AN: Partially inspired by Sarishinohara (Mikito-p). probably OOC Nozomi.

Summary: Nozomi FINALLY sees a red thread of fate. "okay... that sounds fake but okay."
"Oh dear. This isn't as spiritual as I thought it would be." – Nozomi, somewhere in the story.

Pairings: NozoEli

Thanks to my two beta readers!

Red Thread Of Fate

Ever since she was young, Toujou Nozomi had an affinity with spiritual things. She could always, always sense when change was about to happen, and she had her first experience of that when she felt a slight jolt a day before her parents announced that they would be moving. She could feel protected and warm near certain spiritual points, like mountains or shrines. She would feel s surge of power pushing her to do things, join activities, and they always turned out well. It all started to become part of her daily life. Of course she didn't tell people, could you possibly imagine how it would go?

"I can sense visions and things that are about to happen. It's a spiritual power thing."

"okay... that sounds fake but okay."

It was also particularly useful when she learnt how to tell fortunes with tarot cards. It took some studying, but after some time, it just came to her. The best thing about telling fortunes? Making friends really fast, and seeing cute girls smile everytime she told good fortunes. Of course, there were times she wished she didn't tell good fortunes when it came to their love lives. Some girls were just too cute, you know?

She felt a strong force tighten her feet to the ground when her parents announced another move. She resisted, and felt a steely resolve to stay in Akiba. Her parents relented after much discussion, and she was glad she had done so. Otonokizaka Academy was the best place for her; it was an all-girls' school, and there was little competition.

The moment she entered her class in her first year, she felt it for the first time; a slight tug on her heart and her ring finger. It was so subtle, but she felt it. It scared her, for it was the first time she had ever felt something like that in years. Sure, she had had her fair share of girls she admired, but none of them had caused this phenomenon. The class was full, and she had no idea what or who could have caused that. Still, she held on to the lingering feeling of that pounding in her chest.

A week later, she figured it out. The blonde quarter Russian who had ticked several people off with her cold attitude had glanced over at her, and Nozomi nearly tripped as she felt a strong pulse ripple from her heart. Her ring finger tingled, and when she looked back after catching her footing, Ayase Eli was gone.

"I want to be your friend." She blurted out without thinking, after following the rather irritated Eli up a flight of stairs. Eli blinked, and Nozomi felt the rejection coming, a coldness setline around her.

"No."

Still, her ring finger tingled, and her heart beat faster. She chased after the stoic and aloof Eli, until, until she managed to see through her. She wasn't angry, or disinterested in making friends, she was just scared and hurt and bitter after she failed to reach her own expectations. After much cajoling, confronting, yelling, crying, and fighting, they finally became friends.

And a year flew by. Nozomi's spiritual power seemed to have increased after her regular shrine visits. Being a faithful shrine maiden probably pleased the gods and allowed her to amass her growing spiritual awareness. She could now sense change before actually feeling it, and she had scared Eli once or twice by opening the window just in time for a sudden gust of wind to blow in.

One thing she couldn't do still was to see things.

She had heard of it, the third eye, the phineal gland, the inner eye, the ajna, and whatever names it was called. The ability to actually see, rather than just to sense. She believed she had caught glimpses of people's chakras before, but it was possible that it was just a trick of the light. It wasn't that she was desperate to acquire the ability, but it would have been nice to experience it, just once.

Perhaps her wishing had come true, perhaps the gods were kind and decided to bless her even more.

During μ's overnight Christmas camp in school, she saw something.

The faint glow of the midday sun had made everyone drowsy on their second day of the camp, and Umi had reluctantly allowed everyone to take it easy while she and Maki worked on new songs. Even though it was supposed to be a celebration, Umi had turned it into training.

"Our Christmas part will be on the last day, so let's make use of the first two days!"

Honoka had immediately set up a futon to take a nap, while Rin and Hanayo had wandered off to visit the Alpacas, worried that they would catch a cold in the harsh winter. Nico was still in the clubroom, determined to study more school idols and observe the trends of past top idols. Eli had said she would take a walk around the school, claiming that nostalgia was setting in earlier than she had expected. Nozomi had arrived later than everyone due to her shrine maiden duties, and Kotori had asked that Nozomi follow her to try something out.

"Well, you see, I made sweaters for everyone, and I gave them out while you were still at the shrine in the morning, so this is yours!" Kotori passed an article Nozomi, who looked at it curiously.

