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When Nico goes on stage to perform, she has two goals in mind: to shine as bright as she can, and to bring the biggest smiles to people's faces. It's been that way since she was a kid, when her only stage was the living room floor and the audience consisted of no one but her mother, and it hasn't changed one bit.

Until she met Akiha, anyway.

To Nico, the mere fact anyone could look down on idols is unthinkable -- and worse yet, even as she got to know Akiha, that opinion of hers has barely budged. If she could, at least, just write her off as some ignorant moron spewing pointless nonsense, that would've been one thing. But something about that girl caught her interest, and she found herself running into her again and again, until they've come to form an off sort of friendship. Until Nico's come to respect-- even like her.

Akiha's not stupid. She's capable, mature, and effortlessly elegant, a lot of things Nico would like for herself. Not that she'd admit it, because god knows she's bigheaded enough as it is -- but she can't just write Akiha off. She can't ignore it. The thought is a tireless drill at the back of her head, even when they're talking about anything but.

To have her insistently cling on to that baseless disapproval feels, by this point, like a personal insult.

So today, Nico's decided to prove herself. Her school's holding a fair, open to all, and u's will be performing. It took every form of badgering Nico has in her arsenal, from aggressive demands to guilt trips to puppydog eyes, but she successfully convinced Akiha to come. This time, beyond a doubt, she'll make her understand.

The school auditorium might not hold the flare of some of their previous venues in Akiba, but it does offer one significant privilege: peace of mind. They don't have to go up against other groups, they don't have to worry about the weather, and they've been allotted an entire half-hour, making this their longest concert to date. This gives them the chance to perform in their units of three on top of their usual group songs, and Nico's even the center in one.

And she's going to show Akiha exactly what she's worth.

"Nicocchi, you're spacing out." Backstage, Nozomi flicks her forehead, causing her shoulders to twitch. "Don't tell me Super Idol Nico-chan's getting nervous now, of all times?"

"Don't be stupid," she snipes back, flipping a twintail before reaching for her water bottle and gulping down a mouthful. It's cool, and helps sharpen her focus. She grins up at Nozomi. "What's a show like this compared to Love Live?"

"Heh, that's what I like to hear!"

--

Nico doesn't let herself fixate on Akiha. Her eyes skim the crowd for her between songs, and once she's found her, she shoots her the occasional glance from the corner of her eye. But she doesn't let it serve as a distraction, and she definitely doesn't let it hinder her from putting on the best show she can. She sings and dances her heart out -- all nine of them do, just like always -- and the audience cheers and yells and squeals, calling out their names.

It's only after the last song is over and the crowd's begun to disperse that she marches over to Akiha, grabbing hold of her wrist and tugging her towards the backstage with only "come with" to serve as greeting.

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Well, Akiha's not wrong that the concept is a weird one to entertain -- that's not how maids work normally, is it? -- but Nico's not going to start questioning that now. They have bigger things to talk about.

She nods her head. "Then let's go."

Falling in line behind Akiha, Nico lets her lead the way in uncharacteristic silence. This... sure turned out a lot more than she bargained for when she agreed to spend the afternoon with Akiha. Her heart's beating kind of fast, and she's not sure if it's from excitement or nerves -- either way, it's managed to disperse every string of idle chatter she'd kept floating around in her head. What is she supposed to say now?

Oh... actually, she can think of one thing.

"... Sorry for yelling," she mumbles.

"I yelled back. We're both at fault," Akiha mumbles back. That palpable awkwardness is back, isn't it. On some level, she almost regrets asking Nico out to begin with, but on a different level she's thrilled. She's going to actually talk about this with Nico. She's even managed to corral her into her home.

The Tohno mansion isn't too far of a walk from Nico's school, surprisingly. They make the walk in silence that at least tries to be comfortable, and as they round a corner Akiha's home can be seen in the distance.

Even from a distance, it's a ridiculous building. Flanked by forest on all sides, with gates that go on for miles. Four stories tall, and with a basement. Greenhouses and auxiliary buildings dot the landscape around it. There's enough space for a small army - if Maki's family is well-off, it's clear that Akiha's is obnoxiously rich.

Akiha, of course, is used to the excess, but she glances over at Nico as they approach. "... Before you ask, it really is only myself, my brother, and my two servants living here," she says, trying to clear the air.

Nico just stands there, eyes wide as dinner plates, mouth hanging open. Are you kidding me?! I thought Maki's house was too much, what the hell is this? If you have this much room to spare, do society a favor and start an orphanage or something!!

But of course she's not going to say any of that. What, does she want to look desperate?

"Th-th-this much is nothing! Once Nico's become a top idol, my house will be three times this big, okay?!"

... Yeah, that's not convincing anybody, but she wouldn't let herself give any other response. Let her have this, Akiha.

