Greetings, everyone. I only recently stumbled across the Love Live! series, with Maki being my favourite character of all. Baffled by the lack of Maki/Rin fics in this site, I decide to write one myself. Originally I intended to write a one-shot, but as the writing process went on I now have to split them into chapters. It starts off with Maki and Rin still in their first year, and will gradually move towards their second and third, and maybe beyond. Most of the time, the story will focus on Maki's perspective of the events.

This is a story about reflection and struggle. I understand that most fans immediate pair certain girls together and take them as granted, but I want to explore more on the struggle part. Unfortunately, reality is not a fairy tale where everyone can be openly homosexual and that people around will be totally okay with it. After all, the girls have to deal with problems such as peer and family pressure.

All Alone With You, the story title, is the 2nd ED from the anime Psycho-Pass. The lyrics generally fits in with the narrative of the story as a whole, plus it's a really good song. The chapter title, Killy Killy Joker, is the OP to Selector Infected WIXOSS.

Plot: It wasn't easy to be the black birds among the flock of white feathers, but for Nishikino Maki, it wasn't a question of black or white, but one of sentiment and love. A story of Maki and Rin's journey from recognizing their feelings for each other to overcoming barriers placed ahead of them together.

Genre: Romance, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Family

Characters: Maki, Rin; Hanayo; respective parents of the first year trio; rest of μ's

Pairing: RinxMaki; might include NozomixEri as the story progresses

The image used in this story is illustrated by うしき who posted the work on Pixiv, the renowned Japanese illustration website. The title of this work isバタフライキス. You can search for id=43658751 in Pixiv for this image.

As always, I recommend reading in ½ page size to feel more like reading a book.

And now, enjoy!

Chapter 1: Killy Killy Joker

Nishikino Maki and Hoshizora Rin. Members of μ's, Otonokizaka Academy's idol group. Students in the same year, and polar opposites in a lot of ways. One preferred quietly reading while the other could not sit still for more than a couple seconds. One was the model student while the other barely passed her exams. One hardly socialized while the other had no problem making friends right away.

On the surface, there was no way they could fit together. But somehow it worked, perhaps to the surprise of themselves.

Raised in a traditional family, Maki had always imagined she would get married to some man with a respectable social status, have children, and be content with the way things were. If she was going to inherit her family's hospital, it only made sense that way, and she had never really questioned that thought before. It sounded straightforward enough, and she saw no reasons in rejecting this path. By all means, she did not expect that meeting Rin would change her life in that way.

She had always enjoyed Rin's company, that's for sure. The orange-haired girl was full of energy all the time. It was as if her presence alone would brighten up the room, and despite all the silly things she did, Maki had to admit she was someone that everyone adored no matter what.

Still, that didn't really mean she had thought of Rin as more than a close friend. Apart from her strong bond with Hanayo, Rin never showed signs of swinging the other way (and neither did herself, Maki noted with hindsight). While Maki had heard stories of girls in her school actually going out with each other, she had never really paid much attention to that topic. She didn't necessarily think it was wrong or anything, but she never seriously questioned if she might be one of them.

So when Rin pressed her lips against her, cupping her face with her petite hands, Maki was too stunned to react.

It was a rainy day and the two of them were standing under a shelter in a park. They were walking past the park when Maki's umbrella broke, and with Rin not bringing hers today, the two had no choice but to stay for the moment until the rain died down. Maki was complaining that it was Rin who caused the umbrella to break, since she tried to use the umbrella to poke the fruit on the tree, when something caught the pianist's attention.

'Rin! Your hand is bleeding!'

Said girl blinked, not realizing her own condition in the beginning, but Maki quickly grabbed her hand and scrutinized the wound. Mumbling about how careless she was in a gentle tone, Maki went on to grab her first aid kit and take care of her hand. During her treatment, she didn't realize the usually talkative Rin had stopped speaking.

'What's wrong? It isn't like you –'

But she stopped. There was something in her eyes that looked different. Rin stared at her with an unreadable expression, and when Maki attempted to press the question again, Rin moved forward and kissed her.

It wasn't a deep kiss, though probably a forceful one since Maki's mind went blank and Rin looked to have a point to make. Her hands whirled around Maki's cheeks as she sustained the kiss, and it was only the need for air that prompted her to break away. Seeing Maki's surprised expression, however, seemed to have made Rin realize what she had done.

Maki slowly reached for her own lips, feeling the residue heat that Rin had planted. She looked at the girl with wide eyes, shock written all over her face, and she gasped as Rin took a step towards her. Rin's face crumbled upon seeing Maki's troubled countenance. She quickly broke eye contact with Maki, grabbed her bag, and dashed out of the place.

It happened so fast that it took a while for Maki's brain to process the whole development. She wanted to chase after her, despite knowing that she would get soaked in this heavy rain. She wanted answers to her unsung questions, and she wanted to just hold her for that hurtful expression that made her heart ache. Yet she couldn't find the strength to move her legs. All she could hear was a soft whisper from Rin, saying 'I'm sorry' before she departed, and Rin's shadow gradually disappeared in the pouring rain.

She didn't know how long she remained on the spot. The sparkling sounds of the rain, hitting the trees and the park infrastructures, failed to calm her down. All she could think of was how heartbroken and lost Rin looked at that moment.

End of Chapter 1

I'll try to update as soon as I can. Meanwhile, please do leave me a review to let me know what you think!