." the girl twirled around, throwing off her sunglasses in the process. When she was facing Maki again, she had a big smile on her face. "Me! Nico Nico Ni! Yazawa Nico is going to spread love and joy all around the world!" She held up her index, pinky, and thumb on both hands. After holding it for a few seconds, Nico dropped the pose, and her smile was replaced with a smirk. "Do you understand, Nishikino Maki? The person that is going to take everything you worked so hard for away from you, is me!"

Maki stood there, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. She was pulled out of her shock state when Nico teasingly said, "Close your mouth, you'll catch flies~!" The redhead angrily held up her fist. She wanted to punch Nico - really, really badly. But she couldn't. She was a star. If someone were to even find out about this little argument, she would get trouble for it, and she didn't even want to imagine what she would get if she punched the girl. So, instead, she took a deep breath and put her fist down at her side. "Listen, Yazawa-san, the entertainment world is not easy. I've been doing it since I was 18, it took me years to get to where I am now. You're not going to just barge in and take everything away from me. Besides, you have way more rivals than me, you know that? I shouldn't be the only one you're talking to. Now, I'm leaving. I wish you luck in the entertainment business, Yazawa-san."

With those last few words, Maki turned and walked off, praying that no one saw that.

Her praying didn't work. Merely three days later, it was all over magazines and the news. Nishikino Maki and Mystery Girl in a Heated Argument! Behind the words was a picture of an angry-looking Maki and a smirking Nico. Maki's manager, Tojo Nozomi, was the one showing her the magazine. They were in Nozomi's office at Muse Agency. When Maki threw her head back and sighed heavily, Nozomi chuckled a little and set the magazine down on her desk. "Maki...I told you when I began being your manager. There's no reason to be worried! It's publicity, anyways! Besides, all stars get stuff like this when they're popular - it's a sign that you're a huge star!" Maki was about to say something, but then Nozomi's phone rang. Maki's head returned to it's normal position, and she looked at Nozomi pick it up. "Hello?"

"Nozomi! Turn your TV on, and turn it to channel 4! Make sure Maki watches too!" the voice was so loud, even Maki could hear it. It was the head of Muse Agency, Sonoda Umi, who managed a popular unit called KotoHono.

"Uh...alright..." the purple-haired woman replied, and hung up. She picked up the TV remote and turned on the TV that was on the right wall. It was already on channel 4 when she turned it on. Both girls in the office turned their heads to the TV. On the TV was...Nico! Maki and Nozomi's faces both look shocked.

The interviewer was smiling widely. "So, Nico-chan, it really was fate that we saw you on the street! Before that argument, no one even knew who you were so we couldn't just call you, aha! Now, why don't you formally introduce yourself to all the viewers watching!" he held out the mic to Nico, who smiled and took it.

She stood up and looked directly at the camera. She held out the hand she wasn't holding the mic with, and pointing at the camera. "All you viewers, I, Yazawa Nico, am going to fill this world with smiles, happiness, love, and joy! I'm an idol, but I currently do not have a manager so I'm open to all offers!" she gave an innocent look and smile, making Maki angry since she knew she was anything but innocent. So this was the idol image she was going to create. "So, when you see me, remember to wear a bright smile on your beautiful face? And always remember to..." she twirled around in a similar fashion to the way she twirled around her first encounter with Maki, "Nico Nico Ni!" she gave a toothy smile and held up her index, pinky, and thumb again. After holding it for a few moments, she dropped the pose but a small smile remained on her face. She sat back down on the couch next to the interviewer.

"Nico-chan, you're super cute! So, everyone knows about the argument, but no one knows what it was about. What exactly were you guys arguing about?" the interviewer looked genuinely interested.

"I'll be honest with you, I was the one who provoked it - but Nico-chan didn't mean to start such a thing! I was just giving Maki-chan a fair warning!" she said innocently, a pout apparent on her face.

"Fair warning? Tell us more!