"I'd advise against it. I'd get rid of half this space for something more useful if I thought I could get away with it." It might seem like she's joking, but her tone is anything but. Of course, her family would eat her alive if she showed that much weakness.

They approach the mansion, Akiha letting her have it without too much fuss. The gate opens with Akiha's key, surprisingly - there's no intercom or anything to try and get someone to fetch them, even though just the walk from the gate to the front door is a bit of a process.

Nico gets her first real whiff of the good life when Akiha opens the large doors and lets them both in, of course. The foyer itself is as big as her apartment, at least, expensive-seeming artwork hanging on the walls. It's distinctly western. That includes the uniform of the maid that curtsies as they walk in.

"Good afternoon, Hisui," Akiha says, and the maid nods back. Then peers over Akiha's shoulder at Nico, of course. Akiha doesn't miss the look.

"This is an acquaintance of mine, Nico Yazawa. We'll be discussing something in my room, so please don't disturb me until dinner," Akiha orders, and the tone might make Nico question that whole 'like family' thing. Especially when the maid - Hisui - speaks, and her voice is distinctly cold and businesslike. "Understood. Will she be joining us for dinner?"

Akiha glances at Nico herself, then answers for her. "Yes, she will. And if Shiki isn't home in half an hour, we'll be feeding her his portion."

It's another one of those things that seems like a joke until Hisui nods. "I'll tell my sister, then. Excuse me," Hisui says as she bows her head, then walks out of the foyer.

The immediate impression is that Akiha runs a tight ship. And also, holy crap, she has maids.

"If you intend to stand there in awe, there are better views in this mansion. For instance, the window of my room."

Nico isn't sure 'awe' is the best word for what she's feeling at present. Well-- it's part of it, to be sure, because this place somehow manages to look even bigger on the inside, and it was entirely too big on the outside to begin with -- but on top of that, there's an unshakable sense of supreme discomfort.

To start off with, if this sort of interaction is what Akiha considers 'like family', Nico really doesn't want to imagine what her actual family must be like. The air in the room is so tense she can practically feel it buzzing.

Then there's that feeling she always gets when she visits Maki's house, of all her insides locking up, like if she so much as breathes the wrong way she'll end up toppling over a priceless antique that her great-great-grandchildren will be still working to pay back until the day they die. Except Akiha's house is about ten times bigger than Maki's, so the feeling is accordingly ten times worse.

But, well, she came here to talk with Akiha. Not like she can keep standing in the entranceway forever, even if that does feel like her safest bet. Nico gulps, steels herself, then nods. "Yeah, uh, s-sure. Let's go."

With her shoulders squared up, arms bolted straight to her sides, and her legs clunky with over-cautiousness, her walk would be best described as that of a robotic penguin. Still, she follows Akiha to her room all the same.

"... Nico, this is my home," Akiha somehow manages to audibly blink as she looks over her shoulder at her, tilting her head at her spot-on impression of a failed animatronic.

Of course, she can understand some discomfort, but Nico's just being... silly. The more she worries about it, the more worrisome it'll become. Not just for her, but for Akiha as well. She chews on her lip in a decidedly inelegant way, then just turns back around.

"If you have any complaints, just say them. I'll do my best to make you more comfortable."

Nico snaps even higher upright, if that's possible. Her voice squeaks like a tire that's been slammed into a brake. "I-I'm fine! There's no way I'd have anything to complain about!"

"Nothing to complain about? Now I know you're lying," Akiha takes the potshot that's offered to her, then sighs.

As they walk, the mansion begins to feel more and more like going through the rabbit hole - the halls are essentially identical, and it's seemingly at random that Akiha opens a door to reveal her room. The room - barely looks like one. It's spotless, and the only objects in it are a bed large enough to fit an entire family, a wardrobe, and Akiha's desk. The desk is the only part of it that even looks personalized, and that's just because of the disorganized papers scattered across it.

"I'm sorry for the mess," Akiha says, without a hint of irony.

Nico stares. She'd figured once they're in Akiha's room, at least, she'd feel a little more at ease. Nope. In fact, this may be the worst part of this entire mansion.

"Seriously?" One corner of her mouth twists involuntarily, causing her eye to twitch. She glances this way at that, as if scrounging for signs of human presence beyond the clutter of paperwork. "You live here?"

Edited 2016-03-26 11:52 (UTC)

"Yes. I sleep in that bed. My clothes are in that wardrobe. What else do you expect there to be in here? My violin is in another room, and if I want to read I go down to the library," Akiha explains, crossing her arms. Even as she makes a mental note to not take Nico down to the library. Even she's aware of how purposelessly huge that part of the mansion is.