"So this is what Rin was wearing."

"A-ah! I specifically told them not to wear it until I gave all of them out!" Kotori pouted.

"Wow, it's… really… different." Nozomi eyed the red and green sweater. Where was Kotori's usual colour schemes according to the different members? Was Kotori ill or…?

"It's not really the usual colour scheme, but I figured that since Christmas was arriving, it would help set the mood, ehehe." Kotori smiled.

"Thank you, Kotori. It is beautiful, as always. Why is mine an old woman?" Nozomi asked.

"That's Mrs. Claus! I gave everyone a specific design! Honoka got Rudolph, because while she was rejected so many times, she was still the one to show us, μ's a path in the darkest of times! Rin got mini elves, because she's always willing to help everyone, and is full of energy! Hanayo got a gingerbread man because she's so sweet, Maki's is a Christmas tree and presents, Umi's is reindeers. I wanted to put a mistletoe on it, but she was so flustered that I just had to take it out." She pouted. "Nico's is a Christmas tree with a huge star because that's what she wants to be, and I believe it will come true! Eli's is Santa Claus because he seems so fatherly like her! And you're like our mum, so you're Mrs Claus!"

Nozomi laughed at that statement. She had no idea if Kotori was smart in choosing certain symbols, but it was to her liking. Being paired up with Eli. A father and mother.

"So Elicchi is like a father, I'm like a mother, and all of you are our children?"

"Yup! A perfect pair of parents! Everyone in μ's probably thinks so too!" Kotori smiled, and Nozomi blushed. "Not mention, everyone is just waiting for the both of you to finally get tog-"

"Oh, Kotori, your design is an alpaca?" Nozomi noticed Kotori putting on her own sweater and quickly interjected. 'Everyone' probably included her as well.

"Ah, that's because Kotori really loves alpacas, they're so fluffy and cute! I did put a little hat on this one though, to include the Christmas mood." She pointed to the mini santa hat on the alpaca, and giggled.

"Thank you, Kotori. This was very thoughtful of you." Nozomi slipped on the sweater. "Wow, it really is warm! I hope everyone is wearing their sweaters now."

"You're welcome!" Kotori giggled, and Nozomi waved to her, leaving to look for Eli.

She wandered along the corridor aimlessly, before she got the same tingle in her ring finger. She looked to her left and saw it.

A red thread.

Well, it wasn't really connected to her finger, but from that angle, it was. It was a loose thread that cut off at her left ring finger at the very moment she looked down.

Nozomi bent down and picked up that red thread. How did it work, did she have to follow it or something? Curiously, she tied it to her own ring finger, and laughed at how silly it seemed. Wondering if this red thread of fate could bypass walls and classrooms, she sprinted down the corridor, and watched as the thread followed her, without breaking. She giggled merrily as she ran past the familar corridors, leading back the floor she used to frequent as a first year. Perhaps this was it after all! A red thread of fate!

But to test if it was merely a loose thread, she started to run around, tugging onto the thread all the while. It was too fun, and she weaved in and out to corridors and empty classrooms, her heart beating with excitement. It was THE red thread of fate!

Finally, she looped back to where she had come from, deciding to follow the original trail. The length of the red thread trailed behind her. She walked on, and saw the red line disappearing into a familiar classroom. Soon. Soon, she would know who or what it was attached to. Nozomi's breathing became shorter and more rapid, and she couldn't help herself from smiling. The worst that could happen? Probably finding the thread tied to her table from her first year. That would be disappointing.

Holding her breath, she entered the classroom, and released a gasp when she saw blonde hair scattered across her old table by the window, the orange glow of the afternoon light streaming in and creating spotlights on a lovely face. Eli's eyes were closed and she had apparently dozed off, her arms acting as a pillow. One thing that was rather off about the whole thing was the red yarn that trailed from Nozomi's finger, down the corridor, round a few corners, and back to the classroom, creeping along the floor and up Eli's back.

Less than half of Eli's sweater was left, and Nozomi found her feelings knocking against each other and making her more confused than ever. On one hand, she was disappointed that she was after all, still unable to see things. On another hand, she was mildly surprised, and extremely pleased that the thread which was still wound around her finger had led her to Eli. And then there was the current situation and the possible consequences. She couldn't possibly repair the ruined sweater, so she started to tug on what was left of it, collecting the messy ball of yarn.