"You see, I was just warning Maki-chan that I was about to make my debut, and that I might end up stealing her spot in showbiz! I was just trying to be nice, honestly! Maki-chan just got a little bit too angry..." she looked down at her lap, faking a sad look. "Truth is, I wanted to be Maki-chan's friend, but it doesn't seem like that's possible now..." Maki began to grit her teeth. This girl was beginning to infuriate her, and it almost seemed like she knew Maki was watching and she was doing it on purpose to piss her off. If that was true, it definitely worked.

"Aww...Maki-chan, won't you be this poor, sad girl's friend?" the interviewer said while looking at the camera. They had to know she was watching. Angrily, Maki stood up and walked over to the TV. She had had enough. She pressed the power button on the side of TV, and went to sit back down.

"It's all lies, and I'm not gonna listen to anymore of her garbage!" she sat back down slowly and looked at Nozomi worriedly. "Nozomi, what is this going to do to my fame? More importantly, is Nico really gonna take my spot in showbiz?"

"I-I'd like to say no, but now I'm not sure...Maki-chan, d-do your best!" she gave a weak smile and a thumbs up.

"Nozomi!"

Suddenly, the door opened. It was Umi. "Maki, don't worry about it. I have two ideas." Umi took her phone out of her pocket and dialed someone's number. "I think they'll fix a lot of things."

Maki was curious. "Who are you calling?"

"The TV station. The program was really short, and it just ended. I need to talk to Nico before anyone else does." she held the phone up to her ear. "Hello? Channel 4? Yes, I am Sonoda Umi, my girls from KotoHono were on your show just last week. I would like to talk to Nico. Yes, thank you." she took it away from her ear and put the phone on speaker, light music playing. "Maki, I want Muse Agency to produce Nico. Before freaking out, allow me to explain why." she paused to give her time to respond.

The idol just looked at her for a few moments, but when she registered what Umi had just said, she stood up and immediately walked over to her. "Umi, what do you mean?! I can't be in the same agency as Nico!"

"Maki, think about it for a second. If you two are in the same agency, people will see you less as rivals, and more as friends. It'll do good for you - and her too, but that doesn't matter right now. But, I think we should end all talk about this argument in order for you two to be successful. If she joins, then that's where the second idea would come in, but obviously we need her to join first."

"What's the second idea?" Maki asked.

"You'll find out soon." The light music playing from the phone halted, so Umi picked it up. "Hello?"

There was a pause. "T-this is really head of Muse Agency, Sonoda Umi? Are you going to ask to produce me?"

Umi nodded, even though Nico couldn't see her. "Yes. We here at Muse Agency would like to produce you. In fact, there's a new producer here who needs someone to produce. I think you'd be perfect for her. Now, if you accept, then-"

"I accept, I accept!" Nico interrupted. "I'll be there right away!" With that, Nico hung up.

Umi sighed and closed her phone, but she smiled right after. "Looks like we got her." she said while stuffing the phone back in her pocket.

"Okay, enough with that! What's this idea you were talking about?"

"I think it'd be best to tell you when Nico is here. All you can do is wait for her to arrive." So, Maki waited.

With the TV station not being far from Muse Agency HQ, Nico arrived rather quickly. Umi went down to the lobby to greet her, and left Nozomi and Maki to wait. Both of them were nervous, but Maki was more nervous. This idea obviously involved her. What exactly did Umi have up her sleeve? What did she have in store for the two girls? The idol sat in the chair, both hands neatly resting in her lap and her foot tapping quickly on the floor. Singing lyrics of her songs always seemed to help her calm down, so that's exactly what she did. Quietly, she sang the words of her song Aishiteru Banzai. As she muttered the lyrics under her breath, Nozomi was having her own thoughts. Umi was a lady who got what she wanted, and that's what made her the perfect person to lead an agency - but, sometimes her ways of getting what she wanted were questionable. She could only close her eyes and imagine what she had in store for Maki and Nico. As the girls tried to help themselves calm down, the door swung open.