"... I didn't invite you to my home so you could insult me, you know. How would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot?" Akiha clears her throat and continues, putting her hand on her cheek in her best impression of a rich girl from a television drama. Something she's only familiar with because of one of her classmates, since of course Akiha wouldn't watch anything like that on her own time. "Oh, Yazawa, how do you, your parents, and your siblings even fit inside this matchbox? You poor dears," she tuts, voice going so high by the end that Nico's forced to accept that Akiha actually has a sense of humor.

"I can understand your discomfort, but I'd prefer you be upfront about it."

Akiha's little jab hits a little deeper than intended, evident in the way Nico's shoulders hitch up and her features contort in a wince. She catches herself too late, forcing her shoulders back down -- her hands are clenched into fists at her sides again, and she doesn't meet Akiha's eyes.

"That's... " Part of her wants to protest, to argue that it's totally different, but Nico stomps it down. What's the point in defending her matchbox apartment against a mansion like this?

"... whatever. Forget it."

Edited 2016-03-26 12:17 (UTC)

Ah.

That is not what she meant for Nico to feel. Not in the least. Of course, she was annoyed by Nico - when isn't she? but...

"... Yazawa," Akiha murmurs, leaning in closer to her. They're not nearly as close as they were when Nico leaned in, during that affair about who Nico was attracted to, but Akiha still feels like it's an extremely intimate gesture.

Maybe she just isn't used to being this close to people.

"I know this might be - ridiculous of me to say, but I don't think either of us has a better or worse life than the other. We're just dealing with what we've been given. It was wrong of me to bring your family into this, just because I felt a little slighted. Forgive me."

Nico falters, her eyes flickering between Akiha's face and the floor. This is-- definitely close. Not close in a way she'd think twice about if she was the one initiating, but from Akiha, it's... different. It makes her heart beat a little faster.

And when she sounds this stupidly, painfully sincere, Nico really can't stay mad for long.

"It's, uh... it's fine." She shifts a little in place, the warmth in her cheeks persisting for a different reason now. "Seriously, don't worry about it."

She's never heard of a person who feels insecure because their house is too big, but she deems to keep that thought to herself. In the first place, she had no intention of insulting Akiha -- it's just, seeing this huge, bare room that looks like it belongs to a high-end business hotel than a girl her age... it feels so lonely. Doesn't Akiha get lonely?

She probably wouldn't be any happier if Nico asked her that instead, though.

"Anyway, that's not what we came here to talk about, right?"

Of course Akiha gets lonely. She can't blame her brother for spending so much time out of the house - to her, the Tohno mansion feels a little bit like a jail.

It's a ridiculous notion, but it's what she's come to. Her strict father, the vast expanse of empty rooms... she remembers being convinced as a child that the whole place was haunted, that the ghosts of her ancestors were waiting to swallow her up. Kohaku's ghost stories didn't help.

She still believes they are, in a more metaphorical sense.

But Nico's right, that is very, very far off-topic. She'll share those insecurities with Nico a different time. She walks over to the bed and sits down on it, pats the empty space next to her.

"Sit. You haven't even gotten a chance to sit down since the concert, have you?"

The bed is so impeccably made that Nico feels a little bad even touching it, but at least with Akiha's express invitation, she can bring herself to sit at the mattress's edge beside her. In her head she calculates just the right distance, not so close as to be overbearing but not so far as to feel detached -- and then she adds another couple inches, because it's Akiha. "Thanks."

Stretching out her legs, Nicp plants her hands over her knees. The crackling tension in the air seems to have quieted a bit, but it sure doesn't mean things have stopped feeling awkward.

"So..." she begins, and immediately stops to clear her throat. "Go ahead and tell me stuff, I guess."

... Yeah, she has no idea how to do this.

"... My father tried to arrange a few marriages," Akiha starts. Akiha has even less idea how to do this, but she supposes they'll eventually get into something like a conversation if she just starts talking.

"Some of them were boys my age, some were older. Some of them were kind towards me, some of them were repulsive. But..." Akiha pauses as she searches for the words.

"I understand what you're about to say. 'Nobody would be okay marrying someone because their dad told them to, right?' But that isn't how I felt. It was - the very concept of marrying a man that seemed foreign to me. Of feeling like I'd want to spend the rest of my life with one.

So when you said what you did, it - struck a bit of a chord, yes."

Arranged marriage? Several, at her age? Nico bites her tongue, but she can't keep her face from twisting up. Rich people really are something else...

"Well, I mean, that's-- good to know," she manages, wrangling her features into something hopefully closer to neutral. Even though she feels she should be glad hearing this, she can't help but remain a little doubtful. "But, despite how I said it, there's more to it than just not wanting to be with men. You gotta-- actually like girls, you know?"