"Oh dear. This isn't as spiritual as I thought it would be." Nozomi muttered as she dropped the tangle of red, and bent down to pick it up. She should hurry, if not, Eli might wake up, or Kotori would walk in and cry at the result of her hard work. She focused on winding the thread into a ball.

'Soon, soon.' She promised herself, and sighed in relief as the yarn retreated to Eli's chest, to her collarbone, and was soon disappearing. She gave one last tug, and was pulled off her feet.

"Um…." Eli blinked, her hand stretched out on instinct to grip the end of the yarn.

"E-elicchi?!" Nozomi exclaimed, as Eli sat up and rubbed her eye with her free hand.

"Ah, I must have dozed off." Her grip was still tight on the yarn, much to Nozomi's dismay. There was no way out of this now. "I started feeling colder and colder, and…" Eli shivered, and gripped her own shoulders. The windows were closed, but the cold still found a way in.

"What's that ball of string in your hand?" Eli started searching for the warm outer clothing that was protecting her previously. "Where's my sweater? I wake up and it's just gone!" She looked around in astonishment, before following the long trail from Nozomi's hands to her hand. "Oh."

"Erm." Nozomi muttered sheepishly, and took a step back.

"Oh no, you're not leaving yet." Eli frowned, puzzled at what had happened. What kind of joke was Nozomi pulling on her now? She grabbed her end of the yarn and tugged onto it as well, unravelling and knotting the ball of yarn.

"Let go, Elicchi!" Nozomi panicked, and dropped the ball of yarn, trying to loosen the knot on her fourth finger. Why, oh why did she tie it on so tightly?

"That's so silly, Nozomi, why did you tie it on your fourth finger, is it some spiritual thing? A red thread on one's… fourth…. finger…" Eli trailed off, but did not stop trying to reel Nozomi back. They were now within an arm's length distance. Both of them started to turn red, and it wasn't from the midday sun.

"Okay, Elicchi, you know now, okay? Just… just let me leave now." Nozomi whirled around, but a sudden tug caught her off balance, and she fell backwards into strong arms, familiar arms that had always held and caught her.

"Whmpf?" Nozomi squealed, and Eli turned her around, entangling the red thread around them.

"Look, Nozomi." Eli said, and Nozomi forced herself to open her eyes.

They were now almost face to face, the red thread having brought them closer literally. Their breaths were short and hurried. Blue met green, averted, and looked back shyly. But apart from how beautiful Eli was, her hair shining in the sunlight, and the embarrassed smile on her face, there was something else that caught Nozomi's attention.

Eli's left hand was up, the red thread snaking up in spirals around her arm and wrist, before ending in a simple knot on her ring finger.

"We… we match?" She offered, smiling uncertainly. "Oof." She grunted as Nozomi launched herself at her.

"That… that's so stupid, Elicchi!" Nozomi gripped Eli's shirt, and the latter enveloped Nozomi in a warm hug.

"Maybe I don't need a sweater, maybe I'll just hug you for the rest of this camp."

"Ah, stupid Elicchi!" Nozomi whined, and buried her face in the crook of Eli's neck, nuzzling her. Eli's chin rested above Nozomi's forehead, and she sighed contentedly.

"Do we have to get back?" Nozomi asked timidly, enjoying the warmth of the moment. Eli was so nice to hold, and smelt like cinnamon and chocolates and everything warm and nice about winter.

"We can stay like this for a little longer." Eli pushed Nozomi a little closer to her. "Everything else can wait."

End

OMAKE:

A sudden stomping and excited whispers caused them to jump apart, but the red thread had found itself binding them together, and their foreheads clashed audibly as they were pulled back to each other.

"O-ouch…"

"THEY'RE HERE, NYA!" "NOZOMI, ELI, EVERYONE HAS BEEN LOOKING FOR Youuu….." Rin and Honoka stopped at the door, causing everyone else to crash into them.

"What the heck, Honoka!" "Nico-chan, you're squashing me." "Honoka! That wasn't very nice!" "D-dare ka tasukete?!"

Kotori stood up silently, and looked at the two who were locked in an awkward embrace. "Onegai, Umi-chan." She ordered calmly, a little too calmly.

-
They both got scolded by Umi and Kotori for wasting Kotori's time and effort. Good job, Idiot Couple.