Both of them quickly directed their attention at the door, Umi and Nico standing in the doorway. A second later, a woman with blonde hair put in a ponytail joined them. Neither Nozomi or Maki knew them, but Nozomi seemed to be entranced by her. Her eyes only followed the new face as they walked in and sat down on the couches near the door. She was brought out of her trance when the woman spoke. "Hello, ladies. I'm a new producer here at Muse Agency, Ayase Eli. I'm Russian, but I've been here in Japan for a very long time. Please take care of me." she stood and bowed, a smile on her face.

For a few moments, Nozomi just stared at her, but then she quickly stood up to greet her. "A-ah, nice to meet you!" she bowed in front of her. "I'm Tojo Nozomi, a producer here at Muse Agency. I've been here for five years now! This here is the person I manage and produce, Nishikino Maki!"

"Nice to meet you." Maki said with a smile after standing up and bowing.

"It's nice to meet all of you!" Eli replied cheerfully, sitting down on the couch once again. Nozomi grabbed Maki's hand before she could sit down again and pulled her over to the couches, where they both sat down.

Umi smiled. "Well, now that we're all acquainted, I would like to present my idea." her smile left her face, and her look was replaced with a serious one. "My original idea was to have you two, Nico and Maki, form a unit together. However, later I realized it would be weak. Everyone would think you guys only formed your unit for publicity, and to look like you guys didn't hate each other. So, I thought of another one - a better one. You two, don't freak out." Both Nico and Maki nodded. "Nico, Maki, I want you two to date."

"WHAT?!" the two girls said in unison. "YOU WANT US TO DATE?!" Nozomi and Eli were equally shocked, but they didn't say anything.

"Haha, even though I said don't freak out, I knew you two would react that way." her smile returned. "I don't want you two to date for real - you guys just have to fake it. It'd have a better impact than just forming a unit, you know? Both of you will get publicity, more opportunities, and more fans for sure. And who knows, maybe you two could form a unit in the future. But," her smile dropped again. "the fact that your relationship is fake must stay between you guys. You may tell people at Muse Agency and people you trust, but that's it. No one, no one, else can know. If you tell even one wrong person, this whole plan would be ruined."

The two girls didn't even respond. Both of their eyes and mouths were wide, and they slowly looked at each other. "YOU WANT ME TO DATE...HER?" Umi nodded.

"It would look too suspicious for you two to start dating right after the recent events, however, so you must slowly build up your fake relationship." the blue-haired woman made sure to emphasize the word fake. "I'm going to ask Channel 4 to feature you two on TV soon. I want you two to apologize to each other, make up, and hug each other. All on-screen." Umi looked at Maki. "Maki, I know you may not want to, but you need to if you don't want to lose everything you worked so hard to gain."

"I-I...I can't...Umi..." Maki sighed and admitted defeat. "Fine. If it'd help my career, then I'll do it. I'll do my best in my fake relationship with Nico..."

"I'll do even better!"

"If you guys are gonna do this, you can't try to best each other like that. Anyways, I'm going to see if you can appear on the Christmas Eve special on Channel 4. They'll most likely say yes, and today's the 20th, so you better prepare for your acting roles." she stood up. "I'm counting on you guys." With those words, she left the room.

The four ladies were still in shock. Both Nozomi and Eli snapped out of it at the same time. "G-girls, do your best!" Nozomi placed a hand on Maki's shoulder.

"Yeah!" Eli did the same with Nico.

Neither of them responded. They just glared at each other. 'Fake dating her?' both girls thought. Neither of them wanted to do it, but backing down would make them look weak in front of the other. They had no choice. The two girls had no idea what Umi's strange idea would lead up to at the time, and how it would change their lives for the better.

Hello, and thank you for reading Chapter 1 of Faking It For Fame! I'm on winter break at the moment, so I'm going to try to write as much as possible! I honestly wanted to write for another pairing, but it only seemed to fit NicoMaki. It'll probably attract more readers though, at least. I hope you guys stick around for the entire story!