"... I've felt attracted to other women, yes," Akiha mumbles. "A few of my classmates. You remember Akira, the girl who introduced us? She's - very cute. Especially when she's surprised by something. She always looks so distressed."

Akiha's tastes are a little odd, she realizes.

"Do I need to keep going? I'm not sure how you prove something like that, and I'm not willing to share every one of my fantasies with you, Yazawa."

Nico's expression sours. She tries to play it off like it's in response to Akiha's snippiness rather than her giving out another girl's name without a second's hesitation.

"Geez, not like I'm willing to hear those, okay? I just wanted to know for sure. I can't give proper advice without understanding the situation, can I?"

Never mind that Akiha had only ever mentioned wanting to talk about it, nothing about asking for advice. Nico straightens her back, folds one leg over the other. "So you want to know how to hit on her, or something?"

"Hitting on Akira?" Akiha snorts at the thought - the way she brings her hand up to her mouth almost makes it seem like she's going to laugh, but she holds herself back.

"Hardly. The poor girl'd probably faint. Half the time she calls me 'mistress' or 'Lady Akiha,' like she's one of my maids - it's ridiculous," Akiha rambles on, mostly to distract herself from what she wants to say.

Nico, too. She's attracted to Nico, too.

"But I am still curious what sort of woman you're attracted to. Since I've revealed my interests, it's only fair."

"Some people are into that, you know," Nico jokes, though the humor doesn't quite show on her face.

Just like that, she's been cornered -- Akiha's right, it is only fair, and trying to laugh it off now would only earn Nico her scorn. She doesn't want this to be another fight. But what answer can she even give? Not the truth, obviously, but she doesn't want to lie either. She doesn't want to list which of her friends she thinks are pretty, blowing a casual attraction out of proportion; and she doesn't want to say nobody, become some secret stupid part of her still wants to believe that maybe Akiha could like her back.

She grumbles under her breath, fingers tweezing at the hem of her skirt. This is dumb.

"Let's see, I like..." A halfhearted attempt at sounding thoughtful, though Nico's expression remains flat. "... cute girls, I guess," she finishes lamely.

"Please tell me we didn't go through this entire convoluted back-and-forth for that," Akiha criticizes her incredulously. She isn't even crossing her arms - she's not even disapproving, she's just in disbelief.

"If that was the answer you were teasing me with earlier, I'll be the one crying. We had such a ridiculous argument over something so insignificant? I didn't know your feelings were that shallow."

Of course, she knows they aren't. She can guess that Nico is dodging the question. Which - makes her think that maybe, just maybe, there's a reason she's refusing to tell her.

It's a ridiculous notion. Akiha hasn't exactly made herself lovable. But...

"We could make a game of it. I name some trait or attribute, and you tell me if she matches the description."

Somehow, the lack of any real anger in Akiha's response only serves to fluster Nico more. "L-look, it's a complicated question, okay?!" she flares up in response, hands balling up in her lap. "In the first place, Nico's a delicate maiden, so maybe you shouldn't be acting so pushy!"

Nico's nostrils flare as she lets out a long and harsh hiss of air through her nose, and her shoulders droop as that little outburst dies down. The glance she shoots Akiha teeters dangerously close to apologetic, and she worries her lower lip in hesitation. If it's really something that concerns Akiha enough to pester her about, well... it's kind of a nice thought, isn't it? Maybe worth going along with, even.

"... do you really want to know that badly? Fine, let's do that."

"Please. If you were a delicate maiden, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Akiha huffs. If Nico were as delicate as she likes to act? They'd still be on their shopping date - and Nico probably would have never mentioned her sexuality. Being that open about it takes a mix of confidence and sheer stubbornness.

But speaking of open... of course, she'd like to ask 'is she rich and is her name Tohno Akiha,' because that's the question of the day, what Akiha is dying to know. A shame she's actually more delicate than she appears. When she thinks about just asking Nico that, she almost feels like freezing up.

Because it's a childish fantasy. A person she's never bothered trying to ingratiate herself to, falling in love with her? Unless Nico enjoys having her hobbies and passions criticized, it's impossible.

"... Is she in your group?" Akiha asks. Somehow this has gone from a vague, theoretical person to someone who actually exists. Not 'what kind of person would Nico fall in love with,' but 'who is Nico in love with?'

That shift doesn't evade Nico, and the corners of her mouth twitch as she swallows. What is this, twenty questions? That's way more getting put on the spot than she bargained for!

She could protest aloud, of course. Or argue that having a type doesn't mean she likes somebody right now, and that she was pretty sure this was supposed to be about the former rather than the latter. There's nothing stopping her from doing that, and yet, somehow, she can't summon the words. She can't bring herself to back out. Like they passed the point of no return sometime when she wasn't looking.

And, Nico realizes, she feels surprisingly okay with that.

"Nope."