Nico Yazawa…

The name that hasn't left her mind since that day…

"Ne, Maki-chan! Wait up!" Nico called after Maki as they left practice.

Maki paused and turned slightly, staring the third-year down, "What?"

"I wanted to tell you something." Nico panted, bending down with her arms on her knees.

Maki waited silently as Nico caught her breath. She took a few minutes and then looked her straight in the eyes.

"Maki-chan. There's something that's been bothering me…" Nico started.

"What do I have to do with this?" Maki complained.

She wanted to go home and finish her school work. She had a test coming up that she couldn't fail if she wanted to stay on her dad's good side. Ever since that one time she got a really bad grade, every test he would threaten her with having to quit μ's if she didn't pass.

"You're the problem." Nico stated.

"How am I the problem?" Maki shot back.

Nico glared at her, "I hate you."

"What? Why? What did I do?!" Maki demanded, "Not that I care. You can hate me all you want!"

"You took everything from me! No one pays attention to me anymore. They all like you!" Nico yelled at her, before turning around and storming off.

Ever since that day, the two of them hadn't spoken. They'd glare at each other and refuse to speak. When the others finally caught on, they were forced to talk again. But, their conversations always ended in a fight.

Maki sighed as she got off her bed and headed to the door. She headed out to the silent living room. Her parents were busy and wouldn't be home till late. Maki was basically alone. Her maid wouldn't bother her without reason.

Maki went to the front door and walked outside. She stood on the ground outside and stared up to the sky. After a few moments, she threw on her shoes and started walking away.

She headed down to a small coffee shop. There were maybe three people inside. Maki entered and took a seat at one of the tables. She stared out of the window and waited. Honoka had texted her earlier asking if she could meet up. Maki hadn't wanted to, but she said yes to save herself the trouble of Honoka bothering her until she would do it.

"Hey, Maki-chan. Sorry for the wait." Honoka arrived a few minutes later.

"It's fine… you weren't really late…" Maki mumbled out, keeping her gaze on the outside.

Honoka tilted her head and stared at Maki, "You okay?"

"Huh? Y-yeah. I'm fine." Maki stammered out as she turned to face Honoka.

"Okay. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something." Honoka changed the subject back to what she needed to have answered.

Maki sighed, "I told you already, I'm not telling you what's going on."

"But, Maki-chan, we're all getting worried…" Honoka blurted out, "What if you guys start fighting physically?!"

Maki didn't reply. She merely rested her head on her hand and stared at Honoka as she started blabbering on about all the reasons μ's wanted to know why her and Nico were fighting.

"Maki-chan, please." Honoka begged.

Maki shook her head, "I told you my answer. It won't change. Maybe ask Nico!"

"Umi-chan did… she wouldn't say anything either." Honoka mumbled.

Maki sighed and got up, "I need to go. You're wasting my time."

"Maki-chan! Wait!" Honoka grabbed her arm.

Maki stood still, her expression blank, "What?"

"Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan both said if you guys don't stop fighting you're getting kicked out of practice until you behave." Honoka told her, "If you tell us why you guys fight, we can work something out. I don't want to have you guys missing from practice."

"I'm not telling you much. All I'll say is that Nico hates me." Maki removed her arm from Honoka's grasp and walked out of the shop.

Honoka stared at her receding figure, "Nico-chan… hates Maki-chan?"